Chapter 17

A/N: I've gotten several comments about this, so don't worry guys, I'm not trying to pair Harry and Hermione up. Nothing but friendship going on there. Snape gets a little oc in this chapter, but I'm working on it. Thank you for all the reviews!
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In the darkness of night, the hospital wing was a solemn place. Katherine sat at Severus's bedside, staring out of the window at the cloudy starless sky. With Poppy's help she had patched up Severus as best they could, mending his broken body with the best healing spells and potions they could muster between them. From Poppy's calm, almost nonchalant attitude, Katherine guessed this wasn't the first time the potions professor had returned in such a state. The thought of the pain he had suffered, perhaps many times over, made her feel sick to her stomach.
Glancing at the listless form in the bed beside her, Katherine could not fight the intense waves of guilt that made her stomach clench up and her palms sweat. She shouldn't have left with Lucius, she should have demanded that they both be punished. It was her fault that they were late, that they had displeased their Lord. Why was she such a pushover? Why was she such a coward? Why was she so weak?
Katherine felt the beginnings of tears start to well up in her eyes, but resolved herself firmly not to cry. There had been enough crying today, and over such foolish things. If only she didn't fall apart so easily, they probably wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.
Her heart jumped as Severus stirred in his sleep, letting out a soft moan. Letting go of all restraint, she grabbed his cold pallid hand, squeezing it tightly. Severus stirred again, blinking in the dim light of a single candle.
"Severus can you hear me?" Katherine whispered, clutching his hand as if it were the last lifeboat on a sinking ship.
He forced his eyes open, moaning as a dull yet throbbing pain engulfed assaulted his head. Just by looking at the ceiling rafters he knew where he was, and was none to pleased. The hospital wing - again. But at least had returned alive, perhaps next time he would not be so lucky.
"Are you alright Severus?" Katherine's eyebrows were knitted in concern, her throat was dry with fear.
"...crushing..." He moaned, turning his face into her sleeve, blinking back tears of pain.
"What?" Katherine said, her anxiety getting the better of her.
"...my hand..."
"Oh!" Katherine cried. "Sorry"
She let go of this hand, which had turned an ugly shade of red and purple. Great, now she felt even worse.
"Well, I should leave and let you get some sleep." Katherine rose and smoothed out the thin white blankets covering her patient. "Before I hurt you even more."
"No..." Severus whispered, drifting back into sleep. "...stay."
Katherine sat on the edge of the bed, her heart sinking so quickly that it ached. As Severus shut his eyes and sunk back into a deep dreamless sleep, Katherine brushed the stray hair from his forehead, her fingertips drifting down his cheek, resting on the warm flesh of his lips. Then she quickly pulled her hand back into her lap, afraid that she might lose her self control. She could not love him, she had lost that luxury. That crazy divination professor was right, she would bring death to the ones she loved. A lifetime of imprudent decisions, of foolish hopes, had sealed that fate already. Wishing so badly that she could stay, wishing that she could press her lips against his own if only for a moment, she rose slowly and walked out of the room in a dreamlike state.
In the hallway she heard the sound of footsteps, and turned to see the golden trio as McGonagall had once affectionately called them walking her way, partially hidden in the shadows. From the frantic whispering and the crinkling of parchment she guessed that they had just noticed her as well.
"Out after curfew?" She whispered as the three stopped dead in their tracks.
They had been coming from the direction of the library, but for some reason Katherine doubted that they had been doing any studying.
"We were just..."
"I...er..."
"You see what happened was...."
Katherine shook her head at them, forcing herself to smile.
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. At least not from me. But you better hurry along before Frink see's you."
"Who's Frink?" Ron whispered, before Hermione elbowed him hard in the ribs.
"I think she means Filch Ron." Harry whispered back.
"Shhh...Harry!" Hermione blushed a little, embarrassed that they had pointed out her error.
To her surprise Katherine did not look angry or embarrassed, but simply laughed and smiled directly at her.
"Goodnight boys." She whispered, not even looking their way. "And goodnight Ms. Granger."
Hermione smiled back, but did not hesitate to clamor off with the two young men. When they rounded the corner Ron let out a huge huff of breath, laughing in relief.
"That was close!" He exclaimed. "That was too lucky."
"Yes, that was nice of her." Hermione said in a distracted tone, eager to get back to the safety of the common room.
"Maybe a little too nice." Ron said, a strange smile on his face. "You what Hagrid told me today, about why they were in his cabin?"
Harry shook his head, distracted by the map in his hand. Hermione just rolled her eyes, she had heard this once already today.
"Snape told Hagird that she's a few broomsticks short of a quidditch match, if you know I mean."
Harry looked at him over the top of the map, laughing. "No way."
"I swear." Ron said indigently. "Hagrid let it spill during class today, while you were busy trying to keep your crup from eating itself. Said she just sort of loses it sometimes and starts wandering around."
Harry started laughing even harder. "Just figures that's the only way he could get a wife...a crazy one!"
"Both of you stop it!" Hermione said, putting her hands on her hips. "I think that she's nice."
"I think that she's nice." Ron mocked in a falsetto tone, turning to jog down the hall before Hermione could react.
Harry burst into a round of fresh laughter, running after him. Hermione sulked behind, feeling a little hurt, and fighting the urge to hex them both into the ground.

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Severus awoke to gentle feeling of the soft hospital linens against his skin. He blinked open his eyes, the warm sunlight nudging him awake.
"Ah, Professor Snape." Poppy said, nearly floating across the room. "How are you feeling?"
Severus started to sit up in bed, but Poppy gentled pushed him back down.
"I'd say you're doing quiet well, compared to last night at least. Let's see now..." Poppy gave him an appraising stare. "Broken bones mended, cuts and bruises healed, fever gone...yes, I'd say quite well indeed."
Severus opened his mouth to speak, but was met with a rude shock when no sound would come free.
"Oh dear." Poppy tisked as soon as she noticed. "We'll have to get that fixed right up. Open your mouth."
Severus scowled at her, Merlin he despised the woman sometimes. He clenched his mouth shut until Poppy tapped him lightly on the head with her wand.
"Honestly Severus, you're as bad as a first year sometimes."
He glared at her, but opened his mouth all the same. After what felt like a great deal of poking and prodding, and more that a fair bit of sighing, Poppy retreated, and Severus gratefully shut his now aching jaw.
"Well you've done quite a number on your throat. If you took better care of yourself..."
Severus balled his hands into fists and turned away from her. Poppy just sighed, and narrowed her eyes at him.
"You'll need a strong potion for this, and I'm nearly sure that I'll have to send to St. Mungo's for it."
Severus inwardly sighed, that could that days knowing their healers. He was better off making it himself. Of course, Poppy would have a heart attack if he even attempted. At the thought a smile crept across his face. If only he could be sure that it wouldn't led to more fussing, fretting, and nagging, he probably would have tried.
"I'm off to the owlry then, and I'm going to have a house elf bring something up for you to eat. Do not get out of bed!" Poppy shook her finger at him. "Try and rest."
A sudden thought occurred to Severus, and he tried to mouth something to her.
"What?" Poppy said, scribbling something on a piece of parchment and watching him at the same time.
Severus pounded his hand on the bed in frustration before trying again.
"Races?" She asked in confusion.
Severus shot her a loathing look and tried once again.
"Oh!" Poppy cried "Classes!"
Severus mentally threw his hands in the air, Merlin this woman...
"Don't you worry about that." Poppy insisted. "You won't be teaching any classes today."
Severus nearly hopped out of bed. He didn't want some incompetent dolt spoiling his equipment, fooling around with his potions, messing with his students...
"Oh stop it!" Poppy exclaimed. "Lay back down before you exhaust yourself. Professor McGonagall will be leading your classes until I give you a clean bill of health."
Minvera? Well, at least she wasn't that bad. She respected his art, and wouldn't mess with things she didn't understand.
"Or if you like I could send for Mr. Lockhart? I hear he's out of St. Mungo's now and well on the way to recovery. I'm sure he could use the extra work."
Poppy winked at him, and Severus fought the urge to throw the nearest blunt object at her. Why did she insist on carrying on like they were friends? Just because she went through the bother of patching him up every time the Dark Lord got a little angry didn't make her his friend.
"Katherine should be up shortly in case you were wondering."
In fact, he was wondering. Severus perked up a little at this, but kept a cold facade of annoyance.
"She was up here for most the night with you, she came up early this morning as well, but I made her go back and get some more sleep. The poor thing looked terrible. Did she find you coming back from...." Poppy paused to sigh in disapproval. "...where ever it is you were."
Severus thought for a moment. How did he get back? She must have apperated with him, and then levitated him up the hill to Hogwarts. He nodded slowly at Poppy, mentally trying to map out the events from the night before. They had arrived late, Lucius had been angry, Bellatrix had tortured him, Katherine had disappeared, Lucius had disappeared...
A sudden unsettling thought crept up in his mind, but Severus firmly pushed it back down. It was none of his business anyway, really...
"Try and get some more sleep." Poppy called over her shoulder as she gathered up her parchment and left. "I'll be back shortly. Do not get out of bed."
Severus sneered at her. Would she just leave him alone! He wasn't even tired for Merlin's sake. But as soon as she left he found himself sinking down into his pillow anyway, trying to will his eyes to stay open.

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"I'm sorry Severus, did I wake you?" Katherine leaned over and cupped her hand to the side of his face.
Severus open his mouth in surprise, but Katherine merely smiled demurely at him. He thought his heart would burst as she then seductively licked her bottom lip.
"I've been waiting for you." She leaned forward, trailing her fingers along his legs and over his more sensitive areas as she went.
Severus could feel an intense heat sweep over his face, and he parted his lips to take a gulp of cool air. As he did so Katherine pressed her soft firm lips against his own, playfully trailing her tongue along to meet his own.
He moaned in delight, greedily pushing himself towards her so their bodies were pressed together. He loved the way her body felt against his, and the intense tingling that surged through his body as her tongue became more daring.
Severus nearly whimpered as Katherine pulled away, ever so slowly breaking the sweet connection of their lips. He was rewarded however when she put her hands on the hem of her flowing virginal white shirt, pulling it slowly upwards to reveal an expanse of milky white flesh. She paused just below her chest, and Severus fell forward in his eagerness to kiss that flesh, to run his tongue over it.
Katherine giggled as Severus ran his hands up over her bare flesh, quivering from the touch. With a slow lazy smile Katherine once again began tugging at the hem of the shirt, causing Severus's heart to race...

"Are you alright?"
Severus was awaken by a sudden shaking. A harsh feeling of disappointment flooded the pit of his stomach with the realization that it was just a dream, but the disappointment was quickly chased away when he opened his eyes.
Katherine was leaning over him, an intense frown of concern on her face.
"Are you okay?" She whispered. "You were thrashing around like you were in pain."
She reached up and felt his forehead, and Severus felt his entire body go cold. The physical evidence of his lustful dream suddenly became very obvious to him, and he pulled back with such a sudden force that Katherine looked strangely crushed.
"What's the matter?" She whispered. "I-I just wanted to help."
Severus felt his eyes widen slightly, and he bit his lip. Why did she have to be so damn beautiful...
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Severus nodded, and Katherine slowly rose up from the bed. It took all of Severus's willpower not to grab her arm and pull her back to him. He wanted more than anything to be close to her. Katherine had a strange nervous look as she pulled up the closest chair, sitting down stiffly. Severus gave her a questioning look, but she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were fixed on the edge of Severus's bed, as if she couldn't bare to look at him.
"Poppy told me about your voice, I'm sorry." Katherine reached up and nervously twirled a stray piece of hair around her finger. "I was wondering if I could talk to you, about last night. I mean, I know that you can't talk...but I need to tell you something."
Katherine suddenly blanched, and bit her lip for a few moments. Severus sat up, and patiently waited for her to continue.
"I don't want you to think that I'm a liar, and I know that since we're working together we have to be able to trust one another."
Severus nodded, watching her lips as she spoke. Such beautiful lips...
"You asked me if I was still Lucius's lover, and I said that I wasn't..."
A sudden wave of cold ran through Severus, and he could feel his face physically fall.
"I lied, but I didn't mean to lie." Katherine blurted out. "I mean..at the time we weren't, but you see, last night..."
Severus glared at her, a thousand jumbled thoughts racing through his mind. The most powerful feeling of jealousy that Severus had ever felt rose within him, but he quickly shoved it aside. Severus Snape did not get jealous!
"But its never going to happen again, I'm breaking it off for good. I don't want anything to come between us." Katherine suddenly turned an intense shade of red, and then opened and closed her mouth several times before speaking. "Between our mission I mean...for the Dark Lord. For our master...between our goal."
By nature, Severus was not a impulsive man. Sometimes when his anger got the better of him he could be a tad bit impetuous, but in general he liked to think things through. He normally wouldn't act without careful consideration of the consequences. This time however, his body seemed to act before his mind could even begin to process what he was doing.
In a single fluid motion Severus wrapped his hands around the back of her head, pulled her close, and pressed his lips softly against hers. It was a short kiss, no more than a few seconds, but those seconds seemed to last an eternity.
Katherine raised her eyebrows in surprise, but did not pull away at first. It was only once an intense feeling of guilt flooded over her that Katherine pushed back her chair, putting a painful distance between the two. Severus stared at her, as if he himself could not believe what had just happened. He brought his hands up to his lips, and held them there for a few long moments.
"What..." Katherine said in a soft voice."...was that?"
Severus shook his head at her, his only way to apologize. How could he be so foolish!
"Why did you kiss me? I just told you that I was a liar!" Katherine pulled her chair closer, her curiosity taking over. "Why did you want to kiss me, after I told you that I was damaged goods?"
Severus shook his head violently, and put a finger up to her mouth to silence her. That wasn't true! He had entire past of mistakes, he knew what it was like, and for the first time he had the feeling he truly understood her. He had been able to escape his past, mostly due to the help and guidance that Dumbledore offered. Maybe if he could help her...
"I'm sorry." Katherine suddenly whispered. "I'm not good news...I bring pain to everyone. Even that crazy woman said..."
Severus raised his eyebrows at her, and then smiled. He knew what that was like, to deal with the pain brought on by his mistakes. He knew...if only he could talk! Not caring if Poppy would suddenly appear to nag him to death on the spot Severus gathered all his energy and pulled himself out of bed. Cautiously crossing the room on shaky legs Severus reached Poppy's desk, and dug around until he found a piece of parchment and a quill. He scribbled something down as Katherine watched in intrigue, and made his way back across the room. He sat back down on the bed, and held it out to Katherine. She almost reluctantly accepted it, her eyes devouring the page. She looked back up at him, her face a void of all emotion.
"All right." She whispered, looking a little confused. "If you want."
At that moment a first year Hufflepuff girl bursted in sobbing, Professor Hootch trailing close behind.
"She fell off her broom." Hootch shook her head. "The second one this week!"
Katherine gave Severus a small forced smile, and the pulled the crying girl to the other side of the room. He stared at his note for a moment before crumpling it up and tossing it towards the wastebasket.

We might prove to have more in common than you think. We need to talk tonight - in private.