They both slept in the next morning, though at some point Freddie was dimly aware that Snape had gotten up and was no longer beside her. She was far too relaxed to open her eyes or even care that he was going somewhere. When she finally woke up a few hours later she was alone and naked on a king-sized bed and there was sunlight streaming into the room through the windows. It took her a moment to remember where she was and when she did she smiled. Her smiled widened when Snape walked into the room a moment later, fully dressed and carrying a tray of food.
"I love when you bring me breakfast in bed," she said as he kicked off his shoes to sit down next to her. "How did you know I was awake?"
"I felt it," he answered. "And it is actually lunch time."
"Well it's breakfast food- pancakes, eggs, sausage," she pointed out. She sat up against the headboard beside him. "And what do you mean you 'felt' me wake up?"
"As soon as you wake up, if I am already awake, I become aware of your consciousness."
"All the time?" she asked curiously as she picked up a piece of sausage. "Even at school?"
"Most of the time, yes," he said, though he looked slightly uncomfortable about it.
"Is it something you're doing on purpose, or...?"
"Eat your breakfast, Winifred," he said shortly. She shrugged and took a big bite of sausage. She had almost eaten the whole thing when Snape spoke again. "...No, it is not something I'm doing on purpose. The first few times, yes, but then it started happening when I wasn't trying to. I suppose, on some level, my mind seeks out your consciousness even when I am not aware of it. It is...unnerving. It's not a good thing."
"Why?" she asked, but he didn't answer right away. She was finishing the eggs on her plate when he finally said something.
"...It means I am losing control," he said in a voice so quiet she almost didn't hear. "And I pride myself on being in control."
Freddie nodded slightly, considering this while she ate. He did seem less restrained lately- fucking her at Hogwarts when he had said that could never happened, and then again at the inn even though he'd said they shouldn't...not that she was complaining in the least.
"Yes, those times as well," he said, clearly reading her mind. "It is not a good thing...you are making me lose my self-control."
"It feels like a good thing. Especially 'those times'," she said with a slight smile. "I'm not making you do anything you don't want to." She didn't think she could make him do anything, even if she tried.
"Yes, at the time it felt good but if we had been caught? It would not have been good then. I need to remain in control or I risk making mistakes. There were times in my life where a loss of control, especially a lack of control of my Legilimency and Occlumency, would have been deadly. It could easily happen again."
Freddie put down her fork, not liking the direction this discussion was going. She didn't like seeing him seeming so troubled.
"You need to relax," she said quietly, putting her hand on his leg. "Nothing bad is going to happen. We're all alone here, in the middle of nowhere, where nobody knows us and we can do whatever we want. Can't you just...not worry about things for the next few days? I want you to be happy..."
He looked at her and his troubled expression cleared and was slowly replaced by a smile.
"I can certainly try," he said gently. When he spoke again it was to change the subject. "...How is your neck this morning? And your wrist?"
"My wrist is fine," she said, flexing it to show him. She'd taken the splint off before going to sleep. "My neck is a little sore, but it's nothing I can't handle."
"I will put Bruise Cream on it later. You should drink your tea before it gets cold," he encouraged. "It's Brew 19 and it will make you feel better."
"Thank you," she said as she picked up the cup and took a sip. "Where'd you get all this stuff anyway?"
"The tea I brought with me-"
"Obviously," she said, rolling her eyes, and he smiled.
"-the rest I went into town this morning to get. I got a few groceries so we don't have to leave the cabin unless we want to."
"We don't even have to leave the bed," she said cheekily. "I'm still naked. You could be too."
"Cheeky little witch," he said with a smirk. "Finish your lunch. We have plenty of time for that after."
They didn't leave the bedroom for the rest of the afternoon. As soon as she had finished eating he had pounced on her and they spent hours making love until they were both exhausted – then they napped in each others arms and when they woke up they started exhausting themselves all over again.
Freddie was laying with her head on his chest, catching her breath after a particularly rigorous session, when she heard his stomach growl. She wasn't sure what time it was, but figured it had to be getting close to dinner time.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, looking up at Snape with a grin. His hair was disheveled, there was a sheen of sweat on his face, and he looked utterly satisfied.
"A bit," he responded, lazily stroking the small of her back with his fingers. "I could use a drink, I think. I bought scotch and wine – as well as some of those grape sodas you seemed fond of over the summer."
"A drink sounds good," she agreed, but he didn't move. "I guess we should get up then."
"Mm," he said and kissed her forehead once before getting up. He pulled his pants on while Freddie dug through her bag for something to put on. She knew they were alone and that Snape had placed charms around the cabin to repel Muggles but she still wasn't totally comfortable with the idea of walking around naked. She decided to just put on her robe – the red one that was a blend of silk and unicorn hair, which she had gotten at Mistress Madeline's when she went lingerie shopping with Amelia.
"You brought lingerie to the Potions Championship?" Snape asked with a slight smirk, watching her slip the robe on while he buttoned his shirt.
"I wanted to be prepared for anything," she answered innocently. "You said that we might spend- oh! I just realized tomorrow is Christmas Eve, isn't it?"
"It is. If you are good perhaps Father Christmas will visit tomorrow night," he said playfully.
"I have been good, haven't I? I'm a good girl."
"That you are."
Snape picked the empty lunch tray up off the floor and Freddie followed him out of the bedroom. She looked around for Ziggy and found him curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace. She felt a surge of guilt when she realized she hadn't even fed him today.
"I fed him this morning," Snape told her as he put the dishes in the sink.
"You did? Did you get a can of his food out of my bag?"
"No, when I made your breakfast – lunch – I made enough for him. He did not seem interested in the pancakes so I put sausage and eggs in a bowl for him next to the refrigerator. He seems to have eaten it all," he said as he stooped to pick up the bowl.
"That was very sweet of you, Severus, thank you."
He didn't say anything in response but opened the refrigerator door and took out a bottle of wine. Freddie walked over to the door to look out at the lake and she noticed that it was starting to get dark out.
"It's almost sunset," she said, surprised. "We stayed in bed all day."
"You stayed in bed all day. I was up this morning," he said. He opened a few cabinets until he finally found two glass tumblers and put them on the counter. "Do you want wine or scotch?"
"Wine, I think," she replied, still looking out at the lake.
He joined her a moment later with a glass of wine in one hand and scotch in the other. He handed her the wine and she nodded in thanks.
"Do you want to sit on the porch and watch the sunset?" he asked.
"That would be great," she said with a smile, thinking that he really was a romantic at heart. He unlocked the sliding door and as soon as he opened it Freddie shivered in the sudden cold. She stepped outside anyway, not wanting to disappoint him. The wood was cold on her bare feet as she padded over to one of the deck chairs.
"Hold on," Snape said and drew his wand. He pointed it back through the door and a second later the blanket from the back of the couch zoomed out. He caught it then tossed it to her. "Here. So you won't freeze to death."
"Thank you," she said gratefully. She wrapped the woolen blanket around herself before sitting down in one of the chairs with her glass. She sipped her wine and watched Snape close the door before joining her. He pointed his wand at the fire pit in front of their chairs and flames sprung to life.
"Oo that's nice," Freddie said, dragging her chair closer to the warmth of the flames. He chuckled softly and took a sip of scotch.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, looking out over the water as the sun sank lower in the sky. The air was chilly but Freddie was more than comfortable by the fire, drinking her wine. When she'd finished one glass Snape got up to get them both a refill. As it got darker outside she noticed a number of twinkling lights through the trees on the other side of the lake.
"What are those lights?" she asked curiously when Snape returned with another glass of wine for her. "They look like fairy lights."
"It is unlikely that there are fairies here," he said, following her line of sight. "There is a small Muggle town on the other side of the lake, but I have no idea what the lights could be."
"We should go investigate! Can we?"
"If you want to, yes...but I would suggest you put some clothes on first," he said with a slight smirk. "There may be people over there."
"I'll be right back," she promised and hurried inside the cabin.
She pulled clothes out of her bag and dressed quickly in her favorite jeans and a warm sweater, along with the hat and gloves he had bought her a few days ago. She put on her dragonhide jacket over her sweater and put her wand in the pocket. When she sat on the edge of the bed to shove her feet into her boots, Snape's voice spoke in her mind You may want to cover your neck with a scarf if you have one.
Good idea, she thought and picked up her bag again. She found her Slytherin scarf and went into the bathroom to check her bruises in the mirror. Snape had put Bruise Cream on her neck a few hours ago and had left the bandage off of it. The bruises looked better than they had before but were still varying shades of red and yellow. She wrapped the scarf around her neck before rejoining Snape on the deck. He was finishing his second glass of scotch and stood when she came outside.
"We can Apparate across the lake," he told her. "The charms I placed yesterday extend to the tree line there so even if someone were looking they would not see us. It will be easier to Apparate separately, just aim for that tall pine in the middle."
"Piece of cake," she said and Disapparated.