Harry always woke early. Of the many chores the Dursleys had expected him to complete since he had been a younger child, one of those included making their breakfast.

Even during his time at Hogwarts this trained habit remained but lagged by an hour or two due to the nightmares that had increased as he'd been able to mentally add a face to the one who had killed his parents; the one who caused that flash of green light and screams. When he woke at the Dursleys he had to get up and do chores. When he woke at Hogwarts he had breakfast and classes to prepare for. And in this new world...Harry was confused. He wasn't aware of how long they'd been there for, since he hadn't been counting, but even before he opened his eyes he knew that he was still there.

Something about his bedroom made him feel different, something no other place had, not even his dormitory at Hogwarts which he considered his second home. Or maybe that was what this place felt like? Home. But that was wrong and Harry knew it. During the summer he lived with his aunt, uncle and cousin in Privet Drive; during the school terms he lived in the Gryffindor tower at Hogwarts.

He had been at each of these other “homes” for more than a year and yet this place...it hadn't even been a month and he was attached.

Opening his eyes for the first time since he had awoken, Harry rolled over to face his window and began to wonder why they had been brought to this place, one he now didn't want to leave. His eyes widened and he flung the covers off his bed even as he felt unnaturally colder than he had previous mornings, even yesterday when it had been raining all day.

'Wow!' Harry grinned as he stared outside and rushed to his wardrobe where he grabbed a shirt, pants, and several jumpers. He dressed quickly and rushed from his bedroom, not even caring as the wooden door rebounded against the wall.

He hurried down the stairs and entered the kitchen but no one was there - it was a little too soon for breakfast just yet - although he spotted Dobby squeezing oranges and the elf was covered in many different coloured hats and socks.

'Good morning Harry Potter, sir.' Dobby said. 'You is looking for Master Snape and Draco Malfoy?'

'Yes.' Harry replied without thinking, his grin still fixated on his face as he itched to go outside.

'They is in the library.' Dobby replied but Harry was gone before he could say anything else.

Harry almost missed the library door as he reached the correct floor but gathered himself and entered the room. Dobby had said that both Snape and Draco where there and yet the place was empty.

'Hello?' He called out.

'Over here.' Draco's voice reached him and Harry turned to see the blonde boy sitting in a darker corner with his blankets wrapped around himself. He was seated in a large armchair and stared out at the nearest window; he too had first spotted the change when he had woken up.

'It's snowing.' Harry grinned.

'I've noticed.' Draco rolled his eyes as he observed the white substance that coated every inch of the grounds as well as every tree in sight. 'It started about an hour ago'.

'How long have you been up?' Harry asked. He had caught a glimpse of his bedside clock and it was almost six-thirty.

'Since sunrise.' Draco shrugged. 'Are you looking for Snape?'

'Yeah.' Harry nodded and wondered why Draco had been up so early since he was known to sleep in but brushed it off.

'He said we could go outdoors once the snow stops.' Draco answered as he looked over at Harry. 'I assume you were seeking his permission like a good little boy?' He sneered.

'Nothing you say is going to matter to me today, Malfoy. I've never really experienced snow before but I'm not gonna miss that chance now.' Harry said and turned to head outside and enjoy the snow, in which was something he'd never been able to do before. Not even at Hogwarts where whenever it snowed it always seemed he was being hounded by Hermione to work on his homework and study.

Draco left the armchair and his blankets behind as he stepped towards the large window and pressed a hand against the cool glass as he stared out onto the white yard.

'I've always loved the snow,' Draco said aloud to no one. He closed his eyes and thought of the earliest memory he had involving snow...

--

He had been about five or six. His mother was planning for a large dinner function several nights away and was busy. He'd been playing in his room when he spotted the first snowfall. Like the eager child he had once been, Draco ran from his room and sought out his mother.

'Not now, Draco.' She had told him instead. 'I am busy. Take the house-elf.'

'Okay, Mummy.' Draco grinned.

'Draco.' Her warning tone reached him and he paused to look at her with a guilty expression.

'Yes?' He asked her politely although he really just wanted to go play in the snow.

'You're a big boy now,' Narcissa told him. 'What are you to refer to me as?'

'Oh, sorry Mother.' Draco smiled and looked around for their house-elf. 'Hoppy!' He called and the elf appeared.

'Yes, young master?' The aging elf asked with a bow.

'Mother said I can go play outside in the snow and you have to take me.' He said with a firm expression he'd seen his father use when he told someone something important.

'Of course, young master Malfoy.' The elf bowed again and in an instant Draco was wrapped up warmly and they made their way outdoors.

Draco ran around and threw snowballs at the elf, who squealed and ran away but seemed to be enjoying herself. He had been chasing her when she suddenly stopped and a shadow fell over him.

'What is the meaning of this?' A voice asked. Draco quickly turned to where his father stood in a traveling cloak with his usual business attire, carrying thick books along with his cane.

'I was just playing, Father.' Draco said and ducked his head as he felt as though he had done something wrong.

'With a house-elf?' Lucius frowned in disapproval and ignored the elf's hurried apologies.

'Mother was busy.' Draco said and stared at the white ground and his boots. 'I have no one else to play with, Father.' He added.

'Well, then perhaps it is time you stop wasting your time with foolish games and gain a real hobby.' Lucius sighed. 'Come.'

'But I don't wanna go inside yet, Father!' Draco insisted and looked up but his father had stuck his cane into the snow where it stayed and opened his arms to his son. 'Father?'

'I said: come.' Lucius repeated and Draco stepped forward.

Lucius picked his son up and raised him into the air so that Draco was sitting atop his shoulders.

'What do you see?' Lucius asked him.

'Wow!' Draco grinned as he had never been this high before. 'Everything, father!'

'One day, everything here will be yours.' Lucius told him. 'Do you understand this?'

'Yes, Father.' Draco said but was distracted as he looked around and saw how amazing everything looked up high. 'This is wicked!'

'Yes.' Lucius replied but no longer sounded interested as he grabbed his son gently and placed him back on the ground.

'I am going to invest in a more appropriate activity for you if you insist on running around aimlessly with a house-elf.' Lucius frowned at the creature again and looked down at his innocent-eyed son who grinned up at him with renewed admiration.

'What would you like?'

'I want to fly!' Draco announced. 'May I have a broom please, father?'

'That's my boy.' Lucius ruffled his hair lightly and made his way towards the grand doors of the manor.

'I will return shortly; your aim is faulty.' He added and refereed to the way his son had thrown snowballs at the house-elf but frequently missed.

Draco watched his father leave and was excited to actually spend some time playing with him, and that he was getting a broom and that one day he would own everything Malfoy. He glanced at the elf and realized that his father gave him wondrous things when he didn't play with the elf so maybe it was a bad thing.

'I really love snow.' The young boy grinned.

-- 

'Is Draco Malfoy sir going outside?' Dobby's voice pulled Draco from his memory and he turned quickly to glare at the house-elf.

'Of course I am, you idiot!' Draco scowled and Dobby recoiled back out of reflex. Draco headed for the door but paused and looked at Dobby.

'I expect my blankets back on my bed when I return.'

'Dobby is a free elf.' Dobby frowned at him.

'I know,' Draco rolled his eyes and walked out of the library.

He made his way down the grand staircase and opened the door to look for Harry. Draco spotted the raven-haired boy several meters away in the distance where he was attempting to lift a third ball of snow onto the other two. Guessing he was making a snow-wizard, Draco approached and offered to help him lift the “head”.

'Thanks,' Harry grinned in relief while he accepted the offer with a nod.

Snape stretched and glanced over his notes upon parchment again. He checked everything was in order and then made his way downstairs where he spotted the boys playing outside and Dobby was once again by the kitchen window and watching as they adding the final touches to their snow-wizard which now had a crooked hat, broomstick, wand and rough robes.

'They is having fun,' Dobby said when he noticed Snape.

'I can see that.' Snape smiled lightly when Harry suddenly flung a snowball at Draco's face when the blonde said something and pointed to the snow-wizard's hat. Draco started yelling at him but Harry just threw another. Within minutes it had evolved into a full-on snowball war.

'How long have they been out in the weather?' Snape questioned the elf.

'Almost two hours, Master Snape, sir.' Dobby answered.

Snape sighed and made his way to the front door and opened it. He stepped outside and winced against the cold but he was used to it. He called over to the boys.

'I must insist you each retreat indoors,' Snape told them. 'Any longer and you both ought to catch a cold.'

As expected, his words went ignored and the boys continued to throw snowballs, all while taunting each other with friendly competition and laughing.

Snape narrowed his eyes but sighed and made his way inside, something else that went unnoticed by the boys.

'I shall be in my private labs if you require me.' Snape said to Dobby and mentally composed a list of all the potions he was sure to need: fever reducing, cold remedies, and so on.

He could just demand the boys to come indoors and warm up by the fire, but all the same he didn't want to interrupt their fun. However, it went went unnoticed by Snape that the boys weren't just playing but rather were taking the snowball war very seriously.

To Snape it looked like his sons enjoying each others' company in the snow; he would never be aware of how inaccurate that observation was.