The two girls talked music for the rest of the allotted time, never once looking at Freddie's flashcards. When people started coming out of the inn onto the patio she quickly tied the ribbon back around the stack of cards. Ada had relaxed during their conversation, but she was starting to look nervous again now.
"Don't worry, Ada," Freddie said soothingly. "You can do this. If anyone can win this it's definitely you. You've got this."
What am I saying? She thought to herself. I don't want her to win, I want to win.
But she also wanted to comfort her friend the way Snape had reassured her this morning. She didn't like seeing the young girl so distressed.
"You really think so?" Ada asked.
"Absolutely," Freddie said. "Honestly, you're my only real competition in this thing. I knew that last night."
"I sort of hope it's you that wins," Ada said softly as they got up. "You deserve it, you've earned it. This is your passion, your joie de vivre. Brewing makes your heart sing, doesn't it? That's something my Papa says 'make your heart sing'. You deserve to win."
"Maybe," Freddie said, feeling conflicted. "But that doesn't mean you get to slack off, okay? Don't try to let me win, I don't want to win that way. I want you to try your absolute best. That way if it's not me that wins, at least it will be you and not one of those big-headed boys. Deal?"
"Deal," Ada said, smiling brightly as they got up from the table. "We will both do our best and one of us will win."
"Que sera, sera," she said, remembering what Snape had told her last night. "Shake on it?"
Freddie offered her hand and Ada clasped it, shaking it firmly.
"Come along girls," Snape's silky voice floated across the patio. Freddie looked up to see that he and Lady Karen had come out, followed by Monsieur Benoit. They were the last ones out, everyone else had already started down the path to the lake.
She and Ada joined their teachers and Freddie rolled her eyes when she saw Lady Karen take Snape's arm as they walked down the path. Only Ada saw her rolling her eyes, since they were following behind them, and she grinned. Freddie smiled back and linked her arm with Ada's, causing the girl to giggle. Lady Karen's head jerked back sharply at the sound and Ada's expression grew solemn as her teacher frowned at her before turning back around.
"You can't even giggle?" Freddie whispered, slowing her pace just a bit so the adults wouldn't hear them.
"No," Ada responded in the same hushed tone. "It is considered a rude sound."
"Jeez. Are you allowed to make any noise at all?"
"Not really. Just 'yes ma'am' 'no ma'am' and 'thank you ma'am'."
"Please come to Hogwarts," Freddie said, only partly joking. "You'll be so much happier. And you won't have blisters on your feet."
Ada just smiled.
"Keep up, Miss Gray," Snape drawled, without even looking back at them.
"Does he have eyes in the back of his head?" Ada muttered as they both quickened their pace to catch up with the others.
When they reached the edge of the lake Freddie saw dark shapes floating towards them out of the mist. The mist still hung thick over the middle of the lake, despite the bright morning sunshine, and Freddie suspected Karkaroff had the right idea – the Enchanted Garden was hidden by the mist, either in the middle of the lake or somewhere on the far shore they couldn't see.
"Les petits bateaux – boats," Ada said, surprised, and Freddie saw that she was right. It was four small boats that were gliding across the lake, reminding her of the boats that took first years to Hogwarts when they got off the train for the first time. As the boats approached the shore they slowed down, then Monsieur Benoit got out his wand and directed them up onto the bank.
"Alright madames et monsieurs," Benoit said loudly. "Let us get this show on the road – or on the water." He chuckled at his own joke but no one else did. "Right then. All aboard!"
"Will you ride with me Freddie?" Ada asked, squeezing her arm slightly.
"Of course."
"The four of us can share a boat," Lady Karen said and Snape inclined his head in agreement. They all walked over to the closest boat, which was halfway in the water. Ada made a soft sound of distress and Freddie looked over to see her heels were sinking into the damp earth.
"Ladies first," Snape said, offering his hand to Lady Karen, helping her into the boat.
"Thank you, Severus," she said, smiling coyly at him before going to sit at the front of the boat. Snape saw Freddie watching and smirked slightly. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him and instead shook her head slightly. She wasn't jealous, not after last night.
"Miss Gray?" he said, holding out his hand to her next. She took it, felt herself grow warm at the casual touch of his skin, and quickly stepped into the boat.
"Thank you, Professor Snape," she said, keeping her tone professional. He squeezed her hand once before letting go. Freddie sat down in the back of the boat, as far away from Karen as she could get, and watched as Snape tried to help Ada in next.
"Miss Leroux?"
"Je suis coincée," she said and Freddie could hear a note of panic in her voice.
"You are stuck?" Snape asked.
"Yes, sir, my heels are stuck in the mud," she said, trying to jerk her foot free. Snape stepped closer to her and Ada let out a squeak as he picked her up, pulling her free from the mud, and set her down in the boat next to Freddie. Ada looked like she was going to faint and Freddie was trying not to laugh.
"What do you say, Adalene?" Lady Karen asked sharply.
"Oh, um, thank you Professor Snape," she said timidly.
"De rien," Snape responded as he climbed into the boat and went to sit beside Lady Karen.
"You didn't tell me you spoke french, Severus," Lady Karen said, turning to face him.
"Enough to get by," he answered.
"What other secrets are you hiding?" she asked in a playful tone.
Clearly flirting, Freddie thought to herself. If he doesn't think she's flirting, he's an idiot.
Snape didn't say anything, just smirked slightly.
"Everyone in?" Monsieur Benoit called. He was in a boat by himself and he had his wand held aloft. "Bien. Let us go."
The boats launched from the shore with a lurch and Ada fell against Freddie. If she wasn't so small she might have knocked her over.
"I'm sorry Freddie," Ada said, her face red as she straightened up.
"It's fine," she assured her. Ada's blue hat had fallen off and Freddie picked it up from the bottom of the boat. She brushed it off then put it back on top of her friend's head.
"Merci."
The boats sailed smoothly but slowly towards the mist. Benoit was at the head of the pack, leading them across the lake with his wand. Ada sat perfectly straight next to Freddie, gripping the wooden seat with both hands like she thought she might fall over again. She was staring at her muddy shoes, a distressed look on her face.
"I can clean them up for you," Freddie offered, digging her wand out the pocket of her robes. Ada glanced towards the head of the boat, but Lady Karen was talking to Snape, saying something about how she had learned French when she was just 6 years old. She wasn't paying them any attention so Ada nodded quickly.
"Scourgify," Freddie said softly, pointing her wand at the muddy heels on her friend's feet. The mud vanished, leaving the shoes bright and clean.
"Thanks, Freddie," she said, relaxing a bit. "I know they will probably just get muddy again when we reach the other side, but-" She shrugged and lowered her voice to a whisper. "-I do not want to get in trouble."
Freddie frowned slightly and looked forward at Lady Karen, wondering if the woman would really scold her student for having muddy shoes. Surely there were more important things to worry about today? She couldn't imagine Snape ever complaining about something so trivial as her boots being muddy – which they were, just a bit, from the walk to the lake.
Snape and Lady Karen were immersed in a whispered conversation at the front of the boat and Freddie strained her ears, trying to hear what they were talking about so intimately. Not jealous, just curious. When she realized the words she could make out were in French she frowned again and turned to Ada.
"Can you hear what they're talking about?" she asked, leaning forward to whisper in her friend's ear.
"No," Ada said, turning her head to whisper back. "They are speaking too softly. Do you think they are talking about us?"
"Maybe."
"She keeps touching his arm a lot," Ada murmured after observing them a moment. "My maman does that with my Papa. That's flirting, isn't it? Do you think they are flirting?"
"She is," Freddie confirmed. "He definitely isn't."
"Is he married?"
The question seemed so absurd that Freddie let out a bark of laughter, startling Ada. Both teachers turned to look at them and Snape raised his eyebrow.
"Miss Gray?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
"No sir, we're fine," she said quickly. "Just, uh, hiccuped. I hiccuped."
"Hmm," he said and turned back around. Freddie waited until Karen had turned around too before leaning in to whisper to Ada again.
"No," she told her. "He's not married. I don't think he's the marrying type."
"She is not married either," she said, her voice thoughtful. "I imagine it is hard for them, for teachers, living at school for the majority of the year."
"I imagine so."
A sudden hush fell over all of the boats as they approached what appeared to be a solid wall of fog. There was something strange about it, almost eerie. It didn't look like real fog, it didn't move with the breeze like fog should. The boats slowed to a stop and everyone looked to Monsieur Benoit.
"Just one more minute," he called out, checking his watch. Ada grabbed Freddie's hand suddenly, squeezing it tight. Her small hand felt sweaty and hot but Freddie kept a hold of it, knowing she was probably scared. She was surprised she didn't feel more nervous herself, but she wasn't. She was excited and curious about what was on the other side of the fog.
"What are we waiting for?" Freddie wondered aloud. Nothing seemed to be happening but Benoit was watching his wristwatch.
"Here we go," he said suddenly and a second later a split appeared in the fog. It widened slowly, creating a clear path over the water for the boats to go down. Benoit flicked his wand and the boats lurched forward once more. Ada grabbed Freddie's arm with her other hand to steady herself, then left it there, her fingers clutching her robes.
"It's okay," Freddie murmured to her, giving the hand she held a light squeeze.
The boats moved single file through the passage. The fog still formed walls on either side of them and above them, blocking out most of the sun and casting a gray shadow over them.
"Trés bizarre," Ada whispered, still holding tight to Freddie as she looked around.
"Can you see anything ahead?" she asked, craning her neck to try to see where they were going, but they were last in the line of boats. She could see Karkaroff and Andrei in the boat ahead of them, along with Dimitri and his teacher. She could see the silhouette of Akinyi and Master Mwangi in the boat ahead of Karkaroff's but she couldn't see anything past them. She could no longer see Monsieur Benoit.
She heard a gasp from ahead of them, then someone said something but she couldn't make out the words. The fog seemed to distort the sound.
"This is it," Snape said suddenly and Freddie leaned forward, trying to see what he saw. There was a light up ahead where the fog seemed to be lifting. She might have stood up in the boat to try and see better if Ada hadn't been holding her so tightly.
"This is it," Ada repeated softly. Her voice sounded strangled.
"You're going to be fine," Freddie told her, squeezing her hand again. "This is sort of exciting, isn't it? Aren't you excited?"
"Excited," Ada repeated, seeming dazed. "Yes."
"Come on, Ada," she said, nudging her slightly. "Que sera, sera, remember?"
"Yes," she said again, then seemed to come around a little bit. She let go of Freddie's arm and sat back, but remained holding her hand. "Yes, you are right."
"Look, the fog is clearing," Freddie said excitedly.
She could see it now ahead of them – a large island in the middle of the lake. As the mist evaporated and the sun shone through she saw enormous stone walls, at least 15 feet high and stretching as far as she could see in each direction.
They must surround the arena, she thought to herself. The Enchanted Garden. We are finally here.