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Freddie decided to brew Zygmunt Budge's version of the Shrinking Solution. It was an easy enough recipe but she was curious to see what tips the disembodied author would have for her. Plus it would be an easy potion to test if Snape ever got the mice from McGonagall.
Freddie worked on the potion, following the directions that appeared in Budge's handwriting. When the potion had to stew for a while, she cleared her workstation, then pressed her ear to the door. She could hear Snape periodically barking at the students. Things like "get back to work" and "be quiet".
She walked back over to the table and sat down on the stool with a sigh.
He's so tired and grouchy. I wish there was something I could do to help. It's my fault he didn't sleep, he was worried about me. She smiled slightly to herself. He was worried about me. He cares about me, whether he wants to or not. He-
"Are you finished with your potion?"
She looked up to see him standing in the doorway, an irritable look on his face.
"Are they gone?" she asked, standing up from her stool.
"Yes. Your potion?"
"It has 20 more minutes to brew," she answered. "Are you sure you don't want some tea or-"
"What I want, Miss Gray, is to go to bed."
"Well don't let me keep you. You can go to sleep, I'll finish this off and bottle it up before I leave."
He said nothing and didn't move from the doorway. She crossed her arms and looked up at him.
"It's just a Shrinking Solution, I'm not going to mess it up or – or blow up the lab. You don't have to stay and watch me."
"It's not that," he said, looking uncomfortable.
"What then?" she asked, tilting her head.
"I want to ensure you return to your Common Room safely."
"It's right down the hall, in the dungeons. What could happen?"
He didn't answer but looked down at her, his face unreadable.
"You're worried about me?" she asked, smiling slightly.
"Dead students make for tedious paperwork," he replied shortly. "And it would be inconvenient to lose my assistant at this point."
"Right," she snorted, then looked up at him seriously. "I'll be fine, Severus. I'll keep my wand out and be alert. I'll be fine – I have my clothes on this time."
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly but he didn't look convinced.
"I'll be fine," she insisted. "Go to bed. You look like shit."
"Language, Miss Gray – don't make me deduct house points," he warned, but turned and walked away. Freddie followed him and watched him open the door to his quarters.
"Goodnight Professor," she said quietly. "Sleep well."
"Thank you, Miss Gray. You too," he said, so softly she could barely hear him. Then the door to his quarters shut and she was alone.
Freddie finished up her potion and bottled it. She cleaned up the cauldron and left the lab. She lingered in Snape's office a moment, wondering if he were asleep on the other side of the hidden door.
She walked around his desk, wishing she had something to leave him to brighten his day when he woke up. There was a blank piece of parchment on his desk. She smiled to herself and picked up a quill. She wrote the words 'Good morning' in large letters and drew a smiley face.
Maybe that'll make him smile, she thought as she left his office and sealed the door behind herself. He'll act annoyed of course but maybe he'll smile.
She kept her wand out as she walked down the corridor. The hallway was empty but she still felt tense. She listened intently for the sound of footsteps, looked for anything out of the ordinary.
There could be someone hiding behind any corner, behind that suit of armor...
She held her wand at the ready as she passed the decorative suit of armor, half expecting someone to jump out at her. There was no one there.
I'm being paranoid, she thought as she reached the Common Room and gave the password to enter. Severus is making me paranoid. I probably wouldn't have thought twice about walking back to my dorm if he hadn't been so protective...but that's probably a good thing. I do need to be more alert.
Freddie entered her dorm to find Maggie and Christine sitting together on Maggie's bed. They greeted her when she entered and she noticed Christine had a cut on her forehead.
"What happened to you?" Freddie asked, grabbing her bag from beside her bed and digging for her Potions kit.
"Two seventh year Ravenclaw girls attacked me after dinner," Christine explained. "They followed me out onto the grounds and jumped me."
"Bloody hell. Did you report them?" she asked, finding her bottle of essence of dittany. She conjured a clean rag and walked over to Maggie's bed.
"Nah. I gave worse than I got," she said proudly as Freddie poured dittany onto the cloth. "Besides, I didn't want to get detention – ouch!"
"Hold still," Freddie said, holding the rag against Christine's head. "You don't want it to scar."
"Detention wasn't so bad," Maggie said. "Snape only made us do lines, it wasn't even a full hour, then Tommy and I snuck off for a little alone time."
Maggie and Christine shared a grin.
"Snape seemed like he was in a bad mood – worse than usual that is. I saw him earlier, outside the Common Room," Christine said.
"He's not mad at us," Maggie said, shaking her head. "He's mad at Ravenclaw for what they did to you, Freddie."
Freddie shrugged uncomfortably and checked the wound on Christine's head. It was no longer bleeding and the skin had mended.
"I heard he gave six more Ravenclaw students detention this afternoon," Christine added. "He's pissed about what Gecker did to Freddie."
"Snape really likes you," Maggie said to Freddie.
"He'd feel that way if any Slytherin student were attacked," she argued, although she wasn't sure that was true.
"No way," Maggie declared. "He spends most of his time with you, he lets you help him teach, you stay out after hours with him."
"He's gotten used to me, that's all. I'm his apprentice."
"Nah, he definitely likes you," Christine said, sharing another grin with Maggie.
"Maybe he does but not like that, not in a weird way," she defended. "I'm just a good apprentice."
The last thing I need are people spreading rumors about 'me and Snape' especially when there is no 'me and Snape', she thought irritably.
"Your his Potions Princess," Maggie said, grinning broadly. "You always have been."
"Your head's fine now, Christine," Freddie said, rolling her eyes at Maggie. "I'm going to bed. I need sleep."
"Goodnight."
"Night Freddie. Thanks for patching me up."
"No problem. Goodnight."
Freddie pulled the curtains around her bed and got undressed. She put on her green satin pajama set and climbed into bed, wishing she still had Snape's blanket to cover up with instead of her quilt. She pulled Hemlock to her chest and sighed deeply. Startled, she realized that the kneazle smelled like Snape. From sleeping on the cot, under his blanket with me, she realized. Smiling she pressed her face into the kneazle's soft fur and breathed deeply again. She kept him held close as she drifted off to sleep.