“Hey, gra” Sirius called softly, extending his hand out to her as she stared out of the window of the coach. “I thought Orpha was pretty adamant about us not taking both the girls with us. What happened?” He watched as Cat smirked at him, only to take his hand and pull him towards her, allowing him to rest against her.

“Calli happened,” Cat explained, “Orpha had decided that Sara could come as far as Uncle Mickey’s with us. Its good experience for her, she needs to take a more active role in the clan. But Calli insisted that if we were going to be her foster parents, ’she’ had every rite to come along and take care of you and her brother. It got a bit nasty here and there, but Orpha decided if I could handle them both, it was aces with her.”

“Ahh, so she let it to you to be the bad guy and you just couldn’t do it.” Sirius translated, smiling weakly as Cat rolled her eyes. “I can’t say I blame you, I would never be able to choose one over the other. And Harry certainly seems to be loving the company.” he added, closing his eyes as he snuggled against her, taking the opportunity to get a little rest as they travelled.

“So I noticed” Cat agreed, smiling as she looked across the coach, only to see the children smiling happily back at her and Sirius. She didn’t have to ask them why, it was evident in Harry’s face. This is what he had been hoping for the entire time they had been in Fernglennis, time for she and Sirius to be alone as a couple, and she was certain that her tender treatment of the injured Sirius wasn’t doing anything to hurt Harry’s fantasies. “Watch out, Siri, I think they’re plotting something, and I’m fairly confident in involves us.”

Sirius opened one eye and stared at the children, only to break into a wide smile when he saw Harry’s eyes. “Nothing too strenuous for me” he teased, winking playfully at them, “at least not anytime soon.”

“Not anytime, period.” Cat interjected, gently placing a protective hand on Sirius’s head, “You will be sleeping and recuperating, as far as I’m concerned the most strenuous activity you’ll have to worry about is a walk on the beach.”

“As long as you’re walking with me, that suits me just fine.” he sighed contentedly.

“Uncle Sirius?” Sara whispered, “Are you going to be alright? Mum said that Da was having a rough time of it, and he’s a lot stronger than you are.”

“True, but he doesn’t have Cat to nurse him back to health,” he winked, winning a huge smile from the children and a groan from Cat. “What’s wrong, gra? Having second thoughts about keeping me around?”

Harry couldn’t hear what Cat’s reply was, but he certainly saw it. He had hoped she was going to kiss Sirius again, just like she had the night they had returned from Armagh, but this was almost as good. She had gently lifted his head from her shoulder, tilting it up with her fingers until that horrible gash on his cheek was right in front of her. Then she kissed it. He watched in amazement as the part of the wound her lips had touched began to repair itself; the skin folding and twisting over the itself, covering the cut until barely a trace of red remained to show were the gash had been.

Without so much as skipping a beat, Cat gently manoeuvred Sirius’s head back to her shoulder, caressing his face as he quickly drifted off to sleep. “Poor thing” she sighed, “Harry, you must be very careful around him now. He must get rest, lots of it, and warmth, but nothing strenuous…. I’m afraid his heart may stop at any moment. I’m still not entirely sure how he managed to survive it all.”

“What a silly statement that is” a foreign voice stated from somewhere outside the carriage, “mind if I come in, sister?”

Harry’s face immediately popped out of the carriage’s window, there was a woman on top of the coach, wearing a long thick cloak and carrying a sword. “Mum?!”

“Aeranna?” Cat asked, “Is that you? I can’t move too much at the moment, you’ll have to let yourself in.” No sooner did the words leave her mouth, than a whoosh of wind was heard as a figure slipped inside the carriage, only to crouch on the floor, looking up at Cat.

“So, this is the infamous, Sirius Black? He doesn’t look like much of a threat.” she grinned as her keen eyes studied the sleeping wizard. “Not very observant, either, is he?”

“Shh, Aeranna, you let him be.” Cat scolded, “He just got tangled up with a Morpheus tree last night, he’s lucky to be alive.” she paused as she saw the vampyre’s smirk. “What is it now?”

“Mother told me you had deep feelings for this wizard, I guess I didn’t ‘truly’ believe her until just now.” she winked. “And why so many children? I was told your son and a niece, as it is, your brother is almost more than I can bear. It’s a very good thing the firebrand love to run full out.”

“Yes, Viggo is having the time of his life, although I can’t say the same for the other one. Stryder is much younger, he‘s got the energy, just not the stamina.” Cat grinned, listening as Duncan drove the firebands hard, making sure the trip across the channel was an exceedingly quick one. “So, why did you come this far North to meet us? I thought you would meet up with us at the Duck.”

“That was the original plan, but when I heard your wizard was too weak to jaunt, I decided the sooner I arrived, the better.” Aeranna explained, “Do you think you can move him over so ’I’ might take a seat. Then you can explain the extra child to me.”

Doing her best to hold back a smile when she saw how Cat fussed over the wizard as he moaned in his sleep, Aeranna quickly realized how correct Orpha was in her assessment of the situation. She also paid keen interest to Harry, the way he took in everything, watching and listening to every word that was spoken. “Deo is going to find himself quite overwhelmed, I can see it already.” Aeranna smirked, “You are a handful enough, and it looks at though your son takes after you. Which is why he needed two nursemaids, I take it.”

“Hey” Calli and Sara replied in unison. “I’m here to help her with Uncle Siruis….Calli’s here cause she’s a big baby and didn’t want to stay in Fernglennis with the others.” Sara added.

“And what makes you think ‘you’re’ the only one who can help with Uncle Sirius?” Calli countered, “He’s going to be ‘my’ daddy, not yours.”

“He’s what?” Aeranna gasped, turning to Cat for verification.

“Calli, Sara, that’s enough.” Cat said firmly, “Harry see if you can stop these two ‘helpers’ from waking up your father.” she added, giving them both reproachful stares. Signalling Aeranna to move closer, Cat quickly whispered both Calli and Edana’s situation.

“And he’s agreeable to this?” Aeranna whispered, “To go from a bachelor to a father of three.”

“Agreeable?” Cat smirked, “He can’t wait, he loves children, and to see him with little Edana…..you would think she was his own.” she stated, her eyes misting over as she pictured the way he would fuss over her goddaughter.

“Oh boy, you’ve got it bad.” Aeranna chuckled, she turned her head just enough to see Harry’s expression turn from one of interest to a beaming smile. His feelings on the matter were more than obvious. “And I see you’re son approves of him, that’s always a good sign of a man’s worthiness.” She turned and smiled brightly at Harry. “Go on, tell her how much you’ve suddenly decided you like me.” she winked.

Harry laughed “She’s right, Mum. I’m liking her more and more.”

“Me too” Sirius whispered softly, “listen to her, gra, she’s giving you very good advice.”

“And how long have you been awake?”

“Long enough to hear the girls arguing over which of them is going to take better care of me.” he replied, slowly lifting his head off of Cat as he sat up straight. “Gra, how long will I be feeling like this. I can hardly keep my eyes open, as soon as I feel comfortable, I’m out like the proverbial light.” he complained, rubbing his eyes as he tried to focus his mind.

“So, the dead rises.” Aeranna said flatly, wondering what it was that Cat saw in the wizard. He didn’t seem out of the ordinary at all, in fact, he seemed a bit on the scrawny side, and his looks were certainly nothing to brag about, although the bruises and recent cuts could probably be blamed for most of that. “So, you’re Sirius Black. Orpha has told me a great deal about you.”

That’s when she saw it….his smile. She couldn’t even begin to describe the change it made in him when he smiled. It was large, warm and completely sincere, making his eyes light up with an inner joy that was impossible to truly describe…….

“Cash, what are you going to do now? You aren’t going to leave are you?” Ginny asked, “Please don’t go, not now; not after Professor Dumbledore’s done this to my Da.” she added, pleading with both her voice and her eyes.

“What has Albus done?” Cash asked, immediately turning all of his attention to the small red-headed girl as every eye turned to them. “Ginny, sweetheart, tell me. What happened to Arthur?”

Hermione rose from her spot next to Ron, picking up the Daily Prophet and handing it to Cash. “This. Normally it would be fine, but against Malfoy…”

“That’s why we’re back so early. Our parent’s are afraid they’ll do something to the burrow, or to us” Ginny added meekly.

“Not as long as I’m around they won’t.” Cash insisted, his eyes flashing brightly as the thought of anyone hurting the Weasley’s crossed his mind. “Hamish, I knew Albus was up to something, but I had no idea this Malfoy miscreant was going to be involved.” Cash sighed, quickly perusing the paper for all the details he could. “Tell the others, we’ll have to buddy up with the kids, keep the Slytherins away from them. Hopefully we can get this all sorted out before Harry gets back. Either that, or we bring in reinforcements, and I’m not talking about Caitiff here, if you get my meaning.”

Hamish nodded, he knew exactly what Cash was referring to, he was going to team each of the Weasley’s with one of their own clan, more than likely the children that Kitty would be bringing back with her. A very risky plan at best. “I’ll find the others and let them know now.” Hamish paused as he looked around the room, “What about Hermione and Neville? Are then in danger too?”

Cash took one look into Hermione’s eyes and knew the answer, “Without a doubt.”……

Duncan grinned as he opened the door of the carriage, everyone safe and sound, just as expected. Although he had to admit, Aeranna’s arrival was a bit of a surprise, but she was well known to them… and particularly to him…he had no doubt of her loyalty to his baby sister and her clannad. “Come on children, out first, I’ll help Kitty with Sirius.” he insisted as he saw all three of them go to wake Sirius. He laughed softly as he saw Kitty rolling her eyes at the three of them, no doubt, it had been a long ride for her. “Come on Aeranna, I’ll help Kitty, you keep an eye on these three.” he insisted.

“Just let me wake him up first, Duncan” Cat said, “poor thing, he just can’t seem to stay awake.”

“I think he over did it when he came down to breakfast this morning.” Duncan whispered, “But I’m glad he did, it did a lot to help the children, and us adults too. Here, let me help you.” he stated, walking into the coach and gently lifting Sirius so Kitty could move. “He’ll be sleeping in your lap soon” he joked, only to see his sister give him ‘the look’. “Now, now, Kitty. You love the fact that he’s so comfortable with you and we both know that.” he winked.

“Duncan, ….shaddup.” Cat teased, sticking her tongue out at him as she attempted to wake Sirius. “Sirius, muirneach aon, wake up, the children are waiting for us.” She smiled softly as she watched him slowly wake up. “Siri, gra, are you with me? Harry and the girls are inside with Aeranna, can you make it on your own or should I ask Duncan to carry you?”

“Carry me? Good gods woman, isn’t it bad enough I have to use a cane? Leave me some dignity.” he groused, smirking as he heard Duncan laugh and nod approvingly.

With some effort, Sirius managed his way out of the carriage and to the door of the Mucky Duck. “Wow, what was this, a ship or something?”

“Yes, a pirate ship, Uncle Mickey was quite the buccaneer in his day. He made the Ministry’s life a living hell.” she chuckled. “Tanta Minnie always made sure to yell at him in front of us, but we all knew she loved it….especially when she joined him on a few excursions.”

“Professor McGonagall?” Sirius gasped, “OUR Professor McGonagall? Not even on a bet.”

“You have no idea what the ‘real’ Minerva MacLeod McGonagall is like, I see.” A Scottish accent spoke. “My Minnie is hellfire and heaven’s blessings all rolled into one. Not another woman like her on the face of this Earth.”

Sirius looked at the man with mild shock, he hadn’t even heard him approach. He got another surprise as he watched Cat fling her arms around the man, laughing as he picked her up and swung her around as if she were a child. The man was tall and a bit on the slender side, although he did seem to be developing a paunch, more than likely from living in what appeared to be a pub.

He smiled as he heard the man call her Kitty, kissing her cheeks as he proceeded to hold her at arms length, looking her over to see how she had grown. “Ach, Kitty, you are ‘much’ too pale, you need more sun. I should take you all on a nice little sail with me.”

“Only if you let me lead the raiding party” Cat teased, remember all too well what happened whenever she joined Mickey for a ‘little cruise’, as he referred to them. “I was getting very good at them towards the end.”

“Yes.” Mickey agreed, “A little ‘too’ good if you ask me.” he laughed, “And I see you brought Duncan with you, never hurts to have a little extra muscle, just in case.” he winked, making Duncan roll his eyes. “Come now, Duny, we all know how ‘over’ protective you can be of your baby sister. Which is what makes this fellow so remarkable. …. Sirius Black, I presume.”

Sirius took the hand that was offered to him, smiling at the older man as Kitty introduced him as “Uncle Mickey - scourge of the sea and sworn enemy to the Ministry“.

“Nice name.” Sirius laughed, “I trust you earned it?”

“Earned it?” Mickey grinned as one eyebrow lifted, “See that ship? That was mine, Cath Mara, the fastest, sleekest and most wondrous ship to sail the depths. She served me well, bringing us through every storm, peril and battle. Up until the Ministry ambushed us” he stated, spitting to the side as he spoke the name of the Ministry. “Over thirty aurors they sent after us, all of them hexing us willy-nilly, with no regards to woman, child or beast. Blighters damn near killed my son….thank the heavens Cash was there to save him. It would have broken Minnie completely to have lost another child like that.”

“Lost ‘another’ child” Sirius whispered softly, only to see Mickey shake his greying strawberry blonde curls, it was obvious he didn’t want to go into it here and now.

“Suffice it to say, young man, that any enemy of the Ministry, is a friend of mine. Welcome to the End of the World.”

“End of the World?” Duncan repeated, “Not a very cheery name, what happened to the “Mucky Duck? At least that one made you smile when you said it.”

“Oh no, the Pub hasn’t changed her name, but this part of the village has. It seems the locals have developed quite a superstition about this place. It seems many villagers and tourists have gone missing,…still have no idea why, though.”

“Loverly” Cat sighed, “how close and how bad?”

“Several kilometres away and only on a new moon.” Mickey shrugged, “I’m keeping my eyes on it, but so far I don’t see any pattern. No bodies found, no blood, nothing, they just ‘walked off the end of the world’ as the natives say.”

“Well then, let’s get inside before something happens.” Duncan urged, “I know its not a new moon, but you have my sister, a Toreador, an accident prone wizard and me in the same spot; I’m not taking any bets on things going smoothly.

“Good point, even I wouldn’t carry against those odds.” Mickey winked, “Besides, it looks like Kitty’s gentleman could use a sit down. And a few lessons on how to use that cane…you need to lean on it, my friend, let it support you, its not just there to make you look distinguished.” He laughed good naturedly as Sirius snorted at his comment. “Now, now, none of that. Hurry on, Kitty, give the lad your arm and take him inside.”

The inside of the Mucky Duck was an eclectic blend of tastes and styles. The original body of the ship had been left intact, providing sturdy wooden walls, high raftered ceiling and, as they later found out, the old deck which doubled as an amazing “roof-top café” for dining by starlight. The make shift stage had been cannibalised from the aft decking, and the bar looked to have been made from an old long boat….one with shark’s teeth still imbedded in it.

“I’m sure there is a ‘very’ interesting story to go along with those.” Sirius smirked as he pointed at the teeth.

Mickey grinned widely, “Aye, that there is, twas our honeymoon, Minnie didn’t like one of my suggestions and she tossed me overboard….” he paused as he saw three sets of wide eyes listening intently to his conversation. Clearing his throat he mumbled something to Sirius and quickly changed the subject. “So, Harry is it? How do you like having my Minnie for a teacher? Isn’t ‘too’ strict with you, is she?”

“Professor McGonagall? She’s one of the strictest teachers there,” he paused as he stared intently at Cat, “but at least she’s fair. I’ve never seen HER favour one house over another, not even her own.” Harry jumped in his seat as he felt Sirius’s cane rap his leg sharply, right below his knee. He grimaced at his godfather who was giving him a warning look, it was obvious he didn’t even want the name brought up.

“Well, that was certainly a smooth move.” Aeranna commented as she wrapped her arm around a surprised looking Cat. “Don’t suppose either of you two could have made it any more obvious, could you?”

“Aeranna, let it be.” Duncan warned as he brought a tray full of drinks to the table. “it’s a long standing disagreement between them, it will sort itself out in the fullness of time.” he assured her, winking conspiratorially at Sirius.

“The fullness of time, huh?” Mickey grinned “I’ve only heard that term used with two occasions, an impending death, or an impending birth…..Kitty, care to comment?”

“Not on your life.” she snapped as she took a drink, hoping they would move on to another topic. Seeing all eyes still turned on her, including Harry’s shocked ones, Cat added, “Move on gentlemen, you lives may well depend on it.”

It was hard to tell whose laughter was louder, Mickey’s or Duncan’s. But Harry and Calli certainly had the best expressions. Its not as though Harry was overly surprised to hear that his Mum may be with child, but he was certainly beginning to wonder who the father would be if she was. After all, she had spent so many nights with Sirius and only one with Snape as far as he knew, the odds had to be in favour of it being Sirius’s didn’t it?

“Change the subject you say?” Aeranna grinned, “Alrighty…..so, is your son going to be allowed to learn from us? Deo is rather anxious to see if a male MacLeod can learn to tame the beasties, or if it must be daughters to carry on the role.”

“Tame what beasties?” Harry asked, looking completely baffled.

“Why, the dragons, of course.” Aeranna replied, only to realize immediately that the boy had no idea of what she was referring to. “Kitty?”

“Sorry, I barely got the chance to tell him ‘where’ we were going, much less anything else. Its been a busy few days.” she added, her hand instinctively going to Sirius’s. “but please, feel free to explain it all to him. I have the feeling he’ll find it rather interesting actually.”

Aeranna grinned happily, she loved teaching almost as much as she enjoyed fighting. “Come with me children, the adults can talk while I explain to you what the Isle of Dia is and how her dragons influence the world both seen and unseen.”

“Dragons?!” Harry gasped, remembering his two encounters with them, neither of them very good ones.

“Yes, elemental dragons….dragons of wind, water, fire, light, darkness, cold, warmth…. The types and possibilities are endless, so far though, only the most powerful of wizards can even hope to control them, although the MacLeod women seem to have no problems at all. In fact your mother has had to come to the Isle several times to sing one of the big ones into a stupor in order to keep him from destroying the land.”…….

“Well, while the children are off listening to Aeranna’s tales, perhaps we four can talk.” Mickey suggested. “So, you are the infamous Sirius Black, the only man to escape from Azkaban….somehow I thought you’d be a bit more impressive.” Seeing the look of trepidation on the wizard’s face, Mickey waved his hand as if to dismiss any of Sirius’s misgivings. “No, don’t worry about any of that here. The Ministry has no power this far to the South, this is ‘Mafioso’ territory. And the MacLeods are NOT a force to be disregarded, in fact, many of the more powerful families have been courting the clan’s approval for years, hoping to add to their own little empires. As long as you are here, you are to be referred to as….” he paused as he pulled a torn fragment of parchment from his pocket. “Sirius MacLeod, husband of Catrianna…..” Mickey looked up as he raised an eyebrow at Duncan. “Shouldn’t that be ‘consort’ of Catrianna? I certainly didn’t get an invitation to any wedding.”

“Just do as Orpha tells you to.” Duncan advised, “Trust me, its far less painful and much, much less confusing than the truth.” he added, sighing as he drained his mead. “I’ll be right back, anyone else for a refill…Mickey?”

Waiting until Duncan was out of earshot, Mickey fixed both Sirius and Cat with a toothy grin, “Husband, huh? Well this is an interesting development….should I ask if Magnus knows anything about this?” Seeing the telltale blush on Kitty’s face, he felt he knew the answer already. “Fair enough, and I certainly have no intention of being the one to tell him. Orpha made the decision, she can break the news.” Winking, he added, “So, Sirius, tell me, how does it feel to be suddenly made a MacLeod?”

Sirius smiled happily, “I feels wonderful, especially the husband part.” he admitted as he cuddled against Cat. “Now all we have to do is get the ‘father’ part squared and my life is pretty near perfect.” he added as he kissed her cheek.

“I like him, Kitty!” Mickey bellowed as his hands slammed the table top, “He’s grand, and he even seems to know how to handle you. Orpha was absolutely right about him! And she was even more right to send you all here, after all, we all know the three things it takes to restore a person’s spirits: beautiful sounds, sights, and smells….and a sweet thing like you to take care of him can’t be hurting either” he winked, winning a huge smile from Sirius and a soft groan from Cat.

“Meg? Meg dear, are you in here?” Orpha called out as she entered Meg’s bedroom.

“I’m in the bath, I’ll be right there.” Meg yelled as she wrapped the towel around her. “Aunt Orpha, what is it? Has something else happened?”

“No dear, relax, I was simply given a letter to pass on to you.” Orpha replied, “You finish getting dressed and I’ll just leave it on your bed.”

Meg nodded as she grabbed her clothes and returned to the bathroom, “Does it say who its from?” she asked as she saw Orpha leaving the room.

“No, dear. All I know is its from the wizarding world, Albus passed it on to us. Although he did have a rather strange smile….. MEG!!! What are you doing? Put some clothes on child!” Orpha gasped as she saw Meg streaking across the room to grab the letter.

“Ahhhh, Aunt Orpha!” Meg screamed excitedly, “Its from him! Its from Charlie! He wrote me!” she all but squealed as she tore open the parchment, “Look, look, there it is, his signature!”

“I’m very happy for you dear, now get dressed before someone comes rushing into see what all your yelling is about.” Orpha sighed, rolling her eyes as she watched Meg’s eyes greedily taking in every word of the letter. She was about to reprimand her yet again, until she saw the crestfallen look on her face, “Meg? Dear, what is it?”

“Its his family, he says their in danger,” Meg explained, her eyes brimming with tears. “He wants to be sure that Kitty is willing to stand by her promise to bring them here and keep them safe if ‘the worst’ comes to pass.”

“Kitty? What does she have to do with this man’s family?”

“Charlie is a Weasley, the family that Kitty thinks may be one of the lost clans. His baby brother, Ron, is Harry’s best friend. And I’m pretty sure his baby sister has a crush on Harry too.” Meg explained quickly, “Molly arranged for Charlie and I to meet the other night. Oh, Aunt Orpha, he’s perfect for me, he really is…he likes animals, and children, and he comes from a big family…”

“Child, calm down.” Orpha insisted, thrusting several articles of clothing at her, “Let me see the letter and you get dressed. So, you say he comes from a large family, have you met all of them yet?” she asked as she quickly read the letter. It was certainly obvious that this Charlie was infatuated with Meg, and also very, very worried about the safety of his younger siblings.

“All but one brother, I think. His mother, Molly is very sweet, and his father, Arthur, is just a doll, he can’t believe that Fernglennis actually exists, apparently is just a legend in there world. Oh, and Charlie’s eyes all but popped out when he heard that we have firebrands. Percy’s a bit stiff, but he must know Diana pretty well, all he did was ask about her constantly, they must have spent a bit more ‘quality’ time together on New Year’s than I thought.” She added, winking mischievously as Orpha rolled her eyes.

“The twins are a hoot, although they made the serious mistake of pulling a prank on Sara….she was NOT amused, and boy, did she get them back.” She laughed as she finished buttoning her blouse. “Those boys have a new found respect for her, I can promise you that. Although poor Harry was beside himself with embarrassment, personally I think she let them off early, those little rotters.”

Seeing Orpha’s raised eyebrow, Meg explained, “Well, if what Ginny told me is true, our overnight stay wasn’t exactly an accident. It seems one of the twins conveniently left his potions homework scattered about the living room….sleeping draughts, or in this case, the powdered ingredients for such. Charlie and I ended up falling asleep in the middle of the living room. I was so embarrassed, I had no idea what to even say to his mother. And just think of all the things we could have learned about each other if we hadn’t been sleeping.”

Orpha smirked as she realized what a handful those two would be, she would have to let Duncan and Cash be responsible for those two. “And what about Ron, Harry’s friend?”

“Ron seems very nice, a bit awkward, but nice. He really didn’t say much, but he watched everything. Charlie said he’s always been the quiet one of the lot, but he and Harry are very close. According to Arthur, they’ve gotten in and out of several scraps together. And they all just adore Harry,” she smiled, “Molly seems to think of him as a seventh son. She’s very protective of him, I’m under the impression she was the closest thing he had to a mother until Kitty came along.”

Orpha nodded, she had heard as much from Albus, but she wanted to make sure her clan saw them the same way he did. “You said like a seventh son, but I only counted five, who did you leave out?”

“The only one I haven’t met, Bill. According to Charlie, he’s a top notch curse breaker, AND a professional treasure hunter….remind you of anyone?” she asked winking playfully as Orpha groaned loudly.

“Not another one of those, that’s all I need, Shane, Mickey and this Bill working together….the options are just too frightening.” She giggled, “If he’s anything like the others, they’ll find Solomon’s treasure in under a week. Now, what about this sister with a crush on Harry?”

“Ginny” Meg replied, “she’s quite smitten with him, and she and Sara hit it off famously. I understand that Kitty brought her here once or twice already. But be forewarned she and Sara have been making plans for when they all go to Albus’s school. I pity those poor professors, they have no idea what they’re in for.”

“So, she’s ‘spunky’, is what you’re trying to tell me.” Orpha grinned, “Well, maybe the two of them can keep those twin brother of hers in line. Or is that asking a bit much?” Orpha asked as she re-read the letter. “Meg, what sort of danger can this man pose to Charlie’s family?”

Meg shook her head, “I honestly don’t know, I’ve never heard of him before. But Charlie strikes me as the calm sort, I mean, he works with dragons all day, it takes a lot to rattle him. Are you going to let them stay here with us? If he’s worried enough to ask me about it, it must be bad.”

Orpha nodded, “Of course they can stay here, but to be honest, I’m more curious about the rest of this letter….who said anything about ‘you’ going to Romania?” seeing the blush creep across Meg’s face, Orpha relented slightly “Alright, we’ll discuss it, but I have to meet him first, and when you write him back, tell him to send you a picture.” She winked “I‘d like to see what this fellow and his family look like.”……

Charlie’s letter The sun was beginning to set as Harry came down from the upper decks to find Cat and Sirius. He would never have imagined that Professor McGonagall had so many children or grandchildren, or that she spoilt them the way she did. But the best part of it all was the fact that he now realized that McGonagall had known about Sirius almost since the beginning. All of her children and her husband were expecting him, her daughter Athena had even mentioned that McGonagall had specifically written to warn her not to get overly excited, that the Ministry’s reports were ‘lacking’ in many instances where Black was concerned.

In fact, the only thing that made him feel more relaxed than knowing Professor McGonagall was completely on their side; was the sight of Cat and Sirius sharing a quiet moment in a dim corner of the pub. Harry pushed himself against the wall, hoping to blend into the shadows as he watched Cat gently coaxing Sirius to have a little more soup, to the point that she actually attempting to spoon feed him. He smirked as he imagined Sirius’s comments; as much as his godfathers enjoyed every bit of attention Cat paid him, Harry rather doubted he was overly thrilled with being treated like a child.

“He’s too weak to care much one way or the other.” Aeranna whispered as she emerged from the shadows, “Is what Orpha tell me true? Did he survive only because she refused to let him leave?”

Harry shook his head, “I don’t know, I overheard some comments, but when Mum came to get me he was sleeping. I was frightened though, he was cut up and very weak, it took him a while to realize I was even there, but when he did, he just smiled and let me hug him.”

“Poor thing, you’ve been through a lot over the past few days too, haven’t you?” Aeranna cooed, “When we get to Dia, you’ll have to take a nice relaxing mineral bath before you sleep. You’ll wake up feeling like a new man, its very restorative. As soon as Sirius can stand the heat, I’ll put him in one as well.”

“I’m sure Mum will go in with him.” Harry replied innocently, “She’s become very good at taking care of him over the past few weeks.” Harry paused as he heard the sound of Sara calling for him.

“Go on, Harry, I’ve been keeping my eyes on them all night, nothing will happen to them, I swear.” Aeranna whispered as she shooed Harry back up to play with his cousins.

“So, it seems the rumours are true, our Kitty has found herself a suitor worthy of her attention….I wonder how he’ll measure up when the real tests start?” Aeranna wondered silently, “I have seen both kings and warriors fail to impress her clan and best their challenges, perhaps a wizard will have better luck.”……..

Raul stood near the table reading a letter, watching silently as Cash and the others finally returned to the haven. He noticed that they barely even looked at him as they entered, preferring to cling to one another. Obviously they had already made there decision, he was no longer part of the clan, well so be it. He crushed the letter Prince Daithi had sent him, he had been in a foul enough mood to begin with, but now, to have the Prince ask him to do such a thing. It was simply unfathomable, no matter how angry he was with her clan, he could never place Angel in any danger; much less hand her over to a Ravnos.

Clearing his throat loudly to get Cash’s attention, Raul felt himself cringe as he saw the pained look in the Methuselah’s eyes. Gods, he did not want to go through this now, neither of them needed this, they were supposed to be clan, to work together as a single undividable unit. But there was no trust between them anymore, and if the look on the faces of Cash’s childer were any indication, things were not going to go well.

“What is it Raul?” Angus snapped, obviously at his wits end.