Katrina and Samantha sat down together on the couch in the living room of the Weasley family. Katrina was nervous about this discussion, since she needed Samantha to understand that what had happened wasn't Severus' fault. She also didn't really want to get too in-depth regarding her treatment at Voldemort's hand.
"I don't even know where to begin, Mag- Samantha," Katrina said, still taking in the subtle changes in her daughter's appearance. She silently repeated her daughter's assumed name a dozen times. She would have to get used to it as quickly as she could for all of their sakes.
"Uhm, my father said you had been, uh, kidnapped by Voldemort?"
Nodding, Katrina said, "Yes. I was taken by one of his followers and brought to him."
"Did… did he torture you?" Samantha asked hesitantly.
"A little," she said honestly, "But not as badly as I had expected. The… the most 'painful' thing was what he forced Severus to do to me." Katrina stopped, hoping her daughter wouldn't ask while fully knowing she would.
"What did he do?"
"You remember how we discussed that your father is a spy for Dumbledore, right? Sometimes he is forced to do things he would otherwise never do…"
"Mum! Whatever it is that he did, I know he would never intentionally hurt you or me. Just… tell me, okay?"
Katrina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She spoke softly and as evenly as she could as she said, "He was forced to rape me and then Voldemort bound us together magically." She pulled up her right sleeve and turned her arm so Samantha could see the snake, "That mark is proof of Severus' ownership of me. Voldemort used a master/slave bond on us. This collar is there to inhibit my magic, but Severus said he will replace it with one that doesn't." She finally opened her eyes and met the tear-filled eyes of her daughter. She swiped at her own tears before pulling her daughter close.
"Oh, mum," Samantha said quietly. "I was so afraid that you were dead. No one could find you…"
"I'm okay, Mag- er, Samantha, sweetie. Severus is being very good about this whole thing. He is a good man, Samantha. He's promised not to use this bond against me, which is more than he has to do. He could take everything I own, he could take guardianship over you, and he could do whatever he pleases with me."
She gave her daughter a small smile as she ran a hand through the girl's auburn hair, "So, I see you're calling him father now."
"Mmm, yeah," Samantha said softly with a small blush. "Well, you're right, he is a good man. I'm glad he's my father. He even let Harry teach me magic. Oh! I forgot to tell you, father took me to get my wand!" She reached into her pocket and pulled it out.
Katrina looked over it wonderingly. Her daughter was reverently holding an ornate wand. It was a sight she'd never dreamed she'd see. "Oh, Samantha, it's very beautiful. I'm so happy for you," she said earnestly.
"Father says if I study really hard that I can go to Hogwarts. I got my invitation letter and I've already been sorted. I'm going to be in father's house," she said proudly. Samantha's smile suddenly faded, "Uh, mum, father said that I could attend Hogwarts, but only if you said it was okay…"
Katrina took a deep breath. She was torn between wanting her daughter to learn magic and wanting to spirit her daughter away for her own safety. She was also unsurprised but slightly disappointed that her daughter was going to be in Slytherin, but she knew Severus would watch over the girl. "You may, if your father deems you ready to attend."
"Thanks, mum. I'm going to spend this whole summer studying and I'll have tutors every day." Samantha glanced back at her mother's wrist and at the tattoo which was still exposed. "What are the qualities of that bond you mentioned? I mean, I assume there's more to it than simply a mark of… ownership."
Katrina racked her brain for what she could remember of bond-types. "Master/slave bonds have been illegal for over a hundred years now, so all I know of them is what I learned in my History of Magic classes, and those were a long time ago. From what I recall, they used to be a form of punishment. People who had been found guilty of a crime were bound to a law-abiding citizen. Their magic was inhibited through the use of an enchanted collar. I don't really remember what the bond itself entails. The library at Hogwarts probably has a book on the different types of magical bonds."
"Can it be removed?" Samantha asked.
"I don't believe so. If I remember correctly, it can be replaced by another type of bond – and there are several. Most bonds can not be broken – except by death – and are not something to be lightly entered into. Many witches and wizards today choose to forgo magical bonding completely when they marry."
"Were you and father bonded when you married?" Samantha asked quietly.
"Oh, yes," Katrina said with a smile. "My parents wouldn't let us do anything less, though both your father and I desired it anyway. The bond itself broke when I… lost my magic. I can only assume it was why your father believed me dead."
She paused and gave her daughter a mischievous smile, "So, Harry was teaching you magic, hmm?"
Samantha, predictably, blushed scarlet, "Uhm, yeah… He… well, he kissed me again, and he told me he loves me," her voice dropped to a near whisper.
Katrina smiled, "Does your father know about that?"
"Oh, yeah," Samantha said, blushing even more. "Harry kissed me when he said goodbye for the summer. We were in father's rooms and he was right there…"
Kat laughed, imagining how Severus must have hated that. "How did your father take it?"
Her daughter shrugged, "He told me the summer would pass quickly and he didn't say any more about it."
Eyes growing huge, she gaped at her daughter, "Are you kidding? Severus Snape didn't remark on his daughter kissing the son of James Potter! I need a calendar and a marker!" Laughing she stood up and turned towards the kitchen. "Oh Severus?" she called in a sweet voice.
Her husband emerged a moment later looking pale and her plan to tease him disappeared. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, approaching him.
His masks came back up, shuttering his emotions away from view. "I'm fine." He glanced at Samantha and then back at her, "You called?"
"Oh," she responded softly. She searched for a legitimate reason for having called him. "Yes, I wanted to discuss Mag- Samantha's tutoring with you."
He took a chair opposite the couch. "What about it?"
"Well… what courses will she be tutored in?" Katrina asked quickly, re-taking her own seat on the couch.
"Her schedule will be as follows; Monday will be Professor Vector in Arithmancy, Tuesdays will be Professor Flitwick and Charms, Wednesdays I will tutor her for Potions, Thursdays will be Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, and Fridays will be Defense Against the Dark Arts – once again with me as her tutor. Lessons will run from 8 in the morning until 1PM. Her afternoons and weekends will be devoted to writing homework and reading for other subjects. She will be required to read texts for History of Magic, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. She will be routinely tested in all of those subjects."
"And you think she can reach the level of her peers?" Kat asked.
"She has shown an aptitude for Transfiguration and Defense already. Her early potions work with me was also quite good. I believe that, if she puts her heart into it, that she can at least get close enough to her peers to enter Hogwarts at their level." He glanced out the sole window in the room and noted the height of the sun. The day was drawing on and they still had to go to Diagon Alley. "Katrina," he said, gracefully rising from his chair, "We should be going now."
Katrina and Samantha both rose. Samantha hugged both her mother and father before excusing herself for her studies. Alone with her husband, Katrina noted he wasn't as pale now as he had been upon entering the room, but he still looked tired.
"Molly!" Severus called, bringing the older woman into the living room. "May we use your floo?"
"Of course, dear, of course. The floo powder is in that little bowl on the mantle."
"Come here, Katrina," he told her, the fingers of his left hand unconsciously rubbing on the snake tattoo. She had been about to speak to Mrs. Weasley when he'd said that and she suddenly found herself silently moving to his side. Once there, she swore, "Bloody hell! Don't do that!"
Both Mrs. Weasley and Severus stared at her, uncomprehending. "Do what?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Whatever he just did," she pointed angrily at Severus, "compelled me to obey him immediately."
"I did nothing," Severus said, slightly aggrieved.
"You did something!" Katrina asserted. "I was about to say my goodbyes to Mrs. Weasley but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything except what you had told me."
Severus was silent, obviously lost in thought. "I want to try something. Kiss me."
Katrina looked at him, puzzled, "What?"
"Hmm," he said. She watched him raise his right hand and his left thumb came in contact with the snake tattoo, "Kiss me."
Suddenly, the only thing important in the whole world was getting her lips onto his. He returned the kiss for only a moment before her senses returned to her. She wrenched herself away, "You did it again!"
"And for the last time, I assure you," he replied gently. "I think we've discovered one aspect of the bond."
Katrina shivered. The feeling of being totally in thrall to him was one she never wanted to experience again. It was almost worse that the Imperius curse. At least under the curse you knew your actions weren't your own. With this, until the order had been obeyed, the slave would be completely unaware that their actions and emotions weren't their own.
A hand gently touched her shoulder, drawing her attention back to him, "I apologize, Katrina. The first time, I was unaware of what I was doing and the second was simply to confirm it so that I may avoid it in the future. There may come a time when we will have to feign what happened here today, but I will never use this on you again if I can help it."
She wordlessly nodded, still too angry and wired up to speak. She gave Mrs. Weasley a small smile as Severus drew her close in preparation for flooing.
"Good day, Molly," Severus said before he turned and threw a handful of floo powder into the hearth. "Diagon Alley," he called out, pulling Katrina forward as the green flames rose forth.
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A/N: Updating may become slightly less frequent (but no less than twice a week!) As you may have noticed, my chapters have been getting a bit longer lately.