Written For:

St. Mungos – Visitor's Tearoom

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

– Dueling Lessons, Task 1, "Write about trust between two people"

– Writing Club, Shannon's Showcase, Showtime,

– Princess Day: Ella

Word Count: 600

For MaryandMerlin

"Come on, Scorp!"

"Honestly, Rosie! This sounds ridiculous!"

Rose Weasley sighed, hands on her hips. Her bright red hair, normally long and flowing, was tied in an elegant bun far too reminiscent of Professor McGonagall's for Scorpius's comfort. "Scorpius Malfoy. Do you want to see my cousin fall on his buttocks or not?"

Scorpius laughed at the thought of his best friend sprawling on the ice, then winced in imagined sympathy. "But MerlinRose! Strap knives to our feet and go slide around with them?"

"They aren't knives, Scorpius!" Rose fixed him with the classic Rose Weasley glare, the one which made even James shudder. "Don't you trust me?"

That was it. She'd drawn a full house. "Of course I do!"

She shook her head. "Then come on." Pointing to two pairs of skates, she plopped onto the bench beside Scorpius. "Look. Blue. They'll match our holiday robes, Scorp. And your eyes."

"ROOOOOSEEEEE! SCORRPPPOOOO." Hugo's voice echoed on the ice, impatient. "MUM WANTS A PICTURE!"

Trying to banish images of himself lying in St. Mungo's impaled by these accursed skates, Scorpius shoved his foot into one, then the other. They laced magically, and before he knew it Rose was dragging him onto the rink.

He felt his footing slip, but her pace only increased…

"No, no, I don't like this,bloody Morg….whoa."

Rose had described it as just like flying, and it was, sort of. But not the way riding a broomstick was. It was more like – gliding. Rose had taken one arm and Albus the other. He barely felt himself sliding; he was floating across the rink, shrieking. He was vaguely aware of speeding past James, then past Ron...

"I'm going to let go of your hand." Rose's cheeks were pink in the cold, but she was laughing as she spoke.

"NO you are NOT!"

"Trust me!" And with that he felt their gloves slide against each other, and suddenly his left side was moving much faster than his right…suddenly he was skating in an arc around Albus…and then suddenly he was screaming, convinced he was about to die…

…and then Rose had caught him and he was resting against her, panting, laughing. Small white snowflakes had started to fall. He opened his mouth to catch them, giggling as he slid.

"That…this is amazing!"

Hermione steered him towards the other children, light from her camera reflecting off the ice.

"Now." Rose turned to face him, skating backwards. "Push with your right foot, then left. Copy me."

"Hot chocolate?"

"I'd love that. And I won't say 'I told you so.'"

Scorpius handed her a Hollyhead Harpies mug, ignoring the ribbing. "Your Aunt Gin made the chocolate. It's specially flavored. And yes. Ice skating was fun."

"You loved it." Rose took a sip. "It's rose flavored?"

He nodded, sipping from his own cup. They were sitting in her room. He made a point of making a face at the red and gold bedspread.

She drank again, steam melting the specks of white on her bangs. "And here I was thinking you'd poisoned it."

Scorpius put his arm around her. "If I wanted to kill you, I'd be much sneakier than that." He took her drink, placing both on the table. "Close your eyes."

"So you can kill me?"

"You made me slide around on knives! Now your turn to trust me."

Rose closed her eyes. Scorpius pulled her towards him. She smiled as she felt his breath on her lips.

"Is this okay?"

"Oh." She pressed her lips against his. She could taste the rose and chocolate on them.

Yes.

More of a return to what I normally write. The classic ice skating trope. Hope you enjoyed it!