A/N: HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Just a small reminder, since it's only been mentioned once before, Louise was the name of Robert Avery's older sister, who died near the end of the first war. That's why she's mentioned.

Chapter 59 – Corrupted

"KATHERINE!"

Robert stared dazedly at the scene before him, Severus' tortured yell barely even registering in the surreal world he'd suddenly wandered into, because Katherine couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be. Katherine didn't die – Fiona died, Evan died, Louise died, Regulus died, but Katherine didn't. Love her or hate her she was always there, always.

"Expecto patronum," he muttered, not even bothered to move his wand; it wouldn't work. There were too many Dementors and Katherine was dead and his daughter's screams were echoing in his head and Katherine was dead…

Severus had fallen to the ground and was cradling her limp body in his arms, murmuring feverishly under his breath. Whether he was begging her to wake up or trying some spell to revive her, Robert couldn't tell. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. What was the point in fighting? They were all going to die, Katherine had just happened to be first. They should just give up now…

He shut his eyes, unable to watch his friend's grief, and heard Bellatrix's delighted voice.

"Did you love her, Snape?" She laughed cruelly, raising her wand and pointing it at Severus. "Do you want to die with her? Won't that make a nice ending to the story? The tragic lovers die in each other's arms? How very…Gryffindor."

Robert's eyes snapped open, glowering furiously at Bellatrix, burning rage surpassing all other emotions, but he'd barely drawn his wand when someone else broke through the crowd and stood between Severus and Bellatrix – Julian Lloyd. Bellatrix stared at him with contempt, and shook her head.

"Move out of the way, Lloyd."

Julian's hand moved so fast the Robert barely saw it, and Bellatrix yelled, left hand flying to her face to touch the gaping wound that had just appeared there.

"What the hell d'you think you're doing?" she demanded, shock showing in her wide eyes.

"You killed her," said Julian coldly, face set in hard lines. "You're going to pay for that."

Bellatrix lowered her hand slowly, gaze fixed on Julian and a curiously calm look in her eyes.

"You're choosing her over me?"

"I was never yours," said Julian, amber eyes void of any emotion.

"I looked after you," said Bellatrix, an edge in her voice now. "You had no one and I looked out for you!"

"She'd already taught me to look after myself."

"But she's dead," said Bellatrix, through gritted teeth, dark eyes sparking. "She's dead, and you're choosing her?"

Julian shrugged, an unhappy smile tugging on his lips. "No. She chose me. It's not something I had any say in." He grinned at the expression of fury on Bellatrix's face. "Irritating, isn't it? Knowing there are things out of your control?"

Bellatrix shot a hex at Julian, but he deflected it with a quick flick of his wand and smiled again.

"I always did wonder why she refused to call you by your proper name, but I finally figured it out. It's because you couldn't stop her doing it, isn't it? Such a childish thing to do – call someone by a nickname just to annoy them, but she wasn't allowed to do anything else to you, not with the Dark Lord around." Julian's mild expression switched abruptly into a scowl and his golden eyes narrowed in dislike. "Where's your Master now, Trix?"

Bellatrix screamed and launched into a fierce duel with her young opponent, and Robert forced himself to move at last. He stumbled out of the crowd of horrified onlookers and fell to the earth next to Severus, who'd buried his head in Katherine's dark, silky hair.

"Sev," he said quietly, reaching out a hand to shake his friend's shoulder. "Sev, we've got to move. Julian can't hold her off for long." Severus moaned quietly, tightening his grip on Katherine's body, and Robert tried again, looking up at the swarming Dementors above them with fear in his eyes. "Severus? Come on, Sev, don't do this to me. She wouldn't want you to die too."

"What do you care?" asked Severus furiously, his head snapping up, face drenched in tears. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Robert stared at him, unable to speak. What on earth was he going on about?

"She stopped because of you. She thought you hated her. She dropped her guard because she saw you," hissed Severus, glowering at him.

"No…" Robert trailed off, the look on Katherine's face just before Bella's curse had hit replaying in his mind, the words trying to make their way past her lips. Sorry. She'd been trying to say sorry. "I didn't…"

He looked down at Katherine's pale face, wishing Severus' words weren't true. She looked so peaceful, almost as if she was asleep, but he knew she wasn't going to wake up. She'd killed Regulus. Had he really killed her?

His hand closed tightly around his wand and stood up, turning to face Bella and Julian's duel, intending to lend a hand, but he'd barely moved when he saw a flash of green light catch Julian in the shoulder and the younger man froze mid-spell, then toppled backwards onto the ground, an expression of acute surprise fixed on his face.

Robert stared at him for a moment, then raised his gaze to Bella's smirking face.

"Are you next, then?" she asked, mad eyes gleaming with twisted pleasure. She flourished her wand, assuming a formal dueling pose and Robert was just about to respond when a thought occurred to him. He paused and looked down again at Julian's body, and at the blank, staring eyes. That couldn't be right… "Given up, have we?" asked Bella, and Robert looked back at her, trying to slow his thoughts down for long enough to think properly.

"Give up?" he repeated, staring blankly at her. "No."

Bella sneered at him, treating him to a look of utter disdain. "You're hardly worth fighting."

Robert frowned a little, then smiled. "Ah yes, you would be under the illusion that I am - how did Greyback so eloquently put it? – 'thick'." Robert pocketed his wand and held up his hands in an apologetic manner, barely able to hear his own words above the thumping of his heart. "I'm sorry to say you were misinformed."

"You put away your wand," said Bella slowly, staring at him as though he'd just declared his faith in crumple-horned snorkacks.

"Yes, that would be because I know something that you don't seem to have grasped," said Robert, in the clear tone of voice he usually reserved for explaining to his young daughter why mummy's moisturizing cream wasn't good food for the neighbour's cat.

"That you have a death wish?" asked Bella sarcastically.

"No," said Robert, stepping back a little and trying not to think of the ridiculous odds involved in the risk he was taking, but then again, she'd never let him down before. Somewhere behind him the soft rustle of fabric on fabric made his heart skip a beat and he looked up at Bella, a dangerous grin spreading across his face. "Katherine Riddle has the luck of the devil."

Bellatrix frowned and opened to her mouth to say something, but the words never made it out because it was at that moment that the curse hit her squarely in the middle of the chest.

Robert closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, then opened them and turned around. Bright blue eyes met his and Katherine smiled. "Nicely put."

Robert made an inarticulate sound, and then his legs gave out. He sank to the ground next to her and reached out a hand to touch her pale face, as though to check she was really there, really alive. Severus, who'd been holding Katherine close, his eyes tightly shut, opened them and stared down at her in shock.

"Katherine?"

Katherine looked up at him and smiled. "Severus."

"What the…? You can't be… I don't understand," managed Severus, looking lost. "How did you do that?"

"We've got to move," said Robert quietly. "It's too dangerous here. Come on, into the trees."

Severus ignored him, hands gripping onto Katherine's arms so tightly that his knuckles were pure white. "You're ok?"

"'Course," grinned Katherine, reaching up a hand to stroke Severus' cheek gently. "Don't cry, Sev. I'm fine."

"But she killed you!" exclaimed Severus, looking as though he wanted to shake her but not daring to. "Katherine, you were dead."

"Move, now," said Robert firmly, grasping Severus' collar and hauling him to his feet. He pulled Katherine up with him, refusing to let go of her even for a second, and Robert hurriedly maneuvered them into the shelter of the dark trees, glancing behind to check they weren't being followed.

"Katherine, what happened out there?" asked Severus again, gazing intently into her eyes as though he could will the information out of her.

"I don't know – one minute we were dueling, then the Dementors arrived and…then Bella was threatening Robert, so I stole your wand and-" She mimed throwing a hex and smiled lopsidedly. "Where's my wand? I couldn't see it."

Severus frowned, but Robert chipped in softly: "You dropped it when you fell. Won't find it now."

"Oh," Katherine frowned, then shrugged. "Never mind."

Severus cocked his head at her, a curious expression on his face. "'Never mind'? We're in the middle of a battle and you've lost your wand, and you're saying 'never mind'?"

"Yes. I've got everything I need right here," said Katherine, smiling up at him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Kat, are you feeling ok?" asked Severus, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Fantastic," answered Katherine quietly, pressing her lips softly against his and pulling him closer. Severus made a half hearted attempt to push her away, then wondered why and dropped his grip on her left arm, slipping his hand round her waist instead.

"Did I miss something here?" asked Robert loudly, interrupting their kiss, and Katherine pulled back, staring at Robert with a puzzled look on her face. "When did you two…start doing that?"

Severus fought down the blood that threatened to rush to his cheeks and glanced at Katherine, only to see she was crying. "Kat…?"

"I'm sorry, Rob," she whispered, tears sliding down her face. "I'm so sorry I lied about Regulus' death. I should have told you, but I thought you'd hate me, and the only way to stop that would have been to tell you what he'd discovered, and I couldn't do that to you - it'd have endangered you as well as Cass. I had to do it on my own."

Robert leant back against the trunk of a tree and examined her closely. "Ok," he said slowly, frowning a little. "Only, Kat, you did tell me what Regulus was up to. What the hell do you think we've been doing for the past year?"

Katherine opened her mouth to reply, then shut it again, looking confused. Severus glanced uncertainly at Robert, one arm still resting protectively around Katherine's waist.

"Katherine?" prompted Robert, and she shook her head.

"I…I didn't want you to hate me," she repeated, though she sounded doubtful. "And I…I…I can't remember."

"You can't remember?"

"There were other reasons, I'm sure there were," said Katherine, frowning now. "You'd hate me, you'd tell everyone and… That's not right, is it?" She shook her head and looked up at Robert with a puzzled expression on her face. "That doesn't make any sense."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Severus smiled a little, and buried his head in Katherine's soft hair.

"Kat, you haven't made any sense for the past twenty years."

Katherine gave him an unimpressed look, trying very hard not to smile. "Very funny, Sev."

"It's not funny, actually. It's true," said Robert quietly, and something in his tone made Katherine look up and pay attention. "You were messed up in school, in an incredibly complicated situation afterwards and then you went to Azkaban, where, ironically, you were probably the sanest you've been since you were a kid. And then you came out…" He sighed and looked apologetically up at his old friend. "We should have noticed."

"Noticed what?" asked Katherine uneasily. "Robert, what-?"

"Sev just said it, didn't he? You haven't made any sense for ages, but we didn't think that was odd because you've never been exactly normal, have you? Only you should have been thinking straight for the past year, Kat. None of the old reasons for being messed up apply anymore – we aren't fighting a losing battle and everyone you care about is still as safe as they've ever been."

"You think I didn't care about Sirius?" interjected Katherine, scowling at him and holding up a hand to stop Severus from speaking. "I already told you I love you, Sev, so don't even think about getting upset. I didn't love him like I love you, but he was a big part of my life, ok?"

"See that is what I'm talking about!" said Robert, pointing a firm finger at her. "You're being reasonable, Kat. You're never reasonable! You fly off the handle and attack problems at two hundred miles an hour."

"Robert, as delightful as your list of my imperfections is, I do have to ask one thing: what the hell is your point?" asked Katherine, arching her eyebrows and treating him to an impatient look.

"My point is that in the last two minutes you've gone through about seven different mood swings. Do you know why?"

"I have not," scowled Katherine, arms crossed as she glared at him.

"And this would be anger?"

"Yes! Because you're irritating me!"

"Katherine, what's the most corrupted thing in England?" asked Robert quietly, dark eyes focused calmly on hers.

"What?"

"What's the most corrupted thing in England?" repeated Robert. "It's not a hard question, Kat. Twenty years ago you'd have answered without batting an eyelid."

"Twenty years ago I would have said me," said Katherine with a scowl. "But I don't see what relevance that has to the current conversation."

"You don't?" asked Robert with a sour grin on his handsome face. "You were the one who told Potter they corrupted people."

"I told Potter what corrupt people?" asked Katherine with a sigh, leaning her head on Severus' shoulder.

"Horcruxes," said Severus quietly, and Katherine glanced up at him, confusion etched in every feature.

"What?"

"Horcruxes corrupt people, Katherine," said Severus softly, gazing down at her with the same look of apology in his eyes that she'd seen on Robert's face only a few moments before. Katherine stepped away from him, tilting her head to eye him uncertainly, then looked over at Robert.

"Is this about what I said when I brought you Reg's research? 'Cause I wasn't being serious, Rob – I never made a horcrux. Heaven knows my soul's unstable enough as it is without splitting it in two."

"It's not your horcrux, Katherine," said Severus gravely, reaching out turn her face towards him.

"I don't have a horcrux!" exclaimed Katherine, knocking his hand away. "Don't you think I would have noticed if there was a damn big chalice or something attached me? For a horcrux to affect something it's got to be in constant proximity to the object and there's nothing like that on me!"

"Bella hit you with Avada Kedavra, Katherine," said Robert patiently, massaging the bridge of his nose with two long fingers. "Nothing stops AK except a life." He dropped his hand to his side and smiled grimly at her. "You're not dead, ergo it wasn't your life she took."

Katherine stared at him uncomprehendingly as Severus slid a comforting arm over her shoulder.

"Luck of the devil, Kat. All the places she could have hit and she goes for the blindingly obvious," he said softly, placing his left hand over her heart. Katherine winced and tugged her shirt out of the way to inspect the skin in the center of her chest.

"What…?" She tore her gaze away from the black outline burned into her skin and stared beseechingly up at Severus. "You didn't…?"

Severus shook his head and slipped a hand under Katherine's collar, drawing out a glimmering silver chain. "I didn't make a horcrux either, Kat. Why on earth would I want eternal life when you keep nearly dying? Think I could live without you here to make it bearable?"

Katherine said nothing, only gazed down at the gleaming pendant he'd given her so many years ago. The two snakes, previously intertwined, now hung separately, their emerald eyes split into tiny shards.

"There must have been some charm on-" she tried, but Severus shook his head, fingers curling over the broken pendant.

"I had made from scratch, Katherine. A goblin owed Lucius a favour and I wanted to get you something special. There weren't any enchantments on it – it's just a necklace. It was just a necklace. It was taken off you when you went to Azkaban, right? Well the next time it was seen was in Godric's Hollow, the night after Voldemort killed the Potters. We thought he didn't make a horcrux that night because he didn't kill Harry, but any death will do; he must have created it when his curse rebounded. And then the necklace was lost…until you came back and tracked it down." He sighed, watching Katherine's intent expression. "Tell me, how long after you found the necklace again did you go to Robert for help? A month? Two? You'd been doing fine on your own up to that point, and suddenly you start thinking you can't handle things. Do you see, Kat? Do you believe us?"

Katherine said nothing, just gazed up at him with large, blue eyes, and then smiled a little.

"You do realise I would have been happy with chocolate, right?"

"Excuse me?"

"For Christmas," said Katherine, placing a warm hand on his cheek. "This thing must have cost you all your savings."

"Well, Lucius chipped in a bit," said Severus slowly. "Look, Kat, have you been listening to what we've been saying? That necklace is a horcrux - your father's horcrux. It's been poisoning you-"

Severus' words were abruptly cut off as Katherine leant forward and kissed him fiercely on the lips. After a moment she pulled back, leaning her forehead against his and looking into his dark eyes.

"I love you, Severus. You know that, right? Corrupted, crazy, evil, whatever I am. I love you. I will always love you. No matter what."

"I know," said Severus quietly, trying to gauge this new, eerily calm Katherine. "I love you, too."

Katherine smiled, then pulled away and looked at Robert. "I'm sorry I lied about Regulus' death. We've been friends a long time and you deserved the truth."

"And that would be?"

"He asked me to kill him. When Bella told me she'd been given orders to dispose of him, I went to see him right away. I don't know if I thought I could save him or what, but he told me about the horcruxes and made me swear to bring Tom down, and then Bella arrived and it was too late…" She stopped, gazing at the earthy ground despondently. "He asked me to do it. How was I supposed to refuse him when I've seen how Bella kills?"

Katherine looked up and met Robert's sad gaze. "You want forgiveness?" he asked.

"I want to know you understand."

"I do," said Robert quietly. "But if I say I don't, will you stay?"

"Stay?" cut in Severus, looking suddenly alarmed. "What do you mean 'stay'? She's not going anywhere. Are you?" he asked, looking to Katherine for confirmation. Katherine smiled crookedly, and Severus thought he saw tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.

"Love you, Sev. Hate him, more. Sorry."

"You're not going to- Katherine!" Severus lunged forward as Katherine vanished, and dug his hand into his pocket for his wand so he could disapparate and follow her.

"She took it," said Robert quietly, his voice sounding loud in the clearing. Severus whirled around to face his old friend with a furious expression on his face.

"She's gone to confront the Dark Lord."

"Yep."

"She's going to get herself killed!"

"Doesn't she always?"

"We've got to stop her. Come on!" Severus turned away and headed back through the trees towards the battlefield. Robert remained where he was a moment, resting his head back against the tree and gazing at the place where Katherine had disappeared, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Rob!"

"I'm coming," said Robert softly, heading after his friend. He caught up with Severus on the fringe of the battle and gave him a wan grin. "Ever think she might not want our help this time?"

"Does she seriously think we'd give her the choice? I'm not losing her again, Rob."

"Right then," said Robert, summoning a wand from a nearby corpse and handing it to Severus. He grinned sourly, brown eyes dark. "Death or glory it is."

x – X – x

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