“Nah, she’s pretty calm, or maybe just tired” Frank grinned, “She’s got her hands full with raising Paddy’s girl.”

“So, no harm no foul?” Sirius asked, barely containing his grin.

“Yeh, why??” Frank asked suspiciously.

“Cuz payback is hell my friend, and I’m willing to bet you’re just as deep a sleeper as I am.” he winked as the three of them entered the room and went to sit down at the table. Sirius looked around and immediately focused in on Harry, he was sitting between Sara and Callista, who appeared to be taking turns tormenting him. “Poor kid, the girls are already after you, huh?” he mumbled, shaking his head.

“What was that?” Cat asked as she walked past him, carrying a plate full of fruit.

“Good morning Cat,” Sirius chimed as a bright smile lit up his face “let me help you with that.” he offered, taking the large plate from her and sitting it on the table near the children. “Did you sleep well?”

Cat smiled weakly “Not as well as I would have liked, I guess I’m still worried about the Tremere and MoM, along with a few other things I’ve left….well, I need to tend to some issues.”

“Anything I can help with? I don’t want to pry, but if it concerns you or Harry, it concerns me.” Sirius replied, gently stroking her face as he leaned closer to her…….

Harry nudged Sara to look towards Cat and Sirius “You see, that’s what I’m talking about. I know she loves him, I just know it.”

“Wow, I’ve never seen her look at anyone like that either” Sara giggled. “So what’s up? Why aren’t they, you know… together and stuff.”

Harry shook his head “I don’t know, but I think part of it is because of another teacher at school, he fancies her as well, and I know she’s been spending a lot of time with him.”

“But he’s not here with her?” Sara paused as Harry shook his head “Meet me and the others in the barn after breakfast, we can talk about it then” she added quickly as she saw her mother enter the room. ……

Harry laughed as he and his cousins ran across the yard towards the barn. The cool, moist air seems to wrap around them as they jump and leapt over stones and bushes on their way. Harry’s eyes grew wide as he watched LJ and Einy open the large doors to the barn and saw all the animals inside. Once again he was amazed at the strange and wonderful creatures he saw before him. There was the ‘normal’ cows, sheep and horses, but along side of them were creatures that Harry didn’t even have names for.

Seeing his confusion, Diane came along side of him and started explaining what each animal was. Taking Harry by his hand, she walked up to the first set of stall which held several horse like creatures, Harry recognized the unicorns immediately, although he had never seen any other colour but white prior to today.

“This is a Firebrand” Diane began, “they were a gift from Mac Lir. They can run over land or water and when their hooves strike a place where treasure is located, a bright spark is seen. And sometimes, if the conditions are just right, when it rides over the sea it looks like its riding on a rainbow.”

“And I’m sure you recognized these beauties” She said as she pushed her short auburn hair behind her ears. “This is my baby, his name is Heero. Isn’t he gorgeous?” she asked as she stroked the mane on the winged stallion. Harry gaped in awe as the golden horse spread its large wings and neighed at Diane who reached into her jacket pocket and handed the stallion a bright red apple. “Do you want to pet him? As long as you move slowly, he’ll be fine.”

Harry nodded and slowly approached the horse, his hand outstretched and trembling slightly. “I bet Hagrid would love to see this farm” he whispered to Diane, “he loves animals, the stranger the better.” Harry gasped as his hand touched Heero’s side, he was so warm, and every time the stallion moved he could feel the immense and powerful muscles under his skin. “Wow”.

Diane smiled at Harry’s response as she led him to the next set of stalls. “These are the bovas, their almost like cows, only they bounce and their milk is much, much better” she grinned, “But these fellows you want to give a wide berth,” she explained as they came to a stall separated from the other cow-like creatures. Harry peered in to see a few large, woolly, bison-like creatures chewing mindlessly on grass and oats.

“What are they?” Harry asked as he went to stand on the rails of the stall, only to have Diane pull him back.

“Bonnacon, and trust me, you do NOT want to get them upset.” Diane said emphatically, “do you see that hole over there, and over there, and all those on the rails over there?”

“Yikes, do they like to ram things?” Harry asked as he quickly took a few steps back.

“No, worse than that” Diane grinned, “when they get scared or nervous, they pass the most obnoxious gas, it actually eats through things. Poor Uncle Duncan can’t repair the stalls fast enough, and we haven’t found anything that it won’t dissolve.”

“Why do you even keep them then?” Harry asked, wrinkling his nose.

“I ask the very same question, cousin,” Diane sighed “but Aunt Orpha insists that we need them around ‘just in case’ and what she says goes.”

Hearing a strange chattering howl, Harry looked over to a corner stall that was partially hidden in shadows. “What’s in there?”

“Hmmm. Oh, those are Chats” Diane replied as she looked through a small wooden box for something. “They don’t do much but clean up after dark, they eat carrion and nasty stuff like that.”

“Are they dangerous?” Harry asked as he took a tentative step towards the stall.

“Them? No, not to us. But humans are best to keep far away from them,” She strode confidently towards the stall and opened the gate, whistling as she did so. “Their real name is Leucrota, but we call them Chats because of how they look” She whistled again and tapped loudly on the ground. Harry craned his neck to see inside the dark stall as he saw movement near the gate.

One Chat finally crept out from the stall and went straight to Diane’s hand, pressing her nose into her palm as Diane stroked her rough fur. “They kind of look like a cross between a cougar and a hyena, but they’re really very shy.” she explained as she wrapped her arms around the Chat’s belly and pulled her forward so Harry could see her properly. “Don’t worry, they can’t hurt us….look” she said as she gently pried open the Chat’s gaping mouth and ran her fingers up and down the animals jaw. “No teeth, see. Just these bony plates, and the markings on the top of their heads make it look like they have two sets of eyes. They completely freak humans out when they see them.” she laughed.

Chuckling softly, Harry slowly knelt next to the Chat and petted her thick, rough coat. “Wow, she’s really tame huh?” he said as he scratched her behind her ears.

“No, not at all, just timid around us, they know what we can do to them. Not that they would ever attack a Sidhe,” Diane explained “It’s something in our blood, now if you’re human, watch out, they’ll chase one of them down in nothing flat. Not that it could do anything more than crush a few bones or gum them to death.” she added, laughing softly. “Come on, I have to get something for Uncle Cash.”

“Cash!!! Is he here? Did he decide to come home after all?” Harry asked excitedly.

“No, but he sends letters to Aunt Orpha nearly everyday telling her what’s going on. This time he asked her to send him a grian eun, though I don’t know what ‘he’ would want one for. He’s already immortal.”

“What does a bird have to do with being immortal? Is it a phoenix or something?” Harry asked as he looked at the blue and green bird.

“Or something, I know they’re related somehow. But this bird is very special, its eggs prolong life, and as you can see, we have quite a flock.” Diane replied, nodding towards the large coop. “You should hear them sing, its so amazing, it actually sends chills up and down your spine.”

Harry nodded as he gently stroked the birds silky feathers “So how does its eggs prolong life? Do you use them in a potion or something?”

Diane laughed as she shook her head. “Why do wizards always try to make things so much more difficult than they need to be. You don’t do anything to them, just eat them.”

“Just eat them? Well, I guess that’s a lot easier than a potion.” Harry grimaced as he laughed at himself. “So, what do they taste like?”

Diane raised an eyebrow and looked at her cousin “You tell me Harry, we had them for breakfast.” shaking her head as Harry’s ignorance, Diane stared at a large cage, willing it to come to her. “Hold that still for me Harry” she asked as the cage hovered in mid air. “They don’t like cages, but I’m afraid it will like the flames even less.”

Holding the cage firmly, Harry knitted his brow. “But I thought Phoenix loved flames and fire. Isn’t that how they’re reborn?”

“The Phoenix yes, but that bird comes from Arabia, this is a Caledonian bird. It loves the water, it lives near lochs and lays its eggs in deep pools of still water.”

“So Harry” a deep voice boomed cheerfully, startling Diane and Harry “Getting an education are you?” he asked as he leaned against a strange looking implement. Harry felt slightly inadequate as he looked at his uncle and then down at himself. Harry was smaller by far than most of his cousins who were his age, and certainly of a much slighter build.

“Fernglennis calling Harry” Duncan called again as he waited for Harry to answer him. Placing his hand on Harry’s shoulder, Duncan immediately understood why his nephew had such a strange look in his eyes. “Diane, why don’t you take the bird to Aunt Orpha, I’ll show Harry around the place. Oh, and tell your cousins to leave the dogs alone, they have a busy day ahead of them.” he added, yelling after her.

Smiling fondly at Harry, Duncan cocked his head and motioned for Harry to follow him down into the lower section of the barn. “Mind your head Harry” he remarked as they walked down a set of ladder steps. “Can’t tell you how many times your uncles and I have whacked ourselves on that.” he sighed.

“Somehow I don’t think I’ll have that problem Uncle Duncan” Harry said softly. “I’m not exactly tall… or anything.”

Duncan smiled broadly “Not yet you aren’t but trust me, a few weeks in the fresh air, good food, clan…. I’ll be willing to bet they won’t recognize you when you go back to that school of yours.”

“Yeh, sure” Harry grinned “I’m going to grow ‘that’ fast, as Hermione would say, “not likely”

Duncan shook his head and sat back on a stack of hay bales. “I have no idea who Hermione is, but I can guarantee you, if you do as I say, you’ll be sprouting muscles and growing by leaps and bounds. That is if you want to.” he added, pretending to be totally disinterested in what Harry would chose.

“Really? Are you telling me the truth?” Harry inquired, almost afraid to take his uncle too seriously.

“As if I would lie to my own nephew, besides, your mum would kill me if I started playing jokes on you already” he added, winking playfully. “First off Harry, if I asked you to take one of these bales and feed them to that row of cows, how would you do it?”

“How?”

“Yes, how?” Duncan replied “Go on, show me what you would do. Just be mindful not to scare any of them.”

Harry nodded and pulled out his wand, quickly levitating a bale to the cows and breaking it into pieces with short flicks of his wand.

“Oiy, wizards and their sticks” Duncan sighed. “Problem number one, don’t do everything with magic. How do you expect your body to grow strong when you don’t use it. Learn to feel and enjoy your body Harry, its an amazing thing. Have you ever just wondered how it works, how your mind can tell your fingers to move and it does. And with the very same movements, you can wield a sword, plant a field, play an instrument……” Duncan said as he approached Harry and took his nephew by the wrist. “Come on, lets try this again.” he grinned. “Ok, lets feed the herd.”

Harry smiled happily as he and Duncan lifted and threw the bales about the barn, tearing them apart and giving them to the cattle who chomped away and mooed as they watched the antics before them. Apparently, Sirius wasn’t the only joker in the MacLeod home this holiday as Harry soon found out.

“Uncle Duncan” Harry deadpanned as he fell backwards and onto him bum, “I don’t mind the jokes, and I can handle the pranks, even the moving floor one. But if you don’t stop changing around the heads and tails on the cows, someone is going to be in for a nasty surprise when I try to feed them.” Harry waited expectantly as Duncan’s face went slack, only to burst into an explosive fit of laughter at the very thought of it. ”And didn’t you mention something about mum being upset if you started on me already?”

“Alright Harry, alright. You’ve made your point” Duncan replied between laughs, “I’ll let you to finish up here. I’ve got to tend to the Ki-lin anyway.”

“What’s a Ki-lin?”