Nodding her head, Cat agreed as she manoeuvred Sirius to her door. “I’ll be waiting for you Sirius, I promise.” she added as she stroked his cheek, almost wishing he could stay with her, but she knew all too well what would happen if he did. She had missed the old days as well, the feeling of his warm hands and strong arms around her, of ‘knowing’ he was always waiting to hug and comfort her. She missed the affection, the warmth, the kindness she had come to know and expect from him.

Sighing deeply, Cat made her way to the bed and kicked off her shoes. “I guess I should be glad I have two men to chose from” she said as she pulled of her dress and laid it neatly over the quilt stand so it wouldn’t be wrinkled. “They are both strong and honourable, each of them seems eager to begin a family, they both seem to love me…” she placed her head in her hands as she sat on her bed. “So why am I obsessing over this? Because I can’t stand the though of hurting either of them. Damnitt, why couldn’t one of them hate me, or love someone else more?” Straightening her slip, she snuggled under her covers, hoping that the answer would come to her in a dream, but as she lay there, all she could think about was how close she had truly come to losing both Harry and Sirius a scant twenty-four hours ago.

“Mother, what am I going to do? The harder I think about it the more confused I become.” Cat whispered softly. “I keep thinking if one of them were taken out of the choosing, it would make it so much simpler, but Sirius nearly was, and it terrifies me to think I may never have seen him again, just as much as it horrifies me to think I would never see Sev again. I keep thinking how nice it would be to introduce him to the clan, that maybe he would get over the prejudices the Ministry instilled within him. I know he has the ability to change, I’ve seen how strong his spirit is, and his mind is every bit as sharp as his wit.”

Tossing restlessly, Cat finally drifted off to sleep as the exhaustion of the past day finally caught up with her……..

Harry fell backwards into the deep snow, mimicking Cali as they made snow angels, much to the amusement of the children and snowmen. Trying not to destroy his angel, Harry levitated himself and floated a few feet away before standing, “There, perfect” he grinned as Callista rolled her eyes at him.

“Well isn’t that just darling” Callista deadpanned as she shook her head, “Come on Harry, you’re soaking wet and I don’t want to be yelled at because you’re too dumb to come in out of the cold” she added, sticking her tongue out at him right before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the house.

Harry turned and waved to the children as he heard them give a collective whine at his leaving. He had to admit, it was wonderful fun to play with them, even if they were so much younger, it made Harry wonder what his life would have been like if he had had the chance to grow up here, among his real family, with people who honestly cared about him. He suddenly turned towards Callista as he felt her fingers interlock with his, but before he could say a word, one of the snowmen glided up to them, gave an obvious look at their hands and winked at Harry as he laughed. “Please don’t” Harry sighed, “I don’t have the strength to argue with her.”…….

Sirius stood on the porch, a mug of hot chocolate in his hands as he watched Harry and the others frolicking in the ever deepening snow. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw the way Harry played with his younger cousins, it certainly seemed as if being a big brother wouldn’t be a problem for him, now if only Cat would agree, everything would be perfect. Hearing a loud whoop, Sirius looked beyond Harry and cringed as he saw Sara and LJ racing down the hill near the barn as a Meg and what appeared to be a Nordic Elf watched them. “Poor Siobhan, it looks like she has her hands full with you Sara” Sirius said softly.

“More than you know” a voice responded cheerfully, “my little sister is the reason my sister didn’t have anymore children, well, that and finding out her husband wasn’t who we thought he was.” Seeing Sirius’s questioning gaze, Paddy explained. “We thought he was simply a travelling warrior, he had no clan, no allegiance, nothing but his sword and his honour. Siobhan fell in love with him, and he with her, he passed the tests and was welcomed into the clan as a warrior and as her husband, so far, so good.”

“But?” Sirius asked, wondering what could have happened. He smiled softly as he heard Edana stir in her father’s arms.

“But one day, his ‘clan’ showed up looking for him, mind you this was nearly two decades later” Paddy added “it was then that we found out he was quite a bit more than a travelling warrior. Turns out he’s one of the Lords of the Sith, what you in the wizarding world would refer to as a ‘demon-type’, normally it would be no big deal, not after such a long time amongst us. But the problem was, he had kept it a secret from Siobhan all those years, and she can’t forgive him for that, especially when you consider the impact on her children. Its no wonder they’re particularly powerful.”

Sirius nodded his head with understanding “Half demon, I can only imagine. But they seem fine, or at least Sara does, I’m not sure if I’ve met any other of their children. And I thought I heard someone call you Sara’s brother. Are you her uncle or her brother?”

Paddy laughed, “Both I suppose. I’m Siobhan’s brother, Sara’s uncle, but there’s not much of a difference in our age, so sometimes certain members of the clan get confused and call me her brother, either is fine with me. Same duties in either case.”

“Duties?” Sirius asked “What duties are those, besides picking on her and blabbing all of her secrets.” he added playfully.

“Not her secrets, not if I like life” Paddy joked back, “She’s a good kid, but a very, very bad temper. Just ask around.” he added, nodding his head towards the children playing as he readjusted a sleeping Edana. “And my duties would involve keeping her safe, happy and ‘trying’ to keep her in line, brother, uncle, father, in the end, its all the same. Protect, Provide, Defend, Love.”

Sirius nodded “Is it really that simple? It sounds so easy to say.”

“It is easy to say, but” Paddy stopped as Edana began fussing again “Hush now sweetheart, you’ve been fed, burped, changed, bathed. I don’t know what else I can do for you.” he sighed as the baby’s face became red and the crying began. Paddy looked up to Sirius and shook his head “She’s been like this since early this morning, right after breakfast, I don’t know what’s wrong with her, and Siobhan is already at her end, I don’t want to bother her.”

“Let me try,” Sirius said as he sat down his mug and held his arms out for the crying baby. “Maybe she’s gassy or something.” he said as he held her over his shoulder and patted her back as he bounced gently up and down.

Paddy shook his head and laughed softly “You do that just like my sister, the whole bouncing thing. What exactly is that?”

“I have no idea” Sirius sighed “but Lily used to do it all the time when Harry was a baby, and it always worked.”

“What always worked?” Harry asked as Cali pulled him onto the porch.

“Well hello Harry” Paddy grinned “you holding your own? Or have the girls gotten you already?”

Sirius and Paddy laughed as Harry turned and showed them how wet he was. “Moira, she’s a sneak and very, very fast.” Harry said, grinning from ear to ear even though Sirius and Paddy were teasing him terribly for not being able to get away. He heard the men trading stories as he followed Cali into the house and straight into the kitchen. She helped him remove his coat, calling for Aunt Siobhan as Harry removed his boots, revealing his drenched socks.

“Harry?!” Siobhan gasped “What in creation happened to you?” she asked as she went straight to his side and touched the back of his shirt, clucking her tongue with disapproval when she felt how wet it was. “Boots and coat by the fire, now.” she instructed “Cali, put the kettle on, Harry, get over here” she commanded as he placed his things in front of the fire. “Honestly, what were you thinking, you’ll catch a terrible cold running around wet in weather like this” she fretted as she quickly undid his shirt and hung it by the fire as well.

“Uhm, Aunt Siobhan” Harry said nervously as he covered himself with his hands. “Its kind of cold down here.” he hinted as he felt Cali staring at him from the other side of the kitchen.

“Well of course its cold, you’re wet and half nak…..” Siobhan paused a moment as she realized what he was trying to say to her. “Did your mother bring any extra clothes along with you?” she asked as she materialized a quilt to her hands.

“No, we kind of left in a hurry.” Harry said softly as he gratefully accepted the quilt and wrapped himself in it quickly.

Sighing deeply, Siobhan nodded. “Fine, go upstairs and borrow some of your cousins clothes, you’re bound to find something that will fit. Your mum can take care of the rest when she wakes up.” she said as she scooted Harry up the stairs “And mind you come back down here as soon as you’re done. I want hot tea and warm food inside of you before you get ill.”

Despite his initial discomfort, Harry had to smile, it was so nice to have someone be worried about ‘him’. Not because of who or what he was, not because of his past or the fact that he was ‘the boy who lived’, but because he was one of them. Part of their clan, family…….

Sirius and Paddy laughed deeply as they lingered near the kitchen door, watching everything that had happened. “Breaking him in right, are you Siobhan?” Sirius teased as Siobhan glared at him.

“And Callista Aurora MacLeod, shame on you” Paddy added as Cali’s cheeks blush a deep pink “that poor boy, the way you ogled him.”

“Alright, enough is enough” Siobhan sighed as she chased the men out of her kitchen “Off with you both, go on, do something useful, and keep that baby happy” she added as Paddy and Sirius scurried up the stairs with Edana in hand.

As they passed a bathroom, Sirius stopped short. “Hey Paddy, do you know if there are any scissors or razors around?”

“Of course, why?” he asked as he followed Sirius into the bathroom.

“Show me, I want to take care of something.” Sirius grinned “Cat has told me twice now she doesn’t like the beard, I don’t want her to tell me again.” he winked as Paddy placed the items and a bar of shaving lather on the counter.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk” Paddy said sarcastically as he took Edana back from Sirius’s arms. “Not even with her a whole day and already she’s henpecking you. It’s a real shame how the women in our clan do that, isn’t it Edana? But you won’t ever do that to the men, will you?”

Sirius snorted loudly as he picked up the scissors “Of course she will, its her god-given right.” he teased as he began cutting at the beard “and she has so many role models to teach her too.” he added, winking as Paddy rolled his eyes and groaned. “Now, Paddy, you wouldn’t have it any other way and you know it.” Sirius added, grinning as Edana reached up for Paddy’s nose.

“Probably, but I’d sure like to try it for a while, just to be sure.” Paddy replied, smiling widely as he looked into the mirror and saw what Kitty must remember when she looked at Sirius. “You know, you’re looking better already. Maybe Kitty ‘was’ right.”….

Luke smirked as he listened to Paddy and Sirius talking, “Well Merlin, Orpha, it looks like the two of you may well get your way yet.” He walked down the hall and knocked softly on Cat’s door, not hearing a response, he quietly opened the door and smiled as he saw his baby sister sleeping and Merlin watching over her. “She ‘is’ going to be alright?” he asked knowingly.

“Of course Luke, of course.” Merlin grinned, “I’m just keeping an eye on her until Sirius returns.”

“He’s coming in here to watch her sleep?”

“Eventually yes, although he may not know it just yet.” Merlin replied as he winked at Luke.

Luke rolled his eyes “And that would be my hint I suppose.”

“You always were a bright boy.” …….

As time passed, Sirius and Paddy made their way back to the living room to join in conversation with other members of the clan. Luke tried to hold in his grin as he saw Sirius watching the clock and looking up at the stairs as if waiting for someone. His brothers had already warned Sirius about what would happen if he asked them if Cat was alright one more time. He had remained quiet for some time, but it seemed that not even Edana could keep him occupied any longer. “For the love of heaven Sirius.” Luke sighed “We know she’s been in battle and taken a lot of chances, and if you’re still so worried about her, then please, go check on her and stop driving us all crazy.”

“Really?” Sirius asked, almost fearing Luke was teasing him.

“Will it stop you from pacing around like an expectant father and driving all to distraction?” Luke asked “If the answer is yes, then by all means, go to her.”