Closely, Emma observed as several house elves scurried around the frozen lake, making sure it was safe to skate on. The other house elves who had volunteered to help set up the Winter Wonderland Festival Skating Rink were hammering away with her to set up the drink stand which would serve hot apple cider, firewhiskey, butterbeer, hot tea, and hot water.

She had already hung wreaths on the trees which also had beautiful white lights wrapped around their branches. The sight would look wonderfull later that day when the festival started. Music would be echoing through the grounds from the speakers placed among the trees, walls and ground. Students, teachers and visitors would flock towards the indoor dance, snowman contest or the skating rink, which would have ice skates available to rent at the entrance stand to the skating rink for those who did not have their own.

(4 hours later)

Now that everything was finished, Emma took a step back to admire everything that she and the house elves had put together. The skating rink was beautiful, lined with a wall that was covered in holly and lights. The wreaths in the trees sparkled when light fell upon the glitter and decorations tucked in them. Classic winter and holiday music rang through the air, and the hot apple cider, firewhiskey and other drinks were ready to be served at the drink stand. As she headed back inside to quickly get changed for her date, she passed by several students eager to go ice skating.

Melie was sitting on a bench lacing up her white figure skates, doing so with a practiced hand, she had spent many hourse over her 16 years in figure skating practice. She pulled her jeans down over the boot and stood up. Melie adjusted her puffy vest put on her red and gold gryffindor scarf and red mittens and then looked around the rink. Know one else had arrived yet so Melie glided out onto the ice and skated around for a second before launching herself into a double axel jump. She floated over the ice, it seemed to have been ages since she was on skates. Seeing that she was still alone, she started to do all kinds of spins, they were her favorite thing.

Liam sat down on the bench, a pair of beaten up Muggle hockey skates hung over his shoulder. Hockey was his one Muggle obsession, and an American one at that. He had even played when he was younger, and he wasn't a bad skater. Not a finesse skater by any means, but he could get by. His one fancy move as far as skating was concerned was an unerring ability to skate backwards. He pulled off his boots and started lacing up the skates, as tight as he could manage. Checking the tightness he stood up, pulling his jeans down over the skates, and stepped out onto the ice. He kicked off and raced up and down the ice, spotting Mel out there doing some spins. He smiled at how gracefully she moved, and how beautiful she looked. He skated up next to her, spraying ice shavings next to her when he stopped.

"Told you I'd be here love," he said, kissing her gently.

Melie was startled out of a spin when she saw something come towards her and then stop short. She wheeled around, ready to rip into whoever it was when she saw Liam standing there.
"Yea you said you'd be here, but you're late! We were supposed to me a while ago!" Melie told him, trying to pretend she was mad, but the big grin on her face wasn't very convincing. She looked down at his skates and saw that they were well used. "So he skates too does he?" Melie asked Liam and started to skate away from him back wards. "How well do you skate flyboy?" Melie gave him a wink and started to skate a little faster.

Leona had been on the rink for a while now warming up and listening to her iPod. She had and will always be an excellent skater. When her and her ice skates hit the rink it was just magic, it barely seemed that she made contact with the ground at all. She was in such a good mind frame because Dalejin had returned, she hope she would see him show up. He owed her from the last dance. The thought of being close again made her glow radiantly, and feel like she could do anything, she tested this with a triple lutz, which landed nearly perfectly.

Cassie grinned as she laced up a pair of green skates. She almost never skated before, and well never really experiianced winter but hey, there is a first time for everything. She stepped out onto the ice, a big bold grin on her face. She leaned up against the wall and puished her self off. Her unbalance and speed were not a good combo as after a few seconds (Those of her shouting "I DID IT!") her legs flew out from under her and she landed flat on her back. "oww.." she said then burst out laughing.

Liam heard Mel's challenging tone and gave her a mocking smile. She might think she was queen of the ice out here, and maybe she was, but he was going to, at the very least, give her a run for her money. He kicked off and matched her speed in seconds, then shot off ahead of her. He spun around, out-skating her backwards. He even gave her a little bow.

"Come on beautiful, is that the best you can do?" He smiled at her, blowing her a kiss.

Melie laughed and spun around taking off in the direction that Liam had gone. He may think he's hot stuff on the ice, and Melie had to let him win sometimes, it wasn't fair if she was better at everything, but she couldn't help herself. This was her turf, she was the one who had done figure skating for years and years on end. She sailed past him, doing some fancy foot work as she went, some twizzles, crossovers, then a double salchow. She stopped turned to face Liam and just raised her eyebrow at him, as if to challenge him, but she broke out into a grin and skated back over to where he was, and gave him a big hug, and then a kiss.

Logan stepped out on to the ice with his navy blue ice skates. He wasn't really one to go skating often, but he had the basic gist of it down. Gliding on to the ice, he saw Cassies legs slip from right underneath her! He grinned slightly, but glided over in her direction. Logan watched Melie and Liam, they both seemed to be getting along fine, as was Emma. Once he reached Cassie, he extended out his hands. "Need help there, love?" He laughed.

Cassie finally syopped laughing and saw Logan hovering above her. "Hi....as you can see I am very graceful on the ice" she said laughing and grabbing his hands to pull herself up. Once she was uprighg she grinned. "Why thank you. MY skills are unsurpassed but by yours they are weak"

Cassie's fall reminded him of when he was first learning. You just couldn't keep his face off the ice! "Well, you are putting yourself up against some pretty tough competition." He grinned. "But you're not doing that bad. Would you like some assisstance? I can help you with your balance if you like." Logan offered, "After all, that used to be my biggest problem."

Cassie laughed, "Sure, I may be able to ride twenty footers on a slim board with my hand where my feet should be and yet I cannto balance on ice." she gigled. "Well there goes my ice ballet career. Ya know I have never really experianced winter before"

Dream walked up to the frozen pond of water and looked around at the small gathering of friends that were there. When she saw Leo skating gracefully on it, a wicked grin lit up her face. Seeing her there reminded Dream of another frozen pond, and a fire loving brat that she loved to death. Not only had Jess melted the pond from underneath Leo and Remy, but then Aiden had come along and tried to help them by re-freezing the pond. Unfortunately trying to revive both Remy AND Leo from hypothermia had been a bit of hell. She sincerely hoped that this time would end up differently. She put her arm up in a friendly wave and called out to her friends with a smile. "Hi guys!"

Liam did his very best to stop his jaw from dropping. Melie was graceful more often than not just on the ground, even more-so in the air on a broomstick, but this was amazing. He had never seen anyone as gifted on skates. 'Not hard,' he thought to himself, considering most of the people he knew who skated were hockey players. He stopped, spraying ice out behind him. He bowed his head.

"As much as I hate to admit this love, you win. You've got me beat." He mocked solemnity, only to glide up to her, kiss her passionately, and take off again, all the way to the other end of the rink. He laughed, even more when he spotted Cassie and Logan, and waved cheerfully and Dream and Leo. He looked back at Melie, who had this slightly stunned expression on her face and some pink rising in her cheeks.

"No witty comeback hun?" he called. He may have lost at skating, but he wasn't going to lose face over it. It just wasn't his way. He laughed again, still giving her a loving, mocking smile.

Henry was walking around the winter festival, wondering what to do. Henry then walked up to the pond and waved to Logan on the pond. Henry then said to them, "Hi everyone." Henry then stepped onto the pond and then he fell on the ice. Henry then said, "Ouch! Oh no I'm going to make a complete fool out of myself." Henry then got up and began to skate around some more he then felt backwards. "Ouch! again. I'm so glad I have gloves on because this ice would freeze my hands off." Henry said.

Leona stopped mid spin when she saw Dream show up! "Dream!" She shouted bouncing up and down with the excitement of a puppy. She speed skated over to her, hopped off the ice and gave her a big hug. "I know what you're thinking and no!" Leo teased pointing a finger at her. "water's bad enough, i don't like swimming in it at freezing temperatures," she laughed half seriously. "but come skate with me!" She begged "I'll teach you something cool!" she said knowing that if Dream didn't know something she'd learn it quick, she was always a quick study, unless it came to muggle socialization, but you oculdn't blame her for that.

Dream grinned at the enthusiastic response from Leo. Hearing her ask her to join her out on the pond, Dream gave Leo a dubious look. She had shown up to watch, not actually skate. She had only been ice skating a couple of times, and she always felt foolish each time she stepped onto the ice until she got used to the feel of it again. She sighed, knowing that Leo wouldn't be deterred. She conjured up a pair of bright purple ice skates onto her feet and then she cautiously stepped onto the ice. After only a minute or two of feeling wobbly, she got the hang of it again and grinned. Each time she got on the ice, she got used to it a little faster. She pushed off with her left foot and quickly caught up to Leo. "What do you want to show me?" she asked curiously.

"How about we work up a confidence for skating backwards?" Leo suggested, "that way I can show you cooler stuff from there, that and later you can take Remy skating like a pro," Leo smiled skating with Dream. Just let me know when you're ready," she added skating slowly around her as she moved.

Dream arched her brow at Leo cockily and began skating backwards. Once she got her bearings on the ice, she was fine and did pretty well. It was just the first couple moments that she had to get used to. "This is a cinch, love." she said to Leo. "Why don't you something with a bit more of a challenge?" she said with a smile.

"You got it," Leo said with a smile glad to know that she had a good foundation. "Okay the first jump we're going to try is a waltz jump, it's not too bad with only a half rotation, I think you'll get this one quick. Just remember to take off from the left outside edge," Leo added, pointing. She then did a lap to build speed and did a few in a row in front of Dream so she could study the movements.

Dream watched carefully as Leo proceeded to show her a waltz jump that didn't look anything like any waltz that Dream had ever seen before. Once she thought she had the movement down in her mind, she attempted to execute it. She got off the ground alright, but she turned her head too far and ended up over rotating. She came down hard and off balance, and it was only her keen sense of balance and wildly flailing arms that kept her from landing on her butt. "Uhm... That sucked." she said out loud with a self-mocking grin.

"Aw that's okay," Leo said, "at least you didn't fall, it took me ages to figure out how to do it right, and we all know how ingraceful I can be," Leo said pausing for a few moments to recollect on some recent tumbles around the castle. "It's the easy things that are hard, I swear..." She added with a laugh.

Erin sat on a bench near the edge of the skating rink, and cursed as she tried to get her old ice skates on. They were fairly old, and apparently no longer fit, and she was getting rather annoyed.

"Stupid skates..."

She muttered, and started to look around to see if there was a skate check out or rental place nearby.

<<Currently Listening to: >>

Scarlett had been sitting on a bench watching the skaters. She had never skated before and was trying to decide if she should give it a try. Watching the other newbies she was beginning to think it was a bad idea.

She noticed Erin having trouble with a pair of old skates. She stood up and walked over to her. "You could try enlarging them, if they are too small," Scarlett sugested. She and Erin had not always been on the best of terms, but an accidental bonding had brought them closer and Scarlett was trying to be friendlier.

"Enlarging doesn't work well on shoes... I would know... Feet are shaped oddly... and I haven't used these in a couple years."

Erin said, and laced the two skates back together. She held them at her side, and got to her feet.

"You going to go skating too Scarlett? Or are you just here to watch? I guess I will have to borrow a pair or something. I'm sure theres a skate checkout or something around here somewhere. Emma had to have known that alot of people wouldn't have ice skates."

<<Currently Listening to: "Changes" by Jimi Hendrix>>

“Oh,” Was all Scarlett said when Erin rebuffed her idea. Of course Erin probably knew for a fact that enlarging didn’t work on shoes. She’d probably tried it, or knew some fancy math equation that proved it was impossible.

“No I don’t think I will skate. I don’t really know how and it looks painful. And yeah I saw a desk with at bunch of skates behind it over there,” Scarlett pointed to where she had seen other students getting skates.

Dream scrunched up her face and tried the waltz jump again. This time she landed it, although she wobbled a little bit when she touched down. She gave a small smile and tried it again. She nailed it! She gave Leo a huge beaming grin and did a small spin. That's when she saw Scarlett and Erin. "More skaters!" she called out cheerfully. "Come on!" she told Leo before she sped off to the end of the pond and coming to a halt next to Scarlett. "Hey guys! Come skate with us!" she said as she pointed her wand at Scarlett and Erin's feet, conjuring pairs of skates onto their feet as well. She reached out her hand to Scarlett in order to help her out onto the smooth ice.

Erin glared at Dream for a moment, again jealous at the skill of the upperclassmen (and women) at Hogwarts. She quickly hid her annoyance, and reluctantly agreed.

"Okay. It's been a couple years since I've been on the ice... but I'm willing to give it another go. Scarlett, are you going to join me? Or will you laugh at my lack of expertise on the sidelines?"

Erin asked in a amused tone, knowing full well that the reason she never frequented ice skating rinks, is because she was quite bad at the graceful skating, and doing all the tricks. She could skate... she just couldn't do anything that say.... Leo could.

<<Currently Listening to: "DANCE" by Justice>>

Scarlett was shocked to find skates on her feet, but she managed a smile for Dream. Danm, thought Scarlett, now I have to go out there. "I am coming with you Erin. I won't laugh at you if you don't laugh at me. I have never been skating."

Scarlett made her ungainly way to the ice. She already hated the way the skates hindered her normally graceful movement. She though knew that once she was on the ice they could be used gracefully(she had been marveling at Melie and Leo for some time), she just didn't know how to make that happen. "Thanks for the skates Dream," Scarlett said as she put on foot cautiously on the ice. Holding onto the rail she made room for Erin to come onto the ice too.

Erin had a good sense of balance, and had no problem walking towards the ice on her skates. She stepped onto the ice, and stumbled for a moment, but caught herself before anything could happen. It had been awhile since she had been on the ice, but she was confident that she could cope.

"I promise not to laugh. I took lessons when I was 12, and the instructor said that I had all the grace of a hockey player. I stopped lessons right after that... but I did go skating every now and then. I used to like watching the figure skating they had at the Olympics, but apparently I'm not cut out for that sort of thing."

Erin held out a hand to Scarlett, and shifted her weight so she could catch her if she stumbled.

<<Currently Listening to: "Revolution 909" by Daft Punk>>

Melie watched Liam skate away, after giving her a kiss, laughing. She just shook her head and instead of following after him (she was slightly annoyed at the moment), she started to do a layback spin. As she came out of it, she saw Scarlett and Erin stepping onto the ice, both seeming unsure of themselves. Melie skated over to them, stopping next to Dream.
"You guys came!" Melie exclaimed as she watched Scarlett clinging to the rail. She held out her hand to Scarlett. "Want some help there Scarlett?"

"I don't know if I can be helped Melie." Scarlett said as she cautiously took a sliding step away from the railing. Scarlett's balance was very good and she managed to move forward by shifting her wait from skate to skate.

Melie watched as Scarlett pushed off from the boards, and she tried not to laugh as she watched her friend shuffle on the ice. Melie skated slowly next to Scarlett ready to catch her if she fell.
"Thats great Scarlett, try moving your legs a little more though, you'll get more distance covered with less movement." Melie instructed her, hopeing that she wasn't going to make Scarlett fall on her butt.

Dream smiled at Erin and Scarlett as they got onto the ice. She almost felt bad considering that neither of them seemed very enthused about skating. She had just assumed that since they were there, that they had wanted to skate as well. She heard someone stop next to her on the ice, and she turned, expecting to see Leo beside her. To her surprise, it was Melie. "You sick, love?" she asked her, referring to the fact that Melie was voluntarily not hanging out with Liam who was a few feet away on the ice.

Scarlett did as Melie suggested, bending a little at the knee so she would not look like a geriatric geezer behind a walker. To her surprise the movement got easier. So easy infact that she was approaching a wall and she realized the she didn't know how to turn or stop.

"Good! Scarlett, you seem to be getting it already. Now you need to brake? Ever used roller blades? Kinda angle your skates blades towards the way you are going. Or something...."

Erin said, struggling to describe the maneuver correctly. She skated on out to Scarlett and braked to show her what she meant, and positioned herself in front of the wall in case she didn't quite do it right.

"Careful now, try not to spray me with ice!"

<<Currently Listening to: >>

Melie laughed when she heard Dream's comment and knew exactly what she was talking about. Melie and Liam had been joined at the hip as of late and he was on the ice too, Melie knew that she was wondering why she wasn't skating with him.
"Haha Dream, so funny," Melie said sticking her tongue out at her friend. She had been so distracted by Dream that she hadn't seen Scarlett picking up speed and heading straight for the boards. Melie had to assume that she didn't know how to stop and would end up running into them, thats how most people learning to skate stop, and she saw Erin skating over to her. Melie followed her and skated up next to Scarlett with just enough time to grab her arm and slow her down before she ran into Erin, who had positioned herself next to the boards.
"We really need to work on the basics," Melie said with a small laugh.

Scarlett leaned to the right as Erin had told her to do. That was the side Melie was coming up on though and as Scarlett turned she bumped into Melie. She managed not to fall but she didn’t turn either and so she bumped into Erin too at the boards. Scarlett wasn’t going very fast so she hoped she hadn’t hurt either girl, but she felt a little like a pin ball. “Sorry girls,” Scarlett said blushing.

Melie laughed with Scarlett.
"It's alright Scarlett, I've had worse skating accidents than that!" Melie said. "But you're doing really good! Especially since its your first time!"
Melie looked around at all the other skaters and saw that Scarlett wasn't the only one who was new skating, Cassie seemed to be as well. "Why don't you try skating around the rink so you can get the hang of it and then we can teach you something else?"

"It's fine Scarlett. I did the same thing to the cute skating instructor when I was first learning. Unfortunately he was taken at the time... but it wasn't altogether a unpleasant experience."

Erin said, reaching out to catch Scarlett before she made a hard hit. Erin then skated off to her side, and beckoned out towards the open area of the other side of the rink.

"Why don't you try skating out there again, and give braking another try? I'm sure one of these skating experts will help if you need it, and there should be plenty of room to turn around at least if your braking doesn't work out."

<<Currently Listening to: >>