Cash was laughing deeply now, it looked like the Roma were going to fit in just fine. “Get some sleep Erich, I’m sure Desiree will be more than happy to escort you back so you don’t lose your way. And if Elora keeps talking, I’ll have Poppy slip her a sleeping potion.” he winked. “ I’ll give Fallon a little tour then bring her back and insist she gets some sleep.”

“That sounds like a good idea Cash,” Raul interrupted, “and while you and Desiree are busy, I think Cobryn and I should have a little chat.”……..

“So, why are you really doing this?” Fallon asked as she and Cash walked down the winding stairs of the astronomy tower.

“What do you mean? I thought you wanted to see the school?”

“No silly, I mean why are you and she doing this, interfering with the wizarding world? I’ve even heard she has made several inroads amongst the mundane.” Fallon hinted.

“Mundanes? Oh you mean the humans, or muggles as they call them here.” Cash replied, “As for the interfering part, well that’s a very long and involved story. Suffice it to say, we wouldn’t be here if it didn’t affect us and our clan.”

“How can what they do affect you?” Fallon questioned, “I thought your world wasn’t even part of this one.”

“True, its not part of it, but it is connected to it. Just as the wizarding world is connected to the human one. Each stands alone, but if one shifts too far, the others feel it. Look at what happened when the humans started that second world war….Albus had to use everything he had to defeat Grindleword, or wort, ….or something like that, ….because he was feeding off of the chaos and pain of the human world. When the Wizarding world felt the effects, so did we. Not as severe or horrible, but certainly nothing we want to repeat.” Cash said softly, his eyes far away as he seemed to recall another time. “and now, with the humans at it again, and Voldemort feeding off of their foolishness, we all know its only a matter of time.”

“A matter of time until what?” Fallon asked softly as she placed her hands on Cash‘s arm, wondering what could concern an immortal so deeply.

“Until they either bring us down with them, or we take the final step and cut ourselves off from them forever.” Cash sighed, his shoulders drooping as he thought of what it would truly mean to do such a thing. “I know it sounds like an easy enough choice, but if we cut ourselves off to them, we also cut them off to us. And their world will suffer dearly for it. Even to this day, so many of them still believe in us in all our guises; faeries, spirits, angels, guardians. Their world would be left without hope, and it would continue to spiral into the abyss.”

“Can’t you teach them like you’ve done the other races? I have heard many legends regarding how the De Dannan and Sidhe taught others the ‘way’, instructing them not only on compassion and conduct, but on the uses of plants and stones for healing and strengthening both body and mind.”

“Yes, I know those stories very well, I was present for many of them….but most humans do not accept us the way the others did. We are different, very different. While we can usually manage to pass for human, if we are pushed passed our limits we will revert into whatever form is most natural to us. And the humans both hate and fear that.”

“What about writing a book? Its worked for others, I’ve seen them displaying their sacred books, scrolls, parchments……” Fallon began.

“We live by example, not by words, words are cheap and easily misleading, they can be twisted to mean whatever you want them to. Just because I don’t jump up on a table and scream out my beliefs and moral indignation louder than everyone else, doesn’t mean I don’t have any. Mine may be different from yours, ~ does that make me a bad person? Does it make you a bad person? Not necessarily, it just means we have different values and different ways of justifying things.” Cash continued as he and Fallon made their way to her room. “Take a look at those humans, they will fight each other tooth and nail over whether an unborn child has more of a right to live than the mother carrying it. Now, my feelings on the matter aside, many of those same people will claim religious or moral rights as a basis to force their opinions on others, and to top it off, see nothing wrong with abusing, terrorizing and in some extreme cases, murdering these women with bombs and guns. All of which go against the same codes they are claiming to defend in the first place.”

“You are joking, right?” Fallon asked hopefully, “You’re just trying to make a point, no one really does those sorts of things.”

“I wish I were joking, Fallon” Cash sighed, “but you can read about it in many of the newspapers the humans print off. Clinic Bombed by Pro-Lifers, Three Killed, or Doctor Murdered by Pro-Lifer, Claims He Shot Doctor To Save Lives of Unborn, the list goes on and on. And many times, these same people will be the first to yell when money is spent to help raise the children who‘s mothers chose to deliver the child……. Angel was besides herself one night, she had convinced a woman not to terminate her pregnancy, but everywhere she turned to try and find this woman help to get an apartment, or a doctors visit so she and the baby would stay healthy, she was told no. No one wanted to spend the money or the time to give the woman any help.”

“So you’re telling me they kill the women who are carrying these children, to save the lives of the children that are going to die when their mother’s are killed?” Fallon stated uncertainly, “And those that do survive are left to scrounge on their own without assistance from kith or kin?”

Cash raised an eyebrow and pointed at Fallon “Ah-ha, there is the crux of the problem. There is no clan, no family for these woman to rely on. The fathers may or may not be there for them, they have no one to truly confide in or to help share their burden. They are told time and time again, it is ‘their‘ responsibility, ‘their‘ fault, as if they did it all on their own....” he shrugged his shoulders, “For whatever reason, for the most part, the human world has fallen apart, they don’t believe in clan anymore, and they want to have all this freedom, but they don’t know how to use it. And don‘t even get me started on their lack of personal responsibility. ” Cash shook his head, “They’re like rebellious teenagers, they need limits, but they won’t accept any…..it’s a recipe for disaster. No wonder Prince Daithi questions us for coming here……”

The next several days went by in a blur of fun and family, Harry never wanted to leave Fernglennis. THIS was now his home, and he had a family, a clan whom he loved with all of his heart. He blushed as a few of his female cousins smiled and winked at him, giggling and speaking in hushed tones every time he came near them. In fact the only trouble he had had the entire time was with one particular cousin from Tir na nOg who teased him terribly for needing to use a wand to do magic. Although he had to admit, it felt wonderful to watch the way the girls rallied to his defence. Sirius had often warned him that the only thing more dangerous than a MacLeod warrior, was a MacLeod mother, and it looked as if the girls were all in training for the latter if their reactions were any indication.

He especially liked the way Sara would put her hands on her hips and narrow her eyes, making it appear she was looking down at someone, even though that someone was several inches taller than she was. She was quickly on her way to becoming his favourite cousin, they often found themselves together, playing games or planning pranks on other cousins, however, Harry had learned early on not to try anything against Moira, she just always seemed to know when they were up to something. And that’s not all she knew, in fact she had pulled him aside earlier that morning asking him if he was alright. He knew how pointless it was to try and deceive her, so he told her what was bothering him, …..girls…. Most particularly the way he was feeling around them, the butterflies in his stomach, the dull ache that ricocheted through him when he saw the way they would smile at him. And he didn’t even dare to tell her how he felt when Clara had found him feeding the chats and pulled him into a loft full of hay, kissing and hugging him as he stared at her with wide and uncertain eyes.

But he knew he could trust Moira to keep his secrets, and so far, she had given him the best advice regarding his feelings, “Talk to your mother”. Harry laughed as he thought about it, fifteen years old, and now he was finally having all those heart to heart talks he had wished he could have had while growing up. It certainly would have made life much easier for him if Cat had been there when he was six and couldn’t understand why the little wren couldn’t fly anymore, why it just laid there on the cold ground, or why some people were so cruel to him, just because he had no parents of his own. Although that would obviously never be a problem again, and not just because he had a Mum now, it was also because he never intended to set foot in the muggle world ever again. They were just to cold to him there, to cruel and heartless to those that needed help and comfort the most, it had gotten to the point that it actually hurt him to read a newspaper or watch the news anymore.

Seeing Cat resting on the couch and reading a book, Harry cleared his throat as he walked into the room. “Hello Mum” he chimed as he kissed her cheek, “can I talk to you about a few things? But only if you’re not too busy or anything.”

“I’m never too busy for you sweetie” Cat replied, a wide smile on her face as she patted the spot next to her. “What do you want to talk about? School, Clan, spells….”

“Uhm… actually” Harry stuttered, “I .. Aahhh…I mean…”

“Oh boy, that bad huh?” Cat winked, “Okay, let me brace myself here.” she teased as she grasped the arm of the couch. “Go ahead Harry, lay it on me, I’m ready…”

“How can you even keep a straight face when you do things like that?” Harry laughed, “You should give Remus and Sirius lessons on looking sincere.” Seeing Cat smiling softly at him, he knew no matter what he said, she would be there and stand behind him, even if she didn’t like what he wanted to talk about. “Well, there are two things I needed to ask. One was about something that happened at Ron’s, I saw Ginny slipping on the ice, only I didn’t ‘just’ see her slip, I saw every moment, every turn and twist as she tried to regain her balance. And when I caught her, my whole body felt funny, it kind of hurt, but not really…and it was hard to breathe…..” he sighed, “I don’t think I’m explaining this very well.”

Cat looked thoughtful for a moment, “Do you mean it was as if time slowed down and you could see everything happening, even though you knew there was no way that was possible?” she smiled knowingly

“Exactly” Harry said excitedly, “but what is it? And how did I do it?”

“Tsk, tsk, Harry. You’re one of us, and the longer you stay with us, the more like us you’ll become.” Cat explained. “Do you remember when Remus and I were fighting the death eaters and Dementors at the school? Do you remember how fast we were moving?” Seeing him nod, she continued, “Well to us, we were moving at normal speed and they were moving quite slowly. It would be the same as what happened with you and Ginny the other day. To anyone watching, ‘you’ would have appeared to be moving at the speed of light, while to you, ‘they’ would appear to be moving in slow motion. Although I’m surprised its bothering you as much as it is, don’t you do the same thing with the snitch?”

Harry knitted his brow as he thought about it, “Well, yeah, kind of I guess. I just never really thought about it that way before. Oliver Wood told me I was a natural seeker and I just never gave it anymore thought.”

Harry smiled as he heard Cat laughing softly, “Most of us never do Harry, its an instinctual thing.” she winked, “Now, you said you had two questions….”

Harry gulped as he tried to think of a way to phrase his question, “Oh yeah, the other question…well, its kind of about girls.” he stammered as he flushed red, “I ….its….well, I’m feeling very odd around them lately. Not bad or anything, just kind of…strange.”

Cat winced as she listened to what Harry was saying, this was the one think she had feared. She knew it was a natural part of growing up, but she did NOT relish the thought of having the talk with Harry. After all, it was a ‘guy’ thing, and there were questions we was sure to ask, that as a woman, she would have NO idea how to answer. “Strange and odd huh? Go on, tell me more, do you have any specific examples that might help me understand?” she asked, trying to buy herself time.

Shaking his head no, he tried to explain, “Its never anything major, just lots of dumb things, like having my stomach feel funny when the start smiling and whispering when they look at me. Or feeling like I have a fever and going all red when we’re playing and things get a little rough.”

“Your games get ‘that’ rough” Cat asked, her protective mother instinct kicking into high gear.

“Sara doesn’t like to lose, and neither does Mea” Harry laughed, “so it doesn’t matter which team you’re on, its going to get rough. We were playing tag yesterday, and it looked more like rugby. Mea actually tackled Sara and the two of them started wresting each other.” Harry was nearly in tears now from laughing so hard as he thought of all the ways the two girls found to try and outdo each other. “I was dumb enough to try and separate them, you should see the bruises they gave me.”

“Oiy, those two” Cat sighed, “They’ve been like that since they were babies you know. From first steps, to first words, to sword play” she threw her hands up in the air. “Harry, just promise me if they have a competition for first kiss or anything along those lines, you will be smart and beat a hasty retreat.”

“Oh Mum” Harry groaned as he once again turned beet red, “as if you even need to tell me. They nearly killed me with that whole dancing thing, I would NOT want to be the one in the middle of ANY of their competitions.”

Grinning with relief, Cat hugged Harry tightly “Well, besides getting beaten to a pulp by the girls, is there anything else I should know about? Are you getting along with all of them?”

Harry’s smile grew even wider, “Yes, we all get along famously. Well except for one incident with Zach, he was teasing me pretty bad about how I need a wand to do magic. But Sara really laid into him about it, she gave him all sorts of trouble about keeping his opinions to himself, and how she was going to do all sorts of things to him if she ever caught him being mean to me again.”

“That sounds like Sara” Cat grinned, “be glad she likes you. She’s a handful even on the best of days, but she has a good heart and she’ll stand by you through thick and thin if she considers you her friend.” She winked, “But tell me more about Zach and this wand thing. Are you alright with it? Or is it bothering you?”

“Well, it does bother me a little, but mostly because I don’t understand how you can do it without a wand.” Harry admitted, “One of the first things Remus teaches us is how to hold onto your wand while disarming your opponent. Without it, we’re sort of helpless.”

“No you aren’t sweetie, THEY may be, but your not. You’ve done wandless magic before.” Cat reminded him, “The snake at the zoo, Dudley’s stream of bad luck, Vernon’s little accidents with the drills, his sister floating off into the wild blue yonder.”

Harry smiled in spite of himself, “I had almost forgotten about those, but they weren’t real magic, …I mean, I wasn’t ‘trying’ to do anything.”

“Which is why it was so unfocused and wild.” Cat explained, “A wand is merely a tool, used for focusing and tuning the power that runs through your own body. If the wand itself held the magic, then any muggle who got his hands on one would create a world of chaos. Now, unless Mr. Olivander has changed his sales pitch, you must match up the right wand to the right wizard, no any old wand will do, correct?” She waited while Harry nodded, “So lets compare a wand to the barrel of a gun. Both the gunpowder and the magic exist, one within the bullet, the other within the person. Now the barrel of a gun will focus and direct that bullet where every you aim it. Same thing with a wand, it will use the magic inside of you and concentrate it were you aim it, nothing more.”

“If that’s all it does, then why can’t I do spells without it?” Harry complained.

“But you can Harry, you just have to retrain your thoughts.” She insisted, “Think about it this way, when you first met Hagrid and he told you about Hogwarts and magic, you didn’t really believe him, because you had always been told ‘the truth’; magic does not exist. Yet it obviously does. So now you’ve been taught to believe that you can only perform magic with a wand, something which you know is not true because you’ve managed quite a few feats without it in the past. So, why do you insist that you still need it?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, …I just never tried without it. I mean nothing outside of accio, or practicing hexes.”

Seeing Harry wasn’t completely convinced, Cat decided to take matters firmly into her own hands. “Harry, may I see your wand please?” Taking the wand from Harry, she placed it in the palm of her hands and concentrated very hard.

Harry gasped as he saw his wand levitating over his mother’s hands, only to ripple as the wood appeared to change consistency. It wasn’t until he saw it turn completely liquid that he let out an anguished whimper. “Mum, what are you doing?!” he gasped breathlessly.

Looking up from the floating pool of reddish-brown liquid, Cat smiled and hushed Harry as she waited for the Phoenix feather to completely mingle with the rest of the wand. Seeing it begin to spark and shimmer, she whispered. “Give me your wand hand Harry.”

Not seeing any other choice, Harry did as she asked, although his heart was heavy as he thought of how difficult things would be without his ever present wand at his side. He stared at the molten pool that was once his wand, noticing the way it would crackle with a fire like intensity, an intensity which grew as his hand got closer. He sucked in his breath sharply as the liquid surrounded his hand, sending an electrical jolt though his body. “Relax Harry” he heard her whisper, “you know I won’t hurt you.” Of course he knew she would never hurt him, but that didn’t really help at the moment.

He grit his teeth as the sparking liquid wrapped itself around his hand, only to pool around his wrist and forefinger. He watched with amazement as the liquid turned into a bright beam of light, just before it solidified, leaving a seamless wooden bracelet and ring on his hand. Harry held up his hand and studied the bracelet carefully, “Did you just do what I think you did?”

“Probably” Cat smiled “Use these for now, they’ll help you focus your energy, as you grow used to channelling the power yourself, you won’t need them anymore.” she explained, tussling Harry’s hair as he admired the now transformed wand. “And since we’re talking jewellery here, I would appreciate it if you would remember to wear the torque King Organon gave you. If he or any of his people show up they will be insulted if you aren’t wearing it.”

“I will Mum, I promise” he replied, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly. “Will this help with those strange feelings I’ve been having too?”

“Ah….well,…those….My best advice would be to see if they continue or go away in a few days. If you’re still feeling funny around the girls, I think I’ll have to ask your father about it. And exactly why are you smiling like that?”

“You called him my father again” Harry said softly, “you two are getting really close again, aren’t you?”

Cat sighed, “Yes sweetie, we are. But don’t go getting your hopes up, this is much more complicated than you could possible imagine.” Before she could go into any more detail, Sara and Mea burst into the room.

“Harry, there you are. Come on, we need you to even up the teams.” Sara stated, a wicked yet playful grin on her face.

Harry turned and jerked his head towards Sara and Mea “See what I mean, they’re a hazard to my health.” he joked as he pulled on his gloves and winked at Cat. “Alright, but I’m warning both of you, if either one of you start hitting me again, I’m hitting you back, girls or not.”……..

Sirius smirked as he watched Cat and Harry from the other doorway. He could see how uncomfortable she had been when Harry had brought up girls, but she handled it very well, all things considered. Seeing Harry, Sara, and Mea leave, Sirius silently walked up to Cat and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Very ingenious Miss MacLeod, I thought poor Harry was going to faint when you dissolved his wand like that.” he said as he kissed her cheek “any more surprises I should know about? ” he winked grinning widely as Cat smiled up at him and pulled him to the couch.

“Actually,” Cat replied “I may just have had another stroke of brilliance. Come here.” she said as she took him by his hand and pulled him down next to her. “I don’t know why you don’t carry your wand, and I don’t know how Albus got it. But I do know he gave it to me for a reason” she explained as she twirled her fingers, causing Sirius’s wand to appear in her hand.

“I don’t like the idea of you being without it, you don’t know our magic that well either.” repeating the spell she had just used on Harry, she transformed Sirius’s wand into a bracelet and ring also. “I don’t like to think of you being unable to protect yourself from those beasts.” she whispered softly, looking up into his eyes as she stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers. “You have no idea how frightened I was when I thought Gustavas had killed you. Your body looked as if it had been shattered” she choked as she placed her head on his shoulder. “and then when I went to heal you, ….so many scars, old and new..”

“Hush now gra” Sirius soothed, “I’m all better now, Harry is safe and amazingly happy, not to mention growing like a weed.” he chuckled as he kissed her hair. “and about that last comment, something about having his father talk to him..”

Cat sighed deeply, but smiled all the same, “How long were you eavesdropping on us?”

He hugged her tightly “Long enough to know he’s growing up faster than you want him to.” Sirius replied, “Not that I can blame you, I definitely grew up much to quickly myself. I should have taken my time, enjoyed my childhood more.”

“But Harry’s never really had a childhood, not with the Dursley’s” Cat said softly, burrowing herself into the crook of his arm. “They treated him horribly Sirius, never a kind word or soft touch, just yelling and telling him how horrid he was.”

“Shhhh, that’s enough of that Cat. He’s not with them anymore, and I doubt he ever will be again. He belongs here in Fernglennis with his family,” Sirius insisted, then added softly as he tilted her face towards his, “he belongs with his mother and father.” he whispered, kissing her tenderly.

Cat smiled warmly as she realized Sirius meant every word he was saying. He considered Harry his son and would be there for him no matter what. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Cat asked him one more question, “Sirius? When are you going to tell me the rest of what happened to you?”

He sighed deeply and pulled her against his chest “When I find the courage.” he promises as he kissed the crown of her head while he blinked away his tears. “and when we can go for more than five minutes without an interruption” he grimaced as more people entered the room.

“Welcome to life in a large family Sirius,” Cat smirked, “privacy is a rare thing indeed.”

“Want to go for a walk?” Sirius asked “Maybe we can get some quite time to talk”….