It took effort for Freddie not to just wolf down all the food that was laid out in front of her as fast as she could. She hadn't realized just how hungry she really was until she smelled everything. She recognized some of the same dishes from last night but there was also roasted duck and grilled chicken, and a number of side dishes she couldn't identify without Ada's help.

Freddie had barely finished eating dessert (a delicious strawberry and cheese pastry that Ada called mille-feuille) when people around the table started asking her questions. First and foremost they wanted to hear about her challenges, then they wanted to know more about her – how she got into potions, how long she had been training for this, her study methods, her favorite potions, her future plans...the questions seemed endless. She felt more than a little flustered, being the center of so much positive attention. But she had Snape sitting on one side of her and Ada on the other, and both of their presences brought her comfort.

She told everyone about her time in the Garden, bending the truth just a little as Snape had said. He offered her silent suggestions within her head, and voiced comments out loud when it was beneficial, making her look good. She made it sound like it was her own idea to get fairy eggs for the bowtruckles in the Wiggentree, not telling them that she had an original copy of the Book of Potions that contained the soul of Zygmunt Budge. People laughed and groaned when she told them about squeezing the mucus out of a flobberworm and even Lady Karen remarked that she'd been impressed that Freddie hadn't shied away from the disgusting task, that she hadn't even hesitated.

She talked about making the Eyebright Potion in the dark and how it was a recipe she had never brewed before. When Professor Devin asked if she'd been nervous about brewing something new, Freddie admitted that she had been, a little, but that she had trusted her own abilities. Then everyone was silent, captivated, as she told them about the Devil's Snare. How it had wrapped around her neck – she took the bandages off to show them the bruises – and she had barely been able to take a breath, how she'd thought she was going to die. She told them about Professor Sprout's rhyme and how she had struggled to reach her wand while the vine cut off her air and fractured the bones in her wrist as she fought to put her hand in her pocket.

"It got to where I couldn't take in any air at all. My brain was being starved for oxygen and my vision was fading when my fingers finally closed around the end of my wand," she lied smoothly to her fascinated audience. "I know I wasn't thinking straight, because instead of using a Light-creation Spell or a Fire-making Charm, I used an Exploding Charm. It didn't get the vines off of me but it burst a hole through the ceiling of the chamber, letting in the sunlight. The Devil's Snare shrunk back into the shadows and when I was finally free I noticed the judges standing there – looking quite surprised, I might add."

There were chuckles around the table and Freddie smiled. Only Snape and Ada knew the truth about how she'd actually escaped, but neither of them were giving anything away.

"So you went on to the next challenge with a broken wrist?" Gabriela wanted to know. "And it is your dominant hand?"

"Her wrist was broken in two places," Madame Garnier confirmed.

"Yeah, I'm left-handed," Freddie said with a nod. "But the pain didn't bother me much. Maybe it was adrenaline or maybe I was just really focused on what I had to do. I knew I just had to get through just one more challenge, that it was almost over. I just concentrated on that and I barely noticed the pain."

"What happened next?" one of the Ministry wizards asked eagerly.

And so Freddie told everyone about the riddle of the seven bottles. Told them how she had puzzled over it for ages, reading the parchment over and over again and trying to piece the clues together, until deciding to try a different approach. Even Snape was listening curiously as she told everyone how she remembered brewing the Fire-Protection Potion in his class during her second year, so she had looked up the recipe for clues to help her identify it.

"Then I knew the ingredients and I knew that it would be blue, so I started uncorking the bottles – except the two bottles on the end, I knew for sure from the riddle that it wouldn't be either of those. Three of the bottles held blue liquid and it was easy to identify which one was just nettle wine with a blue dye. The other two smelled the same at first, like mushrooms, but then I detected something else in the larger bottle – the scent of hellebore. When I held it up to the light and swished it I could see some of the finely powdered moonstone glimmering in the liquid. I ascertained that it was Potion No. 86, a poison that I brewed myself last year just to test my abilities. That meant the smallest bottle was the Fire-Protection Potion. I was certain of it," she finished. "And I was right."

Everyone applauded and there were declarations of 'marvelous', 'brilliant', 'ingenious', and Freddie felt herself blushing. After that came the questions from people wanting to know about her life and her training as Potions apprentice at Hogwarts. She sipped a glass of wine while she answered what she could, with Snape offering his comments occasionally and telling anecdotes of times when he had been particularly impressed with her skill. She was surprised but pleased with all the kind things he had to say about her.

Eventually the conversations died down and people started to leave. Before too long only Monsieur Benoit, Gabriela, Lady Karen, and Ada were left at the table with them.

"I'm afraid I must leave for a few minutes, there is something I need to attend to," Snape said as he pushed back from the table.

"Where are you going?" she asked, surprised.

"It is not your concern, Miss Gray," he said dismissively. "I will return for you in half an hour. Be ready to depart then."

"Yes sir," she said obediently, though she was burning with curiosity about his mysterious errand. Snape made his well-mannered goodbyes to Monsieur Benoit, thanking him for his hospitality, and to Lady Karen who looked disappointed to see him leaving. Then he vanished with a pop as he Disapparated from the inn.

"I do wish the two of you were staying," Lady Karen said to Freddie. "I know Hogwarts is a long journey, but there are only a few hours left before dark."

"He doesn't like to waste any time," she replied with a civil smile. "Lady Karen would it be alright if Ada went up to my room with me? I have a few things to pack before Professor Snape returns and it would give us a chance to talk more before we have to say goodbye."

"Certainly, if she wants to. Adalene?"

"Yes, Lady Karen, I would like that very much. I am not ready to say goodbye yet."

"Go ahead then," she said with a nod. "Return to your room afterwards, Adalene, and turn in. We will be leaving ourselves at dawn."

Ada followed her through the lobby and up the stairs, smiling happily. It wasn't until they were standing in front of the door to her room that Freddie realized she didn't have her key.

"Dammit, Snape has my key," she said, trying to knob and finding it locked. "I didn't even think about it."

"Why does he have the key to your room?" Ada asked curiously.

"I don't know, he always just unlocked the door and opened it for me. I guess he just likes feeling chivalrous. He always holds doors open for me, pours my tea, stuff like that."

"Aw, that is sweet. You would not think it to look at him."

"Yeah," Freddie chuckled.

"Oh! I can unlock your door," she said, drawing her wand and pointing it at the doorknob. "Alohomora."

"Thanks," Freddie said as the lock clicked open. She could have done it herself of course but Ada looked pleased to have helped. "That was really good, Ada."

"I just learned it last year," she said, delighted. "It is one of the spells I can do most easily, it only took me one class period to learn. Not like Transfiguration."

"Yeah – hey wait, you're underage. Are you supposed to do magic outside of Beauxbatons? What about the Trace?"

"Oh I have read about this Trace. We do not have this in my country. Our Ministry does not monitor instances of underage magic. There are a number of families who prefer to homeschool their children rather than send them to Beauxbatons, the Ministère des Affaires Magiques does not interfere with that. It would not be practical for- oh is that a kneazle?!" she squealed suddenly. They had entered Freddie's room and Ziggy darted out of the bathroom to greet them.

"Yeah, that's Ziggy," Freddie said, pleased that Ada hadn't called him a cat. "He's mine."

"Oh my goodness!" the girl said, dropping to her knees to pet him. "Why didn't you tell me you had a kneazle? I have wanted to see one ever since I first read about them. Hi Ziggy! Bonjour. Comment ça va? Je m'appelle Adalene Leroux. Mais vous pouvez m'appeler Ada."

"He doesn't speak French, Ada," Freddie said, amused. "He barely understands English, just a few words."

"I read that they are one of the most intelligent magical creatures on the planet," she said and Ziggy purred loudly, rubbing his head against her hand. "They are supposed to be really great judges of character, and they are fiercely loyal."

"Yeah, they are. He is. He growled when he saw Karkaroff in the lobby, when we first arrived," Freddie said. She started going around the room, gathering up her things that were strewn about.

"What a smart boy you are," Ada crooned. "May I pick you up?"

Ziggy didn't protest as the young girl picked him up. She crooned to him in soft french as she carried him over to the bed to sit down. Freddie went into the bathroom and retrieved her dirty robes and the makeup and hairbrush she'd left on the counter. When she came out Ada was playing with Ziggy with the ribbon Snape had left behind. The kneazle had it wrapped around his body and the girl was giggling.

"I bottle fed him when he was a baby," Freddie told her as she shoved her things into her bag. "He was abandoned by his mother and our groundskeeper Hagrid brought him to me."

"Oh no, that's so sad! His mother abandoned him? Why?"

"I don't know. But I was able to take care of him – he was so tiny and weak when he first came to me, he wouldn't have survived another night without intervention. I had to feed him every four hours with a little dropper of milk. I used to carry him everywhere in a pouch around my neck, even to class, and he was always quiet."

"You saved him," Ada said, gazing adoringly at Ziggy.

"Yep. And now he is big and strong. We're bonded for life, I don't go anywhere without him. I've always felt a special closeness to kneazles. My wand has a kneazle whisker core – they don't make them much anymore, Mr Ollivander said they make inferior wands. But this one chose me. It took hours for me to find a wand that day, until he finally brought out some old ones that had been made by his father centuries ago. As soon as I touched it I knew it was mine," she said fondly. "And my Patronus is a kneazle, too."

"You can cast a Patronus Charm? A corporeal one?" Ada gasped.

"Uh-huh. Wanna see?"

"Yes!"

Freddie drew her wand and thought of a happy memory – she focused on how she had felt sitting next to Snape at the dinner table as he bragged about her to the other Potion Masters and Ministry wizards.

"Expecto Patronum," she said with a flick of her wand. Her shimmering Patronus kneazle appeared and began pouncing around the room.

"Mon dieu!" Ada declared breathlessly. "C'est magnifique!"

"Thanks. I just mastered it over the summer," Freddie said as the Patronus disappeared. "Want to see something else cool?"

"What?" she asked curiously.

Freddie smiled wickedly, then slipped effortlessly into her Animagus form, causing Ada to shout and jump up.

"You're an Animagus?!" she asked, eyes wide. "Your name is not on the Registry! I have seen it before. How did you-? Can you understand me?"

Freddie nodded her furry head and leapt up onto the bed next to Ziggy. Ada sat back down, looking dumbfounded.

"Wow," she said. "Just wow."

Freddie purred in amusement, feeling affection for her young friend. She butted Ada's arm with her head then sat down beside her with her tail wrapped around her paws.

"I have never heard of an Animagus so young," Ada said. "It's supposed to be so hard and can take years to master. Was it difficult?"

Freddie tried to answer, but could only meow. She leapt from the bed, transforming back to human as she did. She landed smoothly on her feet and Ada gasped again.

"It was not too bad, you just have to be really diligent. And my name is on the Animagus Registry, I only just transformed for the first time in November."

"I've heard it can go horribly wrong. Weren't you worried?"

"A bit," she admitted, sitting back down on the bed. "But it didn't go wrong. I did it! ...Although it did take me a few more weeks to completely master changing with my clothes on."

"Oh no!" Ada said, giggling. "That had to be awkward. Did anyone see you?"

"Nah. When I registered at the Ministry of Magic I explained the situation – which was embarrassing – and the man put up a privacy screen for me to change back."

Ada spent the next ten minutes asking her questions about being an Animagus – what she felt while she was a kneazle, could she communicate with other animals, did it hurt to transform. Freddie answered them all patiently. She had finished packing so she spent the rest of their half hour just chatting with her friend.

"When you were talking at dinner," Ada said suddenly. "Why did you tell them you were able to reach your wand when the Devil's Snare had you? You told me it was an outburst of magic, that you did not mean to do it."

"It was," Freddie said. "But Snape told me that they didn't know that. He knew, of course, but he didn't feel the need to tell them that. He said it only mattered that I got out without help. ...Are you mad? Maybe if they knew it was an outburst I would not have won...you could have won first place."

"Oh no!" Ada insisted, smiling. "I am not mad. I'm glad you won. I told you from the start it should be you. You earned it. And I would have had to talk to all those people if I had won, I definitely did not want that."

"Was Lady Karen mad at you?" she asked curiously. "Mad that you didn't win? She didn't seem too upset."

"She chastised me a bit about my decision-making in the Garden, but she was not too upset. Not like Professor Devin – I could hear him through the ceiling above our room, shouting at Dimitri in Russian."

"Oof. Well I'm glad Lady Karen didn't take it out on you."

"I think you impressed her," Ada said with a smile. "She kept talking about how you handled your challenge with the riddle. ...Do you think that it was impossible?"

"What?"

"The riddle. I have been going over it in my mind since you recited it to me and I cannot figure it out."

"I don't think it was impossible, I think I was just too stupid to figure it out."

"You are not stupid!" she declared. "You would not be here if you were stupid."

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "Seriously though, I think Snape would have told me afterwards if the riddle was impossible, if it was some kind of trick. He told me they expected me to solve the riddle but were impressed with how I found my own way when I couldn't solve it – except for Karkaroff, who considered what I did to be cheating."

"I am glad that he and Andrei left. The way he looked at me was effrayant. You know – creepy. It is easy to see how he was a supporter of You-Know-Who. I have never seen a Death Eater in person before, have you?"

"A few," Freddie said uncomfortably. "Not all of them are like Karkaroff."

"Oh I'm sorry, Freddie! I forgot you were pureblood. I'm sorry."

"I thought you had a photographic memory, how did you forget?" she joked half-heartedly. "I wish I could forget." She hesitated slightly. "My aunt and uncle were supporters of the Dark Lord, but they weren't Death Eaters. And my parents..."

She hesitated to finish her sentence, to tell Ada, who was Muggleborn, that her parents were in Azkaban prison for crimes against Muggleborns. Before she had a chance to say anything, Snape appeared in the middle of the room and Ada let out a strangled squeak of surprise.

"Miss Leroux," he acknowledged, seeming unsurprised to find her there. "Miss Gray are you ready to depart?"

"Oh, um...yes," Freddie said, getting up from the bed.

"Let me get my bag," he said, then disappeared through the door connecting their rooms. Ada stood up, looking very sad all of a sudden.

"I wish that you did not have to go right now," she said sadly, looking up at Freddie.

"I know," she said. She didn't want to leave Ada, but she wanted to be alone somewhere with Snape. She wanted to know what he had planned. "I'm sorry."

"I am going to miss you," she said, her green eyes shinning with unshed tears and Freddie felt a lump form in her throat. "You were the only person here who was truly nice to me. I will never forget that."

"Hey," Freddie said softly. "We'll see each other again. I'll find a way to come visit you, and you can come visit me."

"Promise?"

"I promise," she vowed, then pulled the girl into a hug. Snape had returned with his suitcase and was watching them from the doorway.

"I should go," Ada said, sniffling slightly as Freddie let her go. "Au revoir, Freddie. Bye Ziggy. Professor Snape."

"Au revoir," Freddie said somberly as Ada opened the door. "Au revoir, Adalene."

She heard Ada chuckle but it quickly turned into a choked sob and she quickly shut the door behind herself.

"Are you okay?" Snape asked as he came into her room.

"Yeah... I feel bad. I wish I could spend more time with her. She was easy to get along with, nice to talk to...It was nice having a friend again."

"You have Miss Avery, do you not?"

"It's different," she said, shaking her head. "Amelia... I don't know. It's just different."

"You promised to visit her?"

"Yeah. I don't know when or how, but I'll find a way. ...A part of me wishes were staying another night."

"And the other part of you?" he asked slowly.

"The other part of me is ready to go wherever you want to take me," she answered with a smile.

"Then let us go," he said and kissed her forehead. "Here, put this in your bag. It will make traveling easier."

"Are we going to Apparate?" she asked as she put his suitcase into her purse.

"Yes and more than once. We will have to do it in jumps to decrease the risk of splinching over the distance."

"Oo, so we're going somewhere far?" she asked. "Are we going home, to your house?"

"Not home. Not yet. Take my arm," he instructed.

"Come on Ziggy!" she called to the kneazle. He leapt onto her shoulder from the bed and when Freddie put her hand on Snape's arm they Disapparated.