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Freddie had Double Potions class the first thing the next morning. She headed down to breakfast, feeling genuinely hungry for the first time in ages. She sat down and fixed her plate with pancakes, sausage, and bacon. She was just starting to dig in when she was joined by her 'fan club'.
"Good morning, Freddie!" Amelia said cheerfully. "You changed your hair color!"
"We almost didn't recognize you," said Brian O'Neil as he sat down across the table. "By the way, I got an Outstanding on my essay for McGonagall yesterday, thanks to you."
"You're welcome," she said with a small smile, shoving a piece of sausage into her mouth.
"I like your hair," Amelia said as she fixed herself a plate. "I've been thinking about changing mine. Brown is boring."
Freddie glanced at Amelia's chestnut ponytail and nodded thoughtfully, chewing her food.
"Blonde or red would look good on you with your blue eyes, they'd really stand out," Freddie offered. "Can you do a Color-Changing Charm? I can help you if you want."
"I learned it last year," Amelia said, beaming. "Thanks though."
"Girls," Brian said, rolling his eyes.
Freddie chuckled and took a drink of her orange juice. The bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast, and Freddie quickly shoved more bacon into her mouth.
"Later kids," she said through her mouthful of food. She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed back down into the dungeons.
Throughout the 3 hour class period, Freddie couldn't help but notice Snape seemed to be ignoring her. He was purposefully not looking at her and even avoided checking her work on the Mobiliter Potion the class was brewing.
She was mildly annoyed at him for ignoring her, but it wasn't hard to guess his reasoning. After last night, he was keeping his distance. It's almost funny, she thought to herself as he avoided her gaze yet again.
When the bell finally rang, Freddie took her time cleaning up her workstation. When her classmates were gone, she slung her bag over her shoulder and approached Snape's desk.
"I have a free period next, you want me to stay and help with the next class?" she asked.
"Not today, Miss Gray," he said, not looking up at her. She shook her head slightly and chuckled internally.
"May I go work on the Liquescimus Potion in your office then, sir?" she asked, determined not to let his attitude bother her.
He let out a grunt and nodded slightly.
"Thank you," she said pointedly and smiled as she left the room, hoping he was watching her leave.
If he wants to be all withdrawn that's fine, she thought to herself as she walked down the corridor. Last night was a bit much, especially for him. I can play it cool for a few days, let him get the stick out of his arse and relax some...then worm my way back into his good favor, like a true Slytherin.
She lifted the enchantment that warded Snape's office and headed straight for the Brewing Lab. She was eager to continue working on her poison, but stopped when she saw several books on the workstation that had not been there last night.
There were three books there and a folded piece of parchment on top with Miss Gray written on it in a familiar scrawl. She looked at the books first – Infiltrating the Inferior Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Legilimency, Living with Legilimens, and Telepathia Inermis: A Handbook for Wandless Legilimency.
She unfolded the parchment that had her name on it and read it.
Miss Gray,
The Prefect's bathroom is located on the fifth floor, four doors past the statue of Boris the Bewildered, on the left hand side of the corridor.
The current password is 'spic and span'.
Freddie folded the note and put it in her pocket. She glanced at the potion, which still had a stasis spell on it, then back at the books. She wanted to work on the potion, but she also wanted to check out the Prefect's bathroom. And she wanted to start reading about Legilimency.
She considered her options a moment, then picked up the books and put them in her bag. She left Snape's office and re-sealed the door before heading upstairs. Most students were in class at the moment so she knew it would be a good time for her to check out the bathroom without anyone else there.
She navigated the rotating staircases and stepped off onto the landing of the fifth floor. She found the statue of Boris the Bewildered and counted four doors past it. She tried the knob and of course it was locked.
"Spic and span," she said aloud and the lock clicked open.
She pushed the door open and stepped inside. There were stalls along one side of the room. Opposite the toilets was the biggest bathtub Freddie had ever seen. It was sunk into the floor, like a swimming pool, and there were dozens of taps surrounding the tub on each side.
Thrilled, Freddie locked the door behind her. She put her bag down near the tub and quickly shed her robes. She didn't bother folding them but left them in a heap next to her bag. She turned on the water and waited for the tub to fill.
While she waited, she examined the taps. There were probably a hundred of them, each inlaid with a different jewel. She experimented with the different taps, turning them on and off to see what was in each one until she found some she liked. She left two taps running, one that produced a eucalyptus bath oil and another that made bubbles that smelled like spearmint.
She'd never taken a bubble bath before so she was even more excited as she stepped down into the water. It was the perfect temperature and she let out a soft moan as she relaxed into the warm bath. The bubbles popped and tickled against her skin. She sank under water, soaking her hair before resurfacing.
She did a few laps around the tub, then came back to rest in the shallow end. She relaxed a moment, looking at the stained glass windows that depicted beautiful mermaids, flashing their tails and playing with their hair.
She watched them for a while, wondering how the Prefects felt about the mermaids leering at them in the bath. No doubt the boys certainly don't mind, she thought with a smirk. She leaned out of the tub and reached for her bag. She pulled out Infiltrating the Inferior Mind and settled in to read until lunch time.