Author's note: This particular chapter takes place in three different locations; each one labeled appropriately. As the title indicates, this is the start of the relationship between Snape and Katherine.

Chapter 8: Breaking the Ice

Disclaimer: While I am borrowing many of the characters created by J.K. Rowling, all rights to those characters remain solely with her. I am neither receiving nor soliciting any monetary recompense for this story.

Severus had been watching the interaction between Master Troyan and Katherine, as Katherine came to terms with what had just happened. He knew from his own experience that Troyan had a kind heart. While he could go from happy and kind to hard and stern in a heartbeat, he was just as quick to forgive.

When Severus saw Katherine step back, he moved away from his position at the window and made his way over to where Katherine and Master Troyan were standing. Katherine stiffened a little as he came up, not in fear, but embarrassment as she realized he had heard the whole thing. Severus watched as Katherine's face colored, but he kept his features blank as he waited. Knowing students as he did, he knew what was coming and he wasn't disappointed.

Katherine raised her eyes to face the potions master. Severus noticed that while her tears had ceased, she was still trembling slightly. "Master Snape," she said formally, but sincerely, "I am sorry for using you in my deception. It was never meant as disrespect to you, quite the opposite actually," she added impudently.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Try not to honor me so again young lady."

Master Troyan chuckled a little and all three occupants of the room started relaxing a bit as the tense atmosphere eased. Master Troyan spoke up.

"Unfortunately, we are not completely finished here. Katherine, there is the matter of the apprenticeship and guardianship. Master Snape has agreed to take on your apprenticeship and to act as your guardian until such a time as you are of age. Before I can allow you to depart the campus, you need to sign the Master/Apprentice articles of contract which will mark your agreement to the apprenticeship and your acceptance of Master Snape's guardianship. Once signed, those articles are binding and can only be broken either under an extreme circumstance or by agreement from both of the parties involved."

Master Troyan walked over to what appeared to be a blank wall. Turning to face the two, he said with a grin "forget what you are about to see...it's a secret," he winked. Turning back to the wall, he moved his wand in a complicated pattern while muttering low, and at the end of the pattern, he tapped a knot in the wood covered wall and a drawer appeared and opened. Master Troyan pulled out several pages of parchment and tapped the drawer. The drawer closed and melted seamlessly back into the wall. He turned to Katherine and Severus, laughing at the look on Severus' face. Master Troyan shrugged. "It's better than those ugly filing cabinets the muggles use," he said.

Addressing Katherine for the moment, Master Troyan held up the sheets in his hand. "These are the normal Master/Apprenticeship articles you would have signed upon your formal apprenticeship here at the academy. However, I have taken the liberty of adding in the standard statement of guardianship."

Both you and Master Snape need to sit down together and go over the articles to make sure there is full understanding on both sides as to what the apprenticeship, and the guardianship entails. You may make any desired and agreed upon changes directly on the parchment and when the agreement is complete and you both agree, I will create a clean copy. Upon signature and the formal oath of acceptance, you will then be free to leave with Master Snape."

Master Troyan glanced at the clock.

"It is 4:30; dinner is served at 6. Katherine, I need you to return to your quarters and pack your belongings; I am going to move you in to the room next to where Master Snape is staying. When you are done packing, just tap each bag and say 'permoveo tenor.' The bags will automatically be transported to the correct room. Since the student galley is not going to be conducive to conversation, I will arrange for a private dinner to be brought to Master Snape's quarters at 6 pm. Is this agreeable with you Severus?" he asked, dropping the formality.

"That is fine Headmaster, thank you," Severus replied.

"Katherine?" Master Troyan questioned.

She almost answered with a curt 'do I have a choice,' but, looking at the two men, she decided against animosity for now. "That is fine Headmaster, thank you," she said, mimicking Severus' response. She caught the look Severus gave her as he was trying to determine if the same phrase was just being polite or if she was mocking him. She looked directly at him and he decided that she wasn't being disrespectful, this time.

"OK Katherine, you may go and get packed. I need to speak with Master Snape for a minute just to establish some deadlines," Troyan told her. "Be sure to be back to his quarters, the senior visiting staff quarters, by 6. Is that clear?" he asked.

"Yes Headmaster," she returned calmly.

"On your way then."

Master Troyan and Severus watched her leave and when the door closed behind her, Master Troyan handed Severus the articles of apprenticeship.

"Severus, how much time do you need to go through the articles? Severus didn't answer immediately as he flipped through the 5 pages, considering. "Not long I imagine Master. I remember these from my own time here; the wording hasn't changed any. I do want to modify the guardianship terms a bit but otherwise, I don't think there is going to be a lot of disagreement. Early tomorrow afternoon should be sufficient."

"Good," Master Troyan responded. "Shall we meet back here at say, 1 PM tomorrow afternoon then? If you wish, that will give you time to work over the articles, talk with Katherine about any other concerns and maybe still have time to get you back to Hogwarts for dinner," he grinned.

"1 pm it is Master. I don't see a problem with that. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to talk with Mrs Kealy for a moment and then return to my quarters. May I borrow one of the post owls? I need to send a message to Headmaster Dumbledore and let him know a student is coming."

"Certainly. You know where the owlery is. Feel free."

"By your leave Master," Severus said. At Master Troyan's nod, Severus turned and walked out of the office.

Kepler Academy 5:50 pm

Severus sent a letter to Albus via one of the school post owls and he could only hope that Albus would receive the letter tonight. Oh well, he thought, if he doesn't, he will know when we arrive tomorrow, he thought with a wry grin. He had added a quick note to Harry within the same envelope but that note wasn't as urgent as the one to Albus. A delivery delay there would not be an issue.

Following the meeting with Master Troyan and Katherine, he had come back to his room and had changed out of his formal potions master attire, preferring the comfort of a comfortable pair of trousers and a white shirt. He had debated remaining in his formal robes but even he realized Katherine hadn't had the best afternoon. Just this once, he decided to go with a less formal pose.

At the knock on the door, he made his way over, opening it to find a nervous looking Katherine waiting.

"Good evening Ms Marks," he said, stepping back to allow her entrance. He noticed that she had also changed out of the formal student robes and was wearing a pair of dark blue slacks with a long sleeved, conservative, light blue blouse, her hair in a french braid that trailed down her back.

"Master Snape," she murmured as she stepped past him. Standing in the middle of the room, Katherine was twisting her hands nervously, unsure of herself.

She glanced up as Severus stepped in front of her, following his hand as he gestured to the table she had not yet noticed set-up off to the side of the room.

"Please sit down Ms Marks. I have been informed that dinner will arrive shortly," he said.

Katherine hesitated, glancing at the lightly padded chairs. Katherine bit her lip slightly. Her backside was still feeling the effects from that afternoon's encounter with headmaster Troyan's paddle and the thought of sitting for a long dinner, and probably even longer conversation, wasn't pleasant.

Noticing her hesitation, something seemed to click in Severus' memory and he cast a cushioning charm on the nearest seat. He watched as Katherine flushed, but accepted her grateful nod, as she made her way to the table. Glancing at the master/apprentice articles he had been perusing and had laid on the low coffee table in front of the couch, he decided to leave them there until he and Katherine had eaten. No reason to rush into things just yet. He and Katherine had only just barely met and he knew she was feeling confused and probably a little scared. Normally, he wouldn't care, but, the past 7 years had changed Severus and he wasn't as likely to come across as the "git" many of his former students had known.

Just as they were seating themselves, several small trays appeared on the table. The scent of roast beef with vegetables and mashed potatoes wafted up, causing Severus' stomach to growl in anticipation. Now coloring himself, he smiled wryly at Katherine, who offered back a tentative smile of her own.

Once they had gotten their plates filled, Severus and Katherine ate in near silence. This gave Severus a chance to observe the girl that was not only to become his apprentice, but also his ward. She ate slowly, using good table manners with which even Severus could not find fault. He did notice as well that though she was eating, she wasn't eating much, taking a forkful every now and again but for the most part, just pushing the food around on her plate.

"Would you care for something else? I can have the house elves prepare something different," he said, with a note of disapproval in his tone clearly evident.

"What," she glanced up, clearly surprised he had spoken, then suddenly realizing what he had said she dropped her eyes back to her plate "oh, no, no thank you, this is fine. I guess I'm just not hungry."

"Ms Marks, Katherine, look at me please," Severus said firmly.

When Katherine glanced up, Severus couldn't help but notice that she was pale and looked miserable. He still wasn't the best at this comforting stuff but for the sake of returning to Hogwarts tomorrow, he would at least try to make nice.

"I know you are feeling, unsure, right now," he said. "There are going to be a lot of things happening very quickly and you may find it difficult to cope, but you have no reason to be frightened, nothing bad is going to happen to you. You have more say in things than you think and I am not going to pounce on you if you object to something as long as you do so politely and with respect. We are going to talk about the articles, the guardianship and your transfer to Hogwarts so before we go back to Hogwarts, you will know exactly what is expected of you; there won't be any surprises. Do you understand?"

Katherine could barely speak around the lump in her throat. With just four short sentences, Master Snape had managed to hit on every problem she had been worried about. She was feeling overwhelmed as everything was happening so fast, and as he said, she was having a problem trying to put everything into perspective.

"Thanks Master Snape, I'm OK," she returned, once she was sure her voice would be steady.

Severus nodded, "Good. Now eat up so Headmaster Troyan won't accuse me of starving you," he said.

She nodded and Severus gritted his teeth. He would break her of that irritating habit of not answering verbally later, he decided, letting her be for now.

After turning her attention to her plate for a few minutes, she queried.

"Master Snape," he heard, "Can you tell me about Hogwarts?"

While he would have preferred to wait until after the meal to have a conversation, he never the less accommodated her question.

"Hogwarts is based in northern Scotland. During the school term, which runs from the 1st of September through the 30th of June, there are about 200 students and 16 staff members, consisting of both instructors and support staff, that live at the castle. During the summer holidays, the staff takes turns spending a few days at the castle just for administrative duties. The exact date that Hogwarts was actually established is a mystery. It has been determined that based on the age of the founders, Hogwarts is over 1000 years old. The building is an old castle that has its own magical identity and when actively threatened or told to do so, can secure itself against attack without help from its inhabitants."

Seeing her interest, he went on.

"There were four founders, Godric Gryiffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, witches and wizards that were very powerful in that age. Their combined idea was to create a place where all magical children, including purebloods and muggle-born, could learn magic in a safe and secure atmosphere. When the children first arrive at the age of 11, they are sorted into one of four houses, houses named after the founders. These aren't free standing houses as you might imagine, but dormitory like areas that reside in different areas inside the castle. The student's house acts as a family, with those students taking classes together, living together eating together and offering each other support and companionship. Each house has a head-of-house that acts 'in loco parentis', keeping an eye on students and maintaining order within the house. I am head of Slytherin House and have been for over 20 years. For the most part, there is friendly competition between the houses, but, problems do brew as might be expected when there are 200 students between the ages of 11 and 17, running around in the same place for 10 months out of the year. Dissent between the houses does occur."

"Am I going to be, what is it you said, sorted?" she asked.

Severus considered this for a moment before answering. "I think eventually you will be sorted, however, as may ward and apprentice there may be a slightly different process. Since you are coming to Hogwarts after the term has started and there is no verifiable record of what training you have received, you will need to be tested to see where you fall in the class levels.. It would, of course, be preferable to place you at least at age level, which would be fourth year, however, I know you are behind in several areas but well ahead in others. For the meantime, you will probably be housed in a room in my private quarters until your year level is determined. We will have to see when we get back."

Katherine nodded in understanding and since Severus hadn't asked an actual question, he decided to let it go, again.

It was 7:30 before they both finished eating and Severus knew he couldn't put off the upcoming conversation. Standing up, he went to retrieve the article papers.

When he got back to the table, he grabbed his chair and placed it at the side of the table. Sitting down, he placed the articles in front of Katherine.

"These are the Master/Apprentice articles that headmaster Troyan handed me. As he indicated, we need to read through them and make any agreed changes. These are not complicated. By signing these papers, you agree to be my apprentice until we agree your apprenticeship is ended. I took the liberty of making one change to reflect your acceptance at the academy. If you wish to attend the academy once you come of age, our Master/Apprentice relationship would end to free you to apprentice, as required, to a master here at the academy. The articles go in to your expected behavior and submission to my teachings, and define my role as your master including my required care of you as my apprentice as well as my duties to teach you the potions discipline. I am duty and honor bound by the articles to teach you everything you need to be ablet o function as a full fledged potions master. While it is the right of the master to punish poor or destructive behavior, you are protected from abusive actions, including the use of curses, in order to make you comply. If such actions are reported, the articles could be broken by legal actions. The guardianship clause expands the articles slightly. You will remain under guardianship until you come of age at 17 and will fall to my jurisdiction in all manners of behavior and it requires that I take full monetary responsibility for your needs. When you come of age, it will be your decision as to whether the articles fall back to a simple Master/Apprentice relationship, or if you wish the guardianship to continue," he paused here a moment to make sure he still had Katherine's attention.

"I want you to take these papers to your room tonight and read through them, thoroughly. Write down any questions you may have and any changes you wish to propose; do not make any changes to the parchment itself as yet. After breakfast tomorrow morning, we will sit down again and talk through any concerns you may have and make any agreed changes. We have the entire morning, as preparing a clean copy of the articles will only take a moment. We have a meeting with Headmaster Troyan at 1 PM tomorrow to finalize the agreement. Once we are done, we will return to Hogwarts. Do you have any questions?" he asked her.

Katherine shook her head, dropping her eyes and Severus couldn't contain himself. Returning to formality, Severus put a hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

""Ms Marks, when I ask a question I expect a verbal response," he said firmly. "Now, do you have any questions?"

"No," she replied belligerently.

His voice going stern at her lack of respect, he growled.

"No, what, young lady and think hard before you answer me."

Katherine wasn't stupid, she knew what he wanted.

"No Sir," she all but whispered.

He continued to eye her sternly for a moment before releasing her chin. "Since there are no questions, I will expect to see you promptly at 8am tomorrow morning for breakfast. You may go, but I expect you to remain in your room for the rest of the evening."

She started to nod again but at his stern look, she caught herself. "Yes Sir," she said. She took the papers off the table and walked to the door. Opening the door, she looked back at Severus still sitting at the table. "Goodnight Master Snape," she offered quietly as she turned and walked out the door, closing it gently behind her.

Severus rubbed a hand over his face and going to the couch, he picked up the new potions journal he had snagged from the reception area. Sipping at his evening cup of tea, he allowed himself to get lost in the journal.

Back at Hogwarts

Headmaster Dumbledore had been a little surprised when Fawkes announced that someone was on their way up the stairs. Glancing at the clock on the mantel, he noticed that it was already three hours past curfew. Going through a mental list of which students were famous for defying curfew, he identified a couple of likely possibilities and then just as quickly dismissed them. No student with any sense of teenage self-protection would actually dare to go the headmasters office while they were breaking school rules.

He had just stepped to his door to open it and wait for his visitor, when he heard the knock. Opening the door, he found Minerva McGonagall.

"Minerva come in, come in," he invited.

"Good evening Albus" she replied. "This message just arrived for you and it is marked urgent. By the return, it is from Severus," she said, as she handed him the thick envelope.

"Ah, thank you Minerva, I have been expecting this; thank you for bringing it to me. I dare say this is about our potential new student and Severus' new apprentice," he said, as he opened the envelope.

Taking out two sheets of parchment, and unfolding them, he noticed that one sheet was directed to Harry but the first was directed to him. He read:

17 September

Albus;

Ms Marks identity confirmed and plans are in motion. Once the Master/Apprentice articles are signed and guardianship established, I will be returning to Hogwarts with Ms Marks. Barring complications, I anticipate arriving early tomorrow evening.

Please send the enclosed note to Harry.

With thanks and highest regards

Severus.

Albus looked up as he finished the letter. "Fawkes," he called his phoenix. Fawkes flew over to him. Putting the second sheet of parchment back into the envelope and resealing it, he handed the letter to Fawkes who took it gently in his beak. Stroking the bird apologetically, Albus asked him for a favor, using their shared bond link,

*I realize you are not a post owl but would you be so kind as to deliver this letter to Harry Potter? It is most urgent that he receive it and I fear the post owls would be most put out to be sent out so late in the evening.*

Fawkes trilled, *no worries my friend. I will be back shortly*

Dumbledore and Minerva watched as Fawkes flashed out. Turning to a slightly confused Minerva, since she couldn't hear his words to Fawkes, handed her Severus' note and explained:

"Severus indicates he should be back tomorrow evening from Germany and he will be brining his new apprentice along. We need to make arrangements for her quarters until such a time as she is properly sorted. The second note was to Harry. Knowing the urgency, I requested Fawkes to deliver it for me."

Minerva nodded in understanding and started a little as Fawkes flashed back into the office.

*Albus, the letter has been delivered into Harry's hands. You can send me there anytime with a letter,* Albus heard. *He gave me bacon.* Albus laughed before replying to his familiar.

*Fawkes, you and your bacon addiction. Thank you my friend for your service,* Albus replied, stroking the phoenix affectionately.

"I take it that Harry has received the letter?" Minerva questioned. Albus nodded. "Fawkes was just telling me that Harry knows how to treat a phoenix. Fawkes has a particular liking for bacon, a liking Harry seems to know about."

Minerva snorted and looked at Fawkes who gave her the phoenix version of a shrug before he went back to preening his feathers.

"Albus, I will take care of having a room added to Severus' quarters. Ms Marks can remain there until we get her sorted," Minerva offered.

"Thank you Minerva. I look forward to meeting this young lady. If what Stephan said is true, she is quite, shall we say, self-sufficient. She will be a challenge to our dour potions master," he said with a hint of mischief.

Godric's Hallow

Harry and Ginny were enjoying a quiet evening after putting James and Teddy to bed. Ginny had only arrived back that afternoon, ecstatic at her quidditch team's win over the French. She was sitting quietly in Harry's arms as they caught up with the events of the past couple of days, when a feather appeared in front of them and drifted to the floor. Uncurling herself from the comfort of her husband's arms, Ginny bent down and picked up the feather, turning back and handing it to Harry. Looking at the feather for a moment, Harry smiled.

"I recognize this feather; it's from Fawkes. It means he is nearby and is giving us warning he is coming."

No sooner had Harry finished the statement than Fawkes flashed into their living room not 10 feet from where they were sitting. Harry smiled as he approached the phoenix.

"Hello Fawkes, what are you doing out so late hmm?" Harry asked, as he stroked the large bird.

Fawkes dropped the letter he was holding into Harry's hand. Harry opened the envelope and read:

17 September

Harry;

Ms Marks identity confirmed and plans are in motion. I will be returning to Hogwarts with Ms Marks and anticipate arrival early tomorrow evening.

.

Severus.

Having relayed to Ginny his conversation with Dumbledore and Severus, he told her "It's from Severus; he is bringing Ms Marks back to Hogwarts."

Harry walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of leftover slices of bacon off a tray. In celebration of Ginny's win and her return home, Harry had made Ginny's favorite; BLT's. Harry knew Fawkes would do anything for bacon.

"Thanks Fawkes for bringing me the letter," Harry said gently, handing the phoenix the treat. Taking the bacon gently out of Harry's hand, Fawkes practically inhaled the offering, giving Harry a grateful look and with a final trill of goodbye, Fawkes flashed out.