“Don’t, Paddy, don’t even say it.” Sirius groaned. “I‘ll tell you what, lets split up for a few minutes, and we‘ll meet back here. I want to get as much ground covered as possible.” …….

“Come on, honey, lets get you warmed up” Cat cooed as she helped Calli out of her wet things. “Harry and Aunt Orpha are waiting for us in your room, you can get under the blankets and warm up there.”

“I want Starry back” Calli whimpered as she allowed Cat to undress her. “I don’t want to lose her too.” Her tears were still falling as Cat took a towel and dried her hair, “She’s all I have left, I .. I..” she sobbed silently into Cat’s shoulder as her Aunt hugged her tightly.

“Hush now, Calli. Sirius and your Uncles are doing their best to find her. And I heard Aunt Orpha sending your cousins out to search the house top to bottom. You know how easy it is to get lost in here, you did it yourself a few times when you first came here.” Cat reminded her as she helped Callie pull a warm nightgown over her head. “Come on now, dry those eyes, have faith in your clan, and stay with me and Harry for a while.”

“But what will I do if they never find her?” Calli sniffled as she held on tightly to Cat. Thankful that someone was there with her, that even if they couldn’t understand how important Starry was to her, they weren’t dismissing her either.

“We just have to have faith that they will.” Cat tilted Calli’s head so she could look directly into her eyes. “Let me let you in on a little secret, Calli. Sirius looks upon you as something between a baby sister and a daughter, and I can promise you, he will do everything in his power to keep you happy and well.”……

Sirius waited until he was sure no one else was around before shifting into Snuffles. Its not that he ‘wanted’ to keep his abilities a secret from them, but he had to tell Cat first. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how angry she would be if she heard from her cousins or brothers about Snuffles and not from him. He winced as he felt his muscles ache as he took his familiar canine shape. He had almost forgotten how painful the transformation could be, after all, it had been nearly three weeks since he had transformed, and apparently his muscles were no longer used to it.

Shaking off the pain and discomfort, Snuffles sniffed the air for any scent of Starry. His nostrils flared as he immediately scented the puppy, and the smell of blood. He shivered violently as he thought of bringing little Starry home, still and cold to Calli. He couldn’t bear the thought, he had to find her and fast, and pray that the puppy was simply injured.

Sprinting into the woods, Snuffles ducked under the groping, skeletal branches, ignoring them as they snagged and caught at his thick fur. With his nose close to the frozen earth, he quickly found her trail which was leading deeper and deeper into the woods. Hearing what sounded like a large bird of prey calling out, Snuffles quickly crouched low, his belly and paws feeling the sting of the cold ground beneath him…..

Harry smiled with relief as he watched Cat cuddle with Calli, stroking her hair and speaking softly as she finally got Callista to relax and stop crying. Promising her that Sirius wouldn’t let her down, that he and the others would check every nook and cranny of the house and barns to find Starry.

“Do you think he’ll find her?” Calli asked, sniffling as Cat hugged her once more.

“Come on, Calli, this is Sirius we’re talking about.” Harry chimed in, sitting on the edge of her bed and grinning widely. “I’ve seen him do thing everyone said were impossible, he won’t have any problems at all finding another dog.”

“Another dog?” Calli repeated, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she gazed at Harry. She still thought he was awfully cute, but Sirius was right, he made a much better brother than he ever would a boyfriend.

“Uh.. Uhm.. I mean…well.” Harry stammered, suddenly realizing that Sirius must not have told anyone about being an animagus.

“So he ‘found’ Snuffles?” Cat asked, one eyebrow raised inquisitively, as if waiting for an explanation. “He didn’t ‘find’ him in a store or someone’s yard, did he?”

“No, no,… nothing like that. Snuffles…well he just kind of found me. He hasn’t left since.” Harry stated, wondering if he could have possibly sounded any more guilty.

“You have a dog, too? Why didn’t you bring her with you?” Calli asked, “Isn’t she lonely without you?”

“Uhm, Calli, Snuffles is a he.” Harry laughed, wondering what his godfather’s reaction would be to being called a girl. “And trust me, he’s anything but alone.” he added, truthfully.

“Albus?” Cat asked, insinuating that the headmaster would be taking care of him during Harry’s absence. She watched with interest as Harry suddenly found it hard to look her in her eyes. Something was definitely not right, but this wasn’t the time to push him for an answer, not with Calli being so upset. “Don’t worry, Calli, I’m sure Snuffles and Starry will have lots of fun playing together over the summer break.”…

Sirius longed for the warmth of the summer sun as the frigid winter wind caused the branches above him to sway wildly, creaking and groaning as he stood his ground, growling at the large, hairy creature that hovered just beyond the scrub. He couldn’t see much of the creature, but he could certainly smell the stench the thing was emitting; it smelled of decay, of something left too long in the ground. Just as he wondered if he should try to back away or charge at the creature, he heard the unmistakable whimper of a puppy.

Immediately his mind went to his family back in the house, of Cat, Harry and the tearful Calli, of his darling little Edana, of the clan that had welcomed him with open arms and open hearts. He had to be the ‘good daddy’ he had to think of the children and do whatever it took, even if that meant turning his back on this creature to find Starry. Giving one last, loud bark, Snuffles bounded away from the creature, hoping and praying that it wouldn’t bother to chase after him as he headed towards the sound he had heard earlier.

He skidded to a halt as his nose came upon a fresh trail of blood, Starry’s blood. Cautiously he crept along the trail, softly whining in hopes that Starry might hear him and respond. He couldn’t explain why he felt so nervous, it was almost as if someone were watching him, leading him towards where he needed to be. And in his experience, that was never a good thing.

All thoughts of danger immediately left his thoughts as he saw a tiny ball of golden fluff shivering beneath the boughs of a large thorn tree. He whimpered again, a little louder this time, only to see her weakly paw at the ground, seemingly unable to move. Snuffles crawled along on his belly, inching closer and closer to Starry, keeping a close eye on their surroundings, making sure nothing was sneaking up on them.

As he got closer, he saw what had caused the blood trail. It seemed the puppy had gotten one of the large thorns from the tree lodged deep within her. He nudged her gently with his nose, cringing as she barely responded to him. Making sure no one was around to witness his transformation, he reverted back to his human form and gently scooped Starry into his arms, removing the thorn as he rose to his feet.

He hadn’t even fully stood up when he felt the first stab of pain rip through his thigh. Clutching the puppy against his chest, Sirius grabbed his leg, only to find the same sort of thorn he had just removed from Starry. Stumbling backwards against the trunk of the tree, he pulled out the barbed thorn, only to curse loudly as he saw a thick limb covered with thorns heading straight at him. “Wonderful, this must be where Dumbledore got the whomping willow from.” he muttered as he fell to the ground, avoiding the dagger-like thorns.

Sirius watched in morbid fascination as the thick branches of the tree curled and waved like nightmarish tentacles; striking out anything that moved. He thought he would be safe if he staid close to the ground, at least he did until a large limb struck the ground right next to him, tearing a deep gash in his side…..

Paddy’s head jerked up immediately as he heard one loud scream, “Sirius?! Sirius, where are you?” he yelled as he ran to the other side of the yard where he had left the wizard. “Son of a ….. Sirius!!!” Paddy felt his stomach turn as he saw a trail leading straight towards the woods. It looked like Sirius had walked to the edge of it and then something had happened, his tracks became muddled with something else‘s, and his disappeared entirely.

“DUNCAN, LUKE, HELP!!” Paddy screamed as he took off into the woods, hoping to locate Sirius before anything happened to him. He looked back only long enough to see Duncan running down from the barn towards him, his sword drawn and at the ready…..

Tears of pain filled Sirius’s eyes as he howled out in pain; another thorn had stabbed him, flooding him with pain as its poison flowed through his veins. Stumbling like a drunkard, he tried to avoid the branches which were tearing through his flesh and burning him with their venom. Instinctively he crunched over, still holding Calli’s injured puppy in his arms, trying to protect it while avoiding the brutal thorns of the tree. His eyes grew bleary as he felt himself losing consciousness, he needed to hang on, he needed to be there for Cat and their children. He needed to bring Starry back to Calli, he needed to be a father. He could almost hear the voices of his new clan calling his name, urging him to join them. But the last thing he heard was the echoes of his own tortured screams dying away as a particularly large thorn caught him alongside of his face, deeply gouging his cheek.

“Duncan! What are we going to do? I can’t get close enough to get him” Paddy screamed as he jumped back, barely dodging a branch.

“Dammit, Paddy, get back or I’ll have two of you to worry about instead of one.” Duncan snapped as he grabbed Paddy by the collar, forcefully yanking him backwards.

“Well, we have to do something!” Paddy snapped back, “We can’t leave him there, and I don’t know how to get to him! Where the hell is Luke?”

“I told him to get Kitty, when I heard the tone in your voice, I was afraid someone had been hurt.” Duncan explained as his quick eyes surveyed the hopeless situation. They needed to find some way to either stop the tree from moving or to prevent from being struck down by the thorns. “Bruid!!….Paddy, was Bruid at home when you were there?”

“Bruid, …yes, he was, but I don’t….”

“BRUID! I summon you to my side.” Duncan screamed forcefully, hoping he had enough of his clan’s latent magic within his blood for Bruid to hear him. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, than Bruid appeared next to him in a rush of leathery wings and snow, a look of anger on his face.

“Duncan! Why have you summoned me like this? You don’t have the authori…..no,” Bruid’s voice was reduced to a whisper as he followed Duncan’s outstretched finger, and his eyes fell upon the raven-haired wizard, “is he dead, Duncan?”

“No, but he will be soon if we don’t get to him.” Duncan replied, a frantic edge to his voice. “Bruid, will your skin protect you from the thorns? Can you get him out?” He feverently prayed that it wouldn’t be too late. His baby sister had finally found someone she could love with all her heart, someone who wasn’t afraid or jealous of her powers, someone who love and accepted the clan and all its members, they couldn’t lose him now, certainly not like this.

Bruid hesitated for a moment before nodding, “It will protect me long enough, after that Siobhan and Kitty can repair any damage that is done. Stand as close to the edge as you dare, be prepared to take him from me. I‘ll get myself back home.” he instructed quickly as he spread his large, leathery wings, wrapping them around himself like a cloak for extra protection.

Bruid narrowed his eyes as he trudged over the uneven ground, repeatedly struck by the powerful blows of the branches, but luckily his skin was much thicker than the others, as was his blood. The poison would move much more slowly, hopefully giving him enough time to rescue the wizard and apparate back to Siobhan for a cure. He fought off a growl as a familiar yet unnerving presence made itself known to him. Whoever lured the wizard here wanted him to remain, but Bruid was a warrior and this was his clan now. He had renounced his own blood clan decades ago; Siobhan and the rest of the MacLeod’s had stood by his side the entire time. He was not about to let them down now, as long as the wizard lived under the same roof and ate the same food as he did, he was a member of the clan and would be treated as such.

Sensing that another attack was coming, Bruid paused just long enough to get his bearings. The wizard was still laying face down, several feet away from him, with at least half a dozen strong, well fortified boughs between them. Bruid sneered as he ground his feet into the ground; grunting loudly, he ran straight towards the boughs, hands and talons extended. His large, powerful hands grasped the boughs, crushing the smaller ones and, using the larger ones as braces, launching himself over them to avoid the worst of the daggers.

As he landed next to Sirius, he extended his wings once more, providing a protective covering for the wizard. “Poor child, it will be nothing short of a miracle if you survive this treachery.” Bruid remarked as he saw the torn and bloody rags that had once been the wizards clothes. Taking care not to injure the man any further, Bruid knocked away the looser thorns before gently rolling the wizard onto his back, smirking as he saw his niece’s injured puppy still clutched in Sirius’s arms. “All the for the sake of a child’s heart” he mused, “you are either a very good man, or a very foolish one, my friend.” he murmured as he cradled them both in his arms, folding his wings over them as he fought his way back through the thorns.

“Duncan, quickly.” Bruid groaned as he shook most of the thorns off of his thick skin, “I can feel the poison, its in my blood. Get them back to the house.” he instructed as he passed Sirius to Duncan and Starry to Paddy. “I’ll let them know you are on your way. Hurry, I don‘t know how much longer he can hang on.” he stated as he dropped painfully to his knees, and vanished before their eyes.

“You heard him, Paddy, move it.” Duncan snapped as he hoisted Sirius’s limp over his shoulder.

“Right behind you.” Paddy said as he chocked back a sob. He had never seen anyone look as bad as Sirius did right now. His long, dark hair was matted with blood, the colour gone from his skin and his body jostled and jerked like a rag doll with every movement of Duncan’s body. Tears streamed down the young warrior’s face as he questioned whether the wizard was even alive. He felt as if he were losing his own brother, Edana’s favourite uncle, Kitty’s love…..

Luke struggled with Kitty, calling for help as he tried to restrain her. She had started screaming something about Sirius and then went completely berserk, fighting and scratching him as she tried to run into the woods. He actually had to tackle her to stop her from getting to the tree line, and it had only gotten worse since then. Looking up, Luke saw the clan slowly pouring out the door to see what all the commotion was. Luckily, his son LJ, realized right away that he needed help and had quickly pulled Zach and Colin over to help.

“Come on, boys, she’s in a right state.” Luke huffed as he grabbed one of her arms, signalling Zach to grab the other. He groaned as he looked back to see not only Aunt Orpha, but Harry was outside as well. He didn’t know what was going on with Kitty at the moment, but he sure as hell didn’t want her son to see her like this. Just as he was about to send LJ to tell Orpha to get Harry inside, he heard Colin’s voice; it was uncharacteristically sharp and wholly unnerving.

Luke followed Colin’s eyes, and felt his entire body and mind tense as he saw figures coming out of the woods. One looked Sidhe enough, but the other….the other seemed misshapen somehow. Before he could give anymore thought to the matter, he heard Kitty renew her hysterics, only this time there were tears streaming down her face as she tried to get to the anonymous figures. Once again he heard her cry out Sirius’s name, only this time it sounded more like keening than the frantic cries he had heard from her a few minutes ago.

“Da?! Da…it’s Uncle Duncan…and…and..” LJ gasped, causing Luke to turn his attention back to the figures.

“Sweet mother of heaven” Luke gasped as he realized the misshapen figure had been his own brother, with the body of Sirius Black draped over his shoulder. It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t be, not after last night, he couldn’t be dead. He wrapped his arms around his now trembling baby sister. No wonder she had been so frantic, she must have sensed something had happened to him. “Kitty…sweetie?…”

“Sweet mother of heaven” Luke gasped as he realized the misshapen figure had been his own brother, with the body of Sirius Black draped over his shoulder. It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t be, not after last night, he couldn’t be dead. He wrapped his arms around his now trembling baby sister. No wonder she had been so frantic, she must have sensed something had happened to him. “Kitty…sweetie?…”

“NO!”

Cat’s scream echoed throughout the glen, only to be answered by the equally heartbreaking sound of her son’s own pain filled screams. She put forth a renewed effort, breaking free of the men who were holding her and dashed towards her brother. Luke wanted to go after her, to stop her from suffering, but he couldn’t, his knees had turn to jelly, and he had fallen on them, kneeling in the snow, as if in prayer, watching the painful scene play out before him.

Unable to watch his sister’s heart break before his eyes, he looked back towards Orpha, watching the look of horror on her face as she stood in front of Harry, attempting to block his view as Meg and Moira ran to his side; the boy had also gone into hysterics at the sight of his father’s body being brought to them.

“Luke!! LUKE!” he was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Kitty’s voice calling out to him. “Luke, help me! He’s still breathing! Duncan, take him straight to my room. Luke, help him!” she directed.

He could hardly believe his ears, “still breathing?” he gasped, wondering if it was true or if she was simply seeing what she wanted to. Either way, he wasn’t going to waste time figuring it out. He ran at break neck speed to his brother’s side, only to be pushed aside by a tearful Duncan.

“I have him, help her.” Duncan stated roughly. “And Harry, someone needs to be with Harry.” he added, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. “The boy can’t be left alone, not at a time like this.” he insisted as the clan parted before him, allowing him to pass into the house.

“Sirius….no…not Sirius.” Harry wailed as he tried to follow Duncan and his Mum upstairs. “Let me go! Moira, I said let me go.” he struggled against his cousins, only to break down into heart wrenching sobs as Aunt Orpha wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she tried to calm him down.

“Harry, ..Harry, I know this is hard for you, believe me I do. But you are the oldest of Kitty’s children, you have to be brave for the others, for Callista and Edana, for your younger cousins. They are terribly frightened by this, they don’t understand what’s happened.” Orpha explained quietly. “I am going to ask you to do the hardest thing you have ever done in your life, Harry. I need you to put on a brave face, to take care of your sisters and cousins, to help them see that ….should your father leave us…that life still goes on. I want you to help them understand that you will still be here, and that though you, he will always stay a apart of us.”…..

“Hand him to me, Duncan.” Luke insisted “I’ll take him upstairs….you know what needs to be done.” he added, giving his brother a knowing look.

Duncan carefully placed Sirius in his brother’s hands, pausing just long enough to run his fingers down the wizard’s injured cheek. “I…someone needs to stay with her and with Harry, …..I’ll have to have someone open the way for me.”

“Siobhan is probably in the kitchen, I heard Bruid’s voice in there when we came in. She can open a passage way for you. I’ll make sure Harry and Kitty are taken care of.” Luke insisted as he quickly took Sirius to his sister’s room.

No sooner had Duncan turned toward the kitchen, he saw Siobhan burst through the doorway, a bloody towel in her hand and a frantic look on her face. “Duncan! Where is he, Bruid just told me what happened.”

“Siobhan!” Duncan hissed angrily, grabbing her by the elbow “not here, not in front of his son…..not in front of his children.” he added, once again wiping his sleeve across his face. “In the kitchen, you are needed.” he stated simply, having no doubt that she would follow him.

“Bruid? Will you recover, my brother?” Duncan asked, placing a warm hand on Bruid’s shoulder.

“Aye, that I will, with time and the help of my sweet wife.” he said weakly, but smiling all the same. “But Duncan, this was no accident.”

“I figured as much.” Duncan agreed. “As soon as you are well enough, have Orpha brought to you, tell her everything you know. Until then, I need Siobhan to open a passageway for me.”

“A passageway, now? To where?” Siobhan gasped, finding it hard to believe that Duncan would leave at a time like this. “Vengeance can wait, Duncan, your sister needs…”

“This has nothing to do with vengeance, Siobhan. This has to do with family. Please, open it now, before its too late.”…..

“Aunt Orpha?” Harry asked meekly as he and Calli held onto one another. “Can’t you do anything? Can’t anyone?”

“Of course my dear, of course. Your mother is at his side as we speak, she promised you she wouldn‘t let him leave. She is our most talented healer, and she loves him very, very much, if anyone has a prayer of saving his life, it is her.” Orpha explained, she wanted to give them hope, but she didn’t want to lie to them, his condition was precarious. She had thought he was already dead, in fact, she wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t. But she had faith in her clan, and if Kitty insisted there was still a chance, still hope, then as far as she was concerned, there was.

“This is all my fault” Calli sobbed, “he went to find Starry. He would have been fine if I hadn’t made such a fuss. He’d be here with us, he might even have been my Da.” she added, her small frame shaking as she clutched Harry, begging him to forgive her.

“Calli, stop. It wasn’t you…it was just an accident,…. He, he probably didn’t know how dangerous the woods are, some animal probably snuck up on him…Mum ….Mum will heal him….she’s got to.” he insisted as hot tears ran down his cheeks. “I saw them together you know, in my dreams…..I had twin sisters and a baby brother….Sirius was there, I was getting ready for a date.”

“You had ‘what’ Harry?” Orpha asked as her long fingers grasped the arm of the chair, causing her knuckles to turn white.

“A dream, I had twin sisters and a baby brother, we were all living in Mum’s old house….and Snape was even there” he smirked, laughing sadly as he added, “and I didn’t even hate him, I actually called him ‘Uncle Severus’ or something like that.” He tried to smile, but failed miserably as his lower lip trembled, causing his entire face to turn into a grimace of grief and pain.

“There, there…my poor children.” Orpha cooed, hugging them both tightly as she signalled for the girls to come to her aid. “Listen to me both of you. I am going to check on a few things. I want you to either stay right here, or if you feel the need to rest, have one of the girls go upstairs with you. I don’t want either of you to be alone, alright?”…..

Cat walked alongside Luke on the way to her room, holding Siri’s hand and talking to him the entire time. “Please Sirius, please, you have to be alright, you have to be. I won’t lose you, not again, not now.” she pleaded as she brushed the hair off of his face. “Luke, get him on the bed, hurry.” She sighed thankfully as she heard Sirius moan out in agony, painful as it was, it was a good sign “I promised our son I wouldn’t let you die, and you know how I feel about keeping my promises, you’ve teased me about it often enough.” she added, kissing his lips as her tears washed over his face.

“Luke, help me turn him onto his belly, I need to make sure all the thorns are out.” she commanded, her shaking hands and voice betraying the true state of her heart. The moment they laid him back down, she immediately tore off the remains of his shirt, exposing his bleeding upper torso. She inhaled sharply as she took in and quickly evaluated the damage, it was a miracle he was even alive, and she knew it. She also knew she had to remove herself emotionally from him and from the situation, she couldn’t let her tears slow her down any longer. She was a healer, born and trained, she had to use all the knowledge and power at her disposal if she was going to save him. “Luke, bring me my surgery kit and the bag next to it. Then go get Orpha, tell her what this looks like and she’ll know what to give you.”

Without so much as a word, Luke did as his sister instructed, pausing only long enough to take one last look at them before running downstairs to find Orpha. He found himself praying to all the gods and goddesses he could think of that this would not be the end of Sirius Black. He and Sirius had had so many talks over the past two weeks, the wizard had survived so much, against outrageous odds, his life simply couldn’t end like this, he had too much to live for now…….

Cat sang a soft and soothing tune to Sirius as she removed the last of the thorns. There were a few that had gone very deep, one that she needed to cut out. She winced as she felt him flinch as the razor sharp blade cut through his flesh, but luckily her delicate and expert hands made very quick work of it. “Sirius, Sirius, can you hear me, gra?” she asked as she conjured a large bowl of warm water and a soft cloth. “Siri, sweetie, please, try to let me know if you can hear me, if you can’t talk do something else. Cough, blink, move a finger, anything, anything at all.” she waited for a few moments as silent tears streamed down her pale face. Seeing no reaction, she wiped at her tears and added salt and rosemary to the water. Wringing out the cloth, she gently wiped the blood off of his skin, hoping that the stimulation of her touch might help to bring him around.

She worked her way down from his shoulders to his back, taking special care to rub ointment into the deeper wounds. Luckily there were only a few that had required stitching, and she was as handy with a needle as any seamstress. Taking a short break from her singing, she spoke to him, unsure if he could hear her or not. “My poor, poor, Siri” she sighed kissing his spine as she continued to bathe him. “You have to come back to me… to us, our son will never be the same without you. You are the only father he has ever known.” she sniffled. “I promise I won’t let the boys bother you anymore. And how am I going to raise Edana without you by my side?”

Cat’s heart shuddered and broke a little more when she realized that not only was there no response, but his breathing was almost non-existant, he was slowly dying before her eyes, slipping into the eternal darkness of the great beyond. Not knowing what else to do, she continued singing the songs her mother had taught her …..

Sirius felt himself drifting aimlessly in a warm, safe place, he thought that he should be frightened, or at least concerned, but he wasn’t. Instead, he felt strangely contented and peaceful, more so than he had felt for many years. It was the sort of feeling he got while basking in the afterglow of a night in Cat’s arms, as if everything was right with the world, and nothing could ever hurt him again. In fact, he could almost fall asleep here in the comforting darkness, almost, if it weren’t for that strange song.

He had heard the song before, but he couldn’t remember where or even place a name to it, that was the only thing in this utterly perfect world that didn’t seem right. In fact, the song seemed to be seeping into him, through his ears and even through the pores of his skin, insistent on being heard, on being recognized by him. He tried shutting the song out of his mind, he didn’t want to think anymore, he just wanted to rest, to sleep, he wanted peace.

As his head rolled about lazily, he noticed a bright point of light off in the distance, and was suddenly filled with an uncontrollable urge to go to it, to become part of it. He felt a wide smile cross his lips as he moved towards the light, it was as if he were flying, flying without a broom, something that no wizard could do, not even Dumbledore. It was the most wonderful and exhilarating feeling he had ever known, it was as if he no longer had any boundaries, as if he were finally free of every worry and care that his life had ever forced upon him.

By the time he arrived at the light, he could see that it was shining out of a room of some sort. Slowly, he poked his head inside the room, calling out to see if anyone was within, but all he could see was the warm, pulsating light coming from the centre of the room. Or at least he thought it was in the centre of the room, but the closer he got, the further away it seemed. It was then that he understood that the light was pouring out of the walls of the room. Cautiously, he touched the wall nearest to him, half expecting it to be scalding hot; only to gasped loudly and feel slightly queasy as he realized that the walls were wonderfully warm, but rather ‘squishy’. “Where in the name of Merlin am I?” he whispered.

The only response to his question was a strange, almost muffled gurgle coming from a strange object on the far side of the room. Guardedly, Sirius approached the object, shivering slightly as he saw it was made out of the same fleshy materials as the walls. Holding his breath, he walked across the small room until he stood next to the object, and, gathering his courage, reached out to touch it. A shiver ran up his spine as he felt the spongy way it gave underneath his hand, but the real surprise was when the thing moved.

Slowly spinning around, the object revealed itself for what it was…a living, fleshy cradle. ……..

Harry and Calli sat quietly on the sofa, red-rimmed eyes trained on the stairs that Luke had just dashed up, a large kit bag full of herbs and other materials in hand. “Do you think she can save him?” Calli sniffed, “Do you think he’ll hate me now? Do you think he‘ll even want me to be his daughter anymore?”

Harry shook his head as he wrapped his arm around Calli, pulling her into a brotherly hug. “He won’t hate you, Calli, I swear he won’t. It was an accident, I told you that before. And my Mum’s awfully stubborn,…” he became suddenly silent as he saw his Uncle Luke run down the stairs once more, a slightly panicked look on his face as he called out for Orpha.

“Oh, no, Harry.” Calli gasped, her voice becoming higher in pitch as she buried her face against him, ‘no, no, no…”

“Don’t, Calli” Harry insisted, “don’t even think it! He can’t die, I can’t lose another father, another friend. He and Mum …..I’ve only just found them…it isn’t fair to take them away from me. I want a family…I…I…”

“Shhh, Harry,” Siobhan cooed as she sat down next to him and placed a warm bundle on his lap. “Hope is not lost, ….look, the puppy is still alive, and she is no where as strong as your father is. Here, why don’t you two take care of her while I go check on Bruid again. If Kitty hasn’t come downstairs after that, I’ll go upstairs and see what I can find out. Alright?”

“Alright” Harry replied softly. Handing the blanket swathed Starry to Calli, Harry sighed deeply “I wish I knew what had happened out there, what attacked him. Maybe if Mum knew it would help her heal him.”

“Do you think Starry knows? She was out there with him, right?” Calli suggested. “Maybe you can use the torque King Organon gave you, its supposed to work with almost all animals, isn’t it?”……

Severus frowned as he stared at Rick, his normally chatty friend was sulking in a corner, barely looking up from the book he was ‘reading’. Although to be truthful, he hadn’t turned the page in at least three quarters of an hour. “Will you please stop brooding and tell me what is wrong with you?” Sev snapped, “It is positively unnerving to hear you so quite, usually I find it impossible to shut you up?”

“I have a lot on my mind.” Rick murmured back, not daring to look up and show Sev his tear filled eyes.

Sev sighed deeply “That much I figured out on my own, thank you.” he deadpanned as he crossed the room. “But it is not like you to behave in this manner. Surely you…..” he paused as he caught sight of Rick’s red rimmed eyes. “Roel?” he asked softly, feeling certain that he was correct.

“Yes. He’s dying and I can’t be there for him.” Rick explained, turning his face from Severus, only to feel the man’s fingertips touch his chin.

“Rick? Why don’t you go to him then? I’m sure he would want you there.” the deafening silence that followed could only mean one thing to Snape’s mind. “It is because of me, isn’t it? They still insist I need a nursemaid to watch over me?”

“Believe it or not, they are very worried for you.” Rick stated, “And it would kill Angel if anything were to happen to you, you know that. Regardless of what has happened over the past few weeks, she does love you, …..and the talk around the clan makes me wonder if she isn‘t carrying your child.”

Sev’s face lit up with a heartfelt smile, “My child? Are you sure? Is there any possibility… I mean…” he stammered, wanting to ask the question, but not willing to give it words.

Rick shook his head slowly, “Think what you want, but I know Angel. There is no way she would go from one man’s bed immediately into another, its just not her style. She’s far too fond of you to hurt you like that.” Seeing the hopeful, yet doubting, look in Sev’s eyes, Rick smirked and continued. “I know Sirius can be a very convincing fellow, and I know that she loves him, just as she loves you. But she won’t do anything with him Severus, not until she knows whether or not she’s with child. She is the Rion, such matters are of the utmost importance to our clan.”

“So, no matter how much Black whines or manipulates her, she will not allow him….?” Sev asked, only to grow concerned as he saw a weak smile on Rick’s face.

“No, Sev, she won’t. Don’t worry, …..we can’t both worry…and at least your problem may yet resolve itself with the gift of life…..” Rick closed his eyes, trying to centre himself and hold back his tears.

Severus watched the look of pain and grief on Rick’s face, it was a horrible thing to witness. This man who had always been so compassionate towards him, so understanding, how could he stand here and watch him suffer like this. Especially when the answer was so obvious. Sighing deeply, Sev took his cloak from the hook on the back of the door. “Come on then, lets go before I change my mind.”

“Go where?” Rick asked, confused by the professor’s comment, and slightly concerned he may have missed part of the conversation.

Sev sighs deeply “To wherever it is you have Roel. I can only assume it is crawling with vampyres and who knows what else.” he added, failing to hide a shudder. “Unless of course you’ve actually had the sense to let Poppy take care of him?”

“But you don’t like vampyres, or vampires either” Rick reminded him. “You keep telling me we make you nervous…twitchy.”

“You do. Its obvious you are going to be completely miserable tonight unless you can be near Roel. Now hurry yourself before I change my mind.” What happened next surprised Severus as much as anything in his life.

Rick had all but popped out of his seat in his excitement to go back to the haven and to Roel’s side. But instead of stopping, or at least heading for the open door, Rick instead ran right into Severus, wrapping him in a tight, heart-felt hug as he kissed his cheeks, “Thank you, Severus. I know how difficult it is for you to be near us. I promise, I won’t keep you there any longer than you need to be.”…

Harry held his breath as he waited for the puppy to respond to him, he needed to know what had happened, what had hurt Sirius so badly. But what if Starry was too young to know how to talk, what if the torque didn’t work on regular dogs?

“Mummy” Starry whimpered softly as she huddled up against Calli’s chest.

“Starry? Can you hear me? This is Harry, I need to know what happened out there?” Harry pleaded as he gently shook the golden haired pup.

“My Mummy… where is my Mummy?” The puppy replied again, her soft whimper changing into a plaintive cry. “I want my Mummy.”

“Starry?! Starry, what is it sweetie?” Calli gasped as she held her puppy tightly, trying to comfort her. “Harry, what is it? What is she saying? Is she scared, is she afraid the animal is here?”

“Shhh, Calli, I can’t hear her.” Harry snapped as he took the puppy from her arms. “Starry, come on, its me, Harry. I’m the guy that’s always giving you scraps of food from the table.”

The puppy continued to whine, “I like you, you’re nice, but I want my Mummy back. I heard her by the trees, she was calling me to come back home. Where is she?” The groggy puppy demanded, trying to stand as if to go looking for her once more.

Harry‘s eyes opened wide, “You heard her?” he whispered. “Here, in Fernglennis, you heard your mother?”

“Yes, and I smelt her…she smelled so warm and safe. I wanted to go back to her, but when I got close something hurt me.” the puppy whimpered. “It hurt bad, like when I stepped on the shiny thing in the barn.”

“Starry, did you see what hurt you? It hurt my father too, and I need to know so I can help my Mum cure him.” Harry froze as he heard a haunting song drifting down the stairs, watching as everyone else in the room gasped, a look of grief and pain on many of their faces …..

Orpha held her breath as she eavesdropped on Harry‘s side of the conversation. The puppy had heard her mother? That was impossible, Starry was saved from starving when her mother had been hit and killed by a motorcar. Which led her to only one inevitable conclusion, it had been a trap. One that had apparently been designed to kill Sirius Black.

Orpha jumped as she felt a hand on her elbow, “Luke! Oh, praise the goddess its you. We need to do something, it was a trap, someone wants Sirius out of the picture, and obviously by any means necessary.”

“No, it couldn’t have been a trap….it was an accident, it had to be. Who could get that close to a morpheus tree and not have it start…..” he paused as he heard his own words. Bruid had just told him that the wizard had been near the trunk of the tree, much closer than anyone could have gotten if the branches were attacking, wizard or not. Bruid had barely made it in and out as it was, and had he hesitated a few more minutes, he himself would not have survived. “They may have succeeded, Orpha, I’ve been trying to find you, to tell you.”

“Tell me what, boy?” she asked, her hands clasping his tightly.

“Its Kitty, she won’t let him go, she’s binding him to this plane by her magic. Its not right, Orpha, you and I both know that.” Luke whispered, his voice cracking as he held back a sob.