Author's Note: Ask and ye shall receive! I love you all! lol

#

When class was over, Freddie cleaned up the classroom. She extinguished the lights and left the room. She went to her dorm and dumped her bag on the floor. She sat on the edge of her bed and sighed.

This birthday sucks, she thought. I wish Daniel were here...

"Miss Gray?"

Freddie looked up to see Amelia Avery peeking her head in the door.

"We're going down to dinner, you coming?" the girl asked cheerfully.

Freddie couldn't help but smile.

"Not tonight, Amelia. Thank you though."

"Yes ma'am. Goodnight."

"Amelia," she said as the girl turned to go.

"Yes ma'am?"

"You can call me Freddie – outside the classroom anyway."

The girl grinned broadly.

"Goodnight, Freddie," she said. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

When Amelia was gone, Freddie pulled Hemlock out of her pocket. She grew him to full size and held him in her lap. She petted him absently while she stared out the window under the lake.

This sucks, she thought again with a sigh. I don't wanna be alone on my birthday... Maybe Snape will let me brew a potion.

She stood up, shrunk Hemlock, and put him back in her pocket. She picked up her bag and took out a few books to make room for the record player and a few vinyls.

He might not even be in his office, she thought as she left the Common Room. If he hasn't returned from whatever thing he had to do, then I'll pick something to brew without him and I can play my music as loud as I want.

The thought cheered her slightly. She stopped outside the door to Snape's office and was about to lift the enchantment to go in when she thought better of it. She knocked first, wondering if he were back yet.

"Enter," said his low, dangerous voice.

"Hey," she said as she pushed the door open, but stopped short when she saw two Ravenclaw boys elbow-deep in flobberworms on the floor in front of Snape desk. "Oh. Sorry."

"Good evening, Miss Gray," Snape said, standing up from his desk. "Mr Stinton and Mr Bell are serving detention for attempting to cheat during my fifth year class this morning."

"How unfortunate," Freddie said with a faint smirk. The boys glared at her.

"Back to work," Snape barked at them, then turned back to Freddie. "Come. You have work to do."

Her curiosity piqued, she nodded and followed him into the Brewing Lab as he waved his wand to reveal the entrance. The room was cold and dark. Freddie lifted her wand and lit the torches along the wall.

"I have something for you," Snape said from behind her, his voice low and close to her ear. A shiver went through her at the feeling of his hot breath on his ear. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

He walked around her, over to the workstation. She followed him over. There was a folded piece of parchment on the desk. He tapped it with his finger, a smile playing on his lips.

"Have fun," he said softly, then swept out of the room, back into his office.

Freddie picked up the parchment and unfolded it. It contained a hand-written recipe for a potion titled Liquescimus Poison. Snape's handwriting. A thrill went through her.

This must be one of his, she realized, grinning.

She took the parchment with her into the supply cupboard to gather ingredients There were a few ingredients listed that they didn't usually have. Acromantula eggs, deadlyius caps, doxy venom. Some were rare and a few even illegal to possess. She found them sitting on top of the step ladder, waiting for her. She gathered the rest of the ingredients and carried them back to the workstation.

#

Freddie worked on her potion for the next hour and a half. She heard Snape snap at the two Ravenclaw boys periodically. She smirked to herself every time he did.

She was bent over the cauldron, stirring in Abraxan hair when she felt herself being watched. She finished stirring, then straightened up and turned to face Snape who was standing in the doorway.

"Are they gone?" she asked.

"They are," he said, entering the room and walking over to the workstation.

"Good. This is one of yours?" she asked, indicating the potion.

"It is. Know what it does?" he asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Kills someone?"

"Yes but how?" he prompted.

"Well, a lot of these ingredients affect the mind. I'm guessing it drives someone crazy."

"You should brush up on your Latin, Miss Gray," he said. "Liquescimus Poison liquefies the brain of whoever has the misfortune to drink it."

"Whoa," she said, looking at the bubbling green brew behind her. "That's..."

"Brilliant? Inventive?"

"Dark," she said with a chuckle. "I like it."

"I knew you would," he said, then he raised his wand and placed a stasis spell on her cauldron.

"Hey!" she protested. "What gives?"

"Did you eat dinner with your little fan club?"

"Uh...no, but I'm not hungry."

"No? Well, I suppose I won't take you out to dinner then."

"Wh- wait, what? You're going to take me out to dinner?"

"I got the Headmaster's permission. But, if you're not hungry..."

"I could eat," she said with a grin.

"Good. Go change. I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall."

Freddie looked down at her Hogwarts uniform, then back up at him.

"What should I wear?" she asked.

"Anything that does not make you look like a student," he answered.

"Yes sir," she said with a grin, then left his office to return to her dorm.

Freddie dug through her trunk, looking for something to wear. She had plenty of slacks and sweaters, t-shirts, but nothing hot. She wanted to look hot if she was going out to dinner with Snape.

Finally she found something – a black dress her aunt had bought her for dinner parties. It had been at least a couple of years since she'd worn it, but she tried it on anyway. It wasn't as tight as she had expected, probably because she'd lost weight recently. It was tight across the chest but she did some arranging and made it more comfortable.

She went into the bathroom connected to her dorm and checked her reflection in the mirror. Her first thought was Holy crap my boobs look good!

She'd grown a few inches in the last two years so it was a bit short. She figured her bosom was pushing the limits of impropriety enough as it was, so she used her wand to lengthen the dress to her ankles. It had a slit along one side that went up past her knee. She liked the way it felt when she walked.

She stared at her reflection for several minutes. She looked good, but something still seemed off.

My hair, she realized. I miss my black hair.

Her hair had been blonde since the day Miriam had washed the blood out of her hair at St Mungo's. Shaking off the memory, she put her wand to her temple and performed a Color-Changing Charm. Immediately her hair darkened to it's natural jet-black color.

She checked her reflection again and smiled wickedly. Her black dress, dark hair, and snake earrings. The overall effect was what she wanted – hot.

She went back into her dorm and put on her favorite black lace-up boots. They were a little dirty but a quick Scourgify cleaned them up nicely. She knew she was meant to wear heels with a dress, but she'd always hated wearing high-heels. She would always end up turning her ankle.

She dabbed some honeysuckle essence on her wrists and neck. She looked at her bed, where Hemlock sat on her pillow.

Sorry, buddy, no room for you, she thought, petting his furry head. Tonight I have to be a grown up.

She strapped her wand to her thigh, thinking how it wasn't fair that so few dresses had pockets. She grabbed her cloak and put it on over her dress before leaving her dorm.

Heads turned as Freddie waltzed through the Common Room. She told herself it was for a different reason this time. They're staring because I'm hot, she thought smugly.

She ascended the stone staircase out of the dungeons to find Snape waiting for her. His back was to her at first and he was looking out over the grounds.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

He turned to face her and she didn't miss the sharp intake of breath, or the way his glittering eyes drank in her appearance.

"...You changed your hair back," he said finally.

"Yeah, I thought it looked better this way. More Slytherin-y," she said, crossing the hall. She noticed his eyes flick to her legs as she walked and the slit in her dress revealed her pale legs. "Do you like it? Oh, I forgot – you have no opinion on my hair, right?"

He didn't respond, but turned away from her. Smirking slightly, she followed him out into the night.