“Fred, George, are you both sure you feel up to this? We can wait until tomorrow if you want.” Cash asked, not wanting to push the twins.

“Nah, no point in delaying the inevitable” George sighed, “Mum’s going to blow her top, might as well have her do it before dad gets home, that way he’ll be more concerned with calming her down than yelling at us.”

“No one is going to yell at either of you.” Raul said sternly as he placed his hands on their shoulders. “They can yell at me. I was responsible for putting you in danger, I will deal with the consequences.” Hearing the shuffling of feet behind him, he added “And when I grow tired of being yelled at, Hamish and Roel will take my place.”

“Well that will be a first” Ron grinned, “Mum having someone else besides us boys to yell at, we just usually get Ginny to start crying so Mum’ll stop yelling at us and take care of her. Ouch!!! Ginny, whatdya do that for.”

“For being such a brat” Ginny replied, “I do NOT cry and you know it.”

“Yeah, right” Fred teased “So why were your eyes leaking earlier?”

“That’s different” Ginny insisted “I thought you were going to die, and if it weren’t for Hamish and Roel giving you their blood, you might have.” she pouted.

“Uhm, Ginny, boys, it might be best if you don’t mention anything about the blood for a while, you know, let your parents get used to the whole idea and everything.” Cash suggested “So is everyone ready, last chance to change your minds.”

“My brother, it seems as if you’re stalling. Is it worry about their mother, or do you doubt you can safely transport us all?” Raul asked quietly.

“A little of both” Cash admitted, “But more their mother, I’ve seen what angry and worried mothers can do. Its nothing short of terrifying. As for transporting everyone, with Hamish, Angus, Roel, Rick and myself, I don’t think we’ll have much of a problem.” ……..

Paddy finally found the room were Cat and Sirius were sitting, he approached them silently, looking for his daughter. He felt a wave of relief pass through him as he saw Edana sleeping contentedly in the man’s arms. Paddy tried to fight off the pang of guilt and jealousy that shot through him, he should be the one holding Edana, after all, she was his daughter. He watched for a few seconds as Cat kept touching and kissing his little girl, reassuring her that she was safe, warm and loved. “Cousin” Paddy whispered softly, “who is holding my child?”

“Paddy?” Cat said as she turned around and smiled at him. “Paddy, you’re finally back!”

“Hello, my dearest cousin” Paddy said as he walked to the sofa and hugged Cat. He took a long hard look at the man who was with her “May I have my daughter now?” he asked in a steely tone. He noted the man’s hesitancy to surrender Edana to him, but before he could say anything further, Cat stepped in.

“It’s alright Sirius, this is Padriac, … Paddy. He’s Edana’s father.” Cat explained softly as she took Edana from Sirius’s arms. She watched the way Sirius’s eyes never left the child, as if he were waiting for something to happen. “Sirius, please” Cat sighed as he quickly stood up the moment Edana was out of his arms.

“This is Sirius Black?” Paddy asked as he held out his arms for his daughter. “I expected him to look much different.”

Cat froze, still holding the baby, she asked “Paddy, what do you mean, you expected him to look different? Who told you anything about Sirius, and if you tell me Cash was writing you as well….”

“No, not Cash, another vampyre, Ventrue I believe. He was travelling with the Roma, Dimitri he calls himself.” Paddy began to explain, only to be interrupted by Sirius.

“Dimitri??? How is he? Is he well? We were expecting him back before the holidays, they should have made it to Hogwarts days ago…” Sirius asked, suddenly animated.

Paddy finally smiled as he saw and heard the concern in Sirius’s voice. “Dimitri is tired, but well. The Roma were in a bad way, apparently Fallon’s mother was doing everything within her power to prevent them from reaching the school. But she had enough sense to call out for us when things got bad. So in between us, and of course Leumadair’s assistance” turning to look at Cat, he added. “I can’t imagine how he got involved in this.” he grinned as she rolled her eyes. “Alright Momma Cat, my daughter if you please.”

Cat pouted her lips and held Edana close to her “But I don’t want to give her up yet, she’s just too cute,” she said as kissed the baby again. “and she smells so nice.”

Sirius and Paddy both laughed at her, “What is it with women smelling babies? I have never understood that.” Sirius asked.

“I honestly have no idea” Paddy replied, “but I think it has something to do with encouraging them to have more.” he teased as he winked at Cat.

“Well then forget getting that baby back” Sirius teased “Breathe deep Kitty, really, really deep.”

“Oh both of you, just stop” Cat sighed as she handed Edana to Paddy. “And where is ‘my’ son may I ask? Last time I saw him Aunt Orpha was dragging him off, she’s probably telling him about all the trouble I got into when I was his age.”

“In that case they’ll probably be busy for the next few weeks” Paddy retorted as he took Edana in his arms and held her tightly. “My little girl” he sighed “I’ve missed you so much.” Kissing her softly, Paddy sat down on the chair across from Cat and Sirius. “So, is it true?” he asked, not looking up from his daughter. “Is he your husband? He seems nice enough, but I have my doubts you two are married.”

“Why is that?” Sirius asked as he clamped his hand over Cat’s mouth “Just for curiosity’s sake.”

Paddy looked up at them, and raised one eyebrow when he saw Sirius holding Cat’s mouth closed “Well for one, you don’t look good, you’re scraggly, pale and much too thin.” Paddy explained, “Of course, she is letting you get away with man handling her like that, and I can’t imagine she’d allow someone she didn’t trust completely to take care of a child of the clan.”

Sirius smiled when he felt Cat’s cheeks becoming warm as she blushed under his hand. “True, we aren’t married….yet. But its simply a matter of time, isn’t it gra?” he asked as he dropped his hand from her mouth and wrapped it around her waist…….

Arriving in front of the burrow, the children quickly ran to the door as Cash and the other Gangrels followed behind. Cash couldn’t help but smile when he heard their mother’s joyful greeting, it was obvious she cared a great deal for her children.

“Well boys, time to face our fate.” Cash sighed as he knocked on the door. “Mrs. Weasley? May we come in?” Cash asked politely, hoping to score as many points as possible before he broke the bad news to her.

“Hello?” Molly Weasley sang out, “Who’s there?”

“Friends of ours mum, they brought us home.” Ginny said excitedly, “They want to meet you and dad, can they come in?”

“Well of course they can.” Molly replied happily, “Come in, come in, make yourselves at home.”

Raul walked in first smiling widely, but making sure to hide his fangs. “Good evening Mrs. Weasley” he said as he bowed slightly “I am Raul, and this is Cash, Hamish, Angus, Rick and Roel.” he motioned toward the rest of the Gangrels “We’ve come to talk to you and your husband about the twins. There was trouble at the school,…”

“Trouble?” Molly gasped, “Fred, George? Let me see you, what happened….. Oh my, Fred!!!!”

Raul quickly caught Molly as she faltered and nearly fell. “He is fine, but he will need a great deal of rest.” he assured her as he held onto her, making sure she was steadily on her feet before letting go.

“I think I should ask my husband to come home now.” Molly said softly as she touched Fred’s cheek, his skin seemed so cool to the touch “Fred, dear, are you alright?”

“Sure, I feel fine.” Fred replied, smiling brightly as he wrapped his arm around George, who was also grinning from ear to ear. “but I’d feel even better if you made some of your soup and chocolate cake.” he added.

“Why isn’t dad home already?” Ron asked “He’s usually at the table and eating supper by now.”

“Well dear, it seems there’s been some trouble at the Ministry, apparently several of the ministers and their staffs have gone missing.” she replied sarcastically, feeling it was just another false alarm.

“Mrs. Weasley, I would ask that you call your husband home.” Raul asked politely “I believe I may have some insight as to their whereabouts.”

Molly turned to look at the handsome young man, “Is that so? Well then just give me a minute to get Arthur.” ………

“Come on Sirius” Cat said as she took his hand and led him out of the room. “Let Paddy have some time with Edana. I’m a bit more concerned about Harry at the moment.” she teased.

Although hesitant to leave Edana, Sirius felt his heart soar when Cat took his hand and began pulling him towards the hall. He allowed her to pull him along for a little bit, then he stopped suddenly and pulled her towards him. In a flash his arms were wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides. “So, do I get an answer Miss MacLeod?” he asked softly “Is it simply a matter of time before we marry? Or have you chosen someone else?”

Cat blushed bright red as she looked into Sirius’s eyes, stammering slightly, she replied “I-I haven’t really given it any thought.” she lied, “I’m still getting used to the whole mother thing at the moment.”

“Harry should have a mother and father” Sirius pressed gently, hoping she would at least consider him as a possible choice. He bent his head down, hoping to kiss her, but she lowered her face, avoiding his eyes and his lips.

“Sirius, please….I need time” Cat pleaded “There is so much I need to think about. And I’m still waiting for you to tell me what happened. I need to know the truth, I need to know why.”

“I know Cat” he whispered softly as he caressed her hair and kissed the crown of her head. “I know. I just don’t have any idea how or were to start.”…..

Arthur Weasley stepped out of the fireplace and greeted his guests politely, but froze when he saw how tired and pale Fred looked. “What happened? Fred, George what did you do now?”

“They did nothing wrong.” Raul said clearly “They chose to defend the school, and Fred nearly lost his life. But he and George are both safe and soon to be well.”

Molly felt herself growing pale and faint for the second time this evening “The school was attacked? Arthur, why didn’t you say something, you should have told me.” she said as Hamish gently led her to a chair. Fred and George came over to her and held her hand, both worried and amused by her response.

“Come on mum, I’ve gotten worse than this playing Quidditch.” Fred said, teasing her about her reaction to the news. “And I was never really in any danger, Hamish and Roel were watching over us the whole time. As soon as they saw I was hurt, they came right over and kept George and I safe until Miss MacLeod showed up and took care of them.”

“What were you boys thinking?” Molly asked. “Why did you fight? You’re only students…”

“Mum, they attacked the school” George explained. “Yeah, they had Ron and they tried to attack the tower to get Ginny.” Fred added.

“That’s no excuse Fred Weasley. That‘s what the Aurors are for, to protect people.” she responded as she shook her finger at him, right before covering him with kisses.

Cash laughed softly, it was just like being at home with his clan. He looked down to see Ginny staring up at him with her bright blue eyes, she reached up and took his hand, smiling happily as she leaned against him. “Is it always like this here Ginny?” he asked her.

“Yes” Ginny replied as she grinned widely, “Our family is almost as big as yours and Miss MacLeod’s.” Her smile grew even wider as Cash reached down and patted her head as he beamed down at her.

“MacLeod” Arthur repeated “I’ve been hearing that name a lot lately. May I assume you are part of the “protection” she brought with her?”

“You mean they’re vampires?” Molly gasped, quickly grapping Ginny away from Cash, although she didn’t fail to see the hurt look in his eyes.

“Not vampires mum, vampyres. There’s a huge difference” Ron informed her, “Professor Lupin and Miss MacLeod did a whole lecture on them and the Garou and….”

“Garou?” Arthur sighed, “So Malfoy wasn’t lying this time. Dumbledore has really allowed these beings into the school.”