Freddie didn't leave the Brewing Lab for the rest of the afternoon. Snape still wasn't back and she wasn't paying much attention to the time. She might have missed dinner but at ten til 5 there was a loud knock on the office door, which startled her. She checked her watch and quickly put a stasis spell on her potion. She stopped the record and walked into the outer office. Ziggy was still stretched out on Snape's desk, his front paws pushing at a stack of parchments. Freddie paused when someone knocked again.
"Should I answer the door?" she murmured and Ziggy opened one green eye to look at her. "What if it's a student? Or a teacher?"
"Freddie, it's me!" called a voice.
"Amelia," she said on exhale as she opened the door. "What's up?"
"I didn't want you to miss the Halloween feast, I know how absorbed you get in your work."
"You're right, I didn't even realize what time it was. Come on Ziggy," she said. The kneazle stood and stretched, knocking a piece of parchment off the desk. Freddie made a mental note to pick it up later and Ziggy trotted out the door.
"Is Professor Snape here?" she asked, peeking past Freddie into the office.
"Nope. If he was, he'd have been the one to answer the door," she chuckled.
"Guess he'll be missing the feast. Any idea where he went?" she asked curiously as Freddie stepped out and shut the door. She pulled her wand out of her jacket pocket and non-verbally placed the enchantments on the door to seal it.
"Nope. Maybe to Malfoys house. Mr Malfoy is like his best friend, I guess."
"Ooo Lucius Malfoy? My dad's friends with him, too. He's hot."
"He's creepy," Freddie said, shaking her head as they climbed the steps out of the dungeon.
"Maybe he had a date or something," Amelia said thoughtfully.
"I don't think so," Freddie scoffed before she could stop herself. "...He doesn't date."
"Maybe he's gay?" she suggested and Freddie stopped in her tracks, giving her an incredulous look. "...Or maybe not."
"Definitely not," she said dryly, rolling her eyes. "...So what did you do after I left?"
"Nothing really. I studied ahead in a couple of textbooks...in the Common Room, hoping that Phillip Dalton would look at me," she whispered, grinning.
"And did he?"
"A couple of times, I think. He was playing card games with some other 6th years. On the bright side, I haven't seen Brian since the Three Broomsticks."
"I think you spoke too soon," Freddie said, nudging her and nodding to where Brian was making out with Lucy Grimes beneath the staircase.
"Ugh," Amelia said, making a face.
"At least your name isn't grimes," Freddie murmured in consolation.
"20 points from Slytherin, Mr O'Neil," said McGonagall's sharp voice loudly, causing the couple to jump. "And from Ravenclaw, Miss Grimes. Both of you into the Great Hall, now. If I see you again you'll be barred from the Halloween feast."
"Sorry Professor," squeaked Grimes, her face red.
"Ha!" Amelia said under her breath. "That made my day."
"Almost as good as Ziggy biting him," Freddie agreed as they entered the Great Hall together.
The hall was now fully decorated for Halloween. Thousands of live bats were fluttering around the room, swooping down at the tables in great black clouds. Jack o'lanterns hovered a few inches above the tables and Hagrid's enormous pumpkins were scattered throughout the room. Amelia and Freddie sat at the Slytherin table and they watched as Brian skulked to the far end of the table away from them.
"I love Halloween," Amelia said, craning her neck up to look at the bats. Ziggy was sitting on the bench seat between them, watching the bats as well. His ears were twitching and his tail lashed back and forth every time they swooped down. When the bell rang at exactly 5 p.m., the empty plates in front of them magically appeared with food.
Freddie loaded her plate with food and began to eat enthusiastically. Periodically her gaze drifted to the staff table, but Snape wasn't there. His empty seat seemed overly conspicuous to Freddie, but nobody else seemed to notice or care, not even the teachers.
Freddie stayed in the Great Hall with Amelia until dinner was almost over. She kept hoping Snape would show, but he never did. The hall was starting to clear out and Freddie was about to gather her things and head back to the dungeon when Madam Pomfrey appeared behind her.
"Miss Gray, can I have a word with you?" she asked and Freddie felt her heart drop into her stomach. Something had happened to Snape. He was sick or injured...
"Of course," she said quickly, pushing back from the table. Amelia gave her a curious look and Freddie shrugged. She followed Madam Pomfrey out into the deserted entrance hall, her heart pounding in her ears.
"I have a second year student who has come down with a really nasty case of the Black Cat Flu," Madam Pomfrey said once they were alone and Freddie blinked at her, surprised. "I've been looking for Severus all afternoon but I can't find him. The headmaster said he was gone from the castle and well, I was trying to wait for him to get back, but my patient is getting worse. If I don't treat him soon I'm going to have to transfer him to St Mungo's."
"Wh- oh! You want me to brew a potion for you?"
"Yes, if you think you can. Normally I wouldn't ask, but it's urgent and I know Severus trusts your skills as a potion-maker."
"Of course. Yes ma'am, I can do it, no problem. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours and I'll bring it up to you as soon as I'm done," she promised.
"Thank you, Miss Gray," Madam Pomfrey said, looking relieved. "I'll do my best to keep his fever down in the meantime."
"Yes ma'am," Freddie said and she hurried down into the dungeons while Madam Pomfrey returned upstairs.