"Tell me again how Cash healed you" Hermione asked Cat, still finding the answer unbelievable

"Uh, Hermione, we’ve been through this a hundred times already" Ron grumbled "How many times does she have to tell you."

"Until it makes sense" Hermione shot back "Vampyres are not exactly known for their healing abilities."

Cat rolled her eyes, the girl was extremely bright, but she put far to much faith in books, she needed to open her eyes and take a good look around "I bet their not exactly known for their dancing talents either, or their sense of humor, or their protectiveness to the people they love" Cat began "oh no, wait, I forgot, they are incapable of love, their just monsters, right" She looked pointedly at Hermione, who looked away embarrassed "Listen Hermione, I am not trying to make you feel bad, or to make you angry, but just think about it for a moment. You learned this evening that there really is no such thing as a wild vampyre, they live in clans. And did any of the books you’ve read ever discuss that fact, did any of them ever bring up their society, laws, loves or hates, anything at all?" She asked gently.

"No" Hermione replied sheepishly "Just that the Ministry considers them dangerous and several instances of the harm they’ve caused"

"Uh-huh" Cat said crisply "the Ministry.... that would figure. Those knuckle heads wouldn’t know the difference between a vampyre and a hippogriff" She sighed as she looked at Hermione’s questioning gaze "Alright, lets try explaining it this way, you seem to like logic, so if we look at this logically, you know that vampyres are nigh immortal right" she paused as Hermione nodded her agreement "and the only thing that makes vampyres different from humans is the blood, right" Hermione nodded again "so if we know that, then it is only reasonable to assume that it is the bloods ability to heal them and make them strong that produces this immortality......."

"Alright, so if the blood can do this inside their own bodies" Hermione took over from Cat’s explanation, "then the blood can also do this outside of their bodies, to other bodies" bringing the thought to its logical conclusion.

"Exactly" Cat said, smiling at her.

"Finally" Ron sighed as Hermione ribbed him with her elbow. Ron and Hermione started their own little debate as Harry pulled Cat closer to him, he wanted to ask her something himself.

"Cat?" Harry began tentatively, not wanting a repeat of this evening, "I need to ask you something, but I don’t want you to get upset,...Okay?" he wanted to approach this as gently as possible.

A concerned look crept across Cat’s face "Harry.. Whats wrong sweetie?" her mind raced through everything that had happened to them today, had anyone hurt him, or frightened him, she didn’t think so, but Harry seemed terribly worried about something. "Go on, you know you can ask me anything"

Harry took a deep breathe "When you were hurt earlier and Sirius was there.."

"Sirius was there?" Cat said quickly, she wasn’t sure it that had been a dream or not.

"Yeah, he was holding your hand, he tried to take you to the hospital wing, but Raul wouldn’t let him" Harry said breathlessly, waiting for her reaction "he told Sirius that Cash could take care of you."

"But I didn’t see him when Cash healed me" she said softly "I thought I was dreaming the whole thing." she was getting that strange look on her face again.

Harry shook his head no, "He waited to make sure you were alright, then he ran after Malfoy" Harry grinned a little, "That’s why Cash ran to, he probably wanted to make sure Sirius didn’t kill him." Harry smiled widely as he saw Cat’s eyes go soft with unspoken emotions.

Cat thought back, Harry was right, in fact she had wanted to ask Cash what he meant about helping Sirius tear Malfoy apart. She looked at Harry and smiled softly, "Don’t ever count on Cash to be the voice of reason dear, not where family is concerned." She paused for a moment as she took a deep breath "In all likelihood Sirius will be the one trying to hold Cash back........Harry?" Cat paused for a moment as it suddenly hit her "When did Cash and Sirius get to be such close friends, I thought they had just met for the first time tonight?"

Harry shrugged at her, "No idea, I thought they knew each other from when you went to school here."

Their conversation was ended as the doors to the hospital wing came into view. "Oh no, Poppy is going to have a fit" Cat whined "how many times have I been here already this year"

Ron began laughing "You sound just like Harry, he spends a lot of time here too."

Cat sighed as she pushed open the doors, she looked around and was filled with both pride and dread. Crabbe was asleep in one bed, bruised terribly, his face had turned a strange blackish purple color, and his nose and bottom lip were swollen to several times their normal size. She looked at the bed next to him Goyle was looking no better, and in fact he had several gashes across his face that Poppy was busily trying to heal, with little success.

"You’ll need mugwort for those Poppy" Cat said matter-of-factly, "Olia must have done that, hers never seem to heal quite right"

Madame Pomfrey turned to ask Cat a question about the mugwort when her face froze, she was looking at Cat’s torn and bloody blouse, Cat’s face was still covered with dried blood from where all the glass had cut her. Madam Pomfrey immediately began to have a fit "Miss MacLeod, in a bed.. NOW" she insisted, pointing her finger to the next bed.

Cat walked over to Poppy smiling widely, "I’m alright Poppy, I’ve already been healed" she explained "I only came to stop my clan from doing anymore damage to the students who tried to kill me tonight. If you say I’m alright, then maybe they will calm down."

Poppy’s eyes grew large as she listened to Cat explain what had happened "They tried to what,...... to glass!!!" Poppy shot a look of pure anger at Crabbe and Goyle "Oh really, is THAT how this happened"

"‘fraid so" Cat said simply as she looked around "Where’s Malfoy, he was the one who actually performed the curse. I can’t imagine they let him get away"

Poppy shook her head "I haven’t seen him here." she grabbed Cat’s arm and sat her down on the bed "let me take a look at you, just to be sure."

Cat rolled her eyes as Poppy fussed over her, Harry had told Ron and Hermione to go on ahead and get some sleep, he would wait for Miss MacLeod. After they had said their good nights, Harry walked over and sat down on the bed next to Cat, he grinned at her and began to laugh at the way Madam Pomfrey was checking every little scratch and bump. Cat shot him a look, trying to get him to stop, but it only made it worse, Harry was laughing hysterically now, as Cat reached out and knocked him on his shoulder, grinning madly at him.

"That’s quite enough both of you" Madame Pomfrey said disapprovingly, "I believe it was this sort of rough-housing that started all of this in the first place."

After what seemed like ages, Madame Pomfrey finally agreed that Cat was fine but told her she was to go straight to her room and right into bed. Cat assured her that as soon as she saw Harry to the tower, that was exactly what she had planned. As Cat and Harry walked down the hall towards Gryffindor tower they reminisce about the nights festivities.

"No really" Harry laughed "it was priceless, I only wish I had a camera. When Malfoy came in with his pant wet......" he couldn’t finish the sentence, he was to busy doubling over with laughter.

Cat wiped away a few tears from her eyes, trying to catch her breath she added "I know... it was classic...... I don’t think I could have arranged that if I tried" she tried to become serious for a moment "my ONLY concern about Malfoy is - where is he, because I firmly and truly believe that there is no way Cash would have let him get away from him"

"Maybe he made it to Slytherin?" Harry guessed, still giggling "Maybe Snape would protect him from Cash"

Cat paused "Harry, no one can protect him from Cash" she shook her head, suddenly serious "and I pity anyone who tries. Cash has had a rough life, his family is everything to him" she turned and looked directly at Harry. "Sweetie, I don’t ever want you to be afraid of Cash, he would never harm you, but when you see his eyes start to flash or glow, either do exactly what he says, or get out of there fast."

Harry couldn’t believe what she was saying "Do you mean you don’t trust him, that he’s dangerous?"

"Sweetie, Cash is extremely dangerous" she knew she needed to explain this better "especially when his family is in danger. Do you have any idea how old he is?"

Harry shook his head no. "He looks about 25"

Cat laughed a little "No sweetie more like 250" she paused as Harry stared at her. "He is of our bloodline Harry, remember before he left he called us his little family?" Harry nodded "He meant that, and he would kill or die to protect us. And as for trusting him, ...... with my life Harry, and with yours" she told him as she kissed his forehead

Harry looked at Cat, he felt it was strange, but he understood what she meant, he felt the same way, even when Cash had picked him up and jumped over the table with him, he wasn’t really frightened, just kind of surprised. And later when Cat had been hurt, Cash was crying as much as Sirius, it was obvious to Harry that Cash was - well - one of them. The fact that Cash and Sirius had become friends only made the whole idea better to him, the more Sirius and Cat had in common, the better. To bad the whole *betting the dog* had fallen apart, "Cash definitely has a sense of humor though, doesn’t he." Harry said.

"Oh yes, he’s a practical joker alright, he should fit right in with Remus and Sirius" Cat sighed at the thought, one of them alone was bad enough, but if all three of them got together.

Harry was just thankful she could say Sirius’s name without crying, and he needed to find Sirius and apologize for being so short with him, and maybe find out why Cat was crying in the first place..........

Severus paused as he watched Sirius running down the hall after the vampyres, his attention quickly moved to Draco as he heard the boy moan. Bracing himself against the wall, Severus managed to get himself steady enough to conjure a stretcher, levitating Draco onto it, he slowly shuffled his way to the hospital wing. He needed to get medical attention for Malfoy, but he also desperately needed to make sure Cat was safe, especially if those vampyres were on their way to her. She had no idea how dangerous they were, especially that girl, the one they called Olia, if she ever got her hands on Cat, Severus shuddered at the repercussions, the only time he had ever been frightened of Cat was when he had seen her defending herself and Lily, the power she wielded was incomprehensible to him. Severus slowly made it to the hospital wing, where Pomfrey was apparently waiting for him.

"Cat was here." Madame Pomfrey explained "She was wondering when Malfoy would show up, though she didn’t tell me to expect you." Poppy said as she eyed Professor Snape. After getting Malfoy settled, and taking some medicine for his wounds, Severus hurried to Cat’s room, hoping she would be safe until he could get there.......

All to soon they arrived at the portrait, Harry sighed as Cat gave him the familiar speech about going straight to bed and staying out of trouble "Are you even listening to me?" Cat said as she poked Harry in his ribs

"Huh, what?" Harry said as he jumped, he had been thinking about the way Sirius had looked at Cat when he tried to carry her to the hospital wing. He had never seen him look so lost, he never wanted to see that look in his godfather’s eyes again.

"Lovely" Cat said as she grimaced at Harry "Just because you’ve accepted me as your mother doesn’t mean you have to treat me like a parent you know."

Harry smiled at her "Thats not it at all" he said as he gave her a hug "I was just thinking about tonight. Are things always this wild with our family?"

Cat was thrilled Harry had referred to them as *our family* she smiled as her heart filled with pride "Yep....pretty much" she winked as Harry rolled his eyes. "Gotta have a sense of humor in this family Harry, it’s a survival skill"

Cat kissed Harry on his forehead as she tussled his hair, he grinned at her and said goodnight. Cat watched him walk through the portrait before she turned to go to her room, she was tired, it had been a very long day. Her mind was reeling, it had been one hell of a week, first Severus’s little visit to her classroom, then a few days later Sirius showed up, and now her clan was here, and most probably hunting down the student who had almost gotten her killed tonight.

As her mind drifted she found herself thinking about Harry, more specifically the last time she had tried to steal Harry from Petunia and her dreadful family. Harry was only 3 at the time, but he had come running to her when he saw her. Petunia fainted dead away, she had thought Cat was Lily’s ghost, and that pudding she called a son just sat there, breaking his toys and screaming at Harry to get back into the closet. One glare from Cat’s eyes had quieted that creature, she looked at Harry as she picked him up and hugged him, even then she could feel their bond. She took one look around and saw to her great sadness that there was not one thing in that house that spoke of either Harry or his mother, "Poor baby" she cooed to him "they don’t love you do they?" Harry had simply looked at her and flung his arms around her neck, she closed her eyes and hugged him back, she didn’t even bother turning to look at Petunia when she left, that girl had always been a pain, but to treat your own family so shamefully was beyond the pale.

Cat quickly returned to Fernglennis with Harry in her arms, her Aunts came rushing over, gushing at her sweet little prince, holding him and telling him how wonderful he was. No one had every heard a child talk so much, he was laughing and playing with the women, and then when Cat had put him down to play with his cousins, she had to laugh at him. For the first few minutes he had seemed afraid to go near them, most likely due to that lump Dudley, but after a couple of the children had made their way to him, and he knew they were not going to hurt him, he had joined right in, playing and singing. Cat’s Aunts and cousins were teasing her about needing a husband now, after all a boy needs a father they kept telling her. She had just smiled at them, after what she had been through with Sirius, she couldn’t bear the thought of giving her heart to another man, it was just to painful, her father had told her time would change her mind, but it hadn’t yet. Lily’s son,- her son,- was her only concern at the moment, and now that she had him again, she could get on with her life, and stop worrying about the way those horrible muggles were treating him.

They had spent several days like that, she and Harry with their cousins and clan, playing and learning. Her Aunts kept remarking how happy she looked, and how amazing it was that Harry had her eyes, even among her clan the emerald eyes were uncommon. Blue and hazel always, her brothers and sisters had those, but she and her little boy, they had the green eyes of a seer.

Cat sighed as she remembered the day it all ended, both Albus Dumbledore and Poppa had come to get him themselves. She could see the torment in their eyes, they knew he would be happier with her, she loved him, and as far as the clan was concerned he was her son, and he always would be. Albus and Poppa kept telling her she didn’t understand, that there were things, large nasty unexplainable things that she couldn’t understand. She stood her ground, until Poppa gave her an ultimatum, return Harry to the muggles or be exiled from the clan. She saw the tears in his eyes as he said it, it had hurt him to even speak of such a thing, but it had hurt her worse to even think that he would say it, she had run crying from the room, grabbing Harry on her way out of the house she held on to him as she ran into the forest surrounding their home where she finally broke down, sobbing hysterically. How could they make her chose between her clan and her son, it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right, those muggles didn’t care about him, they were happy to be rid of him. She must have been there for hours before Albus found her, he had been crying as well, but she knew that look, he was determined to take Harry away from her. She looked at Harry who was sleeping soundly in her arms, sucking on his thumb, she hugged him tightly as she looked at Albus. "How could you, how could you make me chose? How can you take him from me?" She knew her words had hurt him, but she didn’t care at the moment, she was in so much pain herself, she wanted to hurt anyone who came near her.

Albus paused as her words hit him, "Kitten I know this hurts you, but I promise you it is for his own good, his safety" he said gently, trying to calm her down.

"I can protect my own, you know I can" she still wouldn’t let go of Harry

"Not from him, he will destroy your entire clan to get to the child" Albus placed his hands on Cat’s shoulders "look what he did to Lily and James, he tried to kill Harry once, do you think anything would stop him from taking another chance?"

"And you think the muggles can protect him better than I can?"

"Until his fifteenth birthday, Yes. That is how the spell works" Albus sighed deeply "But if it helps, I promise you here and now, that when the day comes that our spells can no longer protect him, I will call for you. You can take your place as his guardian and raise him as you see fit, but not before. It is as much for his sake as for your own."

She had finally handed Harry over to him, and then she left, she didn’t see her family or her father for over two years, she couldn’t bear to. Her father had sent people out to find her, but she evaded them easily, she traveled around the world, trying to forget Harry and Sirius; spending a lot of time in the Middle and Far East, learning their magic, and then she had taken a fancy to kangaroos, decided she just had to see one for herself, thats when she ran into Tris, the first family member she had not been able to avoid, it felt good to be with family again. She had even talked Tris into returning with her to Fernglennis, to the highlands.......

Cat’s thoughts were interrupted by a shadow lingering near her door, she paused for a moment, waiting to see if it was friend or foe. As the shadow stepped out into the candle light she felt her body relax, Severus, she should have known......

Severus was waiting in hall outside of Cat’s room, he needed to be sure she was safe, there was no telling what that vampyre had in mind. Severus cringed at the thought of this evenings events, although Pomfrey’s medicines had healed him quite nicely. "Cat, are you alright?" he asked her softly "Did they hurt you?"

Cat shook her head no "Your little Slytherin brats will have to do better than that, especially when Cash is around" she said, trying to make it sound like a joke. "By the way Severus, you wouldn’t happen to know who cursed Remus tonight, would you?"Cat asked not so subtlety

Severus knew she thought it was him, but she wasn’t going to accuse him without more proof. "I hope it was just a student playing a stupid prank" she said as she walked towards her door, "because if I had to chose between turning my back on either a lover or a friend, I know exactly what my choice would be."

Severus paused for a moment as the full effect of her statement hit him, at first he was crushed that she would pick Lupin over him, but then happy that she might consider taking him as her *lover* "I am simply worried about you Cat." Severus said softly, "You could have been bitten, easily, several times tonight alone."

Cat hung her head and sighed, he just didn’t understand, she knew he needed proof "Fine, if you don’t believe me..."

Severus was about to protest that it was not her he doubted, but he paused as he watched her undo the first few buttons of her blouse and open her collar

"You see.... nothing, not a mark, see for yourself" she told him as she held open her blouse.

His hands trembling, Severus reached out to touch her throat, as his eyes wandered over her, she had opened her blouse far enough to hint at what lay beneath. He paused as his mind raced, he realized her bed was on the other side of the door, and he was sorely tempted to see if she would truly consider taking him as her lover, although husband was his true goal. As he touched her neck, he felt the warmth of her flesh, her skin felt like silk to him as he gently moved his hands down her neck, pushing her blouse aside even more as his hands came to rest on her collar bone.

"Are you happy?" she asked him softly, looking deeply into his eyes. Severus was unsure as to wether she meant that she was unharmed, or at this very moment. "Yes" was his only reply.

"I’m glad, but if you were so worried about me, why didn’t you cut in and dance with me" Cat chided "I know you can dance, so don’t bother using that as an excuse."

He didn’t have an answer. Severus sighed deeply as he turned to walk away when suddenly a thought came to him "Actually Miss MacLeod, I was hoping you would agree to be my date to the Holiday Ball, unless you have other plans of course" he held his breath as he waited for her reply.

Cat smiled softly, he always asked her to the Balls, every single blessed one of them, "I would love to go with you Severus" she said as she smiled tenderly at him.

Severus returned her smile, and kissing her quickly he said goodnight, she was safe and he was both happy and relieve, the rest could wait until the Holiday Ball..

Cat went inside her room, if only he’s let go of his pain, he might actually have real potential if he could get on with life and stop dwelling on the past. She shook her head sadly, if only, she thought. She was about to change into her nightgown when she heard scratching at her door....