They crossed the moonlit grounds together. Freddie looked up at the sky. The moon was waxing, not quite full yet, and it cast enough light for them to see the grounds clearly as they walked up the path towards the gate.
"The moon will be full in a few days," she said as they walked. "We should probably gather some herbs, don't you think? We're low on wolfsbane and fluxweed."
"Perhaps," he said with a nod. "The weather's getting warmer. Spring will bring a host of new plants for us to harvest."
"Yeah. So, where are we going?" she asked as they approached the gate. "Hogsmeade? You said you got Dumbledore's permission."
"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter where to me," she answered with a shrug. "As long as I'm...out of the castle."
She'd started to say 'as long as I'm with you' but thought better of it.
"Tired of your little fan club?" he asked, looking down at her with a smirk.
"It's your fault, you know," she chuckled. "You let me teach and now they flock to me with their homework problems."
"You should have made yourself less approachable."
"They're good kids," she said with a shrug. "Most of them anyway. Sure sometimes their questions are annoying...but at least I don't have to sit alone anymore. They have Slytherin loyalty figured out better than the rest of my housemates. Besides-" they stepped outside of the gates together. "-I kind of like it when they call me ma'am."
Snape chuckled softly and his smirk widened.
"I heard some of them calling you 'Potions Princess' the other day," he said. "Like your classmates used to."
"You knew about that?" she asked, grinning.
"Of course," he answered. "...It is a better nickname than 'Freddie'."
"Ha!" she barked. "Don't suppose you'll call me that instead of 'Winifred'?"
"Not a chance."
"That's alright. I've actually gotten used to 'Winifred', at least from you."
"Take my hand," he said, extending his left hand. "Winifred."
Freddie did so happily and immediately felt the pull she now recognized as the feeling of Apparition.
When her feet hit the ground on a dark sidewalk, Freddie fought to stay upright. Snape held tight to her hand until the wave of dizziness passed.
"Does that ever get any easier?" Freddie groaned as a wave of nausea rolled through her stomach.
"You get used to it," he said.
Freddie looked around and found they were outside of The Silver Serpent.
"Was it Dumbledore's idea for you to bring me to Knockturn Alley for my birthday dinner?" she asked as they approached the entrance.
"I could happily return you to school, if you prefer," he said dryly.
"Not a chance," she replied, smirking.
Snape inclined his head, then opened the door for her. Freddie stepped inside and he followed her in. It was just as she remembered, dimly-lit with hooded figures at nearly every table.
Snape led her to the same table in the corner they'd sat at before. He pulled out her chair for her.
"Thank you," she said as she sat. "And they say chivalry is dead."
He smiled slightly as he took his seat across from her. As soon as he was seated, a hooded figure appeared.
"Good evening," said a woman's voice. "Can I start you off with something to drink?"
"Scotch," Snape said immediately.
"Do you have anything with ginger in it, like ginger tea?" Freddie asked.
"We have ginger beer," the witch answered. "It has a very low alcohol content."
"That's perfect, thank you," Freddie said and the waitress disappeared.
"Is your stomach bothering you?" Snape asked.
"A bit. From Apparating. It'll pass," she said, picking up the menu that appeared on the table in front of her.
"Will you be able to eat?"
"As much as I usually can. I'm fine," she assured him.
"Good. I'm not wasting money on food just for you to throw it up," he said with a faint sneer.
She rolled her eyes at him, then continued looking over the menu.
"Is the steak the best thing they have?" she asked.
"It is. I recommend the filet. It is a smaller portion size more suited to your palette at the moment."
Freddie nodded in thanks. She looked over the sides and decided to try a veggie pasta with it. The waitress reappeared with their drinks. Freddie popped the cap off her beer and took a drink, feeling the ginger go to work immediately at settling her stomach.
"Are you ready to order or do you need another minute?" the waitress asked, pulling a pad and self-inking quill from the pocket of her robes.
"We are ready," Snape said. "T-bone, medium rare, baked potato with butter only."
"Yes sir and for you, madam?"
"I'll have a 6oz filet, medium rare, with pasta I think," Freddie answered.
"Very good, madam," the waitress said with a nod, then vanished again.
"Madam," Freddie scoffed, then took another sip of her beer.
"I thought you liked being called 'ma'am'?" Snape asked, picking up his scotch and taking a drink.
"Ma'am yes, 'Madam', no. Madam makes me sound 40."
"Semantics," he scoffed. "How's your beer?"
"Kind of gross," she admitted. "but it's working."
"Good."
Freddie unfastened her cloak and slid it off, revealing her bare shoulders. She folded it and put it in the empty chair next to her. She saw Snape's dark eyes watching her as he took a long drink of his scotch.
"So," she said, picking her beer back up. "Was this your idea or Dumbledore's?"
"...Do you have to make things so difficult?" he asked, mildly annoyed.
"I'm frustrating that way," she said with a shrug and a grin.
"That you are," he said, shaking his head and taking another drink. "It was...not entirely the headmaster's idea."
"The potion was yours though," she said. It wasn't a question. "Some of those ingredients were...difficult to obtain, I imagine."
"Your point, Winifred?"
"Is that where you were this afternoon?"
He didn't answer but gazed at her silently, sipping his drink.
"Oh, that reminds me," she said. "Can you award house points to Samantha Sykes and Laura Glaspell for their work in class today?"
"The Gryffindor girl? Why? Her performance in class is generally sub-par."
"She was the only one who knew what Zygmunt Budge's version of the Shrinking Solution is used for commercially."
"Hm. Would you like the ability to award and detract house points yourself?" he asked, setting down his empty glass. It automatically refilled itself.
"Seriously? Yes!"
"I believe I can make that happen. I will speak to the Headmaster and see if, as my apprentice, you can be awarded the same privileges as the Head Boy and Girl. He may also grant you access to the Prefects bathroom, at my recommendation."
Freddie had heard rumors about the Prefects bathroom. Bathtubs big enough to swim in. Golden toilets. The toilets she could care less about but the idea of sinking into a bathtub that covered her legs and boobs at the same time was downright orgasmic.
"Winifred? Would you like that?" he asked, interrupting her fantasy.
"Oh yes," she said. "Definitely."
He looked at her strangely and she just grinned.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked, knowing full well the question might come back to bite her in the ass.
"I'm not," he scoffed, then paused for a long moment as he took a drink. "Your assistance this year has been invaluable to me. You deserve to be rewarded for your work."
Freddie flushed with pride and smiled. She was about to thank him when the waitress appeared with their food. Both steaks smelled amazing and Freddie was surprised when her stomach growled loudly.
"Can I get you two anything else?" she asked.
"Could I get something instead of this?" Freddie asked, handing her the empty beer bottle.
"Of course, Madam," she said, accepting the bottle which immediately vanished. "What would you like?"
"Maybe some sort of light wine?" she said, looking to Snape to make sure it was okay.
"Bring her a glass of Pinot Grigio," he said with a nod.
"Yes sir, coming right up," she said and vanished.
Freddie picked up her fork and knife. She cut off a piece of meat and took a bite.
"Mm," she said as the flavor spread across her tongue. It was absolutely amazing with no hint of the bitterness that had tinged everything she'd eaten in the last 3 months. "Oh my god."
"It's good?" Snape asked, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched her eat.
"It's...mm. Amazing," she said through a mouthful of steak. His smirk grew wider.
"I am glad," he said before turning his attention to his own meal.
The waitress returned with a glass of white wine and Freddie mumbled a thank you in between chewing the mouth-watering food.
She tried to eat slowly and savor every bite. She took small sips of wine, which was good. It had hints of peach with a nice bite to it. The pasta salad was good as well but not as good as the steak.
Freddie finished her food rather quickly and leaned back in her chair, feeling comfortably full. She sipped her wine and looked around the dining room while Snape continued eating. There were maybe a dozen witches and wizards seated at tables around the room. She couldn't see any of their faces, couldn't even tell who was male or female. She supposed that was the point of the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
They could be anyone. They could be murderers, rapists...Death Eaters. Definitely Death Eaters. I wonder if my parents ever ate here?
She looked back across the table at Snape to find he was staring at her intensely – and he wasn't looking at her face.
"What?" she asked, smirking at him over her wine glass.
His eyes flicked to her face and she hoped he would blush at being caught staring at her breasts, but he didn't.
"I was trying to figure out where you've hidden your kneazle," he said casually.
Freddie smiled and batted her eyes at him.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased.
This time he did blush but it only lasted for a split second. He took a long drink of his scotch, then set the empty glass down. It refilled again.
"Excuse me a moment," he said, patting his mouth with his napkin. He stood and Freddie watched as he headed for the bathroom, chuckling to herself.
Freddie was sipping her wine, waiting for Snape to return, still looking around the room curiously when she noticed a hooded figure who had been dining alone stand up. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she put her free hand on her wand as the figure approached her. As he stepped into the candlelight of her table she could see it was an older man with white-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.
"Good evening," he said in a smooth voice. "A young woman such as yourself should not have the misfortune of dining alone. Would you care to join me?"
"I'm not alone, thank you," she said politely, then took a sip of her wine.
"If I were your date, I wouldn't leave your side, especially in a place like this," he said with what could only be described as a feral grin. "You never know who could be watching."
"I can hold my own, thank you," she said with her most-charming smile. She had her wand out under the table, ready to curse him the moment he dared make a move.
"I would be remiss if I did not wait with you until your date returns," he said smoothly.
"Yaxley," said Snape's voice and Freddie looked past the wizard to see he had returned.
"Severus, my old friend," he said, turning to face him. "How are- she's with you?"
Yaxley looked back down at Freddie, surprise evident on his face.
"Yes," Snape said tersely. "We were just leaving. Winifred?"
Freddie quickly stowed her wand while Snape left several galleons on the table to pay for their meal. She took a final sip of her wine then stood and gave Yaxley a polite smile.
"Nice to meet you," she said, inclining her head slightly.
"Enjoy the rest of your evening. Good to see you, Severus," he said, but his eyes lingered on Freddie in her dress as she fastened her cloak around her shoulders.
Snape took her arm and walked slowly towards the door but she could tell by the pressure he exerted on her arm that he wanted out of there quickly.
"Who was that?" Freddie asked in a low voice once they were out of the building on the dark sidewalk. Snape didn't answer but looked at her pointedly and tapped his left wrist.
A Death Eater, she realized and nodded in understanding.
"We should leave now," he said.
"Do we have to Apparate?"
"Yes. Are you going to puke if we do?" he drawled.
She shook her head no.
"Good," he said and she had a split second to steel herself before they were whisked away.