Cat laid back on her bed, laughing and joking with all of them, she especially enjoyed Remus and Sirius trying to teach the students how to Contra Dance. Remus had taken Hermione, who was a bit stiff at first, but true to form, learned very quickly. Which left Sirius with little Ginny, in size alone they were hopelessly mismatched, but Ginny had the biggest smile on her face that Cat had ever seen.

And for his part Sirius was doing his best to show Ginny the steps her family had taught him. Cat giggled as Sirius flopped down on her bed and smiled up at her "You really need to get better quickly.... I need you as a partner to teach them anything." his smile alone could melt her heart, but his words rang in her head "without you.... I’m hopeless"

Severus quickly strode to the bed "Mr. Black" he snarled as he glared at Sirius laying on Cat’s bed "with or without it does not matter, you are still hopeless. And completely without ......"

Snape never got to finish his sentence, Sirius quickly sprang up and faced him, matching him glare for glare. In barely more than a whisper Sirius responded "Completely without what?!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH" Cat yelled, her eyes flashing dangerously "its been almost twenty years and you two still haven’t grown up. If you can’t behave, then I will ask you to leave..... both of you." If they were going to act like children, she was going to treat them like children.

They both stared at her in complete disbelief. Sirius was about to say something when Harry came up to Cat and placed his arms around her protectively "She’s right.... she almost died, the last thing she needs is to see the two of you fighting" Harry said as he looked imploringly at his godfather, "please, for her sake, stop."

Severus shot Harry a glance that could melt stone, while Sirius looked at them and hung his head. "You’re absolutely right, Harry" Sirius said "Cat,.... I’m sorry." he looked into her eyes "Forgive me?" he asked as he extended his hand to her, hoping she would take it.

Cat smiled as her eyes softened "Of course" she said as she placed her hand in his, her heart felt as though it would burst when he wrapped his fingers around her hand and gently kissed it, staring deeply into her eyes the entire time.

"Well apparently *I* am no longer needed here" Severus spat angrily, he could feel his heart tearing apart just looking at them. He needed to leave before his anger got the better of him.

"Severus... no,... don’t be like that" Cat pleaded as she held her other hand out to him, she had tried to pull away from Sirius, put he seemed reluctant to let go of her hand.

Severus paused, he couldn’t stand watching Black seduce her all over again, didn’t she realized he was only using her again, just like he had done in school. "No... really, I should get some dinner......" he hesitated, he could feel Cat’s eyes searching him. Sev sighed softly, she wanted him to stay, he could see it in her eyes he reached out to take her hand. Squeezing her hand firmly he said "I will return later, I really must prepared for tomorrow’s classes" he gave Lupin a quick, but meaningful glance "I am sure Professor Lupin and Mr. Potter will make sure you are kept well until my return. Shall I have a tray sent up for you?"

"Actually Professor, we already took care of that" Harry answered, Dobby will be bringing her something shortly.

"Dobby?" he said curiously "Who exactly is Dobby?"

"One of the house elves. I met him a few years ago, he likes to help people" Harry explained, uncertain of how much detail he should go into.

"How.... charming" Sev replied, trying not to sound sarcastic. "Catri" he nodded politely to her, only to be stopped by her pulling his hand towards her. Allowing himself to be brought to her side, he quickly bent his head and kissed her tenderly on her lips. "Until later" he said as he pulled away, taking great care to look directly into Black’s eyes on the way out. He had no intentions of allowing him *any* chance whatsoever of tricking Catri into falling in love with him again. ........

Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at each other and then at Sirius, they could only imagine what he was feeling. They had no idea things had gone so far between Cat and Snape. Harry winced and let out a soft groan, which is exactly what it looked like Sirius wanted to do. They watched as Sirius’s face literally fell when he realized Cat was not pulling away from Snape.

The room fell quiet when Snape moved to kiss Cat. Every eye was either on Snape or on Sirius, who winced painfully when he saw what was happening. Remus held his breath and prayed that Sirius would have enough good sense not to make a scene, he had the whole night to talk to Cat and explain everything to her. Severus may think he was coming back, but Cash had made it very clear that only Sirius or Harry would be permitted to stay the night with her. Thinking quickly Remus tried to move the conversation along. "So Cat, has Harry told you about the Quidditch match he and Ron are hoping to see in January. Ron’s father may be able to get tickets to see the Chudley Cannons go up against the Kenmare Kestrels."

"The Kestrels!! Those orange blobs won’t stand a chance against the Kenmare Kestrels. The Cannons haven’t been doing very well this year at all."

"OIY... hang on.." Ron said excitedly "Don’t you dare count out the Cannons. They’re a great team... they’ve won championships..."

"Sure they did.... before you were born" Cat countered "but to be perfectly honest, the last several years.... well.. They’re not exactly up to form now are they?"

Harry walked over to Sirius who was still holding Cat’s hand, a crest fallen expression on his face. Standing between them, Harry slipped his arm around Sirius and then Cat, pulling them both closer together as he warned Cat "Don’t get Ron started... you should see his room, its practically a shrine to the Cannons."

Cat looked disbelievingly at Harry "To the Cannons?! Are you sure?" then turning to Sirius she said "Sirius, aren’t you teaching them anything? The Cannons.. Are you daft?" She paused when she saw the look on his face, she squeezed the hand he was still holding as she touched his cheek with the other "Sirius?" she said gently.

Sirius startled out of his thoughts when he felt her touch, he looked at her and at Harry, who was smiling widely. "I’m sorry... I wasn’t paying attention.." he stuttered out.

"You, Sirius Black, not paying attention to a discussion of Quidditch?.... Let me feel your forehead" she teased as she placed her hand against his head. "Hmmmm.. Seems normal, well as normal as you can get I suppose" she winked.

Sirius grinned, at least she was still willing to play with him, and that was the way it had first started after all. "You know Remus... she really doesn’t seem that sick to me. I think she’s just faking it" he insisted, "She certainly doesn’t have any problems with smart remarks or snappy comebacks."

"As if I ever did or would" she quipped, sticking her tongue out at him.

Pulling her closer to himself Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her tightly "Come on MacLeod.. Best two out of three" he joked "I may even win *this* time." his heart lightened immediately as he heard her giggle at him. Even Harry who was still standing next to them was laughing, his hands on their shoulders. Sirius thought about what a happy family they could be, the three of them living together, caring for each other.

Cat finally stopped giggling and sighed as she rested her head against Sirius’s shoulder "You haven’t changed much have you? You’re still the joker, but please, please tell me you’ve outgrown your fondness for superglue."

Sirius’s eyes grew wide as they flashed mischievously "Superglue... now that’s something I had almost forgotten about." he said as he grinned devilishly.

"NO... oh no... Sirius... please," Cat pleaded shaking her head emphatically "No superglue... look at me Sirius... promise me" she could tell by the look on his face, it was already too late. "Oh no... what have I done" she asked as she let her head drop into her hands, causing her long hair to cascade onto the bed.

Sirius felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw her like that. So vulnerable, so soft, so beautiful, he gently pushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. "You’ve cut your hair." he said as he allowed her curls to twine around his fingers.

"I got tired of sitting on it" she told him "please don’t start yelling at me for it. I heard enough from the boys and father."

"Never...." he said softly as he pulled her against his chest again. "You always look beautiful to me" kissing her on her head, he smiled as he felt her melt against him. He closed his eyes to savour the moment, to remember every detail. Memories had become so important to him, he always wondered how much more had been stolen from him, how many memories were lost to him forever thanks to the dementors.

Remus cleared his throat, hoping to draw the students attention away from Sirius and Cat "So is everyone ready for the ball?" he noticed that Cat was still resting against Sirius, in fact she seems to be quite comfortable in his arms.

"Uurgh... the ball" Ron groaned, only to be glared at by Hermione "What?!"

"Honestly Ron, if you didn’t want to go then you shouldn’t have asked me." Hermione said, obviously this was not the first discussion they had had on the matter.

"When did I say I didn’t want to go? Harry have I ever said that? Ginny?" Ron said in his defence.

"He just doesn’t know how to dance very well" Ginny teased as Ron’s eyes grew large "and he’s to embarrassed to tell you, he thinks you won’t want to go with him anymore." she ducked as Ron threw a pillow at her. Everyone in the room paused a moment and then laughed. "Well its true" Ginny insisted, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

Sirius grinned "Why don’t you ask Remus? He knows how to dance, don’t you Moony?"

"Sure I do. Just as long as there are no pools around to be thrown into." Remus said, laughing as Sirius blushed and Cat giggled.

"Oh man, do I remember *that* weekend." Cat said between giggles "Sirius, I sincerely hope your temper has improved since then."

Sirius ran his hand through his hair "uhm..well I guess it has... uhm... Harry.. Help me out here." he implored "tell them I’m a nice guy."

Harry grinned "O.K. You’re a nice guy." he dead panned

Sirius rolled his eyes and smirked "Ghee.. Thanks a lot Harry, I appreciate the effort."

Cat closed her eyes and listened to the sound of laughter and happiness, it did wonders to make her feel better. And as much as she hated to admit it, the thought of Sirius holding her in his arms again made her feel safe and content. She nuzzled against him, enjoying the feel of his muscles and the sound of his beating heart. She relaxed into him as she let the conversation buzz on around her, oblivious to the words themselves, but hearing the tones of friendship and love in their voices.

Remus looked over at Cat again, <this is the way it should be> he thought < Cat in Sirius’s arms, protected and loved, Harry smiling and laughing with friends, if only the world could always be this perfect.> Whispering softly Remus told them "Shhhh, quiet, I think she’s finally fallen asleep"

Sirius looked down in surprise at Cat, he hadn’t even realized he was still holding on to her <some habits die hard> he thought. He very gently brushed her hair off her face, only to see her smiling.

"Nope... I’m still awake Lupy, just enjoying the conversation." she told them "I miss this... I miss being able to relax and enjoy my friends." She felt Sirius’s embrace tighten slightly as his heart quickened. Cat felt a guilty pang as she thought about the look in Severus’s eyes, but she couldn’t lie to herself, she still had feelings for Sirius. And it seemed as though he had feelings about her as well, Cat could hardly wait for curfew, maybe then they could finally talk to each other.

"Cat?" Ginny asked when she saw she was still awake "May I show Hermione your gown for the ball? Its so pretty, I was trying to describe it to her."

"Of course honey, it’s in the wardrobe" Cat told her as Ginny ran to open the door.

"Oh look at all your dresses, I’ve never seen so many different colours" Ginny pulled out one that seemed to change colours from blue to purple to silver to grey. "This one is amazing"

Hermione walked over "I’ve read about these...." she stared at Cat "They are made of spider silk, only royalty and the high priestess of certain sects are aloud to wear them"

"Wow.. You must really read some obscure texts to know that. Well done, Hermione" Cat gushed "If she were in my class Gryffindor would already have the cup" she said to Sirius who smiled as Hermione blushed.

"Wait... here’s the dress for the ball" Ginny squealed as she pulled out the deep green gown and held it up for Hermione to see.

"WOW... You’re wearing *that*" Ron said as he whistled.

"What?" Cat asked "It’s not *that* bad... certainly much more modest than what I wore as a student."

Remus smiled widely as he got up and took the dress from Ginny. Holding it up in front of himself he looked down at it, then slowly looked at Cat, smirking. "So.... what are you using to keep this one up.... certainly nothing involving the laws of physics."

"For the love of Mike... so it’s off the shoulder.. That’s why the corset is built into it." Cat sighed "So I don’t have to worry about things like gravity" Cat rolled her eyes as Remus laughed at her.

"Come on now Kitty.... I think this is right up there with what you used to wear." winking at Sirius, Remus continued "Don’t get me wrong.. I’m actually impressed you can still get away with wearing things like this." The room fell silent except for Ron’s *oooooo*

"Lupy... you are *so* pushing your luck" Cat said tersely, then pausing she added "Unless of course this is your way of volunteering to ... uhm... lace me up?" she smiled widely and batted her eyes, waiting for his reply.

Remus paused and blushed, he had no idea how to respond, not with a roomful of students listening to their every word. Turning once again to Sirius, Remus said "You’re absolutely right Padfoot, she’s faking it. There is no way she can be *that* sick and *this* quick." Remus hung the dress on the wardrobe door and walked towards the bed. "Come on Sirius... I say we tickle the truth out of her" he said as he grinned.

Cat’s eyes grew wide as she looked at Remus approaching, then looked at Sirius, who also had a devilish look in his eyes. "I suppose it’s too late to ask you to protect me from him...huh?" she asked Sirius as she pushed against his chest, trying to escape his grasp.

Sirius’s smile went from devilish to tender as he looked at her "I thought he was your hero. Does that mean I’m your hero now?" he whispered as he fought off the urge to kiss her. His mind ran wild with the thought of lacing her into her ball gown, he had helped her with that in the past, he could almost feel the silk beneath his hands as he held her waist tightly, smoothing the material as Lily pulled on the laces of the dress.

"If I say yes, will you promise not to let him get me?" Cat replied, knowing how hopeless it would be to try and escape from Sirius’s embrace. She had wrestled with him before, and his arms were like iron, if he wanted to keep her there, she wasn’t going to have a choice.

"I promise you Cat,..... I am the only man who will ever *get* you" he told her as he gazed longingly into her beautiful green eyes. It killed him to think of her wearing that dress for Snape, Sirius had to think of something else before he exploded, the thought of Snape being able to dance and touch Cat while he was exiled to a half life as an escaped criminal was simply too much to bear.

Suddenly Ginny started laughing loudly "Oh no.... you mean he’s in love with her too?" She never noticed the stares from the rest of the room "What is she going to do with two boyfriends?"

Cat turned beet red, she tried to get away from Sirius’s arms, but he was just as shocked as she was. Cat started to laugh when she saw how red Sirius had become "Oh great, now we’re colour coordinated" she let her head fall onto Sirius’s shoulder as they both laughed deeply at themselves and the look on the faces of their friends in the room.

Harry smiled, this is what he had hoped for, Cat and Sirius together. Neither one of them was crying or upset, in fact he couldn’t remember the last time he had heard his godfather laugh like this. It seemed as if several years had disappeared from Sirius’s face the moment Cat had let him hold her. Harry sat back contentedly and watched as Cat rested her head on Sirius’s shoulder, he could see why Hagrid thought they should have gotten married, they looked so comfortable in each others arms. Harry grinned as Sirius looked at him, he seemed embarrassed at first, but that quickly faded when Cat put her arms around his neck and hugged him. Harry watched as his godfather sighed and rubbed his cheek against Cat’s soft hair, it was a truly perfect moment. Until he heard the knock on the door...

"Oh bother... this is worse than Grand Central Station and Kings Cross combined" Cat whined as she began to reluctantly pull away from Sirius. As much as she enjoyed the comfort of Sirius’s embrace, she could never bring herself to hurt Severus, and she knew walking in on this scene would wound him deeply.