"Sirius" Cat said breathlessly as she looked up to see him looking sadly at her "what are you doing here? I thought Albus had sent you on a mission."

Sirius shook his head "I'm back now" he told her as he brushed the hair off of her face "I heard about this evening. Kitty why didn't you tell me about your mother?" he asked her gently, he knew this was not going to be easy for either of them.

Cat looked down "I don't like to talk about it" she said as her voice caught in her throat "there's no point to it, what's done is done, I can't change it" she could feel the stinging in her eyes as she fought to hold back her tears. She felt Sirius's hand cup her cheek tenderly as he tilted her face towards his, the moment she looked into his eyes she began to cry.

"Hush.... Kitty... my poor Kitty" Sirius said as he embraced her, rocking her gently back and forth as he stroked her hair. He smiled softly as he felt Cat rest her head against his chest, he had been wanting to hold her for so long, he only wished it could have been under happier circumstances "Come on Kitty, lets get you back to your room, we can talk there."

Cat pulled away slightly "I don't think that's a very good idea Sirius" she seemed to hesitate, he understood after all it had been a trying night for her.

Sirius smiled warmly as he wiped away the teardrops from her face "Look at you, running through the halls half naked, what would your father say if he knew I left you like this." He half-joked "he would send your brothers after my skin. Is that what you want?"

Cat shook her head and laughed, he was right "Of course not..... its just..." she paused as she shivered, he was right, she should have grabbed a robe before she dashed after the dog. "Oh no... Harry's dog, I was following him...."

"Don't worry about it Kitty, he was probably going to play with Shashe" Sirius watched as she shuddered again. "We need to get you back to your room muirneach aon, your shivering terribly" Sirius said softly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder only to have her pull away, her eyes full of uncertainty.

It broke his heart, but he didn't want to push her, not now she was obviously on the verge of breaking down, he could easily see the tears welling in her beautiful eyes "Its alright, I understand" Sirius told her softly, trying to hide the pain in his own voice "but I'm still taking you back to your room and seeing you tucked under the covers." Stepping towards her he pushed her hair behind her ears and whispered "I don't want anything to happen to you" he let his lips linger near her ear for a moment before he straightened himself, extending his hand he simply said "please"..........

Cat looked at him with confusion, how could he just walk back into her life like this, with the brief exception of a few days ago she hadn't seen him in years, yet here he was acting as if nothing had changed. "Always the hero...?" she had meant for it to sound spiteful, but it she could never manage to be angry with Sirius, at least not for long. Cat paused as she saw the look on Sirius's face, the only word she could think of was bittersweet. She watched as a sad smile crossed his face, he looked as though he were going to cry "Only for you ionúin, only for you." Sirius barely whispered as she took his hand.

As he led her back to her room, Cat's mind was racing, she couldn't understand why he was treating her so tenderly, it had to be more than the news about her mother, didn't it? She thought back to all the times they had spent together laughing, playing, loving. They're lived had been idyllic up to the last two weeks of her life at Hogwart's, she cringed as she remembered his anger and vengefulness, but looking at him now, none of that seemed real. He was the sweet and gentle Sirius she had known so well and loved so deeply.........

Sirius paused as he stood outside of her door, he didn't want to push anything, he was going to do it right this time, no more stupid mistakes. Turning to look at Cat he couldn't help but smile at her, she looked so beautiful with her hair hanging down around her and her soft, deep eyes gazing back at him, it was all he could do not to kiss her right there. "Your shivering again" he said as he opened her door and still holding her hand, walked her to one of the large armchairs in front of the fire.

As Cat sat down, Sirius took a blanket from off the foot of her bed and wrapped it around her, kneeling in front of her as he brought the ends of the blanket over her. She just stared at him, not saying a word. Sirius sighed as he once again pushed her silky hair behind her ears, only to have it fall forward again, he was getting nervous, he expected a thousand questions, not silence.

"Kitty, please say something" he prodded "you seem numb" gently he touched her cheek, the only response was in the depths of her eyes, he watched as silent tears streamed down her face. She suddenly seemed so fragile, leaning back on his heels Sirius took her hand in his and kissed it gently all to no avail. H e watched as the light of the fire caught the highlights of her auburn hair as his fingers ran through it savouring the softness, suddenly Cat reached out for him. Wrapping her arms around him she sobbed loudly, as they both fell backwards on the floor. "Ohh Sirius" she sobbed "I tried, but I couldn't stop them, their were too many of them." she wailed pitifully "She should have run away, I was the one they wanted, but she fought to protect me instead."

Sirius had his arms around her, embracing her tightly as he felt her chest heave with her sobs, "even after she was dead they didn't stop....... there was so much blood, I couldn't..... do.. ... anything... it..... it..."

"Shhhhh" Sirius said softly as he pulled her closer, gathering her in his arms he lifted her so she was sitting on his lap with her head resting against his chest. He cradled her like that until her sobbing quieted "Kitty you can't blame yourself. Diedre was a powerful witch, if she couldn't defend herself do you really think you would have stood a chance?" he asked as he gave her a reassuring squeeze. He listened as she sighed deeply, he understood her pain, even more, he understood the feeling of helplessness that accompanied the guilt. He had felt the same way when his father died, what if he would have been there, could he have saved him, would it have made a difference?

Sirius rested his cheek on her head as Cat nuzzled against his neck, she was still holding onto him as if he were the one thing she knew she could count on. He listened to her weeping softly, Sirius's heart was breaking for her, it wasn't fair that she had to suffer through this alone, he could only imagine the horror of watching helplessly as her mother had been butchered by Voldemort's deatheaters. Sirius hugged her tightly as he silently promised to protect her from the world, he never wanted to see her cry like this again. It had broken his heart the first time, this time it was tearing it apart. "Mo ionúin, fuist" he pleaded as the tears began to fall from his own eyes. They sat there for what seemed like hours, sitting in front of the fire, holding onto each other while they wept.

Finally Cat was able to speak "Sirius,..... I've missed you" she told him as her fingers traced the outline of his jaw only to pause as she felt the moisture on his skin and realized that he had been crying as well. Cat tried to pull herself away and sit up, but Sirius held onto her tightly.

"No... please" Sirius asked softly "just let me hold you a little while longer" his voice was choked with emotion, he had forgotten how wonderful it felt to comfort someone, to be her hero again. She had said it herself earlier ‘always the hero’ he missed that; lately he had been the lurker, the escaped murderer, the outcast. Sitting here with her, being able to hold and comfort her, it made him feel strong, it almost made him feel whole again.

Cat hesitated for a moment, she knew she shouldn't encourage him, after all they both had someone else in their live's now. But she missed this, she missed being able to let her guard down, to be weak once in a while. She could always talk to Sirius, say anything, she never had to worry about him judging her, she could open herself up to him completely. If only Severus could understand the way Sirius did. Sighing softly, Cat cuddled against Sirius, enjoying the feel of his arms around her, she smiled as she felt him absent-mindedly play with her hair. It had become quite a joke amongst them when they were students, one day Lily had pulled all of Cat's hair up in a tight bun just to see what Sirius would do without any hair to twist around his fingers. They had all been sure he would get upset or start teasing her about it, but instead he smiled as he saw the tight little curls around the nape of her neck. He sat next to her in class the whole day, pulling them and saying ‘boing’ until she was ready to swat him.

Suddenly Cat began to giggle softly "Kitty..... whats so funny?" Sirius asked as his eyebrow rose in the air.

"Nothing geal, just remember things" she sighed contentedly as she squeezed him, thoroughly enjoying the press of his muscles against her .

"Really? .... Remembering what?" Sirius asked curious as to what could have finally made her smile after everything that had happened tonight.

Cat sat up and looked at him smiling mischievously "Boing" she said as she opened her eyes very wide. Sirius paused for a moment, looking very confused until it hit him, another memory that the dementors pulled from him.

He smiled back at her before he also began to laugh "I was a real brat wasn't I?" he asked chuckling as he remembered following Cat around for a whole day, pulling her curls and watching them bounce back like little springs. It was nothing short of a miracle that she hadn't beaten him senseless by the end of the day. He rested his head on her shoulder as his mind raced through all the silly little things they had done to each other "Well at least I never attacked you when you were sleeping" he said indignantly "honestly Kitty, permanent make-up.... do you know how long James and I had to look for a counter spell for that?"

Judging by her smile, Cat had a very good idea "Hey, that was pay back for the super glue incident" she said as she smiled widely at him, "You should have known better than to try and outdo Lily and I." She rested her head against his, and Sirius was almost sure, he had felt her give him a quick kiss on the top of his head.

It was Sirius's turn to be content, this moment was almost perfect. He was with the woman he loved, he was finally able to hold her in his arms, able to talk with her, they had even begun to laugh a little. If only his name was cleared, if only he could walk out of the room with her on his arm for all the world to see. Sirius was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization of all that had happened over the past several years. James, Lily, Azkaban, Peter, it all came rushing back to him, unconsciously he embraced Cat firmly, he had always relied on her faith to see him through the difficult times. To bad she hadn't been there for the worst moment of his life, maybe things would have been different. Sighing deeply he finally lifted his head, only to feel hers fall gently against his chest.

Cat startled herself awake, she felt as if she were falling. "Glad to know you still feel so comfortable around me" a gentle voice was saying, she felt warm hands tenderly brushing the hair off of her face "Sirius?" it took Cat a moment to remember the past few hours..... "Oh my... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ..." She hesitated as she heard him laughing.

"I don't mind dearest" Sirius said sweetly "besides you need the rest, you've had a rough few days" he reminded her as he easily stood up, still holding Cat in his arms. He carried her across the room towards her bed, suddenly she began to struggle against him.

"Sirius,... No" Cat said adamantly, "I need to do things, .... you need to leave.... I can't.." Sirius set her down as he saw the panic on her face.

Sirius placed a finger over her lips "I'm not, .... you know I wouldn't, .... and you need to get some rest." he told her gently yet firmly. "Remus and Albus have kept me pretty well informed, and you my dearest have been burning the candle at both ends. Don't make me force you to get into bed and sleep." he said as he crossed his arms across his chest and stared pointedly at her.

Cat sighed resignedly there was no point arguing with him when he had that look on his face. Suddenly an idea came to her, "Force me ...... Sirius Onoir Black, don't you even try" she said as she placed her hands on her hips.

Sirius looked aghast for a moment "Catri MacLeod, ... that is not what I meant!!" he was about to protest his innocence when he saw the smile cross her face. "Remember what I said about being a brat?" he asked as he grinned "I take it back, *your* the brat."

Cat laughed "I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist teasing you a little." of course he would never force himself on her or anyone, and if nothing else he had always been honorable, heck honor was his middle name, besides he would never desecrate his marriage vows, she should have known better to even tease him about such a thing. Still she had to admit, her little teasing had certainly brought the sparkle back to his eyes.

Cat crossed the room and picked up a parchment she had received earlier that day. "I can't sleep, I need to check in on Harry, you don't understand whats been happening." she handed the parchment to Sirius. "Harry is in more danger now than he has ever been in his life, we have to be especially careful now, its not just Voldemort anymore, MOM is just as bad and every bit as dangerous, to many deatheaters hold high positions in the Ministry." Sirius looked up from the parchment, his eye full of concern and worry. "And as for that fool Fudge, I can't tell if he's that good an actor or if he's really that idiotic. Heaven knows there wasn't much going on in his mind." Cat finished as Sirius placed his hand on her arm.

"Kitty, .... where did you get this?" Sirius asked holding the parchment, "Do you know if this is reliable? Because if it is...." he didn't need to finish his sentence, the look on Cat's face said it all.

Cat placed her hand on top of Sirius's "It's very reliable. Several of my clan have managed to infiltrate the Ministry" she said wearily "they will be leaving soon, its just to dangerous for them now." Cat looked directly into Sirius's eyes "We are all alone in this, the Ministry is as much the enemy as Voldemort,.... maybe even more." she sighed deeply.

"Oh Kitty..." Sirius said as he wrapped his arms around her "I never thought it was this bad. How many have we lost?" he closed his eyes as he felt the all to familiar sting of tears, more of her clan had been killed, it was a wonder she was still here. Her family must be half mad with worry. "You need to leave Kitty, I won't risk your life...."

"NO!" Cat said as she pushed him away "I'm the last hope we have. If I fail its over, its all over" she ran her hand through her hair, pulling off of her face "I've got to do this, for all of us, Harry, Albus, Remus, you... if I fail...." she sighed "I can't fail, it will spell the end of my clan if I do. I won't allow that, my father is trusting me to do this...." she was blinking to keep the tears back.

Sirius simply stood there watching her, he didn't know what to say, surely her father would never risk her life like this. There was something she wasn't telling him. As much as he wanted to go to her, to cradle her in his arms and take away her pain, he needed to know that it was mutual, he wanted her to come to him. Even if it was only this once, holding his arms open Sirius whispered "Catri" he wasn't disappointed.