#
Freddie carried Hemlock down the stairs, smiling at the pictures of young Snape on the wall as she passed. She paused in the sitting room and used her wand to freshen the air. She looked at the titles of some of the hundreds of books on the shelves. Most of them appeared to be books on Dark Magic or Potions. She wanted to investigate more, but she was thirsty.
She carried Hemlock through the other door Snape had left open. It was a small kitchen with yellow wallpaper, brown wooden cabinets, and green counter tops and appliances. Not the emerald green that was associated with Slytherin but an old avocado green. It was just as dusty as the rest of the house and had an air of disuse.
"He probably takes his meals at Hogwarts," she said as she placed Hemlock on the counter. She flipped a switch near the doorway and a light on the ceiling flickered on.
Freddie didn't see an icebox, which is what they had at Gray Manor to keep drinks and meat cold, by way of a Cooling Charm. But there was a large metal box and Freddie remembered Daniel telling her about "fridges" that Muggles used to keep things cold. It ran off electricity.
She opened the door to the fridge, hoping to find something to drink. There wasn't much in it. A gallon of milk but when she opened it the sour smell made her gag. She quickly put the cap back on and stuck it back on the shelf.
There was a half of a block of cheese that had mold on it and something mushy that might have been fruit at some point. That was all. She quickly shut the door, shaking her head.
Does he really live like this? She wondered. I guess he really must not spend much time here.
She opened the various cabinets. There was no food. There was a mismatched set of dishes – plates, bowls, cups. She took one of the glasses down, cleaning it with a quick spell, and placed it on the counter.
"Augamenti," she said, putting the tip of her wand to the cup. It filled with water and she drank half the cup. She poured the rest down the drain then put the glass back in the cupboard.
"Looks like we need to go shopping," she said, picking Hemlock up. "Guess it's time to check out this Muggle town."
Freddie still had her coin purse in her pocket from her morning trip to the Apothecary, but she headed upstairs to get a parchment and quill. She scribbled a quick note to Snape, telling him she was going to explore the town. She left it on the armchair downstairs, just in case he returned before she did. She shrunk Hemlock and put him in her pocket. She stowed her wand away then left out the back door in the kitchen.
She stepped out into a fenced in back yard that was overgrown with weeds. As she made her way through the overgrowth towards the gate in the fence, she stumped her toe on a brick. Upon closer inspection she found old bricks that had once lined a flowerbed.
His mother's roses...this is where Severus grew up, she realized.
Freddie looked back at the brick house she had just come out of.
From what I've gathered he didn't have the happiest of childhoods...so why would he keep coming here? She wondered.
She pushed open the gate. It offered some resistance, as if it hadn't been opened in a while, but she gave it a good shove and it opened. She stepped out and pulled the gate shut behind her.
She made her way to the street and looked up and down the road. The identical brick houses stretched as far as the eye could see.
Guess it doesn't matter which way I go, she thought.
She made note of Snape's house number, then started up the street in the direction of the large chimney. As she got closer to it she could see it had once been some sort of mill. It clearly hadn't been in use in many years, possibly decades.
The streets were dead quiet as she wandered around. She tried to see if there were any signs of life in any of the houses, but she couldn't see through any of the windows.
She'd been walking for 15 minutes before she reached a larger street with a few cars driving down it. She followed the road in the same direction of the cars and eventually came to small strip of shops.
I wish Daniel were here, she thought as she approached one of the shops. There were some sort of pumps outside of the shop. She watched as a car pulled up to one of the pumps. A Muggle man got out, walked around his car, and put a hose in it.
Daniel would know what that is.
She entered the store, a bell jingling on the door as she did. The old man at the counter glanced up from his newspaper, grunted a hello, then turned his attention back to the his paper. Freddie pursued the aisles curiously. She'd never been in a Muggle shop before. All of the lights were electric and bright. There was a row of glass door fridges, filled with different types of Muggle drinks. She checked the price tag of a canned drink then it hit her – she didn't have any Muggle money.
Crap, she thought silently. I'm an idiot. I don't have Muggle money, I'll have to go to Gringotts to exchange it.
Freddie headed for the door and the Muggle looked up again.
"You didn't find what you were looking for?" he asked, his voice gruff.
"No, sir, just realized I left my wallet at home," she lied smoothly. He nodded and went back to reading. Freddie went out the door, the bell tinkling again. The man and the car were gone from the pump. She went around the back of the building, out of the view of the road. She made sure no one was around, then Disapparated.
#
Freddie appeared on the street outside of Gringotts. She breathed a sigh of relief at being back among the wizarding community. Her relief didn't last long as she realized her aunt and uncle could be here.
I don't want them to see me here, she thought as she quickly made her way up the steps to the bank.
She went up to one of the goblin tellers and asked for an exchange for Muggle currency. She gave him half of the Galleons from her money pouch and watched, intrigued, as he counted out a number of paper bills.
"Thank you," she said when the transaction was complete. "...If I wanted to make a withdrawal from my vault, I would need my key, right?"
"Yes, Miss Gray. Without the key you cannot access your vault," he said, peering down at her, frowning.
"Thank you," she said quickly and walked away with her money.
When her parents had been sentenced to Azkaban, the money in their vault had been left to her. Her Uncle had control of the vault until she turned 17. He should have given her the key after her birthday, but he hadn't. She'd never really thought about it because he gave her money whenever she asked.
Maybe Severus will know what to do, she told herself as she left the bank. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she Disapparated.
She reappeared out back of the Muggle shop near the dumpster. After making sure she hadn't been spotted, she walked around the building and went back inside.
10 minutes later Freddie left the store with bags of sodas, candy, and crisps. As she walked back towards Snape's house she took one of the sodas from her bag and popped the top. She took a sip and the carbonated grape drink tickled her throat and she burped, surprised. She chuckled and took another sip.
She wandered the streets for a while, drinking her soda. Before long she realized she had no idea where she was. She had tried – and failed – to retrace her steps, but it was starting to get dark out, and her bags were heavy.
Why am I even walking?
She looked around the empty street. All the windows were dark, no sign of life anywhere. She held tight to her bags and Disapparated.
She appeared in the sitting room. Her note was still on the chair. Snape had not been home. She took her bags into the kitchen and put them on the counter.
"I need to do some cleaning before I put stuff up," she mused aloud. "And for cleaning...I need music."