Sacked

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

Dolores Umbridge smiled in satisfaction. She so enjoyed an opportunity to put other witches in their place, and this witch, while potentially useful, was a thorn in Dolores's side. She was attractive and intelligent, and had made Dolores look bad before. Just within the past two weeks the witch had proven herself to be a tramp. There was no doubt in her mind what had been going on the evening the house-elf had been sent. When the witch finally came the next morning with her completed report, Dolores had commented upon her possible activities. The witch had merely smiled, stating that the Headmaster had issues he wanted to discuss the previous evening. Dolores could guess what the issues were, but she would not act against the Headmaster... yet.

Snape could hardly intervene today. The Ministry had succeeded in Dolores's chief goal where the witch had not. The terms of the contract were clear and the witch would go. This was a moment to cherish and draw out. Therefore she set the appointment for the afternoon and gloated all morning. When the hour finally came, she smiled broadly and worked her way into a meeting room.

Katherine Stanton was already sitting in the room, as Dolores had hoped, but everything else was awry. Instead of looking bedraggled and distressed, the witch was as carefully put together as ever. Instead of a tearful frown, a grim smile flashed across her face. Worst of all, the air of desperation that Dolores had hoped to see was missing. That annoying confidence hung in the air as if it were visible.

"Ah, Dolores," said Katherine, rising as the other witch entered the room and sat down. "Thank you for postponing this meeting. It enabled me to tie everything up."

Dolores needed to reassert herself as the one in control. "The purpose of this meeting..."

"Yes, it's time to end our relationship, since Harry Potter was apprehended."

"You didn't..."

"...actually capture him, did I?" Katherine's smile showed self-depreciation. "Potter apprehended himself with that trace you used. Much more effective, I think, than sending investigators to the places people thought he might have been. Did you think of that trace yourself? It was quite elegant."

"You're..."

Katherine opened the folder in front of her and showed Dolores the parchments inside. "This is my final report detailing my activities and results or lack thereof..."

"We paid you."

"Yes, and this is a receipt from Gringotts, showing that the deposit plus a fair rate of interest has been returned to the Ministry account. I took care of that this morning."

"You didn't do what you were hired to do."

Katherine smiled. "No, I didn't. There's a first time for everything, of course. It's a shame that I didn't know I'd be done here so quickly. I let go of the cottage I usually rent on Sanibel this time of year. Well, there are places on the Continent that will be lovely just now. Thank you for an interesting time, Dolores. I'll be off." Katherine rose from her chair and walked from the room, leaving Umbridge sitting at the table with a confused expression on her face.

Dolores finally had a chance to say the words she had been gloating over all day. "You're fired." Her voice echoed unsatisfactorily in the empty room.

Katherine took the Ministry Floo to her flat and then sealed it off. She quickly walked through every room, checking her protective spells and looking for curses of any kind. Finding nothing of concern, she returned to her living room and flopped on the couch.

For the first time, she had failed to fulfill her client's wishes. She didn't mind that so much. She had no intention of turning Harry Potter over to the Ministry even if she had found him and hoped that he would find a way to escape now. She didn't have a real stake in the war going on around her, but couldn't imagine what her life would be like if the Tedious One actually achieved the full power he sought. She had hoped to keep being unable to find Harry until the TO was finally put to rest for good. After that she could solve the mystery surrounding Severus Snape and the murder of Albus Dumbledore. Then she would have been able to complete the job with her reputation intact.

She did wish she fully understood what had happened on the Astronomy Tower on that night. She knew Severus was a Death Eater. No woman who had seen him as she had could doubt it. Of Snape's loyalty to Dumbledore and what he stood for she had no doubt, either. What she had suspected after reading Lily Potter's file was proven by the look in his face when they had discussed her. What was it like to be the object of such passion?

Katherine sighed at herself. She wasn't like the other woman. She couldn't expect to be the inspiration of such feelings. Men would hire her to find other men, and some would enjoy her body. Some might even provide her some enjoyment, but then they would go on to other women. She shook herself. This train of thought was never productive. She really needed to finish the case, for her own peace of mind. She would then be able to go back to her life and the careful control she kept.

The way Snape had stopped Horace Slughorn from talking about the cursed hand might be important. Was Dumbledore suffering from a curse? Snape must have had a supply of the Elixir of Life, if Flamel let him use the Philosopher's stone to make as much gold as he was rumored to have stashed away. Why wouldn't he use it to help Dumbledore, somehow? Finally, if he were going to kill Dumbledore, why do it so publicly?

Snape and Katherine had been public about their affair, too. Pictures of them going up the staircase at Hogwarts together were on the front page of the Prophet the next morning. Was that important? Did she care about it as much as she cared about the picture he kept on his nightstand? Katherine shook herself again. She needed to find a way to keep every thought about that maddening wizard on the matter of the tower and the murder. She really needed to work through the case and to decide what to do next.

Failing did put a crimp in her career plans. This morning she had not only returned the Ministry's deposit but also this year's retainer from Gringotts. When word of that got around in certain circles, she would receive fewer and fewer requests. As she had told Kingsley, she had plenty of money to retire at any time she pleased. She simply didn't know what to do with the time she would then have. The rest of her life loomed ominously.

Whatever the outcome, let's escape it together, he had said. Unbidden, a picture came into her mind of a cottage and a tall, dark-haired wizard. They worked in a garden together and watched the sun set over a distant hill. Then they went inside to clean up. Katherine's face became very pink as she imagined helping the wizard clean up and what it would be like to experience his hands running soapy water along her body, too. The witch and wizard in her imagination got very clean and ate a late dinner before returning to their bedroom. If she tried very hard, she could imagine that the witch in her daydream had a rounded tummy.

Katherine shook her head and went to the bathroom to wash her face. There was no use in wishing for what could never happen. He spoke of a future that might not even exist. She had an appointment with Kingsley this evening. It would require a great deal of Apparition to many places. Dolores no doubt had her under surveillance, so Katherine would need to move around and shake her followers before finally getting to the meeting place.

"Thank you for sticking it out as long as you did." Kingsley handed Katherine a large glass of wine before taking a glass of his own.

"I'm not sure it was enough."

"If it was all we can get, that will have to be enough. Katherine, you got information for us that was invaluable. For example, if we had not known about the trace..."

"But it's all going so badly, and now Potter's been captured..."

"Actually, I have it from a good source that Potter and his two friends got away, along with some others who were being held at Malfoy Manor."

Katherine leaned forward and slapped Kingsley on the knee. "Why didn't you tell me that to begin with?"

"I thought you might know. When did you last see..."

"Him? A couple of weeks ago, I guess."

"I'm surprised. Rita Skeeter suggests that you're a frequent guest in the Headmaster's rooms."

"Just twice, and I don't want to push it..." They were both quiet for a moment.

Katherine took a big gulp from her glass. "He gave me expensive jewelry."

"The be-mine-forever kind?"

"No," Katherine said as her face grew thoughtful. "More the it's-been-nice-but-don't-make-assumptions kind, or perhaps the I-want-to-keep-seeing-more-of-you kind. I don't know which it was. He spoke about a future, but in a time and place where we may all be killed, that's meaningless."

"The other woman must be out of the picture."

Katherine snorted and smiled ironically. "She's still very much in the picture. I'm sure that I am just a diversion. I think it's been good for both of us..." She sighed. "I look forward to finally figuring out exactly what happened on that tower and why."

"You need to watch yourself."

Katherine took another sip of her wine and changed the subject. "Have you learned anything new about Dumbledore having a cursed hand?"

"Why do you care if you're not working the case anymore?"

"I'm no longer under contract, but I will finish the case. What have you heard?"

Kingsley sighed. "I'm getting next to nowhere. I've discussed it with some Hogwarts contacts who tell me that it was obvious that there was something wrong, but whenever his hand particularly pained him, the Headmaster would go to Snape every single time. Dumbledore wouldn't even admit that there was a curse in his hand to most people. He acted as if it were some minor problem."

"Curious."

"As you continue to say, none of it adds up."

"I'm getting closer, and it's probably staring us all right in the face. Is there anything interesting to be found through the Flamel connection?"

"Not much. Most of my contacts were either surprised to hear of that apprenticeship or got that look on their faces as if they knew something, but had been Obliviated. We definitely know that if he had any quantity of the Elixir of Life, he wasn't sharing."

"Not even with his tedious boss?"

"No."

"Curious."

"How so? If he has no Elixir of Life, he can't give it to You-know-who."

"Suppose this. Let's say Dumbledore has been cursed. He's been cursed so badly that his hand turns black. A curse of that sort will try to make its way all through Dumbledore's body, but Snape manages to control it back into the hand. He must have trained in Healing as well as Potions to accomplish that, by the way, but more importantly, what does he use to keep Dumbledore alive?"

"The Elixir of Life."

"Bang on. But suppose the curse is so evil and awful that the Elixir doesn't work...or better yet...perhaps there's only so much of the Elixir in existence. They squeeze as much time as they can get from every drop, but eventually they run out and they haven't found a cure for the curse. Now what?"

Kingsley finished her thought. "They plan a huge, lavish death scene, or take advantage of some event so that everyone will be convinced Snape was working for You-know-who all along. It's brilliant."

Katherine sighed. "It's a working hypothesis. Somehow I'll have to figure out how to prove it. He would have to be one incredible Occlumens to have had that potion on hand without telling the Tedious One."

"No one has ever known what he's thinking. That's why it's so easy to believe he killed Dumbledore with evil intent."

"Hmm..." said Katherine. A cloud passed over her face.

"If you want to know what he thinks about you, you should ask him."

She shook her head. "I'm probably better off not knowing. What else is going on these days?"

They finished their discussion and, after encouraging each other to be safe, went their separate ways.

Katherine had a take out meal in a bag swinging from her wrist as she returned to her flat. A tall shadow separated from the side of the building and walked toward her. She dropped the bag and pulled out her wand while looking for cover.

"It's me."

She didn't know whether to laugh or start casting spells. Was he here as a Death Eater or as whatever they were to each other? "How did you find my flat?"

"I received an unsigned note. I believe it was from a friend of yours. Where have you been this evening?"

"Oh, I did what anyone does when they've been sacked. I went to have a drink with a friend."

"I've been told by one of my friends that it's a long time since you've ridden. Would you care to go for a spin with me?" He pulled a broom out from under his cloak. It was a bit bigger and sturdier-looking than those used for Quidditch play.

Katherine hesitated. "Come on," he said. "It will be fun."

They Apparated to an empty field. Severus held the broom and mounted it before settling Katherine on it in front of him. As she climbed astride, the slit in her skirt opened, allowing one leg to be bare from the top of her boot to her mid thigh. Severus murmured an appreciative comment about it and Katherine giggled. They took off and headed into the night.

Katherine closed her eyes and breathed in the clear air. Severus held the broomstick in front of her and simply went straight for a long time, until it seemed as though they had left their world and its troubles far away. His arms were necessarily around her, and his breath was in her ear. Unbidden, the thoughts and longings of the afternoon started to play within Katherine's mind.

Then he started to do dips and turns on the broom, making Katherine squeal with the joy of it. They were miles away from anywhere she knew, and she didn't remember anything so simple or so much fun. As a student at Hogwarts, she had learned to ride and had done well enough, but once she'd learned to Apparate, she'd never ridden again. This was different than she remembered. This was pleasure.

Severus reached for her hands and held them on the broomstick under his. Suddenly she could feel the air currents and how he guided the broom into them or along them. She could feel herself floating along the wind and being carried by it. His hands gently slid up her arms to her elbows and then around her waist and all at once she realized she was in control. She squealed again, nearly losing altitude, but grasped more firmly and steadied the broom. Slowly at first, she tried doing some dips and turns of her own and quickly found herself enjoying the power of riding a broom in a way she had never before understood.

They landed on a coastline not long before dawn. Severus had Katherine hold the broom while he lit the end of his wand to look for something on the ground. "I've never really enjoyed it before," Katherine said. "Thank you. If I had been taught to ride like that, I never would have gotten off."

"There are some things I never really enjoyed before meeting you, either," Severus responded. "Ah, here's something!" He picked up an empty bottle, tapped it with his wand and said, "Portus."

Reaching for Katherine's hand, Severus held it to the bottle along with his own and counted down. "Three... two... one..."

They landed on a Mediterranean beach, not long before sunrise. Katherine looked around and up the hill, recognizing a house she saw. "We're on Corsica?"

"You're well traveled," he replied.

"There was this witch who worked for a wand maker in Genoa..."

"So you were here on business before. This is most definitely for pleasure."

"Why are we here? Don't you need to be back at the school, and are you allowed to create unauthorized Portkeys?"

"Ah. It turns out that the Headmaster at Hogwarts has certain authorizations that others do not. I am allowed a few Portkeys, supposedly in the round of my duties. I consider it within the round of my duties to obey my master, who had a good day up until the moment Potter was lost. He told me I might have a couple of days off, until the students get back from the Easter Holiday. Who am I to argue with the Dark Lord?"

He stood behind her and pointed alongside her head into the sea. "My island is visible from this beach, on Corsica." As he spoke, she looked past his hand to where it was pointing and suddenly saw an island with a small villa on it. He tightened his other arm around her waist, and a moment later they were standing on the portico of the villa.

Small voices greeted them.

"Master is coming here! He has brought a pretty witch with him."

"Would Master and Mistress be needing a meal?"

Katherine smiled at the two house-elves standing in the doorway who tried to bustle Severus into the house. Severus guided Katherine through the doorway ahead of him and smiled at the elves.

"Bonaparte and Josephine, this is Mistress Katherine. She and I will be bathing and changing before having a light breakfast." He handed them the broom and their cloaks before resting his hand on the small of Katherine's back. He guided her through a dining room and hallway, and then up a staircase. "Their previous owner enjoyed the proximity to the big island, and as you see, he went with a theme when the elves came along." He showed Katherine a wardrobe and opened it. "You should find pretty much whatever you need here." Then he showed her to the bathroom.

He left her then, and she took a long enough shower that her daydream from the previous afternoon came to mind. She rinsed off quickly at that point and wrapped in a soft towel. She looked through the closet and found a peasant skirt and blouse that seemed appropriate for the occasion. Peeking in a drawer, she discovered that whoever had done the shopping had indeed thought of everything. She dressed quickly and left her hair soft around her face. She went back downstairs and made her way to the dining room, where the table was set for breakfast. She passed through some open French doors and stood on another porch, watching the surf. Her host came and stood next to her.

She sighed appreciatively. "This is amazing. You must get whatever you want when you bring them here."

He looked out in the distance and shrugged. "I've never brought anyone here." He turned to eye her critically. "You look just as I imagined. I shall have to wait to see if that includes everything."

Katherine drew back. "Did you personally purchase everything?"

He leered at her. "I had some help."

They sat and filled their plates. "When did you acquire this island?" Katherine asked.

"Right after the Dark Lord fell. I had already finished my training with Nicolas, and all that gold was burning the proverbial hole in my pocket. I needed someplace to grieve, after..." He fell silent.

Katherine took a deep breath. She might as well hear about it sooner than later. "Tell me about her."

He sat back and fingered his tea cup. "When you are raised by magical parents, you always know magic exists. For the Muggle-born, it's not like that. For Lily, it was this delicious secret. It caused great friction with her sister. Petunia was not ugly or anything, but she would never be as beautiful as Lily. Petunia was good at school and capable in many ways, but she wasn't magical like Lily. I was walking through a park one day and I saw the two of them there. Petunia was calling Lily a freak, but instead of being offended, Lily wasn't even paying attention, and Petunia got more and more angry with her. I hid behind some bushes and watched Lily as she waved at some flowers and they waved along with her motions.

"It seemed like I waited forever to introduce myself, but I've thought ever since then that it was too soon. Maybe it never would have mattered. At any rate, I told her about magic being real, and until we got on the Hogwarts Express, I was her guide and confidante in all things magical. Then we were put in separate houses, and I let my House and family decide where my choices would lead me. Over the years we argued and I pushed her, trying to get her to fall in love with me as I loved her, while she was only interested in keeping me from the Death Eaters. Neither of us got our wish. I helped to kill her by telling the Dark Lord of the prophecy about him, and she died."

Katherine had stopped eating and simply looked at him sympathetically. He sipped his tea and set the cup back down. "I saw you tracing the outlines on the walls and floors of my parents' house. You know my childhood wasn't very happy. I've learned to take some joy in life since then, but at that time, Lily was the only bright spot of my life."

He reached across the table and Katherine offered her hand. He clasped it in both of his and stared down for a few minutes. "Why didn't you take me in that first time, when you knew I was in my house?"

"There wasn't enough evidence. If I had known you had a whole island to yourself and that you were the only Secret-Keeper, I might have made a different choice right then."

"That's not the only reason." He looked into her eyes. She knew he was an expert Legilimens, and she had previous experience with Legilimency, but she never knew it could be so gentle, so feather-soft. As he looked at her, she could feel herself wanting to give him all of her secrets, things that no one should see. She fought with herself over it, and finally he found something that made him withdraw.

"Your childhood was no better than mine, and seeing my house touched something within you," he observed. "I had suspected, but you hide it so well."

"As do you," she returned before shrugging. "Who wants to be known as the investigator with the tragic past?"

They ate for a few minutes until he pushed his plate away. "Do you think a person can find love a second time? Sometimes, lately, I think I can let go of my love for Lily. Do you think such a thing is possible?"

Katherine didn't know how to answer. She stared at the table and answered him quietly. "I'm the last person you should ask. I don't think I've ever known love."

"You were married."

Katherine swallowed hard. "I take that back. I loved my mother."

He looked at her a long minute. Then he stood and came around the table. "It's been a long couple of days. We should get some rest."

When they arrived in the bedroom, however, thoughts of sleep left them. There were still signs of sadness in Severus's eyes and sympathy in Katherine's. There was no competition this time, only comfort. Although they later slept with most of the bed between them, as they lay their hands moved until they were touching.

Katherine woke that afternoon to the sounds of sea waves breaking on some nearby beach. As she lay, trying to decide whether to wake or roll over and go back to sleep, she noticed the smell of tea and pastries. Something was tickling her face, too. She opened her eyes to see Severus, tracing the edge of her face with a bright yellow flower. He was wearing a silk dressing gown and smiling down at her. A tea tray was on the bed beside him.

Katherine sat up and pulled the sheet up under her arms. "Either I'm under-dressed or you're over-dressed."

"I'm dressed properly for tea," he replied. Then he gave her a wicked grin and traced the top of the sheet with the flower. "You are properly dressed for what's becoming my favorite dessert." His smile became more serious. He put down the flower and held a piece of buttered scone to her lips. "However, I thought you might like to explore the island a little. I asked the house-elves to put together a late dinner."

"Mm, if you're going to feed me like this, I'm yours to command."

"Why don't I quite believe that?"

"Well, in terms of this afternoon's activities."

They spent the early evening walking around the island. Katherine admired everything about the flower gardens, the fruit trees, and the small beach. Severus spoke as if none of it mattered to him, but she could see the pride and love that existed between him and his small domain. He was quite respectful of his house-elves and although he groused when they nagged that it was dinner time, Katherine could easily see that he really enjoyed the loving attention they gave to him.

After dinner they played a round of chess. They played silently and ruthlessly and again ended in a stalemate. Severus let out a sigh of relief.

"What?" Katherine asked.

"Nothing," he responded. "I'm glad that we're so evenly matched." With that he took her hand and led her to the bedroom.

A/N: Thank you, as always, to beta reader Trickie Woo.