The next morning Freddie looked for Snape at breakfast but he wasn't there. As she headed down to the train station with her classmates, she looked for him. He wasn't there. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She hadn't really expected him to come say goodbye, not after last night, but it still stung a bit.
I guess a kiss is the best goodbye I could ever hope for, she thought, touching her lips as she boarded the train.
Freddie ended up alone in a compartment with Amelia for the duration of the train ride. Amelia talked almost non-stop from the moment the train pulled out of the station. She read articles aloud from Witch Weekly then talked about the articles.
Freddie looked out the window as the train rolled along the green landscape, thinking about Daniel. She thought of the numerous train rides they had taken to and from Hogwarts. Conversation with him had been easy. They told each other everything. If he were with her now, they'd be talking about Snape, about the kiss. She wondered what Daniel would say about the situation. They'd joked about it so many times, but she'd never thought it would actually happen.
The door to the compartment opened, interrupted Freddie's thoughts.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?" the witch asked. Freddie shook her head. Amelia got an armload of candy.
"Wait," Freddie said, standing up. "Have you got anything to drink? Juice maybe?"
"Of course, dear. I have apple, grape, pumpkin..."
"Apple," Freddie decided.
She paid for her drink then sat back down as the witch left. Freddie sipped her juice. Amelia opened a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and went back to her magazine.
"Have you ever had sex?" Amelia asked her out of the blue. Freddie choked on her juice and cleared her throat.
"That's a very personal question, Amelia," she said, her face warm.
"I'll take that as a 'no'," she chuckled.
"Take it however you want," she muttered, wiping the juice from her chin. But it was true, of course. She'd fooled around with the boy from Borgin and Burke's but they'd never done anything serious.
"What about kiss – have you ever kissed a boy?" Amelia asked.
"A few. Why?"
"I haven't," she admitted. "O'Neil asked me out, but I said no."
"Why?"
"I guess he likes me or whatever."
"No, I mean, why did you say no?"
"I dunno. I'm not sure I like him. I mean I like him, we're like, friends of whatever, but I don't know if I like him like, ya know?"
"I'm not sure I'm the person to ask about this," she said, shaking her head. "I've got no love life, no boyfriend. I don't know anything about healthy relationships."
"Come on Freddie, you're like my only friend that's a girl," she pleaded.
Freddie blew out a sigh and slouched back in her seat.
"Well, you're a kid. You're supposed to date. If you think you might like him, then go for it."
"So you think I should go out with him?"
"I dunno. Maybe hang out with him, just the two of you. See if any sparks fly. It could be fun," she said with a shrug. "If not, well, you can still be friends."
"I guess I could make plans with him over the summer. Maybe I could meet him in Diagon Alley."
"He's a smart kid. Slytherin. Pureblood. You could do worse."
"Yeah... that Ravenclaw boy, the one you were friends with, did you two ever-"
Freddie gave her a withering glare across the compartment, a look that could curdle milk.
"We're getting off the subject, Miss Avery," she said icily.
"Sorry," Amelia said in a barely-audible voice.
They were both silent a minute, then Amelia stood.
"I'm gonna see if I can find Brian," she said and Freddie nodded to her. "I'll see you later."
"Later," Freddie mumbled, staring out the window.
She stared silently out the window for a long time. Eventually she pulled out Daniel's record player from her trunk. She hesitated then put on the Eagles record. She knew it might make her cry but she put it on anyway. She stretched out on the seat and sang along as Take It Easy began to play.
#
When Freddie stepped off the train she looked around the platform. It was crowded with people, with families, parents hugging their kids. She had a moment of panic, then she spotted her Aunt Millicent standing against the wall, waiting for her.
"Hey Aunt Millicent," she said, dragging her trunk over.
"Winifred, it is good to see you," she said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Is Uncle Cecil-"
"Working," Millicent answered.
"Is he...mad at me?"
"No, of course not," she said, then whispered. "He knows you had to sell your cover."
Freddie winced slightly. They still think I killed Daniel, she realized. Of course they do...
"Are you ready to go?" Millicent asked her. "You learned to Apparate this year, yes?"
"Yes," she said with a nod. She'd taken the classes and though she still didn't care for the feeling, she could successfully Apparate without splinching herself.
"Good. Let's go. I'll send the house-elf for your trunk."
Freddie dropped her trunk, focused her mind on Gray Manor, and Disapparated.
She appeared in the sitting room at Gray Manor. Millicent appeared a split second later.
"Anubis!" she called loudly. The house elf appeared with a crack.
"Yes Madam? Oh. Mistress Gray. Welcome h-"
"Go and retrieve Winifred's things from Platform 9 3/4s," Millicent interrupted. "When you return I expect a pot roast for dinner when Cecil gets home from work."
"Yes Madam," Anubis said with a low bow, then disappeared.
"I'll be in the parlor. Welcome home, Winifred."
"Thanks," Freddie said quietly as her aunt left the room.
She looked around the sitting room. It looked exactly as she remembered – then her eyes fell on something on the mantle above the fireplace. It was the statue she'd made in art class, the one that looked like Heather being eaten alive by spiders. She'd forgotten all about it. She'd sent it to them as a Christmas gift, the same day Daniel had disappeared.
She picked it up, feeling disgusted with herself.
I was so angry when I made this, all because of that stupid prank, she thought. If I hadn't sent this, if I hadn't gone up to the Owlery that day...
The clay figure exploded in her hands, startling her. She whipped out her wand and quickly cleaned up the mess she'd made.
Can't control my magic, she thought, annoyed. I thought I'd gotten better with that. ...but good riddance.
She stowed her wand and headed to her bedroom, repeating the steps of the Calming Draught in her head as she climbed up the stairs.