Title: The Winter's Touch
Author: Clare( [email protected])
Rating: PG??
Summary: This really did capture my imagination totally. It is a myriad of description,
colour, life and detail. A beautiful combination of angsty/fluff with a little
humour there also to help things on the way. *g*
Wonderful characterisation that is so typical of Clare's writing, the detail
etched into the mind by new descriptions, and an short in-depth study of the
main character's thoughts and feelings at appropriate intervals. Wonderfully
timed, well paced.

The Winter�s Touch


Harry walked out of Flourish and Blotts, laden with shopping.

It was Christmas. Every Yuletide stereotype had been enforced this year. Roofs were covered with a thick blanket of pure white snow, and icicles hung down,glittering columns of opaque matter dripping freezing tears. His mouth was
covered by his gold and red scarf, an item back from the days of Hogwarts. Snow fell from the sky, the pretty flakes landing in his brown hair and creating a ather sharp contrast. He was eighteen now, and was enjoying life outside the
school. He still found that he preferred to dress in Gryffindor colours; it seemed the Sorting Hat sorted you for life. Or at least your dress sense...

Harry hid a little further into the warm scarf. It was bitterly cold, a harsh wind battering him. The pavements had been cleared of the snow, and anti-ice charms were still working on the roads. Whilst the snow was beautiful to see,
it was damn dangerous. He was having to live without his first love, Quidditch, simply because it was too hazardous. But the magic of Christmas was in the very air, so all his negative thoughts were pushed away. Christmas was a special time of year in most places, but in the wizarding world, it was truly wonderful. Lanterns hung in every window with pretty lights framing the entrance. Real pixies and fairies flew around; little children staring open
mouthed at the dainty creatures. There were no old, possibly paedophilic men dressed up as Santa standing on street corners, but there were real Christmas Elves singing and talking eagerly to the kids. Christmas Elves were very
similar to House Elves; they had the same pointy ears, were small and had appalling grammar. But they weren�t as shy as House Elves and would chatter excitedly and give out small gifts. Naturally, the children loved them and
wanted one instead of a House Elf. But no one seemed to know where they went for the other eleven months of the year... strange.

Harry was buying presents for his friends. He had a fancy quill and ink for Hermione, a vast amount of chocolate for Ron, a little book of pranks for Sirius, a rather interesting book for Remus and a pair of socks for Dumbledore.
He smiled to himself, remembering when he asked the Headmaster what he wanted from the Mirror of Erised. He now knew that Dumbledore wasn�t telling the truth, but had got him socks anyway.

He was spending Christmas Day at the Weasleys� house. Sirius and Remus had been invited too, so it should be quite a busy occasion. There was always a great atmosphere there, a real family warmth and comfort. It made him happy to be part of such an extended family, but Christmas is always a time when you reflect on things. And family was something he didn�t have. He missed his mother and father at times like these.

But that was something he couldn�t change and so he just muddled along. What he wanted more than anything was to be loved. Harry was always on the lookout for potential partners, something which Hermione frowned upon. She said that the harder he looked, the less likely he was to find someone worth devoting the rest of his life to. That was easy for her to say; she was happily shacked up with Ron. Their relationship was inevitable, Ron had always liked Hermione, and after his heroics in the seventh year, she realised how much she�d miss him.
Harry could still remember the intense jealousy he had felt after discovering they were an item. Everyone seemed to be happy and in love, except for him.
People were moving on, growing up, getting on with their lives. But he�d never been in a proper relationship yet wanted it more than anything. You think it would be easy for the Boy Who Lived to find a suitor, but most simply wanted him either for his money or his fame.

He strode on, approaching the entrance to the Muggle world, the Leaky Cauldron.
He didn�t really need to go there... after all, he had all his presents and Muggle London wasn�t exactly the nicest place to go. But he walked through anyway, and stepped out into the dirty streets. Besides, Muggle London reminded him of his old life. His mother and father had lived in London for a while before Godric�s Hollow, and the Muggle world was still high in his affections, even though the Dursleys were still lurking about. He walked into Muggle London. To his surprise, it was snowing much harder here, and the shops had dangerous amounts of snow on top. He walked along, telling himself he was going to get Dobby some socks. He entered one of the thousands of Gap stores and wandered around. After browsing for a few minutes, he decided that Dobby would prefer a bandana. After paying a ridiculously large sum of money for a small scrap of material with the word �Gap� printed on, he made his way to leave. He stepped outside, the snow still floating down. There were lots of people about;
after all, it was Christmas Eve so there was plenty of last minute shopping going on. Harassed mothers were barking at poor sales assistants just because they�d run out of a particular robot that could zap lasers and say stupid
American phrases. He found he�d wandered into a toy shop and walked down the
aisles slowly. Kids were running around, laughing and joking. As he went down
the Barbie doll aisle, he heard a familiar voice.

"Father, why are we here? This place is teeming with Muggles... I don�t like it..."

"Just be quiet! Go if you want to, I�ll meet you outside Starbucks in an hour. You know your mother insists we buy a damn toy for that child who lives up the road, says they�ll get suspicious if we don�t."

"Why you chose to put the Manor in a Muggle city is beyond me."

"It�s not like I had a choice; we don�t have as much money as we used to. Yet I still have to waste it on that bratty kid."

Harry smiled. Only Draco Malfoy would have the nerve to talk loudly about Muggles in a busy Muggle toy store...

He watched as the blonde walked out of the shop. Draco looked strange in Muggle clothes. He didn�t know why, but Harry decided to follow him. Draco went down the street, kicking snow as he went. Harry smirked. Childish bastard.

Draco wandered along, eventually reaching a coffee shop. He went inside and Harry followed him in. He ordered a latte after Draco ordered a cappuccino. Draco spun around as soon as he heard Harry�s voice. He looked a little taken aback and stared at the dark haired boy for a while. He soon grinned and sipped his drink.

"My my, if it isn�t Harry Potter! And what have you been doing to fill in the time? Defeating a few Dark Lords, helping a couple of werewolves, playing Quidditch? All in a days work I suppose." Draco�s eyes gleamed. "Or are you still Dumbledore�s little pet Gryffindor?"

Harry scowled. "And what have you been doing? Following in your father�s unscrupulous footsteps I bet?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "My father is a law-abiding citizen, a pillar of the community no less. So keep your unfounded snipes at him to a minimum."

Harry walked out of the shop, Draco pursuing him. The blonde was wearing dark jeans and a black polo neck, covered by a long black coat. It was practically a cloak, so he didn�t look that much different than at Hogwarts. Except he was taller. And more handsome.

Wait...

No, Harry hadn�t just thought that. Draco Malfoy was an evil git who tormented him mercilessly at school. He was *not* attractive, *not* fit and certainly not desirable.

Harry spun around. "Are you following me?" he asked critically, surveying the blonde. There were things he was beginning to notice about Draco, things that had never struck him before. Like how his cheekbones were sharp enough to cut ice, his eyes were a brilliant blue and his nose was upturned and perfectly proportioned. Mentally thwacking himself, he tried his best to sneer, an emotion he was comfortable with around Draco Malfoy.

"Yes." came the reply from Draco. "I have nothing better to do."

The two stood there, standing in the snowy streets. Draco�s skin was paler than usual, and his hands were covered by slim fitting leather gloves. Harry�s hands were red with cold and he stuffed them up his sleeves, wishing he had been sensible enough to buy gloves.

Suddenly an amused snigger was emitted from the quivering lips of the blonde. Harry noticed that Draco�s lips had a faint tinge of blue to them. He grimaced. *Why* was he noticing these things?! Although those lips were very nice... stop it, stop it, *stop it*!

"You�re still wearing your Gryffindor scarf?" asked Draco with a smirk. "How... cute."

Harry scowled. "You have a problem with me wearing it?"

"Of course not." replied Draco, his eyes holding an annoyingly mischievous gleam. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

Harry rolled his eyes. "And what�s that supposed to mean?" he muttered, looking bored. In fact, he was anything but bored. Arguing with Draco had always seemed such a chore, but now... it was almost enjoyable.

"It was a shame you were sorted into Gryffindor." said Draco suddenly, seemingly ignoring Harry�s question. "I think you would have made a good Slytherin."

"Like hell," was the automatic response from Harry. His sorting was a touchy subject for him. The Hat had wanted to put him in Slytherin... damn Malfoy to hell! He always did know exactly the wrong thing to say...

Draco shrugged and took another sip of his coffee. "I�m allowed to think what I want. Anyway..." He scanned the area around them. "What are you doing here?"

Harry, vaguely puzzled by Draco�s veering off topic, frowned. "Why are you so interested?" he asked tersely.

Draco looked at him, his eyebrow curving upwards once more. "You�re being very irritable today. At least I have the maturity to remain civil."

Harry was floored by this last statement. "We can�t be civil." he mumbled, looking at the floor. "Too much has happened... and besides, we hate each other."

Draco clasped his hands around his coffee. "Hate is a very strong word. I do dislike you though, seeing as you contributed to tarnishing the Malfoy name. But.." His smile took a rather manic slant. "... maybe I�m just more grown-up than you."

Harry bristled. "You were just kicking up snow like a three-year-old! I�m more mature than you!"

Draco laughed. "Aww... is poor Harry upset that he can�t win this one?!" He mock pouted, his eyes looking pleadingly. "Hope your Gryffindor scarf keeps you warm at night. Nothing else will."

The blonde walked off, hands in pockets. Harry, shocked by this last comment, stood still. Eventually, he tore after Draco, grabbing him by the arm and swinging him around.

"What do you mean �nothing else will�?!" he shrieked, his nose inches away from Draco�s.

Draco looked taken aback. "Let go of me." he said through gritted teeth. Harry still hung on, his face set with determination. "It�s not my fault if you�re emotionally inept."

Harry let go. Surprisingly, he didn't feel angry. So what if Malfoy considered him to be �emotionally inept�?! That didn�t mean it was true... and anyway... why the hell did Malfoy think that?!

"I�m not emotionally inept." he scowled. "You know nothing about me."

Draco took another sip of his coffee. "Maybe I�m different than I was at Hogwarts. I can see it in your eyes you know. I don�t feel sorry for you though."

Harry just stared. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" he gasped. "Telling me that you can see in my eyes I�m an emotional retard... you�re bonkers."

Draco scowled fiercely. "I�m certainly not bonkers. I�m being friendly if anything. Just because I was a Slytherin doesn�t mean I�m equal to something that you�ve trodden in. Gryffindors are meant to be brave but you can�t even admit to yourself that you�re lonely."

Harry kept staring. He�d only met Malfoy a few minutes ago and the blonde had declared him to be lonely and an emotional nitwit. Why was Malfoy saying all this?!

Draco smiled. "Maybe I�ll see you around Harry." He walked off into the snow-covered streets. Harry didn�t follow him. The figure became smaller and smaller until it disappeared from sight. The black haired boy finished his drink and threw it into a nearby bin. Draco Malfoy was a strange man. It suddenly occurred to Harry that Draco had called him by his first name. He scowled. He didn�t want Malfoy to do that. Things were much safer when they only addressed each other snidely. There had been something unsettling about their brief conversation...

~*~

Harry walked down the street. It was snowing much harder now. He had bought a few more non-essential items ands was now making his way back into the Leaky Cauldron. A ladder blocked his way. He sighed. He was very superstitious and disliked the thought of walking underneath it. Cautiously, he went around it. Looking upwards, he nearly fell into the road in shock.

"FILCH?!" he cried, looking upwards still with his mouth open. "What are you doing here?!"

The figure of Argus Filch loomed ominously overhead. He seemed to be stringing up fairy lights...

Filch scowled. "If it isn�t Harry Potter, the Boy Who Made Lots Of Mess. And to answer your question, I�m here to earn some money." He sniffed. "Yeah, you think that old Dumbledore is a decent bloke, defeats Dark Lords yadda yadda yadda. Doesn�t stop him paying minimum wage though does it?! Oh no, he�s a mean old miser. I have my baby to provide for too. Christmas is expensive when you�ve got someone else to buy presents for. That�s why I�m doing this, for a
bit more cash."

"Baby?!" said Harry, gobsmacked. Filch had a child?! Oh. My. God.

"Yeah..." Filch frowned. "Mrs Norris is the only constant in my life. The only thing I have to cherish."

Harry found an overwhelming urge to snigger. Loudly. He disguised it with a sudden hacking cough.

"You OK down there?" asked the caretaker. He leaned downwards and Harry heard him yell out. The ladder shook and Filch fell. It was as if it was in slow motion; Harry remained rooted to the spot as Filch fell from about 80 feet, falling, falling, falling. Suddenly he felt a yank on his collar and he fell backwards, crashing onto the snow-covered ground.

Filch smacked down on the floor. Harry sat still, in shock. A figure ran over to the still body of Argus Filch. Harry just stared. Filch was just a few yards away... he would have fell on top of him if he hadn�t been pulled out of the way...

The figure turned around. "He�s dead," said Draco, in a shaky voice.

It took Harry�s brain a few seconds to process that it was Draco Malfoy who was there. Draco Malfoy who had pulled him out of the way.

"You�re joking," he muttered, getting up off the floor.

The blonde scowled. "It�s Christmas, not April Fools. Of course I�m not joking!"

Harry stood, shell-shocked. Draco stood up slowly. An ambulance arrived shortly. People were soon swarming around, wanting to see what was going on.

He felt a light touch on his shoulder. "Are you OK?"

He looked at Draco�s concerned face. "Umm, yeah.." he answered, pushing his hair backwards. He was feeling a little woolly and dazed.

Draco took his arm and pulled him into a shop. He pushed Harry onto a seat. Harry sat still, his head beginning to clear. Filch was dead. Draco Malfoy could have quite possibly saved his life. Or at least, the inconvenience of having both his legs broken.

Draco came back from the counter armed with yet more coffee and a huge piece of chocolate cake. "Eat that." he commanded, sitting opposite. "It�ll do you good."

Harry began to eat, forgetting the fact that an hour ago he had felt intense feelings of dislike for the blonde. He ate the cake, remembering how Madam Pomfrey had always used chocolate as a remedy.

They sat in silence, except for Harry�s noisy eating and Draco�s occasional slurp of coffee. Soon Harry had finished and he leant back, feeling a lot better.

"Thanks." he said, looking downwards. He had never dreamt he would be thanking Draco Malfoy for anything. "For getting me out of the way. And for the cake. And the coffee."

Draco shrugged. "Not a problem. Just call me Superman."

Harry let out a laugh. Draco may have changed a little, but he was still as arrogant as ever.

"Whatever." he replied good-naturedly. They both went back to sipping their coffee.

"Hey, I�m sorry for calling you emotionally inept." said Draco suddenly, breaking the silence. Harry stared. "And I�ll probably never apologise to you again, so make the most out of it."

Harry lowered his gaze once more. "You had every right to say it."

Draco placed down his cup carefully. "Nah. My father wouldn�t have approved. Yes, he hates your guts, but he�s always taught me to be courteous at least."

Harry looked at him incredulously. "You were never courteous at Hogwarts!" he exclaimed.

Draco grinned. "Well, maybe not to you, Weasel and Granger, but I was to the teachers."

"Suck-up." mumbled Harry. Draco smiled again.

He leant forward to look at the menu and Harry reached forward to get his cup at the same time. Their hands collided (Draco�s no longer gloved) and Harry�s eyes blinked wide. He pulled his hand away as if he had been burnt.

Draco stared at him. "What�s up?" he asked, looking puzzled.

"Your hands... they�re so cold!" he cried, looking downwards at Draco�s pale hands. Draco shrugged.

"Well I�m cold. I�ve always had cold skin anyway." He scowled. "Any jokes about being cold blooded and I�ll hex you."

Harry still looked amazed. "The thought never entered my mind." he replied dryly.

The blonde gave him a funny look, resumed looking at the menu and the table was covered in a blanket of silence once more. Harry clutched his coffee. His hand was still feeling cold... it was remarkable.

Draco placed the menu back and sighed loudly. Harry looked at him intently and sat backwards.

The blonde cocked his head to the side. "Has anyone ever told you that your hair flops in the most annoyingly cute way?" he asked, his face completely straight.

Harry nearly fell off his stool. "What?!" he stammered. "What did you just say?!"

Draco rolled his cobalt eyes. "You heard what I said so I�m not repeating it. Don�t look so damn shocked."

Harry was now truly gobsmacked. "Why on earth did you feel the need to say that?!" he cried.

Draco shrugged. "Girls normally like it when I compliment them. I didn�t think you�d be any different."

"Yes, but you�re trying to get girls to sleep with you when you say that whereas with me... wait a minute..." Harry stopped there, suddenly realising that there was a distinct possibility that was what Draco wanted. It would certainly explain why he was being so damn nice.

Draco let out a loud laugh. "Sleeping with you would be a very attractive option, but I�m not the sort to leap into bed on the first date." he sniggered.

Harry didn�t know what to say. "Well I don�t want to sleep with you!" he exclaimed. "I�m not like that!"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "You�re trying to tell me you�re straight? Don�t make me laugh..."

Harry scowled. "Even if I was gay, which I�m not, I�m perfectly sure I wouldn�t be attracted to you!"

The blonde stretched. "Of course you wouldn�t. He gulped down the last of his coffee. "I really have to go and meet Father." He stood up and threw a crumpled note onto the table. "Pay the bill."

The jet-haired boy watched silently as Draco stood and put on his long coat. He edged out of the table and walked past Harry�s side. He paused and then leant down.

His lips pressed softly onto Harry�s. Harry (once more) nearly keeled over in shock. The kiss was exceptionally short but he could feel it tingle afterwards. Draco�s lips were just as cold as his hands.

"Do me a favour." whispered Draco in his ear. "Burn that Gryffindor scarf when you get home. Find something else to keep you warm." He straightened up and walked to the door. On his way out he stopped once more. "Oh and Harry!" he shouted.
"Merry Christmas."

It took a few moments for Harry to calm down. He brushed his finger against his cold lips.

That was Harry Potter�s first Winter�s Touch.