#

Freddie ate dinner as quickly as possible, shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she could without disturbing the leaf tucked in the top corner of her mouth. She didn't even bother making small talk with Amelia who was watching her with a sort of bemused expression.

"Let me guess, you have a potion brewing?" she asked, grinning.

"Uh-huh," she responded through a mouthful of potatoes. She swallowed heavily and washed it down with a swig of juice.

"Later," she said to Amelia, grabbing her bag and heading out of the Great Hall.

Snape was still at the staff table but she headed back down to his office anyway. She unlocked the enchantment that guarded his door and went into the lab to start the prep work. She had found the recipe and gathered all the ingredients for Dreamless Sleep when Snape joined her 15 minutes later.

"Finally," she said, jumping up from the stool. "What took you so long?"

"I was eating, like a normal person. One with table manners," he said lightly. "We can't all unhinge our jaw like a snake and devour a whole ham in less than 30 seconds."

"I was in a hurry," she said, feeling her face flush and she smacked his arm playfully. His dark eyes flashed hungrily and for just a moment he smiled. Then he stepped away from her, his expression neutral.

"Start chopping the valerian roots and I'll light the cauldron," he said.

"Yes sir," she said obediently.

They worked in comfortable silence for a while, preparing ingredients and adding them to the cauldron in a seamless, synchronized flow.

When the cauldron had to stew for 15 minutes, Freddie decided to speak up, knowing she was pushing her luck.

"It's the weekend," she said casually.

"A very astute observation," he drawled and she rolled her eyes before continuing.

"I thought," she said, her eyes on the workstation in front of her. "Do you think...do you want to go back h- to your house?"

She'd almost said 'home' but caught herself in time. She had to stop thinking of Spinner's End as home. It wasn't her home, it was his.

He looked at her with a pained expression on his face, an expression she'd only seen once before when his cauldron had exploded in his bedroom.

"It's not a matter of want, Winifred. I want to," he said, his voice low as he stepped closer to her. "I really want to..." He was close enough to touch her now. "But we can't. Not this weekend. We have to-"

"Be careful," she finished with a sigh, looking down at her boots. "And keep our heads down. I know."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, lifting his hand to touch her cheek. She closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his touch on her skin.

"Me too," she whispered.

She felt his lips press to her forehead ever so gently, for just a moment. She opened her eyes as he was pulling away. He let his hand linger a while longer then dropped it. They both sighed as he turned away.

"I'm sorry," he said again, not looking at her.

Freddie slid from the stool and put her hand on his arm.

"Let's finish our potion," she said, giving his arm a light squeeze.

"Right," he agreed. "Have you got the mallowsweet ready?"

"Yep," she said and returned to the workstation.

#

A few hours later they'd finished the potion. Freddie retrieved several large flasks from the supply closet and bottled the potion while Snape cleaned up the workstation.

"Do you want me to take these up to Madam Pomfrey?" she asked as she sealed the bottles.

"No, I will take them to her before breakfast. It's past curfew already," he said, drawing his wand and approaching the cauldron. "Evanesco."

The last dregs of the potion disappeared, leaving the pewter cauldron spotless.

"Oh," Freddie said, checking her watch. "I suppose it is pass curfew."

She glanced at the door but hesitated. She didn't want to leave yet. She looked back at Snape to find him watching her intensely.

"Tea, I think," he said softly, touching her elbow gently, leading her back out into his office. "Then you will return to your dormitory."

"Yes sir," she agreed, glad she didn't have to leave him quite yet.

She shed her outer robes and balled them up, shoving them into her bag as she did. She was left in her skirt and button up white shirt. She loosened her Slytherin necktie and flopped into her chair in front of Snape's desk.

"Noelle," Snape called as he sat. The elf appeared in a split second. "Brew #5 please."

"Yes Master Snape," Noelle said with a bow, then vanished again.

When Noelle brought the tea Snape poured Freddie a cup then poured one for himself as well.

"I have more potions to brew for the hospital wing this weekend. You can assist – if you've finished all of your homework," he said, sipping his tea.

"Well I have an essay to finish for McGonagall and I'm supposed to practice the Drought Charm for Flitwick's class," she said slowly.

"I suppose I will handle the potions myself then," he said in his low, silky voice.

"No no no," she said hastily. "I can help! I want to help. I'll do my essay first thing in the morning, then I'll work on the Drought Charm tomorrow night. How hard could it be?"

"Hmm," he said, placing his cup on the saucer. "You may do your essay here, tomorrow morning – unless you prefer working in your Common Room?"

"Are you kidding? All that noise? I'd much prefer the peace and quiet here. I can get it done in a jiffy," she declared.

He hid his smile behind his teacup and nodded slightly.

The more tea Freddie drank the drowsier she felt. She could taste the chamomile and valerian root and knew that Brew #5 must be a tea for sleep. She drained her cup and let out a loud yawn.

"Bed, little girl," Snape said, leaning across the desk to take the empty cup from her.

"But-" she began.

"No arguments. Don't make me give you detention," he warned.

She grinned sleepily at his threat. They both knew she wasn't scared of serving a detention with him. But she was tired. She stood up from the chair and stretched, yawning again.

"Alright," she said, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "I'll see you bright and early in the morning."

"Goodnight, Winifred," he said as she headed for the door.

"Goodnight Severus."

Freddie entered the Common Room with nothing but thoughts of her warm cozy bed in her mind. She was halfway across the room when she noticed a frantic-looking Amelia sitting at a table in the corner, her head bent low over a parchment, pink hair falling across her face.

"You okay kid?" Freddie yawned, approaching her friend.

Amelia jumped, knocking over an ink well as she did. She grabbed her parchment hastily, saving it from the ink that was spreading across the table.

"Freddie! I didn't even hear you come in," she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Whatcha working on?"

"Homework," Amelia said dully. "I'm drowning in it. Everyone warned me fifth year is a pain cuz of OWLs but man. I didn't expect this much work right off the bat!"

"Yeah it's rough. Haven't you been keeping up with it during the week?"

"Well, no, not exactly. I've been spending a lot of time with Brian and I thought I could just watch up on it this weekend...but I got assigned three more essays today! I'll never catch up!"

"You've got to keep on it during the week, don't let it pile up," she warned.

"What are you, my mom?" Amelia asked wryly, cleaning up the spilled ink with her wand.

"I'm serious, Amelia. I can't count how many people passed out or were hospitalized for nerves or exhaustion during my fifth year. I made a small fortune brewing Calming Draughts and Concentration brews around exam time," Freddie said, remembering her own OWL year with not-so-fond feelings.

Amelia looked miserably at the pile of books in front of her and ran her hands through her hair.

"Look," Freddie said kindly, stifling a yawn. "I've got to get up early to brew potions for the Hospital Wing with S- Professor Snape. But I'll try and help you with some of this tomorrow, maybe after lunch. I'll see if he can spare me for a couple of hours."

Privately she was thinking she'd much rather spend the time alone with Snape but Amelia was her friend and she looked close to tears.

"Seriously?" Amelia said weakly, looking up at her.

"Just this once, just to get you caught up. Then you have to stay on top of it, understand?"

"Yes, of course. Thanks, Freddie. You're a lifesaver."

She got up from her chair and hugged her. Freddie extricated herself from the hug and patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"You're welcome. Now, put this away and go get some sleep. You'll be able to tackle this much more effectively if you get a good night's sleep."

"Okay mom," Amelia said, rolling her eyes but grinned to let her know she was only teasing. Freddie smiled back and thought about helping her pack her things away but was interrupted by another yawn escaping her lips.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Night Amelia," she said, heading for her dorm.

"Night Freddie."

Freddie entered her room to the snoring of her bunk mates. She pulled the curtains around her bed and barely had the energy to change into her pajamas. Snape's tea was working its magic and she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillows.