Author's Note: I had a guest ask two questions one of my previous chapters so I figured I'd answer them here. Freddie is 17 at the moment, her birthday is in February. 17 makes her a legal adult in the Wizarding World. And yes she has noticed and mentioned Snape's Dark Mark but it was wayyyy back earlier in the story, not sure of the chapter but it was even before Daniel's disappearance.

To everyone else, hope y'all are still enjoying this and please leave me reviews when you can. They really brighten my days! Also I got a job starting this week (assistant manager of a retail store). I'm hoping it won't interfere with my writing too much but my updates may not be as frequent. But I am still committed to finishing this fic and even have an end in mind although its still a ways off at this point. Thank you all for reading!

Later that night Freddie lay in Snape's embrace as he started to doze off but she couldn't quite relax. Her thoughts were racing, wondering about the future. She tried to use her Occlumency to calm her mind but it wasn't working.

"What's wrong with you?" Snape murmured sleepily.

"Hm? Nothing. Nothing, I'm fine."

"You aren't sleeping," he said, nuzzling the crook of her neck. "Tell me."

"Can I...ask you something?"

"Mmhm," he said, kissing a spot below her ear.

"What happens when school starts back?"

"You get on the train, you go to school, and you go to class."

"No I mean...this. We'll have to stop, won't we?" she asked, unable to hep feeling sad.

"Mm. For a while. There may be...weekends, holidays, where we can slip away," he said with a yawn. He rolled onto his back and Freddie nestled into the crook of his arm. "I am enjoying myself too much to want to stop now. But we have to be careful. At Hogwarts. There were rumors last year. We must do our best to dispel them."

"You know about that?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him.

"Mm. Dumbledore spoke to me."

"What? You didn't tell me!"

"I had no reason to. Dumbledore trusts me," he said, yawning again.

"It was his idea for me to stay here. He must really trust you," she said.

Either that or Dumbledore knew this would happen and supported it, she thought. Could he have?

"Mm. Go to sleep now, Winifred," he said, giving her a light squeeze.

She smiled and lay her head on his chest. His chest hair tickled her nose and she rubbed it against his chest to keep from sneezing.

Weekends and holidays, she thought drowsily. And we'll still work together on potions. It won't be so bad... As for what happens after I graduate, well that's a long way away. I'm not going to worry about that til I have to.

#

Early the next morning she woke slightly when Snape rolled over and started kissing her.

"Early," she protested not opening her eyes.

"Mm-hm. I have to go to work," he said, kissing his way down her jaw to her neck.

"I don't," she said sleepily, rolling over on her stomach. He kissed her bare shoulder.

"You should get used to it. School starts back next month," he murmured, brushing her hair aside to kiss the back of her neck, sending shivers through her.

"Next month – that's four weeks," she yawned. "Four weeks of sleep."

"You're going to sleep the whole month?" he chuckled, kissing her neck again. She moaned softly as he trailed kisses slowly down her neck, between her shoulder blades, then up to her shoulder. He kissed her right shoulder, then nipped it lightly. She could feel his cock against the back of her thigh.

"I'm not really awake," she moaned, but she shifted her legs apart anyway.

"Mm-hm," he said, kissing her neck again.

He put an arm around her, lifting her up. She managed to get on her knees and he entered her in one swift movement. She let out a loud moan as he began to thrust quickly inside of her. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pushed her face down into the pillow. He pushed himself inside of her hard, pulled out, then thrust back in roughly, making her cry out in mixed pain and pleasure, over and over. She bit the pillow to muffle her sounds and she couldn't ask when she needed to cum because she was biting the pillow and it was already happening. With one last grunt he emptied himself inside of her and Freddie collapsed on the bed, spent. He kissed the back of her neck once more before rolling off of her and getting out of bed.

"I've got to get ready for work," he said.

"Mkay. Have a good days," she murmured and yawned tiredly. He chuckled and pulled the blanket over her before leaving the room as she drifted back off to sleep.

Sometime later she thought she felt him kiss her again but she was too asleep to respond.

When she finally did wake up, sunlight was streaming through the curtains. She sat up and stretched, feeling deliciously sore but well-rested. Then she noticed something on the nightstand that hadn't been there before. A magazine and an envelope with her name on it – Freddie. She picked up the envelope first, wondering who it was from. It couldn't be Snape, he called her Winifred, plus it wasn't his handwriting. She about to open it when she saw the magazine – Apothecary Now.

She grabbed it eagerly, flipping through it until she found her recipe...along with a 4x6 photo of her and Snape. He had his hand on her shoulder, his face expressionless, neither smiling nor frowning. And she looked fantastic in her black dress, a smirk playing on her lips. The cauldron on the desk in front of her had spirals of smoke coming off of it, the only movement in the picture apart from Freddie's brown eyes blinking.

There was a caption beneath the photo that read 'Winifred Gray, inventory of the Invisibility Antidote, and apprentice of Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'.

Freddie grinned broadly and scanned her recipe to make sure they hadn't screwed it up. They hadn't.

"Awesome," she said aloud to Hemlock who sat beside her on the bed. "And it's a great picture."

She stared at it a moment then picked up her wand from the bedside table. She made a copy of the page and blew it up to poster size. She got out of bed and took the poster to the charcoal-colored wall. She hung it up with a Sticking Charm, then stood back to admire her handiwork.

"Nice," she said to Hemlock, sitting back on the edge of the bed.

She picked up the envelope which she had almost forgotten about and opened it. She unfolded the parchment inside. It was a letter from Amelia.

Hey Freddie!

How's your summer going? Mine's going great! Brian and I have been on six dates so far. I've been to his house, met his mum, and even got to spend the night! I can't wait to tell you about it in person.

I got my Hogwarts supply list today and I'm going to Diagon Alley tomorrow (Tuesday) to get my things. If you want to meet up with me I'll be outside Flourish and Blotts at 12 o'clock. We can have lunch together – my treat!

I hope to see you there.

Cheers,

Amelia Burke

Freddie folded up the letter and checked her watch. It was a little after 10. She had plenty of time to meet up with Amelia if she wanted to.

But do I want to? She thought, putting the letter aside. She is my friend. My only friend really, besides Severus. And if she's dating O'Neil then she's probably gotten over her crush on me. ...I should go. Even thought I've already gotten my supplies I can help Amelia get hers and we can hang out. It's good to have friends.

She got up off the bed and stretched again, her back popping slightly. She crossed the hall to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

After her shower Freddie went back to her room. She used her wand to dry her hair, then shaved. She got dressed, putting on her short black sundress she'd worn the first night Snape had fucked her.

She had time to kill before she needed to leave so she sat on the edge of her bed and practiced her Patronus Charm. When she got frustrated with that she picked up Addressing Animagi and took it downstairs to read. With Hemlock tucked under her arm she curled up on the couch and started to read.