Hogwarts: a school of Witchcraft and Love (Tom Marvolo Riddle x F!reader)

Chapter 2-05

You trudged through the snow-covered grounds of Hogwarts, your red and golden scarf wrapped tightly around your neck and gloves protecting your hands from the biting cold. Your mission: track down your elusive roommate because you desperately needed Herbology help (or maybe just someone to complain about the freezing weather with).

Your trajectory led you outside of the corridor. It was a cold January day. Most of the students around you were dressed same as you in warm robes and hats, extra scarves and gloves. Even the trees seemed to be shivering with their bare branches, off which hung many icicles.

You couldn't resist staring at the view of Hogwarts. The towers looked magnificent against the gray sky and the snowflakes drifting down from it added a magical touch to the already enchanting scenery.

Despite the chilly weather, the school was buzzing with activity. You witnessed a few people playing a round of quick-fire Quidditch, several more making snow-angels, and a group of Hufflepuffs in the distance were gathered near the frozen lake, trying to skate on the ice they had scraped off.

Hogwarts hardly ever looked better than it did in the winter, there was no denying it.

As you neared one of the courtyards, you spotted Alyssa standing there with her wand outstretched. She grinned when she saw you stepping her way.

"Hey!" She called out, her cheeriness defying the freezing temperatures. "Wanna have some fun?"

Without waiting for an answer, she conjured two large piles of snow on either side of you and began shaping them into spheres.

"What are you doing?" You asked as she finished molding her ball and tossed it from hand to hand like a basketball player warming up before a game.

"I'm making snowballs," she replied simply, mischief glowing in her green eyes. "And we're going to throw them at each other."

Before you could protest or properly react, a snowball rocketed towards you.
It hit you square in the face and exploded into powdery white flakes all over your scarf.

"Alyssaaaaa!!" Your voice came out muffled by snow as laughter bubbled up inside you despite yourself.

She laughed too—loud enough to echo off nearby walls—then grabbed another handful of freshly fallen powder-snow from beneath your feet while dodging around behind cover so quickly that if not for having been trained under Dumbledore himself, would have missed entirely.

You grinned and without a moment's hesitation, both started gathering more snow in your mitted hands, shaping it into perfect snowballs.

"You're going down!" Alyssa taunted playfully as one of her shots narrowly missed hitting your shoulder.

"Ha! You missed!" You teased while quickly retaliating with two well-aimed shots straight into her stomach which caused both of you to laugh hysterically.

The snow was fresh, pristine white and fluffy, perfect for packing into tightly formed orbs. You both took turns, hurling snowballs at each other. Dodging, weaving, yelling, and shrieking, you ran around, feeling carefree and alive.

For a moment, you forgot that you were at a school and had responsibilities and worries. You just let loose being entirely in the moment. You felt the crispness of the winter air sting your cheeks but with the pure joy of playing you couldn't care less. At one point your running took you nearby the frozen lake so you wouldn't pelt anyone else.

Soon things got more intense. Alyssa and you got to strategize your attacks. Before long, you were both completely covered in the white powder and gasping for breath from all the running around.