She bypassed the Common Room and headed straight for Snape's office, wanting to know if he was back and where he had gone to. She stopped in front of his door and knocked loudly. Ziggy sat on her boot while she waited for an answer. The door enchantments were in place which meant he wasn't in or he was sleeping. Since Snape wasn't one to take daytime naps, she assumed he was still out.

Just to be sure she knocked again, louder this time, and waited a respectable amount of time before using her wand to lift the enchantments. She darted into Snape's office after Ziggy and closed the door behind them.

The office was empty, as she'd expected, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed...and a bit worried. They last time he'd disappeared on her he'd been avoiding her.

But nothing unusual has happened this week, she thought to herself. Things were getting back to normal. I haven't said any more 'I love you's" or done anything to make him feel uncomfortable. Just last night we had tea and he walked me back to my Common Room and bade me goodnight. I didn't kiss or hug him, I didn't even try. I don't want to force him back into anything, I'm just happy to have my friend and mentor back. But now he's disappeared on me again...

She walked absently around his office, maybe pacing slightly, as she worried over him. Ziggy had jumped up on Snape's desk and when Freddie walked close enough he batted something off with his paw. A folded piece of parchment landed in front of her feet and when she bent to retrieve it she saw her name written in familiar script. She opened it curiously.

Winifred,

I will be away from the castle for most of the day. Feel free to use the lab if you wish.

~Severus Snape

She refolded the note and shoved it in her jacket pocket, looking around for some clue as to where he had gone.

"Maybe he went to visit the Malfoys again," she said aloud to Ziggy. "Doesn't seem like he's upset with me at least. He called me 'Winifred' instead of 'Miss Gray'. That's always a good sign."

Ziggy let out a clear meow and sat down on Snape's desk with his tail curled around his paws. He began to groom himself calmly. Freddie went into the lab and looked around, curious if he'd left any instructions for her. There was nothing on the desk, no additional notes, and nothing unusual in the storage closet.

"I can pick something myself then," she said. "And if he's going to be gone for a while, I can play my music."

She went back into the outer office where Ziggy was still grooming.

"I'm going to go get the record player. You coming?" she asked. He flicked his ear towards her but didn't cease his grooming. He didn't seem interested in moving. "Alright, I'll be back in just a minute."

She took her bag with her back to the dormitory so she could unload her purchases into her trunk. She was putting her items from the Apothecary into her Potions kit when she remembered the package Amelia had given her. She sat on her bed and unwrapped it. It was a pair of fishnet stockings similar to the ones Amelia had gotten herself, but these had a different pattern. She couldn't tell what it was without putting them on. She kicked off her boots, peeled off her jeans, and put on the first skirt she could find - her pleated schoolgirl skirt that was part of her Hogwarts uniform. She put on the fishnet stockings and went into the bathroom to check her reflection in the mirror. She grinned when she saw her legs – the stockings had a snakes on them! As she watched the snakes began to move, slithering their way around her legs.

"Oh wow!" Amelia said, appearing in the mirror behind her. "They look fantastic!"

"They really do. Thanks, Amelia. I love them," she said, turning to face her friend.

"I knew you would," she said, grinning. "They're infused with magic that makes them move like that. And Muggles can't see them moving, so no worries if you're out in public."

"Awesome. I thought you were still down at the Quidditch pitch?"

"Practice is over."

"Did you get to talk to Dalton?"

"Eh, no, not really. He flew over my head once when he was chasing a rogue bludger and he said 'Hey Avery'. And he saw me sitting in the bleachers at the end of practice and he smiled at me – at least, I'm pretty sure he smiled at me. There was no one else near me so probably he was smiling at me. But then he went into the locker room with the other guys. I sat there for a minute but I didn't want to seem desperate so I didn't stick around. Figured maybe I'd see him in the Common Room later."

"Makes sense," Freddie said with a nod.

"I thought you'd be working on a potion with Professor Snape. What happened?"

"He's out of the castle, but he left a note saying I could use the lab. I just came back to get my record player then I'm heading back down there. Ziggy was grooming himself of Snape's desk when I left."

"Ah, okay," Amelia said, seeming distracted by her own reflection in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her hair and fluffed it up a bit.

"Hey, do you want to try your hand at coloring my hair?" Freddie asked suddenly.

"Yeah!" she said enthusiastically. "Definitely – it will only take a minute. Do you want to do black and red ombre? I think that'd look amazing on you."

"Actually I was thinking black and green. You know – Slytheriny."

"Ooo yeah. Not a problem," Amelia said, getting her wand out of her pocket. "Just hold still..."

When Freddie returned to Snape's office her hair was emerald green and black. She was still wearing the snake leggings and she had Daniel's record player and several records in her bag. She had gotten a couple of new records at the store in Hogsmeade that she was eager to listen to, including one recently released album by an American rock band called the Black Crowes.

Ziggy was curled up asleep on Snape's desk. He opened one eye and watched her cross through the office into the brewing lab, but he didn't get up.

"No comment on my hair, Zigzag?" she called as she put the record player on the workstation in the lab. He didn't respond. She peeked her head back out the door to see that he had fallen back asleep. She grinned and ducked back inside. She looked through the records she'd brought with her and decided to start with the Black Crowes. She put the record on and sat down to flip through a book and find something to brew.