Things returned to normal between them after that, though Snape still didn't use his Legilimency to talk to her at night before bed. Other than that things were back to the way they were. Easy conversations, brewing potions together, having tea and sometimes dinner in his office.

The following Saturday was Halloween and when Freddie woke she found herself in an unusually good mood. She couldn't quite put her finger on the reason why. Maybe because she'd finally be able to spit out the mandrake leaf that evening and move on to the next step of the Animagus process.

It was almost 9 when she woke up and she knew if she didn't hurry she'd miss breakfast. She thought about just skipping it and sleeping in a bit longer. Her stomach growled loudly, disturbing Ziggy who had been sleeping on the bed next to her. Her raised his head and looked at her a long moment with his clear green eyes before meowing loudly.

"Morning Zig," she said, smoothing down his sleep-mussed fur with her hand. "Guess we should go get breakfast, huh?"

The kneazle meowed again and got to his feet. She watched him stretch – first arching his back, then going down on his front paws, sticking his butt in the air. She chuckled quietly and sat up to stretch as well, reaching her right arm up and leaning to the left side, then doing the same the other way. Ziggy was watching her and she thought he looked amused at the popping sounds her back made.

"That's what happens when you spend hours hunched over a cauldron," she explained as she got up to get dressed.

She could tell it was a beautiful day outside already. Strong sunlight was filtering down through the water of the lake outside her window, causing it to glow even more than usual. She put on dark jeans and a thick black and gray striped v-neck shirt with long sleeves. She shoved her feet into her boots and headed upstairs for breakfast with Ziggy on her heels.

The Great Hall was almost empty but there were a few late-risers such as herself at the tables and there was still plenty of food. Amelia was sitting alone at one end of the Slytherin table, almost nodding off into a plate of eggs, but she perked up a bit when Freddie and Ziggy sat on the bench beside her.

"Mornin' Freddie. Hey Ziggyzag," she said, reaching across Freddie to give the kneazle's ears and affectionate scratch. Ziggy purred briefly then focused his eyes on the bacon and sausage Freddie was loading onto a plate.

"Morning," Freddie said, noting the bags under Amelia's eyes. "You look tired. Late night?"

"Eh, something like that. Brian and I got into a fight," she said sourly.

"What, like physical?" she asked, alarmed, ready to defend her friend. She dropped the sausage onto her plate and looked her over for bruises.

"Oh no, nothing like that," she assured her quickly, waving her off. "Just an argument. Though if it had turned into a duel, I wouldn't be the one injured, you can bet on that!"

"Of course," Freddie said with a smile, then took a bite of bacon. "So what happened?"

"I had an essay I needed to finish for Care Of Magical Creatures and he was trying to convince me to sneak out with him for a little 'alone time'. I was trying to tell him that if I finished my essay last night then we would have hours of alone time together today in Hogsmeade but it turned into this whole big thing." Amelia rolled her eyes and stabbed her fork into her eggs with a bit more force than was necessary.

"Hmm," Freddie said, taking a bite of sausage. She chewed and swallowed it before speaking. "Maybe I should talk to him for you. Fifth year can be a pain, it's important to keep up on your schoolwork."

"That's not necessary. I finished my essay last night – or early this morning, depending on how you look at it. I think it was 3 a.m. before I finally went to bed. And he's going to Hogsmeade with Bobby Drake and Colin Calhoun," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Ah," Freddie said. She tore of a piece of sausage and set it on the bench next to her for Ziggy. He wrapped his tail around his paws and sat demurely, taking small bites of the sausage while Freddie munched on a piece of toast.

"Boys suck," Amelia declared and Freddie nodded in agreement, her eyes wandering up to the staff table. Snape wasn't there, but it was clear that some teachers had already been in and left. McGonagall was one of the only ones left up there, sipping tea and reading the morning paper over her spectacles. Hagrid was up there as well and when he spotted Freddie looking around he grinned and waved cheerfully at her. She smiled in return and quickly returned her attention to her food.

"Have you seen Professor Snape this morning?" Freddie asked casually and Amelia glanced at her with a hint of a smile.

"You missed him, he ate earlier."

"Eh, I felt like sleeping in this morning."

"No potions brewing?"

"Not today. At least, not yet."

"I guess you two made up, huh? You've been in a much better mood this week."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Freddie said quickly, forking up some eggs and taking a big bite.

"Uh-huh," Amelia said with a knowing grin that Freddie studiously ignored, focusing on chewing her food. "...I don't suppose you want to go to Hogsmeade with me? I'm all caught up on homework and I don't really want to go by myself. Not with Brian and his buddies hanging around. Since Professor Snape isn't here and you don't have any potions brewing..."

Freddie thought about it a moment then nodded agreeably.

"Sure, I'll go. We haven't been anywhere together since the summer."

Amelia's face brightened considerably and she finished the food that was on her plate with renewed vigor.

"That's cuz you're always busy brewing," she said teasingly. "We can go shopping and have lunch later – oh and I heard there's a new shop in town! I don't know what it is though."

"Sounds like fun," Freddie said with a smile.

She finished eating quickly then headed back to her dorm to grab her money pouch with Amelia and Ziggy following behind her.

"I'm gonna change and grab my purse. I'll meet you in the Common Room in five minutes," Amelia said before darting down the hall to the fifth year dorm. Freddie got her fur-lined cloak from the hook near her bed and fastened it around her neck. It had been chilly in the Great Hall even though the sun was shining so she grabbed her Slytherin scarf from her trunk as well. She emptied her book bag and slung it over her shoulder, figuring she'd need it if they did a lot of shopping. She dropped her coin pouch into it and put her wand in the pocket of her cloak. She checked her reflection in the mirror in the bathroom, decided she was satisfied, and went to the Common Room to wait for Amelia.

She was sitting on one of the leather couches in the Common Room with Ziggy beside her when Amelia finally walked out ten minutes later. Freddie stood, about to ask her what took so long, but stopped when she saw Amelia's hair. She had used some sort of Color-Changing Charm on her hair and it was a deep purple mixed with black.

"Wow!" Freddie said, deeply impressed. "That must have been difficult. I'm surprised you did it so quickly."

"You like it?" Amelia asked, her cheeks faintly pink. "I've been practicing it for a while actually. I just felt like I needed a change today."

"I love it," she said truthfully. "It's simply stunning. I mean wow. If you ever need a job you could be a magical hairstylist."

"Thanks," she said with a grin.

Someone wolf-whistled from across the Common Room – a sixth year boy with lanky blonde hair that Freddie didn't know but she was ready to jinx him if Amelia was offended.

"Lookin good, Avery!" he called to her.

"Thanks, Dalton," Amelia said, her blush deepening.

"Who was that?" Freddie asked her as the two of them left the Common Room with Ziggy trotting after them.

"That's Phillip Dalton. He's a year older than me. We played a friendly game of Quidditch with them once, me and Brian and a bunch of others. And one time when I was working on my Herbology homework in the Common Room late at night he helped me. He's really quite brilliant – and cute, don't you think?"

"I didn't notice. I wasn't looking that closely," she admitted. "Is he nice?"

"He was really sweet when he helped me with my homework, like he didn't make me feel like a complete idiot. And when we were playing Quidditch he stopped Finn Bates, the Gryffindor boy, from hitting me with a bludger. He knocked it right back at him and nearly knocked him off his broom."

"Oh Dalton – he's a Beater, isn't he? One of the new ones on the team this year?"

"Yeah! He's really good. Christine and Maggie and I watched the tryouts. Marcus Flint's the new captain, he picked a good team."

"All boys," Freddie snorted. "He's a misogynistic troll just like Maxwell. I thought about trying out but they hardly ever let girls on the team, unless they're dating them – and I don't want to play that badly. And even when they do let one of their girlfriends on the team, they just let them on as backups and they hardly ever get to play unless someone breaks a limb. They spend all their time cheering them on from the sidelines."

"Really?" Amelia said, intrigued. "I didn't know you liked to play."

"Yeah. I make a pretty fair Beater if I do say so myself. I enjoy flying, I don't get to do it often enough."

"We could fly to Hogsmeade! I don't think there's any rule that says we have to walk, is there?"

"I dunno. Guess we'll find out," Freddie said with a mischievous grin. "Come on."

They left the path and headed towards the broom shed at the Quidditch pitch. Ziggy was hot on their heels, trotting after them through the grass. A gust of wind blew a dandelion puff across the lawn in front of him and Ziggy broke off to chase after it. The girls slowed their walk so the kneazle could catch up.

"I wonder if he'll ask me out?" Amelia mused aloud.

"Uh...who?" Freddie asked blankly.

"Dalton. I mean he is really hot," she said dreamily.

"So did you and Brian officially break up last night then?"

"I guess. I don't know. He didn't exactly say that but he was pretty pissed."

"Well to hell with him, then. You deserve better," Freddie said confidently. "Go for Dalton if that's what you want."

She was pretty sure that was what friends were supposed to say. Personally she didn't have much of an opinion on Brian O'Neil vs Phillip Dalton. She didn't know Dalton. Brian was alright but he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. And if he'd tried to make Amelia choose between schoolwork or spending time with him, well, that was a definite mark against him in her book.

"What will Ziggy do if we fly?" Amelia asked as they reached the broom shed.

"I'm not sure," she replied, retrieving her Moonsweeper from the shed. She picked a few cobwebs from the end. It had been a long time since she'd flown. "He'll probably ride on my shoulder or I've got his pouch around my neck, though he's getting to be too big for it."

Amelia got her broomstick, a Thunderbolt III, and mounted it. Freddie swung her leg over her own stick and looked around for Ziggy. The kneazle streaked across the grounds towards her and leapt onto her broomstick as soon as he reached her.

"Do you want to ride on my shoulder, Ziggy?" she asked, but he had already settled himself directly in front of her and didn't seem intent on moving. "Alright, well, don't fall off."

The girls kicked off from the ground at the same time and rose into the air. There were various students around the grounds and several heads turned their way as they flew towards the village. If it had been cloudy Freddie would have gone higher for some cover, but the sun was shinning bright in the autumn sky.

"Do you think we'll get in trouble?" Amelia called as they flew over the path towards the village.

"I dunno," she said. "I guess it's better to ask forgiveness than permission!"

"Good point," Amelia laughed. "I'm willing to risk detention anyway. This is fun!"

"Definitely!"

They raced half-heartedly towards the village, zipping back and forth around each other. Freddie had worried about Ziggy at first, worried that he might fall off, but the kneazle seemed more balanced on the broomstick than some quidditch players she knew. It was almost like he had a Sticking Charm on him.

They touched down outside of the Three Broomsticks when they reached Hogsmeade. It was still early and Madam Rosmerta was just putting the Open sign on the door.

"Good morning, dears," she said, smiling brightly at them. "Lovely day for a fly, isn't it? I have a broom shed out back if you want to store your brooms there while you explore the village. And don't worry – it's enchanted so that if anyone tries to steal a broom that doesn't belong to them, their legs will be locked together until I personally release the jinx."

"That's awesome, thank you," Freddie said.

"Anytime. I love your outfit, dear – and your hair is simply magical!" Madam Rosmerta said to Amelia.

"Thanks," she said with a grin. For the first time Freddie noticed what her friend was wearing, she'd been too distracted by her hair before. Amelia was wearing a long-sleeved black top and a short black and white plaid bubble skirt that left a long expanse of skin bare between the hem of the skirt and the top of her knee high black boots.

"Aren't you cold?" Freddie asked, amused, as they went around back to store their brooms in the shed.

"Sometimes looking hot is more important than feeling warm," she said, grinning, and Freddie laughed.

"I really do love your hair," Freddie said wistfully. "Maybe you could do something like that to mine sometime?"

"Really? Yeah! I'd love to!"

"You can do other colors, right?"

"Yeah, any colors you want. I can even do rainbow I think."

"I don't think I'm a rainbow kind of girl," Freddie chuckled. "But I like how it's two colors, like how the purple fades to black."

"The style is called ombre. I've seen a red and black that'd look really good on you."

They talked hair as they walked through the village together with Ziggy following close behind, his furry head on a swivel as he took in the new surroundings, his ears pricked forward, tail twitching in excitement. Most of the shops were just opening and they were some of the first students to arrive in Hogsmeade. They went into Dervish and Banges, Honeydukes, and a few other places. Amelia humored her by following her into the Apothecary and Freddie tried not to take too long as she checked out the fresh ingredients. She got some items she needed and a few rarer items that had just come in. She put her packages in her bag as they walked out of the store, except for her new vial of honeysuckle essence. They stood in the sunlight a moment while Freddie uncorked the bottle and dabbed some on her wrist.

"So that's why you always smell so good," Amelia said. "I thought it was an expensive perfume or something."

"Nope, just some good old fashioned honeysuckle essence," she said, taking a sniff of her own wrist. "I'm not really a perfume kind of girl either."

"Hey if it works, it works. Do you want to go in Gladrags next?"

"Sure. I don't think I really need any new clothes, but if you can follow me around the Apothecary I can follow you in the clothing store."

"And give me advice on what looks sexy, right?"

"Right," she chuckled.

They spent the better part of an hour in Gladrags Wizardwear where Amelia bought just about everything she tried on. Freddie tried on a few things but didn't buy anything. Before they left the shop Amelia went into the dressing room and put on a pair of fishnet tights that had a star and moon pattern on them.

"Warmer?" Freddie asked as they left the shop.

"Hotter," she answered with a wink. "Where to next?"

"You said there was a new shop somewhere, right?"

"Oh yeah up near Madam Puddifoots. Let's go check it out!"

They continued up the road past Scrivenshafts and turned down the road that led to the tea shop. Ziggy was bouncing along beside them, occasionally pouncing on nothing at all.

"He seems cheery," Amelia said as they watched the kneazle kitten bound ahead of them, then turn in a quick circle and bounce back.

"I think he's enjoying the sunlight," Freddie said with a smile. "It's been sort of dreary the last couple of days, he's been cooped up in the castle."

"Yeah, it is a nice day," she agreed.

"I sort of wish it wasn't."

"Why?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Well I like the sunshine as much as the next witch but you know I've been working on becoming an Animagus right?"

"Yeah, you've had that leaf in your mouth for like a month."

"Exactly one month today."

"I see you poke it with your tongue all the time like this," Amelia said, poking her tongue up in the top corner of her own mouth to demonstrate.

"I don't even realize I'm doing it anymore," she laughed. "I like to make sure it's still there. I accidentally swallowed it the first time and I had to start all over, it was such a pain! Anyway, tonight I finally get to spit it out. I have to mix it together with a few ingredients in a vial – dew that hasn't been touched by sunlight or human hands for 7 days, the chrysalis of a Death's Head Hawk Moth, and a hair off my own head. Then I have to hide it somewhere it won't be disturbed until the next storm that has lightning. For every day between tonight and the next storm I have to go outside at sunrise and sunset and repeat an incantation with my wand over my heart. If it wasn't so sunshiney then I might not have to wait too long for the next storm. It could be weeks before it storms, maybe months, and I've waited so long already. Plus it might not even work. It's really tricky to do. McGonagall said it took her several tries."

"And it could go disastrously wrong, right? Like you could end up half-transformed?"

"Yeah. When I was in St Mungo's there was a woman in the long-term ward named Agnes who had a failed Animagus attempt. She was covered in fur and she could only bark. And she had a tail. Can you imagine?" she said, shaking her head. It was a testament to their friendship that Amelia didn't make a big deal out of Freddie's having been in St Mungo's. She didn't even flinch.

"They can't fix her?" Amelia asked, horrified.

"Nope. She's been there for years."

"Merlin's beard! I'm starting to think that might not be worth it."

"I'll be fine, Amelia," Freddie assured her. "I'm always careful."

"I hope so... Hey look – that must be the new shop!"

It was a small brick building that was painted yellow with brown spots. A giraffe-like pattern. There was a sign above the door that had 'Animals and Accessories' written in bright yellow letters.

"It's a pet shop," Freddie said and Ziggy looked up at her with an inquisitive 'mrrp?' sound.

"Cool! Let's check it out."

Ziggy leapt onto Freddie's shoulder before she opened the door and Amelia followed them inside the building. The shop seemed a lot bigger on the inside than the out. Two of the walls were lined with cages and tanks which contained a number of assorted animals – mice, rats, snakes, toads, ferrets and rabbits. A third wall was all cages of birds – owls, crows, augureys, and a number of tropical birds. Rows of shelves in the center of store contained any number of items from snacks for various pets to sweaters for cats.

"Why would someone put a sweater on a cat?" Amelia wondered aloud as they walked along the aisle.

"A hairless cat maybe," Freddie suggested. She stopped to look at a cat sweater that had a jack o'lantern on it. She glanced at Ziggy on her shoulder and the kneazle gave her a clearly disparaging look before jumping off her shoulder to the floor.

"Guess we know what you think of that," Freddie said, putting the sweater back on the peg.

"Are there hairless varieties of kneazles?" Amelia asked curiously.

"I've never heard of one if there are. McGonagall might know. I think mostly they're shades of gray and black. Ziggy's coloring is really unique."

"Hello there," said a cheery voice as a witch appeared next to them. She was young with spiky blonde hair and she was wearing bright blue robes and a name tag that identified her as 'Bubbles'. "He's not one of my cats, is he? Sometimes they slip out of their cages when there are so many people in here."

"No, he's mine," Freddie said, quickly scooping Ziggy up in her arms. "He's a kneazle actually and his name is Ziggy."

"A kneazle, wow!" Bubbles said brightly. "That's so cool! I have a few that are said to be kneazle mixes but honestly sometimes I think people just say that so they can charge more. But look at this fellow – that plumed tail, those big ears. He's definitely the real deal. So cool!"

"Yep," Freddie said and Ziggy purred quietly in her arms, his tail lashing.

"You can put him down if you want, it's okay," Bubbles assured her. "I'll make sure no one tries to buy him."

"Uh, thanks," she said, letting Ziggy down gently.

"I'm kidding, of course. Knowing kneazles he'll stick close to you and he's not gonna let a stranger pick him up."

"She raised him from a baby," Amelia piped up. "She bottle-fed him and everything. He won't let anyone touch him unless Freddie's there. I tried to pet him in the Common Room one time when she was in the bathroom and he ran away so fast I thought he'd Disapparated."

"You bottle fed him? That's so cool!" Bubbles said again.

"He was rejected by his mother, I guess because he was a runt," Freddie said, looking down at Ziggy. He glanced up at her with his bright green eyes, looking somewhat offended at being called a runt.

"You're not a runt anymore, Ziggy," Freddie assured him. "You're a big strong boy now."

He purred loudly and headbutted her leg playfully.

"So cool!" Bubbles said for what felt like the millionth time in the last two minutes. "You know you should think about putting a collar on him – we have a huge selection over here, they're really cool!"

"If she says 'cool' one more time I'm gonna hex her," Amelia muttered in Freddie's ear as they followed the witch a few aisles over. Freddie grinned, suppressing a laugh.

"Each one of them is unique and handmade," Bubbles said. "And there's a charm placed on each one that makes it fit perfectly, even as they grow. So you'll only ever need one – unless you just want to change it up for fun. They're all so-"

"Cool," Freddie and Amelia chimed and the witch named Bubbles beamed at them.

"Exactly! Oops, I've got a customer at the register. Just let me know if you need any help with anything!" the girl said then whisked away towards the front of the store.

"Oh my god," Amelia muttered. "Could she be any more annoying?"

"Shh," Freddie said with a smirk and elbowed her friend lightly. "Don't be mean."

"What do you think – she a Hufflepuff? Or Gryffindor?"

"It's a toss up but I'm leaning towards Hufflepuff. Man, some of these collars are really nice," Freddie said, perusing the aisle. There were at least a hundred collars there all made of different materials in every color and style imaginable. "What do you think, Ziggy?"

The kneazle was walking along the aisle ahead of her, looking at the collars on the pegs lowest to the ground. He had a very stoic expression on his face as if he were seriously considering his options.

"What about this one?" Freddie asked, taking a black and green plaid collar off a peg and kneeling to show him. "Slytherin colors."

Ziggy looked at the collar, sniffed it, then turned his back on her with a flick of his tail.

"Guess not," Freddie said, amused.

"Wonder if this comes in human sizes," Amelia said, holding up a black spiked collar. "It would make a sexy choker necklace."

"I've seen necklaces like that in Muggle shops," she said. Amelia grimaced slightly, but didn't make a comment on Freddie visiting Muggle shops.

Freddie looked at the different leather collars. There were different colors of leather, different types of studs and charms. She picked a few off the shelf and knelt on the floor to show them to Ziggy. He sniffed at the one that was studded with fish charms, passed over the one with heart-shaped jewels and a few others. Finally he settled on a plain black one with silver studs and looked up at her with a slow blink.

"You like that one?" she asked and he meowed loudly, putting his paw on it. "Think we can try it on?"

"Well I'm not calling Bubbles over here to ask," Amelia muttered. Freddie chuckled and fastened the collar around Ziggy's neck. It magically shrunk to fit his small neck. It was a snug fit, not uncomfortable. Ziggy's eyes sparkled brightly and he looked like he was smiling.

"Nice," Amelia said admiringly. "He looks like a little badass."

"Yeah he does," she said with a grin. "Come on, tough guy, let's go pay for your collar – unless you want to go back and look at the kitty sweaters?"

Ziggy bounded towards the counter and Freddie and Amelia followed him, sharing a grin.

"He looks cool!" Bubbles said as Ziggy jumped onto the counter next to the register. "Rock on! With the purchase of any collar you can get a custom engraved tag for free – just a little thing that has his name and your name on it. You can get it in a heart, star, or circle shape."

"A circle is fine."

"Cool. You said his name is Ziggy right?" she asked, pulling out a tray of tags from beneath the counter. "And what's your name?"

"Yeah, Ziggy. And I'm Freddie Gray," she said, watching curiously as Bubbles waved her wand over the metal, muttering a spell she didn't recognize. Slowly Ziggy's name appeared in big block letters, then beneath it in smaller letters it said 'Winifred Gray'.

Freddie paid for the collar and Bubbles threw in a pack of homemade cat treats for free, then they left the pet shop. Out on the street the sun was still shining brightly and there were more people out on the streets than before.

"You ready for lunch?" Freddie asked Amelia, checking her watch. "It's after noon now."

"Yeah, let's eat. You wanna go back to Madam Rosmerta's? I'd kill for a burger," Amelia said.