Cat stopped mid-step, she wasn’t sure where this was going, but it wasn’t looking good. The last thing she wanted was to start crying here, in front of Harry and her friends. "At one time, yes we were, but that was very long ago" she said, almost mechanically

Harry looked at her, his heart wrenched as he saw the look on her face, it was almost as bad as Sirius’s when he escaped from Azkaban, it was that pained and haunted look, only her eyes didn’t look empty, they were full of tears. "Cat,.... I’m sorry" Harry said panic stricken "please, don’t cry"

Cat shook her head, trying to clear the memories away "Crying... who’s crying sweetie" she said, her voice trembling "You were asking me about Severus and Sirius, right?"

"Not if it upsets you so much" he said weakly "I was just wondering" Harry felt tears welling in his eyes as well, he shook his head "I’m sorry, I was just being selfish."

"What do you mean ‘selfish’, what are you talking about" Cat asked confused "Harry what are you asking me?"

"I just wanted a family that’s all, and if you got married...." Harry closed his eyes and started sniffling "I mean ...."

Cat hugged him, "Harry you have a family, and I don’t mean those horrible creatures you’ve been forced to live with. Your part of my family" she smiled through her tears "just ask anyone in this room, as far as anyone is concerned you are my son, and you will never have to go back to Petunia or her wicked family ever again." she told him emphatically "you belong with us, with people who care about you. Hell, even Mac Lir was bursting his seams with pride when he saw you stand up and fight him." she said smiling and crying at the same time........

Severus was watching Cat intently as she danced with Lupin, it took every bit of discipline within him not to run over to them and pull him off of her. He knew that Cat considered Lupin nothing more that a good friend, but she had once described himself the same way, and they had obviously become more than that. He sighed with relief when they finally stopped dancing and students came over, he knew that Cat would never forgive him for making a scene over Remus, for whatever reason, she trusted Remus completely, but then again, she seemed to trust these monsters as well. Severus scanned the room with his dark, darting eyes, he took a mental note of every Gangrel and Garou in the room, as well as Potter, that boy had a knack for getting himself into trouble. Almost on cue, a blonde Gangrel appeared behind Harry, picking him up and jumping over the table with him. Severus quickly raised his wand and began to curse him, when just as suddenly the Gangrel set him down, and walked with him over to Cat. Severus watched with disbelief as Cat stood there laughing with the monster, she hit him almost playfully as the vampyre shook his head and walked away, what went through that woman’s mind?

Severus knit his brow and leaned against the wall as he watched Cat and Potter, slowly a smile spread across his face as he realized what she was trying to do. Cat was trying to teach Potter how to dance properly, it was painfully obvious that the boy hadn’t a clue, not that it was surprising if all the stories he had heard about the muggles who raised him were true. Severus had to admire Cat’s patience, she actually had to show him how to hold his hands and where to place them, his mind drifted, he began to think what a wonderful mother she would make, hopefully for their children. He was snapped out of his daydreaming when he saw Cat stop dancing suddenly, as if she had been cursed, and Potter had nearly the same look on his face. Fighting off the urge to run to them, Severus quickly looked around the room to see who would have harmed them, no one else in the room seemed to have even noticed the change in them, except Dumbledore, who was staring at them with obvious concern.

Severus started to step out of the shadows to go to them when he saw Cat shake off whatever had happened to her. Retreating back to his wall, Severus felt his body relax, he apparently had no idea how concerned he had been, he took a deep breath and cantered himself again. Cat and Potter seemed fine now, if a little weepy, they had begun to dance again and were talking once more. Severus’s breath caught in his throat as Cat smiled and hugged Potter tenderly, he could tell she was trying to comfort him, she was stepping up to fill the void Lily’s death had left, he would hardly expect anything less of her. Severus smiled again as he thought of how nice it would be to have his own family with Cat, even if it meant including a Potter, oh well, maybe that way he could at least make sure Harry avoided making the same mistakes that James had.......

Sirius watched with mixed emotions as Remus and Cat danced, he remembered learning that dance with them at the Evan’s summer house, from the gardener and his wife. They had all spent a long weekend there together, Mrs. Evan’s insisted that if they were going to attend the school dances, they needed to learn how to dance, and Mr. and Mrs. Del la Vega had been more than happy to teach them some steps. Cat and Remus had always danced well together, Sirius rolled his eyes as he remembered his attempts at dancing with her, he had been so nervous he kept stepping on her feet. He never did things like that with other girls, but she made him feel so unsure of everything. Just a smile and a wink from her and he was done for, and James knew it, and abused him terribly for it. "Poor Sirius, the lady’s man has met his match" James used to taunt him, it had gotten really bad that weekend, especially when it had gotten late and they went inside to play games.........Sirius brought his thoughts back to the present as he continued to watch Remus spinning Cat across the floor, holding on to her tightly.

"Don’t worry, that’s not how she sees him mate. Trust me." Cash said to him, as he nodded towards Cat as the dance ended. Sirius nodded his own head in agreement, as his attention was drawn to Harry, he had a very strange look on his face, something between uncomfortable and confused, he observed his godson closely as Harry walked to the table to get something to eat. Sirius got up to follow him when Cash intercepted him, "Leave it to me" is all he said as he quickly moved across the room to speak with Cat and a young Gangrel woman who was helping Cat teach some of the students to dance. Sirius attention was divided between worrying about Harry, and wondering what Cash was up to, suddenly Cash seemed to disappear, only to reappear behind Harry, who was busy having a mock argument with Cat. Sirius groaned as he saw Cash pick up Harry jump over the table and step him back down on the floor as they walked over to Cat, poor Harry, he thought, that poor kid has been manhandled more today than he probably has been most of his life.

Cat was laughing as Cash and Harry walked over to her, Sirius wished he was closer so he could hear them talking, but it was obvious that no one was upset by Cash’s antics, Cat was even swatting him playfully as Cash feigned outrage. Sirius watched as Cat took Harry’s hands and showed him how to hold them; she was going to teach him how to waltz, Sirius thought happily, even as the pangs of regret hit him. He so wanted to be able to do these things with Harry, teach him Quidditch moves, take him out for ice cream, just normal everyday things after all he was the closest thing Harry had to a father, it was his duty to teach him things. Still he couldn’t help but smile as he saw the way Cat showered Harry with love and attention, it was as if he was the centre of her world. If it was possible, Sirius felt even more love in his heart for her than he had ten minutes ago. He had always known she would make a wonderful mother, they used to talk about having a large family all the time, he couldn’t help himself from picture the two of them together, with Harry and several young children of their own. Sirius was lost in his own happy thoughts of a bright future when he saw the look on Harry’s face and he and Cat stopped dancing. Sirius sat up quickly and whined, Cat was trembling a little and Harry looked panicked, Sirius was terrified Cat was going to have another one of her visions, he remembered how nasty they could get, he recalled her ending up in the hospital wing over a few of them. Sirius held his ground until he saw Harry start to cry, he darted over as he saw Cat shake herself physically, apparently trying to bring herself back. Sirius arrived at Harry’s side as he saw Cat hugging him tenderly, still crying, and telling him that he is her son and how very proud his family is of him. Sirius’s heart almost broke to see them like that, they were almost a family he thought, all he had to do was to make things right with Cat, and they could all be together.......

"So it really doesn’t bother you when people call me your son?" Harry asked his heart fluttering in his chest, he couldn’t believe he had a ‘family’ of his own.

"Mind..... Harry I love you" Cat said with the utmost sincerity, ‘I’m just so relieved that *you* don’t mind. It would have broken my heart if you decided you didn’t want anything to do with me."

Harry smiled widely at Cat, he couldn’t even picture his life without her and he had only known her a few weeks. She had become as much a part of his life as Sirius and Remus; she was everything he had hoped for in a mother. Of course the thought of never having to go back to the Dursley’s didn’t hurt either.

They looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, they had both realized how pathetic they must look "Here sweetie" Cat said as she pulled a hanky out of the air "clean yourself up. Lord above, what a pair of sob sisters we are tonight,” she laughed as she materialized another hanky for herself.

Harry laughed with her as he wiped his eyes, hoping no one else had noticed them, looking around quickly he saw Remus and Cash smiling at them, and to his surprise Sirius was sitting next to him, staring at him expectantly. "Snuffles, what are you doing here?" Harry said surprised by his godfather’s sudden appearance.

"That dog of yours seems to be everywhere tonight." Cat said as she dabbed at her eyes and dematerialised her hanky. "He must still be hanging out with Cash, they seem to have developed quite a friendship."

"Well maybe he should go find Cash then" Harry said a bit more crossly than he meant to, he loved his godfather dearly, but right now Harry was upset with him, wondering what in the world he could have done to make Cat cry at the mention of his name.

"Now Harry, I’m sure he’s just worried about you,” Cat said sweetly as she scratched Sirius behind his ears "loyalty is a very good trait, and not just in dogs" she was smiling again.

Cat finally looked up, and stared pleadingly at Harry "Talk to them, please" she giggled, "this is sure to be trouble, I bet their both grinning from ear to ear, aren’t they."

Harry laughed and nodded, grinning wasn’t the word for it, Remus and Raul were still holding on to Cat, as they tried not to laugh out loud themselves, winking and smiling at each other so much Harry thought they might just collapse right on the spot. Harry looked back at Cat and nodded at her "Oh yes, they look very please with themselves." Harry laughed again as Remus gave him a look of bewilderment.

"Why Mr. Potter, whatever do you mean?” Remus said as he blinked his eyes innocently.

"Hey Harry, a little help here" Cat said as she tried to get free from her friends.

Harry laughed shaking his head no "I’m not getting in the middle of this one, your on your own." he told her

Cat stopped for a moment to look at Harry with mock surprise on her face "Well fine," she said sticking out her tongue "leave me here with these two hoodlums."

"Fine way to talk about your dance partner" Remus said indignantly "and here I was expecting you to uphold the honour of the clan."

"What exactly is *that* supposed to mean" said Cat, who suddenly straightened herself up as she stopped struggling to get loose.

"It means this mongrel has challenged me" Raul said, trying unsuccessfully to hide his smile from Cat. "And I have accepted, however he seems to be mistaken about one thing. You are *my* dance partner, not his."

"Oh no she’s not" replied Remus "I made it quite clear Cat was dancing with me, I just said so, didn’t you hear?" he said all to pleasantly

Cat groaned as the two of them continued their banter, and began pulling her back and forth, first Remus pressed her up against his hip, then Raul up against his chest, then Remus pulled her back to him flattening her against his body "Guys, please...."Cat pleaded "not that I don’t enjoy the physical contact, but your getting me sea sick"

Remus and Raul looked at each other and smiled, they had both seen her and Harry crying earlier, and it tore at them, they had decided to do something to lighten the mood, and this seemed to be working wonders. "Hey Raul, knock it off," Remus said grinning "don’t try to win by making my partner sick."

"Again he calls her *his* partner, I am telling you" Raul shook his finger at Remus, doing his best to look angry "for the last time, she is *my* partner"

"How about if *I* dance with Harry" Cat suggested as Harry stepped backward, hands up in front of his chest, signifying his wish to stay out of it. "Fine" Cat said tersely, "I’ll dance with the dog then, its gotta be safer than dancing with you to."

Harry and Remus just looked at each other for a moment, before bursting out laughing. Cat had no idea how good of an idea they thought that was. "So your saying you would rather dance with Harry’s dog than with me?" Remus said trying to sound hurt, which would have worked better if he had stopped laughing.

"Ah you see," Raul interjected "She knows that I am the better dancer, she thinks even a dog dances better than you."

"I think not" Remus replied indignantly "Harry your betting on me, right?"

"Not if he wants to win" shot Raul, laughing hysterically as Remus feigned being hit in his stomach "a little over dramatic, don’t you think?" Raul finally managed to get out........

Albus sat at a table watching intently, he had become concerned when Cat and Harry started crying, but they certainly seemed to be fine now. Leave it to Remus, he always knew how to get people to smile, Albus knew the first time he had met Remus as a child that he would grow up to be very special, despite his being bit by a werewolf. If anything his ability to overcome such an obstacle was testament to his strength of will and kind-heartedness. Albus enjoyed watching them play with each other, and Harry was fitting in very nicely, the Gangrel were accepting him, as Cat had assured him they would, and even the Garou had been very pleasant after a reminder or two. Albus turned his eyes from the happy scene and surveyed the room; Severus was still lurking in the shadows, watching, rather intently at that. Albus shook his head slightly as he thought of the trouble that was sure to come when Severus and Sirius got in the same room, particularly if a certain young lady was going to be present. Speaking of Sirius, Albus scanned the room again, his blue eyes peering out from behind his half moon glasses. Ahh, there he was, with the Gangrel Cash, Albus had concerns about that one, seemed less than interested in what happened to others outside his clan, but again, Cat had assured him that it was a clan decision and that Cash would never defy his clan. Regarding them carefully, Albus smiled softly as he realized that Sirius and Cash had apparently become friends, as Cash was obviously talking to Snuffles, and they were both watching Harry.......

Grabbing Cat quickly from Raul’s arms Remus smiles as he twirls her around "Find you own partner, she’s mine"

Harry was laughing so hard his sides hurt him, it was bad enough having the three of them goofing around like this, but when Cat made the comment about dancing with the dog,..... He and Remus almost died laughing, if only he could tell her right now.

"Fine, you dance with her" Raul yelled after them "But then *I* get to pick the dance..." he grinned at the two of them evilly.

"Ya had to make him angry, didn’t ya" Cat told Remus sarcastically "What’s gotten into the two of you tonight, your acting like a couple of kids."

"What’s wrong Cat?" Remus asked her "Don’t you trust me anymore?"

Cat looked into Remus’s eyes and smiled softly "You acushla,... always"

Remus rewarded her with the sweetest smile she had seen from him in days. It was amazing how comfortable they felt with each other, they always had, from the first day she entered Hogwarts, it had be Remus who stood by her, getting her into and out of trouble. She smiled fondly at him as the music began, he was as close to her as her own brothers, if only he would find someone and settle down, she knew he would make a wonderful father, regardless of what he thought........

Remus couldn’t help but give Cat a heartfelt smile, she was closer to him than anyone with the possible exception of Sirius, she knew everything about him, and still she accepted him without reservation. He looked deep into her emerald eyes as they began to dance, luckily Raul had started with a waltz, something rhythmic and swirling, he probably wanted to show Harry how its done. Taking Cat’s hand in his, he started the waltz, he loved to dance just as much as she did, even Lily’s mother had commented on how well they danced together, she had teased Cat about it being the only time you should ever let a man lead you completely.

Remus held Cat tightly as they danced around the room, she loved the way Remus could make her feel safe in his arms, though she had to admit, she didn’t remember him being this muscular in school, he had apparently been working out. Cat blushed a little as she noticed his body pressing against hers, he had become amazingly strong since she had last seen him, she was surprised she hadn’t notice when he had first danced with her this evening. She looked back into his hazel eyes and tried not to notice the way his muscles were flexing as he swept her across the floor, he seemed to be holding her tighter as they danced. He seemed a bit flushed as well, hopefully it was just the warmth and exertion of dancing, after all, its not like they were kids anymore. She looked over his shoulder to see Raul smiling brightly at them, Harry standing next to him. "Time we show them what we can do achushla" she whispered into Remus’s ear "you wouldn’t want Raul to win, would you?’

He smiled at her and nodded as he pulled her tightly against him, savouring the feeling of holding her. Its not that he had any intentions of dating her again, they had settled that very early on in their relationship. As much as they cared for each other, they were definitely better off as friends, although he had to admit it felt nice to hold her in his arms, he missed being able to touch other people like this, after all being a werewolf tended to make people a little jumpy, being a touchy-feely werewolf tended to make people kill you. But she understood that, she always had, he looked into her eyes and smiled "Ready?" he asked as she nodded at him. Agilely, Remus turned himself and Cat around in tight circles, spinning around faster and faster as the crowd moved to give them more room. Cat was giggling as he spun her around, the sound filled his heart with joy, he smiled sweetly at her as he released his arm from around her waist, allowing her to slip away from him for a moment, before taking her right hand in his right and turning her so he faced her back. Placing his left arm around her waist, he waited for a moment until he felt her hand resting on his, they began to dance in circles again, practically skipping to the music as it went from a melodic waltz to something a bit faster. Remus had forgotten how small Cat actually was, standing behind her like this he realized that she was nearly a head shorter than he was, and he wasn’t exactly tall, it made him feel even more protective of her than he normally did. He instinctively held her closer as they picked up the pace, their feet moving amazingly fast as they rotated and whirled around the floor. Remus released Cat once more, expecting to find her hand, instead he found Raul, who was grinning wickedly as he stepped in and began to dance with Cat.....

"Hey, Raul.... What do you think your doing?!" Remus shouted as a look of confusion and concern crossed his face.

"My turn.... you take to long.." Raul replied as he wrapped his arms around Cat and nodded to the band. Turning back to Remus he added "Waltzes, no challenge.… give me something with some flavour."

Remus sighed and threw his arms up as he heard the tango begin, he stood near the crowd with his arms across his chest, feigning anger as he winked at Raul.

Cat was completely dumbfounded, she was expecting to reach out to find Remus and instead she had Raul. She stopped dancing for a moment until she saw the huge smile on his face, pointy teeth and all; she shook her head and laughed. As she went to leave his embrace, she heard the tango play. "Oh Raul" she said breathlessly "your not serious... I’ve been dancing all night, I’ll never make it"

"Of course you will Angel, you have me to give you strength" Raul said softly "and you don’t think I would allow that *wizard* to show me up" he added loudly "do you?"

Cat sighed loudly as she rested her head on Raul’s chest. "This is all because I was crying, isn’t it?"

"Of course..." Raul said simply as he swooped Cat to the opposite side of the dance floor from Remus, taking her hand in his, and placing his arm around her waist, he extended his arm as they started dancing across the room, straight towards Remus...

Pressing his cheek against hers, Raul held her tightly as their feet crossed the floor, every few steps they would stop, turn their heads and change direction. Raul kept moving closer and closer to Remus, he had even spun Cat to within inches of Remus several times, tempting him to make a move, only to snap her back to his side and dance away again. Cat was laughing as he held her and whispered something in her ears; she shook her head no as Raul smiled at her. Without warning Raul took both of Cat’s hands and raised them above her head and just as quickly brought them back down, behind the small of her back, forcing her to bend backwards to keep her balance. He brought her back up quickly, as he pressed his lips against her cheek and glided down her throat bending her backwards once again, only this time he didn’t stop until he was just short of her bosom. Slowly using every muscle in his body he lifted her back up until she was standing again, but never taking his lips off of her skin. His muscles where labouring as he held onto her, trying to make the moment last as long as possible, until he finally brought her up and forcefully pressed her against himself. Balanced against his hip, Raul began dancing with Cat again, more and more intensely; it had gotten to the point where he wasn’t even blinking. He spun her yet again only to lose her to Remus this time. Who had snuck up on him while he was busy dancing.

Sirius had no idea what to make of the situation. He knew in his heart he could trust Remus, after all he had been the one who had insisted how perfect he and Cat would be together. But this Raul fellow was another matter all together, it was bad enough he was pressing her up against him like that, but to bend her over like that, it went beyond seductive, it was practically obscene. At least when Remus dipped her, he tried to turn his body slightly away from hers, but not this guy, he was pressed right into her, and then had the nerve to kiss her up and down her throat while doing it. Sirius could feel the fur on his neck rising, he wanted to tear this Raul into several hundred pieces right now. In fact if it hadn’t been for Cash quickly grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, he may well have.

"Don’t worry Sirius" Cash said softly "he won’t hurt her" he was smiling kindly at Sirius

Sirius, however, growled back at Cash and towards Raul and Cat. He knew how sensual Cat could be, and he didn’t want anyone else to find that out, ever.

Cash looked inquisitively at Sirius and smiled again "No ,.... he won’t do *that* either" Cash laughed as he gave Sirius a rough shake "Let it go, he’s not a threat to you or her."

Sirius grudgingly sat back down next to Cash, but he refused to take his eyes off of them as they danced. He practically jumped out of his seat as he saw Remus sneaking up on Raul, waiting for his opportunity to steal Cat away from him. Sirius held his breath as Remus stood inches from Raul as the Gangrel spun Cat, only to step quickly in front of him to catch Cat and dance away with her, shouting something about, children in the room. Sirius smiled to himself, leave it to Remus, though he had to admit he had no idea how Remus was able to pull some of this stuff off. He had become stronger over the past few years, that was certain, and not just magic wise, Sirius watched as Remus began to dance with Cat again, he had know Remus most of their lives, seven years they learned, slept, ate, and hung out, but Sirius never recalled Remus looking so *fit*, he had always considered himself the strongest of the Marauders, but looking at Remus’s muscles flexing and rippling as he easily pulled and lifted Cat around the floor, he was beginning to wonder if there was something he had missed.....

The only person who was more concerned about Cat and Raul than Sirius, was Severus Snape, that creature was a vampyre, and Severus was positive he had just bitten Cat as they were dancing. Why else would he bend her over and run his lips over her neck like that. Severus was livid, a roomful of students and teachers, and he was the only one who even noticed. At least that idiot Lupin had finally managed to get her away from him, not that he had sense enough to get her way from those monsters. In fact if anything Lupin appeared to be taking over from where Raul left off, he was pressing her very closely against himself, lifting her in the air and wrapping his arms around her every chance he got, Severus could feel his face turning red. How dare he do something like this! Severus scowled at the site of Remus dancing with his precious Cat, treating her like she was some sort of rag doll........

Remus had finally managed to get Cat away from Raul; he had to laugh at the surprised look on her face when she realized it was him and not Raul. "Traded again was I" she said as he nodded to her. The music was changing again, to something faster. Remus knew that there was no real contest, but still something in him wanted to make sure that there would be no question as to who walked away with their heads held high. "So Kitty, think you can handle a black bottom?" he asked winking at her.

"Black bottom, Remus, for the love of Mike, I’ve been dancing all night" she said nearly panicked "there is no way I can dance the black bottom, do you have any idea how much that takes out of you?"

"Relax, I’ll do all the work" he said back to her "You just relax and go along with me, Okay? I just want to prove something .... that’s...... all" Remus became distracted by the site of someone hovering against the shadows. Snape. He was hiding in the shadows, positively glaring at them, sensing a golden opportunity, Remus decided to make the most of the situation, hoping Cat would understand. After all it wasn’t that he disliked Snape, he just wasn’t the right man for Cat, and if Cat didn’t understand that, then perhaps he could get Snape to understand it instead.

"Ready?" Remus asked Cat as the music hit a steady rhythm and Raul had finally decided to sit down next to Harry, pointing and laughing at them the whole time.

"Just try not to throw me around *too* much, .... please." she said resigning herself to her fate.

Remus nodded and smiled at her as he released his hold on her once again only to grab both of her hands as he pulled her towards him, only to push her back at the last moment, she followed his lead perfectly, flowing with his every movement. He smiled at her as he placed his hands on her waist and lifted her into the air, only to let her fall back down, sliding along side of his legs, before lifting her up again and repeating the motion on his other side. The students were cheering already, and he had hardly begun.

As the dancing continued Remus became more and more daring with his handling of Cat, he wasn’t just lifting her anymore, he was tossing her. Thank heavens she had so much faith in him, because if she should panic or hesitate when he went to catch her, he knew how badly injured she could be. Remus smiled to himself as he thought about it, that was probably the thing he loved best about her, she could trust completely, without doubt or hesitation, once somebody proved themselves to her, she would stick by them to the end. He was living proof of that; here he was, a werewolf, who had no business still being alive. He had be shunned and attacked every time anyone found out about his condition, with the notable exception of the marauders, yet here she was, knowing better than anyone what he was capable of, and still she trusted him completely, even to the extent of allowing him to toss her around on a cold, hard, stone floor. She knew it was dangerous, but she also knew that he would die before he let anything happen to her. It was no wonder poor Sirius hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind, or his heart, a trust like that was beyond intoxicating, it was addicting.

Remus was beginning to get sore, he hadn’t used his body like this in a very long time, but he couldn’t bare the thought of ending it yet, he had some plans for Cat and Snape he just *had* to take care of first. He winked at her as he caught her in his arms again, "ready for the big finish?" he asked

"Do I have a choice?" Cat laughed as he placed his hands on her hips and lifted her straight up as she grabbed his forearms, tucking her legs under her, she waited until she was as high as he could lift her and extended her legs so they landed on his shoulder, Remus left go of her as she slid down his back, only to grab hold of her and guide her along his body, he wondered at her flexibility, he knew there was no way he could ever manage something like that, sometimes it seemed as though she was more snake than woman, coiling around him as she slid down his body to land gently on her knees on the floor at his feet. Remus shook off the feelings he was getting, as she slid across his body, it was a strange feeling to him, his body felt strong and hard, while hers was so soft and yielding, yet he knew better than to believe for one moment she was as helpless as she looked. He looked down to see her smiling up at him as the hall erupted into a huge cheer, as students and guests alike began to clap and yell at their performance. Remus couldn’t help but look over to where Snape was lurking, the phrase *shooting daggers* came to his mind as he saw the look on the potion masters face.

Raul and Harry applauded and yelled as Remus and Cat finished. Harry had never seen anything like that; he couldn’t believe anyone could dance like that. He couldn’t wait to talk to them and see how they did it; he could hardly manage a waltz without staring at his feet. Harry looked over at Cash and Sirius and immediately felt guilty for being so happy, Sirius looked miserable. Harry wasn’t sure if it was because of how rudely he had treated him earlier, or because of the way Remus and Cat had been dancing together all night. Harry decided to find Sirius later and apologize to him for the way he had spoken to him, and to let him know that Remus wanted he and Cat to get back together as much as he did......

Raul was hooting and clapping wildly for Remus and Cat, he was astounded at how well they moved together, it was more than clan ties, he was sure of that. The band was beginning to play another song when Raul noticed how winded they both had become, not that it was any surprise, that dance was very taxing, they needed a break. Signalling to the band Raul insisted the play a slow song.....now. Let them relax and enjoy themselves, he thought, they had definitely won this round, nobody would fight them on that....

Remus offered Cat his hand as she rose from the floor, rolling her eyes as she heard the band playing another fast song, "No more for me" Cat had said to Remus "I can’t make it through another one like that!"

Remus smiled at her, nodding in agreement, until he heard the band stop and immediately play a slow song, knowing what this would do to Professor Snape, Remus decided he was not going to let Cat go just yet. "It’s a slow song..." he said smiling softly "you can’t just abandon me now"

Cat looked at Remus, then closed her eyes and smiled "Alright, but don’t take offence if I fall asleep while we’re dancing" she warned him, laughing softly.

"Not sleeping well?" Remus asked her gently, he really didn’t need to ask, it was obvious she hadn’t slept well in several days, and he had a terrible suspicion it was probably his fault. She nodded her head as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, letting her head rest on his chest. "I’m sorry about Saturday" he said softly "I thought you would be happy to see Sirius after all these years, I never thought it would cause you so much pain."

" I know Remus" Cat said softly, she still hadn’t opened her eyes "it was more of a shock than anything else. I guess I just never really thought I would ever see him again." she sighed deeply "It was nice to know he doesn’t hate me anymore, that had always bothered me."

"Hate you! Cat! What are you talking about" Remus asked, completely dumbfounded, Sirius had never hated her, not ever, even when they were fighting he still loved her. Remus stared at her, concerned that she still hadn’t opened her eyes, she did look like she was sleeping, and she was so pale, it worried him. "Cat?" he lifted her chin as she finally opened her eyes to look at him, and he immediately understood, her eyes were filled with tears.

Remus felt his heart melt as he looked at her; it was the same look he had seen in Sirius’s eyes. When would they finally understand that it was the separation that was causing all of their pain, not the past? Remus shook his head at her sadly as he gently placed his hand on her cheek, letting her head rest against his chest again. He let his hand move to her hair, it had become quite a mess with all their dancing; little tendrils were hanging down, curling around her face and neck. He would give anything in the world to take her pain away, but he knew only she and Sirius could do that. They needed to get it all out in the open, they were made for each other, he knew that as surely as he knew his own heart, if only he could convince Cat and Sirius of that.

"Cat?" Remus asked gently "You and Harry were crying earlier, is there anything you would like to tell me, anything I can do?" He wanted to talk to her about Sirius, but he knew this was neither the time nor the place, he needed her alone, somewhere they could really talk, or yell, if it came to that.

"Don’t worry about Harry and I Remus." she said smiling, "we’ve got it all worked out now. I think he finally understands how much I care for him. I explained that as far as my family was concerned, he was my son." she explained, "He seemed very happy to know that he had a family of his own." She smiled even more, it was obvious how much she thought of Harry.

Remus was smiling as well, Harry needed that, and he deserved it as well. No one should have to suffer through what Harry had, if only things could be different, but there was no point thinking on the past, it was the future that concerned Remus now. "So is our young Harry going to be calling you *mum* anytime soon?" he asked her, teasingly.

Cat opened one eye and glared at him as he laughed at her. She took her arm from his back and pinched his waist laughing at him as he yelped. "That’ll teach you to be such a smart a**" she said laughing sleepily.

"Just my luck, your practically falling asleep in my arms, but your still awake enough to abuse me" he laughed, as she grinned and giggled at him.

"Remus, you are a goof" she said to him affectionately "don’t ever change, okay?"

"Promise" Remus answered as he kissed her on her forehead "you either."

Cat nuzzled against him as she yawned "I can’t believe I have class in the morning... I’m gonna be dead on my feet" she said sleepily

"Maybe that means you’ll finally sleep tonight" Remus told her as he took another look at Snape as he continued dancing with Cat. "By the way Kitty, do you know you have an uninvited visitor lurking in the shadows?" Remus asked as he grinned down at her.