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The Potion Mistress and the Half-Blood Prince	By : FonzFan Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > General Views: 2096 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: See full disclaimers on each chapter

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people (Dumbledore, Snape, Voldemort, etc), places (Hogwarts, etc), other keywords (Occlumency, etc.), and text ("") that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. I am writing this story to entertain myself (and hopefully others) and make no money from it. The OC (Katherine) is entirely my own.

Chapter 14: Road to Recovery
Severus froze on the spot; his eyes trying to focus through the dimly-lit bedroom.
"Sev?" the soft voice came again, so soft that he barely even heard it. Severus slowly made his way towards the queen-sized bed and gingerly sat down on the edge.
He looked down upon Katherine's face and breathed a sigh of relief. For there, through the faint orange glow in the room, he made out Katherine's blue eyes staring back up at him.
"Katherine," he breathed. "How do you feel?" Silently, Severus lit the room a little brighter, in order to check her over.
"A little sore. Tired." Katherine said quietly. "And a tad hungry." Her eyes lazily followed Severus' wand, as he slowly traced it down her body. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" he asked, pausing from his work to look at her face. "Do you remember being summoned? Or the mission?" She shook her head, with a frown on her face.
"No. What happened to me?" Katherine asked as she held Severus' glaze.
"You were summoned to the Dark Lord's side," Severus stated, as he continued his examination. "I do not know much about the mission, but when I found you the next morning, you were lying in a pool of blood, barely alive."
"What do you know about the mission?" she asked, watching his expression closely.
"Only that you were summoned, along with Bellatrix," he stated, as he began working on her right knee. "You obtained your injuries only after you had left headquarters to come back to Hogwarts. Also, Bellatrix apparently knows what happened to you."
"Bellatrix?" a frown came across Katherine's face as she went deep into thought. Severus worked for several more moments before he heard a low growl emerge from Katherine. "Bellatrix."
"I take it that you remember then?" Severus asked as he looked up and rose an eyebrow in her direction. But Katherine didn't reply, and her scowl only deepened.
"I'LL KILL HER!" she yelled as she tried to sit up, but doubled over in pain. "Merlin. How bad am I?"
"I tell you once you have told me what exactly happened that night," Severus stated, glaring into her blue eyes.
"Fine," Katherine retorted. "But it will be faster and easier to show you." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at the ceiling.
"Alright, have it your way then," Severus said, as he moved to help Katherine into a sitting position. "Ready?"
"Of course," Katherine nodded.
"Legilimens!" Severus entered her mind with as much care as possible. Katherine may had come out of her unconsciousness easily, but he didn't want to risk any further damage.
Katherine brought forth everything from that disastrous night; the failure with the seer; the duel with the Aurors; the Dark Lord's punishment; the duel with Bella; and finally arriving back at Hogwarts.
Severus eased out her mind as gently as he could. He kept his face impassive, but on the inside there was disgust and anger. Disgust towards Bellatrix and her cruelty; the anger towards Albus for letting his niece walk back into the darkness again. His black eyes remained focused on her blue ones as he began to tell her the extent of her injuries.
"You had three broken ribs, a broken wrist, a cracked hip, a shattered right knee, a punctured lung, multiple deep cuts, substantial bruising and a concussion," he said, as his eyes never left hers.
"Bloody hell!" Katherine growled. "Anything else?"
"Just a lot of blood loss, but otherwise nothing."
"What of my knee then?"
"I removed the bone fragments and gave you Skele-Gro," Severus stated as he handed her the two vials. "Drink these."
"Strengthening solution and blood replenisher," she stated.
"What else," Severus said, as he watched her down the two liquids. "I told Albus that you were down with the flu."
"Did he try to visit?" Katherine asked hesitantly, then sighed in relief as Severus shook his head.
"No," Severus said. "I told him not to risk getting himself sick in the process."
"Who's taken my classes then?"
"Slughorn," Severus said in disgust. "And he's been boasting about having the potion-genius Chosen One under his wing."
"Horace is back?" Katherine's lip turned upwards as her frown deepened. "Just what Potter needs. More hot air to fill that ego of his."
"My thoughts exactly," Severus retorted, then sighed. "Can I get you anything?"
"I'm still a wee-bit hungry and I believe I could be in use of the loo," she said, shifting herself carefully to the edge of the bed. "How long was I out for?"
"Eleven days, and I should warn you, your right knee is going to be extremely stiff and sore for awhile," Severus said as he conjured up a cane, then silently moved to help her off the bed and to the loo.
"Thank you Sev," Katherine said as they reached the bathroom door. "I can take it from here." She offered him a soft smile before slipping into the bathroom and closing the door.
Severus stared at the door for a moment, then returned to his chair near the bed with a sigh. Silently he cast his patronus and sent it to Albus with the news of Katherine's awakening.

"Bloody hell that hurts," Katherine said, gritting her teeth.
"Quit griping," Severus demanded, as he slowly forced her right knee towards her chest. Katherine was lying upon the floor with Severus kneeling beside her. "You and I both know that potions can do only so much, and it is up to the drinker to regain the movement of the joint."
"Yeah, I know," Katherine clenched her jaw. "But it still bloody hurts." Her hands gripped the rug beneath her. Severus shook his head at her language, as he slowly brought her leg back into a lying position.
It had been five days since she had woken up. Progress on regaining movement in her knee was slow, but progress none-the-less. Katherine still needed the use of the cane while walking, but she was starting to slightly bend the knee again as she walked.
"Your knee isn't as stiff as it was a few days ago," Severus stated as he started the exercise again. "And I'm put much more force on it as well."
"Great," Katherine said sarcastically. "When will I be able to go back to teaching?"
"Probably another week," Severus said, as he put a little more force on her knee as it hovered over her chest. "I told Albus that your 'fever' broke and you were getting better. He expects you back next week, but only teaching part time."
"PART TIME!" she yelled as she pushed Severus away from her and sat up quickly. "What do you mean part time?"
"I told him that the 'illness' had weakened you, and he said that Horace will continue to teach the fifth, sixth and seventh years, while you take the first through fourth years," Severus explained as he stood up and brushed himself off.
"I'm not sharing my classroom with that walrus," Katherine huffed angrily, as Severus helped her up off the floor. "You know how that man is. Unorganized! Plus, I'm sure my uncle is doing this only to protect his precious Potter."
"More than likely," Severus said, as he helped her to a chair in front of the fire. "Speaking of Slughorn, this came for you." Severus handed Katherine an envelope, as he sat down in the opposite chair.
Slowly, Katherine open the letter and began to read. Severus watched her reaction as she read. Her face scowled at the paper in front of her, before she crumbled it up and threw it into the fire.
"I assume my uncle granted his request for this?" Katherine asked as she stared into the fire.
"One would only assume so," Severus stated, watching her closely.
"Are you going?"
"I am only going to keep an eye on our godson," Severus said as he stood up, "I believe he has been invited as well due to the fact that he is in the N.E.W.T. Potions class. Will you be going?"
"If I must," Katherine sighed, then looked up at him with a smirk. "I'll need an escort though."
"Very well," Severus said, as he raised an eyebrow towards her. "I'll tell Slughorn to expect us. But for now, I'll have to leave; I have a class in ten minutes. So I will see you after dinner tonight and we will discuss tomorrow night further."
"Sounds fine," Katherine said as she watched him walk to the door.
"And keep doing your exercises," Severus said over his shoulder as he reached the main door.
"Yes, Healer Snape," Katherine voice dripped with sarcasm. Severus mockingly glared at her before slipping out of the room and down the hall.

Saturday night came all to quickly for Katherine. Luckily her leg was moving better, but she still had to use her wand to help with her clothes and buttons. Having decided to wear her everyday frock, white blouse and skirt; she did her hair with the wave of her wand and sat to wait for six o'clock.
At six sharp, there was a knock on the door. Katherine rose slowly from her chair and walked, with the help of her ebony cane that Severus conjured, to the door.
"Right on time," Katherine smirked at the man on the other side of the threshold.
"Ready to go?" Severus asked, as he held out his right arm to her.
"Of course," she said, excepting his arm and linking it with hers. The two walked in silence down the hall and headed towards the fourth floor teachers' quarters.
The fourth floor hallway had been decorated with floating red paper lanterns that lead all the way to Slughorn's office. The sounds of laughter, music and loud conversation grew louder with every step they took towards the office door.
Severus rolled his eyes and snorted lightly at the sounds, as he gingerly guided Katherine to the door. As they entered the room, they noticed the ceiling and walls had been draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings. The crowd was so thick that it instantly became stuffy and the red light of the room came from an ornate golden lamp dangling from the center of the room. A haze hung in the air from pipe smoke and house-elves carried heavy platters of food around the room.
"Severus, Katherine," Slughorn boomed. "Good to see you both. Delighted to hear you are feeling better Ms. Dumbledore. Still a bit pale though, and by the looks of it, your old Quidditch injury is acting up again, I see."
"Unfortunately, having spent nearly two weeks in a bed, my old injury tends to stiffen up quite a bit," Katherine said, raising her chin a little, while tightening her hold on Severus' arm.
"Well, go on both of you," Slughorn said, pushing them towards the center of the room. "Eat! Drink! Converse! Worple there you are!" He bellowed, leaving the two alone again, but not for long.
"Severus? Katherine?" The quiet voice came from behind them. They turned to see a short wizard cowering behind his camera. "Horace would like everyone's picture, if you please." The little bi-focal wizard snapped the camera quickly then scurried away to the next group.
"Who in Merlin's name was that, and how did he know our names?" Katherine turned and asked Severus.
"Doesn't surprise me that you don't remember Adrian," Severus smirked as he snatched two glasses of elf-made wine from the nearest passing tray. "He was in the Slug Club and graduated with us."
"Adrian, of course," Katherine mentally slapped herself as she accepted the glass of wine from Severus. "Still looks like the same little skinny blighter that he was back then."
"Indeed," Severus said as he glanced around the room. "I don't see Draco yet."
"Neither do I," Katherine said, as she sipped her wine. "Probably just running late."
"Hopefully," Severus said, still glancing back and forth from the door to the tables. "He won't be able to do anything tonight though since the Headmaster is away from the school."
"Away?"
"Indeed," said Severus, sipping his wine. "Though I'm not sure where he's gone…" But Severus was cut short as Slughorn grabbed his shoulder and pulled the two of them towards at small group.
"Stop skulking you two and come and join us!" Horace slurred. "Just talking about Harry's impressive potion-making! Some credit must go to the both of you though, since you ,Severus, had him for the first five years and you, Katherine, had him for the first part of this year."
Both Severus and Katherine turned and looked down their noses at the boy in question, Harry Potter. Severus narrowed his black eyes, glaring daggers at the black hair sixth-year.
"Funny, I never had the impression that I managed to teach Potter anything." Severus sneered, as he became further entrapped in Slughorn's arm.
"Well, then, it's a natural ability!" boomed Slughorn. "You should have seen what he gave me, first lesson, Veritaserum! I haven't had a student produce it finer on the first attempt, then the both of you I believe!"
"Really?" Katherine growled, her eyes glaring at Harry.
"Remind me what other subjects you're taking Harry?" Horace bubbly asked.
"Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology…"
"All the subjects to begin training as an Auror, I believe," Severus said, as he continued to sneer in the boy's direction.
"That's what I would like to do," Harry said, defending himself.
"And a great one you'll make!" Slughorn said, slapping the boy on the back.
"I don't think Harry should be an Auror," Luna Lovegood said, as she looked at everyone. Katherine and Severus turned towards the girl with raised eyebrows. Even Slughorn and Harry looked shocked at her comment. "Aurors work as a part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, trying to bring the Ministry down from the inside by using Dark Magic and gum disease." The girl looked about to continued, but was cut off by a loud yell from across the room.
"Let go of me, you filthy Squib," Draco Malfoy shouted, as the caretaker dragged him across the room by the ear.
"Professor Slughorn," Filch wheezed. "I discovered this one lurking in an upstairs corridor. He said he was invited to your party and was delayed. But I think…"
"ALL RIGHT! I wasn't invited!" Draco yelled angrily. "I was gate crashing, there, happy?"
"No," Filch sneered. "You're in trouble boy!"
"It's all right, Argus, it's all right," Slughorn said with a wave of a hand. "We'll forget any punishment, just this once…"
"No need Horace," Severus said suddenly. "I'll escort him back to the Slytherin common room."
"Oh now, Severus," Slughorn slurred again. "Don't be so hard on the…"
"I am his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or otherwise to be," Severus said curtly. "Plus Professor Dumbledore, is looking a bit peakish, and I shall escort her back at the same time."
"Oh very well," Slughorn sigh. "Good seeing you both again anyways!"
"Goodnight Horace," Katherine said as Severus guided her towards the door. He was pushing Draco in front of them down the hallway then pushed him into a deserted classroom.
"Draco, what were you thinking?" Katherine turned on his godson, as soon as Severus shut the door. "Why were you going at this alone?"
"I don't need your help Professor," the boy shouted back.
"Draco, you sloppy with your efforts. The incident with the Bell girl was nothing but a big mistake on your part. You cannot afford to make mistakes, because if you are expelled…" Severus started, but was cut off by his enraged godson.
"I didn't have anything to do with that, all right?"
"I hope you are telling us the truth Draco. It was a clumsy and foolish attempt and you are already suspected," Katherine told the boy sternly.
"Who suspects me? Potter? No surprise there," Draco shouted. "And for the last time, I didn't do it." Severus stepped forwards looking Draco in the eyes. "Don't look at me like that! I know what you're doing and it won't work…I can stop you!"
"Aunt Bella has been teaching you Occlumency I see. What thoughts are you trying to conceal from our master Draco?" Severus sneered, never taking his eyes off his godson.
"I'm not concealing anything from our master, I just don't want you two butting in and trying to take the glory that should be my family's doing." Draco bellowed in his godfather's face.
"Is that why you have been avoiding both of us this entire year? You are fearing that we would interfere?" Katherine calmly asked the boy. But Draco didn't answer.
"Listen to me," Severus said in a low voice. "We are trying to help you. I swore to your mother to protect you. I am the Unbreakable Vow, Draco…"
"I don't need your…" Draco said pointedly, then turned to point at Katherine, "or her protection. He gave me this mission, and I will not fail."
"Then let us at least assist you," Katherine pleaded with the boy. "Don't go at this alone."
"I've got all the assistance I need."
"You were alone tonight though, which was foolish. Wandering the corridors without a lookout or backup…" Severus started in on him again.
"I would've, if Crabbe and Goyle weren't in detention!"
"Keep you voice down," Severus snapped. "They're in detention because they need to pass Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. this time around, they will need to work harder than they are doing at the…"
"It doesn't matter," Draco growled. "That class is a joke. Like any of us need protection from the Dark Arts…"
"Draco, Severus is just trying to…" Katherine started, but was cut off by Severus.
"It is an act Draco," Severus spat. "Where do you think I would have been all these years, if I had not know how to act? Azkaban! Confide in us, and we can…"
"No! I know what you're up to! You both want my glory!"
"You are being childish," Severus said coldly. "I understand that your father's capture and imprisonment has upset you, but…" But Draco wasn't listening, as he turned and headed for the door.
"Draco, wait…" Katherine yelled to him, but it was too late, Draco was out the door and gone. "Well, that could have gone better." She said as she turned to look at Severus, who was scowling at the closed door.
"That boy is going to get himself killed," Severus muttered as he took Katherine by the arm again and guided out into the hallway.
"No he won't," she said softly. "We will continue to watch him. That's all we can do at this time. He will make it happen in due time Severus."
"And if he fails," Severus whispered. Katherine stopped walking and turned to face her long time friend.
"Then…if he fails," Katherine said honestly, "I will be there to help you with what you need to finish."
- 13
- 14
- 15
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The Potion Mistress and the Half-Blood Prince