Sirius shook his head, <what am I doing here?> he thought as he crossed the short distance to Magda’s caravan <I’m no diplomat, and I don’t exactly have the right to speak for her clan. I just hope Cat understands>. Taking a deep breath to clear his head and calm his nerves, Sirius knocked loudly on Magda’s door. He wasn’t exactly surprised to see several others in the caravan with her, <oh well, its always more fun making a fool of yourself with an audience> he thought as he entered and stood in front of Magda.

"Sirius Black, I am surprised to see you. I thought you and the vampyre would be sleeping by now." Magda said politely "Or have I neglected to provide something for you?"

"No Magda, you hospitality is without fault" Sirius responded politely, "but I have received a message from my Clan. I am to return today, I intend to rest first, I need my strength for my journey back. But I must have your answer before I leave." Sirius listened as the room fell quite.

"That is not enough time to decide the fate of my people" Magda replied tersely, "Perhaps Clan MacLeod does not appreciate the gravity of my peoples situation."

"Or perhaps Magda does not wish to be the one who makes the decision" Sirius replied, bowing slightly "yours is not the only people we have contacted. There are many others who wish to join with us, if you do not that is your decision, but we will not be able to help you anymore than we already have." Sirius watched as Magda’s eyes grew large, his guess was right, Cat must have been giving her assistance, apparently without the knowledge of the rest of the Roma, typical Cat. Sirius smiled with satisfaction as he saw the flurry of chatter his comments had made already.

"I will not be rushed into a decision wizard" Magda replied evenly "you cannot expect me to decide this in a few hours."

"You knew we were coming, you knew why. This is no surprise to anyone." Sirius replied

"Is there anything else you would like to demand?" Magda snapped.

Sirius took a deep breath and hoped he remembered correctly everything he had learned from and about Cat’s clan "Clan custom dictates that either the clan leader or one of their offspring be fostered with our clan. That would mean either you or Fallon, unless you have other children I am unaware of?"

Magda eyes Sirius maliciously "Fallon is the only child I have worth speaking of, the others are too weak. As it is she barely manages"

"My Clan has no objections to her, she seems obedient and intelligent, if she is willing to learn, we will accept her in your stead." Sirius responded hesitantly, he didn’t want Magda to think this is actually what he wanted all along. "But I am concerned about her lack of strength..... she will be taught to fight as any of our children are taught......" Sirius shook his head as he frowned "perhaps this will not work after all. I am afraid Cash was correct, the Roma may not be able to uphold their end."

"How dare you!" Magda seethed "The Roma are strong, we are brave. How dare you question what we can and cannot do!" she stood up and walked to him "If you are so sure of your clan, then why not take a score of my people, see if you can teach them anything they do not already know." she said mockingly.

"A score would leave you defenceless" Sirius pointed out. "And for you to even offer such a thing is foolish." he said calmly, "I will leave you and your people to decide."

"And if we refuse to give you an answer today?" Magda challenged, hoping to make Sirius back down.

Sirius sighed deeply and audibly "Magda, you seem to think I am here because I want to be. Your wrong." He paused waiting for his words to sink in "I am here because my lady has asked me to, and because my teacher felt I am the best wizard for this mission. I love and respect them, so for my lady’s sake and the sake of the Clan, I agreed. However I have been summoned by them. I need to get back to them." Turning his back to her, he opened the door and paused.

"Magda, I want your answer, I will leave today whether you decide or not. I am going to rest now. You have until this afternoon to consider my offer. After that, your clan is on its own." Sirius said as he left her caravan, refusing to look back at any of them. He didn’t know how or when Cat developed the patience for these games, he certainly didn’t envy her.......

"Well what happened, what did you do... what did she do?" Dimitri asked excitedly as Sirius entered the caravan.

"I gave her an ultimatum." he replied sleepily "One way or the other we will know this afternoon."

"She will kill you Sirius," Fallon said worry evident in her voice "She will never allow herself to be forced into anything. She will kill you out of pride."

"No she won’t, she’s angry and stubborn, but not stupid. If she harms either of us" he motioned to Dimitri and himself "if for any reason we do not return whole and intact, it will be seen as a direct attack on Clan MacLeod.... an no one ever survives their fury. Trust me, I’ve seen them fight,.... seem to have a fondness for head shots and long metal blades."

Dimitri and Fallon stared at each other with surprise "you don’t actually think they would attack us.... do you?" Fallon asked meekly.

"If anything happens to us?...... In a heartbeat. Of course I sincerely doubt your people would survive Cash alone, much less Clan Gangrel or Clan MacLeod." Sirius yawn loudly as he stretched "Get some rest, both of you, no matter what, we are leaving today. Fallon you are welcome to come with us if you wish." Sirius offered "Just remember, we are travelling fast and light."

"You really want to get back to them don’t you?" Dimitri said, suddenly concerned "Is there something your not telling me? Has something happened?"

Sirius shook his head, "I’ve just got a bad feeling. I had it almost as soon as we left, and it’s gotten worse. I need to see Harry and Cat, I have to know that they’re safe." he said as he laid down on the bed and turned his back to Dimitri and Fallon "Get some sleep, we are going to need it."

Fallon looked to Dimitri with frightened eyes "They wouldn’t really attack us.....?" She began to weep softly as she saw the look in Dimitri’s eyes. It was obvious he agreed with Sirius, he believed they would too. "But they want to be our allies, why ......"

Dimitri took Fallon by her hands and manoeuvred he to his bed. Sitting her down he spoke softly to her "I know you don’t understand their ways, I myself am only just learning. But I am being taught by Cash" Dimitri watched as Fallon’s eyes grew large "Yes Fallon, the same Cash he was referring to. Cash is a good man, and he loves his clan dearly, he would kill or die for them. Cat is his blood, his true blood. She is his mortal descendant, if anyone or anything caused her pain or harm I have no doubt in my mind or my heart that he would destroy the cause of that pain."

"But to be able to kill like that... To slaughter innocent people.." Fallon began

"NO.. That is one of the very first things Cash taught me. Only the evildoer." Dimitri explained "It is his clan’s way of life, they will not kill innocents. Children and the innocent are safe from them, it is considered dishonourable to harm them. They hunt the evildoer, they will search and track down a murderer for days if necessary. I have seen Cash nearly starve himself rather than harm an innocent." Dimitri squeezed her hand firmly "He is a man of honour, as is his kine Sirius. They would only attack to defend and preserve, they have no interest in domination or death."

This seemed to calm Fallon it was obvious she was deeply concerned for the well-being of her people. Dimitri stared at her as his mind wandered, she was so much like Luna, "Will you come with us? Will any of the Roma join?"

"I know many want to, but Magda is harsh to any who oppose her. They may not have the courage to stand against her." Fallon explained "She’s become hard and cold over the years. She’s not the mother I remember."

"I remember my mother and sister, they meant everything to me. They are the only part of my life I truly miss." Dimitri said sadly "Fallon, can you find my sister? Would you be able to tell her where I am..... what I am."

Fallon stared at him "She doesn’t know?"

"I don’t know if she does or not..... I doubt anyone told her, it would break her heart." Dimitri sighed "but I want to see her. I miss her, I miss her voice and her laugh..... she was my best friend." ..........

Sirius smiled as he saw Cat walking down the hall towards him, he held out his arms waiting for her to walk into his embrace as she had always done. It took a few moment before he realized something was wrong, she wasn’t coming to him, she didn’t even seem to realize he was there. "Cat....., Catri...???" Sirius said. Still she didn’t notice him. He tried to walk towards her, only to find his feet had fused with the stone floor. Fighting to get loose, Sirius kept calling to Cat, who didn’t seem to notice anything, she just kept slowly walking. After using a granitis sans mortis spell, Sirius finally freed himself, running towards Cat he grabbed her by her arms and spun her around to face him. He wanted to know why she was ignoring him, what had he done.

Sirius froze with horror as he saw Cat’s face, she was dripping in blood, and her eyes, her beautiful emerald eyes, the eyes that had held such love and joy within them,..... they were gone. Sirius couldn’t stop himself from screaming out in his pain and horror at what they had done to her. Sobbing loudly, Sirius wrapped his arms around her, expecting to feel her return his embrace, instead she stood there cold and limp. "Cat..?!!!" he swallowed hard as he took a close look at her, she was grey and mottled........ she was dead.

Sirius dropped his arms and backed away from her image as the truth began to sink in. He had failed her, again, he hadn’t been there when she needed him the most. Sirius turned and ran down the hall, practically tripping over Harry, who was laying against the wall, crying hysterically saying Cat had died, that *they* had killed her..... "she saw the future, and then they .... they..." Harry looked up at Sirius with tear-filled eyes and said accusingly "Remus and Snape tried to save her..... where were you? I’ve lost both my mothers now, both because of you."

Sirius sat up with a start, only to see Dimitri’s face staring at him with concern "Sirius, what is it? You where whining and crying out."

Sirius jumped out of bed and began to gather his things together. "That’s it. I’m leaving now... I don’t care what her answer is, I don’t care if she has an answer......" Sirius looked out of the caravans windows, a storm was brewing, the sun was slipping in and out of the clouds. He needed to get to them quickly, before the storm hit, before anything could happen to them.

"Sirius... what is it? Something has happened, did they contact you?" Fallon asked, near the edge of panic.

Sirius paused and took a deep breath, "I had a nightmare... it was worse than a nightmare... Harry and Cat need me. I know the alliance is important if we want to defeat Voldemort. But it doesn’t mean anything to me if Cat and Harry aren’t there." He explained as he tied his bag closed. "Dimitri, can you stay a little while? Get Magda’s answer... bring Fallon if she likes. I have to go and go now... I’m planning on apparating, I can’t take you with me." Sirius jumped as a peal of thunder rolled through the air.

Dimitri nodded "Actually I would like to stay a few days. Maybe I can convince some of the others to join us despite Magda. Besides, Cash wanted you back as soon as possible, remember?"

"Yeah.. I remember, but I don’t think it was meant to be because of this." Sirius replied as he opened the door. He almost walked into Magda and several other members of the Roma who stood behind her.

"You said you would stay until later this afternoon" Magda reminded him.

"My Clan calls me and I go" Sirius responded irritably, "I don’t wait for others when the ones I love wait for me."

"And he has been summoned. If you wish to deal with Clan MacLeod then you must deal with me." Dimitri interjected, "I am now the one who decides whether your people are worthy of joining us."

"You" Magda said haughtily "you who are nothing better than a rich man’s whore. Do you honestly think I would dignify you with such standing among the Roma. You left us to wallow in mud, return to your filth and be gone."

Sirius was about to step in when he saw the look on Dimitri’s face "Old woman, weak and tired. You dare to dismiss me?’ he snarled "I left the Roma when they turned their backs to me, when they abandoned me to my captors, and whether you *want* to deal with me or not does not matter. Bean Uasal de MacLeod, has entrusted *me* to see to this. If I am worthy in the Lady’s eyes, then I care little what you think." Dimitri spoke boldly, daring Magda to challenge him "She is rion de daoine , queen among her people, can you truly say the same? Or have you become too hard and frightened to even care about the Roma?"

The silence that fell was eerie, everyone waited to see who would make the first move. Magda looked skywards as a heavy rain began to fall. Turning to Dimitri, she pointed at him and hissed "I curse you for you words" Magda spat venomously "you who became a woman, a whore for the ....."

Dimitri laughed as if he had gone mad. "*You* curse me?" he jumped out of the caravan and stood nose to nose with her "You think to curse me..... LOOK AT ME" he yelled, causing Magda to retreat several steps "I am dead, I was beaten, abused, raped and finally murdered. Yet I walk among the stars as an eternal soul, never knowing peace or salvation. I must kill to live, and *YOU* have the foolish pride to think that you can curse me?"

Sirius stood back and watched, Dimitri’s little temper tantrum had definitely done the job. Several of the younger Roma where whispering amongst themselves, nodding and pointing at Dimitri. In fact, quite a few of them had walked up to Fallon, apparently to get her opinion on what they should do, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Magda, who was leering dangerously at them. Sirius decided that now was the time to give Dimitri the support he was going to need if they wanted to salvage anything from their trip.

"Dimitri!" Sirius yelled loudly trying to be heard over the crowd and the rain. Dimitri turned and looked at Sirius, he suddenly look very unsure of what he had just done. Sirius walked over to him smiling widely. Clapping his hands on Dimitri’s shoulders, Sirius told him what he and everyone else present needed to hear. "I am proud of you Dimitri. You have finally begun to understand what Clan is, we protect each other, we help each other .... and we have faith in each other... no matter what." Sirius’s smile grew even wider as he saw the gratitude in Dimitri’s eyes. "Do what ever you feel is necessary, I trust you to do the right thing. If any of them actually seem able to make their own decisions, and truly wish to become our allies, bring them home with you. If they do not, then leave them for Voldemort and his minions, maybe they will want them for something."

Sirius paused as he saw the look of fear on many of their faces, only Fallon and Dimitri understood he would never do anything so cruel. "I am leaving, I expect you and any of the Roma to return to me by the start of Candlemas. Bean Uasal de MacLeod will be expecting you." Sirius gave him a fierce hug before he turned to leave. "Make us proud childer" he whispered into Dimitri’s ear, the young Ventrue smiled back at him, grateful for his confidence.

As Sirius walked away from the group he heard Magda yelling after him, he decided it was best to ignore her and continued walking. Until he saw Fallon step in front of him, her eyes were full of uncertainty, he could tell she was still wavering over her decision. Whether to support her mother, or protect her people, Sirius sighed as he gave her a lopsided grin "Make your decision now Fallon. Dimitri has made his and I have made mine. You know we will stand beside you."

Fallon smiled happily as she ran up and embraced Sirius, who gave her a large hug and told her "get your people together and move quickly. Danger is coming and your people are in its path" Just to make sure there was no mistaking his actions, Sirius turned around and nodded to Dimitri, signalling Fallon had joined them, she was allied to Clan MacLeod.

Sirius smiled as he finally walked away from the camp and into the forest. Fallon and Dimitri would do just fine. Sirius had watched as several of the young men and women in the village smiled when she had walked up to Dimitri’s side. They had realized what a dangerous position they were in, even if Magda had not. Sirius shuddered as the rain poured down on him, he needed to get back to Harry and Cat. He cringed as the nightmare replayed in his mind, Harry’s accusing voice kept ringing in his ears. Pulling out his wand, Sirius quickly apparated deep into the forbidden forest at Hogwarts. He wished he could have gotten closer, but the shield around the school prevented it. Transforming into Padfoot, Sirius quickly ran through the forest and into the school, he needed to find Harry and Cat, especially Cat..........

Snape was roaming the hallway looking for Potter or Cat. He had a vial of sustinere perpeti potion with him, it was still warm, and he knew Cat needed to drink it before it cooled off, it had to be fresh for it to be effective. Severus kept his eyes open for any sign of Cat as he made his way towards her classroom. Walking past a group of Gryffindor, he overheard Harry talking about Cat.

"I know she can take care of herself" Harry sighed "but something is wrong... she just seems so tired, and Remus really can’t help right now.... at least not for the next day or two."

"Oh that’s right" Hermione said "it is a full moon tonight, isn’t it?"

"Yeah,.. . and Sirius still isn’t back yet. I don’t know what to do." Harry explained to Ron and Hermione "I don’t want to worry Dumbledore, but I don’t think Cat should be alone..... she looks as if she could fall over at any time."

"Harry I’m sure your exaggerating" Hermione told him "remember when she and Remus fought against the dementors? I’m sure she’s just fine."

"YOU didn’t see her this morning, Miss know-it-all" Ron chimed in "Harry is absolutely right, she looked horrible. I actually thought she was going to pass out right there in front of us."

"So why didn’t you tell her to see Madame Pomfrey" Hermione snipped back

"We did" Harry sighed "but she just laughed it off... said she was just tired. I know she’s not telling me the truth."

Severus fingered the potion bottle in his robe, as much as he needed to get the potion to Cat, he could not ask Harry to do this. It was quite obvious that Harry was already overly concerned about her, and this would only make it worse. "Mr. Potter," Severus said, smirking as the three friends jumped at the sound of his voice "I am looking for Miss MacLeod, have you seen her?"

Harry looked down at the floor "No Professor Snape, not since class .... but...."

Sev gave Harry the meanest stare he could manage "But... but what Mr. Potter... out with it."