Harry Potter: An Alternate Universe

3) Ice Skates

Year: Fourth (graduated '78)
House: Hufflepuff
Gender: Not Specified
Love Interest: n/a

The Black Lake had frozen over, which meant you, the Marauders, and a handful of friends, would spend that Saturday ice skating. It was a tradition you started in your first year when you had become friends with the four boys.

You waited on the frosty grounds, tagged along by a handful of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. James first appeared, followed by the other three. As a group, you headed out towards the lake. You joked and laughed with the others the whole way there. When you arrived, a few of the newer participants turned to you, not looking very convinced.

"What now?," asked a Ravenclaw boy.

"Well, who wants to go first?," you said.  Sirius took a seat right on the snow, pushing a piece of hair out of his face. You walk over to him, squeezing past the crowd, and kneeling down in front of him. You prop one of his legs up on your thighs, poking your wand into the sole of his shoe. He looked around at everyone with a smug expression.

"Watch and learn, everyone." He winked jokingly at you. You drag your wand across the bottom of his shoe, and a blade forms in its trace. You hear a few kids gasp. You proceeded in doing the same to his other shoe. When you finish, you help him up to a standing position, and he walks clumsily to the ice. James snickers behind you.

"You alright there, mate?" Sirius steps onto the ice, spinning around to the crowd.

"Come see for yourself."

"I will." James strides over to where his friend had just been, plopping right down. After putting skates on his shoes, you continue the process for about five others, each one trying them out on the lake immediately. Just as Peter hobbled after James and the others, Remus came and took his turn.

"Thank you, (y/n)," he smiled. You return the gesture.

"'Should be fun. We had a big turnout this year."

"No kidding." It wasn't long before you helped him to his feet.

"Go ahead, I'll be right over," you tell him. He nods, taking his steps onto the ice hesitantly. You laugh as he nearly gets knocked off his feet when Sirius comes to give him a rough pat on the back. As soon as you completed the spell for yourself and managed to stand, you heard your name called out from behind. You turn around, and greeted by a smiley, red-haired girl.

"Hi, (y/n)!"

"Hello there, Lily!"

"Mind if I stay to watch?"

"You sure you don't want to join?"

"Maybe later," she sighed, sitting a good distance from the icy lake. You look to see where her attention faced, and saw James nearly fall trying to skate over towards the shore.

"Oi, careful there!," Sirius called. "Almost fell on your arse." James was quick to recover, and flashed Lily a smirk, which she brushed off right away. You manage getting into the ice alright, you've had a lot of practice with skates. You spend some time skating around, until the Ravenclaw boy from earlier dared Sirius to a race.

"I'll bet you one sickle!"

"You're on!," Sirius spat.

"Oh boy," you sighed, and Remus nodded in agreement. The Ravenclaw's girlfriend dragged over a dead branch from where Lily was sitting, and brought it over far towards the center of the lake. With a 'Go!,' from James, the two were off. The Ravenclaw had one, only by a foot or two. He was greeted by whoops and cheers from the crowd, and a sneer from Sirius.

"You didn't jinx my skates or nothing, (l/n)?"

"Nope," you cheese. "You lost by your own sheer tenacity to be a terrible skater." For the remainder of the trip, Sirius and you continued taunting each other, James learned to skate backwards (once he let Peter let go of him), and Remus had convinced Lily to join them on the lake. It had been a fun day, a fun day to spend with friends.

Day 3; check! Day 4 will be arriving in another 24 hours or so ;)

Don't forget to comment any suggestions or feedback, because my inbox is about as empty as my brain right now so...