It was after midnight when they returned to the castle. They'd had sex once more, and it had been slow and tender. He had kept his mind open to her, enveloping her consciousness in his feelings of love. It had been pure bliss. When they finally stepped out of the fireplace back in his office at Hogwarts Freddie was still feeling light-headed and she couldn't stop smiling. It was the same goofy feeling she associated Pain-relieving Potion.
"I want to try brewing the Loricatorum Potion again," she said as she went into the lab to clean up the mess from earlier.
"It's almost 1 in the morning," he said from his outer office. He was at the door checking the status of his enchantments, determining if anyone had come looking for him. She assumed they hadn't when he joined her in the lab.
"Yeah but I'm not tired," she said, using her wand to vanish the congealed contents of the cauldron. "And I don't like getting things wrong, especially potions."
"You could do it tomorrow...but you don't really need to."
"What do you mean?"
"You would have gotten it right. You were doing perfectly until I touched you."
"Yeah that was really unfair," she said, but she was still smiling.
"I would not actually have expected you to brew a complete potion with my hand between your legs," he said, smirking.
"I bet I could," she said thoughtfully. "Just not this potion."
"An intriguing proposition," he said. "And one I might just take you up on. But not here and not anytime in the next few days. It is not a skill that would actually help you during the championship."
"True," she chuckled. "...Do I really have to go to bed now? I'm not tired or sore or anything. I feel pretty good. I could brew something else."
"You can help me clean up the workstation, but then you have to go. You need your beauty sleep. We are leaving the day after tomorrow."
"Wait...what? I thought – it's not until the 22nd right? What day is it?" she asked frantically, looking at her watch, afraid she'd somehow missed two days.
"It's not," he said soothingly. "Today is the 18th or I guess it's technically early morning of the 19th now. We are leaving on the 20th because it will take us a while to get there. I didn't tell you that?"
"No! I thought we would just Apparate or something. How are we getting there?"
"You will find out the day after tomorrow," he said with a slight smile as he started cleaning discarded ingredients from the workstation.
"You and your secrets," she scoffed. She joined him at the table and started sorting out usable ingredients from trash.
"It's always better when it's a surprise, isn't it?"
"Better for who?" she asked, but she smiled again. She did like his surprises.
"You always want instant gratification," he said, clicking his tongue disapprovingly, then he gave her a sly smirk. "Good things come to those who wait...I believe you saw evidence of that earlier."
She flushed and the measuring cup she'd been cleaning out clattered loudly to the floor. He let out a bark of laughter. She grabbed the cup quickly and smacked him with it.
"You're mean," she said, grinning.
"Always," he said lightly as he took the useable ingredients back to the supply closet.
"Not always," she said. "You're nice to me most of the time."
"Really? I must be losing my edge," he said from the closet. He came out and looked around the lab. They'd cleaned everything. "Time for you to go to bed, Winifred."
"What about you?"
"Me too," he said. "I am going to bed as soon as you leave my office."
"Alright," she sighed. She gathered her things and he followed her to the door. "I'll see you in the morning. Night."
"Goodnight, Miss Gray," he said and shut the door behind her.
Freddie made her way down the corridor to the Common Room, thinking about everything that had just happened. She knew she should be thinking about the Potions Championship, but she couldn't stop thinking about Snape. She still had a smile plastered on her face and wasn't really looking where she was going when she almost tripped over Ziggy.
"Hey you. Where have you been?" she asked, stopping to try to pick him up but he slipped away, purring. He had been spending more time away from her now that he was getting older. She didn't always know where he was, if he was exploring the castle or outside somewhere. He looked back over his shoulder at Freddie, his green eyes almost glowing as he stepped into the shadows behind a suit of armor. A second pair of eyes appeared in the shadows and Freddie jumped slightly, recognizing the yellow lamp-like eyes. It was Mrs. Norris.
Normally if a student was caught out after hours or misbehaving by Mrs Norris the scrawny cat would be off to fetch Filch who would appear almost instantly. Tonight Mrs Norris didn't run off. She emerged from the shadows with Ziggy and both creatures were purring. The rasping sound seemed odd coming from the older cat.
"Did you make a friend, Zigzag?" Freddie asked, amused. "Is that where you've been?"
Ziggy purred louder and threaded himself between her legs. Mrs Norris kept her distance, sitting down a few feet away to watch the exchange. It seemed unlikely that the ornery old cat would befriend her young, playful kneazle and Freddie couldn't help but chuckle softly. An idea struck her suddenly – in her time exploring the castle in her Animagus form she had never once run into Mrs Norris. She wondered if she'd be able communicate with her the way she did Ziggy.
She knew it was late and she should probably go to bed. Snape had told her to go to bed. But she really wasn't tired and it was the holiday after all. She quickly stashed her book bag behind the suit of armor then shifted easily into her kneazle form.
The corridor seemed instantly brighter with her kneazle eyes and Ziggy bounded towards her enthusiastically with thoughts of "Mum! Mum!" emanating from him. Freddie found herself purring loudly as Ziggy rubbed himself against her. She gave him an affectionate lick on top of his head as she realized just how much she'd missed him. She'd spent so much time studying recently it seemed like ages since she'd spent any time in her Animagus form. Everything seemed so much simpler as a kneazle – she wasn't worried about Snape or about the Potions Championship or anything but spending time with her baby.
Mrs Norris walked over to her, stiff-legged, her yellow eyes narrowed. Freddie could feel the suspicion in her mind but no words or thoughts she could decipher. She felt the fur along her spine rise up as the old cat approached her and began to sniff her. She felt a growl rising in the back of her throat, ready to defend herself if need be.
"Friend." Ziggy thought, butting Mrs Norris playfully with his head. "Friend, Mum. Friend. Good cat."
I see that, Freddie thought, amused as she felt Mrs Norris' suspicion vanished and was replaced by affection. Ziggy let out a meow and flicked his tail across Mrs Norris' face before bouncing away. He looked over his shoulder to see if she would chase him but the older cat sat down. Her expression was stoic but Freddie could feel her amusement. Ziggy trotted back over, batted at her ear, then darted away again. Still Mrs Norris didn't move but her tail began to twitch. Ziggy crouched down and began to stalk her, moving closer inch by inch, until he pounced on her tail. Mrs Norris swatted at him playfully, her claws sheathed, and when Ziggy jumped away she finally gave chase.
Freddie followed them down the corridor curiously. She thought Mrs Norris could easily have caught Ziggy but she seemed to be letting him stay just a little ways ahead of her. His tail was lashing playfully as he ran, jumped, and bounced ahead of them. He was radiating happiness and playfulness.
When they reached the staircase that led out of the dungeons to the Entrance Hall, Ziggy raced up the steps. Freddie wondered how he planned to get out the dungeons without being able to open the door, but he didn't seem deterred. When he reached the top step he turned and leapt onto a small ledge off the left of the stairs that Freddie had never noticed before. It was just a little outcropping of the bricks, just big enough for Ziggy to lay down on if he wanted to.
He sat on the far edge and meowed loudly, looking from her to Mrs Norris expectantly. Mrs Norris padded to the edge of the steps and jumped over effortlessly. Freddie sat there, confused. There wasn't room enough for all three of them on the ledge so what was the point? Then Mrs Norris disappeared, straight into the brick wall, and Freddie gasped. Ziggy was staring at her, his tail dangling over the ledge. "Come, Mum. Come. Magic."
Magic, Freddie thought wondrously. Could it be...
She hesitated at the edge of the top step, trying to judge the distance. It looked easy enough for Ziggy and Mrs Norris, but she hadn't been born with cat-like reflexes. Would she even land on her feet if she fell?
She braced herself and jumped. She seemed to hang in the air for a moment then her front paws caught the edge of the stone. She dug in her claws and her hind legs scrambled for a hold on the wall beneath it until she was able to hoist herself up onto the ledge. Ziggy watched all this and she felt amusement radiate from him. She swatted at his ear playfully and he ducked before disappearing into the wall the same way Mrs Norris had.
Freddie stared at the wall where he'd vanished. It looked like solid stone but a lifetime of magic told her not to believe what she saw. She reached out with one paw to touch the stone and her paw went right through it. She heard Ziggy meow on the other side of the barrier. Cautiously she pushed through it and stepped out into a small tunnel that would have been pitch black if it weren't for her kneazle eyes. Ziggy and Mrs Norris were waiting for her and Ziggy took off immediately when she stepped through. Mrs Norris followed and Freddie followed a few steps behind, looking around.
The tunnel was small, no way a human could have made it. But a human had to have made it, she thought as the tunnel sloped upwards. Maybe one of the founders was an Animagus? Nothing bigger than a cat could possibly use this tunnel.
Ziggy kept walking for what felt like hours, pushing through spider webs as he followed the tunnel up. Eventually even smaller tunnels opened up off the sides of the one they were in. Freddie was eager to explore them but Ziggy kept going straight ahead. Her ears caught the sound of tiny scrabbling feet from the other tunnels – rats and mice. She could smell them and she felt a pang of hunger in her stomach. Yuck, she thought, but she licked her lips. She could taste them and the kneazle part of her brain was telling her to hunt. Fortunately Ziggy was slowing down and she could see what looked like another solid wall up ahead. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were still following, then disappeared. Freddie followed after Mrs Norris and the three of them stepped out into the Trophy Room.
This is on the 3rd floor, she realized. It's a secret tunnel from the dungeon to the 3rd floor! And what about the other tunnels, where do they go? I could go all over the castle!
Ziggy meowed to get her attention. He was sitting in front of a tapestry, waiting for her. She walked over and he slipped behind the tapestry. She followed him, pushing the tapestry aside with one paw, and discovered a staircase she hadn't known existed. This one was human sized. She knew there were a lot of secret passages throughout the castle, but she'd never seen this one before. She bounded up the stairs ahead of Ziggy, eager to see where it led. It didn't take long to reach the top of the stairs and she pushed through the hidden exit to find herself on the fourth floor near the Charms classroom.
This is so cool! She thought excitedly and looked to Ziggy, pushing her thoughts at him. Show me more! More secret passages. He blinked at her, confused. More magic? She asked. His eyes lit up and he raced away down the corridor, with Freddie and Mrs Norris right on his heels.