Katrina glanced around the mostly-empty Great Hall as she poked at her breakfast. Earlier in the morning the train had departed, taking students home to their families for Christmas break. Arrangements had again been made with the Weasley family for 'Samantha' to stay with them. Severus had reassured both mother and daughter that they would be together for Christmas day, but he didn't say where. He proclaimed it was to be a surprise.
One hand drifted down to her pronounced stomach. She was entering her seventh month of pregnancy now and she was almost larger now then she'd been at the end of her pregnancy with Maggie. So far, though, she had been less uncomfortable than her previous pregnancy. She was sure some of that was due to the surprising tenderness of her husband.
When she had complained of her feet swelling, he had positioned her on the couch with her feet in his lap and he had rubbed them. When she'd had trouble sleeping, he'd put together a mild potion that would be safe for her to take. Every morning he escorted her to her classroom and he would return to bring her to lunch in the Great Hall. He never mentioned her discomfort, but the little gestures he made said it all.
He wasn't the only one, of course. Her older students often offered their help and she'd had countless offers of babysitting. The other professors also made a point of asking about her well-being.
All in all, it was a far cry from her first pregnancy. Then, she'd been mostly alone in an unfamiliar world and feeling quite helpless. The occasional visits from Albus and Minerva had certainly helped, but it had still been a terrifying and depressing time of her life. Her spirits rose after Maggie was safely born and declared to be healthy.
Her thoughts were yanked to the present when the post-owls flew into the hall. Severus' raven, Athena, winged her way to them, depositing their copy of the Daily Prophet between them. An unfamiliar eagle owl also winged its way towards them, coming to finally perch on the back of her husband's chair.
The black eyes of the raven focused on the owl and Athena gave a disgruntled caw before taking wing again. Katrina glanced at Severus, surprised to see an angry scowl on his face as he glared at the still-sealed letter the owl had delivered. She leaned closer to him so she could speak unheard by anyone else, "Sev?"
His head turned and she met his dark questioning gaze.
"Is everything alright?" she asked softly. She flicked her gaze to the owl still perched on his chair and then back to Severus' eyes.
He turned his head to glare at the owl before raising a hand and shooing it away. He turned back to her and shook his head slightly. He finally glanced down at the letter in his hands and Katrina watched as he silently opened it and read it.
Impossibly, his scowl became more pronounced. Suddenly, he refolded the letter and stood up. He finally spoke to her, "Are you finished eating?" His voice was cold and she involuntarily shivered.
"Yes," she responded simply. She wanted to ask what had come over him, but she knew better than to do so in the Great Hall in front of the other professors. She pushed her chair out and carefully levered herself up. She accepted his help when she swayed slightly. Her center of balance was off and had been for a couple of weeks now.
He led her from the Great Hall, one of his hands on the small of her back. They walked in silence all the way to 'her quarters' as it was the closest entrance to their shared rooms. Once inside, she expected him to want to descend to the dungeon portion, but instead he drew her over to the couch, pulling her down beside him. He wrapped an arm around her back, his hand landing on her stomach.
"Sev, love, you're scaring me," she said quietly. "What is the matter?"
"I received a letter from Narcissa Malfoy. We've been… invited to an early Christmas dinner this evening."
"Invited?" she questioned, having heard the stress he'd placed on the word.
"The letter was an invitation, but the wording of it says that it is anything but. There are certain phrases which indicate that the Dark Lord will be in attendance," he responded softly.
Katrina swallowed and nodded slightly. She glanced down at the pale, long-fingered hand on her stomach. Glancing back up at him, she gave him a small smile, "I'm sure it will be alright, Sev."
The hand not on her stomach rose to her neck, ghosting lightly over the collar which she always hid with high necked robes. "I hate to see you forced into that role," he said.
"Just as I hate seeing you in yours," she remarked, her own hand tracing his left hand on her stomach. "It's only one night, Severus, and I seriously doubt he will do anything to harm me or our sons: not after all the trouble he's gone through to arrange this."
His hand tightened slightly on her stomach and she splayed hers over his, intertwining their fingers. She could feel the tension in his body beside her and she smiled, "I can think of better things to do than sitting around worrying about things we can't change…"
"Oh?" he questioned, the hand on her stomach beginning to move in small circles.
She twisted her upper body as much as she could and leaned into him, answering him with a kiss.
Seven hours later, Katrina was putting the finishing touches to her hair. She could hear Severus finishing his shower. After their morning had been spent shagging all over Sev's rooms, they'd decided it was probably best if they showered separately. Her mind wandered back to their morning and she became aroused just remembering it.
"Are you ready yet?"
His voice cut into her thoughts, forcing her to remember that they had to leave soon if they were to arrive on time. She turned away from the mirror to face him, "Yes, Severus, I'm ready."
She looked him over, deciding that her husband cleaned up rather nicely. He was wearing silver-trimmed dress robes along with his newly-purchased black dragon-hide boots. His clean hair was pulled back and clipped at the nape of his neck with a silver clasp. He gave her a small smile and she realized that his teeth were quite white. Casting her mind back, she recognized that they had gradually been whitening. He was, she decided, just as handsome to her now as he'd been when they were younger.
She turned to take a quick glance at herself in the mirror. She took in the forest green robes which they had recently purchased. The robes fell gracefully over her distended abdomen and flared out just below it. The neckline of the robes was a low curve which just highlighted the top of her cleavage, leaving her leather collar in view. She'd tied her hair back into a simple ponytail, leaving most of it to cascade free over her shoulders. She'd applied a minimum of makeup, just enough to highlight her natural coloring.
He approached behind her and she met his eyes in the mirror as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're beautiful," he breathed, leaning in to place a kiss on her neck above the collar, "and you're all mine."
She leaned into him, "Yes, yours."
Without moving his lips from her neck, he raised his wand and tapped it to the Tiger's eye of her collar, reapplying the magic suppression. "We should go now," he said, lifting his head but not removing his hands.
She turned, reluctantly breaking his grip on her, "Yes, we should." She grabbed her heavy winter cloak as he donned his.
He placed a hand on the small of her back and she followed him from the castle and beyond the anti-apparition wards. Once to a secluded spot, he gave her a quick kiss. "I love you," he whispered before the tug of apparition took Katrina's breath away.
When she could breathe again, his hand on her arm steadied her before he pulled away completely. "Follow me, pet," he said before he turned to walk away.
She mechanically did as he said, her mind still replaying his words to her. 'I love you' he'd said. It was the first time he'd said those words aloud since they'd found each other. Oh, he said it in many other ways (foot rubs, small touches, the whitening of his teeth), but never aloud.
She kept her eyes on him, though occasionally she glanced down to make sure nothing would trip her. The appearance of lights ahead of them drew her attention and she gazed at Malfoy Manor. This, she knew, was where they had been bonded together just months ago. She shivered slightly but she knew it had nothing to do with the cold night around her.
They entered the Manor without knocking, an elf appearing before them immediately. "Pet, remove my cloak," Severus said, standing stock still. She moved to him and quickly removed his cloak, handing it to the waiting elf before removing her own. The elf disappeared under his heavy burden and Narcissa Malfoy appeared in a doorway off the foyer.
"Ah, Severus," she said with a smile. "Come in. Dinner is almost ready." She disappeared back into the room and Severus followed her, Katrina staying close behind him.
They entered the dining room and Katrina risked a quick glance up, noting that it was considerably more crowded than their last visit here. Dozens were seated around the long table. There was a low hum of conversation. She kept her eyes on Severus' feet before her as he navigated around the table before coming to a stop. She didn't miss the cushion placed at the feet of the chair he stood behind. She winced at the thought of trying to kneel but she silently began moving to do so. A hand on her arm arrested her movements and she glanced up at Severus.
"No," he said quietly, turning his head to scan the table. "Stay here," he ordered her, stepping away and moving down the table.
She nervously stood there with her head bowed and her eyes on the ground, counting the seconds until Severus returned to her side. She reached fifty-three before his familiar presence returned. His wand was drawn and pointed at the cushion, transfiguring it into a small chair half the height of his own. It wasn't much better physically, she thought as she maneuvered herself onto it, but it was a whole world better than having to kneel at his feet.
His chair moved out and then he was seated beside her. His right hand lowered to stroke through her hair for a moment before his neighbor engaged him in conversation. The hand disappeared and the sound of silverware clattering joined the cacophony of spoken voices.
It was difficult to pick out any conversations beyond the one going on above her head between Severus and the man to his right. "…your pet?"
"Our Lord trained her," Severus said, obviously responding to what had been the other man's question. "She is rather well trained, of course."
"And yet, I have heard it said that she is a teacher at Hogwarts?" the man responded.
A tone of disgust colored Sev's voice as he answered, "Yes, our fake 'marriage' was not enough for Dumbledore to allow her to reside with me. I couldn't allow her to live unsupervised. I also didn't see any reason why she couldn't earn her keep."
A plain roll was lowered to her and she accepted it from Sev with a muttered, "Thank you, Master."
"I am amazed that that old Muggle Lover hasn't called the Aurors on you because of the bond."
"Do you think that I flaunt my possession of her in public?" Severus asked derisively. "Dumbledore is blissfully unaware of the nature of the bond between us. That fool sees what he wants to see. I showed him a falsified document saying that I am married to my pet, and he was only to happy to believe it."
The two of them were silent for some time, the only noise from above being that of silverware on china. The woman on Severus' left now addressed him, "You have heard that our Lord has taken a pet of his own, have you not?"
"I had not yet heard that," Severus replied neutrally. "As you may know, my visits to our Lord are limited during the school year."
"He bonded with her only a couple of weeks after you received yours," she continued.
The man on Severus' right added, "Although his isn't nearly as lovely as yours."
A goblet of water was handed to Katrina and she accepted it from Severus with another muttered word of thanks. His hand returned a moment later to take the now-empty goblet from her. She noticed that Severus didn't respond on the topic of Voldemort having a 'pet' of his own. Instead, the topic shifted to the latest gossip about the actions of the Ministry of Magic and Severus continued handing her small pieces of his dinner.
A short while later, a sweet-roll was handed to her and she accepted it, realizing that this was Severus' way of letting her know that the meal was winding down. She dearly hoped it meant they would be leaving soon.