As Freddie made her way down into the dungeons in her Animagus form, she had the distinct feeling she was being watched. She slowed her pace a little, her whiskers twitching as she tried to determine what she sensed. She couldn't see or smell anything, but the fur on her back still stood up. She thought maybe Ada might have followed her under a Disillusionment Charm, but the only thing she heard were her own soft paw steps on the stone. The passage so far had been totally deserted – no Prefects or Filch on patrol, not even Mrs Norris. She tried to dismiss the feeling as her imagination, but Dumbledore's words of 'Constant vigilance' kept echoing through her mind.

Ridiculous, she told herself. The only Death Eater in this castle is the one waiting in his office to take me to bed. Her whiskers twitched in amusement, then drooped as she remembered Mad-Eye Moody. The Dark Lord had already had one Death Eater in the castle impersonating a teacher...what if there were more?

Freddie had just reached Snape's office door when something grabbed her from behind. She let out a yowl, spitting and clawing at her attacker. Whoever it was dropped her with a muttered swear and Freddie's ears pricked up as she recognized the voice.

"Severus? What the hell?" she demanded or at least that's what she meant to say. What came out instead was a series of angry hisses and he began to laugh in a low voice. She saw the amusement in his eyes as he became visible, but before she could react he scooped her up again. She twisted and struggled against him, careful to keep her claws sheathed, until finally she transformed back to human while still in his arms. He pushed her against his office door and kissed her before she could say anything. Snape reached behind her to open the door and steered her inside, kissing her all the while. He kicked the door shut with his foot while his hands snaked their way beneath her shirt. Her whole body flushed at the contact of his palms on her skin and she almost forgot to be annoyed...almost.

"Were you trying to scare the fur off of me?" she demanded, breaking the kiss. He chuckled again and pulled her back to him when she tried to pull away.

"I was testing you," he said, smirking down at her.

"I knew you were there," she said unconvincingly and his smirk widened.

"No you didn't."

"I knew something was there," she said hotly and he chuckled before kissing her again. "How did you hide your footsteps? And why couldn't I smell you? My kneazle-senses are more fine tuned than my human ones, I should've been able to smell you."

"A Silencing Charm on my shoes," he answered, kissing her once more. "And a spell-" He kissed her again. "-of my own invention-" Another kiss. "-that confuses an animal's sense of smell."

She scowled at him, but it was hard to stay mad while he was kissing her.

"Teach it to me," she said. "The spell you used."

"No," he answered simply and kissed her again.

"Why not?" she asked, and he kissed her pouting lips without answering.

"Please?" she tried again.

"Later," he said and silenced any further discussion with a searing kiss. Without breaking contact he urged her towards the entrance to his quarters that was already open. Freddie stepped backwards into the dimly-lit room, stumbling slightly but Snape held her tight. He didn't stop kissing her until he pushed her back on the bed and stopped to take off his shirt. Freddie was breathless from the kiss as she watched him undress. In the dim light she saw the sleeves of his shirt were shredded from her claws and blood oozed from the wounds beneath, appearing almost black in the green glow from the lake.

"Severus, you're bleeding!" she said, alarmed.

"It's nothing," he said, shrugging out of his shirt. "Take your pants off."

"You should get some dittany – heal that-"

"Later," he said firmly. "Take. Off. Your. Pants."

Freddie felt guilty that she had hurt him in her kneazle form, even if he had scared her on purpose. When she hesitated Snape drew his wand and with a flick of his wrist vanished her clothes. She yelped at the sudden chill and he grinned a feral grin.

"I was gonna do it," she protested as he shed the rest of his clothes. "You didn't have to vanish my whole outfit into nothingness, I just bought that t-shirt!"

"You should have been quicker," he said playfully then pushed her back on the bed to kiss her. When his lips found her neck Freddie forgot all about her shirt and wrapped her arms around him with a moan...

An hour later they lay naked and sweating on top of the bed, too hot to pull the blankets over them. Freddie was resting her head on his chest, feeling fully content, when she noticed the scratches on his arm again.

"You're still bleeding," she pointed out. Snape raised his arm to look at it and shrugged. He shifted slightly to grab his wand from the bedside table and pointed it lazily towards the door. The door opened and a moment later a clump of dittany came zooming through it. Freddie rolled off of him and watched as Snape tended his wounds.

"I'm sorry I scratched you," she said sheepishly as he chewed the dittany.

"Don't be," he said dismissively as he pressed the poultice to his arm. "It's good to know you can defend yourself if need be. You can duel well as a witch and claw someone to shreds as a cat."

"Kneazle," she said, shoving him playfully. "...It looks like it hurts."

"It doesn't," he replied absently as he moved the poultice to his other arm. Then he gave her a teasing smirk. "It was funny to see you hissing and spitting, all your fur sticking out like a puffskein."

"I should've scratched you deeper," she retorted, scowling, and Snape laughed.

When he moved the dittany again there were only a few faint pink lines across his arm. Freddie leaned down to kiss the scars tenderly. Her eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the Dark Mark further up his forearm and she kissed that too, wishing he could get rid of that as easily. Snape hissed softly and his hand closed in a fist.

"Does it hurt when I do that?" she murmured, laying her head back down beside him. He was staring at the ceiling and she didn't think he would respond.

"Twinges," he said finally.

"Sorry. ...Have you seen Him since the night of the Triwizard Tournament?"

Snape closed his eyes and didn't answer. She sighed and kissed his shoulder, leaving her lips there as she breathed in the scent of his skin.

"You cannot know everything I do," he said quietly after several minutes. "Even Albus agrees. My primary reports are for him alone and then he decides what to do with the information and how much should be shared with the rest of the Order."

"Okay," she said simply. He rolled onto his side to look at her.

"Okay?" he repeated. "I expected more resistance from you."

"No. I promised not to push you to talk about things you didn't want to. But I'm here if you ever do want to talk, if there's anything I can help with..."

"You're helping the Order already, in your own way."

"I know. I meant, to help you. I don't know how..."

"Just your being here helps," he said softly, and Freddie buried her face in his chest as he pulled her close to him.