Freddie was in a complete daze as the boats took them back to the inn. The gold cauldron was sitting in front of her and she had the prize money in her pocket, but she still couldn't believe she had won. She wanted nothing more to be alone with Snape so she could ask him what the hell had just happened. How could I have won? After what I did in my third challenge, how could I have actually won? She tried to ask him mentally, but either he wasn't in her head or he was being intentionally silent.
Karkaroff and Andrei seemed to have Disapparated as they weren't in any of the boats. Andrei was hunched over in the boat with Professor Devin, looking wholly miserable as his teacher muttered harsh words at him in Russian. Ada was sitting next to Freddie, in the boat with Snape and Lady Karen, and the young girl looked just as dazed, but happy.
"I did not think I would actually win anything," Ada whispered as their boat approached shore. She was holding her own pouch of coins from Benoit, staring at it like she couldn't believe it was hers.
"You did very well, Adalene," said Lady Karen airily, turning around to look at her. "There is nothing wrong with second place and you can always compete again in the next Championship. It is three years until the next one so you have plenty of time to train."
Ada's face fell slightly but then she forced a smile.
"Yes Lady Karen," she said politely. "Thank you."
"Severus, are you and Miss Gray staying for dinner?" Lady Karen asked when Snape helped her out of the boat onto shore. "It looks as if we have lost Durmstrang and probably Koldovstoretz already."
"Yes," he answered. "Though I think I will let Miss Gray get cleaned up before we join you in the dining room."
"Of course," Karen said, eyeing the dried flobberworm mucus on Freddie's robes with a slight smirk. Freddie just ignored her.
Snape carried the gold cauldron for her as they walked up the hill to the inn and it was all Freddie could go to remain silent. She was bursting with questions. As she followed Snape through the lobby the witch Renee called out a heartfelt "Congratulations" to them.
"Thank you," Snape said to her, then glanced back pointedly at Freddie, who was thinking of nothing but the questions in her mind. "Winifred."
"What? Oh! Yes, thank you," she said quickly, then smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I don't think it's quite sunk in yet, I...I actually won."
"I understand," Renee said with a smile. "I do hope you are staying with us for dinner?"
"We are," Snape confirmed. "We will be down shortly. Come, Miss Gray."
Freddie followed him all too eagerly up the stairs, tapping her foot impatiently while she waited for him to unlock the door. When they were finally in her room and he'd shut the door Freddie opened her mouth to ask her questions- but before she could he pulled her to him and kissed her passionately.
"No, wait," she said, breaking the kiss.
"No?" he repeated as she pulled away. "What do you mean 'no'?"
"I have questions – a lot of questions! I wasn't expecting to win. I thought it would be Ada. I thought for sure I'd lost the moment I left the Garden."
"Because of your tangle with the Devil's Snare?" he asked, his eyes going to her neck.
"No- well, yes, that too," she said as he pulled the bandage away gently to look at the bruises on her neck. "The third challenge-"
"What did she put on these bruises?" he interrupted. "They look terrible."
"What? I don't know," she said distractedly. "Bruisewort Balm and something else, some cream she invented herself. She said it might take a day or two for them to fade completely."
"Hmm," he said, frowning slightly.
"When I-"
"What about your wrist?" he asked, interrupting her again.
"It's fine," she said impatiently. "It's fine, I'm fine, I'm totally fine except that I don't understand how I won! I couldn't figure out that riddle in the last challenge, it had me totally stumped!"
"Yes," he said with a small smile. "I know. Yet you figured it out anyway. You determined which potion you needed to move forward, in your own way."
"They weren't mad?" she asked. "They didn't mark it against me that I did it my way? I mean they expected me to solve that riddle, right?"
"They weren't mad, they were impressed," he said. "Yes they expected you to solve their riddle, but when you could not you found another way. You should not have been able to tell the blue potions apart without a wand – I am still not totally sure how you did – and when you did, when you even identified the poison as Potion No. 86, they were all impressed."
"Even Karkaroff? And Lady Karen?" she wanted to know.
"Karkaroff claimed that you had gotten lucky, that by not solving the riddle you were 'cheating' but I could tell that he was also impressed," he said. "And Lady Karen defended you alongside me when Karkaroff tried to persuade Monsieur Benoit that it was cheating."
"Really?" she asked, surprised. "She seemed pleased when she thought I was going to be forced out by the Devil's Snare. And how was that not marked against me in the end?"
"Well it was, to an extent. Each competitor had a part in their challenge, a potentially-lethal trap that would force them out of the competition if they were caught and we had to rescue them. Your friend Miss Leroux only narrowly avoided hers and Mr Petrov got lucky when his trap did not work properly. Even though you were caught, even though we had made the decision to intervene, you got yourself out. That is something that has never happened before and I think that Monsieur Benoit was impressed by that as well. It was foolish of you not to keep your wand out, not to keep an eye on the moving vines-"
"I thought they were Flitterblooms!" she protested.
"They were Flitterblooms," he said. "At first."
"Well I wasn't expecting a booby trap, I thought I was just walking down a tunnel to the next door. I didn't keep my wand out because I didn't think it would work once the light went out. I could feel the Dampening Spell in the air."
"It was foolish," he repeated. "However, I am grateful that you did not use your Animagus form to get through the dark tunnel and forego the Eyebright Potion completely. I thought that you might, when I saw what the challenge was. I know kneazles can see in the dark, but I am not sure that would have impressed them."
"I didn't even think about doing that," she admitted. "I forgot I can transform."
"You were lucky," he said, then hesitated slightly. "I was pushing for us to intervene long before we actually did. When I saw the vines around your neck, I... but if we had come any earlier we would not have seen you get yourself out. You have Lady Karen to thank for that, she was the one who insisted there was a way you could reach your wand, while I argued that you couldn't breathe."
"Do they think that I used my wand to do that?"
"I did not see the need to tell anyone otherwise," he admitted, smirking slightly. "I knew that it was an outburst of your magic, but none of them have seen you angry before. No one saw exactly what you did. All that truly mattered was that you got out on your own. You got lucky."
"I thought you said I didn't need luck?" she asked, smiling for the first time.
"Well it is a good thing you had it...you won."
"I really won?" she whispered in disbelief. It was finally starting to sink in.
"Yes, Winifred. You really won."
She squealed in delight and threw her arms around him. He chuckled and pressed a kiss on top of her head.
"You should get cleaned up so we can go down to dinner. I'm hungry," he said. "And we are leaving soon after."
"We're not staying another night? It's so late in the day already, I didn't think you'd want to fly."
"We are not flying, but we are not staying here. I intend to take you somewhere so that we can celebrate properly."
"Oh?" she said, grinning as she realized what kind of celebrating he meant. "Where are we going?"
"That is for me to know," he said, kissing her once more. "And you to find out. As soon as you get cleaned up and we go eat. And maybe change your clothes, since your robes are covered in dirt and flobberworm mucus."
"Ugh," she said, making a face. He let her go and she turned to go to the bathroom to take a quick shower. "I forgot you were watching me do that, milking the slime out of that worm."
"It was disgusting," he agreed. "But you didn't even flinch. I was very proud. Miss Leroux actually vomited when she was shoveling dragon dung for a Regermination Potion. You should have seen Lady Karen's face when that happened."
"Ada didn't tell me that!" Freddie said, stopping in the doorway to look back at him. "She told me about burning her arm with it, but not that she threw up."
"She was probably embarrassed," he said with a shrug. "Wouldn't you be?"
"I wouldn't have thrown up. We've handled way worse ingredients than dragon dung. Hell I've worked with dragon dung in Herbology, don't they teach Herbology at Beauxbatons?" she asked and Snape shrugged again.
"I do not know. They tend to focus on weak subjects like music and other arts."
"Hey, I like Art," she protested, but smiled. "Okay, I need to take a quick shower. I'll be right back."
When Freddie got out of the shower a few minutes later she found Snape sitting on her bed, playing with Ziggy. He was dangling the ribbon from the flashcards in front of the kneazle but looked up when she came into the room to look for clean clothes to wear. She saw his eyes darken hungrily when he saw that she was naked and the look in his eyes made her freeze. Snape dropped the ribbon on the bed and crossed the room in an instant. He pinned her against the door frame and kissed her, full of hunger and lust.
"Maybe we do not have to go to dinner," he murmured against her lips, his fingers skimming along her hip.
"I thought you were hungry?" she asked teasingly.
"I am hungry," he growled before taking possession of her mouth again. Freddie was just starting to think maybe they could miss dinner when he finally broke the kiss. "Unfortunately, someone might come looking for us if we do not show up for dinner. I already told Lady Karen we would be there."
"Yeah," she said, blowing out a sigh. "And I'm the champion, right? I sort of have to be there."
"Mm," he said in agreement, but he was staring down at her like he wanted to kiss her again. Finally he stepped back, letting her off the doorjamb so she could go get dressed.
"Why don't you wear your velvet dress?" he asked, watching as she dug through her bag for something to wear.
"I wore that last night, I don't want to wear it again," she answered. She had her entire arm and part of her head inside her bag as she looked to see if she'd packed another dress. "If I had known there was going to be another dinner for the competitors I could have packed accordingly."
"This dinner is much more casual," he assured her. "It does not matter what you wear."
Freddie thought it did matter, but she couldn't find another dress anyway. She opted for gray leggings and a black cashmere sweater, which she covered with her dragonhide jacket. She used her wand to dry her hair, then to clean off her boots before sitting on the bed to put them on.
"What did you do with your winnings?" Snape asked as she stood up.
"In the pocket of my robes, on the bathroom floor," she said and he just stared at her a moment. "What?"
"500 galleons is a lot of money, it isn't wise to leave it lying around. What if someone came in and stole it?"
"Okay, jeez," she said. She went back into the bathroom and found the bag of money. She opened it curiously and peeked inside at the glittering gold coins. She had never seen so much money in once place before, outside of her uncle's vault at Gringotts.
"You did not lose it, did you?" Snape called from the other room. She closed the bag and left the bathroom, holding it up for him to see.
"I didn't lose it," she said. "...I've just never had this much money at one time."
"Neither have I. When we go back to Hogwarts we can stop in London on the way and deposit it in your vault at Gringotts, if you want."
"Yeah, I don't want to carry this much around with me," she said, dropping the bag into her purse and she slipped her purse over one shoulder. "I might spend too much and I should be saving my money anyway. I'll need it after I graduate."
"Are you ready for dinner?" he asked her, checking his watch to see what time it was.
"Yeah, ready for it to be over," she said facetiously and he smiled.
"You should enjoy the time with your new friend," he said, opening the door for her. "Since we are leaving immediately after. ...Are you going to keep in touch with her?"
"I hope so. She said she would write to me, and that she would teach me French."
"Good," Snape said, sounding pleased. "I am glad you made a friend here."
"Did you? Are you going to be writing to Lady Karen?" she asked, only half-joking.
"I think not," he said wryly. "I do not want to encourage her."
"Ah so you do admit she was flirting?"
"Be quiet," he said as they descended the stairs. "Someone might hear you."
"Uh-huh," she said cheekily.
"Remember to be courteous," he said as they crossed the lobby. "Say 'thank you' when people tell you congratulations."
"I know how to be polite, S- Professor Snape. I'm not totally uncivilized. I can be humble and gracious."
"Uh-huh," he said in a lightly mocking tone, but he gave her a small quick smile before they entered the dinning room together.
They were met with a round of applause and Freddie found herself grinning as everyone looked at her. The individual tables had been replaced with a single large round table where they could all sit together. Karkaroff and Andrei had not come back and Dimitri wasn't there, although Professor Devin was. Still there were more people there than she had expected, a few witches and wizards she didn't recognize, and three that she did recognize. Gabriela had returned for dinner, sitting to the right of her boss Monsieur Benoit. A man in yellow robes she recognized as the man from the Enchanted Garden, the one who had taken her wand. And a young woman who looked familiar...it was the girl who had been unconscious in the maze! Freddie had thought she might have been an enchantment of some sort, not a real person, but here she was smiling and politely clapping along with everyone else.
"Come on in, Miss Gray and Professor Snape," Monsieur Benoit said, standing up from the table to greet them. "Have a seat. I hope you don't mind we started dinner without you, I wasn't sure if you were coming."
"Of course I don't mind," Freddie said, heading for a seat beside Ada who was trying to discreetly wave her over. "I know all of us missed lunch today and you're probably as hungry as I am."
"Yes indeed," Benoit chuckled. "That is why we are having dinner early. Go ahead and eat, and then I think we'd all like to ask you a few questions about your challenges in the Garden."
"Oh," she said, her face pink as she sat down. "Oh, okay. I guess that's okay."
She was worried suddenly that she would say the wrong thing and they would decide she shouldn't have won after all. Could they do that? Could they take it back?
They won't do that, said Snape's voice in her head. He had taken the seat beside her, but he wasn't looking at her as he put food on his plate. Just relax. You can...embellish the truth a little bit, make it into a good story. That is what people always do. These people just want a good story. And I will be right here to help you if you need it.
Thank you, Freddie thought, relieved.
"I am so glad you won first and not me," Ada said softly to her as Freddie started to fill her plate. No one was paying enough attention to hear her speak, everyone seemed more interested in the food for the time being. "I cannot imagine having to talk in front of all these people. I would die."
"I'm not thrilled about this part of it either," she muttered to her friend, but smiled. "I'm glad you're here at least. I'm glad you stayed."
"Oh me too. We are heading back to Beauxbatons first thing in the morning, then I get to go home for Christmas and see my family."
"That's great! I bet they'll be so proud of you. Snape and I are leaving right after dinner."
"Oh no, that means this will be the last time I see you," Ada said, dismayed.
"Yeah," Freddie said somewhat sadly. "But we will write to each other, right?"
"I definitely will," she agreed. "And maybe you can come back to France sometime and visit me. Not at Beauxbatons, of course, but at my home. Maybe over the summer or next Christmas holiday?"
"I would love that," she said honestly. "I don't know about this summer because I am suppose to start work at St Mungo's and I don't know how much time off I'll have. But as soon as I can visit, I definitely will."