"Anything I choose, huh?" Cat responded playfully to Cash’s suggestion, as she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. She looked over at Harry and winked, turning back to Cash she gave him a sly smile "Alright... your on" she said brightly, she had a strange smile on her face..

Harry looked at her closely, at first he thought the smile was because she had finally realized who the dog was, but then he saw it was because she was biting her lower lip, just a little, on the left, he smiled at her. It made her look like a little kid who knew she was going to get into trouble, but decided to do it anyway. .

"So, what’s it gonna be sweet?" Cash asked devilishly, knowing her tastes all to well..

"Swords?" Cat said hopefully, clasping her hands together as she batted her eyelashes at him..

Cash started laughing hysterically at her little act "Swords it is" he said agreeably, "you tell Raul and make room, I’ll get the swords" he told her as he bounded off towards Remus and Sirius. .

"Hey Sirius, hurry up and transform" Cash said excitedly, "I just bet the dog that Angel.... I mean Cat, couldn’t beat me".

Sirius’s eyes grew wide "You what?!!!" he gasped "You didn’t, ....me,... you bet me." he stared at Cash not believing what he had said..

"Hey can you think of a better way to get into her bedroom? If you do, just tell me, I’ll call it off right now." Cash was grinning, he knew Sirius would never be able to walk away from an opportunity like this..

Sirius’s mind was spinning, though he had to admit, it beat his plan of asking to borrow Harry’s invisibility cloak, but he wasn’t sure it this was how he should go about it. Sirius looked at Remus and could tell by his face he was thinking the same thing. Sirius could just picture it, she would be in bed and he would transform... either she would rush into his arms, or she would beat him to a bloody pulp, she may not look like much, but she knew how to fight, her brothers had made sure of that. .

Sirius looked at Cash’s face, he was filled with anticipation, and he was grinning from ear to ear. "Cash, I don’t know... do you really think she would fall for something like this?".

Cash winked as Sirius "Are you kidding.... did you take a look at her face when I caught you two in the hall, .... the girl was beyond blushing.." Cash actually managed to widen his grin even more as he saw the look of surprise on Remus’s face..

"Whoa.... wait a minute, what hall..... what you two..???" Remus said his eyes opened wide. "What aren’t you telling me Sirius.... if Raul and I went through all of this just to find out you and Cat already made up..." Remus stopped when he saw the look on Sirius’s face..

"No such luck" Sirius said sadly, "but according to Cash here, I’m definitely getting close" he added trying to sound chipper. Remus looked at Cash waiting for an explanation..

"I accidentally opened the door on them... it looked like they were about to kiss" Cash explained, he did feel very guilty about that, if he had only known "when I did, these two jumped about a foot off the ground and Angel turned completely pink" Cash looked to Remus and added "when was the last time you saw that girl blush?".

Remus laughed as he shook his head; maybe they were making this to difficult. Part of him was tempted to take Sirius and Cat and just lock them in a room together and let them sort it out between them, but the older, wiser half knew what a terrible idea that was, there had been to much pain on both of their parts, to much left unspoken, he still remembered the look of abject pain and sorrow on Sirius’s face when he found out Cat was never going to come back, he had found the ring he had given her on his pillow. He lived in utter despair for weeks, Remus couldn’t bare to see Sirius relieve that pain again..

"So what exactly are you betting on?" Remus asked Cash, as he eyed him suspiciously..

"Swords, what do you think?" he answered, daring Remus to argue with him..

Remus accepted the dare "What,... have you lost your mind!!!!" he yelled, “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is, there are students here, children...." Remus was so angry he couldn’t even talk at the moment..

Cash rolled his eyes at Remus’s outburst "Dangerous, .... I’ve been playing this with her since she’s been old enough to hold a stick" he said dismissing Remus’s fears "We know exactly what we’re doing. Your worse that an old woman sometimes, d’ya know that?" Cash added..

Remus stared at Cash stonily "Fine, have it your way. But I will hold you personally responsible Cash, for her and him" Remus said jerking his head towards Sirius "physically and emotionally, you remember that" he said as he stomped off, muttering under his breath..

Sirius watched with shock as Remus strode through the crowd, he couldn’t remember ever seeing Remus so upset. He turned to Cash "what was that about?".

Cash waved his hand dismissively "Remus seems to have gotten it into his head that Angel is made of glass. She’s a lot tougher than most people give her credit for, I’ve watched her grow up Sirius, I’ve seen her make the tough decisions, and I’ve seen her cry." Cash explained as he pulled two gleaming swords from out of nowhere "But mostly, I’ve seen her live. She has an innate joy of life, of living.... oh and by the way... she’s the one who chose the game." he said as he grinned at Sirius who was staring with surprise at the swords..

"So you coming or what?" Cash asked as he walked back towards Cat and Raul..

Sirius only paused for a moment before transforming back into his dog form. He wanted to be near her, he needed to make sure she would be alright, he knew Cash was right about her being stronger than people thought, but as far as he was concerned she would always be his kitten, and he would always be there to keep her safe. Sirius ran after Cash, dodging dancing students and Garou until he caught up with Cash, Sirius barked happily when he saw Harry and Cat, obviously trying to convince Raul that their game would be safe as several other Gangrels were moving people back, giving Cash and Cat a lot of room..

Sirius jumped up on Harry, hoping his godson was in a better mood than last time, he was rewarded with a hug and a huge smile, Cat was smiling at them. "Not exactly Lassie, is he?" Cat laughed as she scratched the dog behind his ears, as Sirius wagged his tail, overjoyed to be between the two people he loved most in the word. He barked back at her as he licked her hand, "Affectionate puppy, aren’t you?" Cat said as she looked at her hand and shook her head "I hope you don’t intend to do that to me all night." .

Cash and Harry looked at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing. They both had a feeling they knew what the answer to that question would be..

"What’s so funny?" Cat asked suspiciously "Cash, you didn’t train him to do *anything*, did you" she asked as she stared at Cash and then Harry, who felt himself turning pink..

"Nope" Cash replied quickly as he tried to compose himself. "So... you gonna talk all night, or are we gonna play" Cash asked as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the middle of the circle that the Gangrel and Garou had made in the middle of the room..

Cat smiled as Cash tossed her a sword, she caught it by its hilt effortlessly, and began swinging it in small circles to get a feel for its weight and movement as Cash did the same with his. Raul walked over to them speaking so quietly that Sirius couldn’t hear him, but he did notice Raul kept looking for someone, probably Remus he thought, wonder where he had stomped off to.....

Harry was curious to see what Cash had planned, he knew Cat could fight with a sword, he remembered all to clearly the night the deatheaters had attacked. He still got the shivers when he thought of the severed head of the dementor landing on him as she cut it from its body. Harry was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Sirius whining softly, Harry looked down to see his godfather staring at him, "its alright, just a chill, that’s all" Harry lied, he didn’t want to explain it right now. .

"Well, well, if it isn’t Potter and his mongrel." a nasty voice said from behind Harry "then again what else would you expect from a muggle lover like him." Draco sneered..

"Go away Malfoy" Harry said, his insides already tightening up, getting ready to fight "no one wants you here." Harry looked down as Sirius began to growl dangerously at the three Slytherins. .

"What’s wrong Potter, afraid to face me without your precious Sidhe b**ch to help you?" Draco replied venomously, as he fingered his wand..

"Don’t you ever speak about her like that" Harry yelled as he turned quickly to face Malfoy, his eyes flashing as he gasped his own wand as Sirius began to walk towards the trio, fangs bared. .

Raul noticed the disturbance near Harry; he motioned to several Gangrel who quickly surrounded the group. "What are you going to do about it Potter? Sic your mongrel dog on me?" Draco provoked "please do, I would so love to see what happens to a dog under the crucio curse.".

"Well if I do anything, you can be sure it won’t involve peeing my pants" Harry said mockingly. Unaware of Cash and Cat approaching behind him, in fact he was completely unaware of the circle of Gangrel that had gathered around him..

Draco spat at Harry as his eyes narrowed maliciously "You think you’re so funny, don’t you? Better be careful Potter, your b**ch ...".

"I said don’t you call her that" Harry yelled as he lunged for Malfoy, landing a solid punch to his jaw..

Cat went to step in, but Cash held her back "Let him take care of it Angel" he told her softly "I know he’s your little boy, but he is also becoming a man. I promise, we won’t let anything happen to him." Cat looked at Cash pleadingly, but he refused to let her go, he kept his hands on hers as he smiled kindly at her, it warmed his heart to see how much they cared about each other, all three of them..

Malfoy wiped the blood off of his lip and glared angrily at Harry "What’s wrong, did I insult your girlfriend?" Draco smiled at the look of rage his comment had brought to Harry’s face "What, did you think no one in the school knew how *fond* the two of you were about each other, its no wonder you do so well in *her* classes, must be all the extra credit." he suggested nastily..

Harry went cold inside, he was furious, how dare that little ferret even suggest such a thing, "Take it back Malfoy.... now" Harry practically growled, as he felt the urge to splatter Malfoy on the floor taking hold of him..

Draco sneered as he raised his wand, but Harry saw it and responded more quickly that any human eye could see. Pointing his wand directly between Draco Malfoy’s eyes, Harry yelled CEREBELLUS GIAGANTICUS. The entire room looked on in horror and admiration, depending on their house, as they watched Draco’s head becoming larger and larger, he began to sway as his head became to heavy to keep upright, Crabbe and Goyle held on to him as his eyes grew to the size of a salad plate, and his nose resembled a small tent. By the time the curse was complete, Draco’s head had easily grown to five times its normal size, making him look like a cartoon, or a large balloon. Draco began to cry as the snickering began, his head had become so heavy, his neck could no longer support it, causing Malfoy to walked bent over as Crabbe and Goyle supported his head as they left the hall and walked towards the hospital wing. The room erupted into laughter as the trio walked out of the door. ........

Severus rolled his eyes as he shook his head, idiot boy, he’s lucky that was the worse that had happened, if they vampyres had decided to attack, or worse if Cat had, he doubted he would have been able to save his life. Though Severus found it very interesting that the blonde vampyre had actually held Cat back..... .

Cash smiled smugly at Cat, giving her an I-told-you-so look, as Cat gazed at Harry with a fierce pride, second only to the look in Sirius’s eyes. The rest of the clan was smiling at each other, admiring his resourcefulness, and the way he had defended his mother. Raul looked approvingly at Harry, as he heard the whispers of his clan, *protect Harry, beware the Slytherins*, he couldn’t agree with them more, it was obvious that the greatest enemy to the school was within its own walls..

Cash smiled at his clan and his family, Angel and Sirius were so proud of Harry, that was obvious to anyone, he laughed softly as he let go of Angel’s hands, she was destined to be with Sirius. Just look at them, who else would Harry accept as a father, they were so much alike, by look and by deed, Harry could be Sirius’s son as easily as he was Angel’s. "So are we ready to begin, or have you lost interest ...." Cash asked Angel as he moved to the middle of the circle again..

"After that little display?" Cat said brightly, still glowing with pride over Harry’s quick thinking and strength " I would be ashamed not to" she looked over at Harry and smiled warmly, as he looked back at her grinning proudly......

Cash and Cat faced each other in the middle of the circle as Raul told everyone to stay back, as it could get dangerous if anyone interfered in the match, to demonstrate he took Cash’s sword and dropped a piece of parchment over the blade, the sound of the parchment being cut in two was clearly audible. He handed the sword back to Cash as he existed the circle the Gangrel closed it again, making sure none of the students would get close enough to be hurt. .

Cash gave Angel a lop sided grin as he walked around circling her, they had done this so often, he knew her moves by heart, quick, agile and fierce, a truly deadly combination, the only thing she was missing was the brute strength, not that it held her back. He watched her as she watched him, her sword was held deceptively low, as if she wasn’t prepared for an attack, he knew better, she spun to face him as he quickly moved to her left side. Their swords were reflecting the candlelight; it practically danced across the blades as they moved, waiting to see who would strike first. Angel was smiling a little to broadly, she was up to something, he decided to make the first move. Darting quickly, Cash swung at her sword arm, smiling as she blocked his swing with a resounding clang of metal on metal, she caught the shaft of his blade on the hilt of hers and had spun towards him, he heard the satisfying cry of the blades skimming across each other as he swiftly jumped out of the way as she raised her hands over her head, bringing her blade across her back and nearly into him..

They paused as they re-evaluated each other, Angel was still smiling, and still holding her sword tilted downward. Cash on the other hand had his high in the air, ready to slash and skewer, just as his father had taught him. He took a few false steps towards her, trying to make her defend herself against a feint, allowing himself an opening to strike at her.......

Harry was staring with wide eyes, it was almost a dance, they moved with each other the same way she and Remus had when they were dancing, and the sound of the metal blades crashing against each other was strangely thrilling to him. He looked at his godfather, who was pacing about nervously, Harry smiled, he was worried about her. Harry had the distinct feeling Sirius was going to be every bit as protective and loving of Cat as he was of himself. It made him smile, it had been a wonderful day, he had a family, a mother, and once Sirius cleared his name, a father as well. Add to that the total humiliation of Draco Malfoy, and it just didn’t get much better than this......

Cat saw exactly what Cash was up to, he was baiting her, trying to get her to go for his fake attacks, so she would be open to the real one. He’d have to do better than that she thought, he kept watching her sword, big mistake, she had learned to overcome that little trick a long time ago, that’s why she kept it pointing down and away from her. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to beat a man at his own game, so she invented some new rules, and it was time to put them into play. Pretending to lunge at one of Cash’s feints, she paused midway through her swing and reversed the weight on her feet, while twisting her wrists upwards, causing Cash’s blade to get caught under her own, shifting to her right, she followed through with her weight, bringing the tip of his blade crashing onto the stone floor causing a few sparks to fly into the air. Cash stared at her in disbelief as she smiled innocently at him. He wasn’t stunned for long, quickly pulling backwards, he took several steps back as she did the same, they were now almost exactly where they had started..

Cash was grinning now, she had learnt some new tricks, and she was stronger than he remembered, he swung his blade once or twice, trying to distract her. Seeing this fail, he decided a full out attack would be his only choice. Steeling himself, he cried out as he ran towards her, pulling his arms back as he prepared to deal her a blow..

It was exactly what Cat had been waiting for, she stood her ground, waiting for Cash to get close enough for her trick to work. She watched him closely as he pulled his arms back, the muscles in his arms and shoulders very evident, she waited until he was nearly on top of her and he had begun his swing. She brought her sword up, she didn’t need to see her blade block his, she heard them ringing, felt the vibration as they made contact. She pivoted on her left foot so that her body was curved around his back, and quickly put her knee into the back of his. Cash fell forward nearly hitting the floor with his face, he tucked as he fell and rolled a few feet as he quickly stood back up. He looked at her with surprise, "Who the hell taught you that?!" he asked dumbfounded, as Cat and some Gangrels laughed softly at his reaction..

Sirius flinched every time the swords made contact, he cringed thinking of what those blades could do. He knew she was a good fighter, but she was so small compared to Cash, she was small compare to almost anyone, he could hardly bare watching this, yet he couldn’t turn away either. Sirius looked up at Harry, who was staring in wide-eyed wonder at Cat, cheering her on. Sirius pawed his leg and whined, he wasn’t sure if Harry understood how dangerous this was.....

Harry looked down and smiled at him, "Don’t tell me your worried about her" Harry said smiling "She can handle him" he said confidently, as Sirius whined again. Harry regarded his godfather patiently "Your going to insist on worrying about her, aren’t you?" he said knowingly, secretly thrilled to know that Sirius had someone else to care about.......

Sirius looked back to watch Cash and Cat *play*, he found himself praying feverishly that Cash knew what he was doing, and that no one would get hurt. Still he found himself wincing as Cash narrowly missed wounding Cat as he jabbed his sword directly at her stomach. It was all Sirius could do to remain in dog form, he was concentrating so hard on the fight he was afraid he might slip, and wouldn’t that be a lovely end to the evening..

The fighting was becoming more and more intense with each passing moment, both Cat and Cash were getting winded, and the crowd had begun to cheer wildly for their favourite. Cash and Cat smiled at each other as they brought their swords together for an all out battle, Cat gulped nervously, this was the last thing she wanted, this sort of battle usually went to the strongest, and she had no doubt that who that was. .

Cash grinned evilly as he spoke to Cat "So you ready to lose now, .... I promise I’ll make it quick." he winked at her, just to aggravate her a little more..

"Ghee, thanks." Cat said sarcastically, "Just make sure you take good care of the dog, huh".

Cash paused for a moment; he had completely forgotten why he had started this. He hesitated for a moment, allowing her to get the upper hand, while he settled for defensive moves only. Cash was trying to think of a way to lose graciously while still keeping his dignity. This was not going to be easy, he had to make it look good. Cash knew she only had one chance to beat him, she would have to rely on her speed and agility, he was much to strong for her to beat in a direct attack. Cash was almost caught by the edge of Cat’s blade, he saw it as it passed less that a quarter of an inch from his right eye, he needed to stop thinking and pay more attention. He began his attack, as she turned and spun to either block or evade his blade, she was impressive, maybe he could slip on something he thought.......

Every ones attention was focused on Cat and Cash, as their fight became more and more intense, the crowd was so busy cheering and gasping at their moves that no one noticed as the trio returned from the hospital wing. Draco’s head was still a bit large, but it was manageable. He was bent on revenge, he had been completely humiliated tonight, and he intended to make Potter pay for it. He saw Potter standing near were MacLeod and that arrogant vampire where playing with their stupid swords, but he couldn’t get a clear shot at him, there were to many vampires surrounding him, so Draco decided to pick on the next best thing..

"So Crabbe what do you think would cause Potter more pain, killing his mudblood friend over there" he said pointing to Hermione "or killing that pathetic dog of his?".

Crabbe looked at him nervously, "I don’t think we could get away with killing a person" he said hesitantly "Even Snape wouldn’t be able to get you out of that one.".

Draco paused for a moment, for once Crabbe may actually have a point, he took aim at the large black dog at Harry’s side, when he suddenly saw Harry cringe with fear. Looking up, he saw what had happened, his precious Sidhe b**ch had nearly gotten herself hurt. "Never mind, I jut got a better idea" Draco said maliciously as he aimed at Cat’s sword. .

"Killing two birds with one stone" Draco thought evilly, if he hexed her sword and her dear vampire friend just happened to kill her, how could anyone blame him. After all, everyone had seen him go to the hospital wing, and with her out of the picture Professor Snape would be back to his old self. Draco practically wrenched when he thought about the idiotic smile Snape always had on his face when she was around, and then to catch him sketching pictures of her, disgusting, and his father hadn’t seemed please about it either. He could already see the look on Potter’s face, the horror and the tears as she died in front of his eyes, just like everyone else he cared about..

Malfoy tracked his wand onto Cat and waited for the perfect moment to strike, he would have his revenge, and make his father proud.....

Cat was shocked at the force of Cash’s last blow, she had barely managed to avoid it, she had the distinct feeling he was coming in for the kill now. She quickly side-stepped his latest blow and turned to block his next, but was surprised to see he had not followed through. She stepped backward quickly, not knowing what to expect. "Going soft on me?" she questioned, "that’s not your style" she added, he smiled as he lunged at her yet again..

"I have a plan" Cash told her as he blocked her undercut, she was going for his legs now, trying to hobble him, make him an easy target. And he did have a plan, he was going to fight her to the ground, then as he raised his blade for the ending stroke, he would leave himself open, either his legs or his belly, but he knew she would never miss an opportunity like that. Then he could lose gracefully and she would be spending the night with Sirius in her room, he only hoped that she wouldn’t pass out from exhaustion before she found out who the dog really was. Cash began slashing at her ferociously, causing Raul and the others to look extremely concerned. *good* Cash thought, makes it look all the more realistic. Cat was still defending herself against his blows, but now he really put some force behind them, she was getting backed into the mass of students, who parted to give them room. .

Harry was becoming frightened as Cash came at Cat with blow after blow, she had nearly stumbled once, but he hadn’t stopped. Harry had thought this was a friendly game, not a real battle, he couldn’t believe Cash would actually harm her, all the Gangrel seemed to like her, especially him and Raul. Harry moved to put a stop to this, but was held back by a strong hand on his shoulder, it was Raul, he had a concerned look in his eyes, but he didn’t seem frightened or upset at all. Harry looked at him with pleading eyes..

"No need to worry, Harry" Raul assured him "they like to play rough, but they would never harm each other. Cash knows what Angel is capable of, and how much she can take" he paused as he saw the look on Harry’s face "look at her, she’s smiling".

Raul was right, it was all just a game were Cat was concerned, Harry felt his body relax a little as he kept his eye on Cat. She was still deflecting every blow that Cash sent at her, she really was a lot stronger than she looked. Harry began cheering her on again as she renewed her offensive against Cash, unfortunately Cash was prepared for her, and forced her backwards again, into the opening that the students had made. Cat had just avoided a very forceful slash by jumping up and backwards, when she landed on someone’s cloak, causing her to slip and fall to the floor as Cash raised his sword to end the fight..

Unfortunately, this also gave Draco Malfoy a clear shot at Cat, he gave he a look of cold hatred as he aimed his want and said. METALICOUS MORPHI SILACUS.......

Cat had raised her sword so it hovered above and across her head, so she could deflect Cash’s blow when she felt a strange tingling in her sword hand. Looking at her hand she gasped, her sword had been transformed, it wasn’t metal anymore, but glass, she cried out, but it was too late, Cash was in the middle of striking his blow. .

Time seemed to go terrible slow in the next few seconds, Cash had seen what had happened and was trying to stop himself, but he had put so much force into his blow that he knew he would never be able to pull back in time to save her, he screamed "NOOooo" as the rest of his clan gasped in horror. Raul was running towards them as was Harry and Sirius, but they were all to far away to do any good..

Cash saw the look of terror in Angel’s eyes as the hopelessness of the situation became apparent, she closed her eyes and turned her head as she raised her sword instinctively, trying to protect herself. She tried to throw up a protective shield spell, but she knew she would never have enough time, but she refused to give up without a fight. "I believe in the power of creation, I believe in the blood of the clan, I believe in....." .

Harry watched in abject horror as Cash’s blade came crashing down on Cat, who was trying to protected herself as best she could with the glass sword. He saw a quick flash of light, a split second before the blades contacted each other. Harry heard himself scream as the glass sword shattered into a thousand tiny shimmering pieces that came raining down on Cat. Harry’s stomach lurched when he saw the blood flowing down her shirt, as the impact of Cash’s blow knocked her face first to the floor. .

Cash threw down his sword as he dropped to his knees, picking Cat up from the floor as Raul, Harry and Sirius arrived at her side. "Angel!!" Cash cried out as he tenderly cradled her in his arms, carrying her to a table. Raul gave the table a wide sweep with his arm, knocking everything onto the floor as Cash gently laid her on the table. Taking off his jacket to place under her head, Cash was weeping, he would never harm her, she had to know that, he touched her face gently as he called out her name, hoping she would respond. .

Sirius had jumped up on the table, he felt so numb... She couldn’t die, not now, certainly not like this, he looked at Harry who was crying freely. One of the Gangrel was holding him in her arms, trying to calm him down and to keep him away so Cash and Raul could take care of her. Sirius watched as Cash tried to rouse her out of unconsciousness, there was blood running down her face, probably from the glass, but what worried him most was the large cut on her shoulder, it was bleeding terribly, she needed to get to the hospital wing. Sirius heart leap when he saw Cat’s eyes flutter, he began to lick her face, willing her to wake up and be alright, she winced with her closed eyes a few times before moaning and turning her head. .

"Ouch" Cat said softly, much to the relief of her friends and clan "that’s gonna bruise." she continued as she touched her forehead and winced, she seemed honestly surprised to feel the warm sticky blood, she looked at her fingers as if she had no idea what it was. "Cash?" she looked to her friend, confused..

Cash smiled with relief as he threw himself on her, hugging her fierce as she yelped in pain. "Sorry" Cash said apologetically, "I didn’t mean to be so rough." he was still weeping as she reached up to wipe away his blood tears. He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers, "your hurt Angel, we need to take care of you." he told her softly..

Sirius had jumped down off the table and transformed back to his true form. "Cash she needs to get to the hospital wing....NOW" he said forcefully as he grabbed Cat’s other hand, squeezing it tightly. He didn’t care who saw him, not if he was going to lose her, she had to be all right, Madame Pomfrey must have something to take care of this. Sirius reached out to touch her face, turning her to face him, he froze as she stared blankly at him for a moment, then he saw the spark of recognition in her eyes. She smiled gently at him as she said his name, Sirius broke down into tears, "Yeah, its me." he told her as his voice broke with emotion, "Kitten,... your hurt really bad, we need to take you to the hospital wing,.... you need to hold on." he traced over her lips with his thumb as he held his fingers against her cheek, "Promise me that you’ll hold on." Sirius sighed audibly as Cat nodded yes, he went to pick her up having every intention of carrying her there himself, until Cash blocked his arms..

"What do you think your doing" Cash hissed at him "I thought you were on the run?".

"I am, but it doesn’t matter if she dies" Sirius responded angrily "she needs help, she needs me.".

"And she will get it" Raul said forcefully, "People are arriving, if you want to stay to enjoy her recovery, transform now" .

Sirius paused for a moment as he looked at Raul’s stern face and then Cash’s sympathetic one, blood stained though it was. Sirius closed his eyes tightly as he clenched his jaw, they were right, but he couldn’t stand to leave her, he needed to make sure she would be all right. Some of the Gangrels put reassuring hands on his shoulders as they circled around him, blocking him from sight of the students who were now rushing over to see what had happened to Miss MacLeod..

Cash looked at Sirius and waited until he transformed into a dog, Sirius immediately hopped back up on the table, watching every breath Cat took. Cash gently cradled her in his arms again, as he pulled her shirt away from the wound. It was pretty nasty, but nothing she wouldn’t heal from "Angel how bad it is?" Cash asked her softly "Do you feel strong enough to walk?" He became concerned when she didn’t answer right away..... it seemed as though she had to think about what he was saying. Cash looked into her eyes "Angel, how many fingers am I holding up?" he watched her try to focus her eyes, and smiled as he saw the problem..........

Cat wasn’t sure what was going on, last thing she remembered was playing with Cash, and now she was on a table and Cash was crying. *I must be dreaming* she thought as she reached up to rub her head, it hurt terrible, as if she had walked into a wall or something, she tried to think back, she didn’t remember drinking anything that would make her drunk enough to go walking into things. She felt something oozy and sticky on her head, *Remus, what prank did you pull this time* she expected to see slime or honey, but instead was shocked to see blood, her blood. Cat was taken by surprise when Cash threw himself on her, hugging her fiercely; it hurt her, what had happened? She looked back at Cash, who was still crying, she reached up to wipe away his tears, she couldn’t understand why on earth he would be crying, he was tough, she was the emotional one. He started kissing her fingers, he used to do that when she was little, she wanted to ask him what had happened when she felt her head turning, it was a strange feeling, she knew she wasn’t doing it herself, someone’s hand was on her cheek, turning her head for her. She looked up, still feeling slightly dazed..*Sirius* it was him, Cat summoned her strength and said his name, she was bewildered as he began to cry, he was telling her she was hurt, she had to go to the hospital,... she hated to see him cry, his beautiful blue eyes always seemed deeper when he did that, he wanted her to do something, she felt him touching her face, he was smiling and crying at the same time, he wanted her to make a promise to him, something about holding him, or holding on......she smiled at him, Goddess, all these years and she still could lose herself in his eyes..

The next thing Cat knew, Cash was holding her, asking stupid questions, he was holding up his hand and grinning like an idiot. Her head hurt to much to even care what he was saying, she wanted to know where Sirius was, and Harry, what had happened to Harry.....

Draco smiled maliciously, it had worked perfectly, she had no chance to avoid the vampire’s sword, he had timed it just right, and the look of horror on the vampires face was second only to the look of sheer terror on Potter’s. The stupid git had actually screamed out and started crying when he saw her drop on the floor. *SPLAT* Draco thought, another one crossed off his father’s list, it was pathetic the way they were huddled around her body, the vampire had actually picked her up and laid her out on a table, pitiful. And the vampires holding on to Potter, hugging him as the tears streamed down his miserable face, serves him right, she wouldn’t be the last, next it would be his mudblood friend Granger, and anyone else Draco could think of.... .

Cash was smiling like an idiot, Angel was going to be just fine, the wound wasn’t causing the problem, it was her head, she had really smacked it on the floor, the poor kid probably had a concussion, she couldn’t even focus her eyes. He held her gently as he laughed, "don’t worry my friend, she’s going to be fine" he reassured Sirius "its her head, she hit her head, look the wound isn’t even that deep." Cash was so relieved, he was afraid he had killed her at first. .

Raul put his hand on Cash’s shoulder and looked at him meaningfully, "Can you heal her, or should I summon Tristessa?" he asked soberly, he had seen the spell hit her sword, it had not been an accident, and several members of the clan had seen the same thing. If Angel didn’t recover, and quickly, thing could get very nasty..

"No, don’t bother Tris" Cash said happily "this is nothing, even you could do it." he added, going back to his old self, as Raul glared at him. Cash just kept on smiling as he turned to Angel "Time to take care of you sweet. This might sting,” he told her as he put his finger in his mouth, tearing a small wound in it. He took his wounded finger and traced it along the gash that had been torn in her shoulder, it began to heal immediately. Cash heard Angel suck in her breath quickly, *yep, it stung* he thought, as he smiled at her, now for her head, this one might be a bit tricky. He looked at his finger, it had healed already, sighing he placed another finger in his mouth an slit it on his teeth, "Open wide" he told her as he pressed his finger against her lips, letting the blood drip into her mouth. It was working already......

Cat gasped as Cash ran his finger along her wound, *yeeoooowww* she thought, vampyre blood, man did that burn, it was worse than peroxide, but ever so much more effective, she mused. She was beginning to feel better already, if only she could get rid of this headache she thought as Cash put his finger against her lips, pushing them apart, as she tasted his blood on her tongue. It was the strangest feeling, it sparkled as it touched her, it reminded her of her brother’s favourite candy, pop rocks, that’s what it was like, it moved around on its own before becoming part of her. Cat’s head began to clear immediately, she remembered now, they were playing and someone hexed her sword, her eyes grew wide as she spoke "Someone tried to kill me!!!" she said angrily, "they hexed my blade.".

Cash was having a hard time keeping her still now, one extreme to the other he sighed, as he grabbed her tightly. "Angel, what are you talking about.....".

"Someone just tried to kill me, they cast a spell on my blade" she explained tersely "someone wanted you to kill me....".

Cash was dumbfounded, and extremely angry, violently angry. "What happened.......??!!!" Cash cried out angrily as what Angel said hit home, he turned to the room "who did it?!!" he bellowed, causing the students to cringe.....