Severus walked to the opposite side of her bed and sat down as he took her free hand. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley were uncharacteristically late for lunch today. When I questioned them they told me the most unbelievable story about you walking through the halls. I was told you nearly passed out and Lupin had to carry you here." then adding softly "Needless to say I needed to see for myself."

Cat smiled at him, and turned to Remus "I’ve got to tell you both... I am *loving* all the attention." she teased "Maybe I should do this more often?"

Remus and Severus both looked at each other, then at Cat "Don’t you dare!!" they said in unison as Cat giggled at them.

After several minutes of conversation Cat finally had to ask "Severus, do you know what went wrong with the wolfsbane potion? Remus still doesn’t look quite right." she said as she squeezed Remus’s hand. "He still looks a bit rough... and furry."

Sev sighed deeply "As far as I can tell, this month’s transformation was.... different somehow. It was more intense, more..…”

"More emotional?" Cat suggested as she looked deeply into Remus’s eyes. "Acushla? Is that what happened? Is it because of the anniversary?" she asked softly.

Severus looked at Remus questioningly "Anniversary?" as his eyebrow shot up.

Remus sighed deeply, shaking a little as he nodded his head "I think so, at least it’s the only thing I have come up with. Although next month I will be asking Severus to lock me away somewhere safe until we know for certain." Remus smiled as Cat kissed his hand and smiled gently at him, she understood how much it hurt him both physically and emotionally. She alone had suffered through the transformation as he did, only she was lucky enough to have family to administer a cure, she only ever had to endure it once, he had to suffer through it monthly for the rest of his life. If only the Ministry hadn’t kept her people from the rest of society, he too may have been cured, they had known of the cure for decades, the only problem was it had to be given during the first transformation to work. Anything before or after that was useless. "I need to go Kitty" Remus told her as he blinked away his tears "I have classes to teach." Looking over at Snape, he added "Severus, I trust you’ll stay with her until Harry comes back. I don’t think it’s a good idea to let her alone just yet." He wanted to stay himself, but the memory of watching Cat screaming in agony as she transformed, her body tied to the rough stone slab was just too much for him. It had all been his fault, and at the moment he simply could not look at her.

"Of course." Sev replied, somewhat dumbfounded at what had just passed between Catri and Lupin. "You will be returning latter, I assume."

Remus nodded, still looking into Cat’s eyes "I doubt she’ll be left alone at any time for the next few days. When she’s strong enough to have a tantrum and throw us all out, she’ll be strong enough to take care of herself" he said as he smiled sadly. Touching her cheek gently, Remus gave Cat a quick kiss on her forehead and whispered "Get some sleep acushla, we need you to be well."

Severus watched Remus leave and waited until he was well out of hearing distance before he turned to Cat "Are you sure there is nothing between the two of you?" he asked anxiously. Black he could handle, after all he had betrayed Catri in the worse possible way. But Lupin was another story, he had always been by her side, always patient, always comforting.

Cat chuckled softly as she nudged against Sev’s thigh "Are you still worried about that? Honestly Severus. I would have thought you had more sense than to listen to students spreading rumours." she reminded him as she closed her eyes, she sighed as she felt the warmth of his body through the coolness of his silky robes.

Sev looked down at Catri and felt his heart flutter, all he wanted at the moment was to hold her and keep her safe. He remembered the tightness that had settled in his chest when Harry had told him about Catri leaving the hospital. He tried to re-assure himself that the spells contained in the bracelet would protect her, but too many doubts had flooded into his mind. What if she had taken it off, what if the spells failed. He simply needed to see her for himself, he needed to *know* she was not in danger. "I make every attempt not to listen to groundless rumours Catri, but when the two of you are so obviously close,.... it is hard to ignore." he told her as he played with her hair.

"Remus is part of my Clan Severus, I’ve told you that. Just like Cash and Tris, we’re family, of course we’re close." she said sleepily, enjoying the feel of his touch, she needed the contact, she needed to know she was not alone. She yawned as she nuzzled against him, she heard him sigh as she drifted off to sleep.....

Severus smiled as Cat cuddled against him, it felt so good to feel her body next to his. He smiled tenderly, watching her fall asleep as he stroked her cheek. Carefully he rose from the bed, taking great pains not to wake her, he stood along side of the bed watching her sleep for several minutes. Day dreaming about how sweet their life together would be. She had been the only woman who understood him, the one who realized what he had gone through, the one who cared enough not to abandon him. He accio’d one of the large high back armchairs next to her bed as he walked over to the bookshelf to find something to read while she slept. He smiled as he looked through all the books, her collection was even more eclectic than his own. Pulling out a well worn copy of Pride and Prejudice he began to read, constantly looking back at her, making sure she was resting comfortably.

Several times throughout the afternoon Sev had gotten up to tend to Cat as she whimpered in her sleep. He watched as certain spells on the bracelet would glow brightly for a few moments, only to fade again as she quieted down. Although her most recent nightmare had startled him terribly, she had actually begun to yell and strike out in her sleep, as if she was defending herself against someone. Severus had dropped the book and run to her side, he had needed to forcibly restrain her to stop her from hurting herself. He clenched his jaw as he remembered holding her down by her wrists as he yelled her name out, she finally opened her eyes, but he could tell she didn’t see him. It was one of the eeriest things he had ever seen, her eyes which were so full of life seemed dead and empty. It was only when he shook her roughly that she had snapped out of it, completely confused as to where she was and who he was. He held her tightly as she fought against him for a few moments, until she realized what had happened. Then she had wrapped her arms around him and cried, she refused to tell him why, and he hadn’t pushed, after all she was so fragile the last thing she needed was anymore pressure. He simply held onto her, allowing her to slip back into sleep before he gently placed her on her pillows.

Sev had finally begun to relax himself when he heard the soft tapping at the door, which was slowly opening. He had expected to see Potter, but instead saw the young Weasley girl, Ginny. "And what exactly do you think you are doing here?" he hissed.

"I.... I’m sorry Professor Snape, but I just wanted to see her. I heard Ron and Harry talking at lunch. Is she going to be alright?" Ginny asked as she peered around Snape’s figure.

Cat stirred restlessly, distracting Severus, while Ginny slipped into the room and walked straight up to Cat. Ginny stood silently, watching Cat as Snape walked up behind her "What exactly do you think you are doing?" he asked venomously, "she needs rest, not students pestering her... I suggest you leave now."

Ginny looked up at him with her large blue eyes "But I only wanted to make sure she was alright. She looked so pale in the hospital" she turned back to Cat "she still looks pale, is she going to be alright? She’s not going to... I mean..." she stuttered as her eyes brimmed with tears "I don’t want anything to happen to her. She’s so nice to us, and it would just kill Harry to lose another mother." she whispered.

Severus was trying to keep his temper, he brought his hand up to his face and began rubbing his temples "Miss Weasley, I realize that Miss MacLeod tends to be... shall we say *open* with her students. However I hardly think that includes allowing them into her room, particularly when she is ill."

"You’re angry because you love her, aren’t you?" Ginny asked innocently "My dad gets the same way, he worries when mum gets sick."

Severus looked at her with complete shock, he could not believe this child was addressing him in such a fashion. He was about to chastise her when Cat stirred again, this time she seemed to be waking up. Going quickly to her side, Sev caressed her face, waiting for her to awaken. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders when she smiled at him "So, sleeping beauty awakes" he purred silkily as he ran his finger along her jaw, if it had not been for the Weasley girl, he would have given her a more heartfelt response.

"Well hello yourself" she said softly "does this make you prince charming?" Cat asked as a smile played across her face.

"Oh.. That’s so sweet" Ginny piped, only to regret it as Severus turned and stared at her.

Cat gave Sev a confused stare as she looked past him "Ginny?" she asked as she smiled "Ginny, honey... what are you doing here?" Cat asked sweetly. "What time is it? Where is Harry?" she added as she became more aware of her surroundings.

Severus sighed, his opportunity gone, at least for the moment, looking at the clock on the mantle he told her "It is 6:30 in the evening, Harry and *most* of the other students are eating dinner." he said as he glanced at Ginny "And as for Miss Weasley’s presences... I am still trying to determine that for myself."

Cat shook her head as she laughed "Now Severus, don’t be cross. Ginny’s a good girl, she was probably just worried about me." Cat said as she held her arms out to Ginny, who gladly ran over to hug Cat. Cat laughed even louder when she saw Sev roll his eyes. "What?... honestly Sev.. ... look at her, she could almost be mine." she joked as Snape groaned.

"I don’t think he likes that idea very much" Ginny said softly as she shied away from Snape "Maybe I should just leave. I only came to make sure you were alright. Harry and Ron are very worried about you, you’re all they’ve spoken about tonight." she told Cat softly.

Cat smiled at Ginny warmly, she honestly could pass for her clannad, all the Weasley children could, it was the red hair and bright eyes. And Ginny was just the sweetest thing Cat had ever met. "You don’t have to leave Ginny, besides, I have a feeling Harry will be here shortly." Cat said as she looked at Severus, imploring him to be kind to the children.

As if on cue, another knock was heard at the door, Cat smiled widely at Severus, who had completely given up any hope of having an intimate discussion with Cat in the near future. He shrugged his shoulders as he walked back to his chair. Cat grinned mischievously when she saw Harry and Ron, "So.. I hear you two have been talking about me."

Harry grinned happily as Ron nudged him "Well you weren’t the *only* topic of conversation" he told her as he gave her a large hug "We also talked about Quidditch and the holidays. Are we still going to Caledonia? Or should we stay here? I don’t want you to push yourself."

Cat smiled sweetly "Oh Harry" she said as she kissed his cheek "you’re so considerate, but we will be going home. In fact it’s probably the best thing for me, we tend to heal each other... it’s a clan thing." She said as she saw Severus staring at her. She could tell he was upset by the very idea of her leaving.

Just as she was about to explain further another knock was heard. As everyone turned to see who it was, a large bouquet of wild flowers appeared in the doorway, it was being held by Sirius, who was accompanied by Remus and Hermione. "Hello Cat" he grinned " 'Slainte chuig na fir, agus go mairfidh na mna go deo." he said as he presented her with the bouquet and kissed her on her cheek.

Cat shook her head and laughed at him, "Well that’s a pleasant sentiment" she joked "learn that one from your Da, did you?"

"Of course" he grinned, then stopped as he saw Snape glaring at him. "Oh... I see you have company" then looking around a bit more "a lot of company.... Hi kids." he said as everyone greeted him.

Harry smiled widely when he saw Cat’s reaction to Sirius "So... anyone going to tell me what he said" Harry asked of Cat.

Snape clenched his jaw "Yes... please, I myself am quite interested to know exactly what he said."

Cat laughed at them "Stop worrying so much" she chastised Sev, "Its an old Irish blessing *Health to the men, and may the women live forever*, its almost as old as the hills" she winked at Sirius and giggled "You are such a brat Sirius, you did that to get him going, didn’t you?"

Sirius gave her the biggest grin he could manage "To be honest I didn’t even realize he was here." then leaning closer to her, but still loud enough for Sev to hear "But now that you mention it... it was good, wasn’t it?"

"Oh yes... wonderfully amusing" Sev said dryly, barely managing to keep his voice even. "It is a pity you neglected to bring the dog, perhaps he could amuse Miss MacLeod with some of his tricks."

Sirius narrowed his eyes, glaring intently at Snape "If Snuffles feels like seeing Cat, I can assure you, he will come when he pleases."

Remus, fearing the worst, quickly put himself between the two men "Now please, I don’t think this is the time or the place gentlemen." he admonished them. Looking at Cat he continued "I hope you don’t mind having so much company? We can leave if it gets to be too much for you. I’m sure Harry can stay alone with you."

Cat smiled gratefully at Remus, leave it to him, he always knew what to do and say. "Thank you Remus" she said as she winked and blew him a kiss, much to the amusement of the students. "you are my hero"

Remus grinned widely and bowed dramatically, sweeping the floor with an exaggerated arm flourish "Anything for you m’lady". Cat watched as Severus sneered while the rest of the room laughed at their game. Sometimes it simply broke her heart to see how cold and alone Sev was, if only she could get him to open up to others as he did to her. She was positive people would love him as much as she did, he was truly a wonderful person deep inside.

Cat quickly turned her attention back to Remus and Sirius, who had started joking with each other, taking two little comments and making up a whole scene for her and the children. She couldn’t help but smile at them, it was just like school as if no time at all had passed. Sirius and Remus were still the best of friends, teasing and joking with each other as if none of them had a care in the world. If only James and Lily could be here with them, Cat looked over at Harry who was holding his sides from laughing so hard. She could see James in every movement he made, and the bond he had formed with Hermione and Ron reminded her so much of the old marauders, she wondered how much trouble the three of them managed to get into. And even little Ginny was enjoying herself, although she did seem a bit nervous at first, she certainly seemed to be right in the mix of things now. Cat could understand how Ginny felt, it was hard being the youngest in a large family, especially when it was all the boys and you. Cat smiled contentedly, she could feel the happiness and warmth in the room, it caressed her; giving her hope and warmth to help her heal herself. She looked over to Severus again, who was sulking in a corner, he smiled when he saw her watching him, his icy expression immediately softening.