As if in answer to Raul’s pray, a loud roaring was heard and a tremendous heat flooded the corridor…….

“Of course he’s only a child” Gus sneered “do you think I’m foolish enough to let him grow to be a man. His mother is trouble enough, and after all, the blood only increases in strength as it turns in on itself.”

“And if you’re holding out hope of MacLeod getting here in time, don’t” Gus added as he returned his attention to Harry and the vial of poison, “I have other spells in place, the silence shield may go down in another hour or so, but the sith, death eaters, and counter spells are still in place. She won’t be able to break through until sunrise, and that is nearly seven hours away. More than enough time to finish you both, drain the Methuselah of his blood, and kill most of the students. I’ll have to start with Gryffindor of course, since those idiots couldn’t even manage to steal away a few children.” Gus said as he glared at Malfoy. “You finally convince the Ministry official to join, as they are as useless as you are.” he spat.

“Although it looks like the rest of the Gangrel clan has fallen into the ambush I set up.” he added gleefully, turning back to Sirius, he continued. “Life is good, and its so easy when you’re evil. I‘d suggest that you try it, but you won‘t live long enough to really put any effort into it.” Enjoying the look of terror now etched on the boy’s bruised and swollen face, Gustavas ignored Sirius’s rants and begging, holding the vial high, he grinned as its contents oozed its way to Harry’s arm…

Harry screamed with pain as the poison hit his wound, it crystallized and spread the moment it touched his blood. He watched as his blood changed into what looked like small rubies, only to darken and turn black as they burst into small flames, scorching his skin. The pain was indescribable, and impossible to endure, the last thing Harry heard was Gustavas’s evil laughter, his godfather’s heart wrenching pleas and his own terrified scream…..

Sirius felt something inside himself snap when he heard Harry scream. It was too much like the night James died, Sirius had heard a single scream as he landed and ran towards the house. He couldn’t fail Harry again. He wouldn’t let this happen, not to Harry, not when he was so close he could almost touch him. Sirius should be the one dead, not Harry. Harry had a bright future, he had a mother who loved him and a clan that would do anything to keep him safe. Sirius knew he had to do something, anything, to save his godson.

Sirius shuddered violently as every image and thought he had of Harry ran through his mind. The night Lily and James had brought him home, the day he held Harry and proclaimed his responsibility to his godson in front of the council, the first time Lily had let him alone to baby-sit, even though he could see the worry in her eyes as James drug her out of the door for their first night alone since Harry had been born. “NO!!! Not Harry, not our son.” he screamed “He’s all we have left of James and Lily, I won‘t lose him too! I won‘t fail him or James, not this time, not ever.” Sirius felt and incredible heat flash through his body as he continued his rant. “He’s Cat’s son, my son….I won’t let this happen. I will stop this!”

No sooner had the words left his lips than a blinding flash of light lit up the dungeon, melting the chains holding Sirius and blinding everyone in the room. Sirius lurched to Harry’s side, he reached up to where Cash was dangling and touched the pike, which also melted away into nothingness, causing the Gangrel to hit the floor with a dull thud. Sirius could feel his body going numb, he knew he couldn’t hold onto the power much longer, in fact he was fairly certain it was killing him.

When Sirius tried to melt Harry’s chains, he realized the blinding light was now reduced to a soft golden glow. It was only a matter of time before that would fade as well and he knew it. Hoping that Cash was still alive enough to save Harry, Sirius grabbed one of the blinded death eaters and threw him at Cash. Who instinctively fed, draining the death eater in a matter of seconds. Sirius looked up at Harry’s unconscious form and hoped he would be able to hold on until Cash revived or Cat showed up. As Sirius wondered if any of them would live to see tomorrow, he noticed a pair of blue eyes smiling down at him with an undisguised fondness and pride….

“Catri, be sensible. I am positive it was a bad dream” Severus insisted “You are simply over tired. We can contact Albus right now and he will prove that Harry is safe.”

Cat shook her head as she walked to the centre of the room, “No Sev, its not a bad dream. A dream would not explain why I can’t hear the school.” She turned and gave him a quick kiss “I’ll be back if its nothing, I promise” she reassured him as she tried to pull her arm away from him. “He needs me, Sev.” she said firmly.

Sev refused to release his hold on her, he had the terrible feeling that if he did, he may never see her again. He looked at her, engraving her image in his memory; her long, auburn hair hanging loose down her back, a simple white blouse, a long deep blue skirt, and the deepest, greenest eyes he had ever beheld in his life. “Catri, at least check with Dumbledore first, I beg…” he tightened his grip on her as she screamed and collapsed on the floor..

“HARRY!!” she screamed as she brought her hands to her head. She suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of pain and grief as images of her son, Cash and Sirius beaten and covered in blood flashed across her mind. “Merlin, help them!” she cried as she pushed Severus away from her and disappeared from his home in a swirl and roar of flames….

“But I need you too” Severus said as the flames faded away. His heart wrenched as he realized she was far beyond the sound of his words. “Come back Catri, please.” he sighed as he slumped down on a chair. “Nothing could have happened to him, he is at the school with Dumbledore and all of your friends. Cash alone would be enough to deter most people, let alone an entire clan of vampyres whose single goal in life is to keep you safe.” he murmured “besides, I would have been told if Voldemort intended to move against the school. They would expect me to clear the way for them.”……

Raul froze as the roaring sound grew louder, he shielded his eyes as a bright circle of flames appeared in the centre of the corridor and a wave of intense heat flashed over them. “Angel!!!” Raul yelled as he saw her appear in the middle of the flames. “They have your son, they have your clan” he pointed towards the door as the death eaters rushed to block her way.

One particular death eater who was noticeably shorter than the rest stepped forward, and in a nervous voice proclaimed “You are too late Sidhe, your son is already dead.” he took a step back as Cat’s eyes narrowed in on him. Swallowing nervously behind his mask, the man continued as his voice wavered “Your vampires are being slaughtered as we speak, you have lost. You have failed them all. Their blood is on your ha….”

The flames grew higher and higher around Cat as the man spoke, they seemed to become part of her as she raised her hands and pointed them at the short death eater. “Basaich” she growled as the man flew backwards into the wall as his heart ruptured, causing his chest to explode with the force of a small bomb. “Raul, where are the others?” Cat asked as she kept her eyes on the rest of the death eaters.

“We’re still here Angel” Hamish said hastily as he and Roel ran to the twins, “but we have injured students. They must be taken to the hospital”

“Take them and go. All of you.” Cat said forcefully as her eye glowed with a preternatural gleam “Let these coward to me.”

“Angel, you may not survive if….” Raul began

“THEY HAVE MY SON” Cat screamed as the death eaters tried to surround her. Without even speaking a word, Cat raised her hands high above her head and made a slashing movement with her arms as she walked towards the room without ever looking back…..

orig posted 12dec02 Raul stood frozen to his spot, he had heard Cash talk of Angel’s power, but he had never seen such a vivid or violent display, and he hoped never to see it again. Raul surveyed the corridor as Angus and Rick walked to his side. Every death eater in the hall lay dead, their chests tore open as if attacked internally by some ferocious creature.

“Did *she* do that?” Rick asked softly, shaking his head in disbelief. It had taken everything they had to hold their own, it was impossible to think that a small woman, a mortal, could have done so much damage in only a few seconds.

“Yeah, she did.” Angus replied as he averted his eyes. “Her son is dying, and her clan needs her. Didn’t your parents teach you anything Rick? The only creature in the world more dangerous than a wounded or sick animal, is …”

“A mother protecting her young” Raul finished softly as he tried to suppress the cold shiver that was running down his spine ……

Following the call of Harry’s heart, Cat walked towards the room, stepping over the bodies of the death eaters as she went. The door itself crumbled and turned to ash as she approached it. She felt a horrible fear creep into her heart when she saw the scene before her. Cash, who could barely stand, was tearing out the chains that held Harry to the wall, Sirius was on his knees next to Harry and Gustavas the Tremere was staring at her, a look of pure hatred on his face. “YOU” Cat screeched when she saw Gustavas “I’ll see you suffer final death and burn in the seventh ring of Hell.”

“Not if you want to save your clan, O Angel. You won’t have the time to kill me and save them.” Gustavas replied mockingly “So, which is it, their lives or mine?” he asked as Sirius called out for Harry, his voice little more than a painful groan.

Cat immediately turned and ran to Harry as Gustavas took advantage of her distraction and bolted out the door before she realized what was happening. He knew there was no possible way she could cure him in time, the poison would be hitting the boys heart shortly and then it would all be over, except for the screaming…..

Lucius narrowed his eyes and glared hatefully at Gustavas and Cat, how he despised them both, with any luck they would kill each other here and now and be done with it. It became painfully obvious to Lucius that Gustavas had no intention of facing the Sidhe head on as soon as the Tremere opened his mouth. Lucius motioned for the death eaters to attack her themselves as he artfully stepped into the shadows. Not waiting for the Sidhe b**** to spot him, Lucius Malfoy took advantage of her distraction and quickly slipped into one of the many secret passages that lined the school. He could bide his time, Voldemort would take care of the Tremere for failing him, and that would give him the chance he needed to take care of Cat MacLeod and Harry Potter once and for all.

Cat forgot about Gustavas the moment she saw Harry’s body cradled in Sirius’s arms. Her poor son, even unconscious it was obvious he was in a great deal of pain. She gasped loudly as she touched his face, tracing the brutal cuts and bruises as her tears fell. She barely even looked at Sirius as she took Harry from his arms and held him tightly against her, rocking him back and forth as she whispered into his ear, begging him to hold on. …..

Cash looked down at Sirius and Harry as Cat fell to her knees and took Harry in her arms. She had finally made it through the shield, Harry would be fine now that she was here. Hearing the shuffling of feet, Cash looked up to see the death eaters closing in on them. Gritting his teeth with anger and pain, Cash leaped at the closest one and viciously tore his throat open, draining him completely. He hadn’t even finished the first one before he reached out and had another by the neck. He would feed gluttonously tonight, he needed to restore his strength, he needed to protect his clan, the future of his clan and many others was a stake. These three mortals; soft, tender and frail, held the future of the ages of man within their very blood, he knew it in his heart, and he didn’t need Maharet to step in and do things her way. Angel was his child every bit as much as Maharet’s and he wasn’t about to see her life destroyed the way her sister's had been….

Cat felt Harry struggling against the poison as she held him, she had to get him out of here, she needed to be able to concentrate, to focus her energy in order to save him. She startled when she saw a blood covered hand reach out and take Harry’s hand in his. Looking up, she saw Sirius, his robes tattered and bloody, his chest full of deep cuts and ugly purple bruises. “Sirius?” she whispered, to stunned by his appearance to form a sentence. What had happened to them, she hadn’t been gone that long, not even a full twenty four hours. Just as she opened her mouth to ask Sirius what had happened, she heard Cash yell out for them to duck.

Cat turned towards Cash and saw half a dozen death eaters closing in on them. Normally she wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but Cash was obviously weak from something and the death eaters were all armed with wands. She felt Sirius’s arm fly in front of her and Harry, as if he could somehow protect them in his condition. Leave it to him to want to be the hero, even now in the shape he was in. Shaking her head sadly, Cat grabbed Sirius with one hand and gently pressed him down towards Harry as a curse headed straight at them. She narrowed her eyes and concentrated at the curse as it sped though the air, she didn’t even blink as it grew close. Instead, she took a deep breath, pursed her lips and blew a gentle breath at it, causing the curse to hover in mid-air before it turned around and returned to its caster, who promptly fell dead as the curse hit him. “Cash, ….to my side please” she said calmly.

She waited until Cash was with them, he had immediately clutched Sirius in his arms as the wizard attempted to keep his tenuous hold on to consciousness. Cat took another deep breath, only this time she didn’t blow the air out, instead she opened her mouth wide, leaving out a horrible sounding shriek that made the death eaters drop to their knees and cover their ears as blood began to pour from their nose and ears. Cat held the high-pitch screech as they death eaters writhed in agony on the dungeon floor, it wasn’t until all movement stopped that she became silent, and returned her attention to Harry, continuing to heal him as if nothing had ever happened ….

Cash shook his head as he looked at the mangled bodies of the death eaters, their heads had imploded from the shear power of Angel’s scream. Shrugging his shoulders, Cash focused on his little family before him, Harry was well protected within Angels embrace, and he himself held onto Sirius as the wizard’s body trembled with pain and exhaustion. Cash tried to lift Sirius, but he refused to let go of Harry’s hand. “It’s alright now Sirius, Angel is here, Harry will be fine” Cash whispered “I told you she would come as soon as the spell collapsed” he added as he looked at Cat who was busy tending to Harry. It was then that it dawned on him, he still couldn’t hear her, or any of his other clanmates. The spell was still in effect, but somehow she had managed to find them, she must have felt Harry’s pain, or perhaps Sirius’s grief, either way, she was here, and apparently much stronger than anyone had ever dared believe.

Cash smiled as he saw the look of concern and love on Angels’ face, as she looked at he and Sirius. However it wasn’t until he saw her brow knit and her hand reach over to him that he realized Sirius had collapsed in his arms. He watched as Angel wiped the tears from Sirius’s face and brushed his hair aside so she could get a clear look at the damage that had been done. “We need to get them somewhere warm and safe Angel” Cash told her gently, as he placed his hand over hers. …

“Yes, Angel” Raul asked timidly as he stepped over the fallen death eaters. “I would prefer you take your son away from this place. He needs to be healed properly, I was told there is an abandoned hospital room here, the twins had mentioned Remus telling them stories about Albus’s last battle a half century ago.

Cash startled as he looked at Raul, he hadn’t heard him either. As much as Cash hoped it was merely his weakness causing the silence in his own mind, on look at Raul confirmed that the Primogen was also disturbed by the silence. Standing up, Cash carefully lifted Sirius and waited as Angel did the same for Harry. He almost had to laugh, Harry was nearly as tall as Angel, but it didn’t even seem to phase her, he was her son, and nothing would stop her from caring for him. A point that was well proven when Raul moved to take Harry from Angel’s arms. “Let them be” Cash informed the Primogen as Angel growled darkly “she’ll let us know if she needs our help.” He saw the fear in the Primogen’s eyes as he nodded and led the way to the abandoned hospital room, Cash had the feeling he would be having to explain a great deal to Raul about his niece by the time this weekend was over. ….