Two days later Freddie and Snape returned to the castle. Classes resumed after New Years and things returned to the way they had been between them. They worked on potions together, she helped teach a few classes, and every now and then they were able to slip away from the castle to spend time alone together at Spinner's End...but he hadn't said 'I love you' since Christmas Day.
The months passed too quickly and as June approached Freddie spent more time studying for her NEWT exams than she did working with Snape. She brewed and sold potions to her housemates that would help them concentrate, calm down, or sleep. Whatever they needed to get through the end of year exams. By the time exams started she had amassed a small fortune and she knew that she had more than enough money to find her own apartment or even a house to rent. But still she was reluctant. She knew that if Snape wanted her to stay with him he would have offered already, so she told herself she was waiting until exams were over to start searching for an apartment.
On June 4th Freddie finished her final NEWT exam – Charms, which she thought she had done alright in. She had expected to feel a weight off her shoulders now that exams were over, but she still felt troubled. It was less than a month until she graduated and while part of her was excited to start her work at St Mungo's, the other part of her felt like she was still a student. She wasn't sure she was ready for what came next, to be out on her own in the world. So while the rest of her classmates celebrated, Freddie headed down to Snape's office to see if he wanted to have tea.
When she reached Snape's office she knocked loudly but received no response. She found the wards were still in place on the door, which meant that he wasn't in there.
He's probably still administering exams to terrified students, she thought as she drew her wand to remove the wards. It shouldn't be much longer, I can wait for him.
She lit a fire in the hearth to brighten the room before sitting down in her usual chair with a sigh. After a few minutes of waiting she called for Noelle to bring a pot of tea.
"Professor Snape will be here shortly, I thought it would be nice to have tea waiting," she explained to the house elf who nodded with a toothy grin.
"What tea should I bring, miss?" Noelle asked. "Master Snape does not always drinks the same tea in the afternoon."
"I'm not sure," she sighed. "...I don't suppose any of his blends would help my mood?"
"Oh yes miss! Master Snape drinks Brew #55 when hims is feeling sad."
"Really?" she asked curiously. "55? That's his newest one, isn't it, I think I've only had it once."
"Yes, hims give me the recipe in October. Him drink it almost every day for a month."
"Hmm. Okay then, yes, bring me Brew 55."
As Noelle disappeared with a crack Freddie sat back in her chair, thinking. Snape had drank Brew 55 nearly every day in October. Did that mean he had been sad in October? She slumped slightly when she realized that October had been when he was barely speaking to her...after she had told him she loved him for the first time, in the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow.
That's where I screwed up, she thought to herself. Sometimes I wish I'd never said it. It complicated things, things between us had been easy before that. I should have been stronger, controlled my emotions...
When Noelle returned with the tea Freddie leaned forward to pour herself a cup and spotted a newspaper on Snape's desk. It was the current issue of the Daily Prophet. She picked it up and settled back with her tea to open it.
When Snape entered his office a short time later, he found Freddie sitting at his desk reading the property listings in the back of the paper.
"What are you doing?" he asked curiously as he hung up his cloak. "You look troubled."
"It's nothing," she said with a sigh. "I had Noelle make tea for us, it's fresh."
"Thank you for the tea. You're being evasive, Winifred. Tell me what's wrong. Something in the Prophet?"
"I'm just...looking at apartments for rent. Since I'll be graduating soon."
"Oh," he said, looking surprised. "I just assumed- well... never mind."
"What?" she asked, but he said nothing as he poured himself a cup of tea. "Now who's being evasive?"
"I just...thought that you were staying. At Spinner's End," he said, trying to act nonchalant but he was avoiding her gaze. "But of course you are graduating, you want your own place. I understand completely."
"You- you never asked me to stay!" she said, astonished. "You never said anything and you never asked. I wasn't sure you...I wasn't sure what you wanted."
"Winifred," he said slowly, setting his cup down on the desk. "I didn't think that I needed to say anything. I told you...I told you that I love you and I meant that. It is still not easy for me to say and it is not something I have ever said lightly. Not to anyone."
"You...you really want me to stay with you? Are you sure?"
"Yes. I am sure. It will not always be easy, I spend so much of my time here during the year, but... I want you close to me, always. I know it isn't the best house and I understand if you don't want to, but...will you stay?"
"Oh Severus," she said, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. "Of course I want to. I'd rather live with you than anywhere else in the world. Of course I'll stay with you. Always."