She and Snape continued back towards the inn, but Ada and Karen stayed by the willow tree. Freddie glanced over her shoulder a few times as they walked and saw that Ada was standing, hands clasped behind her back, eyes cast down, and Karen talked to her. She couldn't hear the words, just the firm tone to her voice. Was Ada being lectured?
"We are supposed to make friends, right?" Freddie asked Snape quietly.
"Yes. These sorts of competitions between schools are meant to foster international magical cooperation."
"So why does Karen look pissed that Ada was with me?"
Snape glanced back towards the tree briefly.
"That's Lady Karen, Miss Gray, or Lady Byrne. You are not yet old enough to address professors as equals."
"Ada said she only responds to Lady Karen, not Lady Byrne or Professor Byrne or Potions Master Byrne or whatever," Freddie said, not bothering to hide her scowl.
"Hm. Regardless, I doubt that back there has anything to do with you," he said. "She probably just wanted a word with her student and did not want us eavesdropping."
"Hm," Freddie said, mimicking his tone.
They were both silent as they continued along the path, but Freddie felt tense. Her jealous emotions were getting the better of her, even though Snape still had his hand on the small of her back and his touch seemed to burn her through the velvet of her dress. She didn't want to feel angry or jealous, she was pretty sure it was irrational, but she was having a hard time blocking the emotions completely. She did keep her mental shield firmly in place, not wanting Snape to pick up on her irrational thoughts. She felt angry at him and she was hoping by the time they reached their rooms that her anger might fade some.
"I am pleased you made a friend," Snape said quietly. "She seems nice."
Freddie said nothing, just kept putting one foot in front of the other, trying to wall off her emotions in her mind but they just kept breaking through. She felt Snape's magic, his mind, at the edge of her consciousness and she immediately reinforced her Occlumency shield, letting the bricks around her emotions fall away so that they came flooding back and suddenly she was annoyed that he had tried to use Legilimency on her.
"Winifred?" he said in a soft voice, sliding his hand from her back to across her shoulders. "Why are you shutting me out?"
She didn't answer. I don't have to say anything, she told herself.
He growled softly and the noise sent a rush of arousal through her so strong it broke her concentration, just for a moment. She felt his presence in her mind, swimming around with all her confusing emotions, and she quickly shut him out.
"You are angry?" he asked. "Why?"
She remained silent. Focused.
"Are you angry at me?" he said and when she still didn't answer he made a frustrated noise. He removed his arm from her shoulders and quickened his stride. Freddie had to almost jog to keep up with him. She couldn't help but notice how good he looked in his black dress robes, even if she was angry at him.
I suppose I can't blame her for flirting with him, she thought to herself, her mind carefully guarded. He does look terribly handsome tonight, and he smells so good...but he usually makes himself so unapproachable to others. He seemed to like her though. He was talking to her and I didn't hear any of his snark. Of course I couldn't really hear their conversation...but she wouldn't have kept being flirty if he had snapped at her the way he does most people. Flirting with her stupid, flirty smile and batting her stupid green eyes at him. Touching his stupid arm while she made disparaging remarks about me and he just let her! What's up with that?
Freddie kicked a pebble angrily and it clattered across the patio. He turned to look at her, then stopped walking until she'd caught up with him.
"I can make you talk to me," he said in a low, dangerous tone that sent a shiver through her. Freddie glanced around quickly, but they were alone. The dining room beyond the glass doors was empty and dark. There was no one to hear him, no one to see as he reached out to touch her cheek. A strand of hair had come loose from her bun and he tucked it behind her ear where the primrose blossom was nestled. His fingers lingered across her skin, making her flush in a way that she had no hope of controlling.
"I can hurt you until you let me in," he said, his voice a barely-audible purr. Freddie felt her mouth go dry and she tried to swallow. "I will make you tell me what is bothering you. It is not good for you to be so...distracted the night before your competition. We cannot function as an effective team if you are mad at me."
Just the sound of his voice and being so close to him had Freddie feeling light-headed. She could blame it on the aged elf wine, but she hadn't felt like this before he touched her face. She tried to swallow again, suddenly wishing she had more of that wine, then she cleared her throat.
"Can we talk upstairs?" she asked, her voice coming out slightly hoarse. He smirked at her, looking like a cat who'd caught a mouse, and turned away from her. He went inside without glancing back at her, without holding the door for her like he usually did. She felt flushed and confused as she followed him through the empty dining room. She was angry but it was being quickly replaced by arousal. She wanted him to rip her dress off and yes maybe he could make her admit to her anger and jealousy, and she would enjoy that in her own twisted way. ...But he had said they had to be professional for the next 24 hours, she knew nothing that she wanted to happen would happen while they were here, and that frustrated her.
Then what was that out on the patio? She thought. Touching me in a way that could have looked innocent to anyone who doesn't know him, but it didn't feel innocent. And saying what he said, in that tone of voice that he knows makes me wet...what was that? Punishment for shutting him out?
"Dors bien," said Renee from her desk as they passed through the lobby.
"Bonsoir," Freddie said, knowing that meant goodnight. It was one of the only french words she knew. She followed Snape up the wooden staircase, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She thought about asking him what 'dors bien' meant, but she didn't want to break her stubborn silence for something so trivial. She could ask Ada tomorrow.
When they reached the second floor landing Snape unlocked the door to Freddie's room. She hadn't even realized he still had her key. He walked inside and waited for her to come in before he shut the door. He raised his wand over it a few times, adding protective enchantments. Freddie went and sat on the edge of her bed. Ziggy was asleep on her pillow and he raised his head to greet her with a soft meow before curling back up with his paws over his face.
"So," Snape said as he finished placing wards on the door. He turned around and took a few steps towards her. "Are you going to tell me why you are angry?"
"Are you going to make me tell you why I may or may not be angry?" she asked cheekily. His dark eyes flashed and she felt a thrill of excitement. Then she felt his consciousness at the edge of her own. He was using his Legilimency on her and he wasn't being easy about it. She had to fight to keep her mental shield in place as he tried to tear down her walls.
"That's not what I meant," she said darkly, putting a hand to her head. He just smirked at her, not breaking eye contact as he continued his mental assault. He was relentless but every time he started to break it down Freddie was able to solidify it. She knew she should stop looking at him, that eye contact was more beneficial to his Legilimency than her Occlumency, but she couldn't look away. She felt like the dark depths of his eyes were drawing her in. His eyes looked black again instead of brown and Freddie felt herself grow calm and more steady as she gazed into them, her Occlumency shield becoming more firm with her concentration. She was smirking now, too, feeling very smug that he could not break her down so easily.
"You could just tell me," he murmured, taking another step towards her, still not breaking eye contact.
"You can't do it, can you?" she taunted, though her head was starting to hurt and she knew his must be too. "You can't break through my Occlumency." He took another step towards her. "Getting closer isn't going to help you, Professor, we both know physical proximity isn't relevant to-"
She broke off as his knees touched hers and he lifted his hand as if to touch her cheek, but he held his fingers just an inch from her skin. Not touching, but making her want it bad enough that it was screwing with her concentration.
"Oh, um...dammit," she said as she felt him push through her shield into her mind. He explored her feelings of jealousy and anger with detached curiosity and she couldn't fight him off because his fingers were caressing the side of her face now and she couldn't focus on anything else. She leaned into his touch eagerly and his fingers threaded up into her hair, pulling the bun loose slightly.
"Dammit, stop it," she said as the pain in her head increased. He started to pull his hand away. Not that! She thought desperately, loving the way his fingers made her scalp tingle. This. Get out of my head.
You will talk to me? Asked his voice in her mind.
Yes!
Ask me nicely, he said. Definitely smug.
Ugh, please get out of my head and let me talk, Severus, she thought, rolling her eyes but that made her head hurt worse. She felt him withdraw and the pain in her head went with him. He dropped his hand from her head too, much to her disappointment.
"So, you are angry with me. And jealous," he said as she rubbed her head absently. "Of Lady Karen. I do not understand."
"What do you mean you don't understand, weren't you just poking around in my brain to understand?"
"Why are you jealous of Karen and why are you angry with me?" he asked evenly.
"I'm not angry with you, not really," she said and sighed. "I was...annoyed, but it's stupid, really. It's not rational."
He waited patiently for her to continue, quirking one eyebrow as he looked down at her.
"I know that I probably shouldn't be jealous of the Lady Karen flirting with you, it's not like we, like you and I- ugh. But it's not always easy to rationalize emotions like that or stop them. Believe me, I was trying. But when I saw her flirting with you, I just...felt angry," she said. His expression didn't change and Freddie sighed again. "I told you it was stupid."
"She was not flirting with me," he said dismissively. "So, yes, your anger is irrational."
"She was definitely flirting with you. Are you blind?" she asked. He quirked his eyebrow at her again. "She was talking to you and she was laughing and smiling and touching your arm. I'm pretty sure she batted her eyelashes a few times, too. Ditzy blonde," she muttered darkly. "And when the two of you walked outside, she was on your arm and when I saw that..." She shrugged and sighed again.
"She was just being nice," he said.
"She was flirting," Freddie insisted. "Trust me."
"If you say so," he said, but he looked amused, like he was laughing at her on the inside.
"She was flirting," Freddie repeated. "And so were you."
"Definitely not," he said, his eyes darkening.
"You were talking to her and looking at her and you seemed to be enjoying yourself," she said, trying not to sound bitter.
"I did enjoy talking to her," he admitted. "Because I was talking about you, Winifred. Throughout dinner we discussed our apprentices. I was bragging about your accomplishments, your talent, your skill."
"You were?" she asked as he picked the primrose blossom from her hair and sniffed it.
"Yes, and she was doing the same thing with Miss Leroux, constantly trying to one up me- you. I admit I found the banter enjoyable, much as I enjoy my competitive streak with Minerva...and I assure you I do not 'flirt' with Minerva McGonagall," he said silkily, laying the flower on the bedside table then turning back to her. "And I was not all that interested in looking at her, Winifred, I was looking at you. Discreetly, of course, but throughout dinner I watched you talking with the other competitors – making friends with the two girls and making the boys mad because you are far more clever and skilled than they are. You made Karkaroff's student leave early."
"I...You were watching me?"
"I was watching you. I enjoy watching you, looking at you," he said, hooking one finger in the bodice of her dress. "Especially in this dress."
"Uh-huh," she said dazedly as his fingers skimmed the top of her breasts.
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself and I was glad, so I made the most of the situation and continued my conversation with the Beauxbatons professor. I gave you as much time with your new friend as I could before she wanted to go look for the two of you."
"You did?"
"Mm-hmm," he said, looking down her dress with a small smile.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Are you still angry?"
"N-no...I'm sorry. I didn't want to feel- I tried not to, but I couldn't-"
"I find the female brain is often a confusing place," he said, then he leaned down and kissed her. Freddie melted into his kiss, gripping the front of his robes. He pulled her to her feet and slipped his arms around her, kissing her so passionately she found it hard to believe she thought he might want someone else. He loved her, didn't he? Even if he couldn't say it, he had gotten very good at making her feel it.
His kisses became more urgent and he made quick work of her dress, pulling it off over her head in between frenzied kisses. Her wand fell from the sleeve of her dress and clattered to the floor, but she didn't care. He tossed her dress aside and Ziggy jumped off the bed as he lay her down across the mattress.
"We shouldn't be doing this," he murmured, kissing her neck. "Not here."
"D-do you want to stop?" she panted, though she was praying the answer was 'no' because she wasn't sure she could stop now.
"No," he said and nipped the skin of her throat as she whimpered. "We just need to be quick."
"I can be quick," she said, pulling his robes off.