“I don’t want to take away her hope either, Aunt Orpha. But if his soul should hover too long…..we both know what the outcome will be.”

“Yes, we do, and we both know how to correct that should his soul become trapped. But I am telling you Luke, that man would ride through Hell and back to be with his clannad. We owe him the chance to try and return to us.” she paused as she looked back to Harry and Calli, “We owe it to them as well, especially Harry. Sirius has been the only father that child has ever known. Luke,” she asked as she squeezed his hand “why don’t you talk to your nephew for a few minutes? I really think he could use some reassurance. I wanted to tell him a few things, but after hearing part of his conversation…..well, I’m not the person to talk to him at this particular moment.”

Luke gave her a quizzical look, but nodded as he saw the imploring in her eyes. “Alright, but I need you to get Duncan and the others. If this does go badly it is going to take all of us to keep her from taking her revenge. I trust you and Merlin have a good idea who is responsible for this….”

Harry jumped up, grabbing his uncle as he came walking into the room. “Uncle Luke, wait, what’s going on? Is he going to be alright? And why does mum keep singing?” he asked, his voice only calling more attention to the look of impending panic in his tearful, young eyes.

“She is singing the songs of creation to your father” Luke explained hurriedly, dropping to one knee so he could get Harry’s full attention. “There is magic in the music, Harry, she’s hoping to bind him to this plane long enough to heal his body. If she fails, he dies for good.”

“What do you mean, for good? Do you mean he’s dead now?!” he asked, his voice now trembling and his eyes wild. “You - you can’t mean that…you can’t.” he continued, his voice getting softer and softer

“I mean he’s a lot closer to death than he is to life at the moment.” Luke explained softly as he embraced Harry tightly. “Have faith in her Harry, have faith in her power, in her strength and most of all in her love. After all, didn’t she save you just a few weeks ago?” …..

Sirius knit his brow with confusion as his trembling hand reached out and touched the ‘cradle’ once more, only to have it open before him, unfolding itself like a flower to reveal a small child within. “A baby?” Sirius gasped, only to feel his heart break as the child open his bright green eyes at the sound of his voice.

Sirius dropped to his knees, quivering with shock and wonder as he took a closer look at the child. Curly coal black hair, and eyes that could only belong to his mother. “Cat….blessed mother of heaven, its Cat’s baby……our baby.” He sobbed almost hysterically as he looked upon the face of the child that he ‘knew’ was in Cat’s womb. He looked so much like Harry, “Hey there little fella, can I hold you?” he asked softly. as he extended his arms. Any pain or anger he felt over the knowledge of the child’s true father quickly melted away as the baby looked up at him, smiling and gurgling happily.

Not knowing what else to do, Sirius held the child tightly against him, smothering him with kisses and tears. “I kind of thought you were going to be a little girl, did you know that?” he sniffled as he ran his large hand over the baby’s curls, smiling with joy as he felt how soft his hair was. “Just think, Harry’s going to have a little brother. You will love your big brother, I promise, and wait until you meet your sisters. Edana’s going to be a little over a year old when you make an entrance. And I’ll bet Calli will want to hold you all the time,” he grinned, then added “but she’ll have to fight me for you.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” a deep, resonating voice said from the entrance of the room. “A father’s undying love for his son.”

Sirius looked up to see several vaguely familiar figures silhouetted in the now dim light outside of the doorway. Clutching the baby protectively against his chest, his body tensed as one of the figured moved towards him. It wasn’t until the man stood almost in front of him that Sirius realized who it was. He felt his tears beginning anew as he saw the familiar smile and the all to recognizable blue eyes. “Father?”……

Cat continued her songs as she finished washing away the blood from his back and gently patting him dry. She let out a deep shuddering sigh as she realized she could just as easily be preparing him for the grave as for anything else. She mentally chastised herself, only to realize that she hadn’t seen him breath in for over three minutes now. Using one of her fingernails, she pressed it deeply into the sensitive flesh along his spine, running it down the length of it, hoping to see a twitch or flinch, but he remained as still as ever.

She sobbed deeply as the logical part of herself told her what this meant, but her heart simply would not accept it. She refused to change her songs from those of healing and creation to ones of loss and grief. She just couldn’t give up on him yet, and as far as she was concerned until his body turned cold and hard, there was still a chance, still hope. Continuing her songs, she opened the jar of steeped cabbage leaves, placing them on the larger wounds to help heal the bruising and to pull out the remaining poison…….

“Father?” Sirius gasped, clutching the precious baby boy close to his chest, still weeping, “Is it you, really you?”

“Hello, Sirius” Angus Black smiled, “I wasn’t expecting to see you today, my son. And certainly not here.” Angus walked over, gently embracing his weeping son before looking down at the child in his arms. “So, this is my little grandson” he stated as he allowed the baby to grab his finger. “Pick any names yet? Or hasn’t she realized he’s here yet, it is rather early along you know.”

Sniffling softly, Sirius nodded his head, “I know, we’ve all been wondering though, she’s been so tired and pale lately. By the gods, he is gorgeous though, just like his mother.” he gushed, smiling tenderly as he kissed the baby yet again. “Do you want to hold him?”

“What a question, Sirius, of course I want to hold my grandson.” Angus chuckled, “Actually, I had hoped to have many more by this time. Why didn’t you go after her, son? That very day, right when it happened, I know you were ashamed and angry, but you should have found her. She would have forgiven you then, she would have been able to put it behind her. Now its so much harder for her, all the evidence is long gone, only her doubts remain.” he sighed, only to smile warmly at the little boy who seemed to have his smile and dimples.

“Evidence? What do you mean evidence?” Sirius asked as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his robes. “She didn’t need any evidence, she walked in on it……..”

“You mean you ‘still’ don’t know what happened?” Angus asked incredulously, “Good gods, boy, I thought you were the smart one in the family.” he added, winking playfully before turning his attention back to the baby in his arms. “So…. What is the child’s name?” he asked knowingly, a mischievous smile spreading across his face, mirroring Sirius‘s perfectly.

“I think we both know the answer to that one, ..Angus, just like his grandfather.” Sirius smirked, “But what did you mean about me still not knowing? I mean, I still don’t know why I did it? I keep thinking it was because I was scared about making a commitment to Cat, but that just doesn’t feel …’right’… I don’t know.” he sighed, slumping down onto the soft, warm floor of the baby’s room. “She was all I ever thought about, I had been with others before and even one or two after her, but it was never the same, they all seemed so empty. Mum and I looked all over for her….”

“I know, Rebekah told me” Angus interrupted as he sat down next to Sirius, still cradling the baby in his arms. “Listen closely to me Sirius, I don’t have much time left, and they won’t let me tell you point blank, rotters that they are. But stop for a moment, clear that cluttered mind of yours, and think. Who convinced Cat you were married, who drove her away, who had the motive and ability to do something to you. Who could have slip…..” Angus stopped as he heard the tolling of a large bell.

Sighing deeply, Angus stood up, kissing the baby and turned to Sirius, “I have to go, my son, and you have to make up your mind. Are you coming with me, or are you going to fight to stay with her and little Angus here?” he asked as he placed the child back in Sirius’s arms. “As much as I miss you my son, I think they would miss you more.” Turning around to look behind him, Angus nodded “And it seems your friends agree with me.”

Looking past his father’s shoulder, Sirius smiled sadly as he saw James and Lily waving at him from the doorway, bright smiles on both of their faces. “Is Mum here too?” he asked weakly as a wave of emotions threatened to drown him.

“No, I’m afraid she moved on quite some time ago. She was slated to die only a year after they killed her.” Angus explained softly, “The rest of us must stay here until it would have been our time to die. Everyone here has been murdered you see, we died before our time.”

Sirius nodded, numbly, part of him had always suspected that his father‘s death was not as it appeared. “May I talk to them?” Sirius asked hopefully, an imploring look on his face as he looked at his father.

Angus shook his head, “Only if you intend to stay here with us, I’m afraid. But before you make your decision, I want you to look at the child in your arms and tell me you don’t mind leaving him and his mother behind.”

Sirius looked down at the child in his arms, the bright green eyes, the thick curly black hair, even the little dimples on his chubby cheeks. “How can you be so sure he’s your grandson?” Sirius asked, for no more reason than to test his father’s patience as he had done so often during their lives. “How do you know he’s mine and not someone else’s?”

Angus huffed, “Someone else’s? The way she’s cried over you for the past decade and a half? I think not!” Seeing the mischievous grin on his son’s face, Angus sighed deeply, “You never change you know, still a rabble rouser. And just to show you that I can tell my own grandson from any other child,…here.” so saying, Angus gently touched the baby right over his heart. Angus grinned widely as he saw Sirius gasp with shock and surprise as a golden glow lit up around both the child and his hand. “Its in the blood, my son, it always goes back to the blood.”……

Duncan paced furiously as he waited for Cash to give his final instructions to Hamish. “Hurry on, man. It may already be too late, we can’t waste time like this. Hamish knows what he’s doing, ‘we’ have to leave, NOW.” he snapped.

“Duncan, please, calm down.” Orpha insisted as she suddenly appeared through a glowing disc in the stone wall. “Cash, dear, he is right. Poor Kitty is at her wits end, he stopped breathing some time ago, but she refuses to stop singing to his soul.”

Every Gangrel in the room froze as they heard Orpha’s words, they knew what that meant; by all human, and many inhuman standards, the wizard was dead. “Orpha, no….he can’t be, not him” Raul gasped as he crossed the room to stand at her side, completely forgetting any anger he had in his heart towards his fellow Gangrels. “He loves her more than life itself, surely there is something that can be done.”

Orpha pursed her lips together tightly as she tried to compose herself “If there is, I trust Kitty will discover it. As it is, she is the only thing preventing death from claiming him, but even she has her limits. I gleaned her mind before I came here, she knows he’s dead, but, and I quote ‘until he is cold and hard’ she refuses to let him go.” Blinking her eyes quickly and wiping a stray tear away, she turned to the rest of the Gangrels, “Hamish, protect your brothers, serve your clan well and make us proud of you. Cash….you are needed at home, I’ll do my best to make sure you are back at Roel’s side as soon as possible.”

Cash nodded his head, not even bothering to wipe away the crimson tears that were spilling down his cheeks. In his heart he had known something was wrong, he had felt too much pain from Harry and Sirius. The blood they had so recently shared still kept his heart and soul close to them, and as of an hour ago they were both in a tremendous amount of pain.

He kissed Hamish on his cheek and gave the others strong hugs as he turned toward his mortal clan. It had been too much for him, these past few weeks; the constant threat to his childer, the loss of one and, quite probably, two of them, the attack by the Tremere, the uncertainty of who could be trusted. The only bright spots had been Harry and the blossoming romance between his little girl and the wizard, Sirius Black. But Orpha and Duncan were right, no matter what, they couldn’t lose him. And if that meant embracing him, making him a Gangrel like himself, it would be done.

Severus felt Rick cringe as he heard what Duncan and Orpha had said. “Rick, what is she saying, and who is she?” he whispered just as the trio disappeared through the shining golden disc. “Rick?!” he said a bit louder, shaking the man gently as he did so.

“Severus…..he’s as good as dead” Rick responded, his voice sounding as numb as his mind felt.

“Who is dead? Rick, what are you talking about? Please tell me it is not Potter.” Sev snapped, “And what does ‘singing to his soul’ mean?” Severus felt his blood run cold as Rick actually managed to go several shade paler than he already was.

“It means the wizard, Sirius Black, is no more. It is only the will of our angel that keeps his soul from fleeing to the next plane.” he explained as blood filled tears streamed down his face. “she has bound him to this world with her songs, she refuses to accept her life without him in it.”

Severus felt his own blood run cold as he absorbed what Rick had said. His first reaction was an evil sort of glee to hear that his one and only competition for Catri’s affections had been permanently eliminated, but it quickly gave way to guilt and sorrow as he realized how much his dear Catri must be suffering, how grief-stricken she must be. “Rick, I’ve got to get to her, I need to be there with her. She can’t go through this alone….. She took him with her to heal him after the Tremere attacked, if she‘s been nursing him this whole time only to have him die anyway.” he shook his head, making a strange sort of face that might possibly have been a look of sympathy. “She needs someone to lean on, someone who can comfort her…..”

“It’s even worse than we feared” Luke whispered softly as Orpha, Duncan and Cash returned through the passageway. He hasn’t inhaled since before you left, Orpha, but she refuses to stop. She’s trying to circumvent death….”

“Then let her try, there is no harm in it.” Orpha insisted. “The only harm is in reversing death….his soul hasn’t left, so by ‘our’ standards, he isn’t truly dead yet.”

“Isn’t that splitting hairs, Orpha.” Luke sighed as he slumped down at the table, cradling his head in his hands. “I don’t want this to happen anymore than she does, but I won’t watch my sister suffer like this either. If someone has to stop her, to make her understand, I’ll do it. I’ll hate myself forever for stealing away her hope, but I’ll do it.”

“No, don’t do anything” Cash interjected. “give her a chance, stranger things have happened, maybe not as dramatic, but stranger.” He felt his composure quickly slipping away as Siobhan burst into the room, ran into his arms only to sob loudly. She knew exactly what his presence there meant, he was the angel of death at times like this, offering the final choice to those about to pass over the threshold of this life and the next. Releasing Siobhan, Cash sniffled loudly and clapped his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “If anyone has to do this, it will be me. I’ll need to be right there anyway, there is no reason anyone else should have to suffer through this, just make sure you’re nearby for her sake.”

“Let me go check on them again,” Siobhan suggested as she clumsily wiped her tears away, “I can still hear her singing, so I doubt anything has changed, and if she’s allowed to keep trying.”

“Until he’s cold and hard” Orpha sobbed burying her face in Duncan’s chest as she broke down. She was so full of pain and anger at the moment, and her grief was only making matters worse. She had heard Harry talking to the puppy, she had seen the look on the boy’s face, he had figured it out quickly enough, and everything Bruid had told her only added to the fact, it had been a trap. The puppy was lured there, and Sirius was lured in after the puppy, someone knew he would do whatever it took to be a ‘good daddy’ for Callista, and they had used it against him.

“Cash, before you go, I need to tell you something, all of you.” Orpha choked as she grabbed Duncan and Luke by their hands. “I’m not sure who we can trust anymore, but I know I can trust you three. Harry said several interesting things this afternoon. And one of them related directly to the prophecy.”

“WHAT?!” Cash bellowed, “Damnit, Orpha, at a time like this you bring up that accursed prophecy? I have every intention of finding Maharet myself and I’ll give you one guess as to what I’m going to do with that effing prophecy of hers.”

“Hear me out, Cash, please. I think this is why Sirius was murdered.” she whispered, barely believing the words had come out of her mouth. A member of their clan, a fosterling murdered in their own land, under their very noses, it was as disgraceful as it was heartbreaking. “The prophecy states very clearly:

In the twilight of the third age of man, the last woman of the Sidhe, the holder of the ancient magic, will inherit a son, her son, yet born of another. In her stead, she will add through the pain of labour, two daughters who will share the womb, but not fathers. Both the sons of the sea and the earth will combine with the daughter of the divine flame to gift their daughters with powers and knowledge to aid the son of the air to defeat the enemy of the ages, the deathless Naga.

The men stared at each other with wide eyes, “So, Harry would be the inherited son, but what about these twin girls?” Luke asked.

“That is what I’m getting to, did you know that Harry’s been having dreams? He’s dreamed of these girls, and of a younger brother…”

“AND?” Cash prompted irately, ‘because if you tell me Sirius was the father, we have a problem. Immortal life means no children, we can’t procreate like that, you know that.”

“Exactly, and yes, Sirius was the father, and interestingly enough, this other wizard; the professor our Harry is so set against…..he was calling him ‘uncle’ in his dream.”

“So, Harry is the son of the air” Cash stated, only to be greeted by disbelief from the others. “Trust me, if you’ve ever seen this kid fly, you would understand what I mean, he‘s absolutely at home in the air, he has no fear at all. And that means that if Sirius is one of these other men….”

Sirius was still in shock when he felt his father’s strong hand tussle his hair. “Father? CAN I get back to her? I mean ….how can I be here if I‘m not already dead; seeing you and little Angus. You’re dead and he hasn’t been born yet?”

“You can get back to her, because she refuses to let you go, she is holding your soul in limbo, preventing you from leaving her and the life you know.” Angus Black explained as he tried to smooth Sirius‘s hair down and make him look presentable. “You have her heart, my son, you always have. Protect it and guard it jealously, it is the greatest treasure you possess.” he stepped back to look at his son and grandson one last time. “Give me a hug and say goodbye, my son. It will be a very, very long time before I see you again.”

Sirius hugged his father tightly, realizing yet again how much he missed him, how much he wished he had his counsel and experience to rely upon. He had never truly appreciated such things when he was growing up, he had loved and respected his father to be sure, but he never understood the void his father’s death had left in his life. How often had he wished he could ask his father for advice since that fateful day? How often had he lay in bed, crying silently as he realized for the hundredth time that week he would never be able to have those long talks with Angus anymore, never be yelled at or boasted over. “I wish you could stay with me, I can’t even begin to put into words how much I’ve missed you. And the children deserve a grandfather…” he added, sobbing as he did his best to keep his composure.

“I wish I could, Sirius, truly I do. But my time on Earth is over, and I can never get it back. Listen to me, my son.” Angus insisted, lifting Sirius’s chin “Fight for what is important to you, do not allow petty things to ruin your life, be willing to forgive even your most hated enemy if it means the difference between a shadow of a life and the life you’ve always wanted for yourself. And understand that the Cat you know now is not the same one you knew when you were a child. You’ve both grown and changed, you’ve both done things you’d rather forget about. Be kind and forgiving towards one another, and you ‘will’ have a long and happy life together.” he stated as his figure faded from Sirius’s sight.

Sirius sniffled as he engraved his father’s words in his memory “Forgive and be kind” he smirked almost comically, “well, that should be easy enough. Shouldn’t it, my little Angus? I never really could stay angry at her, I love her too much. But that still leaves me with a ‘very’ interesting question for you?” Sirius commented as he held the baby at arm’s length, taking a close look at the child’s features. “How can you be my child? Why did my father’s touch cause the same glow on you as it did me? I mean, your mother and I…..its not that I don’t want to, believe me, I do want to,…..badly.” he stated, a lopsided grin on his face as the baby laughed at him.

“Its been years, Angus, many, many years. So unless we did, and I slept through it….and THAT isn’t very likely. Or maybe Snape slapped an obliviate on me to….to…” Sirius all but froze as the idea took hold in his mind. Had he and Cat done something? Had someone wiped it from his mind? “Orpha! …. If anyone knows the answers, it ‘has’ to be her.” he whispered.

Hearing the little boy making a strange noise, Sirius laughed as he looked to see the baby blowing bubbles, and looking rather pleased with himself for it. “I don’t care who’s child you really are. As far as I am concerned, ‘I’ am your father, and there is no way in this world or the next that Cat will be raising you alone.” Sirius insisted, he would be there for them, and for Harry, just as he promised Cat he would be.

Once again, Sirius brought the baby close to his chest, cradling him; watching with fondness as the child continued to gurgle happily, now sucking contentedly on his fingers as he drifted off to sleep. Sirius felt himself permeated by an overwhelming sense of love and devotion for the child who now slept in his arms. “No one will ever know but your mother and I, not ever. I am telling you now, you are my son, and I love you, without question, without reserve.” Before the words even left his mouth, Sirius felt a strange sense of power and freedom surging within himself. Smiling down at little Angus, Sirius gasped softly as he saw the same golden glow that had encompassed his fathers hand, slowly flowing out of his own chest, wrapping the child in a soft, warm light.

Sirius stood there for several more minutes, gazing lovingly at the child until he felt something warm and soft nudging against his leg. It was the strange cradle he had found the baby in when he arrived, it obviously was time to put the baby back. Sighing deeply, Sirius kissed little Angus one last time before placing him into the cradle, which quickly wrapped itself around the infant, protective and warm as the child sunk into the safety and comfort of his mother’s womb once more.

It wasn’t until the baby was out of his sight and safely tucked away, that Sirius realized the song he originally heard had never stopped, it had only been forced into the background for a little while. Straining his ears, he picked up on the familiar strains once again. “Cat? Cat it’s you, isn’t it? Keep singing, gra. I swear I‘ll find a way back to you.”…….

Cat’s tears flowed almost as freely as the music which sprang from her lips. It had been at least twenty minutes since she last heard him breath, she knew he was no longer on this side of life, but she wouldn’t accept that he was gone. His skin was still warm, and some of the deeper wounds were still bleeding. If he were truly dead, the flowing of his blood would have stopped over ten minutes ago. “Come back to me, Sirius, I need you.” she pleaded as she continued to rub the healing salve into his broken skin.

With a wave of her hand, Sirius’s body floated above the bed, rotating from his belly to his back, so she could continue healing him. She had thought that looking at his scarred back had been bad enough, but one look at his face was enough to make her break down into frantic sobs. True his face had lost a great deal of its youthful beauty, his years alone, trapped in Azkaban had robbed him of his handsome looks and fine figure, but the thorns of the morpheus tree had made things much, much worse.

Her own tears spilt into the deep wound on his cheek, as she finally stopped her song, too weary and heartbroken to keep up the façade any longer. “Sirius, how can you leave us like this? What are Harry and I going to do without you?” she asked, wiping her tears off of his cheek, only to cringe as she watched the blood drip down into his long, black hair. Gods, how she had loved to touch his hair when they were together, it was always so soft and thick, forever falling into his face, as if trying to hide his twinkling, mischievous eyes.

Choking back a sob, Cat took the cloth in her hands once more, cleaning the blood off of his face and chest. “You promised you would never leave me again, Sirius. You swore to me, you even told me death could never keep you from me; that you would always be here for Harry and I. Did you lie to me again? Or is your ghost on its way to me now?” she asked, “Because I don’t know what to do anymore, Siri. I can’t convince myself you’re dead and I don’t know if its because I just can’t accept the thought, or if its because you still feel so soft and warm to me…..you still feel alive.” she sobbed as she picked up his hand, washing each finger, watching as they moved easily.

Once again she tried to separate herself from her emotions; what did her knowledge and experience tell her. His wounds were severe, and the poison had already worked its way through his body before she had gotten to him, his breathing had stopped some time ago….he was dead.

But another part of her was screaming, telling her to stop being so negative, so rational. His body was still warm, still limber, no signs of the rigors of the grave were upon him. His blood still flowed from his wounds, yet none of it was pooling, causing the bluish cast she had seen so often when one fell in battle. In short, everything she knew was contradicting, not enforcing each other.

She sat there on the edge of her bed, holding his hand and trembling as she considered what to do. Should she continue singing, continue healing his wounds, or should she accept the heartbreaking facts and call Harry to his father’s side to say his final farewells.

“Child….my poor, poor child” Merlin sighed as his hands gently squeezed her shoulders. “I know this is so very hard for you, and it is a decision you must make on your own. But may I suggest that you continue…..after all, child, what do you have to lose?”………..

Harry paced the floor nervously, looking up every time he heard a noise on the stairs. He hadn’t spoken to Uncle Luke since he tore down the stairs in search of Orpha, and he knew he hadn’t seen him go back up yet. “Uncle Duncan, are you positive this is the only way to Mum’s room?” he asked yet again.

Duncan sighed deeply, he understood how Harry felt, he wasn’t liking this either, it was taking far too long, and the look on Luke’s face when he ran downstairs hadn’t helped to soothe his nerves either. “I’ve told you before Harry, it’s the most direct route to her room, and Luke is interested in speed, he won’t go out of his way to avoid you, but you can’t interfere and slow him down like that again.”

“Interfere?! Sirius could be ……” Harry took a deep breath, he just couldn’t say it, he didn’t even want to think it. “He’s my godfather, almost my father….I have a right to know, to be there…” Harry angrily wiped at the hot tears spilling down his cheeks, “I’ve already lost one father, …”

“Shhh, Harry” Duncan hushed softly as he gathered the distraught teen into a fatherly embrace. “She won’t let that happen, not if there is anything at all that can be done. And trust me, she ‘finds’ ways to get things done that others wouldn’t even think of. And the fact that she loves him so deeply only makes me more certain that she’ll heal him.”

“And if she can’t, even with all of her knowledge and the power of our clan? Then what Duncan, then what?” Harry sobbed, tightening his grip on Duncan.

“Then I step in,” Cash answered softly as he placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder, startling the boy. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when it happened, but I came as soon as I heard. I’ve lost Olia and probably Roel, I’m sure as hell not going to lose Sirius too. It will have to be his choice, Harry, but I know he won’t want to leave you or her. But to be honest, I’m hoping it won’t come to that, I have plans made to handfast them by Imbolc, and I don’t like changing my plans.” he winked as he joined Duncan in giving Harry a supportive hug.

“Imbolc” Harry sniffled, “what’s that, and when is that?”

“Imbolc, or Candlemas, is the time of year we…uhm…we plant the seeds of our hopes and dreams for the coming summer months. Or in your parent’s case, let’s hope that’ll be ‘seeds’ of a new life. And its February 2 by your calendar.” Cash winked, “Hardly anytime at all.”

“Do you think he’ll make it?” Harry asked as he looked up at Cash and Duncan, tears still shimmering in his eyes. “Honestly, do you think he’ll live to see Imbolc?”…..

“What do I have to lose, Merlin?” Cat repeated, “Everything I ever hoped or dreamed for. Do you know how many nights I cried myself to sleep over him? How many times I dreamt we finally made up and made a life together? How often I‘ve seen our children?”

Merlin nodded, “More times than I can count, my dear. Don’t forget I’ve watched over you nearly everyday of your life. Good and bad, I’ve been there.” he sat down behind her, gently encircling her in a fatherly embrace. “So now I am asking you to trust me, and to have faith in yourself and your love. You and I both know he’s neither alive nor dead….he’s hovering between them both, in limbo as it were. By all rights the boy should be dead, but you refused to let him go, you sang him the songs of creation to bind his spirit to this realm, and now I must ask you to go even further. I want you to sing to him of love,” Merlin explained. “the love between a man and woman, the love of family, the love of a parent for a child. It is the one thing in this world that he desires above all else. It is what will bring him back to us.”

“Godfather? Are you sure? Can I bring him back, and is it a good idea to even attempt it?” she asked, entwining her fingers with Sirius’s as she bent down to kiss his hand. “I’ve always been told the dead can’t come back, and if they do…..they just aren’t the same, pieces of them are ’missing’ left behind in the void.”

Merlin nodded, “This is true, my dear, but that refers to someone who’s soul has fled, his has not” noticing a slight golden glow around Cat’s stomach, Merlin suddenly grinned widely, his eyes regaining their customary sparkle. “in fact, I’d say he’s much closer than any of us realize. And I am equally sure he will have many wonderful stories to tell us when he returns. Now, my dearest god daughter, sing for all you are worth, and see if I’m wrong.” he smiled as he slowly faded out of sight.

Cat nodded her agreement to the fading form of Merlin as she reached out with her free hand, tenderly stroking Sirius’s matted hair. “I’m at a loss, muirneach aon, I have no idea what to sing to you.” she sighed as she kissed his lips, smiling sadly as she felt how warm they still were. “And I still need to clean you up, I dread to think what would happen if Harry saw you like this.” she commented as she gently washed the remaining dirt and blood from his face and neck, slowly working her way down his chest. Before she knew what she was doing, she realized she ‘was’ singing again, it was an old song, one that promised protection and comfort from the harsh ways of the world through nothing more than a loving embrace. It was one she meant with all of her heart……

Sirius struggled to break the surface, the once soothing atmosphere had become oppressive, threatening to drown him as he tried to break though, to follow the sound of Cat‘s singing. “Please, gra, don’t abandon me here. I have to tell you about our son, about my father…I have to see you and Harry again.” he yelled as he splashed about in the murky darkness, trying to hone in on her voice.

“Catrianna! You have to hear me, I can’t find you, I am trying, but I don’t know how to follow your voice.” Siri screamed out, praying with all his might that somehow, someway, she might hear him.

“Then I suggest you stop screaming, my boy.” an all to familiar voice rang out. “Simply relax and let her come to you. She’s kept you tethered here this long, it will be a small matter for her to ‘reel’ you back in.” he smirked.

“Merlin?” Sirius gasped, “Is that you? Can you help me?”

“Not unless you calm down and listen to me.” he snipped as he slowly faded into view. “Have some mercy on the poor girl, she nearly gave up on you, you know. Not that anyone could blame her,” he added when he saw the look of pain and disappointment on the wizard’s face, “after all, you stopped breathing quite some time ago. Poor Luke is trying to talk up the courage to pull her off of you.”

“I’m dead?! But my father said I could still get back to her and Harry. Merlin, please,…..I refuse to abandon them, I am every bit as much a part of their lives as they are of mine. I will not give up, … .I can’t…not now.” Sirius felt his strength all but drain from him as he continued to struggle. “Merlin…..she’s going to have a son….I saw him, he looks like Harry. I‘m going to be a father.”

“You are going to be lost to us all if you don’t listen to me.” Merlin scolded, “And where will that leave my dear god daughter? Alone and pregnant is where, ….Certainly not the future I envisioned for her.” he added as he floated down to Sirius’s side. “Now, first and foremost, stop struggling, you will only make it worse.”

Swallowing his fear and panic, he did as Merlin instructed; taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he allowed his body to go completely limp. He once more fought off the panic that threatened to overtake him as he felt himself sink immediately below the inky blackness.

“Very good,” Merlin’s voice sounded loud and clear, as if the blackness had no effect on him in the slightest. “Now, I want you to think of Kitty, remember every detail of her. Her eyes, her hair, her voice, the annoying way she bites her lower lip when she doesn’t have the nerve to say something out right.”

“I think its cute.” Sirius contradicted, his voice now little more than a dreamy whisper. He thought he heard Merlin chuckling at his comment, but the sudden heaviness of his limbs quickly pushed all other thoughts from his mind.

“Don’t panic now, you are nearly there.” Merlin warned, placing an amazingly solid hand on Sirius’s arm, pushing the wizard down further. “Now I am warning you, my boy, this next part will hurt you horribly. The moment you regain possession of your body, all the pain will also return. But if you truly want to be with them, to live again, you must suffer through this. And remember, she ‘is’ waiting for you, singing and weeping over you.”…..

Cat allowed her fingers to lightly trail over Siri’s chest as she washed it, smiling sadly as the fine, dark hairs teased her digits. She gently glided her fingers over the scars of his past battles, and the remnants of the protective tattoos he must have been given when he was an auror. She felt a sudden flash of passion stir within her as she remembered the first time she had been so bold as to touch him in such a way. It had been that infamous weekend when she had first visited his family, they had all been swimming, enjoying the artificial warmth his father had cast over the house and the pool. Sirius hadn’t taken his eyes off of her the entire afternoon, and Lily had done nothing but giggle every time she caught him ‘eyeing’ her up.

Lily had teased her mercilessly, claiming Sirius intended to get involved in a truly serious snogging session later, and she had every hope that James and she would be joining them. True enough, that was exactly what had happened, and the memory of what he had done to her that night still sent a thrill up her spine. “O, Sirius, you have to come back to us. Its taken us so long to find one another again, we can’t lose each other now.” she pleaded. “Do you remember the first time I touched you like this? Your father had a royal fit when he caught us making out, but you insisted it was all worth it. And there was poor, little, naïve me wondering why no one changed out of their swimsuits.” she smirked, “What an education I got ‘that’ night. Its no wonder Angus blew his top, I can only imagine what it must have looked like to him. I was afraid I‘d never see you again when he drug you off into the study.”

“But at least it wasn’t as bad as that owl you sent home, telling him you had been thrown off the house team for getting me in the ‘family way’. Why did you do things like that to him? And why did you insist on involving me?” she asked, half laughing as she kneaded and massaged his muscles, waiting….hoping for some sort of response. “I thought Angus was going to skin us both alive, that was until he realized I had no clue about what you had done. Then he just felt sorry for me, told me that he would understand completely if I dumped you right then and there, only to immediately add that it might be a bad idea after all, as you were obviously disturbed in ways quite beyond either of our understanding.” she laughed out loud as she remembered the look of pure exasperation on Angus Black’s face as they spent a few solitary minutes in Albus’s office. “Your poor father, the things you put him through…..he was convinced you were somehow unbalanced, and I can’t say I disagreed with him, I just told him I loved you, crazy or not.” she explained as she kissed him once more, only to gasp sharply as she did so.

“Sirius?!” she all but yelled, “Sirius, you…..your breathing….your breathing!” grinning like a madman, Cat continued to talk to him, reminding him about their past, her smile growing wider and wider as she felt his muscles move and tense under her fingertips.

Sirius groaned deeply as he felt his body convulse with pain, Merlin hadn’t been exaggerating, this was every bit as bad as anything he had experience in Azkaban. In fact the pain was so intense, he wasn’t entirely sure that he wasn’t hallucinating when Cat’s face appeared above him, smiling and weeping at the same time.

“Sirius? Sirius, can you hear me? Have you come back to me?”