Chapter 12 – Unexpected Meetings
Katherine closed the door to Nicola's house softly and stood in the dark, listening for any movement from upstairs. Nicola had probably gone to bed hours ago, sensible enough to want to be kept in ignorance about Katherine's activities.
Years of keeping a low profile stopped Katherine from flicking the light switch on and she padded softly through the gloomy hall, the dim light from the streetlamps outside illuminating her path to the stairs.
Her foot was on the first step when she heard the noise - the kind of noise that might be made by someone knocking something off a table, then catching it before it hit the ground. Frowning, she slipped her wand out of her sleeve and stepped out of her shoes, so that they wouldn't clatter on the smooth tiled floor.
She walked softly past the open door to the morning room and paused outside the lounge door, which stood slightly ajar. Silence met her ears and her frown deepened. She'd sneaked around enough houses to recognise the kind of silence people made when they didn't want to be heard.
Cautiously, she pushed the door open and peered into the dim room, straining her eyes to pick up the smallest hint of movement. The room was still, but there were plenty of hiding places, even if someone was there. And there was the small alcove along the wall to her right – she wouldn't be able to see in there unless she actually stepped inside the room.
She stood still for a while, concentrating hard. Everyone had to breathe, and breathing made noise, especially when you were trying to be quiet. It only took a minute to locate the shallow breathing – there, to her right. Probably concealed in the alcove. As quietly as possible, she sidled into the room, keeping close to the wall with her wand raised at head height.
There was a white leather sofa in the alcove and Katherine could just about make out a dark shape perched there, body tense, facing her way. Definitely not Nicpla. She would have said something by now. Whoever it was, they didn't seem to have seen her. Not yet anyway.
Lumos she thought, and a jet of white light streamed from her wand, shining directly into the wide eyes of the intruder. The figure leapt up, diving towards her and causing them both to fall to the floor. After a brief scuffle, Katherine's wand was knocked away and she felt the tip of the stranger's wand pressed against her throat. The stranger was kneeling over her, trapping her arms next to her side.
Katherine stared up into a dark face, faintly outlined against the lighter blackness of the room. Suddenly a light flared on and Katherine screwed up her eyes against the painful glare.
"Oh honestly," sighed a very familiar voice. "I should have known better than to leave you two to your own devices."
Katherine twisted her head towards the door where the voice had come from and saw Nicola standing there, red dressing gown loosely tied at the waist, hands on hips. She was looking appraisingly at Katherine and...whoever was sitting on top of her. She glanced up and saw a pair of impossibly dark green eyes staring back down at her.
"Katherine?"
Ophelia waited anxiously outside the huge oaken door that marked the entrance to the Lloyd Manor. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and glanced at her watch. 4am. Any minute now...
The crunch of gravel announced the arrival of the master of the house and Ophelia stood up, peering into the darkness beyond the light of the front porch. She could see a figure approaching, gradually becoming recognisable as they drew nearer to the house. Abruptly, the sound of footsteps stopped and Ophelia looked down into a pair of amber eyes that were studying her critically.
"Morning Julian," she said softly, attempting a smile. Julian frowned slightly, but continued up the steps and opened the front door where he was immediately met by an obsequious house elf, bowing low whilst simultaneously relieving it's master of his cloak and scarf. It disappeared as Julian turned around and surveyed his sister with angry eyes. Ophelia looked away, even though she knew the anger wasn't directed at her.
"What's he done?"
"I didn't come about Daniel," said Ophelia quietly, slipping off her cloak and folding it over one arm. "I came about Severus, or rather, well...someone asked about him."
Julian frowned, pushing open a door on his left and going in. Ophelia followed him and was glad to find a roaring fire in the grate and a couple of black leather armchairs. She sank into one thankfully, and glanced up at her brother who was standing beside the fireplace.
"Who was asking?"
"A woman. In a pub."
Julian's frown deepened and he glanced over at her. "What woman?"
"I don't know. I've never seen her before," said Ophelia, trying to shake the feeling that she was lying, because she hadn't ever seen the woman before. It was just...maybe the voice...?
"Not a pure blood then?" asked Julian, one eyebrow cocked in inquiry.
"No, but...she acted like one. Like she'd been brought up around our kind," mused Ophelia. "And she offered to kill Daniel."
"I like her already," remarked Julian, a grim smile on his lips.
"She was being serious," said Ophelia evenly. Julian frowned at her, his amber eyes glowing gold in the firelight.
"Serious?"
"I think so. Certainly sounded it," agreed Ophelia.
"And she asked about Severus?" inquired Julian, coming to sit in the chair opposite his younger sister.
"I think her exact words were 'Say hello to Severus for me'," recalled Ophelia, her eyes almost black in the dim room.
"Not Snape," commented Julian, running a hand through his short hair. "So she knows him."
"But that's just it," frowned Ophelia. "Severus doesn't know any women. Apart from his old class mates, I suppose, but I'd have recognised them. Besides, what would they be doing in a pub at three in the morning?"
"Or more importantly, what were you doing in a pub at three in the morning?" countered Julian, meeting his sister's gaze sternly. "If Daniel-"
"I can handle him," said Ophelia tonelessly. "I should count myself lucky. Many women would kill to have my lifestyle."
Julian was silent for a moment, idly summoning a glass and a bottle of whisky from a sideboard, and pouring himself a nightcap. He didn't offer one to his sister; she'd had quite enough already. "You were going to be a lawyer," he said after a while. "Before you married Daniel."
"Marriage is about compromise, remember?" said Ophelia, smiling dryly. "That's what you always tell Tanya."
"That's different," shrugged Julian. "She's my wife, you're my sister. And I don't go out having affairs with anything in a skirt."
"That's because you're married to Tanya," put in Ophelia, only half joking. "It'd be hard to find anyone worth it. Besides, you know I can't leave Daniel. Mother would have a fit. His family is very influential-"
"We don't need him anymore," said Julian darkly. "Dear cousin Severus is the Dark Lord's right hand man once again. That's all the influence we're ever going to need. Which reminds me, Kitten's back."
Ophelia stared at him blankly for a moment, then her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "The papers were telling the truth?"
"I know, shocking isn't it?" remarked Julian dryly, draining the rest of his whisky and setting the glass down.
"Be serious, Julian," reprimanded Ophelia.
"I was," objected Julian, though he smiled slightly. "Deadly."
"So she's alive?"
"Yes. Free as a bird."
"How on earth did she manage that?"
Julian chuckled darkly. "You know, I asked Severus that earlier."
"And what did he say?"
"He said he didn't have a clue."
"What about the Aurors? Do they know?"
"I shouldn't think so," said Julian, sighing heavily. "They keep asking us to triple check Floo network activity over the past month, and look for unlicensed portkey activity and so on, but there's no trace. And she can't have apparated because she didn't have a wand. Wands aren't allowed on Azkaban. Even the new guards are using special ones from Ollivander that only work for one wizard. They were the last ones he made before he disappeared."
"So what did she do? Fly?"
"Couldn't have. The Ministry put a charm around the whole prison after Black escaped. No one can get past it without the proper authorization. We only managed to get Lestrange and the rest out because Kensington knew the spells, and like I said, Kitten didn't have a wand."
"Then it's not her," said Ophelia, stifling a yawn. "If the Dark Lord didn't get her out and she had no wand, then she can't be out. There's no other form of transportation."
Julian raised an eyebrow amusedly. "She challenged the Dark Lord in front of a room full of Death Eaters. It's definitely Kitten, Lia."
"Well where is she?"
"Don't know. She went to talk with him in private. If he didn't kill her, I presume she did what she usually does after being in the same room as him."
"What's that?"
Julian smirked and glanced up, meeting his sister's questioning gaze. "Goes and gets very drunk."
Katherine closed her eyes, then opened them again. The green eyes hadn't gone away.
"We've really got to stop meeting like this," she said at last, in lieu of anything better to say.
Severus stared down at her, then Nicola's words sank in and he hurriedly stood up, shaking his head.
"Sorry."
Katherine smiled vaguely, propping herself up on her elbows and trying to focus. "That's all right," she sighed, suddenly feeling extremely tired; it had been a very long day. She swiveled round to face Nicola. "What time is it?"
"Just gone four."
"Right, then I'm off to bed," said Katherine amiably, standing up on her third attempt. "Good night."
"Night," responded Nicola as Katherine shuffled past her. She glanced at Severus who was frowning.
"Exactly how much alcohol d'you think she's had?" he asked calmly.
"Enough to forget that she's supposed to hate you at present," shrugged Nicola, leaning on the door frame.
Severus nodded and sat down heavily on the sofa, closing his eyes. "You didn't tell me she was staying here."
"You didn't ask. Besides, I needed to get you out of that house; the Aurors were about to raid it," replied Nicola, examining a chipped fingernail critically.
"I'll find somewhere else tomorrow," muttered Severus, rubbing his eyes.
Nicola looked up sharply. "Don't be ridiculous. You're safe here for the time being. Your house is going to be under observation for weeks and they'll be searching all the hotels and B&B's. You're not going anywhere; Katherine would never forgive me."
"You just said she hated me," frowned Severus, opening his eyes and staring at his old class mate.
"I said she hated you at present," corrected Nicola. "She'll get over it."
"You think?"
"Yes," said Nicola firmly, dark eyes gleaming.
"Why?"
"Because she loves you, blockhead. Heavens knows why."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "That was a long time ago, Nic."
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," recited Nicola, grinning.
"Now who's being ridiculous?"
"Still you, I'm afraid," Nicola chuckled, plunging the room into darkness with a flick of her wand. "Goodnight Severus. Sleep tight."
Severus sighed as he heard the door click shut and lay back on the sofa. Women. Absolutely insane, the lot of them. He shut his eyes and tried to relax. He drifted off about ten minutes later wondering vaguely whether he should have told Nicola about Peter...
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – Fifth Year
Severus Snape looked up at the girl in front of him with a sceptical expression.
"You want my help?"
The girl rolled her admittedly pretty blue eyes and sighed. "Yes, Snape, I want your help."
"Why?" asked Severus, reluctant to stray away from one syllable words. The girl looked vaguely amused.
"Because you're fantastic at Potions, alright? And I'm not. I need a tutor."
Severus narrowed his dark eyes and studied the girl. She was in his year, he knew that, but she'd never spoken to him before. Why now? He frowned, unable to shake the feeling that James Potter and Sirius Black had something to do with this.
"How do you know I'm good at Potions?" he asked, playing for more time. The girl raised her eyebrows, staring at him.
"You're in the Slug Club, aren't you?"
"So are lots of other people."
"Not that many," shrugged the girl. "I'm not. Besides, everyone knows you're good at Potions. So will you help me?"
"No," said Severus shortly, closing the book he'd been reading and stuffing it into his bag. The girl's pleasant expression darkened slightly.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to."
The girl raised a cynical eyebrow. "It's no wonder you haven't got any friends if you treat people like this. Maybe Potter and Black are right about you. You really are a loser."
Severus nearly turned around and hexed her right then, but stopped himself, remembering Lucius' advice. "At least I'm not a mudblood like you," he said coolly, sneering at her. "Some of us have class."
He turned away, heading towards the library doors, then yelped, clutching at his right arm. Three deep gashes stretched across his pale skin, red blood oozing from them and soaking into his shirt. He whirled around angrily to see the black haired girl on her feet, pointing her wand at him and looking furious.
"I'm adopted, not muggle," she said softly, voice filled with a menace he hadn't thought she possessed. She threw a scornful glance at his bleeding arm and trained her wand on his chest. "I can do it over your heart if you want," she offered, eyes that had seemed so innocent a few minutes ago gleaming threateningly.
"Where did you learn to do that," Severus whispered, looking at the girl properly for the first time. Ebony black hair and sapphire bright eyes. Strange combination for mud- witch. Definitely a witch. Lily Evans couldn't do magic like that. That was dark magic, stuff that wasn't taught at Hogwarts, and Severus was very interested in dark magic.
The girl just smiled at him, her dark hair reflecting the winter sunlight that streamed through the high window.
"Will you help me?" she asked, still not moving her wand.
Severus considered her for a while, dark eyes thoughtful. "Do you know more of those spells?"
"I will."
"And you'll teach me them?"
"If you help."
Severus glanced down at his arm, which was still seeping blood, though it seemed to have slowed, then looked up at the girl and nodded. "I'll help."
The girl smiled suddenly, all trace of menace vanishing in an instant. "Good."
She flicked her wand and Severus felt the wounds on his arm heal, the skin knitting itself back together. He wiped some of the blood away with his other sleeve and saw three faint lines where the cuts had been, showing white against his already pale skin.
"Just a reminder," said the girl softly, coming to stand in front of him. "They'll fade after a couple of weeks."
Severus looked up at her, frowning. "What's your name?" he demanded.
The girl paused a moment, then shook her head. Five years in the same House and he didn't even know her name. Well she couldn't say she was particularly surprised; not many people knew who she was. That was about to change.
"Katherine," she said softly. "Call me Kat."