It was nearing 2 a.m. When they finally finished all three potions. Freddie had been stifling her yawns for the last half hour of that time.
"Gather your things and I'll walk you back to your dormitory," Snape said once they had finished bottling the brews. She was too tired to argue, she merely nodded and she pulled her sweater back on over her head. She fastened her cloak over her shoulders, then gently returned Ziggy to his bag without waking him. She slipped the bag over her head then picked up the paper bag of supplies from Magical Menagerie.
"I don't want to find you in my office again at 6 in the morning," he said as they left the lab. "You need to sleep."
"You need to sleep," she mumbled as he opened the door for her. He scowled at her and followed her out the door.
Luckily they did not encounter Filch or any of the Prefects as they made their way from Snape's office to the Slytherin Common Room. When they stopped outside the Common Room, they both hesitated. Snape raised his hand as if to touch her cheek, then seemed to think better of it and let his hand drop.
"Goodnight Miss Gray," he said softly. "Thank you for your assistance."
"Goodnight Professor."
Their eyes met and neither moved or spoke for several seconds. He was the first to look away, then he turned on his heel and started back down the hall. Freddie sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"Wormwart," she said aloud and the door slid open.
She made her way quickly through the deserted Common Room and to her bed. She put Ziggy's bag on her bed, then took off her cloak and sweater. She kicked off her boots, stripped off her jeans, and slid underneath the warm covers. She pulled the bag close to her chest, feeling the lump that was Ziggy through the fabric. She knew she would have to wake up in two hours to feed him again. She was barely able to keep her eyes open as she set her watch. Then she closed her eyes, remembering how it felt to be wrapped in Snape's loving embrace just a few hours earlier. She was asleep in an instant, feeling warm and content.
#
"Oh my god, he's so cute! Where on earth did you get him?"
"What are you- aww! Wow, Maggie, come see this!"
Freddie struggled to open her eyes and looked blearily at the girls surrounding her. Amelia, Christine, and Maggie were all standing around her bed, cooing over Ziggy who was curled up asleep on her chest. She'd had to get up twice to feed him and the last time he'd fallen asleep on top of her and she'd been too tired to move him back to his bag.
"What are you all doing?" Freddie asked sleepily, sitting up in bed, putting a hand on Ziggy so he wouldn't fall.
"You missed breakfast, I was coming to check on you," Amelia said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Where did she come from?"
"He," she corrected. "His name is Zygmunt. Ziggy, for short."
"Aww. Hi Ziggy," Amelia cooed, reaching out a finger to pet his head.
"Where did you find him?" Christine asked.
"Hagrid brought him down to Professor Snape's office – I was in there helping him with some potions – and he thought we could help him with a Strengthening Solution. He was abandoned by his mother," she said, holding the kitten close. "I talked Hagrid into letting me keep him."
"He's so small!" Maggie squealed. "I've never seen a kitten so small."
"He's only a few days old. Let me get dressed and you guys can watch me feed him," Freddie said, motioning them to leave so she could get up. She didn't have any pants on after all.
"Alright!" Amelia said enthusiastically. She hopped up and followed the other girls away from Freddie's bed, pulling the curtains around the bed.
Freddie slid out from under the covers and placed Ziggy gently on her pillow, next to Hemlock. The kitten squirmed around then snuggled up to the stuffed animal. She pulled on her jeans from the night before and found a clean sweater to change into.
"Okay I'm dressed," she said, sitting back down on her bed. The girls jerked the curtains back open and crowded around the bed.
"He's the cutest thing I've ever seen," Amelia said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. "Can I pick him up?"
"Be careful," she said with a nod. "You can hold him while I get his food ready."
Freddie watched her closely from the corner of her eye while she retrieved the unicorn milk and the dropper from her bedside table. Amelia was gentle as she picked Ziggy up. She held him up to her face and kissed the top of his head.
"You are so precious," she cooed.
"Can I hold him next?" Maggie asked, sitting beside Amelia.
"Hey I wanna hold him too," Christine protested. "I'm your cousin, you should give him to me next."
"I asked first!" Maggie said, nudging Christine away.
"Chill!" Freddie snapped. It was harsher than she had intended but Ziggy had started crying. She moved her pillow and Hemlock so she could sit cross-legged at the head of her bed. She put the pillow in her lap.
"Sorry," Amelia said sheepishly, putting the kitten on the pillow. He was still mewing piteously, moving his head blindly. Freddie put the dropper aside and picked him up.
"It's okay," she said soothingly, holding him close to her chest. "Mum's here. You're alright."
Ziggy stopped crying and snuggled against her chest.
"Aww look he knows you already," Maggie said.
"He knows your scent," Amelia added. "They're very loyal animals, aren't they? Professor Kettleburn told us about them last year. I've never seen one before though."
"My Aunt Wilhelmina has one," Maggie said. "She's had her longer than I've been alive. She goes everywhere with her."
"I think they bond with their humans for life," Freddie said with a nod, putting Ziggy back on the pillow. "They're supposed to be very good judges of character."
"How do you know how much to feed him?" Amelia asked curiously, watching as Ziggy latched onto the dropper Freddie held.
"I have a friend who works at Magical Menagerie. I talked to him last night and he gave me some advice on how best to care for him," she said absently, stroking the kitten's back with her free hand while he ate.
As Ziggy ate Freddie told the other girls all about how she was supposed to care for the kneazle kitten. When he was finished she cleaned the supplies and stored the milk away in her bag.
"Is it still raining outside?" she asked as she put the drowsy kitten into his bag and slipped it around her neck.
"Nah, it stopped last night," Amelia said.
"Is it still wet out? I need to find some good puddles to practice my Drought Charm for Flitwick's class."
"Oh yeah it's plenty wet. And it was foggy at breakfast."
"Do you guys want to come outside with me?" she asked as she shoved her feet into her boots and tied the laces.
"Nah we're gonna play a game of Exploding Snap with some of the boys," Maggie said and Christine nodded in agreement.
"What about you, Amelia?"
"I've got to put the finishing touches on my Herbology essay. I might come out later, unless Brian wants to do something."
"Alright. See you guys later," she said, grabbing her cloak. She put Ziggy's feeding supplies in the pocket of her cloak, made sure he was secure in his bag, then left the dorm.
It was still foggy outside as Freddie made her way out onto the grounds, even though it was nearing noon. There was a chill in the air but it was getting warmer. The sun was hidden behind thick gray clouds so she knew the puddles weren't going to dry up any time soon. She'd thought the grounds would be deserted because of the dreary weather. Unfortunately there was a group of small first years splashing around in the puddles near the front door of the castle. A small Gryffindor girl shrieked when she spotted Freddie coming down the stairs. Freddie rolled her eyes and walked past them, ignoring their horrified, frozen stares.
She started towards the Quidditch pitch, thinking she might find a quiet place to practice there, but as she approached she noticed several figures hovering above the field. Quidditch practice, she realized. I wonder which team it is? But she quickly decided that even if it were the Slytherins she didn't want to be bothered by them. Carson Maxwell had graduated last year (barely, according to Snape) but he'd been replaced by a buck-tooted fifth year named Marcus Flint who was just as mysogonistic as his predecessor. He looked like a troll but he was a hell of a Chaser. Last year Freddie would have considered trying out for the vacated Beater position, but this year...she wanted to draw as little attention to herself as possible.
Flint wouldn't let me on the team even if I did try out, she reasoned as she walked away from the pitch. Chauvinistic dugbog.
She was headed for the lake but she could see a group of people lingering there as well. She scoffed loudly and stopped several yards away. She turned in a circle slowly, looking for somewhere, anywhere, where she could be alone to work on her charm. She could see Hagrid outside his cabin doing something in his garden, his bloodhound Fang at his side.
She briefly considered visiting him to update him on Ziggy's condition but quickly nixed the idea. She was supposed to be practicing, she needed to concetrate. She needed solitude. She even thought about going into the Forbidden Forest, just into the edge of the trees, surely that wouldn't be too bad? But I promised Severus I wouldn't go into the forest alone, she reminded herself.
Then her eyes fell on the drooping branches of a large willow tree. The Whomping Willow. There definitely won't be anyone hanging out around there, she thought as she started towards it quickly.
As she approached the tree it shuddered and began waving its branches threateningly. She knew it could only reach so far so she used her wand to draw a glowing line around it, marking the extent of its range of attack. If she was careful she wouldn't have any problems with the aggressive tree.
She thought about putting Ziggy's bag on the ground but she didn't want him to crawl out and get wet. She figured he would be fine in the bag against her chest.
"You'll be alright, won't you?" she murmured aloud, touching the warm bulge gently. "I'm only practicing a Drought Charm, it's not like I'm dueling. You won't get hurt."
The kitten didn't stir which she took as a yes, he'd be fine. There were several puddles around the tree for her to use. She decided to start with the smallest first, a shallow puddle that was less than a foot in diameter. She leveled her wand at it.
"Arefacio," she said with a flick of her wrist.
Steam rose from the puddle but it didn't disappear. She tried it again. No dice. She thought back to her Charms class, remembering the wand movement Flitwick had demonstrated. It was a zigzagging motion with a sharp upwards flick at the end. She tried the movement without saying anything and the puddle vanished.
"I don't think that was right," she said with a frown. "I think it's supposed to evaporate not just vanish. I used a Vanishing Charm on accident. Damn it." She ran a hand through her hair and blew out a sigh. "Alright Ziggy let's find another puddle. This isn't going to be as easy I thought."