The Potion Mistress & the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 55: Welcome to My Life, Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people or places that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. The OCs (Katherine & Athena) are entirely my own.

When they landed, Severus looked around, trying to figure out where Katherine had portkeyed them to. It was too dark to tell, but he considered the length of the travel and concluded that they must have left Europe completely.

Katherine withdrew her wand and silently cast "Lumos Maxima." Severus stood somewhat in awe of the surrounding area. Pines. Red and Scotch Pines. Taller than the ceiling of the Great Hall. They were standing at an intersection of two small dirt roads. He gazed upon the scene in front of him, quietly watching Katherine, who was also observing the area.

"Katherine, where..."

"Shhh..." Katherine raised her hand to silence him. Severus noticed that she was not only observing her surrounding, but listening for movement. A small snap of a twig had her twirling towards the sound, and rapidly firing off a spell. Several yips were heard, before the forest fell silent once more.

"Damn Timber Wolves," Katherine muttered. "I'd never kill them. The warning shot usually works well enough."

"Katherine. Where are we?"

"Northern part of Wisconsin."

"Wisconsin?"

"United States, Sev."

"What the bloody hell are we doing in the United States?"

"You'll see." Katherine turned and began walking down the unpaved road, with Severus following close behind. After a few minutes, Katherine stopped and waved her wand. Severus could feel the wards dissolve around them as they ventured forward once again.

Soon they reached a large clearing; one that was laid with freshly cut grass and a large garden to the left of the path. Severus lit his wand to view more of the area and stepped towards the center of the opening.

His eyes widened at what he saw. A quant two story cabin, which looked to be painted Slytherin green. The large garden was filled with not only flowers and vegetables, but fruits and herbs as well. The house and opening seemed so secluded, that he wondered if anyone else even knew it existed.

Katherine stopped when she noticed that Severus was no longer following her. As she turned back to face him, Severus noted that her face seemed very solemn.

"Katherine, whose home is this?" His brow furrowed at the witch, as he waited for her explanation.

"Mine." Katherine stated calmly. "And it has been for the last sixteen and a half years."

"Yours?"

Katherine only nodded in response before turning and heading for the right side of the cabin. Severus followed her down a small brick path to the edge the forest on the opposite side of the house. The brick path continued a little into the trees, before they reach a small pier.

Severus extended his arm to light the small pier. His eyes widened again as he saw the faint outline of a lake, one that looked to be as big as the Black Lake back at Hogwarts. Katherine walked out to the end of the slip and bent down. Gently she placed the tip of her wand to the water's surface.

The water began to ripple and the couple watched as a large pensieve rose to the surface. Silvery-blue memories danced inside of it, before Katherine touched the surface with her wand.

"Septimus Severus," Katherine whispered. The silvery strands began to glow brighter and swirled faster in their bowl. Katherine stepped away and gestured Severus to step forward. "Everything you want to know is in there. All my memories are at your disposal." Katherine sighed and sat down on a wooden bench that was attached to the pier. "It's all yours."