Severus led Katrina to his quarters where she quietly helped him finish his last-minute packing. Once the last of his trunks were packed and shrunk, he looped an arm around her waist in front of his fireplace. "My wards are keyed only to me so you will have to floo through with me," he explained.

"Ok," she said softly, relaxing into his side.

In Albus' office, he had realized that – contrary to what his instincts told him – Katrina actually seemed calmer when he touched her. Considering what she had been through, he'd actually thought she would shy away from him.

Clutching her slightly tighter to him, he threw the floo powder into the fireplace and called out "Spinner's End." Stepping into the green flames, he closed his eyes for a moment against the spinning sensation. He hated to floo, but it was the easiest way to reach his home. He opened his eyes just as the spinning stopped and he had to help Katrina regain her balance.

"Sorry," she said apologetically, "It's been a long time since I've traveled that way."

"I would imagine so," he responded dryly, glancing around the tiny sitting room. Everything was covered in thin layer of dust. Considering he hadn't been here since the Christmas holidays and he didn't own a house-elf, he wasn't surprised. Taking in the appearance of his small home, he felt himself becoming slightly embarrassed.

The walls of the room were completely covered in books, bound in varying shades of dark leather. A candle-filled lamp illuminated the only furniture in the room – an old black armchair, a worn-out sofa, and a small round table. This was certainly a far cry from the bright, airy home he and Katrina had shared so many years ago.

"It's late," he said. More properly it was early as it was nearing two in the morning. "Let me show you to your room."

She gave him a small smile before he led her to one of the bookshelves. Pulling forward on one of the tomes on the right-hand side, the whole shelf swung forwards, revealing a spiral staircase beyond. This was even darker and gloomier than the sitting room and he was forced to cast Lumos so they could see the steps.

He silently led her to the second, and notably top, floor. There were only two bedrooms here and a single bathroom. The bedrooms occupied the left and right sides of the small hallway and the bathroom was at the end. He opened the left-hand door and led her inside. He himself never went into this room, so he wasn't very surprised when he saw that one of the legs of the bed had broken, leaving the bed canted at a precarious angle. The bed hangings were tattered – obviously moth-eaten. There were no blankets or pillows on the bed.

"I… I will have to transfigure some things for the time being," he said quietly. Having a very limited budget, he began trying to decide which things he would have to buy and which they would have to make do with.

"Can't we simply purchase some new things tomorrow?" she asked quietly.

He frowned slightly. He was loath to discuss his dismal financial situation with anyone – especially her. When they had been married, they had lived very comfortably. They had a good deal of money from both of their families and neither of them had really had to work at all. Now, though, his only money came from his teaching salary – and much of that money had to go to the upkeep of his two homes.

He moved to speak, but she – ever perceptive – beat him to it, "Are you… are you having money problems, Severus?"

He sniffed and glanced away, "The ministry decided to confiscate most of my belongings and money when I was sent to Azkaban. When I was released, they refused to return anything. The only things I had left were whatever I could squirrel away in my mother's family home before my arrest."

A hand was placed on his shoulder and he turned back to face her. "We're in this together," she began softly. "My money is your money."

"I said I wouldn't-"

"Abuse the bond," she finished for him. "That isn't what I meant. Even if it didn't legally belong to you, I would willingly give it to you."

"We will discuss this in the morning," he said firmly. "For now…" he made quick work of pulling down the bed hangings and transfiguring the scraps into warm blankets and pillows. "The bathroom is at the end of the hall. If you need anything, my room is across the hall." He made to leave, though a part of him wanted desperately to stay by her side.

"Sev?"

He stopped in the doorway and turned to face her. "Yes?"

"I… I haven't any other clothes here…" she said somewhat timidly.

"Oh," he said. He could transfigure something but… "I'll bring you something you can wear from my trunks." He quickly retreated to his own room, noting that the bedding here was in little better shape than in Katrina's room. He placed his trunks on the ground and restored them to their normal size. Fishing through them, he bypassed the robes and his own grey nightshirts. Reaching the bottom of his clothes trunk, he finally pulled out the over-sized t-shirt.

The owl bearing this 'gift' arrived a week after the Weasley twins pulled their massive prank – transforming a portion of hallway into a swamp – and left the school. He had been surprised to open the package and find this shirt and a short note from the boys. Only under threat of death would he ever admit that he had enjoyed the antics of the red-headed horrors.

Apparently, the feeling had been mutual, he mused as he glanced at the black 'Co-ed Naked Quidditch' t-shirt in his hands. He had cast every hex, curse, and prank detection spell on the shirt that he could think of. After exhausting every one of them, he realized that the gift was genuine. Although it was something he would never wear, he had been amused enough to keep the shirt. Now, he was quite glad that he had. He hoped that it would be sufficient for Katrina for the night. Tomorrow they could discuss finances and visit Diagon Alley.

He brought the shirt to Katrina's room. Before handing it to her, he gave her his best classroom-glare, "Before you say a word, bear in mind this was a gift from a pair of my students when they left." He handed it to her and added, "I hope that will be sufficient for tonight. I have nothing else suitable."

Katrina held up the shirt and began to giggle. She forcefully suppressed her laughter and hugged the shirt to her. "This is perfect, thank you Severus."

"You're welcome, Katrina. Good night." With that, he quickly retreated to his room, determined to try to sleep the memory of this day away.