Chapter 11- Morning

Severus lay in his bed as the early morning sun broke over the horizon and peaked into his room.

He was thinking how much things had changed in such a short time. Katrina had been in remission for almost six months, then when the news had been owled to him a year ago that it was over he was floored. He had hoped she had won the battle with her cancer, but it had returned. The malignancy of the disease was relentless. He was still having a hard time accepting Katrinas fate. She was most certainly going to die before this summer was over.

Now every time he had received an owl from his dear cousin Jannet he thought it would carry tragic news of Katrinas death. The letters were Jannets contact with him and keeping him informed of their lives in the muggle world as he was living in the world of magic. She knew he was a wizard and so did Katrina. They guarded that knowledge carefully and told no one.

Last night they had talked, or rather Katrina did most of the talking. She had poured out her fears and hopes to Severus who listened in silence as he realized she needed to talk.

Katrina knew the odds were stacked against her yet she carried on as best she could. Her activities were tempered by her lack of physical strength but her courage was boundless. She had been upset and angry with the fates but came to accept her own mortality.

A knock on his door distracted him.

"Severus. Are you awake?" He could hear Katrina's voice speaking softly.

"Yes Katrina, I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Okay I'll wait for you on the porch."

"All right." Severus replied as he pulled himself out of bed. He quickly dressed and washed up then walked out to the porch.

Katrina was standing looking out towards the shoreline. Severus asked her if she would like to go for a walk on the beach in the cool morning air before the crowds came. She said she would like that and took his hand.

They walked slowly and carefully down to the shoreline where the waves were lapping at the sandy edges. Katrina let the waves touch her sandaled feet and wiggled her bared toes each time the water went over them . Severus watched her then looked out over the horizon at the rising sun. Its warming beams soothed his tortured soul as they warmed up the land and sea.

Katrina picked up a medium sized conch shell that had floated onto the beach. She picked it up and admired its soft shaded colours. She placed the open end against her ear and listened to the surf. She carried it with her as they strolled along the shore.

Katrina tugged his hand gently and asked him to walk with her to where the fishing boats were getting ready to sail. The sailors greeted them warmly and took some timeout from their work to answer Katrinas questions about their lives out on the open sea.

The sailors had noticed Katrina and Severus the evening before when they were bringing back their catch. They had thought she was a boy first, due to the fact she had no hair showing underneath from her ball cap. She also looked very fragile with her tall stern looking companion, dressed in black, standing protectively beside her.

One had to admit that Severus did look rather ominous in a gothic sort of way with his shoulder length black hair, large hooked nose and dark eyes.

Katrina and Severus watched the sailors cast off and head out to sea then they strolled back to the boarding house where Jannet had noticed that Katrina was gone from the boarding house.She would have worried if it wasn't for the fact that she realized Severus would be with Katrina. She stepped out onto the porch and spotted them coming up the walk.

Jannet called out, "Did you two enjoy your stroll this morning? Mrs Malloy says breakfast will soon be on the table."

"It was great mom, so calm and peaceful. There is'nt a lot of people out at this time of morning, and we watched the fishing boats getting ready to sail. I found this pretty conch shell while on the beach."

Katrina showed her the shell, that Jannet admired and handed back.

"Thats fine honey, go get freshened up for breakfast, that's a good girl."

"Okay mom." and Katrina went inside.

"Thanks Severus for taking her for a stroll this morning before it got too hot. I hope she did'nt wake you up"

"Your welcome, I don't mind, I was already awake and I prefer to go out in the early morning when there are few people wandering around myself."

"Yes, you two are so much alike that way."

Jannet smiled at her cousin as they walked inside to be greeted by Mrs Malloy and her two regular boarders.

"I see you were taking advantage of this lovely cool morning to take a walk." Mrs Malloy commented.

"Yes, it was a refreshing walk."

Katrina had finished tidying herself up, and came out to the table where everybody was gathering for breakfast. She sat down between Severus and her mother and swallowed her morning medications that Jannet had given her with her morning juice.