*This is a fanfiction using Harry Potter characters. It is basically ignoring books 5-7 (using some of the content but not much) and introduces a new character of my own making: Katerina Arianna Dumbledore. This story shows mainly just the view point of Severus Snape and Katerina, but may occasionally jump to another character if the story requires it. It begins the summer before Katerina's 7th year at Hogwarts, right after the 2nd rise of Voldemort (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Book 4).

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm just playing with the wonderful characters!

June 8th, 1996

Severus Snape was not a patient man. He did not understand why Dumbledore required him to attend dinner at headquarters every other meeting. Why would he want to be surrounded by so many blundering idiots for hours on end? Albus said that he believed that Severus should become more social. Severus, on the other hand, had assumed that Albus just wanted to have another way to torture him more than he already was. Anyone that met Severus Snape knew within seconds that he was not a social person.

He apparated to the top step of 12 Grimwald Place and took a minute to psychologically prepare himself for what would no doubt leave him with a horrendous headache by the nights end. Opening the door and stepping inside, he swiftly proceeded down to the kitchen where he found the Weasley matriarch yelling at the two twin menaces.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to transfigure Ronald's things to become spiders?" Molly screamed, brandishing her wand.

"Mum, you don't understand," started Fred (well, he supposed it was Fred), "We didn't transfigure anything!"

"Yeah," joined George, "He ate some of our new candies we are working on…" Before he could finish, Molly started screaming again.

"Are you doing more experiments in your rooms? Arthur, are you hearing this?"

Arthur Weasley had just walked into the kitchen and Severus could tell that he instantly regretted his decision to enter the room. He gave a small nod to Severus, who simply stared at him in return. "What did you make now?" He asked the twins.

"Well it's only a new candy," said Fred.

"That causes you to see things," added George.

"Become your greatest fear," finished Fred.

Severus was actually quite impressed with this, though no one would have ever guessed it. They found a way to imitate the effects of a boggart, he thought. He could not think of any potion that could have accomplished such a feat and while the twins were talented pranksters and decent at potions, they lacked the skill necessary for such a potion creation. "Molly, I have a feeling that these two dunderheads did not act…alone in this endeavor," Severus drawled.

Molly, who had been so focused on disciplining the twins, jumped in surprise at Severus' voice, almost dropping the pan she was now holding, "Oh hello Severus, I didn't see you come in." Turning towards the twins, "Who did you brainwash into helping you?"

"We didn't brainwash anyone…"

"…She was more than willing to help…"

"We only hinted at what it should do…"

"…Kat came up with the potion…"

"…and we made it candies."

Severus smirked as he thought of the third party of what was known as the Terrible Trio at Hogwarts. Katerina Dumbledore was a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she have the intelligence to match Hermione Granger but she was just as mischievous as the twins. Combining the two traits plus adding the Weasley twins as her best friends and then having that damnable hat senselessly sorting them into the same house had nearly destroyed the school. He knew many professors, while very much enjoying the innovations that the trio dreamed up, were glad that this was their last year coming up.

"I should have known," Molly sighed, "I swear you three should have been triplets. Boys, start setting the table. Without magic."

"But mum, we're wizards," complained Fred.

"Of age wizards," George added.

"That just caused their youngest brother to hallucinate," Molly hissed, eyes tight with anger, "No magic."

Just then the door to the kitchen opened again and Severus had to hold in a groan as the other famous trio found their way to their seats around the large table. The youngest red-headed male and the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Be-A-Pain-In-Everyone's-Arse both glared at Severus as they sat as far from him as possible. The bushy-haired lone female gave him a small, polite greeting just as she always did.

"Good evening Professor."

"Miss Granger," he returned.

Looking at the Golden Trio, he took note that Potter was more disheveled in appearance than normal, as if he had not been sleeping very well. Severus could understand his difficulty. Potter himself had been present when the Dark Lord had been raised from the dead and he had witnessed a death of an innocent boy. Potter was probably blaming himself for the death of Cedric Diggery and was torturing himself over it. Severus still blamed himself for the death of Potter's parents. That was why he was here now, doing the work that Dumbledore asked him, so that he could possibly gain the forgiveness of Lily though he knew he did not deserve it.

Slowly the table began to fill up as more people arrived. The youngest Weasley, and only girl, came in while talking to Sirius Black, who promptly growled at Severus. They were followed by Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, Remus trying to seem interested in whatever the metamorphmagus was telling him. The last to arrive for the dinner were Albus Dumbledore and his wife, Minerva McGonagall. It was a small showing for dinner this week, but Severus knew more would be joining them later for the Order Meeting.

"Ah Albus, will Wulf and Julia be joining us for dinner? We never heard back from them," Molly asked.

"No, not dinner I'm afraid," Albus said, "Julia has a case that must be completed tonight. However they did say that they'll be here for dessert. Kat has made her fire cakes."

"Sweet!" Proclaimed Weasley-the-annoying.

"Fire cakes?" Miss Granger inquired.

"Kat makes these amazing little cakes that when you eat them you breathe fire like a dragon," Miss Weasley explained.

"And no one but Kat can make them," Potter added, "Apparently everyone has tried but only Kat gets 'em right."

"Not even Mum," one twin added, while ducking the hand of Molly.

"Speaking of Kat and her concoctions," Molly began, "Have you heard of the new potion that your granddaughter has created?"

And so began the slowest torture of his life. While dinner may not leave any pain to his body, unlike dinner with his other master, it did drain Severus mentally. Maybe this night it will become semi-interesting, Severus thought as he ate. He just had no idea how interesting it would become.

Katerina Dumbledore was currently sitting in her room humming a happy muggle song while pouring through book after book of potions looking for more ideas to add to the boys' shop. They had spoken of opening it as soon as 7th year was over and thanks to Harry they now had the financial means to start their dream. Kat was hoping to join them in the adventure as soon as school was finished. She wanted to be their research and development leader. She smiled to herself as she thought of her recent potion which the twins were supposed to test tonight on their brother Ron. She was excited to find out the results of the test run and could not wait until she told them of the name she thought of: Terror Toffee. She just had to bide her time until mum was done working so they could go meet up with everyone.

Maybe I will get some alone time with Fred, she thought with a slight blush. She knew that her hair was slowly changing pink as she thought back to the day when he first kissed her. Kat and her parents had just arrived home from a short holiday in the United States during the small spring break they had been given from school right before the last task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament and they had gone down to the Burrow for dinner the night before returning to school. She was telling them about a new potion she was hoping to create due to embarrassment.

~~Flashback~~

"So tell us about the States, Kat," Ginny had said.

"It was so much fun," Kat exclaimed, "We actually spent a lot of time with muggles and learning what they do with things. I wish it could have been longer than a few days. Have you ever heard of the cinema? It's amazing, moving pictures that tell a story and it is so exciting what they can do without magic. They have some in muggle London and we have to go! Oh and wait until I show you these things called CDs – they hold music in them somehow." She blushed as Hermione and Harry laughed.

"You sound like dad," Ron stated.

"Well the muggles have such amazing ways to get around what we use magic for," Kat replied, "I would love it if I could spend more time with them before mum and dad oblivate them."

"He saw your hair turn bright pink then green and he did not seem to take it very well," her father said.

"It's not my fault that my hair changes color," Kat said, her hair flashing blood red, "It's also not my fault it happened then. I was doing very good keeping my emotions down and my potion was working really well, I just didn't take into account extreme emotions."

"New potion?" George asked.

"What extreme emotions?" Fred asked.

"I'm developing a potion that will hopefully mask my Affectus et capillus and so far it will work for a few hours, but apparently doesn't work if I experience large bursts of emotions."

"Not to mention it has some nasty side effects. It caused her magic to be suppressed," her mother added, "Which is why we got rid of all the batches you have and we will know if you try anymore."

"Mum, every new potion has kinks to work out," Kat stated, her hair going green with embarrassment, "I need to work this all out. I don't need every person in the world knowing exactly how I feel."

"You just need to accept it sweetheart," her dad said, "Eventually you will gain control over it for the most part. Your grandmother did."

"Let's see how you handle your hair going bright pink when you receive your first kiss!" yelled Kat, the bright red returning to her head.

"First kiss?" Ginny sighed, "You must tell us about it!"

Suddenly to the surprise of everyone, Fred stormed out of the Burrow, though George had a knowing look on his face. Kat's hair quickly went from red to white to a deep blue. "I'll be right back," she told everyone and walked out the door to find Fred. She found him standing by the garden looking for gnomes to take his anger out on. She got to his side just as a he threw one across the yard. "Nice throw, that one probably won't wander back for at least a day or two."

"So a kiss with an American muggle, huh?" he scowled. Kat didn't understand why he was so angry with her he was the one who seemed to have given up.

"You have no right to be mad at me," Kat hissed, "I didn't ask for him to kiss me, I wasn't expecting him to kiss me, and I certainly didn't want him to kiss me."

"Then why did you get so embarrassed by it?" Fred asked.

"I was embarrassed by my hair," Kat sighed, her hair finally going back to white, "Can you imagine having nearly every emotion broadcasted to the world if you feel something too strongly? Trust me I didn't have feelings for Brad like that."

"Brad? What type of name is Brad?"

"A normal, American muggle name. Now why did you storm out of the house?"

"I…well I…" Fred stammered, for once lost for words, "I thought after the Ball that we'd come to an agreement."

"An agreement?!" Kat yelled her hair a blood red and starting to spark, "You asked me to the dance, we had a great time, and then you left me in the common room! You didn't speak to me for almost two weeks! And then you acted as if everything was all ok! I had multiple people ask me what was wrong and it's not like I could hide anything as my stupid hair was flashing between blue and black."

"Kat, I didn't want to hurt you and I didn't think you'd want more than friendship and I can't lose you as a friend," Fred said softly, "I care about you too much to want to mess this up."

"Dammit Fred! How could you not know? I started creating the hair controlling potion because of you! Did you ever stop to wonder why my hair kept turning bloody pink when you flirted with me?"

"I didn't want to be wrong and screw this all up."

"Why didn't you just ask me?!"

Fred had the decency to look ashamed. He looked down at his feet and then slowly glanced back up. "I know I was an idiot but… but he shouldn't have been your first kiss…"

"No he shouldn't have," Kat replied, "you should have."

Kat saw the surprise in his eyes as he finally turned to her, and then she saw something else. Determination. Lust. Need. A quick glance up at her hair and suddenly he was coming to her. Looking down, she saw that her hair was now pink with streaks of red flashing through it. She was feeling the same want, the same need. He took her face gently in his hands and tilted her head up. "Are you sure we should cross this line?" he asked, looking in her eyes for anything in the negative.

"Yes," whispered Kat, as she lifted to her toes to close the gap and bring her lips to his. In an instant, their magic seemed to swell and grow, washing over both of them and leaving them breathless. The kiss had awakened something that neither understood, but both knew they would never be without again as long as they held each other. What Kat didn't know at the time was that this was her magic recognizing and beginning the Soulmate Bond. Katerina Dumbledore was one of the few that had found their true soulmate and it would change her life.

~~End Flashback~~

They had only been dating since Spring break and they hadn't told anyone besides George about their relationship. They both wanted to go slowly, both being terrified they would ruin their friendship. Katerina was brought out of her daydream by a sudden high pitched scream from downstairs. Quickly grabbing her wand, she raced down the stairs calling out as she went, "Mum? Dad?" She could hear scuffling inside the sitting room. Slowly she inched towards the parlor doors. "Mum?"

"Kat! Run!" Her mother screamed.

She started to turn back but these were her parents and they needed her. She would not run from them. Wand held in front of her, she determinedly walked to the sitting room and opened the doors. What she saw in front of her made her heart drop into her stomach. Her beautiful mother was being restrained to the wall of the room, blood dripping down from her curly black hair. On the floor of the room, lay her father curled into a tight ball, obviously shaking from pain. Standing above him, their wands pointed at him, were three people with dark robes and strange masks. Death eaters, Kat thought, her hair going black with fear, There are death eaters in my home. Kat did not believe she was breathing.

"No," her mother whispered, tears running down her face, "Kat, run, please run baby, please."

One of the concealed group looked up at her, "Ah, now you'll tell us what we want, seeing as we now have your beautiful, innocent daughter with us. Come here darling, we don't bite," a womanly voice called. When Kat made no movement, the woman growled "Immobulus."

"No!"

Kat felt as her body became unable to move and she became useless. She knew in that brief hesitation that she had messed up. She should have cast something as soon as she saw them but instead she had froze. And because of that, her family would die. Tears started falling down her face as she was forced to watch what happened.

"Alright Wulf, unless you want to watch your daughter be tortured to death, you better start talking," the woman began speaking again, "Maybe we will let her live…if your information is good enough."

"Don't you touch her you psychotic bitch!" screamed Kat's mum. She had never heard her mother curse before.

"Silencio!" a male voice yelled, "You know maybe we should show the blood traitor who he is dealing with. For encouragement."

"You're right," purred the woman, "We really only need one of the women." She pointed her wand at Kat's mum and happily called out, "Avada Kedavra!"

"NO!" Both Kat and her dad screamed out. Devastation was on her father's face as her mother's eyes became blank and staring, her body tumbling to the floor like a doll. "Mum, no! Please no!"

"Wulfric, start talking, or little miss crybaby is next."

"Dad no! Whatever they want, don't do it!" Kat yelled, her blue hair mixing with red and black, "He can't win! He can't!"

"Such bravery," the witch hissed, "Such stupidity. Crucio!"

Kat screamed. She felt as if her entire body was being broken in half. She was being consumed by fire and she wished for death to free her. Her bladder released, soaking her underwear and running down her legs. The only thing keeping her on her feet was the spell that was keeping her from being able to move. Just as she was on the brink of unconsciousness, she felt the spell lifted.

"Good choice Wulfy," crooned the witch.

It hadn't mattered that her father talked because in the end he was still given the killing curse, but not before they had told him what they were going to do to his daughter. They planned to leave Kat alive, but as broken as humanly possible. It felt like it had been hours, and Kat was amazed she wasn't dead yet. They had taken everything from her and everything felt like it was bleeding. Right before she slipped completely into the peaceful silence her mind screamed one last thought, FRED! Then Kat knew no more.

"Now where in the world is Wulf?" Minerva asked. They had finished dinner and Molly was having the twins clean up, again without magic.

"Don't worry my dear," Albus said, "they probably just lost track of time."

Severus was trying very hard to stay awake. "Could we please get this over with? Some of us have jobs to be doing."

"Eager to get back to your dungeon, bat?" Black smirked.

"At least I can leave my home, dog," Severus growled, "Do you enjoy being the Orders'….pet?"

Black jumped up going for his wand but before he could do anything all hell broke loose. FRED! Severus flinched at the screamed name and its intensity. At the same time across the room, Fred Weasley dropped a pile of plates to the floor.

"Kat!" Fred yelled, looking extremely pained.

"Fred dear, are you alright?" Molly asked, worried.

"Didn't you hear her? Kat screamed! We have to help her!" Fred exclaimed, while everyone else looked on in confusion. George stopped what he was doing and place his hands on his brother trying to calm the other down.

So no one but Mr. Weasley and I heard her call. I wonder what that means. Severus thought to himself.

"Mum, I need my wand. We need to go now! She's being hurt!" Fred cried.

"Fred, honey, no one heard anything. I'm sure Kat is just…"

"She's NOT fine!" Fred was frantic, starting to pull his hair, his eyes wide. He looked at Albus and Minerva, who both looked concerned, "Please help her, please! She's dying!" At this statement, everyone in the room began to get nervous.

Dumbledore quickly went into general mode. "I'm sure it's nothing," trying to reassure the younger generation, "but we will go check just in case. Arthur, Remus, Tonks, and Severus come with me."

"I'm coming too" Fred said. He was joined by a few "me too", "and me", and "yes" from the other Weasley children, Potter, and Granger.

"No you will not!" Shrieked Molly, "If there is something wrong, you lot will not be there to get in the way!"

"Mum, I have to go," Fred whispered.

"We are wasting time Mr. Weasley. If Miss Dumbledore is in peril, you being quarrelsome with your mother will only quicken her demise," Severus commented, "And no," he turned to the other children in the room, "we do not require any subpar assistance from any juveniles, no matter how famous." Leaving a group of extremely mad adolescents in the care of Molly, Severus headed to the apparition step, the other adults following.

"Albus, do you really think something has happened?" Tonks questioned.

For once Severus did not see the ever present twinkle in the old man's eye. Albus looked angry, worried and…scared? With a fear in his voice that Severus had not heard before, he answered with a quiet "Yes."