It was a little after 10 when they left the castle and the rain was still pouring down so hard they couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of them. The thunder and lightning were still crashing overhead. Ziggy hesitated in the door of the castle, reluctant to go out in the storm. Freddie shivered as a gust of wind blew rain and sleet in at them.

"You sure you want to do this tonight?" Snape asked, lightly putting his hand on the small of her back.

"Yes," she said, determinedly, pulling out her wand. "I have to. Lumos."

She braced herself then walked out into the rain, heading in the direction of the sundial garden where her phial was hidden with her lit wand held aloft.. Snape hurried after her, using his wand to form an umbrella above them. Her hair was already plastered to her scalp by the time he caught up with her.

"You could have waited," he said, his voice almost lost in the storm.

"What's a little rain!" she shouted back over the wind, grinning at him.

His spell kept the rain off their heads but did nothing for what had already fallen to the ground. They sloshed through puddles and mud and by the time they reached the sundial garden Freddie's boots were soaked clear through to her socks. She went to dig up the vial she had hidden while Snape went from one large stone to the next, tapping each of them with his wand. When he was finished it was clear he'd cast some sort of reflective spell to keep the rain off of the entire area.

"Will that affect the Animagus spell?" she asked, still having to shout a bit as the rain pounded on the invisible barrier.

"It shouldn't," he called back. "I've been studying the process for the last few weeks, reading up on it."

Ziggy was near Snape's feet, his wet fur puffed out unhappily. When a bolt of lightning cracked across the sky, he puffed out even more and let out a hiss.

"You didn't have to come, you know," Freddie said to the kneazle, then looked up at Snape. "You either."

"We're here for you," he said. "Whenever you are ready."

Freddie nodded in thanks. She shook her wand to extinguish it, plunging them all into darkness. She heard Snape's voice then his wand lit up, casting a dim light in their little clearing.

She stood with her wand in one hand and the vial in the other. She looked at the vial – the potion inside had turned blood-red in its time hidden underground. She knew that was how it was supposed to look and it reassured her to see it. She took a deep breath. I can do this, she thought with determination. I am calm. I am determined. I can do this. Whatever form my magic takes, it'll be fine. Even if it's not a kneazle. She glanced at Ziggy who was still huddled by Snape's feet. I can do this. She placed the tip of her wand over her heart like she had every day and night for the past 2 weeks.

"Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus," she repeated clearly as a bolt of lightning crashed overhead. Then she quickly uncorked the vial and downed the contents. She coughed slightly at the taste but held her mouth resolutely shut and swallowed. It burned its way down her throat to her stomach, reminding her of strong scotch, except that once it hit her stomach the pain spread out. From her stomach out to the tips of her fingers and toes burned and itched and Freddie hit her knees in the mud. She thought Snape said her name but she couldn't be sure. She couldn't hear him over the sound of her heartbeat, the pain throbbing in time to it. Then she felt it – a second heartbeat, just like the books had said.

This pain isn't so bad. It's like being spanked, she thought to herself, remembering how she'd learned to control her Occlumency while Snape spanked her. Throb, throb, throb. This is just like that. That wasn't so bad and neither is this. She felt herself grow calmer, then suddenly her vision grew dark.

This is it, she thought with a surge of excitement. There was no fear, no awareness of anything beyond her own body and the double heartbeat inside of her. She'd mastered the pain – it was there but it was irrelevant. Inside her minds eye was a dark fog and now something moved towards her through the fog, but still she felt no fear. As the vision became clear she smiled at what she saw.

Then her body was twisting and contorting. She felt the first stab of fear but quickly squashed it down. This is just like taking a Shrinking Solution, she told herself. It will be over in a moment.

She kept her eyes squinched shut through the pain of transforming. The first thing she noticed as the pain started to fade was that everything smelled different. She could smell Snape, a scent with which she was intimately familiar, standing close to her. She could smell a lightly musky scent, with a hint of honeysuckle, just inches away from her. Curious, she opened her eyes and saw that it was Ziggy – and he was at eye level with her.

She was a kneazle, the same as he. It was exactly what she had hoped for.

Ziggy was smaller than she and he sniffed her curiously, his ears and tails twitching. It took her a moment to realize she was reading something from him. Not exactly thoughts and not exactly emotions. Curiosity, then happiness...and love. The word "mum" flashed between them and Ziggy rubbed his head under her chin, ticking her whiskers.

"Whiskers! I have whiskers!" she said or at least she tried to. What came out was an elongated "meeeroooow". She heard a chuckle and looked up at Snape for the first time. He seemed so tall and she could feel emotions from him, too – concern, relief, affection, amusement. She smiled at him and she felt her tail twitch of its own accord.

"Winifred? Are you in there?" he asked.

She meowed 'yes' and she thought it sounded just like Ziggy's meow when she asked him a question, only hers was deeper.

Snape squatted to look at her and Freddie shied away from the tip of his wand which all of a sudden seemed way too bright. In fact everything seemed brighter than before.

I can see in the dark, she realized, looking around.

She could see Snape clearly as well as the large sundial stones, but beyond that – she could see the castle, Hagrid's hut, the Owlery...and beyond that, the Forbidden Forest. And the strangest thing happened. She stared at the Forbidden Forest, into the darkness beyond what she could see...and she felt no fear. For the first time since Daniel had disappeared, she didn't feel nervous or scared of whatever might lurk in the forest beyond the Hogwarts grounds. What did she have to fear? She was strong, her claws were sharp, she had nothing to fear.

She was off across the grounds without even realizing it. Snape was calling her but somehow that seemed unimportant. Ziggy was running beside her and she could feel the excitement coming off him in waves. She hadn't even noticed, but the rain had stopped completely the moment her transformation was completed, as if all the energy of the storm had gone into changing her from human to animal.

She and Ziggy entered the forest together at a run, bounding over puddles and darting under fallen trees. There was a myriad of new smells here and Freddie wanted to stop and investigate everything, but Ziggy kept her going. "Fun" was the word that passed between them as they raced each other in no particular direction. "Fun! Fun, Mum, Fun!"

They had found a sort of trail and were racing down it when Freddie caught a strong, pungent scent, like grass and wild oats. It was familiar somehow and she was trying to place the scent when she heard the pounding of hooves coming towards them – and fast.

"Ziggy, move it!" she tried to say but again it came out a meow. He slowed and looked at her curiously. She felt his confusion. She ran to him and, by instinct, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him off the path into the tall grass. He tried to twist out of her grasp but stopped suddenly as a herd of centaurs galloped down the path they had just been on.

Ziggy flattened himself to the ground and she could hear his heart beating rapidly in his chest. She crouched beside him and gave his head a reassuring lick.

Did I just lick him? Yuck, Freddie thought. But it was like there were two parts to her mind now – rational human and instinctive animal, both battling the other. Probably best to just roll with it, not fight it, she thought as she continued to lick him, cleaning the mud from his face.

The centaur herd passed on without noticing them, or if they did notice them they didn't care. Freddie's big kneazle ears could hear their hoof beats as they got farther and farther away. She could hear other things, too. Smaller hooved animals moving a few yards away – deer. Owls hooting in the trees. Rabbits in the underbrush, even tiny field mice. Something large was moving towards them from the direction of the castle, but Ziggy took off again suddenly. "Fun, mum" floated back to her as she chased after him. She grinned as she chased after him, thinking that this was hers, her baby, her kitten, and they were playing and it was wonderful.

It didn't take long for Ziggy to tire. He was still a kitten after all and much smaller than her. He started to slow down but didn't stop and Freddie realized his ears were twitching. He was following the sound of something but she heard too many things to be sure what he was listening to.

"What is it?" she asked him, but it came out an inquisitive "mrrow?"

She tried thinking it at him instead, directing her thoughts towards him in much the same way as she did when communicating with Snape through Legilimency. Where are you going? She thought, pushing the thought towards him. He looked at her with his bright green eyes which seemed to glow in the dark, but he didn't seem to understand. Where? She asked, thinking maybe she could keep it simple. What?

His tail twitched and she felt amusement from him. He didn't answer in a word but in a feeling. Thirsty.

They came out of the brush near a river that Freddie immediately recognized from herb-gathering expeditions with Snape. Ziggy trotted to the water's edge and Freddie followed him, thinking about the grindylow she knew sometimes lurked in the area. She kept a watchful eye on the water while Ziggy sat and lowered his head to lap at the water. She didn't see anything moving beneath the surface but was fascinated by the ripples his tongue made on the water. Then she realized she was thirsty too and she sat beside him. She lowered her head to drink – and immediately sucked water up through her nose. She leapt back from the water, hacking and sneezing. Ziggy watched her, amusement radiating from him in waves.

Something crashed through the forest behind them and Freddie immediately felt defensive. Her fur stood on end and she hissed, standing between Ziggy and whatever it was.

"Don't run off again!" said a familiar, annoyed voice, and Freddie's hackles lowered as Snape emerged into the clearing. He was carrying her bag over his shoulder, his wand was lit in front of him, and his pants were muddy. "What on earth are you doing, Winifred?"

She could feel his annoyance and his worry. He was worried about me, she thought, feeling amused. Why worry? Nothing in this forest can harm me.

She opened her mouth to tell him to, then remembered she couldn't talk. She tried to direct the thoughts to him like she had Ziggy. She was surprised to find herself purring as she jogged towards him. She wanted to be near to him suddenly and before she knew what was she was doing she was rubbing her body against his legs.

"I am not amused, Winifred," he said haughtily, but she could tell he was. He was amused but his concern for her safety was outweighing it.

I'm fine. Nothing in this forest can harm me. I'm not scared.

His expression changed minutely and it seemed he heard her thoughts, at least partially.

"It's foolish not to have some modicum of fear in the Dark Forest – to run around willy nilly like nothing can hurt you. Fear makes you smart, makes you more alert. There are actual dangers that lurk in this forest," he said sternly. "And you don't even have your wand."

Freddie scoffed at him – a hacking sound in her kneazle body – and stalked away from him. Wand? She thought. Who needs a wand? Nothing can hurt me.

She noticed the soft bark of a birch tree that was growing along the water's edge and suddenly her claws felt itchy. She approached the tree, stood on her hind legs, and dug her claws into the bark. It felt good and she continued sharpening her claws on the tree trunk while Snape watched with his arms crossed.

"Don't you think you should transform back now, Winifred?" he asked testily. She pretended not to hear him. Thin strips of bark came off the tree beneath her claws and with her jaws parted she could sense it – a sense that was somewhere between smell and taste. And not just the tree, she could scent the river too, the water and the fish within, the snake on the shore on the other side, and Snape with his earthy, herbal scent that made her feel warm.

She was still thirsty so she left the tree and went back to the water's edge. Ziggy had left the river and was threading himself between Snape's legs. She could sense her kit's affection and it made her happy. "Good" came the unspoken thought between the two kneazles. "Good man. Mum."

She felt herself purring again as she lowered her head to the water. This time she was careful and slow, dipping her tongue into the water. She thought she was supposed to scoop water into her mouth with her tongue, but it didn't work quite right. Her chin got wet, more water went up her nose. There was a flash of silver beneath her face as a fish darted beneath the surface, startling her. She lost her footing, tried in vain to dig her claws into the earth, then found herself submerged in the water.

She felt cold and panic as water filled her lungs. She tried to think – to remember to hold her breath, to propel herself upwards with her arms, but she didn't have arms and it was so, so cold. A hand closed around the scruff of her neck and she was pulled from the water, coughing and clawing wildly.

"Ow!" said Snape's voice and she was dropped hard on the ground.

She crouched there, coughing up water and shivering. She couldn't remember ever being this cold and the feeling of her fur being wet was horrible. She wanted to go curl up in front of a fire somewhere and lick herself dry.

"Anapneo!" said Snape's voice and Freddie felt the spell force the last of the water from her lungs. She took a deep breath and shivered, feeling miserable. Ziggy hurried to her side and pressed himself against her. She could feel his worry. On instinct she began to lick her paws when she noticed she could smell blood. Am I injured? She thought, looking down at herself.

"No, you scratched me," Snape said bitterly and she realized he was holding his arm, which was bleeding. She felt alarmed and guilty. She ran to him, no longer caring that she was wet, and jumped up at her bag which was hanging off his shoulder.

Dittany, she thought, batting the bag with one paw. In my bag. Dittany. Can you hear me? I'm sorry. Can you hear me? Dittany.

"It is not wholly clear, but yes," he said, opening her bag and digging through it. "It's hard to explain."

I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to, she thought, trying to sniff his wound. He waved her off. He found her potions kit and looked around before finding a stump to sit on. She followed him over and stood on her hind legs, front paws on the stump, as he found the dittany. As he chewed the herb he lay his wounded arm on his leg and Freddie sniffed it curiously. It was a deep scratch, about four inches long, and it was bleeding. The animal part of her brain felt oddly proud that her claws were so sharp but the human part of her was horrified. She tasted blood before she realized she was cleaning the wound with her tongue.

"Stop that," he said, spitting the dittany into his free hand and scowling at her. "It feels weird."

He pressed the herb to the wound and Freddie watched curiously. She could smell the dittany working – the familiar scent of dittany, mixed with his spit, mingled with his blood and something she couldn't describe.

"Magic" came the word from Ziggy, who was also watching with his head tilted.

Magic? She asked, glancing at him. His tail twitched and he blinked slowly. Healing, Freddie directed at him. Not magic. Healing. Dittany.

"Magic" Ziggy said again, though it wasn't really speaking.

Freddie wondered at this, at this strange new form of communication she had with her kneazle. Was it part of being an Animagus? Or was it specific to kneazles? Could she teach him to communicate better, teach him new words?

"Winifred, you're shivering," Snape said, tossing the used dittany off into the woods. There was a faint pink scar left behind and blood that was rapidly drying. He wiped it on his cloak absently. "Don't you think you should change back? Can you change back?"

Freddie hesitated. She didn't know if she could change back, she hadn't tried. She hadn't even thought of it.

What if I can't? She thought, then the animal confidence broke through. Of course I can, I'm a kneazle. I can do anything. Something subtle changed in Snape's face, some sort of realization she couldn't place. She couldn't read anything from him.

From what she'd read in all her research, all she had to do was picture her human form to change back. She sat down with her eyes closed and pictured herself as if she were looking in a mirror, concentrating hard. She knew it worked when she felt her limbs start to contort again. Her fur shrunk back into her skin and suddenly she was freezing again. She felt goosebumps erupt all over her skin and then she realized she had skin again! She opened her eyes and found herself sitting on her butt on the ground, completely human...and completely naked.

"Where are my clothes?" she yelped, teeth chattering. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at Snape, who looked unable to contain his smile. Then he started to laugh and the sound startled her, as it wasn't something he did very often.

"It's n-not f-f-funny, S-Severus!" she said, getting to her feet. "I'm going to get f-frostbite!"

"You deserve it," he said, smirking, trying to contain his laughter. "You shouldn't have run away from me."

"I d-d-didn't, I- ugh," she said, stamping her bare feet on the frost-hardened ground, trying to get warm. "C-can we talk about this when I'm d-dressed? Are my c-clothes back at the garden?"

"I brought them," he said, opening her bag and pulling out her clothes and shoes. "And your bag. Here."

He put her bag and clothes on the stump. She put her underwear on first, then tried to put on her fleece-lined leggings but her hands were shaking.

"Lean on me," he instructed, taking the leggings from her. She was too cold to argue and she put her hands on his shoulders, lifting one leg to step into the leggings he held, then the other. She sat on the stump to put on her dark green wool sweater and her dragonhide jacket. Snape knelt before her and put her socks on for her, then her boots. He was still smirking slightly when he straightened up. Freddie was still shivering, wishing she had some of the scotch from earlier. She was cold all the way to the bone.

Snape took his cloak off and draped it over her shoulders. He fastened it around her neck, then pulled her to her feet and kissed her. She thought the kiss did more to warm her than having her clothes back on. When he released her, she was smiling.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much," she said on exhale.

"Good. I have half a mind to push you back into the river," he said, his expression becoming stern once again. "But then you might freeze to death and I can only imagine the paperwork."

"You wouldn't do that," she said, mock-hurt, quickly walking away from the river. "Besides, you'd miss me if I were frozen."

"Hmm. Why on Earth did you run off into the forest, Winifred?" he demanded.

"I don't know," she admitted, thinking back to how she'd felt and wondering how to put it into words. "It seemed like the right thing to do. I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared at all. And Ziggy was running and I was following him-"

"He was following you," Snape corrected.

"He was?" she asked and he nodded. "I thought I was following him. Maybe not. I, uh...jeez it's hard to explain."

"Try," he said shortly.

"I wasn't thinking like a human. Not the whole time. And there were all these smells and colors and sounds. And I wasn't scared of the forest," she said, feeling a little thrill of nervous excitement. "Ever since...Daniel...any time I'm in the forest or even just near, I feel...nervous. Even now." She glanced around them at the trees, which seemed dark and foreboding to her human eyes. "Sometimes I hear screaming..."

"Screaming?" he repeated, his face blank and without emotion.

"Yeah," she said and swallowed heavily, looking down at the ground. "The same screaming I heard when my uncle forced me to go to Azkaban. D-Daniel's voice, telling me to run, that something's coming to k-kill me." She hated herself for stammering and tried to blame it on the cold. She looked back up at Snape. His face was still blank but his eyes looked full of warmth and concern.

"Let's head back to the castle," he said, touching the small of her back briefly to nudge her in the right direction. "You'll feel warmer when you start moving around."

"Yeah, okay," she said, sticking her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she started walking.

"Hey," he said, sliding her bag of his shoulder and holding it out to her. "I'm not carrying your things now that you have arms again."

Freddie smiled in spite of herself and took the bag. Ziggy sat at her feet and meowed loudly, refusing to move. She didn't have to be in kneazle-form to know what he wanted – he was tired and wanted a ride. It had happened before around the castle.

"Here Ziggy," she said, opening the flap on her bag and pushed her few books down flat on top of her potions kit. He leapt into her bag and settled in.

"Could you understand him when you were an Animagus?" Snape asked as he led the way through the forest.

"Mostly. Couldn't you?"

"No. I only got glimpses of things from you. It wasn't the same as using Legilimency and communicating that way. Not full sentences, but a sort of mix of words and emotions."

"That's exactly how it felt communicating with Ziggy," she said excitedly. "Only on a really simple level. Emotions mostly and a few word/feelings. 'Mum' 'Fun' 'Good man'."

"Good man?" he repeated.

"When he was threading himself around your feet, that's what he was feeling. He thinks you're a good man."

Snape glanced back at her, at the kneazle sitting in her bag.

"He's not very smart then," he muttered. Freddie scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. If you weren't a good man, you wouldn't have come after me. You wouldn't have been out in the storm with me in the first place, she thought. She didn't say it out loud because she wasn't sure how he'd respond, but she didn't try to shield her mind in case he was listening.

"So, do you think I could understand Ziggy because I was an Animagus? Or because I was a kneazle specifically?" she asked, steering the subject back on topic.

"I am unsure," he said. "You could ask Minerva. I suspect it is because you were a kneazle and they are known to be very good judges of character, with some people having the impression they can read minds. But I do not know if Animagi in general can communicate with other animals."

"Hmm. So why do you think I could sort-of communicate with you then? You're not an animal or an Animagus."

"Again, I can only theorize. But the fact I know your mind so intimately may have something to do with it."

"Were you trying to use Legilimency on me?" she asked curiously.

"Not at first. Then I got the feeling you were trying to tell me something- when you were rubbing yourself against my legs," he said, glancing back at her with a smirk and she blushed in the dark. "I tried to use my Legilimency on you, but all I got were your feelings of amusement and the words 'not scared'."

"Well I wasn't scared," she said, drawing closer to him on the narrow path between the trees. "When I was transformed...I felt like nothing could hurt me. I'd claw them to shreds."

"You'll claw to shreds anyone who helps you, too," he said dryly.

"I didn't mean to do that," she said sheepishly. "I am sorry. Really sorry. I was trying to tell you – you got that, right?"

"Yes, I got that. It's fine," he assured.

"I thought I was drowning," she said, embarrassed. "I was trying to drink water, but I couldn't figure it out. I thought I was supposed to scoop it into my mouth but that didn't work. I guess I need to practice. Ziggy was messy too when he first started drinking milk from a saucer instead of a bottle."

"I doubt Ziggy ever almost drowned in his milk," he said. "You need to be more careful."

"I know. It seems so...so obvious now. I shouldn't have gotten so close to the edge of the river when it was muddy. And I definitely shouldn't have run off into the forest alone."

"And you should have stopped when I shouted for you."

"I didn't even hear you," she admitted. "You don't understand – there were a million sounds I could hear. Centaurs, deer, rabbits, owls, mice. All sorts of creatures, big and small, and it was overwhelming and exhilarating at the same time."

"It sounds like you enjoyed it. You don't regret doing it?"

"Running off into the forest?"

"Becoming an Animagus," he clarified.

"Definitely not!" she declared. "I do regret going off into the forest. It was like...an animal part of me took over and the rational, human part got pushed aside."

"Hmm," he said and gave her a curious glance. "I can't imagine that I would enjoy that sensation. It sounds like the Imperius Curse – doing things you do not want to do."

"It's not like that," she insisted. "I mean, I've never had an Imperius Curse cast on me, but I'm guessing that would be really unpleasant. This was fun."

"It is actually not so unpleasant," he said, stepping over a fallen limb and turning back with his lit wand held aloft so she could see.

"Really?" she asked as he helped her over. Their eyes met for a moment, then he turned and kept walking.

"When adequately cast, the Imperius Curse places its victim in a calm, trance-like state, where all trace of responsibility and unhappiness disappears. You didn't learn this in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Nope. Every teacher we've ever had skirted around the subject of Unforgivable Curses like they were, well, taboo."

"Ugh," Snape scoffed. "That is why Albus should give me the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. None of you have a well-rounded education in the subject, none of you are prepared for what's out there. You wouldn't know how to defend yourself against the Dark Lord or a Death Eater – or an Auror who's after you because he thinks you're a Dark Wizard!"

Freddie watched his back curiously but he didn't glance back at her. She had never seen him so animated on the subject. Personally, she thought she could probably defend herself against a Death Eater or an Auror. Not the Dark Lord, but he was probably dead anyway. Most people thought he was gone for good...though she'd been raised to believe otherwise, by her aunt and uncle. Still it had been ten years since the Dark Lord was vanquished, wouldn't there have been some sign of him by now?

Snape scoffed audibly, but didn't say anything, just kept walking ahead of her.

"So...how would you throw off the Imperius Curse?" she asked curiously.

"It requires a great strength of will and character," he said almost immediately and she could tell he was excited to discuss the subject, to teach her. "The willpower is similar to that used in Occlumency. The most difficult part is that you have to realize what is happening so you can fight it and not get caught up in the weightless, carefree feeling. It all too easy for weaker minds to succumb to the effects of the Imperius Curse. You'd be surprised how easily a fool and his free will are parted."

"Do you think I would be able to fight it off?" she asked and this time he did look back at her, his expression thoughtful.

"It is possible," he reflected. "You can be quite tenacious and your Occlumency is strong."

"You could teach me," she said eagerly and he smiled slowly.

"It is an Unforgivable Curse, Winifred. It is illegal to perform."

"But you would only be doing it to teach me," she argued. "So I can learn to defend myself against Death Eaters or Aurors or the Dark Lord."

His smile faded and he looked away.

"You do not believe the Dark Lord will return," he said dismissively.

"Well...no, not really," she admitted. "Do you?"

He did not answer or acknowledge her question.

"It's been nearly a decade," she pressed on. "Wouldn't someone have heard something by now – one of, uh, you? The Death Eaters?"

Still he didn't answer and a gust of wind blew through the trees, seeming to penetrate even her dragonhide jacket. She quickened her pace and grabbed the back of Snape's shirt. Talking about the Dark Lord in the dark, creepy forest was unnerving. He stopped and put an arm around her shoulders before continuing on. She pressed herself into his warmth and he smiled faintly down at her.

"Nothing will happen to you while you are with me," he promised. "There is nothing to be afraid of here."

"Only if I'm a kneazle and I'm alone?" she asked lightly.

"No, also if you are a human and alone. And Zygmunt doesn't count," he said, glancing down at the kneazle in the bag on her side.

"Right. You know I wouldn't come out here alone – not on purpose. I promised you. And I didn't mean to worry you earlier. It won't happen again."

"I know. I suspect your Animagus personality is not quite in line with your normal personality...even Minerva has a less-serious personality as a cat."

Freddie had seen McGonagall transform in class plenty of times and thought that she looked just as severe in her tabby cat-form as she did as a human. She imagined cat-McGonagall playing with one of Ziggy's toys and chuckled to herself.

"Why didn't my clothes transform with me?" she wondered aloud. "McGonagall's robes always change with her."

"You could ask her."

"Um, no!" Freddie said, horrified at the thought of telling McGonagall she'd been naked in the forest. Snape laughed and gave her a light squeeze.

"Check your books, then. I imagine it's all a matter of practice."

"Speaking of practice," she said. "About the Imperius Curse...?"

"You're incorrigible," he said but he didn't seem mad. She suspected he would like the opportunity to teach her Defense Against the Dark Arts. They could finally see the castle beyond the trees and Snape dropped his arm from around her shoulder before they stepped out of the forest onto the grounds.

"We will discuss it no further tonight," he said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Okay," she said agreeably. After all, he hadn't said no, he just said they wouldn't discuss it right now.

"Incorrigible," he said again and she grinned.