Mohrg walked silently to the bed and paused in shock at the couple sleeping peacefully on the bed. "Raul..... Raul" Mohrg motioned "come here.... look"

Raul was at Mohrg’s side in an instant. He also paused as he saw Sirius and Angel cuddled in each others arms, taking comfort and joy in one another’s company.

"Perhaps it is no longer needed" Mohrg smiled as he nodded at the parchment. He was amazed at how happy seeing them together made him, he felt as if his heart would burst from all the joy that was filling it.

Raul shrugged his shoulders as he walked to Angel’s dresser and placed the note near her brush "If we went through all the trouble of finding it... I’m leaving it..." He explained as he walked towards the door "and I’m taking that cursed sketch book with me. I can only imagine what Cash will do if he finds it. We don’t need that sort of trouble, not now.."

Sirius awoke to gentle tapping on the door, he smiled as he remembered last night, he closed his eyes as he imprinted the memory of Cat in his heart. This is how he wanted to remember her forever, soft, warm, contented and so very, very beautiful. He took a deep breath as he opened his eyes to see the bright streams of sunlight catching the fiery highlights of her hair. Her skin flawless as ivory, he caressed her shoulder as he lifted the strap of her camisole back up. She moaned softly as she nuzzled closer against him. Sirius wanted to stay here like this forever, but the tapping at her door had only gotten more insistent the longer he lingered. Sirius raised his hand and pointed it towards the door, the moment he did so, the knob quickly reappeared and the door opened.

Sirius smiled as soon as he saw Harry’s worried face peer into the room. "Good morning Harry" Sirius whispered as he grinned happily. He could see the relief spreading across his godson’s face. "Yes Harry, she’s fine... but she still needs to rest" he explained as he carefully slid himself out from under her, he hesitated as he heard her stir unhappily, a frown flitted across her face as her arms searched for him, but found only a pillow. "I know beloved, I want to stay as well" he whispered into her ear as he bent over to kiss her goodbye. "Come on Harry" he said as he draped his arm over Harry’s shoulder "your mum is going to be fine. Trust me..."

"With a smile like that?" Harry grinned "She better be more than fine. Will she be strong enough to leave soon?" he asked as a shadow crossed his face "I don’t want her to push herself and get hurt again."

Sirius smiled happily "Well aren’t we the protective son?" he teased as he hugged Harry fondly "and yes Harry, more than likely within a few hours. She’s over the worst of it now. It will only get better from here."

"He never stopped hoping you could be together, he always wanted you to be his wife, to have a family with you.....Family is so important to us all...." Cat heard an all to familiar voice playing in her head...

"Angus? Angus Black?" Cat said as she saw a figure materialize in front of her. "My dearest little Kitty" Angus sighed softly "I was hoping you hadn’t forgotten me" he said as he held open his arms to her. Cat ran to him and flung her arms around him, he was just as she remembered him, tall and lean with large shoulders and a kind face. His blue-grey eyes always shone brightly, and the laugh lines only proved how happy and sweet he was. You haven’t been listening to me, have you my dear?" he asked gently as he cupped her face in his large hands "My poor son has been crying over you for years,.... you broke his heart when you left him. I know he hurt you, and I can’t defend what he did, but he loves you Kitten, he always has.

Cat looked up at Angus with tear filled eyes "And my dreams.... this dream...." she looked back down at her feet as she tried to swallow the fear that had risen in her. "Is it true.... is he alone, is he without a wife?"

She watched as Angus smiled sadly at her "He never married, he never loved anyone but you. You promised me grandchildren Kitten." he reminded her as he shook his finger reproachfully at her "The chieftains daughter must keep her promises, the honour of the clan depends on it...... He loves you Kitten.... all I ask is you love him in return."

Cat reached out for Angus as his form seemed to change into mist and fade away. As he faded from her sight, she was sure she saw him wink at her, the same way he used to when he was alive. He had told her so many times how happy he was that she and Sirius were together, he made her feel like part of his family. She smiled softly as she heard the snowbirds chirping outside of her window, she must have forgotten to put food out last night. They had come to expect it and became very vocal if she forgot about them. Cat stretched as she felt the familiar quilt rubbing against her shoulders, the scent of the flowers Severus had given her the day before, and something else, there was another scent here, one that seemed so very familiar, yet unplaceable, it was clean and strong, it reminded her of someone.

Her mind slowly began remembering everything that had happened last night, Malfoy had sensed her weakness, but she had held him off. Harry had found her in the hall, and dreams, so many strange and lovely dreams. But how had she gotten into her bed, and where was her dress? Her head was spinning, she put her hand to her head as the dreams from the night before came flooding back to her. "Ugghh, worse than a hang-over" she said painfully as she laid back down, waiting for the confusion in her head to subside.....

Severus cursed shamelessly as the bright winter sun shone in through the windows. He had forgotten to close them in his stupor the night before. He grimaced as his head pounded and his stomach lurched. Trying to rise from his bed he immediately felt the room swimming around him. "Uhhg.. .bloody hell.." he gasped as he grabbed his head to stop the room from moving. He flopped back down on his bed as he tried to remember what had happened to him, and why was his head at the bottom of the bed? Raising his head just enough to look around, he realized what a sorry state he was in. He was laying crossways on his bed, half dressed, with an empty bottle of brandy staring him in the eyes. "Just lovely" he said as he tried once more to rise from the bed.

At least this time he was able to gain his feet, he stood still for a moment as his stomach lurched violently. He tried to get to the bathroom only to trip over the blankets that had tangled around him during the night. Hitting the floor with a resounding smack, Severus decided laying there may not be such a horrible idea at the moment. The coolness of the floor was a welcome relief to the alcohol induced fever that was consuming him. "What ever was I thinking?" he moaned as he rolled over onto his back. Looking up he saw a picture of Catri smiling down at him, her hair was being blown around her face by a gentle breeze as butterflies flitted daintily around the flowers she was holding in her delicate hands. Severus couldn’t help but smile back at her picture, "if only I could wake up to you everyday my dear." he sighed as he thought of sharing his life and his bed with her.

That’s when it suddenly hit him, that was why he had drank last night. "Catri!!" he yelled as he bolted straight up, if she was still alive, if Black was still with her..... Severus kicked his way out of the blankets as he ran towards his wardrobe, he had to get dressed and get to Catri. With any luck the spell may have worn off or perhaps even been removed by now. He quickly grabbed a fresh shirt and robes from the wardrobe as he hastily tore off what was left of his garments. Dashing toward the bathroom, he tripped over the blankets he had left on the floor in his haste, stubbing his toe. "Sulphur and brimstone" he bellowed as he kicked the blankets out of his way, quickly dressing he felt a momentary panic as he searched for his wand and his shoes.......

"Yes Cash.. I SWEAR!!" Raul repeated for the umpteenth time "It was Sirius, he was with Angel. The Slytherin was no where to be seen."

"And the note, the one I had written for her?" Cash asked once more as he glared at Raul.

"On her dresser next to her hair brush." Raul sighed "Now would you please let me up?!" he asked as he stared at the business end of Cash’s sword. "You know I only did what was necessary, you would have hated yourself this morning if you had actually killed the Slytherin." Raul said gently.

"I would have gotten over it, trust me..." Cash said as he smiled wickedly "I don’t like people drugging me." he snarled

"And *I* don’t like to drug people!" Raul insisted "but you were a danger to every creature living or otherwise in this school. Even with Mohrg’s help I couldn’t restrain you, you were in a frenzy.... Tristessa would have done the same thing."

Cash snorted "True, but she’s family,..... and she’s a lot cuter than you are." He added, his eyes still fixed on Raul.

"Wonderful" Raul sighed as he clenched his teeth "Next time I’ll put on a dress and some mascara... would that help?" he asked snarkily.

Cash paused for a moment before the smile crossed his face. "Raul the drag queen... yea.. I can see that" he chuckled as he finally removed the sword from Raul’s throat......

Cat laid there with her eyes opened wide to the sunlight, could her dreams be true, could Sirius be free, she thought hopefully. But if he was free and her dreams were true, why had everyone abandoned him, and what would she do about Severus? She cared deeply for him, he had always been there for her, and things were progressing quickly in their relationship. In fact considering his insistence about the holidays, she had the distinct feeling he intended to become truly serious about their relationship.

She suddenly remembered the other dream she had a few nights earlier, the grey, black and that other figure. Someone was trying to tell her something, if only she could cut through the haze and hear what they were saying..... REMUS!!!!! It suddenly dawned on her, he had been trying to get her alone to talk with her since her first day back at Hogwarts, he knew the truth, he had to. Cat quickly got out of bed, pausing only long enough for the pain in her head to subside, getting dressed she grabbed her brush to fix her hair and startled herself. The brush..... it had been a gift from Sirius, she used it everyday without even thinking about it, somehow she had the distinct impression that was some sort of hint, but she couldn’t quiet her mind long enough to think it through, she had to find Remus.

As she placed her brush down she saw a parchment sitting on the dresser, it was terribly crumbled as though someone had originally meant to throw it away. She practically laughed as she opened it and saw the pink ink. "Charming" she giggled as she held it up to read it. Her eyes filled with tears almost immediately, she had to find Remus, she had to find him now.....

As Cat raced through the halls her mind returned to the dream, could it be precognitive, her heart was telling her yes, but her mind was to terrified to believe it without proof. She had lost her heart once before, only to see it broken, the thought of going through that again filled her with more dread than even Voldemort did.........

"Remus!" Cat yelled down the hall at him, she was panting <still not up to strength> she thought ruefully, "Remus, we need to talk ..... Sirius, I need to ask you ..."

"Shhhh, Cat, not here" he quickly hushed her as he pulled her up against the wall "No one is supposed to know he’s here, remember?" he looked at Harry to see if anyone had heard her.

Cat nodded impatiently "Fine!.. But I still need to know, I’ve had dreams again Remus, I have to know if their true... Please" she pleaded.

"Hush.. Alright, meet with Harry and I tonight. We’ll get Sirius and bring him as well" Remus said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you really think Harry should be there?" Cat questioned, no matter what the outcome, this promised to be a messy situation.

"It concerns him as much as the two of you" Remus responded gently but firmly "he has every right to be there."

"Cat, what sort of dreams did you have" Harry asked, "was it because Sirius had to carry you to your room after you passed out?"

"He What?!" Cat said as she turned to stare at Harry, she looked at him as if he had 3 heads.

"Well yeah, you were in pretty bad shape, they wouldn’t let me stay with you, Dumbledore walked me to the tower and Sirius stayed with you the whole night, it wasn’t safe for you to go to the hospital wing."

Cat threw her arms up in the air "Why does he always show up when I’m either unconscious or dying. Why?!" she turned to Remus "what the hell is wrong with talking to me when I’m actually able to have a conversation? Is that *really* so much to ask?"

Remus laughed deeply at Cat’s outburst, "No acushla, not much at all. And I promise I, Harry and Sirius will be at your room tonight after supper. We all need to talk, there’s a lot we need to get settled. Alright?" he asked hopefully.

Cat sighed "Alright... but I would prefer to do it *now*, something always seems to happen when ever you and I try to get together to talk."

Severus sighed with relief when he saw Catri in the hall with Lupin and Potter, she seemed agitated but otherwise fine. He straightened his shirt and robe as he walked towards her. He still needed to talk to her, to make sure nothing had happened to her last night. Severus froze as he overheard Catri speaking with Lupin, *she* wanted to speak to Black, *she* was insisting. He closed his eyes as he clenched his jaw, it could not mean anything good. He felt the stabbing pain of jealousy in his heart as his mind ran wild.

Severus decided then and there that Lupin would never make that meeting, if Lupin or Black got to her before he even had a chance to prove how much he loved her..... Sev closed his eyes tightly as he swallowed his pain. "Good morning Catri" he said pleasantly as he intruded into their conversation "I trust you are well this morning?" he asked as he shot a hateful look at Lupin.

Cat smiled softly at him "Yes, thank you Sev. I’m feeling much better." she knitted her brow as she took a closer look at him, "Sev? What happened to you?! You look like hell, did Malfoy do something to you?" she asked angrily as she reached up to touch his cheek. "If he did so help me..."

Severus took her hand in his and smiled, at least she still cared about him, that was something to hold onto "No my dear, not Malfoy... I was worried about you. You were so weak, but your door was locked, or perhaps I should say sealed.... with a Gaelic spell I believe." He studied her carefully, she seemed confused by his statement.

"A Gaelic spell? Do you mean Sidhe magic?" she watched as he nodded "It must have been Cash or Tanta Min.... I mean Minerva, outside of myself they are the only people at Hogwarts with a working knowledge of my magic."

"Of course, that must be it" Severus replied silkily "I simply wish they would have let me know. I would have gladly staid with you myself." he smiled softly as he watched her blush.

"I think that’s why they did it in the first place" Remus said as Snape turned to glare at him. "Don’t you have a class to teach or something Severus... I was in the middle of a conversation with Kitty." Remus smirked as Snape scowled at him, he never could stand it when he called her Kitty. "Or perhaps a trip to Madame Pomfrey might be in order. Kitty’s right, you do look awful. If I didn’t know any better I’d think you had a hangover."

"Thank you for your concern Lupin, but I assure you I am quite fine." Severus growled as he returned his attention to Catri. "I trust I will see you at lunch today, no meetings or private conversations planned?" he said a bit more harshly than he intended. He regretted his tone immediately upon seeing her reaction.

Cat winced at his words, "No... none." she said softly as she turned her face from him "Cash won’t be up until later, I’ve promised to have supper with him, he wants to talk to me about the Tremere..."

"Catri... please, I did not mean it that way" he insisted as he took her hand in his. "Please...." he relaxed slightly as she smiled at him "I am sorry Catri, perhaps I am a bit more tired than I thought, forgive me?".........

Severus snarled and snapped at every student unlucky enough to get in his way as he strode towards his office. How could he have been so stupid? He had almost ruined it himself with his harsh words, he had forgotten how sensitive Catri could be to the tone of his voice. Her hearing was amazingly sensitive and he was sure her abilities allowed her an empathic connection to those around her. He needed to compose himself before he saw her today at lunch, another outburst like that and she would never agree to join him at his home. He looked forward to a relaxing cup of tea in his office before his classes began.

As he got closer to his dungeon classroom he noticed more and more students staring at him. Something was going on, he rolled his eyes as he imagined what idiotic pranks Lupin and Black could have pulled *this* time. Seeing a crowd gathered around his office he clenched his jaw "Alright... What is it this time? Desk superglued to the ceiling? Redecorated in early ooze? Or perhaps my furniture has been turned into oversized stuffed animals again?" he snarled as he pushed through the crowd of students.....

Severus stood there numbly, his office and everything in it was destroyed, it looked as though a small war had been waged within the walls of his office. He walked over to where his desk now leaned against the far side of the room, it had been splintered down the middle. Severus blinked his eyes a few times, hoping desperately that he was still drunk and in bed.

He knelt down in front of the remains of his desk and pulled open the drawer that had contained the ring and sketchbook, they were both gone. Severus felt his blood run cold, if that monster Cash had gotten a hold of that sketchbook........ Severus turned to glare at the students "All of you, to your classes... IMMEDIATELY!!"

A single glare from Snape and the students scurried like rats. He narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the damage, there was not a single item that had not been damaged. Turning on his heels, he left immediately to find Dumbledore. This was the last straw, even Albus had to admit how dangerous these monsters were. He felt himself shudder involuntarily at the thought of what may have happened had he been in his office last night. Striding purposely through the halls he quickly arrived at the hall with the stone gargoyle, just as Sirius Black was approaching from the other end of the hall.

"Enjoy yourself last night Black?" Severus spat as he glared hatefully at Sirius "Or did you actually have enough decency not to force yourself on her."