"This afternoon," Katrina said, having recounted her many days of captivity – the meals, the return of her magic, and the training, "he told me that the day had finally arrived that he would bond me to one of his followers." She shivered slightly; Severus' arm around her shoulders was a comforting weight. She covered the hand on her shoulder with one of her own before continuing, "I bathed and dressed as he instructed and reluctantly returned to his study. At that point, he placed me under the Imperius curse.

"He took me to the sitting room as his guests arrived. I was fearful that I would be bonded to one of them. Before we went to the dining room, I watched him transfigure a coffee table into a long marble slab complete with manacles. I was not too naïve to know what that meant and I think that had I been free to do so, I would have risked trying to escape at that moment.

"I was kneeling at Voldemort's side when Severus arrived. I couldn't see him, but I recognized his voice immediately. Part of me was comforted by his presence and part of me was terrified by it. I was still afraid that I was to be given to one of the others, you understand, and I didn't want him to witness that.

"When I realized that it was Severus to whom I would be bonded… I was no longer afraid for myself. I felt… guilty…" she turned to face Severus, "I felt guilty that you would be bonded to me against your will."

He stroked a strand of hair from her face, "It will be okay, Katrina. We will deal with this as best we can. I will never use this bond against you. There may be times when we will have to assume the roles forced upon us, but that is all it will be – an act."

"How… how will we explain this to Maggie?" As she said it, she realized she hadn't even asked about her daughter before this. "Where is Maggie? Is she okay?"

"Your daughter is perfectly fine, Katrina," Albus responded. "She recovered her magic, probably at the same time you did. For the safety of all of you, she will spend the summer with another family. They have a son her age and a daughter a year younger than them. She will be safe, Katrina."

"I want to see her," Katrina said suddenly, turning to face the headmaster. "I need to see her."

"In due time," Albus said, nodding. "It will need to be done carefully. She is under a glamour and an assumed name and although Mr. and Mrs. Weasley know her true identity, their children do not – nor should they. Severus and a couple other professors will be tutoring her through the summer. Maggie has expressed an interest in attending Hogwarts with her peers, contingent upon the approval of her guardian." He glanced between Severus and Katrina, "The matter of Maggie's guardianship has become a bit muddied, though. Technically, you, Katrina are still her legal guardian, but due to the nature of this particular bond, Severus holds claim to any and all possessions – including children."

Katrina frowned and glanced at Severus, meeting his eyes. He shook his head slightly, "I did say I would not use this bond against you in any way. That includes your belongings and your-" he checked himself, "our daughter." He gently gripped her chin, "If you wish it, I will do what I can to release you from this situation. I would only hope that you would still allow me contact with Maggie."

Her eyes widened as she realized what he was saying, "But… but Voldemort would kill you!"

"Possibly," he acknowledged tonelessly.

"No, we'll find another way to deal with this," she said adamantly.

Severus nodded, "We should probably be going then."

"You will be going to Spinner's End, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," he said, rising and leading Katrina up. "It's where I told Lucius Malfoy I would be spending my summer, as always. It's not my first choice of places to take Katrina, but changing my plans would seem suspicious."

Katrina exchanged goodbyes with Dumbledore and began following Severus from the office when she suddenly remembered something. She stopped and turned back to face Dumbledore, "I forgot. Before Voldemort brought me out to the sitting room, after dinner, he forced me to drink a potion, but he didn't say what it was or what it was for. I don't know how I had forgotten that."

"Can you describe it?" Severus asked from behind her.

She paused a moment to gather her memories of it, knowing every detail could be important. "It was blue, cornflower blue. It had a consistency like watery oatmeal and tasted tropical, like…" she closed her eyes and tried to remember but it was difficult, having been under the Imperius at the time. "I think it was like coconut and pineapple… maybe a bit banana too… Sorry, but that's all I can remember." She opened her eyes again, "I wish I could remember more…"

"Severus, do you recognize it?" Albus asked, the twinkle absent from his eyes.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I will have to research it, but she's given me enough information that I should be able to find it easily."

Albus nodded, "When you find out what it was, please tell me."

"Of course. Good night, Headmaster."

"Good night, children," Albus said, forcing Katrina to smile. She supposed that next to Albus, most people were children.