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Freddie gathered everything she could from the supply cupboard and began preparing ingredients. She put an ashwinder egg in the cauldron and lit the flames on low. She double-checked the recipe before stepping out into Snape's office.
"I need to go down to the greenhouse and get fresh rose petals," she said, grabbing her cloak.
"You could use thorns," he said, looking up at her, resting his head on one hand, his elbow propped on his desk.
"What?" she scoffed. "You and I both know petals are better, particularly fresh ones."
He quirked his eyebrow and gave her a small smile.
"Wh- you were testing me," she realized and smiled back. "That's not nice."
"That's my job," he responded. "I;'ll walk down with you, in case you run into Professor Sprout."
"I don't need a babysitter."
"No, you don't," he said, standing up. "But I could use a break from this."
He gestured to his work then brushed past her to grab his cloak. She breathed in his scent as he passed her. The herbal scent of potions ingredients. Some sandalwood scent that she thought must be aftershave.
She followed him out of his office and up the stone staircase. When they reached the Entrance Hall they encountered a flood of students who stared at Freddie as they passed.
Students returning from holiday, she realized. They've just gotten off the train.
She tried to ignore them. She continued on outside with Snape but when they reached the stairs she froze and her blood ran cold.
Heather was walking up the steps, flanked on either side by Gryffindor girls. Her blue eyes were red from crying. Freddie made eye contact with her for a split second before the other Gryffindor girls closed ranks around her, glaring hatefully at Freddie as they ushered Heather away up the steps into the castle.
Freddie took a deep, shuddering breath. Snape put a hand lightly on the small of her back and led her down the stairs.
"Who was that?" he asked, letting his hand fall.
"Daniel's mudblood girlfriend," she muttered.
"Don't use that word!" he said sharply.
Freddie looked up at him curiously. His face was angry for a split second before going blank again. He'd sounded furious. Not like when he usually admonished her for cursing, but genuinely angry.
"Sorry," she whispered.
He didn't speak for several minutes as they continued across the grounds.
"It will get better," he said eventually. "The stares and whispers."
"Unlikely," she scoffed. "They think I'm a murderer."
"It will pass. In a few weeks or months. Some popular boy will start dating some popular girl and you will be old news," he replied smoothly.
Freddie looked at him curiously again. He's trying to make me feel better. All week he's been...nice. Snape is being nice. Why?
"What?" he asked.
" 'What' what?"
"You keep looking at me like you want to say something."
"No," she said, shaking her head.
If he was being nice to her she certainly wasn't going to screw it up by pointing it out. She liked him being nice. It was weird, definitely, but she found comfort in it. The kind words, the casual, gentle touches. She smiled faintly as she remembered how he'd comforted her last night, stroking her back and hair. Getting the milkshakes for her so she would stay healthy.
Could it be he actually cares about me? She wondered. I know Dumbledore told him to keep an eye on me but this is more than that, this feels like more than that. Or am I imagining things? Lord knows I'm certified crazy.
She glanced at him to see he was looking down at her curiously.
"Now who's looking like they have something to say?" she asked teasingly.
"No, just thinking."
"Nah you just like looking at me," she said playfully.
He scoffed at her and shook his head.
When they reached Greenhouse 1 he opened the door for her. Freddie hadn't been in this particular greenhouse since her first year, but it was just as she remembered it. She walked to the back of the greenhouse where the rose bushes were. There were a variety of colors – red, yellow, blue, even black. She examined the black roses, touching the petals gently.
"They're pretty," she said. "I didn't know they made black roses. Does it matter what color – for the potion?"
"Red is preferred, according to Zygmunt Budge," he said, idly walking over to other flowers.
Freddie grabbed a pair of clippers from a nearby workstation. She used her wand to place a stasis spell on a red rose bloom before she snipped it off. The stasis spell would stop her hands from wilting the bloom before she got back to her potion.
She looked over to find Snape squatting next to a bed of white lilies.
"Do we need lilies for something?" she asked, walking over to him. He looked up, seeming startled for a moment, then shook his head.
"No...no we don't need them," he said, standing up. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah," she said, holding open her hand to show him the bloom.
He nodded and followed her out of the greenhouse. He seemed a little morose as they walked back towards the castle. His face was blank and unreadable but Freddie could sense something was bothering him.
"Was it your mother?" she asked carefully, knowing she was pushing her luck. "Did she like lilies?"
"No," he said softly. "...My mother loved roses. She always had a garden in the backyard. It was fenced in, roses on every side. In the spring time when they all bloomed it was..." he shook his head briefly. "He destroyed them once when he was mad and she never..."
He fell silent and didn't continue. Freddie didn't push further. The 'he' he'd mentioned must be his father, she realized. She remembered his reaction the last time they'd discussed his father, when she'd joked that must be where he got his unpleasant demeanor from. Then she remembered the scars on his back.
If he was violent enough to rip up his mother's roses when he was mad, was he violent enough to hurt him? To hurt both of them, probably. Bad enough that he still has scars all these years later...
"Have you got everything you need for your potion?" he asked, startling her from her thoughts as they walked down the stone steps into the dungeons.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I think so."
"You think so?"
"No, I do. Yes sir."
"Good."
They passed a group of young Slytherins who froze and stared wide-eyed at Freddie.
"What are you doing, Wilson?" Snape snapped at the group.
"G-going to lunch, sir," squeaked one of the girls.
"Go then," he said icily.
The student nodded and they all hurried off. Snape put his hand on Freddie's back and urged her along.
"Thank you," she said gratefully as they continued towards his office.
"For what?" he asked as he stopped to unlock the door. He sounded grouchy.
"Uh...nothing. I'm going to get back to work."