"Even as a dog, she still cares about you... Amazing" Remus said to Sirius as Cat closed the door at the bottom of the steps. "When are you going to tell her about being an animagus, I was sure you would have told her when we were in school."

"I wish I would have, but James and I promised each other we wouldn't tell either Cat or Lily" Sirius explained "just in case MOM found out, we didn't want them to share the blame."

"Well that may just be the only sensible thing you ever did where Cat was concerned." Remus said as they entered Dumbledore's office.....

Cat took off like a bullet as soon as she closed the door behind her; she needed to get rid of some of her nervous energy. She almost lost her resolve several times tonight were Sirius was concerned, it didn't seem to matter that she had spent the last two weeks of her student life at Hogwarts crying her eyes out over him. It didn't even matter that he had broken her heart; she shook her head as she sped through the halls, why couldn't she just forget him and get on with her life. She had been perfectly content to have Harry back, and Severus was a good man, she was positive he intended to take their relationship to the next level, probably very shortly. Cat felt the confusion welling within her, how could she have such deep feelings for two different men, it just wasn't right, and it certainly wasn't fair, not to them or her.

Cat skidded to a halt as she sniffed the air.... Cash's scent .... he was close, and he was stalking someone. Cat paused as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness, there was someone moving down the hall to her left, and it wasn't Cash. She turned and looked directly at them as they froze, she could smell the fear dripping from its body. It was a man, one who didn't belong at Hogwarts, Cat growled fiercely as she tore down the hallway, fully intent on inflicting harm. This was now her home, and she protected what was hers, person, place or thing, it didn't matter. She saw the man turn to run, she had to laugh, he didn't have a chance, not when she was in a mood like this, the only thing that could stop her was her own clan. Cat was closing in on him quickly, she practically laughed as she saw the look of utter horror on his face. *serves him right for violating the school* she thought, as she delivered a well placed kick to his solar plexus, causing the man to double over and fall to his knees. She walked up to him, she wanted to get a good look at his face, grabbing a fist full of hair, she jerked his head back..... it was no one she recognized.

He was trying to get up, he actually though he could fight her... Cat smirked at his arrogance, just because she was a woman he thought she would be easy prey. Interlacing her fingers, Cat swung, making solid contact with the man's jaw, he practically flew backwards. Just as Cat went to grab the man, she felt someone behind her....turning quickly she recognized a familiar face, clan Gangrel, it was Raul.

Before Cat could say a word, Raul gently moved her out of the way, he wasn't looking good, his skin was very pale, almost sallow. His eyes seemed cloudy, and his fangs were bared, Cat knew what was coming next. She turned her back on the scene as she heard the man whimpering, they all knew he was as good as dead, Raul needed to feed. Cat heard the man trying to scuffle away , she listened as his shoes scraped against the stones, only to have Raul pull him up into the air, the man's breathing was coming in ragged gasps. Cat closed her eyes as she heard Raul pull the man's neck back and sink his fangs deeply into his veins, she heard the flesh tearing as Raul drank deeply from the man. She turned around when she heard the man stop struggling, Raul was still grasping the limp figure tightly around the middle, its back was against Raul's chest. Cat watched in fascination as the figures head jerked limply with each draught that Raul pulled from its body, the man's heart had stopped beating a few short seconds ago, but Raul was not the sort to waste anything....

Raul paused and opened his eyes as he realized that Angel was watching him, he was surprised to see her smiled softly at him, only to divert her eyes shyly moments later. Raul almost felt like blushing himself, he was completely unaccustomed to having anyone watch him feed, it was as if she had walked in on an intimate act, but he reminded himself, she was here first, he vaguely recalled moving her out of his way in his rush to feed. Raul was enraptured by Angel, he had only met her a few months ago, he had heard of her of course, Cash and Tris always spoke of her, especially of her willing acceptance of them, her entire clan was like that according to them, but never did Raul expect such a level of comfort either physically or emotionally. It was no wonder she had acquired the name Angel, that was exactly what she was to his clan, a loving and accepting being, heaven sent to save them from the loneliness that threatened to consume them.

Raul dropped the empty shell as he finished feeding, he would dispose of it in a moment, but he felt the need to make sure Angel had not been harmed or disturbed by what she had witnessed.

"Angel?" he spoke softly, waiting for her to turn and face him. He was pleasantly surprised to see her turn quickly, "I hope I have not caused you distress.." he paused as he saw her blushing. It was only then that the realization had hit him, she was not upset by what she had seen, she was embarrassed, she understood, she must have experienced the embrace at some point in her life.

"No..... no I'm fine Raul" Cat said as she tried to regain her composure. She took a deep breath and looked Raul squarely in the eyes, only to see him smiling tenderly at her. She returned him smile "Sorry, .. I've only ever seen my clannad do that, you're the first non-family member that... well.."

It was Raul's turn to blush "I understand Angel. I apologize for earlier, I did not mean to push you out of the way." He offered her his arm, he was hoping all the storied Cash and Tris had told them where true, it would kill him to have Angel baulk at his touch. His fears where shortly put to rest as Angel took his arm, he escorted her away from the corpse, she did not need to see such things. "What has you roaming so late Angel, you should be sleeping"

"Looking for Cash actually, I scented him down here." She explained "Albus wishes to speak with him about the Slytherin brats. He has already spoken with me, and Remus and Sirius are in his office now." As if on cue Cash and Tristessa walked around the corner, dragging what was left of another deatheater, it was obvious that Tris had just fed.

"Speak of the devil" Cat said as she saw them. "Cash, the headmaster is looking to speak with you." She gave him a meaningful look.

Cash and Tris saw the look in Angel's eyes, they turned to look at each other then quickly came to her side. Tris hugged her cousin as she asked her "Angel, whats wrong, you look as if something has upset you?" Cash stood behind Tris, one hand on Tris and one on Angel, he had a very concerned look on his face.

"I'm worried, Albus has Sirius and Remus in his office now" Cat said hurriedly "he wants to know exactly what happened to those three Slytherin brats. I'm afraid Sirius intends to take the blame for the whole thing." the concern was evident in her voice, the Gangrels stared at her for a moment.

Cash's expression grew angry "What do you mean Sirius, .... if it weren't for him that little beast and his teacher would be dead right now, he was the only thing that saved them." The edge in his voice was frightening, Tris instinctively wrapped her arm around Cat and pulled her back a few feet. "How dare they blame him for anything, I was the one who did the brat, and I take full responsibility for it and that professor guy as well. I gave the orders, not Sirius" he was in the middle of a full blown tirade, with no end in sight.

Raul stepped up "Cash, calm down" he physically held onto Cash's arm, only to be thrown aside by Cash. "That is more than enough!" Raul yelled as the girls cringed.

Cash turned on Raul "Back off, this doesn't concern you" he hissed "I am not going to let him suffer because of me, he's been through enough." Cash turned to Cat "Angel, where is he, take me to him right now..." Cash's words stuck in his throat as he saw the look on her face, it was close to terror. Taking a deep breath, Cash lowered his voice and spoke again. "Angel, I need to speak with Dumbledore, Sirius wasn't responsible for any of it" Cash walked towards Angel, only to be cut off by Raul, Cash gave him a warning look before turning back to Angel. " I saw the way you looked at him Angel, the way you smiled at him before you passed out. If he means anything to you, take me to him now." Cash said as he reached his hand out towards her.

Cat didn't even hesitate, no matter how angry or upset Cash could get, she trusted him, he was family. She took his hand, glancing over to Raul to let him know everything was fine. "Albus has them in his office, he's already spoken with me" She told Cash "he wanted to know exactly what had happened. This is sure to bring MOM here, and that brats father, Lucius Malfoy" even Cash was shocked by the disgust in her voice, it was as though the mere mention of the name had caused her pain. Cat noticed the looks Raul and Cash were giving her, she turned to Tristessa, she had thought Tris would have told them. "Malfoy is the one responsible for the current state of my family" she explained bitterly.....

Raul looked intently at Angel, she was obviously upset, but what concerned him most was the hatred he saw in her eyes when she mentioned this Malfoy. Up until this moment he had not thought she was capable of such and intense hatred. It seemed almost obscene to him, Raul had always seen Angel as a being full of joy, of course she could become angry and sad, but those were just passing emotions to her, like clouds passing across the face of the sun, he could not imagine what this man must have done to cause such a horrible passion within her.

Raul walked up to Angel's side, touching her cheek with the back of his hand "Angel?" he asked as he turned her to face him "Do you want us to go with you? If this monster is waiting in Albus's office, it may be best..."

Cat cut him off before he could finish. "No Raul... its alright, he's not here yet." She explained "He won't come alone, I promise you that, he's too much of a coward" she smiled warmly at Raul as she placed her hand on his squeezing it gently. "Besides, I have Cash to protect me" she said as she winked at him, she could see the concern on Raul's face and while she thought it very sweet, Cat did not want to get into explanations right now.

Raul looked at Cash and nodded, despite Cash's volatile temperament he could always be counted on to protect his clan. "As you wish Angel" Raul said softly "but I must insist you no longer roam these halls on your own, as you can see" he motioned to the two lifeless bodies on the floor "the peril increases everyday."

"Don't worry Raul, I won't ever allow anyone to harm her" Cash reassured Raul, "and neither would Tris" he finished nodding towards the young looking Gangrel standing next to Cat. Tris smiled at Cat and winked "through thick and thin.." to which Cat replied "through sick and sin." Raul looked at them curiously as the girls began to giggle at some unknown joke.

"Come on Cash" Cat said as she began pulling his arm "I don't want Remus and Sirius up there any longer than they have to be. Knowing the two of them... well..." Cat hesitated as she thought of all the trouble her two friends were capable of getting into "lets just hurry, okay?"

Cash smiled at her as he allowed himself to be drug down the hall by her, he turned to Tris and Raul and gave them a little wave as he rolled his eyes "In trouble again apparently" he yelled to them as he and Cat rounded a corner.

"Sooooo tell me Angel, exactly how much trouble *am* I in?" Cash asked "Will I be expelled? Or just given detention?" he joked, trying to lighten up her mood a bit.

"Cash its not funny.... If Sirius takes the blame for this there is no telling what will happen to him" Cat explained "especially if Malfoy finds out, he's always hated the marauders, and this would give him a perfect opportunity to hurt people."

"Well don't worry about that, if anything Sirius is the hero of the story, if it weren't for him, those two would be dead, and I will swear to that." Cash told her bluntly

"I wanted to ask you about that" Cat said hesitantly "the teacher that Sirius save, it was Severus Snape? The potions master?" she could hardly believe it was possible.

"Yeah, thats the guy" Cash responded "not the nicest of fellows, but I'll give him credit, he's tough, most people would have begged for mercy once Olia got involved."

Cat stopped dead "You let Olia *play* with him" she looked at Cash as he nodded "how could you?" Cat felt physically sick "She's the nearest thing to a monster I've ever seen Cash, she rapes peoples minds, she doesn't even think twice about the pain or harm she's causing" her eyes were tearing up "How could you let her do that to him, he didn't deserve it..... he...."

Cash took one look at her and knew this was trouble, apparently Kara and Olia were correct in their assessment, that man was well know to Angel. Cash shuddered as he thought of the teacher becoming a member of their clan, "Its not her fault Angel, you know as well as I do she should never had been embraced. Her empathic talents made her unstable in life, and we all know that only becomes magnified with the blood."

"I'm not blaming her Cash, but she should not be allowed to do that to people" Cat turned to Cash, "what if it had been Remus she did that to, would you stand by and allow him to suffer that?"

"Of course not, Remus is clan..... and your teacher friend didn't suffer long, Sirius stopped it from going any further." Cash replied irately, as if he would harm his own...

"I still can't believe Sirius defended Severus, they hate each other "Cat told him" I think they always have" she shook her head in disbelief. "Maybe Sirius has finally gotten over that..."

"Don't count on it" Cash said sarcastically "You should have heard him when Kara and Olia told us that your potion teacher had *plans* for you." now it was Cash's turn to sound disgusted "I thought it was going to be a coin toss to see who got to rip his throat out first."

Cat knew better than to ask Cash what those *plans* were, she could hear in his voice he was in no mood to discuss it. Besides she had other more important questions that needed answered. "How long have you known Sirius? I thought you two had only just met for the first time in the hall."

"Oh you mean when I accidently interrupted your little kiss?" Cash said as he watched Angel turn pink. Grinning with satisfaction he continued "Actually it was the first time I met him, but after all of Remus's stories, ... well lets just say we hit it off mighty fast."

"I guess so...." Cat said as she tried to regain her composure "especially if he could manage to talk reason to you. How did you stop you from killing them, if I may be so bold?" she said as she nudged him playfully, she had learnt a long time ago, if you wanted info from Cash, never insist or push, just tease him until he told you what you needed to know.

Cash stuck out his tongue "Smart a**,.... and don't worry there wasn't any hexing involved, he just asked me to stop, said he couldn't stand to see him suffer like that."

"He asked.... and *you* listened???!!" Cat was astounded "You must really like him" she was staring at Cash, it was not like him to take to strangers, even one as friendly as Sirius.

"Yeah, he asked me to stop..." Cash repeated to her "he seems like a nice guy, and a lot of fun." Cash grinned at Angel wickedly, "he should fit in well with the rest of the family. You are planning on seeing him I hope." it was his turn to nudge her, she was so much fun to play with, especially when he could see what she refused to admit, she cared about Sirius Black.

Cat dropped her head "I think he's already spoken for Cash... besides I'm kinda seeing someone else at the moment"

"Someone else??" Cash had a bad feeling about this "Well as long as it isn't that potion guy, I guess I can live with that." He decided then and there, he would oppose Snape entering the clan, if Angel wanted to play with him, have some fun and experiment, that was fine, but there would never be a marriage, not to a Slytherin. He may have only just learnt the term, but he understood its implications perfectly, Slytherins were not to be trusted.

Cat shot Cash a look of warning, but her mind was preoccupied by his statements. Try as hard as she could, she just couldn't imagine Sirius protecting Sev, she had heard that he had almost killed Sev on at least one occasion, and to top it off, Sirius was willing to take the fall for Cash, and they had only just met. Something was definitely going on, .......

Albus needed to end this before things became any more involved, he needed to speak with Sirius, to find out exactly what he wanted and expected to do. If Sirius had the strength to fight for Cat and Harry, Albus would back him completely, but if he was unsure or if he felt he would not be able to see it through to the end, then he needed to leave them alone, allow Severus to take his place in their lives.

"Cat, perhaps it would be best if you left us to discuss yesterday's events" Albus suggested gently, her being here was only causing Sirius more pain "I will speak with you and Raul about it tomorrow" he took her by the arm and escorted her to the door "it would be for the best, Cash and Sirius seemed to have been the most involved" Albus stopped her as she tried to object, his mind was made up. "Goodnight Miss MacLeod, sleep well."

Cat dropped her head and sighed, their was no arguing with Albus when he had his mind made up. Placing her hand on Albus's arm Cat pleaded "At least promise me you won't do anything until you speak with Raul and I, please." she implored as she cast a worried eye towards Cash and Sirius.

"I give you my word Kitty" Albus told her as he shut the door.

The next day, true to his word Albus Dumbledore had a very long talk with Cat and Raul, neither Cash nor Sirius would be punished for their actions, considering the circumstances, but they needed to prepare themselves for MOM. They would be sure to arrive shortly, Draco Malfoy had sent an owl to his father this morning. Albus also asked them not to mention Sirius Black, he explained to them that Sirius was assisting him in his efforts to expose Voldemort's plans, which is why Sirius had to stay hidden at the school when he wasn't out in the field. This made Cat feel better, at least it was something of an explanation as to why Sirius was here and not with his family.

She and Raul had discussed amongst themselves that when MOM showed up it would be better for her to be there, with the Gangrel and Garou waiting for her signal of course. Raul was not fond of letting her face them alone, but she reminded them that Remus and Albus would be with her, as well as Minerva, who Raul distinctly remembered hearing about, apparently she was quite the little firecracker if it came down to a fight, much like the rest of her family. The only happy thing that had come from the meeting was Albus had given permission for Harry to spend the holidays with Cat and her family in Caldonia, it would be their first real Christmas together, and Cat was sure Harry would love spending it in a large house with more family than he could count. Albus had even informed her that Harry was in potions at the moment, he knew she couldn't wait to tell him........