As they continued their southward flight the sun began to sink off to the west, painting the sky a myriad of colors. It was a beautiful sunset, especially over the water, but it made the air even colder. Then when it disappeared completely they were flying in the dark with only the light of the moon and stars to see by.

Freddie bit her lip to keep from complaining about the cold and dark. She knew he probably had not meant for them to fly at night, that their conversation in the woods had set them back an hour at least. She tried singing along to the record to keep her mind off the dark and cold, but it didn't help much.

"You might want to go ahead and turn that off," Snape said finally. "We have nearly reached our destination."

"Thank God," she said gratefully, leaning forward to turn off the record player without complaint. He glanced over at her but said nothing, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"Stay close behind me," he said a moment later as he angled his broom downwards. She followed his descent towards the sparse twinkling lights of a Muggle village. They landed in a clump of trees and Freddie stumbled a bit when her feet hit the ground. Her legs were stiff from flying for so long and she took a moment to stretch. Ziggy stretched as well then perked up and started investigating where they'd landed.

"We'll be staying there tonight," Snape said, indicating a hotel a few yards away. "Do you want to wait here while I get us a room?"

"I'll come with you," she said, putting their brooms away in her bag. "It's too cold to wait out here."

He inclined his head and she followed him towards the building, across an asphalt parking lot where several cars were already parked. Snape found the entrance to the lobby and held the door open for her. She stepped into the warmth gratefully then followed him to where an old Muggle woman was sitting at a desk with what she recognized as a computer from her Muggle studies.

"Bonjour," the woman said, looking between the two of them. "Comment puis-je vous aider?"

"Oh," Freddie said, realizing that they must be in France finally. She looked to Snape.

"Um, une chambre simple, s'il vous plaît," he said slowly.

"One room?" the woman asked, switching to heavily-accented English. "Just for tonight?"

"Yes, thank you," he said with a nod.

"Yes, no problem. Un momen," she said, tapping something into the computer on her desk. Her eyes kept flicking to Freddie periodically, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

She thinks you are too young for me, said Snape's voice in her head and she could feel his discomfort as well. She rolled her eyes at him and took his hand, threading her fingers through his.

"Name please?" the woman asked.

"Steven Sorrel," Snape said without missing a beat and Freddie bit back a smile.

"And you, cherie?"

"Oh, um, Frankie Sorrel," Freddie said, thinking quickly.

"Mm-hm," the woman said, her lips pursed as she tapped on the keys of the computer. "Alright here you are. Room 107."

"Thank you," Snape said, taking the key she offered. "Come along, Frankie."

Freddie quickly followed him back outside, fighting back laughter. Ziggy was waiting for them, his green eyes seeming to glow in the dark.

"Frankie?" Snape repeated with a small smirk.

"Oh shut up," she said, grinning. "Steven. You don't look like a Steven."

"I don't like using my real name with Muggles," he said dismissively, leading her down a row of doors to the one that had 107 hanging on it in brass numbers. "Let's put our bags down and then we can go out for dinner."

He unlocked the door and opened it to reveal a simple room with a large king-size bed, a small desk, a dresser, and some appliances Freddie didn't recognize.. The room was warm and lit with Muggle electric lamps. Freddie sighed contentedly as she stepped into the warmth.

"I would love to go out to eat with you," she said, shedding her cloak and jacket. "But I'm exhausted. I'm sore all over from flying all day."

She put her wand on the bedside table then flopped down on the bed, her legs hanging off the edge, while he shut the door. He put his suitcase down near the desk and unfastened his cloak.

"I'm too tired to even take my boots off," she yawned, stretching her arms on the bed over her head.

"Hmm," she heard him say. She closed her eyes, knowing she'd disappointed him. She started when she felt something touch her leg and she raised her head to see he was kneeling between her legs.

"What are you doing?" she asked, amused, as he began untying her boots.

"You said you were too tired to take your boots off," he answered smoothly. He pulled one boot off, followed by her sock, then he kissed the inside of her ankle. She smiled and lay her head back down on the bed as he moved to do the same to her other boot. When he finished with that one he kissed that ankle, then slid his hands up her calves, her thighs...she jerked her head up again when he started to pull her pants down.

"Now what are you doing?" she asked, but he just looked up at her and smiled. She lifted her hips from the mattress so he could pull her leggings the rest of the way off, along with her panties. He tossed them aside and grabbed her legs again. He started at her right ankle and began kissing his way up her calf...her knee...her thigh. She whimpered softly as he kissed her inner thigh, massaging the left with his hand.

"Still sore?" he murmured, his breath hot against her skin.

"Umm..." She couldn't answer. Her brain had stopped working somewhere around the time he kissed her knee.

"Just relax," he said then her hands gripped the bedspread as he pressed a kiss to the junction of her thighs. He gave her a long, slow lick and her hips arched off the bed again. She felt him chuckle softly before he gave her another lick, his tongue plunging between her folds. She whimpered and squirmed as he ravished her and he put one hand on her hip to hold her steady. His hair tickled the soft skin of her inner thighs as his mouth worked against her. She couldn't help but cry out when he sucked her clit between his lips.

"Oh, god, Severus!" she groaned loudly. "Severus, ple-"

She cried out again as he plunged two fingers into her. She thought she was going to have to beg for it but he'd done it without her asking, like he was reading her mind. She realized he probably was reading her mind as he did exactly what she wanted, what she needed.

"Fuck yesss," she whimpered as his fingers brushed the sweet spot inside of her. "God, I love you."

He released her clit with a soft pop.

"Louder," he growled from between her legs before covering her with his mouth again.

"Wh-what? Why?" she asked distractedly and whined when he moved his mouth to look up at her, his black eyes glittering.

"Because I said so," he said in a low voice. "Louder."

She yelped as his teeth rasped lightly over her clit then moaned loudly as he curled his fingers inside of her.

"Yes, yes!" she cried loudly and he rewarded her, sucking her harder and thrusting his fingers in time with the movement of his lips and tongue. She knew what he wanted her to say, he wanted her to scream it. She didn't know why and then suddenly she didn't care as her orgasm came rushing down on her. "Fuck, Severus, I love you! I love you, yesss!"

Her walls clamped down around his fingers as she came with a small gush of fluid. She felt his tongue move, he withdrew his fingers, and lapped at her entrance. She was shuddering and squirming but he held her hips tightly as he gave her a few more long, slow licks. Then he moved up her body to kiss her. She tasted herself on his lips before he pulled away. He stood above her, smirking, looking altogether pleased with himself.

"Wh-what was that?" she asked, her mind pleasantly foggy. "Why did you make me...?"

He shrugged but she caught something from his mind. He was thinking of the stern, disapproving Muggle woman at the front desk. He had been showing off, making her scream with pleasure on the off chance someone was walking by the room. He felt something akin to pride that she was with him, that she loved him, no matter what the Muggle woman thought.

"Stay here and rest," he told her, still smirking as he turned to get his cloak. "I will go get us some food and bring it back."

"Okay," she said, amused and slightly baffled by his behavior.

"You might want to pull the blanket up before I open the door," he said as he fastened his cloak. "Unless you want to give a show to any of the Muggles who might be walking by."

"I think we already did that," she said with a chuckle, but she dragged herself up to the head of the bed so she could pull the blanket over her bottom half.

"I'll be right back," he promised.

When he was gone Freddie looked around the room curiously without moving from the bed. There was a small door that was halfway open she assumed led to a bathroom. She thought about taking a shower but she wasn't ready to get up yet. Her thigh and butt muscles had been sore from riding the broom most of the day, but they didn't hurt anymore. Now they just felt rubbery and she had a smile plastered on her face.

Ziggy came trotting out of the bathroom, his tail held high, and leapt onto the bed. He sat at the foot of the bed and meowed loudly at her.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" she asked. "You've been flying all day too. Hang on a sec."

She grabbed her wand from the table by the bed and used it to Summon her purse from where she'd dropped it on the floor. She dug around in her bag, past their broomsticks and record player, her clothes and books.

"Good grief," she muttered and pointed her wand into the bag. "Accio kneazle food."

A can came zooming out and she caught it in her other hand. She put the bag aside then popped the top on the can. Ziggy sniffed the air, walking across the bed to her, meowing.

"Here you go, Ziggyzag," she said, leaning off the bed to put the can on the floor. He leapt down and immediately started eating, his purr audible. Freddie's stomach growled loudly and he glanced up at her but didn't stop eating.

"Don't worry, I can wait for Severus," she chuckled. "I won't eat your food."

She was starting to feel a little too warm so she stripped off the rest of her clothes. She pulled her sweater off over her head, unhooked her bra, and tossed them towards where Snape had discarded her leggings and underwear. She pushed the blanket off of her but then felt weird just sitting on the bed naked so she pulled the top sheet over herself.

She put her wand back on the bedside table and noticed a strange black object on top of it. It was hard black plastic, about five inches long, and had a bunch of buttons on it. Curious she pressed the big red button on the top. Across the room on top of the long dresser a glass box sprang to life with moving pictures and sound. At the same time Snape appeared beside the bed with a pop, carrying a pizza box. His sudden appearance coupled with the noise from the box startled her and she let out a yelp of surprise.

"What are you doing?" he asked, clearly amused. She hastily pressed several buttons on the plastic box thing, hoping to make the noise stop. It got louder, the pictures changed, then the screen turned fuzzy and let out a sound like spitting lightning. Finally Snape set the pizza on the bed and took the thing from her. He pressed a button and it immediately turned off.

"What was that?" she asked, her heart racing and her face red from embarrassment.

"A Muggle television," he answered and put the black box back on the table. "And that's the remote control."

"What on Earth is it for? And why is it so loud?"

He didn't answer right away. His eyes were locked on her chest and there was a small smirk on his lips.

"I must say, I like finding you naked in bed," he said in a sultry tone. "...Are you hungry?"

"Y-yeah," she said, still blushing but now for an entirely different reason. "You got pizza?"

"I did. Move over. We can eat in bed."

She scooted over under the sheet while he kicked off his shoes. He unfastened his cloak and draped it over the back of the desk chair, then started to unbutton his shirt. Freddie was torn between watching him and the smell of the pizza that was making her stomach growl audibly again. When he'd shed his shirt he unbuckled his pants and Freddie bit her lower lip as he took them off. He started to take off his boxers, but saw Ziggy was watching him almost as intently as she was. He made a face and left his boxers on as he slipped into bed next to her, pulling the sheet over his lap.

"Still creeped out by a kneazle seeing you naked?" Freddie chuckled as he pulled the pizza box towards them. There were paper napkins on top of the box and he handed her a few before opening the box. He picked up a slice of the pepperoni pizza and took a bite before answering her.

"I don't like the way he was looking at me," he said after he'd swallowed. She took a slice of pizza and bit into it.

"Why?" she asked, chewing.

"Cats – and kneazles, I assume – like dangling toys...I heard a story of a boy a few years ahead of me in school who had his testicles bitten by a cat belonging to a girl he was engaged in...sexual activities with."

"Oh God," Freddie said, laughing. "That's horrible."

"Mm. Imagine explaining that to the nurse," he said dryly. "So I will keep my underwear on, thank you."

"Ziggy would never do that, he wouldn't bite you on your...parts. He's too smart for that."

"You would not be so cavalier if it were your parts on the line."

Freddie chuckled and finished off her slice of pizza. She wiped her hands on the napkin before taking another slice.

"Pizza was a good choice. We haven't had pizza since we were working on the Invisibility Antidote over the summer."

"Mm. It was quick. There is a pizza place a few blocks down the street and they had some already made."

"It's good pizza," she said and he nodded in agreement. "So what is the television thing, what's it for? Can you explain it to me?"

He chewed his pizza thoughtfully for a moment.

"They are for television shows and movies. They are like stories that you can watch."

"They run off electricity?"

"Yes and they're broadcast from stations...sort of like a radio."

"Why don't you have one at home?"

"I have always preferred books over the telly," he said with a shrug. He ate the crust of his pizza and wiped his hands before picking up the remote. "The red button turns it on and off." He pressed it and the television flicked to life. "This one adjusts the volume up, this one down." He turned the sound down so it wasn't deafening. "This one changes the channel, like changing the station on a radio. There are a lot of different shows. Here."

She took the remote from him dubiously and pressed the channel button. The screen flicked from the fuzzy crackling channel to moving images of Muggles playing sports. She watched them kick a black and white ball around for a minute, then pressed the button again. The screen changed to an image of a man speaking about crime rates. There was scrolling text at the bottom of the screen. She determined it was a news channel then pressed the button again. A weather channel. Then some sort of cartoon movie that showed a woman in a yellow dress dancing with a creature that looked like a cross between a buffalo and a bear.

Freddie leaned forward curiously because no one was talking on this channel and there was music playing.

"Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly
Just a little change
Small to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast..."

She was fascinated, watching the screen. When the song ended and the scene changed she watched a minute longer before switching the channel again. There was music playing on this channel too and it was music she recognized. She moved to lay across the bed on her stomach, her head at the foot of the bed so she could see better.

"It's Elton John!" she declared. "Daniel played me an album of his before."

"Mm," Snape responded and she glanced back over her shoulder to see he wasn't looking at the screen. He was paused with a slice of pizza halfway to his mouth, looking at her bare ass. She grinned, then looked back at the screen. Elton John wore a glittering white suit and he playing piano as he sang. She recognized the song, but she didn't know all of the words. When he reached the chorus she sang along.

"And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in."

She couldn't remember what came after that so she stopped but she realized she was hearing something other than the television, someone else singing. It was Snape's soft tenor voice that she'd only heard once before.
"And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did ..."

She didn't look at Snape until the song was over, because she knew he'd probably stop singing if she did and she wanted to enjoy it. She loved his singing voice and she was straining her ears to catch every soft, somber word he sang. When the song ended and applause came from the television, she looked back at him. He glanced from the screen to her, then quickly focused on the pizza he was holding.

Freddie turned back around on the bed and lay down with her head next to his thigh. He stroked her hair absently with his free hand for just a moment, then finished eating his pizza.

"I like it when you sing," she said softly. "I love your voice."

He didn't answer but continued eating. She smiled slightly and kissed his leg through the sheet. On screen Elton John had started playing another song but she didn't pay much attention until she heard him say "Daniel". She jerked her head up to look at the television then quickly grabbed the remote and found the volume button to turn it up a couple of notches.

"Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
And I can see Daniel waving goodbye
Oh it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes

They say Spain is pretty though I've never been
And Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen
He should know, he's been there enough
Oh I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much, oh..."

"Winifred," Snape said gently, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

"Shh," she hissed at him. She had tears in her eyes but she wanted to hear the rest of the song. She lay her head down on his thigh, staring at the screen, and he rested a hand on top of her head.

"Oh Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal?
Your eyes have died but you see more than I
Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky

Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane
And I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
And I can see Daniel waving goodbye
Oh it looks like Daniel, it must be the clouds in my eyes
Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes."

When the song was over Freddie felt like she couldn't move her heart ached so much. The unshed tears in her eyes obscured her vision so she closed her eyes for a minute. She felt Snape lean forward and take the remote from her hand. He switched the television off and she heard him place the remote on the bedside table.

"Come here," he murmured and she lifted her head to see him holding his arms open to her. She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand before moving into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," he said softly but she shook her head.

"It's fine. I'm fine," she said, her face against his chest. "I'd never heard that before. I don't have an Elton John vinyl. Daniel's records got sent back to his mother, the only one I have of his is the Eagles album we were listening to when..."

"I know," he said, gently stroking her back.

Hearing the song had been bittersweet and she was sad now, but she didn't cry. She put her arms around Snape, buried her face in the crook of his neck, and stayed that way until she started to feel better. She felt something furry brush her hip and she turned her head to see Ziggy had joined them on the bed.

"Mrrrowp?" he meowed as he brushed himself against her, sounding concerned.

"I'm okay, Zigzag," she assured him, taking a moment to pet him before turning back to rest her head against Snape's chest. She inhaled deeply and sighed.

"I never thanked you for saving Daniel's record player for me, that night in the Hospital Wing," she said softly. "It means more to me than I can say."

"I know," he said again and kissed her forehead. "And you are welcome."

"Thank you..."

They were silent for a moment and he gave her a tight squeeze. Ziggy had curled up against her hip, she could feel him purring, no doubt trying to make her feel better.

"Do you want me to quiz you?" Snape asked after a minute. "Might take your mind off...it might help."

"...Yeah, okay," she agreed. "I need to practice more anyway. Today has been...exhausting. But it wasn't all bad."

She moved so she could sit back beside him on the bed, but he put an arm around her and pulled her close to his side.

"What is a Mandrake Restorative Draught?" he asked as she snuggled into his side.

"It is a rare healing potion used to return individuals who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state," she answered.

"And why is it so rare?"

"The two main ingredients are hard to come by. Mandrake, or mandragora, are rare and they take a long time to mature. Their cries are fatal to humans, making most people reluctant to even attempt to grow them. The other ingredient is phoenix tears and they're even harder to find than mandrakes."

"Correct. Recipe?"

Freddie thought hard a moment, then began to recite the steps of brewing the Mandrake Restorative Draught...