AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey all! Ask and ye shall receive – I decided to go ahead and post the first chapter of my sequel to Whisper, since I've gotten so many positive reviews since completing my last fic (finally!). Someone asked if I plan to stay canon-compliant with this and my answer is for the most part, yes, but there may be a few things I change along the way. I hope you all enjoy this and I'll be checking my reviews for both stories daily because they honestly cheer me up so much and encourage me to keep writing. So without further ado...

~RedPandaPrincess

STAY

A Harry Potter fanfic

Sequel to Whisper

Winifred "Freddie" Gray had been living with her former teacher Potion Master Severus Snape for the last four years and they'd been sleeping together for the last five. Technically they had been living together for five years as well, but the first summer had been out of necessity when she had nowhere else to go. They'd started their relationship that summer and by the time she graduated Hogwarts the following year he had asked her to move in with him. And of course she had happily said yes. She loved him, after all. She'd always loved him.

Freddie never regretted her decision to stay with him and she still loved him deeply, but things had been strained between them over the last year. A man named Mad Eye Moody had taken the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts – a post Snape had long coveted. Moody was also an ex-Auror whose job it had once been to hunt down and capture Death Eaters...and Severus Snape was a former Death Eater.

Death Eaters were the most loyal followers of the Dark Lord who had once wreaked havoc on the world, slaughtering Muggles and Muggleborns alike. Freddie's parents had been Death Eaters and were currently serving a lifetime sentence in Azkaban for a list of vicious crimes ranging from torture to murder. They'd been arrested after the fall of the Dark Lord when Freddie was just a child and she had never wanted anything to do with them or the pureblood family she had been born into. She didn't think that being pureblood made her any better than Muggleborns and she had always been fascinated by Muggles and the way they did things. She didn't want anything to do with Death Eaters or the Dark Lord...until she met Snape. He had avoided the subject of his past for a long time, but eventually he told Freddie how he had become a Death Eater- and then a spy for Albus Dumbledore, the only wizard the Dark Lord ever feared.

Even though Snape had been a spy, he was still uncomfortable with Moody's presence in the castle. The ex-Auror seemed to be keeping a close eye on him as well. More than once Snape had found him searching his office, much to his displeasure. Snape claimed this was the reason he rarely came home to see Freddie anymore on the weekends. The reason she could no longer come visit him in his office at Hogwarts, when just last year she'd been using the Floo network to come and help him brew Wolfsbane Potion for the previous Defense teacher, Remus Lupin. Snape claimed he didn't want Moody to know anything about her and so he had to keep his distance...but Freddie knew that wasn't the only reason.

For the last 9 months or so the Dark Mark that had been branded on the left forearm of every Death Eater had been growing darker. Freddie could still remember the pain her mother had been in when the Mark burned, whenever the Dark Lord called them to his side. When He had lost his power 14 years ago, at the hands of a baby named Harry Potter, the Mark had begun to fade. Since then it had been like a faded tattoo on Snape's forearm, something he almost always kept covered. But Freddie had seen it whenever she lay naked in his arms and towards the end of last summer it had started looking darker. She convinced herself she was imagining things at first, but when he'd come home to spend time with her over the Christmas holiday there was no mistaking the change in it.

Snape refused to talk about it. He would tell her not to worry or do something to distract her, but she could tell that he was worried. Even when he used Occlumency to keep her out of his head, she could see a troubled look in his eyes. More than once she caught him rubbing it absently like it might have been stinging or itching. But he refused to talk about it and after that he seemed to be avoiding her even more.

Freddie tried not to think about it but more than once she had considered going to talk to Dumbledore. She knew the darkening of the Dark Mark probably meant that the Dark Lord was getting stronger and she was worried about Snape. She knew if it happened, if He called, Snape would have to resume his role as spy. If Snape wouldn't talk to her about it, she wondered if Dumbledore would. She wasn't sure how much the headmaster knew about her relationship with her former teacher. They'd worked hard to hide the affair that had started when she was still a student, but now? She didn't know if Dumbledore even knew she was still living with him.

So she didn't go to Dumbledore and she tried her best not to worry too much. She threw herself into her work at St Mungo's Hospital. She'd been working there in the potion-brewing room in the basement since she'd graduated and she loved it. Recently she'd been promoted to Assistant to the Potion Master Andrea Hawkins and together they worked hard to make sure things were kept running smoothly.

On June 22nd Freddie was making evening rounds with Hawkins, visiting the Healers in charge of each floor to help determine what potions they needed to treat their patients. They were on the third floor in the Poisoning Department, discussing a case with Healer Dell, when she first felt a presence just on the edge of her consciousness. She'd become quite adept at Occlumency over the last few years under Snape's tutelage and she always had her mind blocked from intruders...but this was a presence she recognized intimately.

Severus? She thought silently, dropping her walls just enough so that they could communicate. What are you doing here? What happened?

Her first instinct was that something horrible had happened. Either the Dark Lord had returned or Snape was injured. Or one of the Triwizard champions had been injured. The Triwizard Tournament was a magical contest being held at Hogwarts for the first time in centuries. Somehow Harry Potter, the boy who had defeated the Dark Lord and who Snape disliked immensely for his resemblance to his father, had become one of the competitors despite being underage.

It's nothing bad, Winifred, said Snape's voice in her head. He had all other thoughts and emotions blocked from her still and she was doing the same thing to him. I just came for a visit.

Well I'm busy. I'm working, she replied, though she did want to see him. She hadn't seen him in almost two months.

I need to talk to you.

Fine. Wait in my office and I'll be there shortly.

You have an office?

Basement. One of the interns will show you, she responded, then severed the link between them because Hawkins was talking to her.

"Do you want to take a look at him, Gray?" her boss asked.

"Uh...I'm sorry, Master Hawkins, my mind was wandering," she admittedly sheepishly.

"Healer Dell has a patient with a strange rash," Hawkins said without reprimanding her.

"It looks like spiderwebs all over his skin," Dell added.

"Is the rash raised or flat?" Freddie asked.

"Raised," the Healer answered.

"And red?"

"Exactly."

"It sounds like a reaction to Eorna Spider venom. Sometimes people try to pass it off as Acromantula venom and for inexperienced potioneers it can be hard to tell the difference."

"I think you're absolutely right, Gray," Hawkins said with an approving nod. "We can concoct an antidote easily enough, but I'd like to see the patient first to be sure. Care to join me?"

"Uh," Freddie hesitated. She usually enjoyed getting to see patients firsthand, something she'd only been allowed to do when she got promoted, but she couldn't stop thinking about Snape. What did he want to talk about? "Actually, Master Hawkins, there's something I need to go check on. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," she said airily. "I'll finish up here and round on the fourth floor myself. I'll see you downstairs after and we can start work on this antidote."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you," Freddie said gratefully.

Freddie knew that Hawkins could be strict, she'd seen her that way with interns, but she had never been that way with her. Maybe it was because Freddie was so dedicated or that she rarely made mistakes. Or maybe Hawkins had a soft spot for her because she remembered when Freddie had been committed to the Janus Thickey Ward during her sixth year at Hogwarts. The Janus Thickey Ward was a place for people whose brains had been damaged by magic and she'd been admitted there after the disappearance of her best friend Daniel. She had been the last person to see him alive, but she had no memory of the incident. Even after weeks of treatment she never recovered the memory, but it was discovered three years later that Daniel had been killed when the Dark Lord attempted to use his body as a host in order to return to power.

Freddie hurried down the many flights of stairs, across the lobby, and then down another set of stairs to the basement. She entered the cavernous dungeon-like room where a half dozen interns worked around cauldrons.

"Hey Freddie," said one of the interns, a short woman with dark skin named Miranda Bennett. "You have a visitor. He's waiting in your office."

"Thanks Miranda."

Freddie crossed the room to her office, which was right next to Hawkins' office. She was still getting used to the fact that she had an office since she'd gotten promoted. She opened the door that had her name on it on a little plaque – Freddie Gray, Assistant Potion Master – and found Snape standing behind her desk. His back was to her and he was looking at the few framed photos she had on her bookshelf. A picture of her and Daniel from third year, the only photo she had of the boy who had been her best friend. A smiling photo of a young redheaded girl, waving at the camera- her friend Adalene Leroux. She'd met Ada at an International Potions Championship she'd competed in – and won – when she was 17. The girl had been just 12 years old then but she was brilliant. She'd come in second place. They'd kept in touch afterwards, writing to one another almost every week, and Freddie had gone to visit her at her Muggle parents house twice now in France.

The third picture was of Freddie's pet kneazle Ziggy, sitting with his tail curled around his paws in front of the fireplace at Ada's house. Freddie had Ziggy since he was just a few days old, before his eyes were even open. She had bottle fed him and raised him, carrying him around the castle in a pouch around her neck until he was big enough to walk. The two had a strong bond and she rarely went anywhere without him. Even now the kneazle was curled up on the back of the small couch in her office.

The last frame on the shelf contained a copy of an article that was printed in Apothecary Now. It had a picture of her and Snape in front of cauldron in the Potions classroom at Hogwarts and a copy of the recipe for the Invisibility Potion antidote the two of them had created together. Snape was looking closely at their picture together and she wondered if he were feeling nostalgic.

"Hey Severus," she said finally and he turned to face her.

"Hello Winifred," he said. Neither his face or his tone betrayed any emotion.

"How are you?" she asked, feeling a little awkward since she hadn't seen him in so long.

"Fine. You?"

"Never better," she muttered as she shut the door. She walked past the three cauldrons she had in her office – the gold cauldron she'd won at the Potions Championship, which was currently empty, an empty pewter cauldron, and a larger pewter cauldron which contained a simmering Blood-Replenishing Potion. She hesitated on whether to sit at her desk or on the couch where he could sit with her, and finally decided on the couch.

"Have a seat, Severus," she invited as she sat down.

"I didn't know you had an office," he said as he looked around. "It's nice."

"I got it when I got promoted. I'm Master Hawkins' assistant now. You wouldn't know, seeing as how I haven't seen you in months and I can't even write to you since you think Moody is reading your mail," she said, unable to help the annoyance from creeping into her voice. She used her Occlumency to shut the emotion down before it could turn to anger, but Snape didn't seem bothered by it anyway. He still hadn't sat down and was now peering at the gently bubbling brew in the cauldron.

"Blood-Replenishing Potion?"

"Yeah," she said. "They use a lot of it on the First Floor."

"It looks perfect."

"It is," she said shortly.

"Your boss lets you listen to music while you work?" he asked, indicating the record player on her desk. It had once belonged to Daniel, who had carried it everywhere, but now it was hers. She always had music playing in her office. She'd left a George Strait vinyl playing softly when she left for rounds.

"She doesn't care. It helps me focus."

"What band is this? It's not your usual classic rock."

"No, it's George Strait. He's an American country singer. Not my usual genre, I know, but Ada sent the record to me when she went with her parents to America last summer and I like it," she said, but she was starting to get impatient with the small talk. "What do you want, Severus? Did something happen?"

"No, I told you I wanted to talk to you."

"About my office and my potions?" she asked sardonically, but he didn't respond. "I'm busy. I have patients to see and other potions to brew."

"You see patients? I thought that was a Healer's job," he said, finally coming to sit down next to her on the couch.

"Sometimes. I do morning and evening rounds with Hawkins to talk with the Healers in charge of each ward and sometimes we help diagnose patients. Mostly in the Poisoning Department that's up on the third floor."

"Do you enjoy it?" he asked. Ziggy had come down from the back of the couch and was purring loudly as he climbed into Snape's lap. He began to pet the kneazle absently. "I did not expect to see Ziggy here."

"He goes where I go," she said with a shrug. "I've been working long hours. Master Hawkins doesn't care if he stays in my office. She likes to come in here and pet him when she's feeling particularly stressed or overwhelmed."

"Have you been sleeping here?" he asked, gesturing to the folded blanket on the arm of the couch.

"Sometimes I do. It's easier than-" She caught herself, not wanting to admit to him that it was sometimes easier to stay here than to go home and sleep in their bed alone. "It's easier to keep an eye on things here. Master Hawkins depends on me and if I'm here when something big comes in during the middle of the night then they don't have to send for her."

"Does she know you sleep in your office?" he asked with the faintest of smirks on his lips.

"Severus why are you here? You say nothing bad happened so what is it? You've been avoiding me like the plague since Christmas, what's so important that you had to come talk to me now?"

"I have not been avoiding you, Winifred," he insisted, then softened his tone. "You think I do not miss being able to come see you whenever I want?" He reached out to take her hand and she thought about pulling away, but she didn't. She had missed him. "I miss you, Winifred. I've been taking a Sleeping Draught every night just to fall asleep without you. I walk around with a- a constant ache in my chest because I know that I cannot see you."

Freddie squeezed his hand, but had to look away as she felt a lump in her throat that was usually a precursor to tears. She felt the exact same way. She'd been taking a potion to sleep every night, too. She missed him so much and she worried about him so much sometimes she felt sick.

"This isn't easy for me," he said quietly. He brought her hand to his mouth to brush a kiss across her knuckles.

"Me either," she whispered.

"I know. It know it is hard, but we just have to be patient. No Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher ever stays for more than a year, so Moody will be gone soon."

"Gone, dead, injured, or crazy," she replied with a faint smile. "Or up on the fourth floor with no memory of who he is, like Lockhart."

Gilderoy Lockhart had been the Defense professor two years ago until a faulty Memory Charm caused him to lose all of his memories and impaired his ability to create new ones. He'd been in the Janus Thickey Ward ever since. Sometimes he escaped and Freddie found him wandering the halls.

"Exactly," Snape said with a faint smile. He'd hated Lockhart. "So just be patient. Things will return to normal soon enough."

"Will they?" she murmured softly, glancing to his left arm where the Dark Mark was hidden. He pulled his arm away reflexively, clenching his fist. Then he put his arm around her and pulled her to his side, as if that were the reason he'd let go of her hand in the first place.

"Yes," he said simply and kissed her cheek. She lay her head on his shoulder for a few minutes, just enjoying being close to him again. He smelled like sandalwood aftershave and various potion ingredients.

"...Did you come all this way just to tell me that you missed me?" she asked finally, knowing it was unlikely. Of course she believed that he missed her, she just didn't think he would have made a trip to tell her that.

"Well, no," he admitted and she chuckled softly. "Albus thought that...I should invite you to watch the final task of the Triwizard Tournament in two days."

"What? Why? Why does he want me there?"

"I do not know."

"Hm...Is it really Dumbledore's idea? Or is this like when you used to tell me something was his idea when it was actually yours?"

"It was Albus' suggestion."

"What about Moody?"

"You will be there at the headmaster's invitation. Besides, Moody will be patrolling the maze," he said with a shrug. "...You dowant to attend, don't you?"

"Do you want me to come?" she asked. "Of course I want to, but then I wanted to see the first two tasks as well. I had to read about them in the damn Daily Prophet."

"I told you about the first task. I came to you that night."

"I guess that's true," she admitted. "But you never told me a firsthand account of the second task. I've barely seen you since then. We never talk, you just fuck me and leave."

"That is unfair," he protested. "I can't stay longer, not with that Auror breaking into my office every chance he gets. It doesn't matter to him that Albus trusts me, he's so sure he's going to find something to prove otherwise. He'd have me in Azkaban if he could. Of course I want to be able to spend more time with you."

"Do you want me to come to the third task?" she asked, because he still hadn't answered that question. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

"Yes, Winifred. I would have had you with me at all three tasks if I could have."

"But it's okay now?" she asked doubtfully.

"Because the headmaster thinks so, yes."

"Does he know? I mean, how much does he know about...us?"

"He knows that you are living with me. That we have remained close all this time. He knows that...you are important to me."

"Does he know we're sleeping together?"

"I am sure he does, but he has never asked."

"Hmm."

"Are you going to come to the tournament or not?"

"I'll have to ask Hawkins," she said. "I was supposed to work that day."

"You work every day. Do you think she will give you the time off?"

"I don't work every day."

"When was your last day off?"

"Um...well I was supposed to be off Sunday but I came in anyway to work on a new Strengthening Potion I found the recipe for."

"Do you do that often? Spend your days off here?"

"I like it here," she said with a shrug. "Work keeps my mind occupied, so I don't spend so much time worrying..."

"Worrying about what?"

"About you, silly. I worry about you."

"I'm fine. You have nothing to worry about."

"I know you can take care of yourself, but when I can't see you and you won't talk to me, I worry. I can't help it. I care about you."

"I worry about you too sometimes," he admitted. "I used to always know where you were, what you were doing, if you were in trouble."

"Well you still know what I'm doing – I'm always here," she joked lightly.

"Yes...but I prefer it when you are with me," he said and then he kissed her.

Freddie melted into the kiss immediately. It was the first time they'd kissed in months and she felt her whole body flush as he deepened the kiss. She wanted more, so much more. Before she knew it she was nudging Ziggy aside so she could straddle his lap and his hands were buried in her hair, pulling her hard against his mouth.

A knock at the door interrupted them before she could seriously consider taking it farther. They quickly sprang apart and Freddie straightened her robes as she sat back down on the couch.

"Come in," she called, stroking her hair with her hands to make sure it wasn't sticking up.

"I finished rounds and thought we should-" Hawkins began as she came through the door, but stopped when she saw Snape and grinned. "Hello, Professor Snape. Long time no see."

"Good afternoon, Miss Hawkins," Snape acknowledged as he rose from the couch. She'd been a seventh-year student during his first year teaching at Hogwarts. "I was just leaving."

Freddie couldn't help but feel disappointed. She knew he had to return to the school and was surprised he'd stayed as long as he did.

"Master Hawkins," Freddie said quickly. "May I have the afternoon of the 24th off? I know it is short notice, but I've been invited to watch the final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Is that okay?"

"Of course, Gray. You're one of my hardest workers. You've been pulling 12 and 16 hour shifts at a time, I'm surprised you're not living in your office! You deserve a break and a bit of fun."

"Thank you ma'am," she said, blushing slightly from the praise. She looked to Snape and he smiled at her.

"Very well. I will see you in two days, Winifred," he said with a nod, and Freddie's heart ached slightly as he left her office.

"You're lucky," Hawkins said to her once they were alone. "I would've killed to watch the tournament. I wish they'd had it in my day."

"Would you have entered?" Freddie asked curiously.

"Probably not," she chuckled. "But it would have been cool to watch...and the Yule Ball, that would have been fun!"

"Yule Ball?"

"Yeah, it's part of the tournament. A big dance they have around Christmastime, all the students and teachers."

"Severus didn't tell me about that."

For one brief, jealous moment she couldn't help but wonder if he had danced with anyone during the ball. She knew her feelings were irrational though. Snape hated dancing. He probably didn't even attend the ball.

"You're dating him aren't you?" Hawkins asked.

"Huh? What? Who?" she stammered, fighting to keep the blush from her cheeks.

"Severus," she said with a knowing smile. "I've seen him around here. He used to come have tea or lunch with you sometimes, though I haven't seen him lately."

"He- we...it's complicated," she said truthfully.

"Relationships always are," she chuckled. "Don't look so embarrassed, Freddie. I think it's nice. I've never even seen Snape smile before but the way he looked at you when he left..."

"Uh-huh," she said weakly.

"Anyway, I finished rounding and you were right about Dell's patient. I thought we could get started on the antidote..."