Katrina had come down the stairs quietly, glancing at the students as she descended. Their escort was not Albus Dumbledore, whom she'd expected. The man's back was to her, but he was obviously a much younger man, his long black hair just brushing his shoulders. She stopped on the second to last stair as he turned and faced her. Her eyes went wide in recognition and surprise. She watched his eyes graze over her, land on the students, before his gaze was back on her and his eyes were filled with shock.

Well, she decided silently, I guess that is to be expected when you see someone you thought was dead. She, on the other hand, knew that he was alive and well, thanks to her correspondence with Dumbledore. She spared a quick glance to the students and saw their gazes flicking between her and their Potions master. She knew she needed to take control of this situation before it went any further.

She turned to face her daughter whose eyes were just as curious as the students', "Maggie, please escort the students to the rooms upstairs and show them where everything is." She knew her daughter could take care of that, as she normally did. "I need to have a word with Professor Snape." She descended the last two steps and moved out of the way so Maggie could lead the students upstairs. This brought her closer to the man she hadn't seen in almost sixteen years.

-- --

Snape could only stare at her. She was alive! His wife, who had disappeared during the war, was alive! It had happened weeks after he had joined Voldemort, and days after Katrina had discovered the Dark Mark on his left arm. He had returned to their home to find her gone. He had believed that Voldemort or his other followers had discovered the secret he had kept from them and instead of punishing him directly, had killed his wife. It was a week later that he had turned into a spy for Dumbledore.

He had tried every means at his disposal to find her, and here she was, sixteen years later. She was the only woman he'd ever loved, and one of the few people to ever understand him. Katrina Stonesmith. She was an American witch who'd come to Hogwarts, saying she felt the older schools were better than the modern American ones. She was in Gryffindor, but she was one of the few people who would have comfortably fit into any of the four houses.

He stared at her, automatically noting the small changes in her appearance. She hadn't changed that much, but the years hadn't been as kind to her as they'd been to him. Her thick auburn hair, which was darker because it was wet, still curled around her shoulders, cascading to mid-back. Her eyes, a mostly-green hazel burned with an inner fire. She had put on a couple pounds since he'd last seen her, but she'd obviously had a child. Her daughter! His eyes narrowed as anger swept over him. Did she leave him for the arms of another?

His anger suddenly grew as he remembered she'd been teaching this lesson for the past five years. That meant that Dumbledore had known she was alive for at least five years now, and he'd never told him! He was seething in anger.

Katrina approached him and he took a quick step back. "Severus," his name was a whisper on her lips but he didn't dare trust himself to respond.

His back stiffened and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment, which he hurriedly handed to her. "I should leave now."

-- --

Katrina had seen the icy mask fall over his face as they'd stood there. When she had approached and he'd fallen back, her heart lurched. She watched him extend a folded piece of parchment to her and she carefully took it, avoiding contact with his hand as she placed it in her own pocket to be read later.

"Please, Severus, can we talk a little? Let me explain some things…"

She saw the hesitation before he nodded his head slightly. Releasing a small breath, she said, "Let me just go upstairs a moment and make sure everything is okay. Maggie can handle showing the students around." She waited until he gave her another small nod before she turned and ran upstairs. She found her daughter just leaving one of the four bedrooms located on the third floor. "Maggie, please show the students around the house. I need to speak to their professor a bit longer, okay?"

"Sure, mum," Maggie replied brightly, turning and re-entering the room she'd just exited.

Katrina darted back downstairs, finding Severus standing near the bookcase, examining the statues sitting there. She slowly approached him, "I'm afraid that they don't move while in this house."

He slowly turned to face her, his eyes dark and still angry. He didn't reply, but simply glared at her.

"We… we should probably go outside to talk. I'd rather if we weren't overheard by any nosy students," she said quietly. Again, he silently nodded so she grabbed her keys from a hook on the wall and opened the door. She gestured him out first, and she followed. She led him down what passed for a walkway, and to the gate. "Sound carries rather far in my yard, I fear." Opening the gate, she pulled it open, revealing the street. Were a muggle to pass by and look in, they would simply see a typical muggle living room.

"You expect us to speak out here?" he questioned quietly.

She smiled slightly as she locked the door behind them, "Muggles don't pay much attention to what others are saying. I'd rather be overheard by one of them than by the students, in any case." She slowly led him over to a bench close to the road and invited him to sit. She had to suppress a laugh as he glanced at the bench and clearly decided to stand instead. Shrugging, she sat and glanced up at him, "Well…"

His temper snapped, finally, and it was only through great effort that he didn't shout out his words, "Why? Why did you leave? Why didn't you tell me you were alive? Sixteen years and I thought you were dead! And you have a daughter! What did you do, leave my bed and jump in someone else's!"

Katrina took a deep breath, deciding which question was best to answer first. "Severus," she said quietly, standing to bring herself closer to eye to eye with him, "Maggie is your daughter. I was pregnant when I left, when I ran away."

His eyes showed his anger and disbelief, "I don't believe you."

"Then use your magic, Severus, to see the truth of it in my mind. I couldn't block you then, and I most certainly can't block you now."

"What do you mean you certainly can't block me now?"

She frowned, afraid of what she had to tell him. She reached up a hand and gently touched his cheek with the back of her hand, "Tell me what you feel, Severus."

He closed his eyes, and flinched away from her touch. "How?" he hissed, "How is that you are a muggle now?"

"You should sit as this isn't an easy story to tell, nor is it a short one, I'm afraid." She watched as he slowly sat on one end of the bench. She moved and sat on the far end, turning to face him. "You remember, I assume, the day you came home so beaten and wounded you could barely stand?"

His eyes closed for a moment before he opened them again and nodded.

"That day, I saw the Dark Mark on your arm and I knew what it meant. Two days later, I went and spoke to Albus…"