Moira sighed and rolled her eyes. “We’ve been waiting for nearly and hour now, I say we go in and ask him.” Not waiting for the others to agree or disagree, Moira flung the door open, acting surprised when she saw Tris and Remus sitting so close. “Oh, I’m sorry Tanta Tris, …. I didn’t mean to bother you, I was just looking for Remus, I had some questions for him about the school and the teachers….but, ..uhm.. It can wait.” she added, turning her eyes away at just the right time to make it seem she was embarrassed.

Remus cleared his throat as he and Tris blushed slightly. It wasn’t that they were doing anything to be embarrassed about, after all they were only holding hands, but still, it felt odd to be walked in on by a group of children, especially when he knew most of them would be his students next term. “No, Moira its fine. What can I answer for you?” he asked, smiling widely as the children grinned and gathered around him.

Remus had to admit, he adored it when the children crowded him, talking excitedly and non-stop. The toddlers crawling over him, the older children learning from him, it truly made him feel like part of the clan, it gave him the illusion of having a family of his own. He waited until the children settled themselves; Zach and his sister Mea sat on the floor in front of him next to Sara while Moira and Callista stood at his side patiently waiting for the others to get themselves settled.

“So, what can I answer for you?” he noticed that all the children turned to Moira, raising an eyebrow, he also turned towards her. “So Moira, it looks like you’re the ring leader here” he chuckled, “what do you want to know?”

Moira’s mind raced as she tried to think of reasonable questions to ask Remus before brining up this ‘other man’ that they had heard the older women whispering about. “Aunt Kitty says you are a teacher there too, what do you teach and will we be in any of your classes?”

“I teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, commonly known as DaDA” he explained, “and yes, everyone of you will be in at least one of my classes. You will all be expected to attend history, potions and transfiguration as well. Your Aunt Minerva teaches transfiguration by the way, so make sure to be on your best behaviour.”

“What does Tanta Kitty teach?” one of the children asked

“She teaches Divination, and she’s the best divination teacher Hogwarts has ever had, certainly the only one who’s had proven visions and true insight.” Remus responded proudly, “but you must major in divination to take her class.”

Callista pursed her lips as she concentrated on who taught what, “So if you teach that defence thingy, Tanta Minerva teaches transfiguration, and Tanta Kitty teaches divination, who teaches history and potions?”

Remus laughed softly, “Well, strange thing that, Professor Binns still teaches history, although he died over twenty years ago.” he waited for the expected murmuring and wide eyed looks. “I was a student when it happened, he died in his sleep on night, but his ghost continued on with the schedule he had known in life. Professor Snape will teach you potions and Professor Flitwick will teach charms, although I’m not exactly sure how that’s going to work since none of you use wands.”

“Wands?!” Zach bellowed, “I am NOT using some dumb stick.” Seeing the look in Moira’s eye, Zach quickly settled down, allowing her to continue with her line of questioning.

“What do Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape look like? Are they nice?”

“Do they give lots of homework?” Sara chimed in for good measure, much to the amusement of Tris and Remus.

“Lets see, what are they like….Well Professor Flitwick is an excellent teacher, very patient, very funny….”

“Very short” Tris deadpanned, grinning widely as Remus gave her a look. “Well he is, in fact, Mammy Oma is taller than he is.” she added, giggling as Remus pinched her lightly in an attempt to get her to stop.

“Now Tris, he’s rather sensitive about that, be nice.” Remus chided her, although he had to admit he adored hearing her laugh like that.

“Fine, then I guess I’ll let you describe Professor Snape, and ‘you’ be nice.” Tris teased.

“Why Tristessa MacLeod, I am always ‘nice’.” he replied, smiling happily as she rolled her eyes.

“What is he like?” Sara asked, “I like potions, especially all the bright colours, I bet he’ll be my favourite teacher, …next to you of course.”

Remus nodded, not saying anything to discourage Sara’s enthusiasm. “Well, let’s see….Professor Severus Snape… he’s very knowledgeable, very strict, …uhm… “

“He’s a very good friend of Aunt Kitty’s” Tris jumped in, not wanting Remus to say anything further for fear of him colouring the children’s perception of the potions master, after all, he may well be joining the clan if Orpha was right about Kitty’s ‘condition’.

Moira smirked as she watched the discussion, this must be the one the women were talking about. “Is he handsome? I heard Aunt Kitty talking about one of the other teachers at the school, someone she likes, is it him?”

“Very astute Moira” Tris grinned as Remus groaned, covering his eyes with his hands. “Despite what Remus here may feel, Professor Snape is one of her suitors, and he may be visiting us very soon.” She shot Remus a warning look as he opened his mouth to say something. Luckily, Callista beat him to it.

With a look of complete shock and disbelief on her face, Callista asked “Is she really thinking of marrying him instead of Uncle Sirius?!”

“Uncle Sirius” Remus and Tris said in unison. Looking at one another, Tris continued, “Calli, since when do we refer to him as Uncle Sirius?”

Callista shrugged her shoulders “I don’t know, but that’s what Uncle Paddy calls him…” she replied softly, only to have Moira step in.

“Not to mention Harry considers him to be his father. What would you have us call him?” Moira replied evenly, looking at Tris expectantly.

Remus chuckled as he shook his head, “Actually, I think he would love to hear you call him that. I know he’s anxious to start a family of his own, and I’m sure Harry would love to be a big brother.” …….

Cash bowed deeply once more as he said good bye to Fallon, he was very much impressed with her and her clan, they were a strong people, both in body and spirit. He saw immediately why Paddy had developed such a fondness for them, most noticeably for Elora and her children. “Dimitri, I’ll leave you to say your goodbyes in private, but don’t take too long, I need to speak with you about what has happened while you were gone. And from the looks of you, a meal wouldn’t hurt you either.” Cash added as he walked towards the haven, patting Elora’s son on his head as he walked passed the young boy.

Dimitri nodded, then turned back to Fallon. “We’ve finally made it here,” he grinned, “the children with be safe and warm now, with plenty of food and soon, many playmates.”

Fallon nodded, sighing deeply as she sank into the soft, deep bed. “I can hardly believe it. There were days when I thought we would never see this place, days when Magda’s curses seemed so overpowering.”

“Not anymore, and never again.” Dimitri beamed, “Cash alone can take down scores of men and demons. I’ve heard the stories his clan tells of him, and I doubt very much that they’re exaggerating. I’ve seen his protectiveness myself, I shudder to think what he would do to anyone who threatened his clan.” he added, sighing almost sadly.

“You want to be his…what did he call it? Childer?” Fallon asked, knowing she was right when Dimitri’s grey eyes turned away from hers. “He looks after you like a big brother would, and you seem to adore him for it.” she commented as she cupped his face in her hand, making him look her in the eyes. After a few moments of silent searching, Fallon smiled widely. “I like him Dimitri, he seems like a good man, one that I would be honoured to call a friend.”

Rick chuckled as Sev complained vehemently “Fine Severus, fine. If Poppy feels you are up to it, you and I will take a little walk tomorrow, we can get what you need from your room. Or if you prefer, we can move you back into your own rooms if you truly feel you will be more comfortable there.”

Severus sighed deeply “Not more comfortable, but certainly more useful. At least in my rooms I have what I need to prepare my lessons, work on formulas for new potions, I have my notes, books, grading pens….everything is there.” Seeing Rick about to interrupt, Sev cut him off. “Yes, I know you will gladly bring me anything I need Rick, but I need too much. And in case you haven’t noticed, I make a very poor patient.”

“As a matter of fact, I have noticed” Rick teased, “but Poppy gave me fair warning before I volunteered to take care of you. So in the end, I have no one but myself to blame.” seeing the look on Sev’s face, Rick burst out laughing, “Don’t take me too seriously Severus, I’m a little stir crazy too. I think stretching our legs and getting some fresh air will do us both good. But I’m still very hesitant about putting you back in your own rooms, its much too cool and damp there, even with a fire going.”

“Should I start calling you ‘Mother Rick’ now? Honestly, I’ve managed to survive this long on my own, I’m sure a damp room won’t do me in. I’ve certainly faced far worse than that.” Sev countered, feeling the need to challenge Rick, just to see what the vampyre would do.

Rick raised one eyebrow and stared intently at Sev for a few moments before replying. “If you call me ‘mother’ anything, you better be prepared to be thrown over my knee and get the paddling of a lifetime.” Rick smiled with satisfaction when he saw the confused look on the potion master’s face, he obviously had no idea how to take his comment……..

Arthur closed his eyes tightly as Cat took his hands in her own and the roar of flames surrounded them. Within seconds, the sound faded and he heard the familiar sounds of his own children playing within mere feet of where he stood. Looking over to Molly, he grinned when he saw her laughing heartily as Percy attempted to teach Meg how to ride a broom. Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist “Hello Mrs. Weasley” he whispered as he kissed her cheek.

Trying to catch her breath, Molly smiled up at him “Hello Mr. Weasley, did you have a nice trip?” Before he could answer, Molly jumped forward, attempting to catch Meg before she landed on the snowy ground. She was about to offer some advice to Meg when her attention was drawn by an excited whoop coming from behind Arthur. Molly smiled as she saw Cat cheering wildly for Harry as he zoomed towards the goals, quaffle in hand and Ginny closing in on him. “I do like her Arthur” Molly admitted as she watched Harry smile and wave to Cat as he scored another goal, “although I’m honestly not sure what to make of her.”

“I can tell you Albus Dumbledore and Raul have no questions regarding her, and they both accept her as Harry’s mother. Albus asked me to for any assistance I might be able to offer when her request to formally adopt Harry comes before the counsel.” he explained softly as Molly’s eyes grew wide. “Her clan already accepts him as her son, that’s were he’s been staying, and as I’m sure you’ll admit, he’s never looked so healthy or happy.”

“Well, that is true, and he is certainly enjoying all the attention she lavishes on him. Look at the way he smiles when he hears her cheer for him” Molly grinned, elbowing Arthur gently as Cat walked towards them.

“Do you think we should call them down now?” Cat asked, “The twins are getting a bit daring with the bludger. I almost though George was going to lose his head on that last play.”

Looking up for a moment, Arthur watched Fred and George beating the bludgers back and forth between them, nearly wiping each other off of their brooms. “I think she’s right Molly, besides, from the looks of it, Percy could use some help with Meg and that broom.” he added, laughing deeply as Percy patiently continued to explain to Meg exactly how to hold onto a broom.

“Oiy, I remember those lessons all too well” Cat groaned, “luckily I had some of the best Quidditch players in Hogwarts to teach me.”

“Don’t they use brooms in Fernglennis?” Arthur asked, immediately curious as to how they travelled

“No, we just apparate for the most part, and since its taught very young, its rarely a problem. And if we need to fly we simply change into birds or bats, you know, just the basic stuff, nothing too fancy.” She explained as Harry and the others landed and came running over to the adults.

“Mum, Mum, did you see that last play?” Harry shouted, “Ron and I did it, we held them all off on our own.” he smiled widely as he threw his arm around Ron’s shoulder. Both boys were out of breath and flushed, but very pleased with themselves. Hearing laughter coming from behind her, Harry looked over and saw Percy and Meg sitting on the ground and laughing themselves silly. “What happened to them?”

“Yeah, and since when does Percy sit on the ground and not moan about it?” Ron added, screwing up his face at the sight before him.

“Since he’s trying to teach your cousin to fly a broom” Molly whispered, not wanting the attention to spoil the fun Meg and Percy were having. “Are you sure she has her heart set on Charlie? She and Percy seem to be hitting it off rather well.” she added as she pulled Cat next to her.

“Oh, I’m sure.” Cat smiled, “she’s just trying her best to be nice since he may well become her brother-in-law. Besides, Diana would rip out her hair if she even thought her sister was trying to steal him away, especially since she hasn’t even had the chance to meet him yet.” she added, rolling her eyes at the silliness of it all. “Maybe you and the children should come back to Fernglennis with us. We have more than enough room, and more than enough playmates for all of your children.”

Cutting off Arthur, Molly said politely “Not just yet dear, we have far too many things to sort out here first, perhaps later, when other…..issues… are taken care of.” She hoped it didn’t sound rude, after all, she was becoming very fond of Cat and it was obvious Harry loved her dearly, but she simply did not know enough about this strange woman and her people to allow her children to go running off with her, no matter how sweet or charming she may be.

“Perhaps after the New Year then,” Cat offered, “I’m sure Harry will have all sorts of stories to tell Ron and the others by then.” she giggled, “My brothers are already ‘showing him the ropes’ as it were.” Turning to look to Harry for confirmation, Cat knitted her brow when she didn’t immediately see him.

“Its alright Miss MacLeod,” Percy spoke up, “he and Ginny took one of the books out of his knapsack and headed towards home.”

“She must be trying to figure out which one of the boys was giving her the eye.” Cat smirked, “I think you’ll need to keep a close eye on her Arthur, she’s a very pretty girl.”…….

“So what did you want to see Ginny?” Harry asked as they made their way over the snowy path, trying to avoid falling on their bums on the hidden patches of ice.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Cat and Professor Snape” Ginny said softly, “but I don’t want you to be angry with me.”

Harry smirked, “I won’t be angry with you Ginny, just try to understand how I feel about this. This isn’t some romance in one of those books your mother reads, this is my life, if she ends up with Snape, he will be my father.” Harry shivered visibly at the thought, “I can’t even ‘imagine’ living with him, he’s mean, ill-tempered, nasty….”

“Lonely” Ginny interjected softly.

“Well is it any wonder?” Harry replied, a bit more tersely than he had intended. Seeing Ginny drop her eyes, Harry sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. But you have to admit, the reason he’s lonely is because he’s so mean to everyone, no one wants to be near him at all.”

“Except when your mum’s around.” Ginny corrected him, “I wish you could have seen the way he acts when she’s with him. I was there Harry, I saw how sweet he can be, and it wasn’t just to her, he was actually nice to me too. I think he needs her to be there for him…..I mean, maybe he was hurt a long time ago and just doesn’t trust anyone else but her.”

“Maybe” he conceded, “but he’s still a blighter to me. If he was so interested in being with my mother, being part of a family, don’t you think he would at least ‘attempt’ to be civil to me? I know what he wants Ginny, he wants to take her away from us, all of us, me, Sirius, Remus, our clan….he wants her all to himself.”

“Well doesn’t Sirius try to get her alone too?” Ginny asked, “I’ve seen him pull her off to corners or into class rooms to talk to her.”

“Sure he does, if he’s caught he’s as good as dead, or worse. But he doesn’t try keeping her away from everyone else. In fact you should see him with the clan, he loves them and they love him.” Harry grinned, then added “Especially the babies, its hysterical to see him rocking a baby in his arms and singing these old rock songs to them. But Edana loves it.”

“Who’s Edana?”

“Paddy’s baby, she’s Mum’s god-daughter, and Sirius holds her every chance he gets.” Harry added, laughing happily as he pictured the way Sirius would fuss over the baby, holding and feeding her as Cat smiled at them. “I think Sirius wants to start a family soon, he’s asked me a few times if I would like to be a big brother.”

“So do you?” Ginny asked, taking Harry’s hand in her own as they continued walking.

Harry smiled widely “I think I would, but I told him I wanted a mother AND father first… he didn’t seem to mind.” he commented, trying to keep smiling as he felt the butterflies in his stomach. He wasn’t sure if he should feel this way, after all he was only holding her hand, but she WAS Ron’s little sister, it just didn’t seem right. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Ron and the twins playing with some of his Christmas gifts, completely oblivious to he and Ginny.

“Is something wrong Harry?” she asked softly, blushing deeply as she avoided his eyes once again. “Are you upset with me for what happened at the ball?”

“No, nothing like that,… its just, well…” Harry was busy trying to think of a way to ask Ginny about some of her actions over the past week or so, but just as he opened his mouth, they hit a patch of ice. Harry felt his feet slip out from under him, but quickly regained his footing, Ginny wasn’t so lucky. Harry felt as if he were watching a moving playing in slow motion, he easily saw how Ginny had over compensated, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards. Without bothering to wonder how he could suddenly see all of this, Harry lunged towards Ginny, clutching her to his chest as he caught her, a mere few inches before her head would have struck the ground.

Harry panted lightly as his body seemed to shake at the exertion. It wasn’t until his breathing returned to normal that he realized how tightly he was holding Ginny. Blushing deeply, Harry experienced a shiver running up and down his spine as he felt Ginny’s warm breath against his neck. Closing his eyes, he continued to hold her tightly as his mind whirled like a broken clock. It honestly felt nice to have her against him, she was soft and warm, and she smelled wonderful. But it couldn’t be right to feel this way, after all, it wasn’t like Ginny was a girl, she was Ron’s baby sister…

“So, our Ventrue Dimitri returns to us” Raul smirked as the dark, curly hair of the Ventrue childer came into view. As he expected, Dimitri’s eyes grew wide and then dropped as he bowed politely before the Primogen. “Enough of that, come here and let me see you.” he exclaimed as he smiled widely. Placing his hands on Dimitri’s shoulders, Raul held him at arms length, looking him up and down. “Hmmm, not too bad, much stronger than when you left, and more pale than I’d like to see you….”

“We were on our way to find him a meal, seems its been mostly rabbits and rats for our poor boy here.” Cash interjected, smiling as he leaned against a wall, his arms folded across his chest.

Making a face, Raul nodded, “Well that would explain it wouldn’t it. Couldn’t you find anyone decent to feed on? Wouldn’t they allow you to…”

“Yes, they would” Dimitri interrupted, “but I wasn’t sure I would be able to stop myself in time. I didn’t…. I couldn’t take that chance.” he admitted, a pale blush rising to his cheeks as he waited for either Raul to Cash to chastise him for his judgment.

“Then Cash is right, go feed now. We can discuss things when you return.” Raul stated, then added. “Cash after we are done speaking with Dimitri, you and I need to have a long discussion ourselves…….”

“Are you feeling alright Cat?” Arthur asked, seeing her shiver once more, “You look as if you may be coming down with something.”

Cat smiled brightly, “Just a chill and a bit of a headache, …must be from all the wonderful news I’ve received today” she added sarcastically.

“Yes, I imagine that must be it.” Arthur said softly. Looking over to Molly, he saw a worried expression on her face which he imagined must mimic his own. “Just the same, I think we should follow Harry and Ginny’s lead and get inside. The sun’s setting and I can feel the temperature dropping rather quickly.” He explained as he guided Cat into Molly’s arms, he smiled as he watched the two women make their way along the path, laughing and chatting as if they were old friends. “Come on boys” Arthur yelled, “gather all of Harry’s things and lets get back inside. Its getting cold and Harry and Cat need to get home soon.” …….

Molly clucked her tongue as she took a close look at Cat, “My dear, I don’t know what happened at the school, but you look a great deal worse since you’ve come back.” she whispered as she took Cat’s cloak and placed her in front of a warm fire. Peering into the living room, she saw Ginny and Harry paging through the photo album he had brought with him. “Such a gentleman, our Harry is.” Molly smiled as she handed Cat a small glass of Pepper-Up Potion. “Drink it fast dear, it’s a bit nasty, but it does work wonders.”

Accioing a chair next to Cat’s, Molly leaned in close “Did something happen at the school? Was the Ministry there?”

“No, no one was there. The school is nearly deserted” Cat sighed, “But Raul tells me the Roma have just arrived, Cash was out greeting them so I didn’t get to speak with him. But everyone seems to be doing well, and Albus hasn’t heard much from the MoM yet, except for two owls asking him if he knew where a certain Minister or two was.” Pushing her hair off of her face, she continued “He and I both believe that it is a very bad sign that they haven’t been missed yet. I mean, SOME of them had to have had families, right? And Lucius was there, he saw everything,…hell, he caused most of it” she added angrily. “The fact that he hasn’t made any sort of move yet is worrying me horribly.”

Molly sighed, “I don’t suppose there is any chance that you were mistaken and he didn’t get away?” Seeing the look in Cat’s eyes, she knew there was little chance of that being the case. “Well there goes the ‘good thought’ part of it, and I can’t exactly think of any kind words either.” she deadpanned, causing Cat to giggle and drawing Harry’s attention to them.

“Mum! Mrs. Weasley! When did you get back?” Harry nearly yelped as he realized he and Ginny were no longer alone. “And what’s wrong with you?” he added as he saw the lack of colour on Cat’s face and the potion in her hand.

“Nothing is wrong, I’m just feeling a bit tired and headachy is all. Stop worrying so much.” she teased as she kissed his forehead.

Harry knitted his brow as he took a close look at Cat. “I think we should go back home and let Sirius take care of you. He always seems to make you feel better.” Cat never even got the chance to reply, as Molly’s laughter rang out, overpowering anything that might have been said.

“Yes Father Harry” Cat replied, sticking out her tongue. “as soon as I’ve rested a little we will be going back home. And anymore comments like that and you’ll find yourself sleeping in the barn with the chats and bonnacon.” she added, raising an eyebrow as Harry pretended to be frightened of the empty threat.

“Better mind yourself Harry,” Arthur teased, “it really sounds like she’s your mother now. Next thing you know, she’ll be insisting you brush your teeth and wash behind your ears.” He grinned widely as Cat grabbed one of Molly’s tea towels and threw it at him. “Hmmm, good aim too, I’ll have to keep that in mind…. Molly, be a dear and hide the knives.”

Cat and Molly groaned as Arthur and the boys laughed at them, Arthur was tempted to tease them a bit more, but he still didn’t like the looks of Cat. “Come on now Miss MacLeod. I say we all retire to the living room for some rest and relaxation.” he insisted as he stood by her side, offering her his arm as she stood. “Molly, I think I heard Meg and Percy talking about Charlie again, why don’t you bring out some pictures, I’m sure Meg would like to get a look at our boys.”

“Would I ever” Meg exclaimed, only to blush bright red as she realized how it must sound. “I mean, …..that would be wonderful Mrs. Weasley.”