December 12th, 1893 — Black Lake

The bitter chill of winter had wrapped itself around Hogwarts, painting the grounds in a pristine sheet of snow and ice. The Black Lake stood still, its surface a mirror reflecting the pale wintry sky above. Nestled within this frozen expanse was the makeshift ice rink, where students dared to test their grace upon the glacial surface.

Among them was Yuri Podsnapper. Dressed in layers to combat the biting cold, he gingerly ventured onto the ice, carrying an optimism that his skills from flying lessons might seamlessly transition to ice skating. Alas, the reality was a far cry from his aspirations.

His first steps resembled a newborn calf's tentative wanderings, lacking the finesse of practiced skaters. Arms windmilled frantically as he struggled to maintain balance, his usually sure-footed nature abandoned in this frosty domain. The broomstick, his familiar ally in the skies, offered no aid on this slippery surface.

With each faltering stride, Yuri's confidence waned. He winced as his feet splayed in opposite directions, sending him careening towards an unsuspecting figure gliding elegantly across the ice. In a clumsy collision, Yuri crashed into the other skater, the impact jolting him backward, arms flailing in a futile attempt to steady himself.

His breath caught in embarrassment, Yuri managed a sheepish grin, his voice a mix of apology and self-deprecation. "Oh, sorry about that! Are you alright?"

  

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MJ Made Beautiful Things!

This had probably been a very bad idea, in retrospect. James was an awkward mess of limbs on a good day--he was in the throes of a growth spurt at the moment, after all--and adding ice to that equation was almost certainly a very, very bad idea. He'd been ice skating before, and he probably remembered what he was doing, but it was still... awkward, at best.

Honestly, James was less surprised by the collision itself and more surprised that it wasn't his fault. He still went skidding forward until he hit his knees on the ice with an "Oof!" Ow. Looking around at the boy who'd collided with him, James grimaced, but said, "I think so. Er. Can you help me up?"

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Set by MJ <3

Yuri felt the ice-cold shiver of embarrassment as he tried to regain his composure, glancing apologetically at the boy he'd inadvertently crashed into. James' awkward sprawl mirrored Yuri's own ungainly state, and he winced in sympathy at the "Oof!" that escaped him upon impact.

Managing a sheepish smile, Yuri extended a hand towards James. "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess ice and I don't really get along," he admitted with a chuckle, the awkwardness of the situation evident in his tone. As James asked for help, Yuri gave a nod and pulled him back onto his feet with a sturdy grip.

Yuri's gaze briefly flickering to the ice beneath them. "I'm just glad I'm better on a broom than these slippery things. You ever skated before?" he inquired, curious to know if James had more experience with the frosty activity than he did. There had never been any opportunity growing up, he had sometimes sat at the edge of the frozen pond watching others, but never had an opportunity to participate.

  

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MJ Made Beautiful Things!

"'S all right," James said, once he was--unsteadily--on his feet again. He was a bit sore, but James had taken far worse tumbles in his short life that he barely noticed anymore.

"I've been a couple times," James admitted, "but that was a whole year ago." James had thought that he'd remember what he was doing, regardless, and he was probably right. But. Well. He was mostly legs and arms at the moment and that was surprisingly hard to balance. "At least it's a shorter fall than if you fall off a broom, right?"

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Set by MJ <3

Yuri couldn't help but chuckle at James' remark about the shorter fall. "You've got a point there," Yuri replied with a hearty laugh, his own unsteady legs scrabbling slightly to stay steady - not entirely successfully. Gripping the low wall for support, Yuri observed James with an amused glint in his eyes. "I'm still getting used to the idea that I won't be soaring through the air any time soon," he laughed, when it was evident he was more likely to end up on his face than even considering attempting the jumps that some of the more competant skaters ventured as they circled the rink. Lifting his hands off the wall for a moment, palms out stretched and fingers splayed preparing to grab the wall again if need be.

Yuri raised an eyebrow at James. "You're a first year, aren't you?" he asked, a warm smile playing on his lips. "I remember those days. Exciting and a bit nerve-wracking all at once. Have you set your sights on any of the house teams yet? Quidditch, perhaps?" Yuri asked, tentatively trying to move his feet in something like a stable fashion.

  

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MJ Made Beautiful Things!

"Yeah," James said. "And I've thought about it. I'm already doing club quidditch." He screwed up his face into the sort of long-suffering expression that was appropriately over-the-top for an eleven-year-old. "I didn't get to practice flying at all over the summer, thanks to the ban and my parents being worried it was dangerous." They weren't entirely wrong, but James thought the risks were worth the reward.

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Set by MJ <3

Yuri couldn't relate - not really. He had never really had anyone who 'worried' about him - not before Mister Mondragon at any rate, and even now his guardian wasn't much inclined to interfere - the old housekeeper fretted about him, which he pretended to hate but he even rather liked the way the old woman pinched his cheeks and told him he was starting to look so big and handsome. It was almost like having a grandmother.

Sloanes death had been hard on everyone. She had been nice, kind - even to him when he had been desperate to join the Quidditch team and hanging onto the tail coats of every house practice in the hopes of learning something. He hadn't had Billie's natural flair for the air. It felt like he had had to work a great deal harder than some in order to gain the same level of skill. Sloane had once offered to help him with his flying.

'If you want to practice sometime, I'd be happy to run some drills with you' he offered, 'Least I could do for knocking you over' he added with a sheepish chuckle, struggle the back of his neck with a rough hand.

  

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MJ Made Beautiful Things!

"That'd be great!" James said. He didn't actually need anything made up for, but he wasn't going to pass up such an opportunity, anyway. James wasn't particularly concerned about making the quidditch team next year--if he didn't, he still had five more tries, after all. James was nothing if not optimistic, after all. "Maybe after the holidays?"

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Set by MJ <3

"Sure" Yuri said with a grin. "I'm out here most days between dinner and curfew" he indicated the quidditch pitch with the hand that wasn't gripping frantically to the railing. "earlier if I don't have Arithmancy homework" he laughed. While Yuri's academics had improved leaps and bounds since he was the illiterate street rat who had first broken into Mister Mondragon's home, but the book heavy classes still took twice as much work as the ones that relied more on wand work, those came to him much more naturally.

The castles bell sounded, 'I've to head up' he indicated the school, "If I'm not speaking to you before the break, enjoy Christmas!" he said with a wave, tottering off the ice, and gratefully taking to the steadier ground. He yanked off the skates, shoving his feet into his unlaced boots and beginning the trudge back to the castle

  

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MJ Made Beautiful Things!

"You too!" James said, waving after the older boy. He would stay out here for a little while longer. He was going to get the hang of this eventually. At least until another growth spurt mucked up his coordination, anyway.

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Set by MJ <3