Sirius looked at Cat, he tenderly brushed the hair off of her face, as he let his fingers warm her icy skin. He felt the tears welling in his eyes as he realized this might be her last night on Earth. He watched in horror, as her skin became alabaster pale and her breathing was little more than weak gasps of air. Picking up her hand he kissed it as his tears streamed down his face, "Cat, mo grà, please, you can’t die." he said as he rubbed her cold hand between his, trying to make her warm "I’m sorry for yelling at you today, I didn’t mean any of it, I swear I didn’t. I just couldn’t stand watching you kiss him like that" he watched as his tears fell on her "you used to kiss me like that once. I want us to be together again, I want to be a family." he wiped his tears off of her skin, she was still so cold "I want to be a husband to you and a father to Harry. I know I hurt you, but please, you have to give me a chance to make things right with you. I never loved her, she didn’t mean anything to me, I was just so frightened by how deeply I love you. If you die I might as well die with you, I can’t imagine losing you twice in one lifetime." he sobbed as he kissed her hands again and again, trying to make her warm, he held her hands up against his cheeks, kissing her palms as his tears pooled on her face. Sobbing softly he bent over her and kissed his tears off of her face, he kept kissing her, her hair, her eyes, her cheeks, until he reached her lips. He started by kissing them gently, then lingering longer and longer as he felt them becoming warmer with each passing moment.

Sirius pulled away for a moment to look at her, indeed her lips had gone from a pale peach to an almost rosy colour. Although the rest of her was still frightfully cold, he couldn’t waste another second, he realized what it was he needed to do. Cash, Raul, even Albus had been trying to tell him all night what it was she really needed. Gathering Cat in his arms he lifted her off the bed and pulled the covers down, he removed her shoes as well as his own and sat down on her bed as he cradled her in his arms. "I love you Catrianna MacLeod. Do you hear me?" he said forcefully as he held her tightly against his chest "Do you believe me?" he practically whispered as he felt her head roll limply against his shoulder. "I know you Cat, I know you better than I know myself, you can’t be in love with Snape. I know you always protected him, and James told me it was because you pitied him, but pity is not the same as love." Sirius kissed her on the crown of her head as he moved his arm from her legs to her face, stroking her cheeks gently, he was sure she felt warmer than she had a few minutes ago. "Raul told me he had fed from you, that he saw into your heart, he said he saw me... Please, Mo ionúin, gráim thú .... don’t leave me, don’t leave our son." Sirius couldn’t take it any more; he broke down completely, sobbing as he rested his head against her.

Sirius held her for what seemed like hours, as he cried like a child, finally allowing all of his hurt and anger to wash out of him with his tears. Just as he was giving up hope of Cat ever recovering, he noticed her skin had lost its icy feel. Knitting his brow he began to touch her face and neck, he smiled joyfully as he realized she had indeed begun to warm up and her breathing was no longer coming in painful gasps.

He kissed her lips as he held her hand to his cheek. "You drive me crazy, do you know that Kitty? First you give me hope, then you break my heart" he embraced her fiercely "you make me want to believe again" he told her as he closed his eyes, savouring the feel of her breath against his skin. What was it Deirdre had said, *the mystery of the touch, it heals what has been broken* isn’t that what Cash and Dumbledore had both told him tonight, she needed to feel the warmth of someone who loved her, someone who could hold and heal her.

Taking the biggest chance in his life since escaping Azkaban, Sirius gently laid Cat on her bed as he walked over to her bedroom door, holding his hands level with his chest, his palms facing out, he spoke clearly and forcefully "cosain agus sciath" he watch with satisfaction as both the lock and the knob disappeared from the door. Only someone who knew Cat’s particular form of magic would be able to reverse that spell, which meant only Cash or Albus as far as Sirius knew. At the very least, he was positive Snape couldn’t, and right now that was all that mattered. Returning his attention back to Cat, he slid into her bed along side of her; slipping his arm under her shoulders he lifted and turned her so that her head was resting against his chest. He smiled with joy and relief as he heard her sigh softly, nuzzling close against him. Taking great care not to wake her, Sirius reached down and pulled the covers up to their shoulders as he gazed lovingly at Cat.

"This is twice this week I’ve ended up in your bed a grá mo chroí" he whispered as he kissed her gently "I honestly think I *should* tell Albus to summon your father, I think I need to ask him something." he teased softly, knowing she wouldn’t hear or remember anything that he said tonight, but wishing she would, "I assume clan law still dictates you need the chieftains permission to wed? Do you think he will accept me as willingly as Cash has?" He sighed deeply as he remembered meeting various members of her family "Your mother always liked me" he smiled as he thought of Diedre, with her sunny hair and clear blue eyes "she told me we would make wonderful parents. Can you believe that, not a good husband, or a nice couple, wonderful parents... .your clan really has a one track mind about some things, not that I mind of course." he smiled brightly as he embraced Cat even tighter against his chest "I always wanted a big family, I hated being alone growing up. I wanted to have enough for a Quidditch team," he laughed as he remembered the look on her face when he had told her that so many years ago. "You took me seriously, I had no idea you were one of thirteen children" he chuckled as he kissed her "you were probably relieved to hear such a low number."

Sirius paused as he heard Cat mumble softly, he couldn’t make out what she was saying. He pulled her closer to himself, lifting her so that her mouth was nearer his ear. After a few moments he realized she was having a conversation with someone, in Gaelic nonetheless. Sirius was only able to pick out a few words, but they were not giving him a great deal of hope. She kept mentioning death, time, battles and her son. Sirius shut his eyes as he felt his tears threatening to spill yet again. He refused to let her go, not now, not ever, he would never allow her to be taken from him again, not until his last breath. Remembering something Lily had taught him right before she confessed she had found out where Cat was, Sirius interlock her fingers with his and opened his heart and mind to everything, it was something that terrified him, it made him feel completely vulnerable, but for Cat’s sake he would do anything.

Sirius quaked with fear and grief as he realized what Cat was saying, she was speaking with Shinigami bás, one of the angels of death, she was telling him she was not afraid to die, but arguing she wasn’t ready to leave her son, he had been orphaned once already, he could never survive the pain of losing both of his mother’s in such a short time. Sirius felt himself choking on his own tears as he realize how truly desperate her situation was, he had thought holding and kissing her was all she would need to come around. He had no idea she would need to fight death himself in order to survive.

Sirius wrapped his arms around Cat and very gently rolled over until she was beneath him, "I won’t let you die grà" he promised as he lifted her head to his and kissed her passionately. He was pleasantly shocked as he felt her respond to his kisses, very gently at first, then more and more deeply. Sirius wrapped her soft hair around his fingers as he felt her breathing grow deep and even, he pulled away for a moment, only to see her eyes fluttering, as if she were trying to wake up from a very deep sleep...

Severus walked quickly towards Catri’s room, he had finally convinced McGonagall that he had done nothing to cause Catri any harm. He grimaced as he recalled the conversation, he had actually had to swear to the woman that he did not and never would do anything to harm Catri. "She should KNOW I would never harm you Catri" Severus vented as he quickened his pace, "I should not have to prove myself to anyone. Not about you, not ever. I would think my feelings were quite well known by now." he grimaced as he thought of the scene at supper earlier. Every student in the school had seen his reaction to the news of Catri’s sudden relapse; it was inevitable that rumours would begin to fly.

Severus felt himself sigh with relief when he saw her door was closed, hopefully Minerva was right and Catri had simply gone back to her room. If that were the case he would simply insist Lupin excuse himself, if the actions McGonagall had hinted were in fact needed, then he and he alone should be the one to attend to Catri. No one else had ever dare touch her, not as long as he had a breath left in his body. As he placed his hand on the door to her private rooms, he realized someone had charmed the door, "This had better have been place to keep her in" he said dangerously as he took out his wand. After several attempts, he finally found a rather obscure Lithuanian spell that unlocked the door "Finally" he growled as he headed directly for Cat’s bedroom.

To hell with announcing himself, if her clan thought Lupin was going to take care of Catri himself, he had better prepare to duel for her. Clan laws be dammed, they were talking about the woman he loved, and no one was going to lay a finger on her, healing or otherwise. Severus crossed the sitting room in a matter of seconds, prepared to burst in on Lupin and whatever tawdry scene awaited his eyes... It took a few seconds before Severus realized why he couldn’t open the door. "Where, in the name of Merlin’s sacred sword, is the bloody doorknob" he bellowed as he banged loudly at her bedroom door. "Lupin, open this door immediately!!" Sev paused as he listened carefully for any sound from beyond the door as he tried to calm his mind; the images flashing through his head of what Lupin could be doing to his helpless Catri were all but burning his mind’s eye. "Lupin!!!!!" he screamed as the anguish crept into his voice.

"What?!" Remus replied as he stared at Severus "and why are you screaming like that? Don’t you realize Cat needs her sleep?" he said sharply as he glared at the potion master.

Severus spun around and stared at Lupin "What are you doing here?" he asked, his face the picture of shock.

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? The way you were screaming your head off, how could I not...."

"NO!" Severus snapped "What are you doing *here*? I thought you were with Catri," he explained as his eyes became suddenly wide "WHO is in there with her?!"

Remus tried to hide his amusement over Severus’s outburst "What makes you think anyone is there with her? Did they answer you?" he asked innocently.

"Perhaps you did not notice Lupin, but her doorknob is missing" he motioned to the door "your handy work I assume?"

Remus walked over to examine the door "Nope, not mine" he stood up and looked Snape directly in the eyes "it could be hers, in fact it probably is. If this were Cash’s there would be a large set of jaws where the knob should be." Remus turned his face away as Snape began to turn several colors of red and purple. "I really wouldn’t worry about it Severus, I’m sure Kitty, ehmm.. Sorry Catri.. Just wanted some peace and quite." he said as he began to walk away, grinning from ear to ear.

"That is *not* what Minerva said she needed." Severus retorted sarcastically "in fact it was quite the opposite."

Remus couldn’t resist "Really? And exactly what did Minerva tell you Cat needed? Mohrg gave her the potions; her Clan gave her their blood.... Harry and I kept her warm... can’t really thing of anything else she would need but rest." Remus replied casually as he headed towards the hall. "Besides, who ever put up *that* spell used Gaelic magic. You aren’t removing it, and unless you can find Minerva or Cash, I doubt its going to be opening any time soon."

"YOU kept her warm?" Severus growled "Exactly *how* did you do that?" he asked as he ran his fingers along his wand.

"Harry and I kept her warm." Remus replied again, then, feeling far too tempted to resist he added "and how do you think, we took turns lying in bed with her.." He yelled back as he headed down the hall. As much as he wanted to see Snape’s face, he didn’t relish the thought of what the jealous professor would do if he caught him...

Severus stood there fuming for several minutes, but at least Catri was not in danger of having some scoundrel take advantage of her. Taking a deep breath, Sev walked back to Catri’s door and knocked softly "Catri.... Catri... Are you awake?" he waited but heard nothing; she could be dead for all they knew. "I should have taken you up on your offer to teach me Gaelic" he said softly as he rested his head against the door "at least then I could remove this wretched spell and make sure you were safe."...

"I still cannot believe Cash and Angel are shape-shifters" Mohrg said as he shook his head "and such a violent temper, even for the Gangrel... he was truly terrifying.. .. How do you control him when he is like this?"

Raul smiled crookedly as he wiped the blood off of his face, a gift from Cash and his transformation "Luckily Cash rarely loses control of himself like this." he replied honestly "I have only ever seen him this full of rage and violence when he feels his mortal family is at risk. That is why Tristessa left her rope with me, she was afraid something like this would happen."

"It is good that Tristessa comes prepared" Mohrg agreed, then paused as the obvious question presented itself "what does she transform into?"

Raul smiled, "Like her daughter, whatever she wishes to." he laughed at the look on the Nosferatu’s face "Don’t look so surprised my friend, their magic is nearly as old as time, Tristessa and Angel both tend to favour large cats, but I have seen them fly as falcons and swim as dolphins. It is my understanding that their power is only limited by their imaginations. And with Cash and Tristessa to guide her, I imagine Angel has quite the imagination.... have you ever heard her or Cash tell stories to the children of their clan?" he watched as Mohrg shook his head no "You should my friend, it is always entertaining at the very least, and usually very enlightening as well."

"Here we are" Raul said as he spied Snape’s office door "If he has indeed returned to his old master he is a danger to the school and most especially to Angel."

"After seeing Cash’s reaction this evening I am more inclined to agree with you, although Angel does seem to trust him. In fact she seems rather fond of him." Mohrg said softly, not wanting to upset his new ally.

"That is what I find so curious" Raul sighed "It is not like Angel to trust blindly, and Tristessa tells me they attended this school together many years ago." he shook his head "Something just does not make sense here. But Angel is as much my responsibility as theirs. She may not be blood to me, but she is allied to my clan, and I have shared my blood with her, just as she shared hers with me. I refuse to simply accept it as coincidence that so many deatheaters appeared the same night Angel falls so desperately ill."

"Cash certainly seems sure this man is behind Angels heart ache. But I don’t understand why this letter is so important. Why doesn’t he simply tell her the truth himself, he is her family, she would believe him." Mohrg insisted.

"So you would think, but Cash has a somewhat *closed* mind about Angel’s future husband. I honestly don’t know that I would believe everything he says about any *competition* ether" Raul smirked as he rolled his eyes, "but in this case, we need to be certain" he added as they began to search Snape’s office "I want to be fully prepared with information when Cash wakes up. We may need to defend ourselves against him. He is not going to appreciate that little potion you gave him." Raul laughed as Mohrg shook his head.

"It was necessary, we could hardly restrain him as it was" he insisted.

"I agree with you whole-heartedly, but he is not going to be happy, trust me." Raul said as he pried open the drawers of Severus’s desk. "What have we here" he asked as he picked up a small box "Gemini jewels?...." Raul’s eyes grew wide as he opened the box "Didn’t Olia say this Slytherin intended to marry Angel and take her away from us?" "Yes, that is what she and the twins told us" Mohrg replied as he searched the rows of ingredients lining the shelves of the office "why? Have you found something?" he asked as he turned to face Raul, and froze as Raul showed him the contents of a small box.

"Looks like an engagement ring to me...... Mohrg?" Raul asked as he tossed the box across the room. "Looks like he has a few other items in here as well" Raul commented as he continued searching the drawer "Nice brooch ....at least he has good taste in jewelry" he joked as he pulled out a small leather bound book. "What do we have here?" Raul opened the book and froze as he turned blood red. "MOHRG" Raul choked out in a raspy whisper as he slowly turned the pages of the book...

Mohrg snapped the ring box shut and closed his eyes, it was an engagement ring, no doubt intended for Angel. Mohrg felt his blood run cold at the thought of what Cash would do to this Slytherin for attempting to steal Angel away from her own beloved clan. His thoughts were interrupted by the uncharacteristic panic in Raul’s voice. Looking up quickly Mohrg saw Raul’s eyes frozen wide and his jaw hanging open. Fearing a curse had been placed on the book that Raul was holding, Mohrg quickly flew to his side. "Raul... Raul what is it??? What has happened???" The only answer was Raul turning the book so Mohrg could see what was written on its pages.

Only there was no writing, it was all drawings; someone had been sketching Angel in a variety of poses. "These had better be done by imagination and *not* memory" Mohrg whispered darkly as his once cold blood began to boil in his veins. "I cannot believe that Angel would... Not with him...." looking away from the book, he turned to Raul and asked softly "would she?"

Raul shook his head slowly "I don’t know. *I* don’t think so, but if she truly believes Sirius is married to another woman..." he trailed off as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Jealousy and pain can make a person do strange things." Mohrg said softly "But I have seen her with the wizard Sirius, I can see the fondness she holds for him in her eyes. Would she be so easily persuaded to abandon him?"

Raul sighed "If she thought he had taken vows... yes. Clan MacLeod and Clan Gangrel are built on the same foundation. The same code of honour, we believe in love and loyalty, and that most certainly includes *never* breaking our vows, no matter what they may be." He explained as he tossed the book on the desk, as he did so, he noticed a piece of parchment that slipped out from between the pages.

Raul and Mohrg looked at each other, both curious as to what was on the parchment, but considering the contents of the book, too embarrassed to open the parchment up. "This is silly" Mohrg sighed as he reached for the parchment "and what do you find so amusing Raul?" he asked as he noticed the grin on the Gangrel’s face.

"Silly??? I just never pictured a Nosferatu using a word like silly" he joked, trying to break the tension "Well, how bad is this one?"

Mohrg stared directly into Raul’s eyes as his own narrowed considerably "The note Cash was speaking of, ... he mentioned pink ink, did he not?" the Nosferatu practically growled.

"Yes he did... is that?"

Mohrg turned the parchment for Raul to see "Yes"

Raul could feel the anger growing in his chest. So it was true, Cash was not being overly suspicious of the Slytherin after all; he had stolen the letter from Angel’s room. Which meant he had been able to slip into her room as she slept. All in all, not a good scenario, especially if he turned out to be the spy. Growling angrily Raul grabbed the book from Mohrg and used it to smash the contents of the Slytherin’s desk. Not yet happy with the destruction, he overturned the desk, smiling as it caused a chain reaction to the shelves behind it, filled with bottles of various size and shape, which had now crashed loudly to the floor.

"Feel better now, Gangrel" Mohrg asked dryly

"As a matter of fact,.... I do" Raul replied as he straightened out his shirt "Do you care to accompany me.... I intend to return this to Angel.".........