They spent the next hour practicing nonverbal spells. When he was satisfied with her Stunners, they moved on to disarming and Shield Charms. It took a bit of work but she was able to master disarming the wooden dummies. She had a harder time with the Shield Charms, and finally Snape held up his hand.
"You need an opponent that can actually fight back," he said thoughtfully. "I think it would motivate you to do better."
He pulled out his wand and Freddie took a nervous step back.
"You want me to duel?" she asked. "Against you?"
"Disarming and Shield Charms only," he said with a shrug. "You would not stand a chance were we to actually duel."
"Oh yeah?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "If I weren't so tired I'd say we could test that theory."
"Do you want to go to bed?" he asked, lowering his wand.
With you? Yes, she thought silently.
"I'm not that tired," she said with a grin.
"Good," he said and walked to the other side of the room. He turned to face her.
"Ready?" he asked. "I will disarm you and you will attempt to block me."
"Yes sir," she said, finding his presumptuous tone just a little annoying. She raised her wand, keeping his eyes on Snape's hand.
At the first twitch of his hand, she flicked her wand. Protego! She thought determinedly, but nothing happened until her wand flew out of her hand. Snape caught her wand in his free hand and smirked.
"Again," he said, tossing it back to her.
They repeated this, over and over again, for the next 15 minutes. No matter how hard she tried to hold on to her wand, Snape knocked it from her hand each time. She was starting to get tired and was feeling a little dizzy.
Snape hit her with yet another disarming spell and she held so tight to her wand that when it flew towards him she went with it. She lost her footing and fell forward onto the floor. She broke her fall with her free hand and much to her delight she didn't lose her wand.
"Are you injured?" he asked, walking over to her.
"No, I'm fine," she groaned, picking herself up off the floor. "Just tired and...a little light-headed."
"It has been a long day, perhaps you should return to your dormitory," he said, stowing his wand away.
"Maybe you're right," she agreed, walking over to his desk to retrieve Hemlock.
"I always am," he said haughtily, then he paused a moment. "You haven't eaten, have you?"
"We had lunch," she said with a shrug.
"I had lunch. You ate 3 french fries and played in the snow," he said. "Go to my office and wait for me."
"I'm fine, I'm not hungry," she protested.
"Do as I say, Winifred."
"Yes sir," she sighed. "Shall I put the classroom back in order?"
"Leave it," he said, shaking his head ."We may practice again tomorrow."
"Okay," she agreed, and followed him out of the classroom.
They parted ways and Freddie headed down to his office to wait. She unlocked the door and went inside. She immediately noticed a weird smell. The door to the Brewing Lab was open.
She lit a fire in the hearth then peeked into the lab. Her cauldron was still there, turned on its side, the ruined potion was curdled and spread across the floor.
"Damn," she muttered, pulling out her wand.
Seeing her mess, her ruined potion, reminded her of her outburst. Her lack of control. She had hurt Snape, had thrown him into a wall.
I could've killed him, she thought miserably as she used her wand to clean up the mess. I could have seriously injured him. He could have died, he-
Then a thought crossed her mind that made her blood run cold. She dropped her wand and it clattered on the stone floor.
Daniel...what if I...what if I lost control and...
She inhaled sharply and bent to pick up her wand. She felt dizzy and let herself kneel on the floor. She lowered her head and took several shaky breaths.
"Winifred?" Snape said from the doorway. "Winifred, what's wrong?"
She didn't look up at him. She felt like she was going to puke.
I killed him, she thought. I killed him. I killed Daniel, I killed my best friend. I killed him, there's nothing left of him. I killed him. I lost control and I don't remember.
She leaned forward until her forehead touched the cold stone floor. She retched once but there was nothing in her stomach. It cramped painfully and she clutched her stomach.
"Winifred!" Snape said, rushing to her side. He knelt on the floor beside her. "What's wrong?"
"I k-killed him, I killed Daniel," she gasped, teeth chattering. "I-I-"
"What do you mean?" he asked sharply. "Do you remember – did you remember something?"
"N-n-" she retched again, clutching her sides. She shook her head, then pressed her face against the floor. "What if- I l-lost control and...I k-killed him."
"No," he said firmly, putting a hand on her back. "No, you didn't, Winifred. We don't know what happened-"
"But if I got upset, if I lost control," she wailed. "I could've killed him and don't remember, I don't remember anything!"
"No, Winifred. You didn't. I know you didn't, I know you," he said softly, insistently. His hand was still on her back and he began to rub her back awkwardly. "You are not thinking clearly. You need to eat something."
She shook her head again, still clutching her stomach.
"Think, Gray. There's no evidence that you did anything. There is no evidence that you lost control. There were no broken limbs, no damage to trees. Nothing."
Freddie didn't speak, just dept shaking her head.
He's lying to me, he doesn't know, no one knows, no one knows, he's dead, he's-
"Listen to me, Winifred. You did not do this. I know you. Do you hear me?" he asked, still rubbing her back. He moved his hand up her back, up her neck, and she gasped quietly. He stroked the back of her head a few times, then pulled her blonde hair back out of her face. She was surprised at the tender gesture and as he continued to stroke her hair she felt herself growing calmer.
"You did not do anything wrong," he whispered fiercely. Finally, Freddie nodded. She took a deep breath and picked her head up off the floor.
"Okay," he said, getting to his feet, then helping her up. "Come on. You need to get something on your stomach."
She nodded silently and let him lead her out of the lab into his office. There was a tray of tea on his desk and a milkshake with a straw. Snape directed her to her usual chair and Freddie sat down. Her body felt heavy and weak. He put the milkshake into her hands.
"Drink this," he said, walking around his desk to sit down. "It will make you feel better."
"A milkshake?" she asked dubiously.
"It's not just a milkshake. It contains essential vitamins and minerals, nutrients you need for your brain and body to function properly," he said, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Drink it."
Freddie took a sip. It didn't taste too bad. She could taste the chocolate over the bitter taste that everything tasted like nowadays. She continued sipping the drink, looking across the desk at Snape. He watched her back, his dark eyes glittering as he observed her, made sure she was drinking. He supped his tea for a few minutes silently.
"Do you feel better?" he asked, setting his cup down.
Freddie shrugged and stirred her drink with the straw. He stared, waiting for an answer.
"How can I know that I didn't hurt him?" she mumbled. "What if I lost control, what if I hurt him? I hurt you today, I didn't mean to but I did. I..."
"Think, Winifred. Think clearly. Were you angry with Daniel?" he asked. "Were you angry with him the way you were angry with me today?"
"No. No, I wasn't but I don't-"
"Could you have been? Could you have been so angry at your best friend that you could have killed him?"
"No!" she said immediately, appalled. "...Oh."
"I did not think so," he said smoothly. "Drink your milkshake."
Freddie nodded and continued sipping through her straw.
He's right. Nothing could have made me so angry that I would kill Daniel. And if I'd hurt him, there'd be something, some kind of evidence. Severus is right. He's brilliant and he believes that I did not hurt Daniel. I should listen to him.
Freddie continued drinking her shake. Snape poured himself a second cup of tea.
"I'm sorry I hurt you," she said quietly and he scoffed at her.
"You think you hurt me, little girl? That was nothing," he said with a smirk. "So you can stop apologizing."
She smiled faintly, feeling herself grow warm at his words. Little girl, she thought and chuckled.
When she finished her milkshake she set the empty glass on his desk. It was the first thing in weeks that she'd actually finished. She felt strangely proud of herself. She looked up and saw Snape giving her a little half-smile that she took to mean he was proud of her too.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For everything."
He grunted softly.
"Go to bed, Gray. Get some sleep," he said, picking up his tea cup. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Yes sir," she said with a smile. She got up and paused when she reached the door. "Goodnight, sir."
"Goodnight, Winifred."
Author's Note: Bit of a sweet Severus moment there. Tell me you all liked it as much as I liked writing it? :) Also everyone keeps asking about Daniel – what do you guys think happened to him? Reviews please!