The First Interview

Disclaimer: Except for an OC, the characters here and the world in which they live are the creation and property of JK Rowling.

The next morning, Katherine reopened an envelope containing an invitation to a Quidditch Match sponsored by the Malfoy family. The back of the card contained a personal note: Dear Ms. Stanton, it would honor me to have you attend as my personal guest. The Portkey will activate at 9am. SS. As an opportunity to better understand her prey, this event was not to be missed.

She had been startled to see the object he'd enclosed as the Portkey. Looking at it, she had a recollection of her fourth year at Hogwarts.

She was hurrying from an afternoon Potions class back to her common room when she accidentally slammed into a sixth-year student, causing her bag to spill everywhere. The sixth-year helped her pick her books and quills up and sneeringly sent her on her way. When she arrived at the Hufflepuff common room and started working on her homework, she discovered that the badger key chain she used as a zipper pull was gone.

Looking at that very key chain in her hand right now, she wondered how much of an accident it had been to bump into Severus Snape that day and why he would save something so inconsequential for so many years. Perhaps he purposely gathered little trophies from other students. She wondered where he was keeping them and what else she might find there. That he remembered her was equally startling. She hadn't been so careful of her looks at Hogwarts, and her name had not been Stanton at the time.

Katherine was careful of her looks as she dressed for the day. She wore khaki slacks and a sheer blouse under the robe she normally wore to sporting events. Given the likelihood of rain, she wore her oldest boots. She fastened her hair into a soft ponytail and kept her makeup understated. Choosing to be seen as Americanized, she wore enormous sunglasses and a baseball cap to keep stray rays of the sun out of her face.

Promptly at 9 a.m., the Portkey dropped her practically into the arms of the event host, Lucius Malfoy, recently broken out of Azkaban Prison. He smiled and they both chuckled at the awkwardness of the situation. "You must be Severus's guest, Ms. Stanton?"

"That would be me," she said.

"I am Lucius Malfoy. Allow me to welcome you to our little gathering. Severus has asked me to make sure you find your seat. He's changing with the other players."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Malfoy, and that's quite kind of you."

As her host adroitly walked her through the crowd and to the stands erected on the field, he mentioned the charities for which the game was raising money, introduced her to some other guests, and wondered if the weather would hold out for an hour or two. "Severus will be at the far goal today, playing keeper. As his students will tell you, nothing gets past him."

"Not much gets past me, either, Mr. Malfoy," murmured Katherine, smiling.

He understood what she meant and smiled slyly. His voice became a bit smoother and even dangerous. "Perhaps we should see how well you play the game, then, Ms. Stanton. Shall we set you up as a potential reliever?"

A frisson of tension developed between them.

Katherine threw her head back and laughed. "La! Mr. Malfoy, I don't know how long it's been since I've ridden." She looked up and down at his gaunt figure. "A broom, that is. I'd surely ruin any chances your charities have of collecting money. No, lead me to my seat and let me watch. I'm sure that's the best place for me."

He smiled as well. "Here we are, then, Ms. Stanton. Enjoy the game." He stood next to her a minute too long, looking at her as though to take her measure, and then returned to some other guests.

The game involved members of the best-known Wizard families in England. As part of maintaining her business, Katherine made herself familiar with those families. Whenever she was hired to locate an uncle who had embezzled a family trust fund, she could more quickly get to work by knowing the members of that family. She scanned the pitch as the players flew onto it and saw quite a few whom she knew were eligible bachelors. The sides had been selected the previous evening, giving neither side a chance to practice beforehand and only limited time to discuss strategy. Looking around the stands, Katherine saw several families that she was aware had young unmarried daughters. One of the purposes of this game became clear.

As Lucius had told her, Severus took the goal at the far end of the pitch. His team wore dark green to differentiate themselves from the silver-gray color of the other team. She recognized the referee as a Hufflepuff who had been prefect during her first year. He was a little balder, but very much the same, now.

The green team had better Chasers than Beaters and their Seeker, a timid young man Katherine recognized as a cousin of the Malfoy family, seemed doomed. The gray team was better at Chaser and Beater, but could not get past the green Keeper. Snape kept the Quaffle out of the goals, but the rest of the game seemed to go badly for the green team. Eventually, a Bludger hit the Malfoy cousin, who fell to the ground and had to be removed from the game.

After a short consultation, it was announced that Snape would play Seeker for the green team and that a recent Hogwarts graduate named Montague would take over as Keeper. A collective groan was heard from the stands. Katherine soon learned why. The game balls were re-released, and play continued with the Quaffle and Bludgers. Snape flew slowly past the stands until he made out Katherine and then returned his attention to the game. The gray team scored twice in the space of five minutes, but before the Quaffle could be released again, Snape captured the Snitch and the game was over. The total length of the game was less than an hour. As the spectators made their way to the pavilion where lunch would be served and a silent auction was being held, Katherine could hear grumbling about show-offs who ruined a day's fun.

Katherine stood near the edges of the crowd, sipping a cocktail and watching the interplay of the people. It did not surprise her that there were several people wanted by the Ministry, standing and talking animatedly with Ministry staff members. She was in a world that transcended Magical Law, and she had been hired to apprehend only one of those wizards. Lucius Malfoy came back up to her.

"Ms. Stanton, we cannot have you standing by yourself. I have a reputation to uphold as a good host."

Katherine lowered her face and smiled softly, pretending to blush. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy, I'm so sorry! I was simply enjoying being here and waiting for a turn to look over the auctions."

"You must have noticed by now that you need to push your way in. Don't be shy. Can I get you another..." He looked at her drink. "My dear, what is in your glass?"

She held up the remains of her Sea Breeze. "Vodka, cranberry, grapefruit, twist of lime..."

"Ms. Stanton, has anyone ever told you that you drink like a Yankee?"

She chuckled and he looked past her. "Severus! Come get your guest a cup of your punch!" As Severus moved toward them, Lucius leaned down and said, "Watch yourself, my dear, half the women in this tent will be setting fire to you with their eyes, or wishing they knew a spell for it. Rumor has it that Severus is loaded, and now that the Dark Lord favors him, he's the catch of the year, even if he's only a Half-blood. If I had a daughter, I'd try to catch him for her, and I have half a mind to divorce Narcissa and sell her to him."

"Now, Lucius, you know better than to trust to rumors. I'm just a humble schoolteacher."

Katherine smiled up at him, "Why, Professor Snape, just gossip tells me there's far more to you than that."

Snape looked at Katherine and smirked at her. "That's exactly my point, Ms. Stanton. You shouldn't believe nasty rumors. They can get a person into trouble."

"Come now, professor. You know that every rumor has a nugget of truth. It's my job to find that nugget and properly interpret it."

Lucius laughed loudly. "I can see that you are both in capable hands with each other. I will bid you adieu, Ms. Stanton. Until the next time." He left them together and moved off to some other guests. As he passed his wife, he gave her hand a surreptitious squeeze that indicated a genuine affection between the two.

"You left my home in rather a mess." Katherine's attention was drawn back to the wizard beside her.

"Did I? I thought we had cleaned up rather well after ourselves."

"Yes, well, there is the matter of a smudge on my mirror."

She smiled at that. "I'm so sorry. Was the bill to clean it expensive?"

His smirk deepened. "Somehow I think it will be quite costly to someone."

Her smile became more serious. "Yes, well, I'm here to collect on a bill. Someone must pay for what happened at the top of a certain tower... a week ago?"

His smirk stiffened, and he looked seriously at her as well. "Not here, Ms. Stanton. Today we are raising money for one of Narcissa's charities. It's children at St. Mungo's, I believe. Come, bid on something. The silent auction will be ending, soon."

An hour later the party was breaking up and Severus was walking Katherine to an Apparation point. She had bid on several auctions and lost most of her lots, but had managed to beat out several hopeful heiresses on one item. As they walked, she pocketed a box containing the Snitch that Snape had just caught at the game that day.

"You know, there was one item I almost expected to see at the auction today..." she mused.

"What would that be?" he asked.

"Dumbledore's wand."

He stopped walking and grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to look at him. A rage that she sensed had been just below the surface all along emerged. "Witch, you go too far."

She looked right into his eyes, serious herself, and shook her head slightly. "On the contrary, Professor. I intend to go much farther with you."

With this Parthian shaft, she spun out of his grasp and into the ether.

Thanks go to Trickie Woo for beta reading, and to the staff of TPP for their kind assistance.