Vienna - Day 4 of the European Potioneers' Assembly
July 4, 1993, Day 4 of the European Potioneers Assembly, Vienna
At midnight, already the day of her birthday, Katya felt completely shattered. As the hours passed without any news from Severus, her mind kept circling the same question: Had she done something wrong? What had happened for him to disappear so suddenly? The thoughts tormented her, giving her no respite. She had allowed herself to trust him, to believe that things would be different, but now everything seemed to be falling apart.
In the morning, when she arrived at the assembly, her anguish only intensified. There was no trace of Severus—no note, no message. The most painful sight was the batch of potions he had carefully prepared to donate to the Hogwarts infirmary, still there, untouched, as though waiting for his return. Something must have happened, Katya thought, trying to find a reasonable explanation for his sudden disappearance. But no theory managed to console her.
She spent the rest of her birthday alone. With no desire to speak to anyone, she wandered aimlessly through the city streets, trying to find some distraction in the bustle of the crowd to pull her away from her sadness. But the loneliness was overwhelming. She felt small and empty, as though an invisible weight was crushing her emotions.
As night fell, she returned to the hotel, where she began packing her belongings, preparing to check out. As she folded her clothes and placed her things into her suitcase, the tears began to flow, uncontrollably. She felt humiliated, used, and the painful memories she always tried to keep buried began to resurface with force.
The words of her elder brother, Jan, echoed in her mind once more—those cruel words that had haunted her so many times: “No one will ever want you after what we did to you.”
His voice, always threatening, always full of contempt, rang in her head like an irrefutable truth. For years, Katya had carried that burden on her shoulders, trying to hide the physical and emotional scars her brothers had left her with. What they had done to her in her youth was not something that could be erased easily. Every insult, every act of control, every abuse had marked her in ways she couldn’t even express with words.
Now, that fear surfaced once more. What if Jan was right? she thought bitterly. What if Severus had only used her? The idea tore her apart inside. Though she had believed he was different, that their years of correspondence and conversations had meant something deeper, now she doubted it. Every kind gesture, every shared word, every intimate moment—had it all been just part of a cruel game to get what he wanted?
That night, back in the comfort of her home, Katya sat on her sofa with a glass of wine in her hand. The crimson liquid did nothing to ease the pain, but at least it gave her an excuse to keep her hands busy. As she took small sips, she let her thoughts flow, trying to process what had happened. But the more she thought about it, the clearer it became.
She would never wait again for someone who made her feel like this.
Whatever Severus’s excuse might be, the damage was done. By disappearing without explanation, he had made her feel like an object—someone to be used and then abandoned. Katya, who had already endured too much in her life, was not willing to let another man make her feel that way. I don’t deserve this, she thought, tears welling in her eyes. She deserved something better—someone who valued her completely, not just for the moment they shared.
With a broken heart and her emotions on edge, she made a decision. She would cut all communication with Severus. She could not allow herself to fall into that cycle of pain and uncertainty again. She had spent too much time building a life of her own, too much time trying to heal old wounds, to let someone—even someone she had come to care for—destroy her again. That night, alone in her home, Katya knew there was no turning back. The ghosts of her past still haunted her, but this time, she would not let them consume her.