“Hey Puneet” Bree called out, “play nice and introduce yourself to cousin Harry.”

Harry watched as the roots of the trees untangled themselves to reveal a glowing doorway arched by the gnarled roots of the large oak trees above them. A slight figure stepped out of the doorway, his long brown hair brushed straight back and tucked behind his pointed ears, his shirt was a warm shade of white that complimented his tanned skin which glowed softly as he entered the room. “Hello cousin Harry” Puneet said as the doorway closed behind him.

“Hello Puneet” Harry replied with awe as he stood up and offered his hand to the man.

“Ah, I see your mother has instructed you well in the way of manners.” Puneet replied approvingly “I am certain she will do equally as well were the way of the clans is involved. And looked at you, I would guess you will follow in your mother‘s footsteps and become either a diplomat or a teacher.” then without turning around, Puneet added loudly “And Miss Tanja, please be so kind as to remove that creature from my presence, you know how I feel about anything that travels on its belly.”

“Poor Monty” Tanja cooed, “No one seems to like you tonight except Harry and I. My sweet baby, but don’t worry, you’ll be coming to Harry’s school with me soon, and I’m sure they’ll be nicer to you there.”

“Did mum say she can come along?” Harry asked, somewhat surprised that Cat would have agreed so quickly.

“Not exactly” Tanja replied “but she didn’t say she couldn’t.”

“Typical” Puneet responded “And they say the Fae twist words around. They should try getting a straight answer from one of you.”

“A Fae? Is that what you are Puneet?” Harry asked as he smiled at Puneet, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a Fae before.”

“Of course you have dear boy.” Puneet corrected him “We’ve been watching over you since your birth. Your mother and her clan have been our allies for millennia, we certainly wouldn’t let you wander about in the mortal world without ‘some’ form of protection. Although those horrible creatures you had to live with were rather trying. Especially that sloppy, rude child of theirs.”

Harry stifled a laugh “Oh, you must mean Dudley.”

“Yes, that’s the creature’s name. Dense Dudley, dirty Dudley, dumpy Dudley.” Puneet shook himself visibly “Wretched creatures the lot of them. I cannot begin to tell you how happy we were when you finally received Albus’s letter.”

“You were there for all of that?” Harry asked, completely taken aback at the thought. “But why didn’t I ever see you?”

“But you did dear boy, you did. Or have you forgotten your secret friend that lived under the stairs with you, the one that would tell you stories and sing you to sleep.” Puneet winked “Or the one that frightened that beastly man when he tried to raise his hand to you.”

“That was you?!” Harry said excitedly “I remember that, every wall in the house shook, he thought there was an earthquake or something, and that screeching was enough to drive a person mad.” he laughed as Puneet smiled proudly “But Puneet, I have a question. You said my mum asked you and the Fae to watch over me, why didn’t she come herself.”

“She did at first” Puneet explained softly, “She had been barred from the wizarding world by very powerful magic on both their side and the clan’s side. Your mother’s clan was afraid if she returned she would be harmed, so they decided to fortify the spells that the elders of the wizarding world had placed to stop your mother from crossing over. However the mortal world was another matter completely. She used to cross over and steal you every chance she got, even it if was only long enough to hold you and remind you that she loved you, and that you were never truly alone. On several occasions, she actually stole you away from them and brought you back here, or to her winter home near Greece. But for whatever reasons her clan insisted she give you back. I never understood it, and obviously neither did she. It was the only time I ever saw your mother turn her back on her clan and walk away. She disappeared for years. It tore your grandfather’s heart apart, no one could find her anywhere.”

“Mum ran away because they wouldn’t let her keep me?” Harry asked as his eyes filled with emotions, “But why, why didn’t they want me? I thought they….I’m her son.” Harry immediately felt the reassuring hands of his cousins on him. He was family to them, he was one of them, in heart if not in blood, they were there for him and they knew he would be there for them.

“From everything I saw, they wanted you to stay, but for some reason they could not allow it.” Puneet replied as he brushed his tanned hand across Harry’s fair cheek, wiping away a stray tear that was winding it way down Harry‘s face. “Your grandfather was in a state for days before he told your mother. You have no idea how much he enjoyed bouncing you on his knee, or watching your mother tend to you. It brought tears to his eyes to see how content she was when you were near her.”

“I remember that” Meg said suddenly, startling the others “Aunt Kitty was in an absolute state, she wouldn’t stop crying. And Magnus….you could tell he wanted to give in, his eyes were all red and puffy. Even the wizard who had travelled here to talk to him, his eyes were the same way, but he kept insisting that the spells would only work if he staid in with the, uhm,.. muggles or nuggles or something.”

“A wizard came here?” Harry asked as the pieces started to fall together, “What did he look like? What was his name?”

“Uhm, gheez, let me think, I was pretty young at the time. He was kinda tall, long white beard, his hair was mostly white, but it still had some light auburn streaks in it.” Meg said as she squinted her eyes, trying to recall every detail she could. “And Aunt Kitty kept calling him Uncle Alby, but that’s not what Magnus called him……sorry Harry, that’s really all I can remember.”

“It’s enough Meg, I know who he was.” Harry replied flatly.

Callista looked from Harry to Meg to Puneet, she didn’t like the look on any of their faces. Deciding to try and cheer Harry up, she changed the subject slightly “So Harry, are you going to ask that Uncle Sirius and Aunt Cat handfast when you complete the path? I’ll bet they won’t be able to say no to you.”

“Uh?? What? I can make them do that?” Harry asked as his eyes grew wide.

“No, you cannot ‘make’ them, but you can ask them for this. I told you earlier, for each challenge you meet, you will be offered a payment. Or in this case, the payment may take the shape of a formal request to chose your parents.”

“Wait, you mean I can really ask them to do that? In front of everyone?” Harry asked as his mind whirled like a spinning top……..

Remus grinned as Sirius finally came into the bedroom they were sharing with Paddy and Frank. “So, where did you disappear to? Harry and I were looking for you most of the night. I don’t suppose you and Kitty finally had that talk.”

Sirius smiled softly “Sort of, I told her almost everything, and found out quite a few things myself” he added as he sat on the edge of the bed. “I found out it still hurts her to think of me, she thought we would always be together, just like I did. And I finally found out why she refused to speak to me, why she kept running away from me.”

“I’m listening” Remus replied as he leaned towards Sirius, he himself had often wondered why Kitty had suddenly closed herself off to Sirius, and to an extent to himself as well, it just wasn’t like her to be like that, she was the sort to stand and fight not run away and cry.

“Remember that weekend she went back home? The one that even Lily couldn’t go with her for? Well when she came back, Esmeralda was waiting for her, …..”

“So, Kitty could take that tramp down with one hand tied behind her back.” Remus replied, not seeing where this was leading.

“Esmeralda Filch, yes, Mrs. Sirius Black, no” Sirius replied, gritting his teeth as he did so, “Apparently Esmeralda had all sorts of photos showing our wedding, as if I would ever marry that piece of…” he paused as he attempted to calm himself down. “And do you know what the worst part is? She told Cat I married her because I was too ashamed of Cat’s bloodlines to even consider her as anything more than a toy to be used and tossed aside.”

“And she believed her?!” Remus asked incredulously “Why?”

Sirius shook his head, “I’m not sure, at the very least I would have expected her to attack me, to make me pay for hurting her like that, but she didn’t, she just….”

“Something’s not right here Sirius. We’re missing something, something big.” Remus said as he placed a comforting arm around Sirius. “I hope you found out something a little more cheerful than that. Didn’t she give you any hope at all?”

Sirius nodded his head as his eyes misted over. “Yes, she did, although she didn’t come right out and say it. Did you know that my mother found her while she was living in New York, in America? Did you know that mother sold everything to Cat? All of father’s businesses, all the stock, even the share from the wizarding ventures he had.” Sirius grinned when he saw the confused look on Remus’s face. “Don’t you see? Mother would never just let them go, she always encouraged me to find Cat, to make things right with her. She considered Cat to be her daughter-in-law. When ever I would get depressed over losing her, mother would tell me it was my own fault for not looking harder. And then warned me what she would do if I didn’t find Cat and give her some grandchildren soon.” he chuckled. “She adored Cat, and she did what I couldn’t, she found her.”

“But why did she sell everything to Cat? Wasn’t that for her to live on?” Remus asked.

Sirius nodded his head. “That’s the interesting part. Cat asked her almost the same thing. Mother said she didn’t want the MoM to get their hands on it, according to Cat, she died a few weeks later.” he said as he wiped away a stray tear. “I found out she died alone Remus, no one was even there for her. And then Cat offered to give everything back to me”

“Are you going to take it back?” Remus asked, wondering what Sirius would actually do.

“No, she should keep it, mother wanted her to have it for a reason.” Sirius took a long deep breath before continuing “Besides, I told her it would have been hers anyway. Remus, I don’t care what happens, no matter what, no matter who she chooses. In my heart of hearts she has always been my wife, whether she knows it or not.” Sirius shifted uncomfortably as he waited for Remus to say something, when he realized that no reply was needed, he added. “Cat apologized for not being at the funeral, she said she wanted to be there, for my sake.”

“What did you tell her Sirius?” Remus asked softly, knowing how hard this must be for his friend.

“I told her I wasn’t there either, that I had been imprisoned for years, that I hadn’t even known about my own mother’s death until weeks later. “ “You told her you were imprisoned.” Remus repeated, then paused “You didn’t tell her were, did you?”

“I tried, but I couldn’t.” Sirius explained “Every time I tried to say it, all I could see was the pain and sorrow in her eyes, she’s done enough crying Remus, we both have. And don’t look at me like that, I know I should have told her, besides, she knew I was holding something back.” he sighed, “She even offered to take it from my mind if it would make it easier for me.”

“I take it you didn’t agree”

“No! How could I?” Sirius snapped “Do you think I want her to have to experience what I did? The pain, the torment, the depression, the horror of knowing what had been done to me, of what was going to happen everyday for the rest of my life.. I would never, ever subject her to that.” Sirius explained as he shook slightly, he smiled at Remus as his friend placed a reassuring arm around his shoulder. “At least I know one thing Remus. She still loves me, I could see it in her eyes. She let me hold her in my arms just like we used to, by the time we were done, my head was on her lap and she was stroking my hair.” he said as a wistful smile lingered on his lips.

“Did she say anything else to you Sirius?” Remus asked gently, wanting to know every detail, but not wishing to hurt his friend.

“Yes, she asked me to do one thing for her,” Sirius replied, suddenly grinning madly. “she wants me to shave.”

Remus couldn’t help but laugh, it was so like Cat to say something so ridiculous, it was her way of diffusing the situation, of drawing attention away from the pain. “She’s right you know, you look like hell.”

As Remus and Sirius looked towards the door as two men entered. Sirius recognized Paddy immediately and smiled at him as he heard Edana fussing in his arms. “You brought her with you?” he teased “I’m surprised Cat didn’t steal her away from you yet.”

Paddy snorted, grinning back at Sirius, “Not a chance, I’ve hardly seen her since she was born, no one is keeping her from me now.” Paddy faltered a moment as he took a long look at Sirius “Is something wrong? You look like you’ve been crying or something. She didn’t break up with you, did she?”

Sirius shook his head as he touched Edana’s cheek “No, just old, painful memories is all. Although at times I wonder if I’ll ever be a father.” he sighed as the warmth and softness of the baby’s skin reminded Sirius of how much of his own life he had missed.

“Oiy, not another one” Frank sighed as he sat heavily on the bed. “As if Paddy here isn’t bad enough to deal with, don’t tell me I have to put up with you fussing over the babies too.”

Sirius smiled widely as he turned to face the man who had walked in with Paddy. “I thought the MacLeods would be happy to know how much I would like to be a father. And judging by the looks of you, you’re definitely a MacLeod.”

“You got that right,” Frank grinned, “I’m Frank MacLeod, son of Magnus. And you are?” he asked as he stood and offered his hand to Sirius.

“Sirius Black, I’m Harry’s godfather. Very nice to meet you.”

“Sirius Black?” Frank repeated as he studied the man carefully. “The one that everybody seems to think is marrying my little sister?” he asked, a slight edge to his voice. He took Sirius’s offered hand in own, squeezing a little harder than was necessary as he waited for the wizard to yelp or pull away.

“So, you’re Francis huh?” Sirius countered, increasing the pressure on Frank’s hand “Cat’s told me about you. Funny though, I thought you were stronger than this.” he taunted.

“You did? Well you’re right” Frank countered as he tightened his grip on Sirius’s hand. “Not hurting you, am I?” he asked as he felt a few of Sirius’s knuckled pop under the pressure.

“No, not at all” Sirius replied as he wondered if any of his fingers were broken, “she’s told me you’re quite the practical joker as well. Maybe we can compare notes sometime.” he added, refusing to look away or show any signs of weakness, he remembered all too well what Diedre had told him about the men of her clan. If you didn’t impress them right off, hold your own against them, you were as good as finished.

“Hey Frank” Paddy teased, “at least wait until he’s part of the family before you go torturing him like that. Besides, Edana likes him too.” Then, turning to Sirius, Paddy added “Although you and I need to have a talk about teaching my daughter bad manners. Sticking her tongue out? I’m willing to bet Kitty doesn’t know you taught her that.”

Sirius blushed deeply “You’d win that bet.” he admitted, grinning sheepishly as Frank and Remus laughed deeply. …….