christmas jeer pv rosalie rutherford closed

"Ah!" Rosalie squeaked in shock as a ball of snow hit her in the neck, exploding in a poof of icy fluff over her cheek and falling into her red Gryffindor scarf. Her laughter rang out over the snow covered grounds, and she attempted to shake the snow loose as she playfully glared at the first year Hufflepuff that had hit her. "You're going to pay for that!" She declared.

Snowball fights hadn't been allowed at the Muggle primary school she'd gone to before Hogwarts and, to be honest, she wasn't entirely concerned if she was currently breaking a rule. She'd been just short of devastated when she found out that she and Nate wouldn't be going home for Christmas. There was some big thing going on in Mum's department at the Ministry, and they had her working so much overtime that she'd hardly even be home if they went back. Plus, their Grandmum had gotten sick, and Dad had gone to France to take care of her. Rosalie knew that it made sense to stay at Hogwarts, but she was still feeling bummed about. She still had Nate, but he had holed himself up in the library, and Rosalie just couldn't take it anymore. So, when a group of Hufflepuffs had challenged her and her fellow Gryffindors to a snowball fight, she hadn't been able to resist.

Turning to gather another bundle of snow into her gloved hands, a lone figure under a tree caught her eye. Frowning, she stood and planted her hands on her hips. The boy was unfamiliar to her, and considering he'd chosen to sit so far away from the rest of them, he probably didn't want to be bothered. But what if he did? Rosalie shifted her weight as she thought through her options, but it didn't take long for her to make a decision. She never was one to let someone sit by themselves without at least attempting to talk to them. As she drew closer, she realized that he was holding a book, and her eyebrows shot up.

"Are you studying? Out here in the cold?" She stopped a few feet away from the boy, tilting her head curiously. "Aren't you afraid you'll freeze?"

Surprisingly he really was enjoying studying at the moment. Maybe it was the change in atmosphere or the mood, he didn't know what exactly it was but he was completely immersed in it and having a good time. So much so that he didn't notice the tiny little creature walking towards him. Only when she spoke up did he even acknowledge the existence of other living things at all.

It honestly immediately ruined his mood. He was feeling pretty good, enjoying the act of studying on a day as good as this. And now here there was some weird thing interrupting his happy time. He looked at her for a bit with his eyes looking as bored as they always did, vaguely recognizing her as one of the few people that were playing nearby. He thought about a reply that would hopefully explain to her that he was in no mood to be interrupted, "You have a right to say that when you're literally throwing snow at each other? Can't be that much warmer than sitting under a tree and reading peacefully."

Honestly, what was it to her anyway? He wasn't freezing to death right now or anything. Besides, it wasn't like there weren't people that weren't outside, a lot of them were. Was she too young to understand how clothes work in protecting people from heat? But then again, she herself was out, she surely understood it wasn't THAT cold. Oh well, thinking about how other people think always was a massive waste of his time and energy. He went back to reading his book, hoping she would simply go away.

The boy looked up at her with eyes that seemed entirely uninterested. So, he probably really didn't want to be bothered then. Unfortunately for him, Rosalie wasn't one to be deterred so easily. It would definitely take more than a prickly exterior for her to give up on trying to talk to him. Also, she knew from experience that just because someone was quiet at first didn't mean they didn't want a friend. No, she'd stick around just a while longer.

"Well," she began, rubbing a gloved hand against her cheek. "We are moving about, raising our body heat, you know?" Even now, she was only really starting to feel the chill because she was standing still, rather than running around like she had been. "Most people would read in their common room, or the library or... I don't know, light a fire or something." Biting her lip, she shrugged. It wasn't her job to tell him where he could and couldn't read, even if it didn't make much sense to her, choosing outside on a chilly Christmas Eve. Maybe that was just what bookworms did, she supposed.

"Anyway, I'm Rosalie. Rosalie Rutherford. I saw you sitting over here and thought I'd come say hi." It was a natural thing for her to do, really. Rosalie couldn't stand being alone, and so she had a hard time imaging why anyone else would want to be either. She was already pretty sure she'd have a tough time convincing the boy to come join their snowball fight, but that certainly wouldn't stop her from trying.

Noah honestly just couldn't understand why it was such a bother to her. All he was doing was reading a book, far enough from them for them to not even be able to notice him unless they looked a bit carefully.

Her argument was kind of valid, they would be feeling warmer than he was. Although he still didn't see how this was an issue, it was definitely chilly outside but not enough for him to rush back to his common room. More importantly, not when all of the places were so loud and obnoxious; this seemed like a much better place to be at. Of course, she probably wouldn't understand, considering she felt like one of those people that were causing the problem to begin with. He wasn't sure if he wanted to on a monologue explaining all of that though, he simply wanted her to accept that he would not mind freezing to death and move on. Although thankfully for him, she spoke before he had to go through the pain of coming up with a short explanation.

An introduction? Really, she wanted to talk? The only thing Noah could think at that moment was "why" but he decided not to say that out loud, after all, she hadn't done anything wrong. Ignoring the part where she borderline made fun of him for being out in the open reading.

"Noah Page." He said, figuring it was the least he could do. He didn't really feel like talking to her but he didn't want to cause trouble where it wasn't necessary. "You didn't have to, really. I'm doing quite fine here." He said, hoping that was the appropriate reaction to that. To be completely honest, he was kind of weirded out by the idea of someone just showing up and talking to you for no particular reason to begin with but he couldn't do much but accept it. Maybe she was one of those weird kids that everyone avoided, who knows. All he knew was that he was stuck here and had to somehow find a way to get back to his safety.

Rosalie shifted her weight and looked out across the lake as she thought of something to say. As much as she couldn't quite understand why Noah had chosen to sit outside in the cold all alone, she was pretty sure he wasn't really one for conversations with people he didn't know. Or well, maybe he was, and he just didn't want to talk to her.

"Nice to meet you, Noah." She said finally, giving him a small smile. She wasn't sure he'd say the same about her, but at least she had tried. No one should have to sit alone if they didn't really want to. "I was going to invite you to come throw snowballs with us, but that probably isn't your thing." The chill was starting to get to her, just standing there like she was, and so she tugged at her Gryffindor scarf until it was covering her cheeks, and she probably just looked like some curly blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes.

"You're still welcome though, if you want. It is Christmas Eve, after all. We figured if we couldn't spend it with our families, we could spend it together." She let her offer hang there for just a moment. She had resolved that she would just leave him alone, if that's what he really wanted. But the thought of anyone being alone on Christmas Eve made her sad. Maybe coming over to talk to him had been entirely self serving; she hadn't been able to bear the thought of someone being alone if they didn't have to be.

Noah went back to his book again, hoping the conversation wouldn't drag out any longer, it was a completely unneeded one, they didn't have much to talk about to begin with, what's the point in doing it for the sake of it?

Unfortunately for him, she didn't seem to think the same way. He nodded at her reply, "I'm not into throwing snow at others, sorry." He said. It felt a bit weird using that tone, almost as if he was making fun of her, he wasn't really used to talking like that, he wasn't even sure why he said that, he usually just kept things straight to the point but he showed a little bit of his annoyance in his voice there for some reason. Definitely needed to keep that in check or he'd end up in trouble at some point because of his tone.

He wasn't sure if he actually wanted to say no to her request though. On one hand, he definitely did appreciate the fact that she had bothered at all but he really didn't want to. On the other hand, the guilt of turning someone down was also weighing in. It was really a decision between turning her down and turning himself down at that point. He wanted to relax at the tree, it sounded nice and comforting. In most cases, he felt a bit of attracting to what others did but here he definitely didn't see any appeal in snow fighting and wasn't really motivated by the fear of missing out either.

He gave it a few seconds of thought to compose himself, didn't want to be rude like last time but also make sure his answer actually held enough substance for her to understand what he wanted to say. "I appreciate you asking me about it but honestly, I don't really feel like it. I find it a lot more fun to be here enjoying the peace instead. Hope you have fun though."

That should get the job done, right? That was probably one of the most concise replies he'd given. He was kind of proud of himself, really.

Rosalie watched as Noah went back to the book that he had been reading, and when he spoke again, it seemed as though she'd finally pushed and prodded too much and annoyed him. Frowning slightly, she curled a strand of hair around her gloved finger. Truly, it had only been a matter of time, considering she'd invited herself over into his personal space to strike up a conversation, despite his general reluctance to do so. For that reason, she could hardly be upset with his tone. Maybe that was just the way he was, just like she was the sort of person who could (and would) talk to anyone.

His next words made her perk up. So, he didn't find her entirely annoying. Or, maybe he did and now he was just being nice. Regardless, Rosalie was glad she'd come over to invite him, even if nothing much had come from their conversation in the end.

"You're welcome." She said, beginning to turn away. She wouldn't keep disturbing his peace, and she did have a snowball fight to get back to. She gave him a small wave. "Enjoy your book! Maybe I'll see you around sometime." With one last smile, she nodded her goodbye and began the trudge back to where her fellow Gryffindors were waving for her.