Harry could hardly wait for Herbology to be over, he wanted to see Cat, when he had checked in on her earlier Poppy told him she was still sleeping and to come back later. Ron and Hermione were smiling at him, as they held something behind there backs.

"What are you two up to?" Harry asked suspiciously as he saw the grins on their faces.

"Us. Nothing.. Why the very idea" Ron teased as his smile grew wider by the second.

"Hermione?" Harry questioned, noticing a similar smile on her face.

"Well, Professor Sprout pulled me aside earlier. She was concerned about your lack of attention" Hermione said a bit sharply "But when I told her what had happened to Miss MacLeod she understood completely. Although she did seem a bit upset, apparently Miss MacLeod help her out in the greenhouses as well as Hagrid with the drakes" Hermione explained.

"So what does that have to do with the grins.... and *what* are you hiding?" Harry asked, craning his neck as he tried to see what they were holding behind their backs.

Hermione and Ron grinned widely at each other and nodded. Harry gasped as they presented him with two large bunches of flowers. "Professor Sprout said these are her favourites" Ron added, smiling at the surprised look on Harry’s face.

"You guys are wonderful" Harry said cheerfully as he took the honeysuckles and violets from them. He had been so concerned about Cat that it had never occurred to him to get her anything.

As soon as class was over, Harry thanked Professor Sprout as he ran toward the school. He had told Ron and Hermione he would meet up with them at supper, maybe they could all visit her later this evening. But right now Harry had to see her, he needed to make sure she would be alright, and he had some questions he would rather not ask in front of anyone else.

Harry was smiling brightly as he walked towards the hospital, Cat must be better by now. Surely Remus or Dumbledore would have told him if she had gotten worse in the night. And even Snape was being civil to him in potions today. Harry was sure Snape’s behaviour from the night before had been an hallucination, he just could not believe that Snape could be so kind to anyone.

As Harry let his thought wonder over the past twenty-four hours, he was distracted by someone moving quickly towards the hospital wing. Squinting at the dark figure Harry realized immediately who it was, Snape. They both reached the hospital doors at the some moment. Eyeing each other, Harry noticed Snape also had flowers for Cat, yellow and white roses, they just stared at each other for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say.

Realizing that neither of them intended to leave, Snape rolled his eyes and sighed heavily "Fine Mr. Potter .... after you." Severus held open the door and motioned for Harry to go first. "I cannot believe this" Severus mumbled under his breath "sharing her with a Potter, again." .....

Harry smiled brightly as he saw Cat sitting up in her bed reading, his smile grew even larger when he saw the black dog sharing the bed with her, Harry thought his heart was going to burst with joy. Cat was absorbed in her book, she held it with one hand while she petted the dog with the other. Padfoot, for his part, was laying across her legs enjoying every morsel of attention he was getting from her. Harry shook his head, <leave it to Sirius> he thought, only his godfather could be so bold.

Snape on the other hand was less than pleased, his jaw had already begun to clench as he approached her bed. Clearing his throat loudly, he watched as Cat and Black turned to see he and Harry. Cat smiled happily to see them, which gave Sev a slight feeling of relief. He watched as Black jumped off the bed to greet Harry, placing his paws on the boy’s shoulders and licking his face. Sev noticed Black giving him a long look before turning around and jumping back on the bed, making sure to moved as close as possible to Cat.

Severus could feel the coldness inside himself struggling to break out, it was beyond aggravating to see Cat so willingly accept Black. That man had broken her heart, shamed her into leaving school, nearly gotten her killed, and here she was willingly allowing him back into her life. Severus took a deep breath as he tried to put on a good front, perhaps he could manage to talk some sense into Cat before it was too late. .......

She smiled softly as Harry gave her the bouquet of honeysuckle and violets "O Harry, how did you know?" she asked as she pressed her face against the flowers. Harry watched happily as she took a deep breath and sighed. "I love the scent of honeysuckle, it reminds me of summers at home." She turned to look at the dog as he whined happily, wagging his tail "Harry does he really belong to you?" Cat asked "Poppy tells me he hasn’t left my side all night." she scratched Snuffle’s head as she finished.

Harry grinning from ear to ear "Belong to me... well, yeah kind of," Harry stared at his godfather "I guess he does, we kinda belong to each other." Snuffles barked his agreement.

"Well he’s very sweet. What’s his name?" she asked "Does Albus let him stay in the tower with you?"

"His name....Snuffles" Harry answered hesitantly "Professor Dumbledore usually keeps him in his office, but sometimes he stays with Ron and I in the tower." Harry replied as he patted Sirius’s head.

"Snuffles?! What kind of a name is that?" Cat laughed "He doesn’t look like a Snuffles to me, ... maybe a ‘Swift’ or a ‘ Samson’ or something....

Snape's mood brightened immediately, he suddenly realized Cat had no idea it was Black, she thought he was just a dog. Severus’s eyes twinkled mischievously as a plan formed in his mind. "Well Miss MacLeod, I hope you do not mind a few more flowers?" he asked as he presented the large bouquet of white and yellow roses to her. He smiled happily as he saw her blush slightly, she was smiling tenderly back at him, he was right, she had no idea it was Black.

"I am very grateful to see you are doing so well, you had us all frightened last night" Sev said softly as he kiss her hand. "Would you like me to take care of those for you?" he asked, gesturing towards the flowers.

"Sev, always the gentleman" Cat replied warmly "yes, thank you". She watched as Severus conjured a large vase and placed the flowers in it. "Nicely arranged" she commented "seems you have quite a few hidden talents."

"More than you know" Severus replied "however, I would be more than willing to show *you*" he whispered as he pulled a chair next to the bed. He gave a satisfied smile as he saw Cat divert her eyes, she understood exactly what he had meant.

Harry watched Sirius and Snape closely, this was going to be trouble, he could just feel it. Putting his hand on Sirius’s head, Harry sat down on Cat’s bed next to his godfather. He grinned as Cat looked at him and tussled his hair lovingly.

Severus decided to have some fun "Mr. Potter, why not show Miss MacLeod how well trained your...dog...is." he said a smile replacing the scowl he had worn a few moments before "He does know several ‘tricks’ I believe."

Sirius growled menacingly at Snape as Cat stared at them both. "He doesn’t seem to like you Sev, you may want to move back a little." Cat cautioned

"Nonsense" Severus smiled slyly "I am quiet sure Mr. Potter can keep his pet under control. Or am I wrong Mr. Potter?"

Harry felt the anger and helplessness rising in him, so much for Snape being a nice guy. He knew all too well that it was Sirius "I don’t know, he may not be in the mood...." Harry said, trying to buy some time.

"Harry, does he really know *tricks*?" Cat asked. Then turned to the dog and rubbed his side "My but you are a smart doggy aren’t you. Yes.... yes... such a good puppy" she gushed.

Snape grimaced, "Ahh yes, I had forgotten your love of animals and small children" Sev sighed "you really have not changed at all, have you?" he said softly as he brushed her cheek with his fingers.

Cat turned to face Sev, smiling softly "The Gangrel have a saying, * the longer you live, the more truly you become yourself * I guess its true." she replied quietly as the full realization of what that meant began to dawn on her. Trying to lighten her mood, Cat turned to Harry "So, what tricks does...." she began to giggle "Snuffles know?"

Harry gave her a curious look "Why is that so funny to you? Snuffles isn’t *that* strange a name."

"I know sweetie" Cat replied as she tried to keep a straight face "but you have to understand what it means to me..... Back in school, Severus here got *very* angry with Sirius, he cursed him with a CAUDEX VERTEX , a block head curse ... Sirius tried to counter curse, but they kinda clashed...." she was giggling again as she remembered the incident fondly "Sirius ended up with a head cold that lasted for weeks.. Lily and I started calling him snuffles" She was laughing loudly now "And try as I might, Severus refused to undo it" she said as she turned towards Sev, who wasn’t sure if he should laugh or not.

"You would remember that" Severus sighed as he rolled his eyes "and he deserved every bit of it. I honestly cannot understand what you ever saw in him. He never treated you as you deserved." he pointed out gently. He immediately regretted it when he saw the sadness in her eyes. "Catri..." he said softly as he squeezed her hand "you are always telling me not to live in the past. Perhaps I can offer you your own advice."

Cat gave a half-hearted smile as she nodded her head "Your right about that Sev. It’s time I get on with it, I need to look ahead. After all, I have a son to worry about... don’t I" she said as she smiled tenderly at Harry.

Harry smiled back at her, it felt so wonderful to know that someone loved him above anything else in the world, it made him feel like there was hope for them all. Impetuously, Harry reached out and hugged Cat "I love you Mum, just don’t ever scare me like that again... alright?" Harry said breathlessly, as he felt the tears fall down his cheeks, he couldn’t imaging losing her, not ever, it would kill him.

Cat returned Harry’s embrace, closing her eyes, she tried not to cry "I love you too Harry. And believe me, I’m not going anywhere without a fight." she kissed the top of his head as she release him from her embrace. She placed her fingers under Harry’s chin and tilted his head so she could look into his eyes. "I will *always* be with you Harry. You’re a part of a family now. You have Clan... ... We never abandon our own... not ever." She could see how frightened Harry had been, it showed not only in his eyes, but in the dark circles under them as well, he probably got very little sleep last night. ...

Sirius sat there, watching the two people he loved most in the world. It was obvious how much Harry and Cat loved each other, they even looked like mother and son. Sirius’s heart ached as he wished he could truly be with them, instead of hiding in plain view. Although he had to admit, Cat’s affection for Snuffles did brighten things up a bit. He couldn’t believe she remembered that stupid name she and Lily had given him, ...after all these years, and she still remembered. If only he could get Snape to leave, that comment about doing tricks had been just a bit too much. Right now the only trick he would show that git would be *how to make the potion teacher run screaming from the room* he was pretty sure he could managed that one.

Sirius groaned as Snape brought up the way he had treated Cat. Phoenix fire, he hated that man, its not as if he had been intentionally cruel to her, and even then it was only the last few days, aside from that, ..... she had been his heart, his queen.... and he had treated her like one. Sirius felt a pang of loneliness as he watched Harry and Cat hug each other. If only he could be part of their little family, he knew he could be a good husband and he felt he would be a good father to Harry, and anyone else who may come along........

Snape smiled sadly as he watched Harry and Cat embrace each other. He did truly regret bringing up the past, he never wanted to see such pain in her eyes. As much as he wanted to expose Sirius Black as he sat there on her bed, he could see it would just be to painful for her. He would have to handle Black in private, on his own terms, this was not something to expose Cat or Harry to, they didn’t need to know how low Black had sunk.

Severus felt his heart melt as he heard Cat and Harry talk, it was amazing to him how much love she held within her heart. It never seemed to end, and it wasn’t just towards himself and Harry, even the students had begun searching her out, she made them feel important, and safe. Sev wondered if he would ever be able to truly be a father to Harry, he would try, at the very least, he would protect him with his life, that would never change. He owed that much alone to Lily, .. James may have saved his life, but Lily saved his soul.

Lost in his thought, Severus had not noticed Cat and Harry staring at him. Cat winked at Harry as she slowly reached over to Severus, careful to avoid any sudden movements she moved her hand right next to Sev’s ribs. Raising her eyebrow as she smiled at Harry, she quickly began tickling him. Much to Harry’s surprise, Snape was apparently *very* ticklish, he jumped several inches out of his seat as he laughed loudly. Snape caught Cat’s hand and held it up in the air as he tried to glare at her, but it wasn’t working, she could see the smile on his face. By this point even Harry had begun to laugh, it was just too silly a picture not to enjoy.

Severus sighed deeply as he tried to appear cross at Catri "Miss MacLeod, what do you think..." he paused as he forced the smile off of his face " what do you think you are doing......." it was no use, he was too far gone. He laughed as he shook his head. "What possess you to do these things... and in front of students...." he looked into her eyes, only to see a familiar twinkle shining back at him. He smiled back at her, then paused as he heard Harry laughing, turning toward him "Not a word of this Mr. Potter, ...." he warned gently "Not that anyone would believe it" Sev sighed.

"That’s because you *insist* on playing the heavy" Cat chided "I still find it unbelievable that you have the students running scared at the mention of your name" Cat rolled her eyes "what an actor you must be." she was laughing again. It felt so good to hear her laugh, she still sounded weak, but at least she was able to smile again.

Harry sat there smiling, he still couldn’t understand the effect she had on Snape. He was such a different person when she was around, it was as if Cat drained all the anger and hatred from him, just by being there. Harry made a mental note to ask her about that, Remus had said about her having an *affect* on people, maybe this is what he meant. She certainly made him feel happy and contented when she was around.... maybe everyone felt like that around her. ....

Sirius could feel his heart tearing in two, how could she play with Snape like that. It was the way they used to play with each other, the way they had started out when they were dating. Sirius closed his eyes, she couldn’t be in love with Snape, she just couldn’t, not now..... and why was Harry encouraging them with his laughter, didn’t he understand what it meant. If Cat thought that Harry would accept Snape as a father..... Sirius couldn’t bear to finish his thought, it just hurt him too much...

Severus, Cat and Harry talked for a little while about school, Quidditch and various other topics, Harry was surprised to learn that Snape had played on his house’s team for four years as a chaser. He actually knew a great deal about the game and many of the more devious feints that could be used. Suddenly Harry’s stomach gave a loud grumble, Cat and Snape both looked at him "Harry... you haven’t eaten supper yet... have you?" Cat asked knowingly.

"No.. Not yet, I wanted to see you first, make sure you were going to be alright." he replied timidly.

"Mr. Potter, I think you should join your friends, I am certain they are enjoying a wonderful meal in the great hall as we speak" Severus suggested "you can see Miss MacLeod when you are finished. And I have no doubt your friends will be joining you."

Harry seemed a bit embarrassed "That was the plan" Harry replied as he felt his face get warm.

"Go to supper Mr. Potter" Sev said "I would like *some* time alone with Catri, I will make certain to be gone by the time you and your fellow Gryffindors arrive. Believe me." Snape said dryly. "Oh.. And Mr. Potter, please take your....dog... with you."

Harry looked at Cat for direction, he wasn’t sure if he should actually insist Sirius leave, after all Snape was staying. Cat smiled at Harry "It’s alright sweetie, I’m safe." she smiled reassuringly "besides, Severus is here if anything should happen."

Sirius looked at Harry and slowly slunk off of Cat’s bed, he felt as if his world where coming to an end. How could she care for Snape? Didn’t she hear him when he told her he loved her? Or maybe she just didn’t care, maybe too much time had gone by to even hope she still cared for him. Sirius turned his head to take one last look at Cat, she was smiling at Snape the same way she used to smile at him. He couldn’t help it, he let out a horrible howl, his heart was breaking and she didn’t care. He watched as Cat turned to look at him, concern and confusion in her eyes, he hesitated when she put her hand out to him. He looked at Harry, not sure what he should do anymore, then he heard her voice.