Cat froze, she didn‘t feel like discussing this with anyone at the moment, she needed to know what Maharet was up to, and who her allies were. But Orpha, Orpha knew all about it, she was one of the very few who did, and she needed to speak to her now. “I’m going to find Orpha.” Cat stated as she turn and walked away from a shocked and worried Lia……

Harry’s cheering was interrupted by Moira squeezing his hand tightly, he turned to see a near panicked look in her eyes. “Moira? What is it, has something happened? Are you having another vision?” He asked nervously, he had only seen her go through one since he had been home, and luckily they were no where near as bad as his mother’s but still, they weren’t pleasant. Seeing Moira nod her head yes, Harry tapped Sara on her shoulder, “Moira needs help, come on.”

Within moments Sara and Harry had taken Moira out of the family room and into one of the studies were she could rest. “Sara, be a dear and ask your mother for the blue violet infusion please. I feel like my head is going to explode at any second.” Moira whimpered as she laid her head down on Harry’s lap. “In fact, ask her to come with you, I think this is going to be a really bad one.” she added as she shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to stop her pain filled tears.

“Come on Moira, it will be alright soon” Harry assured her as he stroked her hair. “My Mum goes through these all the time, she tells me the best thing is to relax and know family is near.”

“But there may not be much of a family soon” Moira wailed. She began shivering as she clutched at Harry, “Make it stop Harry, make the visions go away, I don’t want to see this anymore. I don’t want to see my clan destroyed.”

Moira? What are you talking about? Who is destroying the clan, and what can I do to stop it?” he asked as the all too familiar dread began to fill his soul. It must be Voldemort again, after all, hadn’t he and Malfoy gotten to Fernglennis once? Isn’t that how his grandmother was murdered? “Who is it Moira, who is hurting our clan, can you see them?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to, I want it to stop.” she replied, covering her eyes with her hands as she tried to block her vision. “Please Harry, make it stop.” she begged as she felt Harry lifting her head from his lap and resting it against his shoulder, gently rocking her back and forth just as Sirius had done with Cat.

“How Moira, tell me how to make it stop.” he asked, holding her tightly as her tears fell against his neck. “Just tell me how and I’ll do it.”

“Don’t let them kill you Harry, don’t trust her, don’t trust any of them.” Moira sniffled. “She’s going to use you to get at Aunt Kitty, she’ll sacrifice you to the naga, the soulless one. And then Aunt Kitty will kill us all, everyone, everything, she’ll go mad, just like her sister did, only this time, there won‘t be any Aunt Kitty to rescue us, she‘ll become the destroyer.” ……..

“Orpha. It seems we need to talk.” Cat stated as she walked into the library, “Luke, you’ll have to excuse us for a few minutes.”

“No, he won’t” Orpha began.

“Oh yes he will” Cat countered, “I don’t know what is going on here, but the people I love appear to be in danger, and I want answers now.”

“I know dear, I figured that out when you didn’t refer to me as ‘aunt’ Orpha. Luke also knows something about it, and will need to be told of the rest, so you both might just as well make yourselves comfortable, this is going to take a little while.”

Cat and Luke stared at each other for a few seconds before they both took their seats and looked expectantly at Orpha. “We’re ready.” Cat stated when the silence became a bit too long for her liking.

“I know you are dear, I am simply trying to think of where and how to begin.” Orpha sighed. “I honestly never thought I would see the day this would come to pass, but it appears that our clan has become its own worse enemy. Or at least several of its members have, and what makes it even more depressing, is the fact that they think they are doing what is best for the clan.’

“Maharet and the crones?” Cat asked knowingly, “Let me guess, trying to force the prophecy into line once more?”

Orpha nodded, “Yes, dear child, I am afraid so. Only this time it affects us all, especially you and your little family. And before you argue, I know Sirius is not your husband, but in your heart of hearts, I think you wouldn’t mind it so awfully much if he were.” she stated gently. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and you at him. Luke and I have already had several long discussions with him on various subjects, but one in particular springs to mind, and I am afraid I must place you in a very uncomfortable position.” Orpha summoned a chair and sat right in front of Cat, not more than six inches from her face. “Catrianna, are you with child?”

Cat hesitated and then turned her eyes from Orpha’s “I don’t know, maybe.”

“Maybe. Then there is the real possibility that there is a child within you at this very moment?” seeing Cat nod, Orpha continued. “Is Sirius the father?”

“No”

“Tell me who is and where he can be found.” Orpha insisted gently as she placed her hand over Cat’s. “No harm will come to him Kitty, but I must know what I’m dealing with. Is it the one Tris has been telling us about, the teacher?”

“Yes, Severus Snape, he teaches potions at Hogwarts” Cat replied softly, tears forming in her emerald eyes. “But I doubt you’ll need to concern yourself with him, he apparently was not as ’interested’ in me as I thought.”

“Why do you say that Kitty? Did something happen when you went back to the school?” Luke asked as his arm immediately encircled his baby sister’s shoulders, his heart broke for her as he saw the look in her eyes.

“I left a letter for him, it was the second one, I told him exactly how to contact me. I also invited him to join us here, I thought you may want to meet him, but I haven’t gotten so much as a single letter, and according to Raul, he is at the school. Obviously he just doesn’t wish to see me anymore.” Cat explained as she leaned against Luke’s shoulder.

“Kitty, tell me something, if I said I thought Sirius would be a good choice for you as a husband, would you simply be ‘settling’ for him, or would you be happy with him?” Luke asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, I do love him Luke, I’ve never denied that. And I could be happy with him, but I would always have doubts.”

“Why doubts? Because of his imprisonment? I thought you were confident he didn’t do anything to deserve..”

“He didn’t, he would never harm James or Lily, I have no doubts regarding that.” Cat interrupted quickly, “My doubts would have to do with our past. He betrayed me once, and he still hasn’t explained why, he tells me he doesn’t know what he was thinking.”

“That could very easily be true, dear” Orpha chimed in, “you were both very young as I recall. Even older, more mature men do stupid things like that. They love their wives dearly, devoted to their children and to a shared life, and yet, for no understandable reason, they will stray.”

“But it still hurts me so much” Cat sighed, “if I could just understand why. I was so sure he loved me, as sure as I am now.”

“Ahh, so that’s it.” Orpha smiled, “now I understand why you’ve only allowed him so close.”

“That’s not the only reason Aunt Orpha” Cat added shyly, “I can’t do anything with him until I know if I’m pregnant or not. I need to know who the father is, you know that.”

“But why is that so important Kitty?” Luke asked, laughing softly. “You’ve seen him with the children same as Aunt Orpha and I have. He adores them and they adore him, even your son smiles from ear to ear when any of us call Sirius his father. And I have asked him straight out if he would accept another man’s child as his own…”

“You WHAT?! Why? Why would you even think to ask him such a thing?” Cat gasped, her eyes growing wide with shock. She knew Sirius would, they themselves had had the same conversation, but why oh why would Luke ask him such a thing.

Thinking quickly, Luke shook his head and laughed deeply, buying time as he thought up a reasonable story. The last thing he wanted was Kitty to find out he and Remus had already told Sirius about her suspected pregnancy. “What do you mean why? Aren’t I your eldest brother? Isn’t it ‘my’ nephew’s future at risk? Do you think I would want the man who marries my baby sister to treat her son as if he were anything but his own? And don’t forget Edana…heaven prevent it, but should anything happen to Paddy, ‘you’ are her godmother, and I’m quite certain Duncan would bow out of his duties as godfather to you and Sirius, so you might raise her as your own.”…..

“Moira, Moira, are you alright darling?” Siobhan cried out as she tried to rouse her niece.

“She’s been like this for two or three minutes now.” Harry explained, still holding onto Moira as the girl shivered against him. “Do you have any blankets? Remus and Snape did this cocoon thing the first time I saw Mum get like this.” Before Harry could say another word, Siobhan had conjured half a dozen blankets.

“Help me with her Harry, its been a long time since she’s had one this bad.” Siobhan sighed, “Sara, get Bruid, and find Moira’s mother please. That’s it Harry, nice and gentle, and keep touching her, it helps.”

“I know, Sirius told me, he does the same thing for Mum when she gets bad. I wish they were here right now, they would know what to do.”

“There really is nothing to do Harry.” Siobhan said sadly, “Just hold onto her, keep her comfortable and hope it passes quickly. With any luck, she won’t have the same type your mother does, hers leave physical scars as well as emotional ones. I don’t want to see another member of my family have to endure what Kitty does.”

Harry could do nothing but nod as he and Siobhan continued to wrap Moira in the blankets, both to keep her from shivering and to prevent her from gouging at her eyes again. “Aunt Siobhan? How accurate ‘are‘ Moira‘s visions, she said something about the clan dying because one of its own was sacrificed to the naga“ ……

“You seem distracted tonight gra,” Sirius whispered as he brought Cat a mug of tea, “and very pale, might I add. Are you sure you’re feeling up to a party tonight?”

“Yes and yes,” Cat replied, the conversation she had just had with Orpha and Luke still playing over in her mind. “How are you holding up? I see Duncan has finally let you alone for the time being.” she added, smiling as he sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her as he did so. “You know, there is lots of room Siri, you really don’t need to sit so close. You can stretch out if you’d like to.”

Sirius nodded, “I know, but here is just fine.” he responded, smiling softly as he gave her a gentle squeeze. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Cat looked up into Siri’s blue eyes, seeing all the tenderness and concern shining through as did the unmistakable look of love and longing. “Not at all, in fact, I rather like it.” she admitted as she cuddled up against him. She wanted to be with him again, to be a couple, so what if she may be pregnant, he stated he would accept any child of hers as his own, Orpha and Luke had both heard him. He adored her clan, they accepted him without reservation, Harry loved him like a father, he ‘wanted’ to be a father, and she wanted to be a mother, and not just to Harry.

But what about the future, she could easily protect him from the MoM by staying in Fernglennis, but would he and Harry agree to abandon the wizarding world? Would the wizarding world allow Harry to abandon them? And what lengths would any of them be willing to go if the MoM or Crones put up a fight? What would they be willing to sacrifice?…..

“So, does that mean the other wizard is out of the picture? If he doesn’t care enough to even put quill to parchment..” Luke began.

“It means nothing of the sort” Orpha snapped, startling Luke. Taking a deep breath, Orpha centred herself and turned to the most rational and dependable of all of Magnus’s sons. “Luke, I …’neglected’ … to tell your sister a few things while she was here, and before you start telling me how wrong I am to do so, hear me out. You know Cash and I speak almost daily, well, he informed me of the letters she sent to this Severus Snape. In fact, he asked me if ‘I’ had written them.”

“What?! Why?” Luke asked, completely confused at such a strange question.

“Because, while he thought the penmanship and turn of phrase may have been hers, the content most certainly wasn’t. Cash may be brash and at times harsh, but he knows his child as well as I do. She would never had been in that man’s arms if she didn’t love him, and you and I know when it comes to her and love, she is generous to a fault. The letter that teacher received was nothing short of a ‘thanks for the fun, see you later’ sort of letter. It was short, curt and smacked of heartlessness.”

“But that’s not Kitty, she would never do that to anyone she cared about. Heck, she wouldn’t even write something like that to an enemy, she is always very, very careful about anything she puts in writing, she says it has a way of…..of….” Luke paused when he saw the look in Orpha’s eyes. “Someone tampered with that letter, didn’t they?”

“Yes”

“Does Cash have any idea of who? Could it have been Hamish? He’s made it very clear he doesn’t care for the other wizard in the slightest.” Luke suggested.

Orpha shook her head, “While anything is possible, Luke. Hamish tends to be the sort to take a more ‘direct’ approach. And I can’t see him trying to make Kitty sound harsh and cold like that. He knows her as well as we do, and he would know that we would immediately suspect trickery.”……

“Come on magic man, up you go” Duncan grinned, pulling Sirius by his free arm, “Come off it now, hands of my sister, you can’t have her until you prove your worth as a member of Clan MacLeod.”

“I’m a member of the Clan now?” Sirius asked, grinning widely as Duncan pulled him up to his feet and away from Cat. “Fair enough, so tell me….. brother, how do I prove my worth?”

“Here now, don’t go calling me brother yet.” Duncan countered, “You have to beat me first to gain that honour, and then, MAYBE, I’ll allow you to ask our father for my sister’s hand in marriage.”

“Careful Padfoot,” Remus warned, “I’ve seen this next contest, you don’t stand a chance.”

“Enough from you over there, you wannabe Gangrel” Duncan teased, “In fact, now you can join him, after all, you certainly seem fond of Trissie, only fair you have to prove yourself too.”

“Now Duncan” Cat warned, “you do remember what happened last time to challenged someone to ‘this’ sort of contest, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do, and as I recalled you were there to bail me out that time too.” he grinned as he quickly grabbed Remus and Sirius in each of his large hands. “Come on boys, lets see who dances on the table and who end up underneath it.”

“This cannot be a good thing” Tris sighed as she stood next to Cat, “he won’t really hurt them, will he?”

“Who? Duncan?” Cat asked, a knowing tone in her voice, “Please, he loves them both, he wouldn’t bother with them if he didn’t. The only reason he’s doing this is because he feels he has some sort of duty to you and I to make sure our men will be able to withstand Clan life.”

“Withstand it? They both seem to adore it.” Tris commented, flopping onto the sofa, pulling Cat down with her. “So, tell me true Kitty Cat, do you think the potion master would survive here?” ……..

Duncan placed the glasses on the table in front of Remus and Sirius, “Alright boys, you can eat haggis like a MacLeod, now lets see if you can drink like one.”

Sirius shook his head, “Hold on there one minute Duncan MacLeod,…” he teased, smirking as he held up the full glass of amber liquid, “Am I to understand, you are encouraging me to do this, with the full knowledge that your baby sister is not more than an arms length away from me?”

“Bite your tongue you scoundrel, if you so much as lay a hand on my sister without having the decency to marry her first” Duncan warned as he shook his finger at the wizard.

“If it were up to me, I’d have married her seventeen years ago Duncan, and if you have anyone here able to perform the ceremony, just say the word…..oh, and tell me how to get a hold of Magnus, I‘m pretty sure I‘d need his permission.”

Duncan growled playfully, “You’ll need ‘my’ permission first, you love-sick, wand -toting….”

“Now, now, let’s not resort to name calling” Remus laughed, “and drink up, I’m already one ahead of both of you……..

“Mum, can I talk to you?” Harry asked as he came upon his mother and Tris chatting in a dark corner.

“Harry? There you are sweetie, I was beginning to think you wouldn’t make it to midnight. Where have you been?”

“With Aunt Siobhan and Moira. Moira’s had a vision, a bad one like you get. She said some things that are worrying me, can you come talk to her, please? Maybe you can understand what she means.”

Cat shot a worried look at Tris, “Of course Harry, lead the way.” she said as she took his hand in hers, hoping there would be something she could say to soothe Harry’s obviously frazzled nerves.

Tris sighed as she leaned back into the cushions of the sofa, “Now what, I swear, this clan is coming apart at its seams. No wonder Orpha and Maharet are arguing so much lately, if only there was a way to stop all the madness. Orpha was right, Kitty would never sacrifice her child, whether that meant Harry or the unborn one, it didn’t matter, she would die trying to save her children, and they all knew it. But Maharet had the prophecy, and she would see to it that it was fulfilled, no matter what. Tris felt tears welling in her eyes as she thought of loosing Harry, he had become part of their clan so quickly, so effortlessly, he ‘did’ belong there with them, there was no doubt about it.

“That’s right Tristessa, no doubts about Harry, but I have several ‘severe’ doubts about the prophecy” Orpha stated as she sat next to Tris, “Have you ever seen the prophecy? Tell me true girl, I’ll know if you’re lying to me.”

“Is that why you were reading my thoughts? To make sure I wasn’t going to lie to you?” Tris countered, her defences immediately up.

“Not at all, I was just curious at to where your loyalties are. And even more curious as to if you’ve ever actually seen the prophecy.”

“Have you?” Tris asked, her eyes narrowing as she tried to figure out exactly what Orpha was up to, “Is that why you are trying to cause a rift within the clan?”

Orpha sighed and leaned back, rubbing her temples as she tried to explain things to Tris. “Let’s take those questions in order, shall we? No, I have never seen the prophecy, and neither has anyone BUT Maharet. This concerns me,….” she waited for a moment, relieve to see Tris nod in agreement, “As for causing a rift, I swear that is the last thing I want to happen, but I see the writing on the walls, and the water, and the air….. She’s the last of her line Tris, the last of YOUR line. Is this how you want it to end? Because you know as well as I do, if Maharet has her way and Harry is sacrificed to that naga, she will either die attempting to save her son’s life, or failing that, she will turn her back on her clan, taking whatever children she may or may not have borne yet with her. The clan ends, all hope is gone and we have only ourselves to blame.”

“Maharet is not that heartless, she would never really sacrifice one of our children….” Tris paused as Orpha stared at her pointedly, “oh goddess no, she wouldn’t, not again.”

“Why not, she got away with it last time. She pulled us all away from Kitty, and before you argue, think for a moment, the month after she was sent to Hogwarts, your dear husband, Cumhea, goes mad. How many decades did he survive his transformations, tame as a puppy until Maharet comes to visit and then, the very next full moon, he changes and suddenly becomes a blood thirsty beast. She made you chose between saving your husband and saving the children. …Tristessa, she made you kill the man you loved, knowing the grief would drive you away from us, away from Kitty. She destroyed two of Kitty’s most loyal protectors in one fell swoop, if you look in your heart, you know I’m speaking the truth.”

Orpha was silent for a few moments as Tris’s mind reeled with unmentionable thoughts. Tris felt the anger and the tears behind her eyes as she looked back on that night, Orpha was right, Kitty had been bitten by Remus only one and one half months into the school year, she herself had brought Remus back to Fernglennis so the cure could be obtained, her husband had helped guard Remus, only leaving when both he and the boy had begun their transformations. But even then, he was never far from Kitty’s side, or from hers, ‘just in case’, he had told her. “She’s the one who drove him mad? She’s the reason he attacked the children after Christmas? She’s the real reason he’s dead?”

Orpha nodded slowly as she squeezed Tris’s hand. “This time, she will try to eliminate me, immortal or not, she will attempt to find a way to harm me, after all, I appear to be the only one willing to stand up to her. If I’m out of the way, she’s free to do as she pleases.”……