A/N Bellatrix's appearance in the last chapter will be clarified later on.

June 5, 1982. It was Katherine's twelfth birthday. She lay on her bed waiting for Prince to return; she had sent him to Severus every week since he had first flown out to hunt. She had never gotten a reply. She was scared to death that the only person who had ever cared about her was gone forever. She had cried herself to sleep for months and her father was starting to be abusive again. He had thrown a dinner plate at her and she had a bruise from him slamming her into a wall. She had started hiding in her bedroom again and was hungry. In the past two months, she had lost all the weight she had gained and her cheeks were hollowed out.

Suddenly, Prince came souring in the room. Katherine screamed and jumped so hard she fell off her bed. "Prince, you have something!" she cried. Quickly, she tore the packaging open and started to cry. It was part relief that Severus was alive and part heart break from what he wrote.

Kat, I'm sorry you haven't heard from me. I have been unable to write to you and I will not see you at the end of this month. I will probably never see you again. There are dangerous things happening in my world and the role I play is the most dangerous one. I cannot risk you being hurt. When Bellatrix showed up on Christmas… if she had seen you, it would have been terrible. I could not bear to see you hurt. I'm sorry to give you such news on your birthday (June 5th, I believe?) but I wanted to give you something. I got you some wizarding sweets. I hope you enjoy them. Also, I got you a magical quill for your drawings. It writes like a pencil, but you never have to sharpen it. A muggle eraser will work on it. I hope you enjoy. Please be careful. I won't say Happy Birthday, I know you are sad. Give you father my regards.

Yours always,

Severus

Katherine read the letter until her eyes blurred and then she threw it at the wall. What did he mean, he'd never see her again? As soon as she threw it she grabbed, un-crumpled, and read it again. She picked up the bag of sweets he got her and popped one her mouth. It was unlike anything she had ever had. Looking at the wrapper, she saw it was called a Fizzing Whizbee. She started floating in the air and screamed. Once she realized what was supposed to happen, she laughed. She tried one of every kind of sweet Severus had gotten her. A Chocolate Frog was bouncing around her room while she read its card. The quill was amazing. She had already started to draw a picture of Prince and it was nice not to have to sharpen the quill. She could finish the picture in her mind without having to stop. For several hours, Katherine drew and ate sweets. Finally finishing the picture of Prince, she stretched and walked into the kitchen where her father was drinking a beer.

"Severus wrote me."

Her father started at her mention of his name, "I thought he wasn't talking to you."

"No, no, he is. He's just been busy. Says he'll come see me in a few days," she lied.

"Go on and get your dinner and back in your room then. I trust he won't find out about the couple incidents?"

"I trust he will," She sneered. She suddenly lost her temper. "I'm not just going to let you beat me around and throw stuff at me! You're supposed to love me and take care of me and here I am twelve years old today and you don't even know it. I'm making my own dinner and hiding in my room terrified of you. I'll tell him whatever I want and you can't stop me!" Katherine stormed out of the room. She knew she shouldn't have yelled at her father, but between him and Severus' letter, she just couldn't hold it in.

Over the next several months, Katherine spent her time doing homework and drawing. She sent a note once a month to Severus. It always said she was doing well and she missed him. She did not tell him her father had broken two of her ribs or that he had shoved her into a window, causing her to need sixteen stitches on her arm and twelve on her back. She did not tell him that she cried every night or that she had made no new friends. Each month Prince returned empty clawed. Once, he clutched a small bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans with a small note that simply said "S.S.". She supposed it was Severus' way of saying he had gotten her letters but it was almost as bad as receiving nothing.

Prince woke Katherine Christmas morning, along with three other owls. Katherine was startled
to see so many birds at her window. She quickly let them in. The three dropped their packages and shot
out the window. Prince sat on her shoulder while she looked at her presents. The first was a quick note
scrawled from Severus:

Kat,
Enjoy and Happy Christmas. I know it's been a year but I hope you've been
well. I get the feeling you're letters aren't quite honest. Sorry I've kept Prince
so long, I had him deliver a message for me and he got a bit ruffled. My
birthday is January 9, in case you were wondering. I'd like a drawing of you.
Help is included.
Yours always,
Severus

Katherine laughed. He wanted a birthday present! She already had his Christmas present. She
had found some of her mother's old things in the attic and one of them was an old sewing machine.
After school one day she had bought some black material and made him a big, long cloak. His old one
had seemed a bit worn last Christmas.
The first package contained another box of sweets. There were twice as many for her birthday.
There were some other foods too that she hadn't seen before. The second package was a book about
magic. Inside he had scrawled that she wasn't really supposed to have this, but he thought she'd like it.
He also wanted her to know more about his world. The last package must have been what he meant by
"Help is included." It was a beautiful mirror. At the bottom, "For the most beautiful soul" was inscribed.
When she looked in it, her reflection wasn't backwards. Also in that package was a new drawing pad.
Katherine could tell it had been bought in what Severus would call a "muggle" shop. It was really fancy
and couldn't have made her any happier.
Katherine grabbed a piece of paper and her magic quill and wrote:

Severus,
I love everything! I was getting a bit hungry, too. But don't worry, I'm doing fine. Dad ignores me
mostly. That mirror is so neat. And I'm excited about the book. I won't tell a soul about it. I made you
a Christmas present and I'll get to work on your birthday one today. If you need Prince to do
anything for you, feel free. Just send him back in time to get your birthday present.
Much love,
Kat M Lane

With that, Katherine gave the letter and cloak to Prince and settled down to eat and start
drawing. She decided this was the best Christmas she'd ever had.