Cat looked up at the ceiling, making figures out of the patterns of the stones as she thought about Remus. She had to smile when she remembered the goofy look on his face when he realized how dishevelled he actually looked. She closed her eyes and sighed as she recalled the softness of his hair and the hardness of his body as he kissed her earlier. Cat had wanted Remus to stay and talk, but when Mohrg informed them that the deatheaters had suddenly begun to appear at the school within the last few hours. Well, it was a bit to coincidental for her tastes. She herself had insisted that Remus escort Harry down to the great hall.

Cat looked at everything in the hospital, it all took on a new dimension as she stared at it. Apparently the vampyre blood was working its way with her, she wondered how much of it was coursing through her veins even now. She could feel every piece of her body as she thought about it, the blood was infusing her with strength as it tried to heal her body.

Feeling brave, Catri decided to try standing up on her own. She staid very still, listening carefully for any sound, particularly the sound of breathing. She was some what surprised when she realized she was completely alone, even Poppy was gone. Cat wasn’t sure if she should be happy or very, very nervous. It wasn’t like Poppy to leave the hospital unattended, and certainly never when there was a patient present. Deciding to ignore the obvious questions of Poppy’s whereabouts, Cat swung her legs over the side of the bed and tentatively rose to her feet. She was amazed at the ease in which stood, she could literally feel the strength rising within her. Cat shook her head and smiled "Must be the blood" she said to herself "to bad it’s so volatile, any stress or exertion and I’m back to where I started" she sighed.........

Cash stretched his arms high over his head, it felt good to feel the flesh and muscles returning to his body. "Well I guess the Garou will feed well tonight." Cash commented as he piled the corpses of the deatheaters on top of each other and closed the door to the dust closet. He could come back and get them later, right now he needed to make sure Jamie was alright and get her back to her bed. It was getting near curfew and he didn’t want the teachers to start looking for her. Cash placed his now warm hand on the door knob and stood silently, listening to Jamie’s breathing "still sleeping" he mused as he opened the door and smiled over her sleeping form. Bending over her he gently stroked her cheek, she felt soft and warm as she should "Come on Jamie dear, time to go to bed." he whispered as he gathered her in his strong arms and walked effortlessly through the halls.

Cash quickly darted into the shadows and clutched Jamie to his chest as he heard several students approaching, he overheard two of the girls wondering were Jamie was. Cash waited until they were well out of sight before he emerged from the shadows and quickly headed for the next window. He very carefully leap from the window with Jamie in his arms, landing on a small parapet which had a trapdoor on the roof. He slid inside and carried her through the secret passages up to the Ravenclaw boys bathroom. Making sure no students were near, Cash bolted through several rooms and up a narrow staircase in a matter of seconds, only to stop in Jamie’s dorm at the side of her bed. He very gently laid Jamie on her bed taking great care not to wake her, as he laid down next to her. He had forgotten how addictive mortals could be, their warmth and softness were intoxicating to his senses. But as much as he might want otherwise, Jamie was far too young to play with. Hearing the students at the dormitory door, Cash quickly cast a spell over himself "let them see what they expect to see" ... he watched as the girls chattered away until one of them noticed Jamie sleeping soundly, she walked silently over to Jamie and closed the curtains of her bed.

Cash laid there silently as the girls chatted away about classes and boys, he enjoyed watching mortals, it never failed to amaze him at how much effort they put into living. Every breath, every thought, it was a constant effort to them, he found himself wondering if he had ever been so vibrant, so intense. He grinned widely as he heard the girls talking about boyfriends and clothing, just like his sisters did. Apparently not much had changed over the passing centuries, he heard them changing into their night clothes and dim the lights, they had decided to follow Jamie’s lead and get an early night’s sleep. Cash sighed deeply as he realized curfew was fast approaching, he wanted to check up on Angel and his clan before going on patrol. This promised to be a busy night, and with any luck Sirius had already gotten to the hospital to relieve Remus and protect Angel. Cash looked at Jamie as he rose from her bed, taking great care not to wake her, he gave her a gentle kiss on her lips as he whispered good night to her.........

Harry and Remus entered the great hall and saw every set of eyes turn to stare at them. Looking at each other nervously, they both walked towards the Gryffindor table were Ron and Hermione were waving to them frantically.

"Harry.. What happened?" Ron asked excitedly "You should have seen Snape, he dashed out of here like his knickers were on fire."

"But that’s nothing compared to the way Madame Pomfrey was talking to him. I’ve never seen her so angry in my life Harry. Did something happen?" Hermione asked, her voice full of worry.

"Yeah.. Something happened, my mum almost died" Harry responded glumly "Cash and Tris had to give her their blood to keep her alive, so did Mohrg..." Harry added as he looked down at his shoes.

"And Raul..." Remus added gently "they all sacrificed to save her Harry. Now its up to her body to see if she can truly heal herself." Remus steered Harry towards the table and had him sit down "you need to eat something, its going to be a long night." he sighed heavily "I just wish I could find Snuffles, he should be doing this, not me."

"Doing what?" Hermione asked "Does he know her magic too?"

Remus blushed slightly as he thought of what may be required of him tonight "Not exactly Hermione... ... I’ll have to explain it to you at another time."

"Most definitely another time Professor Lupin" Minerva added "Right now you and I need to get to the hospital wing. Professor Snape has already dashed off to get to Catri" Minerva got very close to Remus and asked softly "Did she tell you what happened? Did Severus do something to her?"

"Severus?!" Remus repeated with a gasp "Do you really think he would harm *her*? If it were me laying there I would agree, but ..... I just can’t picture him harming her."

"Well I am glad to hear you say that, but until I hear from Catri herself, Professor Snape will not be allowed near her. Am I understood Professor Lupin?" Minerva said crisply as she started walking towards the door.

Harry began to get up from his seat to accompany Remus back to the hospital. Only to be stopped by Remus’s hands on his shoulders. "No you don’t Harry. You are staying and eating some supper, and then Hermione and Ron are going to take you back to the dorm until I or Snuffles comes to escort you to Cat. There have already been several deatheaters discovered roaming around tonight." Remus could tell by the look on Harry’s face this was going to turn into an argument. "No Harry, I won’t even discuss this. Weak as Cat is she can still skin me alive, and she will if anything happens to you." signaling to the twins Remus yelled "Him, back to the tower *immediately* upon finishing dinner, or else I won’t show you how I pulled off that spell with the fly paper and spello tape." He winked as he heard Ginny gasp "Yep Miss Weasley, that was me I’m afraid."

"No way Remus." Harry responded hotly "She’s my mum and I’m going with you. I have every right and you know it, Clan law...."

Remus sighed and smiled gently at Harry "First of all young man, you do not know the first thing about clan law, if you did you wouldn’t be arguing with me. Secondly and *most* important. I do not want you there if things turn ugly. If Cash or Sirius show up and Snape’s there..

Its best you’re not...alright Harry?"

Harry nodded glumly as he realized Remus was not even going to listen to him. He watched angrily as Remus and McGonagall headed back to the hospital "I should be going with them. She’s my mother." he ranted as Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

Hermione spoke up first "Harry, you weren’t here. I think Remus is right, if you would have seen the way Snape reacted, I honestly thought he was going to explode right at the table. As it was he knocked over a chair and ran, and I do mean *ran* out of the hall, I’m sure he was heading to the hospital wing. And if MacLeod’s family thinks he did this to her...." Hermione shook her head apprehensively..........

Cat was enjoying her new found freedom, it felt amazing to feel the blood actually coursing through her veins, every beat of her heart sending the blood deeper and deeper into her flesh. She could see and hear things she never had before, she could even taste the air, it was completely amazing, she stood there spellbound for a few minutes before she snapped to her senses. "Come on Kitty... you got some ground to cover" she said to herself as she tried to focus her mind. She was going back to her room, she hated being a patient in the hospital, she always had, it always reminded her of the night Remus attacked her. She felt her stomach churn as the memory of that night hit her like a crashing wave.

She keenly remembered the pain and horror as his fangs had torn into her flesh, ripping her skin away from her bones, and the sound of tearing muscles, and the crunch of her bone as he tore into her arm. Cat shuddered visibly as she tried to shake the memory away. She looked over at the beds lining the wall, she could practically see herself laying there again, soaked in her own blood as Remus howled in the forest, still looking for her..... she shook herself again "That’s it" she said "if I’m going to die here, its bloody well going to be in my own bed." she said forcefully as she started towards the door, her mind still on Remus. "Just take your time and don’t do anything stupid, like run across the grounds again" she scolded herself, how could she ever have been so stupid.

"Poor Remus" Cat sighed "he’s never forgiven himself for attacking me. Everyone else has, but he just refuses to believe we can still trust him after that." If he only knew how guilty she felt over the whole episode, she should have never been outside, blue moon or not, and it was her fault he refused to date anyone now. After what happened to her he became so terrified that the next time someone would die, he just stopped letting people love him. Then again, she thought as her mind drifted back to the kiss he had given her earlier, maybe he was finally going to change his mind. After all that was hardly what you would call a *brotherly* show of affection. Cat felt her cheeks going warm as she thought of Remus holding her in his arms, protecting her as he had always done.

As she placed her hand on the doors of the hospital wing, she heard a familiar voice that made her very soul cringe..... Lucius Malfoy. Cat could feel the hairs on her neck rise with anger and anticipation. Apparently the blood was having its way with her, along with making her feel stronger, it was also making her far more aggressive than normal, and that was a frightening thought. Even on a good day it was a constant battle not to kill that beast, but now with Kindred blood flowing through her.... Cat took a deep breath and tried to use her head, or at least the logical part of it. She knew the strength would be nothing but a short lived illusion if she tried fighting anyone, she needed to use her sense now, and ignore her anger. The minute she opened the door and caught sight of Lucius, she realized how difficult it was going to be to walk away from him alive.

Cat could feel the blood screaming within her body as she spied on Lucius, she *wanted* to attack him, she *wanted* to hurt him, she *needed* to taste his blood. She could picture herself stalking Lucius as if she were some huge predatory cat, following him until he finally realized it was too late to run anymore, she could smell his fear in the air as she began to chase him to ground, finally pouncing on him with the full force of her body. Using her bare hands to tear his flesh as he screamed in pain and horror as she licked his blood dripping from his still beating heart , sticky and wet in her small hands ...... Cat shook her head violently. This was *not* going to go well, she could just see it......

Cat froze as Lucius saw her, raising her head high, she stepped out of the hospital and stood face to face with him in the hallway, her eyes glinting with anger and hatred .......

Snape pressed himself up against the wall as soon as he saw Lucius Malfoy at the hospital doors, he had to think of some way to get Catri out of there without letting Lucius see him. Quickly circling back over his tracks, Severus decided to find the back way into the hospital wing, if he remembered correctly is was somewhere off of the main hall, near the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. He had to get to Catri and get her out of the hospital before Lucius found her and did any more harm to her, he must have stumbled across her while she was in the greenhouse alone. Severus grit his teeth as he thought of what Lucius had probably done to her, he had always fantasized about her and what he would do to her one day. Sev felt his stomach churning as the horror of what Catri had suffered through hit him, no wonder Poppy had thought he was responsible, who else at this school would even dare to touch Catri in such a way.....

Minerva looked back at Remus "This way Professor if you please" she said briskly as she turned left and down a short flight of steps.

"But Minerva the hospital is in the other direction. Where are we going?" Remus asked with a tinge of worry in his voice.

"To the hospital" Minerva said crisply "trust me Remus, if Cash is there and Severus is on his way.... WE need to get there first." she said as she waved her wand in front of a small statue of a willowy girl holding a nightingale in her hands.

Remus jumped back a bit as the statue seemed to unfold in front of him. "I’ve never seen this one before" Remus commented as he watched Minerva step inside the darkness of the unfolded statue.

"Minerva gave him a crooked smiled "This may come as a shock to you professor, but the marauders did not discover *all* of Hogwarts secrets." she watched as he grinned back at her "are you coming Remus?" She waited until he stood next to her, then in a very clear voice said "VALETUDINARIUM"

Remus felt the familiar pull as his body was whisked away as if by a port key, "amazing, a gated port key." He wondered how many other places where connected to it. He had a sneaking suspicion only Minerva and Albus would ever know the answer to that question. Remus almost toppled forward onto McGonagall as they lurched to a stop inside of Poppy’s office. Minerva silently opened the office door and peered into the hospital.

"Did we beat Severus?" Remus asked as he peered out over her head and looked around the hospital wing.

"Yes, Professor Lupin" Minerva said as she opened the door of the office "although Catri seems to be missing as well." she said flatly as she clucked her tongue "she couldn’t have gotten far" she added as she saw the blood staining the sheets of Cat’s bed.