"Every day my friend ....". James sat down, putting his arm around Sirius "my friend, she and Lily share everything, Lily tells her secrets she won’t even tell me, and yes, Catri is deeply and truly in love with you. At least she was 3 hours ago." James sighed loudly "Now you’ll be lucky if Lily manages not to kill you. You made her sister cry. Sirius, I honestly think you broke her heart...."

Sirius sighed deeply, if only he had known. If only he had apologized instead of making things worse by yelling at her, accusing her of his own errors in judgement. It was his fault, he had pushed her away, right into the waiting arms of Snape. And now, all these years later, he was still paying for his mistakes.

Trembling with emotion, Sirius finally kissed Cat very, very gently as his tears continue to fall on her face. If only she would wake up, he had lived with this pain and guilt for too many years, he needed to apologize to her, he needed to explain, he needed to hear her forgive him. Sirius gently stroked Cat’s cheek with the back of his hand. Noticing his tears on her face, he tenderly kissed them away as well, as he heard Poppy coming towards Cat’s bed......

Cat felt like she was caught in the middle of a whirlpool, everything seemed to be closing in around her, swirling closer and closer, it was making her dizzy to even think about it, much less try to understand what was happening. Right now all she knew was she hurt and she was cold. She wanted someone to hold her, to keep her warm and safe... She longed for the days when everything seemed so simple, she and Lily were the dynamic duo, brother James ran the marauders and the quidditch team, Remus was their voice of reason, Peter the voice of caution, and Sirius loved and protected her. She wanted to scream, this wasn’t fair, why did she have to have the visions? Why did the voices chose to speak to her, she had so much family, surely someone else must have the power to stand this. The pain she could withstand, if was the cold she hated, it reminded her of being lonely, abandoned to the world with no one to care about you. Why couldn’t she move, she could feel someone holding her hand, whoever is was must have been extremely gentle, she sensed a great kindness in them. If only the voices would quiet down, she didn’t care anymore what Voldemort was trying to do, she hated him, he killed Lily and James. He made Harry an orphan. He was tearing the world apart.... The voices were getting louder, they wouldn’t be quiet, they were going to drive her mad...

Suddenly everything became hushed, Cat looked up to see James smiling at her, his blue eyes twinkling behind his wire rimmed glasses. He held out his hand, beckoning her to accompany him. Cat willingly took his hand and quickly felt a surge of electricity flooding through her body, she dropped to her knees, as James tried to help her. The voices were coming back again and something was pulling James away from her. She reached out for him, screaming for *brother* James, but it was no use, he disappeared into the shadows. It was then that the true pain began, Cat felt herself screaming as the same something that had taken James pulled her into the darkness, and into oblivion......

When Cat came to, she found herself in the hospital wing, Severus and Poppy were hovering over her as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She clearly saw the relief on their faces as she tried to open her eyes and it looked as if Sev had been crying. Poor Sev, he must be terrible worried, it wasn’t like him to show his emotions so openly like that. Cat wanted to tell him she was going to be alright, but she didn’t have the strength to talk at the moment. She felt herself slip into the darkness again, James was there, waiting for her. He was trying to show her something, something she needed to know and remember. He was becoming impatient with her, he thought she wasn’t paying attention to him, but she had seen this before, time after time, it was her family’s history, her own bloodline. Maharet had taught her how to read and trace it when she was just a child, * one day, it will be what saves us all * Maharet had told her. James kept pointing to one particular point on the wall, Cat jumped as James practically slammed his hand onto the spot, she took a closer look. Suddenly it was beginning to make sense now, leave it to James to figure it out, he always was the clever one. *the blood must mingle to grow strong* Maharet’s words echoed in her head over and over...... only to be replaced by Harry’s voice calling her back.

Cat felt herself fighting against the voices yet again, Harry was crying... he needed her. She turned back to ask James for help, but he was gone... in his place was Orpha’s dearest friend, Merlin, winking back at her right before sending some sort of orb right at her. Cat closed her eyes as she waited for the ord to hit her, instead it enveloped her, protecting her from the voices and the pain. She opened her eyes again, looking gratefully at Merlin as he smiled back at her, pointing to the same spot James had.....

Cat awoke with a painful moan, Harry and Remus were there with her, and she could hear Albus talking to someone. She could feel Harry sobbing against her, holding her tightly, he must be so afraid. Cat mustered her strength to speak to him, to let him know she would pull through this. She was surprised by the weakness of her own voice, but at least Harry seemed to take some comfort in knowing she was still here with him. It took her a few minutes to figure out why James and her mother weren’t going to Harry, they should be comforting him, not let him suffer and fret over nothing. Cat closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.... dead... they were dead, they had been for several years. She sighed as Remus came to her side, fussing over her, leave it to him. Cat didn’t care what anyone thought, Remus was the most wonderful man she had met, he was kind, gentle, intelligent, honourable and very sweet. She couldn’t even begin to remember all the times he had come through for her, it had almost killed her when he broke up with her, but she respected his decision. He was so frightened he would kill someone the next time, nothing any of them said would change his mind. Cat closed her eyes as she recalled their last conversation as a *couple* he had made her promise never to shut him out, no matter what, he hated being shunned, excluded from the human race just because of what had happened to him. He should have known he never needed to worry about that, she had made sure her clan welcomed him openly, warmly. Just as she did, and always would, he was as dear to her as any of her brothers, she would never abandon him, and she knew he would never turn away from her.

Cat winced as Albus pulled her from her thoughts, painful as they might be, they were preferable to the pain she was experiencing now. But he did need to know what she had seen, what the voices had said to her. Cat explained what she could, although she felt terrible guilt sharing the information about the bloodlines, it was Maharet’s secret. She had started the bloodlines centuries ago, she alone kept track of them, visiting family after family, year after year. Cat wondered how old Maharet actually was, no one could remember her ever not being there. Cat sighed as she finished her explanation, she wasn’t sure if she should have told him the whole truth, but she had the distinct feeling that James and Merlin’s message had been to her alone.

Cat smiled as Harry came running back into the room, she could see the relief in his eyes, and the love. He was family through and through, she smiled softly as she recalled what James had shown her, she would have to make a point of showing Harry when they went home, she had no doubt it would make him very happy. She relaxed as Harry told her of his day, and sweet little Ginny putting her brother Ron into a dress when she caught him going through her things. She had to laugh, that little girl had a lot more power in her than anyone gave her credit for. Cat was drifting in and out of sleep when Sev had come back, he had another of those horrible tasting potions. As much as she hated them, he was right, they made it much easier to tolerate the pain, she smiled at him as he held the cup up to her lips to drink. He was so sweet to her, and he seemed to be warming up to Harry.... Now if only he would relax around the rest of her family.. The last thing Cat remembered hearing before she fell asleep was Harry trying to explain to Severus that Cash was blood clan to her.......

James was back again, he held her hand and smiled at her "Do you understand now? Can you see how important this is?" he asked softly

"James, what do you want me to do?" Cat asked sadly "You know as well as I do it ended years ago, it’s over."

James squeezed her hand "Not by a long shot, your sister would whomp you if she heard you talk like that" he laughed as Cat rolled her eyes.

"As I recall, Lily *whomped* him... not me." Cat reminded him playfully.

"True, but he deserved it then ..... now he deserves a second chance. Kitty, you have to get over they pain, just like he does." James sighed "the two of you keep spinning your wheels over this, it’s not getting anyone anywhere."

It was Cat’s turn to sigh now "James..... I don’t know ..... if I promise to give him a fair chance, will that make you happy?"

James smiled as he leaned over and kissed her softly on her cheek "That’s all I ask Kitty, just give him another chance."

Cat half woke as she felt rain on her face, and someone holding her hand again. Cat felt herself tingle as someone began kissing her, first her hand, then her face. The kisses reminded her of someone, they were so tender and endearing, it only this potion didn’t make her mind such a jumbled mess. Thoughts and memories kept throwing themselves at her in bits and clips, it was like watching a muggle flip through television channels. She and Sirius walking in the rain, they had given up on trying to run to shelter, they were already soaked. He held her hand and kissed her as the rain poured down around them. Lily laughing herself silly when Cat had first tried to use a wand, and set several toilets on fire. James and Lily sitting in the corner smiling and holding hands as the rest of them joked about Professor Binns. Cat tried to concentrate on what James had told her, a fair chance, a second chance.....

Cat felt the familiar pang in her heart as she thought about Sirius, they had been so happy once, so in love. If only she knew what she had done to cause him to turn on her, two days before the dance he had still been happy to be with her. He had been talking about a future together, asking her questions about children and hinting that he wouldn’t want his wife to work, he wanted a large family no time for any other job than raising children. She hadn’t minded, she like the idea of a large family, he had smiled widely and hugged her fiercely. That’s why it hurt so much, when she and Lily saw him walking into the hall with that tramp..... it had torn her heart out. Lily had felt her pain, and reacted accordingly. Cat had to use her connection to Lily to stop her from attacking Sirius or Esmeralda any further. She had felt so numb at that point, poor James had tried to comfort her, wiping her tears away as he told her it was probably one of Sirius stupid jokes. But it wasn’t; it was obvious that as far a Sirius was concerned she was last weeks news, and things only got worse as the night went on. Dear Severus had seen everything, he came to her rescue, just like always, he had insisted that she dance with him, and Lily had agreed for her. Severus had been so sweet, and oddly enough, so had the rest of Slytherin House, they probably felt sorry for her, it was obvious how painful this was for her, the fact that none of the Slytherins liked Sirius wasn’t hurting either. Even Lucius had behaved himself, he and Garfield had prevented Sirius from confronting her several times that evening after his first few loud comments.

Severus had been so understanding, he didn’t even mind when she had to bury her face against his chest, he knew she didn’t want anyone to see her cry again. She still remembered the look on Sev’s face when he helped her off with her shawl, she thought she was going to have to pick his chin up off the floor. It was one of the few laughable moments of that entire night.... poor Sev, he really didn’t know what to do... or where to put his hands for that matter. He had blushed so deeply, Cat had felt guilty for making him dance with her. That was when the evening just collapse on top of her, Sirius had started *bumping and grinding* with Esmeralda, right there on the dance floor, in front of her... he was trying to hurt her. Apparently Sirius had gotten what he wanted from Cat, he was her first. It broke her heart to realize, all he ever really wanted was bragging rights. He had never really loved her, he certainly chose *experience* over emotion in the end. It was all Cat could do to stand on her own legs at that point, he had betrayed her, he had led her on. She felt hot tears streaming down her face as she tore off his ring, it had all been a game to him, and she fell for it. She had run straight into Lily’s open arms, as Severus and his Slytherins had blocked Sirius’s path to her... the last thing she saw was James’s eyes flashing with anger as he strode towards Sirius......

The next morning things had been very quiet in Gryffindor Tower, Cat had still held out hope that Sirius would come around, he had always apologized for his mistakes in the past. And she had always forgiven him, she had always found it impossible to stay angry with him, especially when he gave her his stupid lop-sided grin, it just melted her heart. That’s why she had been so happy when she heard the knock on the door, only it wasn’t Sirius, it was Remus. He had wanted to make sure she was alright, and he insisted that she take back Sirius’s ring. Remus had picked it up off the floor the night before, he kept telling her that Sirius loved her. A phrase that James reiterated when he and Lily came up to join them. That’s when James had his brilliant idea, he was going to take her to Sirius and make him lay it on the line. Cat hadn’t wanted to go, but everyone seemed so sure it was for the best.

James quickly took her through a maze of tunnels and hallways, he was sure he knew where Sirius was, he always went there when he was upset. Cat remembered the scene vividly, James stood next to the heavy wooden door, a large smile on his face, he was so certain she and Sirius could patch everything up, he actually gave her hope that it was possible. James had pounded on the door loudly as he walked in ....... Cat felt a new wave of pain and nausea sweep over her as she remembered walking in on Sirius, ... and that filthy tramp... it was obvious he didn’t love her anymore. He was already *occupying* his time with Esmeralda, Cat didn’t even wait to see their faces..... she had to run, she heard James yelling her name as he chased after her, but she didn’t stop, she just kept running through the unfamiliar halls and hidden tunnels, she needed out, she needed to smell fresh air, to see the sun, she needed to burn the image from her mind or else cut out her own heart. Cat kept running until she burst out into the sunlight, she paused as she took several deep breathes between sobs, only to hear James and Sirius calling for her. She couldn’t bear to see him, much less talk to him, not now. Cat quickly ran again, heading straight for the forbidden forest, there was nothing in there that could hurt her any worse than he did...

Poppy moved quietly through the hospital, she knew it all to well, she could navigate it in total darkness if she needed to. She had a bad feeling about Cat, she had been one of her favourite students, a real natural talent for healing. Poppy nearly dropped her candle when she saw what was laying on Cat’s bed, a large shaggy black dog. If she didn’t know any better, she would swear it was the same dog that used to sit with her when she was a student. Whenever she had to stay the night as a student a large black dog would always show up. It would sit by her side and watch over her all night. Poppy shook her head, Cat may be a Sidhe, but surely they knew the stories about Grims. Why would anyone send one of them to protect someone. < Personally, it would scare the life right out of me to wake up in a hospital bed and see a Grim staring back at me> Poppy thought as she approached Cat’s bed.

Cautiously Poppy tried to shoo the large dog away. She went from nervous fear to outright indignation as the dog lifted his head and stared at her, she could have sworn it actually laughed at her. It certainly did not move, if anything she would be willing to swear it moved closer to Cat, as if it was his duty to protect her. "You’re the same pest who always showed up, aren’t you?" she whispered "Well get out, she’s a big girl now, she doesn’t need you." Poppy took a step or two back as the dog growled softly. "You wouldn’t dare?!" she said hesitantly. Deciding not to press her luck, Poppy quickly checked Cat over and giving one last nervous glance at the dog, quickly headed back to her room, where the sound of a lock clicking shut was shortly heard........

Cash, Tris and Olia quietly made their way to the hospital. Tris was in a state of near exhaustion, she had been half-way to Maharet when she felt Angel’s pain. She knew she had to come back to check on her. Sneaking into the hospital, they saw Angel sleeping soundly, with a large, shaggy black dog, next to her. "See.. I told you she was safe. Don’t worry so much next time" Cash said smiling widely, he knew Sirius wouldn’t let him down, or Angel for that matter.

"What makes you so sure" asked Olia, "Tris’s intuition is rarely wrong."

"See that dog with her" Cash replied as he nodded towards the bed. "Remember him?"

Olia smiles, she remembered Sirius transformation, she nods back at Cash and returns to her post, confident that Angel will not need her help tonight. Tris stood there still watching Angel, her eyes became tearful, rimming with blood. Tris turned and walked a few steps away, not wanting to face Cash.

Cash sighed, walking over to her and he put his arms around her, "She’s a lot stronger than we give her credit for Tris, we’ve both seen her go through this before" he told her softly as he kissed her cheek.

Her blood tears were flowing freely "I know, but never with so much pain, its only the potions they’ve given her that allow her to sleep" Tris answered. Cash nodded, he knew not to challenge Tris’s judgement were Angel was concerned.

"Isn’t sleep the best thing for her right now?" he asked softly as she nodded "Then lets let her rest, and trust me, no one will get past that dog, I had to stop him from killing that Slytherin brat the other week. She’s safe Tris... I promise."

The next morning Cat woke up, groaning softly as she brought her hand to her throbbing head. Realizing that, yes, her head was still attached she dropped her arms back onto the bed, only to feel something warms and furry. She slowly blinked her eyes open, expecting to find Cash or Raul, instead she saw Harry’s dog. She smiled sleepily as she petted the dog’s head, scratching behind his ears. "You here again? Where’s Harry puppy?" she asked softly, barely speaking above a whisper.

Sirius wagged his tail happily, he remembered her sleepy smile, he couldn’t believe that after everything she went through the night before she could actually wake up with a smile on her face. Sirius felt a strong wave of emotions overcome him, he wanted to hold her, tell her he would never leave her side again, but that was impossible, Poppy had already heard her and was walking towards them.

Licking her hand, Sirius yowled happily, making her laugh. It was wonderful to hear her laugh, but she sounded so very weak.

"At least it wasn’t my face this time." Cat said as she smiled at Harry’s dog, he was so sweet, he made her feel safe and protected. Cat sighed as she saw Poppy heading over to her. "Oh no, I’ve been here all night, again" she whined as she saw Poppy giving her *the look*.

"Well Miss MacLeod .... it would be nice if you could pay me a *social visit* once" Poppy said sarcastically as she began to check Cat over "you really don’t need to come up with excuses like this if you want to talk."

Cat smiled, shaking her head "Trust me Poppy, this was NOT my idea" Cat winced as Poppy touched the burns on her chest "are they what I think they are? Did you have to revive me?" she asked nervously.

"I’m afraid so my dear" Poppy replied softly "Both Professor Snape and I, you were very lucky he knew the proper spell. Any mistake, or lack of action..... my dear girl.." she trailed off as Cat looked at her.

"I know Poppy, I know. .... I wouldn’t be here." Cat moaned painfully as Poppy applied a salve to the burns. "Thank Heavens Sev always manages to keep a cool head, no matter what the situation. Its not the first time he’s come to my rescue" Cat sighed as she tried to think of something besides the pain. "Although with any luck, he’ll never have to do anything like this again."

"Luck.!! Luck will have nothing to do with it" Poppy said sternly "You are on bed rest. No argument!! In case you didn’t understand me earlier... *your-heart-stopped* ... you died." Poppy said bluntly "Look" she said motioning to the dog "even *he* understands what that means."

Sirius sat there in shock, he had heard them talking last night, but he never thought it had been that desperate. He was feeling faint as the realization set in on him, he almost lost her again, this time forever. Sirius felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach, it was too horrible to think about.....

"Alright Poppy... bed rest" Cat agreed as she yawned sleepily "for now. I’m too weak to argue with you at the moment. But Harry gets to visit me, ... no restrictions." She insisted.

"If it will make you listen, fine... Mr. Potter may visit you anytime he does not have classes" Poppy said reluctantly, "But as for your friend here..." she motioned towards the dog "he is not welcome, he refused to leave last night." Poppy stopped when she heard the dog growling again.

Cat gave another sleepy smile, "I think Harry sent him to watch over me, it’s his puppy... aren’t you sweetie" she said as she patted Sirius on the head. "He’s fine Poppy. He won’t be any problem, besides, he keeps me nice and toasty."

"We have blankets for that, my dear" Poppy said, in a less than amused tone. She pulled a bottle of sleeping potion from her pocket and was preparing to pour some when Cat stopped her.

"No Poppy" Cat said refusing the potion "I’m already tired, I won’t need it to sleep." Cat’s voice sounded soft and deep as she fought to say awake. True to her word, Cat fell asleep quickly as Sirius sat there, watching her, wondering how he could ever make things right with her again. When he was positive she was deeply asleep, he finally allowed himself to relax. Laying down on the bed next to her, he placed his head on her stomach, watching her sleep as he drifted off into his own dreams....