Summary of part B: Severus was forced to rape Katrina in front of the Dark Lord's guests; Lucius, Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Dolohov. At the conclusion of the deed, Voldemort placed another mark on Severus' left wrist and Katrina's right wrist – a tattoo of a green and black coiled snake.
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He was aware of his 'master' releasing Katrina from the table and her moving shakily to her feet. The other Death Eaters, the audience he had all but forgotten about, were rising as well. The marble slab was transfigured back into the heavy wooden coffee table it had originally been. He pulled on his second boot and straightened. He was dressed only in his shirt and trousers, his robe still in a pile on the floor. He noted that Katrina's robe was nowhere in sight, so he turned to her and said in his best classroom voice, "Put that on." He kicked it towards her, turning away from her as she picked it up.
"Ssseverusss, I have keyed her collar to you, ssso you may replaccce it with sssomething more to your liking. She isss well trained and I don't expect you to have much trouble with her."
He heard a rustle of fabric and gave a brief glance to his side where Katrina now knelt. "My Lord," he replied, kneeling before his 'master' and bending to kiss the hem of his robes, "You have honored me here today. My life and my loyalty are yours, as always."
"Ssstand, Ssseverusss. Care for her well, my loyal sssnake. She isss pure-blooded and that isss a rare commodity thessse daysss."
Snape dropped his hand to Katrina's head and idly stroked her hair. "My Lord, may I beg your leave? There is to be a final staff meeting later this evening and my absence would surely be noted."
"Of courssse," he hissed in reply. "I wouldn't want that idiot, Dumbledore, to grow sssussspiciousss of my ssspy in hisss midssst."
Snape, gave a small bow to the Dark Lord, nodded to each of the other Death Eaters, and finally turned to Katrina. "Come along, pet." He turned and strode from the room, desperately fighting to hold all of his walls together long enough to get both him and Katrina safely to Hogwarts.
Reaching the edge of the anti-apparition wards surrounding Malfoy Manor, he stopped and grabbed Katrina's arm in an iron grasp. He hurriedly apparated them to the edge of the wards at Hogwarts.
"Severus," Katrina's voice quietly began.
He turned on her, "Silence!" He glanced around them quickly before roughly pulling her along with him to the castle. Only when they were inside and the doors were closed behind them did he release her arm. "Follow me," he said, striding in the direction of the Headmaster's office. 'Merlin, I can't even look at her right now! How will she ever forgive me? And Maggie! I have to tell her that her mother's alive, but how could I ever explain the rest of it?'
He drew to a halt before the gargoyle leading to Dumbledore's office and scowled, "Canary Creams." The gargoyle moved aside, revealing the revolving staircase. He knocked on Dumbledore's door the moment he reached it.
"Come in!" Albus' too-cheery voice carried clearly.
He opened the door, thinking 'You forgave me once, old friend; I hope you can do so again.' "Albus, I-"
He was cut off when Albus stood up, "Katrina?"
Severus turned to look at her and found her pale and shaking. Gently taking her arm, he led her over to one of the chairs facing Dumbledore's desk. Once she was seated, he turned back to face the headmaster. He opened his mouth to speak, glanced again at his wrist and the new mark emblazoned upon it, and closed his mouth. He walked slowly towards the side of Albus' desk, at which point he fell to his knees, "Forgive me, Albus."
Albus sat back down in his chair, bringing them close to eye level, "My poor boy. I will forgive you if I can, Severus, but you must tell me what has happened."
Raising his left arm, he pulled the sleeve up slightly and showed the snake to his mentor. "He…" he took a shaky breath, "he bonded us, Albus, and I'm not quite sure why."
"A pet bond, Severus?" Albus asked, his voice soft and apologetic.
Silently, Severus nodded, "There… there was nothing I could do to stop it without risking both of our lives."
"Oh, my son," Albus said, raising a hand which he cupped on the side of Severus' face. "You did what you must. Come now, go sit with Katrina. I will order some dinner for all of us, and Katrina can tell us what has happened to her since she disappeared."
Doing as Albus said, he watched as Albus stood and moved to the fireplace where Severus heard him first ordering dinner and then calling for Poppy. He couldn't hear everything he said to Poppy through the floo connection, but he assumed Albus was advising her which potions she would need to bring with her.
Poppy arrived first, stepping out of the fireplace just as Albus sat down again. She moved first to Severus, handing him a small vial containing a cornflower blue potion. "A calming draught, Poppy?"
"You will drink that potion Severus Snape, or I will petrify you and pour it down your throat. And before you ask, yes, it's one of yours."
He slowly drank the contents of the vial, watching as Poppy ran a diagnostic spell over Katrina. Kat was scowling and muttering, "I'm fine, damn it." Poppy, however, simply ignored her and continued.
Severus saw the exact moment Poppy discovered the extent of Katrina's injuries as the fleeting look of anger crossed her features before being replaced by the medi-witch's more passive look. He watched Katrina swallow a healing draught and a stronger calming draught than the one he'd been given.
"Well, Poppy?" Dumbledore softly inquired.
"She's in perfect health, Headmaster. But there is evidence of rape," she concluded in a sad voice. "Her magic levels appear a bit low and I'm not sure what accounts for that."
"I believe that we can safely say that is a result of the collar she is sporting, isn't that right Severus?" Albus asked.
Snape hung his head slightly, "Yes, Headmaster. I am expected to… replace it with something of my own liking. I can assure you that it will not contain that particular enchantment." He turned to face Poppy, "As for her… rape," he almost choked on the word. "I am afraid I am responsible for that."
At his words, Katrina's eyes filled with tears and she shakily stood and approached him. "Sev… I… I don't blame you for what happened."
"But Katrina, I-" her finger on his lips cut his words off.
"No," she said firmly. "If you hadn't… Voldemort would have killed you. I'm… in a way, I'm glad it was you. He told me… he said I was going to one of his followers, but I never dreamed it would be you. I was so afraid!"
Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her head to his chest. Her head fit comfortably under his chin and all he could do was hold her. One hand gently stroked her back in a comforting manner as she sobbed into his chest. He paid little attention to the others in the room, catching only meaningless fragments of their conversation. What was important was the woman in his arms. He was determined to protect her from now on, if she would allow him to. If she wouldn't allow it, he would release her and he would deal with the repercussions.
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as her crying began to end. Without releasing her, he gently led her to one of Dumbledore's chairs. The Headmaster transfigured it into a loveseat as they reached it and Severus gave the old man a small smile as he maneuvered Katrina to sit beside him.
Dumbledore finished his conversation with Poppy, reminding her of the need for the utmost secrecy in this and thanking her for her time. The mediwitch flooed back to her own rooms, leaving the three of them alone.
"Katrina, dear, do you feel up to telling us what has befallen you since you disappeared?" Albus asked, conjuring a pot of tea and three cups. He filled the cups and waved two of them over to the pair on the loveseat.
"Yes," Katrina said softly. "It's probably better if I get this over with now."
Severus placed a gentle arm around Katrina's shoulders and gave her arm a gentle squeeze, "He can't hurt you anymore. I won't let anyone hurt you again," he quietly vowed. That said, Katrina began to tell of her days and nights as Voldemort's 'guest.'
