Cash sighed deeply as he placed Sirius on one of the old beds, luckily the room was still fairly clean, and it looked as though students had been visiting the old hospital room for quite some time if the supply of candles and various parchments were any indication. He looked up to see Angel on her knees at Harry’s bed, sobbing deeply as she held her son tightly in her arms. He wondered if this had all been too much for her to endure, if her mind had been broken by the horrors inflicted upon those she loved most of all. Cash went to her side and held her as she wept, “Hush now Angel” he whispered softly “we haven’t lost anyone, we’re all still alive, and were there is life, there is hope.” he reminded her as she nodded “Now, gather yourself and concentrate, your son and husband need you.”

Cat looked up into Cash’s endless eyes when he mentioned ‘her husband’ “Cash? What are you talking about?” she felt Cash shift her in his arms until she could se over his shoulder. “Sirius?! Blessed Lady of the Mantle, what did they do to him?” she gasped as she saw for the first time the true extent of his injuries, she had seen the blood and bruises, but she had no idea how horrific they truly were. He lay there in his torn and bloody robes, several ribs were clearly broken and nearly jutting through his skin, cuts that went deep into his flesh, bruises on nearly every inch of exposed skin, and, peering out through all the damage and dried blood, an ugly burn on his chest “The mark of Caine.” she whispered as Cash nodded.

“What about Harry? I can see you’ve stopped the poison, but can you cure the damage its already done?” Cash asked gently, fearing what her response may be.

“He’s my son, of course I can cure him. Although it may take a while. It nearly reached his brain, as it is, the damage to his heart is bad, but not irreversible.” she said as she pushed herself away from Cash and went once more to Harry’s side. “Was Harry the only one poisoned? What about you and Sirius?” she asked as she held her hands against Harry’s chest, calling on their common blood to rise and renew itself.

Cash shook his head “We were given our own tortures, but it was Harry he wanted dead. He was hoping to make you frenzy again, to wipe out the school.” Cash explained as gently as possible. “Someone’s been watching us for him Angel. He knew the moment you left, he knew when we expected you back, he even knew were to find Harry. And no, Harry wasn’t in the tower, he was with Sirius in Albus’s office. He knew the password to get in, he knew to disguise himself as someone we trusted. ” Pausing for a long moment, Cash then added “Catrianna, we have been betrayed.”

Cat felt faint as the full implication hit her, “So you don’t think it was just Gaz, you don’t think he could have learnt these things from her?” She asked as she tended to Harry’s wounds, healing his cuts and bruises with the touch of her hands.

Cash shook his head “Gaz was never given the password to Albus’s office, she didn’t know about Sirius’s room, and even if she had known, Albus changed the password when we realized that she was the one who set up Harry and Remus. This has got to be a senior staff member, or one of us. And I refuse to accept that one of my own clan would do this.”

Cat nodded her agreement as she moved from Harry, who had finally slipped into a deep, peaceful rest, to Sirius. “I agree with you Cash, I can’t imagine any Gangrel would turn on one of their own, not for any reason. Add that to the fact that all but two of the Gangrel with us are also Clan MacLeod…. It just isn’t possible it could be them.” Cat winced as she ran her finger along the deep gash in Sirius’s chest, how many times had she lay her head on that very spot and fallen asleep to the sound of his beating heart. “Oh Sirius, what did he do to you?” she asked as her tears fell down her cheeks, landing with a soft splat on the horrific wound.

Cash stare at them in absolute amazement, within moments Angel’s tears had healed most of Sirius’s cuts and her hands seemed to be working their magic as well. Within the span of two minutes the majority of Sirius’s injuries had vanished before his eyes. Cash grinned widely as he saw the care and tenderness she took with the wizard, he knew this was exactly what Sirius needed, now if only he’d be conscious to enjoy it…

Raul stood up to face the door when he heard the soft sniffle from behind him, there stood Albus Dumbledore with Hamish at his side. The Headmaster quickly wiped away a few stray tears as he motioned to Raul to join he and Hamish in the corridor. Speaking in hushed voices the three quickly filled each other in on the events of the last hour. The owl from the Ministry had been a complete farce, although he was concerned that no one seemed to be in their offices, save for Arthur Weasley and a few others, it seemed nearly all of the Deputy Ministers were mysteriously gone. Raul explained what he knew of the death eaters attempted abduction of the Weasley children, Remus’s injuries and Angel’s appearance. Hamish took over the explanation as he informed the Headmaster of the injuries of Fred Weasley, and his speedy delivery to Poppy. “There is one more thing” Hamish said hesitantly “Fred was in pretty bad shape, we weren’t sure if he was going to make it, he lost a lot of blood. Roel and I weren‘t sure that he would make it to the hospital wing in time”

“What did you do Hamish” Albus asked softly, fearing he already knew.

Hamish shuffled his feet nervously as he looked from Albus, to Raul and back again. “We gave him some of our blood to keep him alive.”

Raul turned on Hamish, his teeth bared and fists clenched “What were you thinking? You know how dangerous that can be to mortals!” he said angrily. “How could you have taken such a chance, he’s too young…”

Hamish raised his hands in front of his chest, as if in surrender to Raul “Angel accepts them openly, almost as if they are kine to us, I had to take the chance.” Hamish replied softly “I certainly couldn’t let him die in my arms.”

Raul felt Albus’s hand on his arm, diffusing the situation with his very presence. “I take it that Mr. Fred Weasley is alive, still mortal and under Madam Pomfrey’s care.” he asked softly. Albus nodded approvingly when Hamish answered yes. “Then I suggest we attend to more urgent matters and leave Mr. Weasley’s fate in Poppy’s most capable hands.” So saying the old wizard turned down the hall to survey the damage done by Angel and the death eaters.

Albus stopped in his track when he saw Rick and Angus piling up the corpses as they tried to clean up the corridor. He could hardly believe so many death eaters could have gotten inside the school without anyone noticing. “How many?” Albus asked quietly.

“About two dozen here, and maybe another dozen in that room.” Raul replied as he scowled at the body Angus was dragging across the floor. “That’s the short one, the one that pushed Angel too far.” he stated, only to hear Hamish growling deeply.

“Cowards, all of them” Hamish yelled suddenly, “they attack woman and children, lurk in the shadows, hide their faces behind masks.” in a fit of anger, he tore the mask off of the corpse nearest to him, only to hear Albus Dumbledore gasp softly. Hamish looked down at the man, but didn’t recognize him at all “Do you know him Albus?”

“Unfortunately, yes. He is the Deputy Minister of Magical Affairs. It is a very small wonder that my repeated requests for assistance have been ignored.” Albus replied as he stared at the man’s face.

Raul held up his hand, signalling everyone to stop what they were doing. “How high up to you think this goes Albus?” Raul asked softly. “Do we need to unmask them all?”

Looking suddenly old, Albus simply nodded, he watched as one after another, the masks were removed, although some of them were not know to Albus, he saw far to many MoM faces among the dead. Soon there were only a few bodies left to be unmasked, Raul pulled off the one nearest to him and looked at Albus, “Walden MacNair, Disposal of Dangerous Creatures” Albus responded darkly “He and Lucius Malfoy are well known to me.” seeing there was one man not yet unmasked, Albus reached down with a trembling hand.

“That is the one that spoke to Angel first” Raul reminded Albus as the old wizards fingers grasped the mask. “Do you think it is this Lucius Malfoy you spoke of.”

Albus shook his head, “No, Lucius is much taller, but I fear I may know who this is, considering who we have uncovered thus far.” Albus took a deep breath and pulled the mask off, revealing the face of Cornelius Fudge…….

Severus paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, pausing every few minutes to look at the mantel clock. “Please Catri, I know nothing could have happened to him. Not with Dumbledore and that beast you call your cousin watching over him.” he muttered as he continued to pace. His mind raced with ideas of what could have happened, was it Cash attempting to lure her back? Or maybe Black and Lupin had come up with yet another diversion in the attempt to win back her affections.

Trying to think of more pleasant things, he accio’d the engagement ring to his hand. He would be waiting for her to return ring in hand and proposal in his lip, he had no intention of letting this weekend end without asking her to be his wife. She made him feel like no other woman had, he felt safe and strong when he held her in his arms, as if he were capable of anything. And of course, he knew he could trust her with his secrets, everything she had ever known or found out about him, everything he had ever confided in her, she had never told anyone. Except for the one day, that one horrific day she had witnessed his father beating him, the day she had first held him in her arms, comforting him as he floated in and out of unconsciousness. He had sworn her to secrecy, she didn’t like it, but for his sake, she had agreed. It wasn’t until later that week that she had come to him, tears in her eyes, confessing that someone else knew, that she wasn’t able to hide it from them.

Severus remembered the cringe that passed over him, he was sure it was Potter or Black she had told, only to find out it had been Lily Evans who pried it out of her. Apparently Catri was so distraught over the whole affair that when she returned to Gryffindor tower, she simply went to her room, refusing to speak to anyone at all. Even though the others kept insisting she tell them what had happened, she denied them all, all except her ‘sister’ Lily. Severus sighed deeply as he remembered Lily coming to him, promising she would also keep his secret, but begging him to tell Dumbledore, or Morano, anyone that could help him.

Severus shook his head sadly, what they didn’t understand was that no one could help him, no one wanted to defy his father. Even when his mother “died” under such unusual circumstances, no one questioned it, they all knew, but no one wanted to admit to the ugly truth.

Severus was torn out of his memories by the sound of an owl swooping down the chimney. Stepping aside to give the bird ample landing room, Sev’s heart nearly stopped when he saw the bright yellow and red collar around the birds neck. It was an emergency owl from the school.

Feeling his blood run cold, Sev quickly took the message from the owl and tore off the outer parchment that was addressed to Catri. He immediately recognized Minerva as the writer of the letter. Although her normally perfect penmanship had been reduced to a scrawl in her haste to send the letter. “No! Impossible! I would have been told.” Severus bellowed as he dropped the note and ran towards his bedroom.

Severus dashed up the stair to get dressed, wishing he had Catri’s ability to apparate into the school. He needed to get there and quickly, he had to protect Harry, and heaven help them all if anything happened to his Catri. He would personally see to it that lives were lost if she was so much as bruised…

Albus watched Cat as she attended to her wounded family, first to Harry, then Sirius, then, much to the vampyre’s irritation, Cash. Albus sighed with relief as he heard Cash and Cat discussing Harry’s condition, apparently, with time and his mother’s expertise, he would recover with little, if any, side effects. It appeared she was less sure as to Sirius’s condition, since, as she noted, his health was questionable to begin with.

Albus felt the weight of his years settle upon him heavily, how could he not have seen this? How could he have trusted these men to safeguard his school and its students. Perhaps he was getting too old to shoulder the responsibility of his position, but then again, if not him, then who. Albus was drawn from his thoughts by a gentle hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw a decidedly pale Remus Lupin, staring at him with his large hazel eyes. “It’s alright Remus. They are all alive, and with Kitty’s help, soon to be well.”

Before allowing Remus to enter and speak with his friends, Raul and Albus informed the DaDA teacher of the identities of the dead death eaters. …..

Cat sighed as she leaned back on the bed Cash had brought over for her, bless him, he knew how much this took out of her. Although oddly she wasn’t feeling physically tired so much as emotionally drained, she just couldn‘t seem to stop weeping anymore. Trying to distract her mind, she stared at Cash for a few moments as he stood over Harry and Sirius’s beds, his eyes unblinking, a silent sentinel of time.

“Cash?” she said softly as she extended her arms to him “You look like hell. What did he do to you?” she asked as the Gangrel climbed into her arms and rested against her.

“I don’t want to talk about it Angel” he said as he listened to the beating of her heart. He sighed softly when he felt Angel wrap her arms around him and stroke his hair. “If it weren’t for Sirius, I honestly don’t think any of us would be here right now. I failed them…. I failed our clan.”

“Hush Cash.” Cat replied “You did nothing of the sort. I know you as well as I know myself. I’ve seen you throw yourself in harms way to protect even the weakest member of our clan. I don’t believe for one moment you didn’t do everything in your power and then some to protect my son.” she assured him as she kissed his face and hair. “I know you’re nigh immortal Cash, but you’re not omnipotent. None of us are.” she added as she sobbed softly.

Cash looked up to see her still crying, what right did he have to share his doubts with her at this moment, she had almost lost the most precious people in her life, and here he was burdening her with his own insecurities. “Its all right now Angel” he said softly as he tightened his grasp “We haven’t lost anyone, everything will be fine now, I promise.”

“How Cash, how can it all be fine? I left them, I wilfully left, it was only eighteen hours, I wasn’t even gone a full day, and look.” she shook her head, causing her hair to reflect the candle light. “How am I ever going to make this up to him Cash? I should have taken him home with me immediately after the ball. Its only two days until Christmas, and he almost died. … Mother of Heaven, I’d gladly endure an arrange marriage to save him from what’s happened tonight…”

“Shhh, that’s enough of that Angel.” Cash said softly but firmly “If your father and I have anything to say about it, and trust me we will, there will be no arranged marriage orchestrated by Maharet and her crones.” he told her as he wiped away her tears. “So put that thought out of your head right now. I don’t want you to make anymore decisions about the future with that looming over you. If those old biddies had any idea what their insistence on heirs had caused…” he ended the sentence with a soft growl.

Cash heard a familiar murmuring in his head, looking up, he saw Raul and Hamish standing in the doorway with Albus and Remus deep in conversation behind them. “Looks like the silence is finally lifting.” he said out loud as he called out to the rest of his clan. Kissing Angel goodnight, he promised her he would check in on them all a bit later, but he needed to check on a few things before he returned. He watched her nod absently, her eyes never leaving the sleeping form of her son.

When Cash reached the doorway he hugged Hamish and Raul who stood before him, tears in their eyes. It practically killed them to know how close Cash and “their little family”, as they had come to call Angel, Harry and Sirius, had come to dying tonight. He watched as Hamish and Raul wiped the blood stained tears from their faces. “Come on you big cry babies” Cash teased “let’s round up everyone else, get a head count, scour the school and get rid of the uh… trash.” Cash said as he grinned at his clan mates.

“Who are you calling a cry baby, you sob sister.” Hamish replied as he gave Cash a toothy grin. They turned when they heard Raul sigh loudly. “Yes O Primogen?” Cash and Hamish said in unison.

Shaking his head and looking to Albus for sympathy, Raul asked “Is this what I can expect whenever Clan MacLeod and Clan Gangrel get together over the holidays?” He knew he was in trouble when Albus and Remus smiled widely at him as he felt Cash and Hamish wrap their arms around his shoulders.

“You betcha” Hamish said, “Hell, this is mild” Cash agreed as they walked towards the corridor where Rick and Angus were waiting for them. “Oh, and where is our usually snoopy Nosferatu? I’m very surprised he missed all the action.”