“No problem, we always have extra room.” Cash shot back, firmly on Albus’s side “And I’m fairly certain the family will want to meet your new husband.” he added as he looked around the room, not daring to meet her eyes, although he could easily feel them as they burnt into his skull.

“It’s alright by me” Sirius said quietly, he could feel himself growing warm inside just thinking about it. Fernglennis, it was MacLeod land, under their control and they made the laws. The Ministry’s decisions meant nothing to them, he would be able to walk as a free man. He could walk outside in the light of day with Harry and Cat at his side, just like any other man would be able too. “If Cat agrees.” he added “I’m not going to force her to invite me.” he said as he looked pleadingly into her eyes. She had to agree, it was the simplest and fairest way, and to be able to spend time with them, the two of them it would be the best Christmas present in the world.

“You aren’t forcing her.” Harry said quickly as he walked into the room. “I know she wants you to come with us. Right mum?” Harry asked Cat, his eyes pleading silently with her. He held his breath as Cat’s face suddenly turned red, but within only moments, she had regained her composure.

“Fine” Cat replied putting her arms up as if in surrender, not willing to waste anymore time arguing the point “I’m to tired and too worried to argue the point. But if Sirius comes, Remus comes too.” she stated, hoping it would at least appear as though she were taking them more for their own protection that for any other reason. Not that Remus wasn’t perfectly capable of taking care of himself in any number of situations, but at least this way Severus may not feel quite so put out.

“M-m-me?” Remus stuttered, completely confused as to why he was being dragged into this. He was about to argue, until he felt Cash’s hand on his shoulder, shoving him gently towards Cat and the others.

“Good ideal Angel.” Cash agreed, nodding as he reassured a wide-eyed Remus. “Keep them all safe at home. Maybe you can fix this bloke up with a cousin while you’re there.” he added, winking as Remus snorted at him.

Remus still wasn’t sure this was a good ideal, but one look into Sirius’s eyes convinced him more than any words ever could. “Uhm… sure, just let me grab a few things.” Remus said as he moved towards the door, only to feel Cat’s hand on his arm.

“Forget it, I’m sure we can take care of your immediate needs. And I’ll come back for anything you can‘t do without.” Cat said tersely “Personally, I’m getting very antsy. We leave now, as a group, or its just Harry and I.” she stated as she intertwined her fingers in his. She paused only long enough to wish everyone luck and happy holidays and instructed Harry and Sirius to form a circle with she and Remus. The moment the circle was completed, a rush of warmth filled them all as a roaring filled their ears.

When they opened their eyes, they were standing on a large wooden porch with a well-worn rocking chair that had a large cat sleeping on it. Harry’s eyes grew wide as he looked around him, the house was huge, it seemed to be built into the hill that stood behind it. He let go of Sirius’s hand as he touched the stones that made the house, they felt every bit as ancient as the walls of the school. He jumped as he heard the mooing of several cows, and the sound of children playing, turning his face to Cat he smiled widely “Is this home?” he asked, almost afraid to believe it.

“Yes Harry” Cat sighed as she leaned against the ancient stone walls of the house, obviously exhausted. “This is home. This is Fernglennis, Caledonia.” She smiled softly as the cat woke up and mewed loudly at her. “Hello Stryker” she said to the tawny-orange colored feline. “Keeping them all in line I hope.” she added, scratching him behind his ears as Remus slipped his arm around her waist, helping to support her. “Well come on. Let’s get inside were its warm.” she wrapped her other arm around Harry “Just wait until everyone meets you sweetie.” ………

Albus’s office fell quite as the vampyres look at each other, “Well,” Cash said breaking the silence “That went better than I thought it would. I was really expecting her to put up more of a fight.” He grinned like a mad-man “I guess she wasn’t as worried about the Slytherin as I thought.”

“Or perhaps she was more worn out than you thought” Angus said softly, “Did you see the look in her eyes? She could barely keep herself focused, I don’t want to know what taking them all with her did. She’s probably unconscious by now.”

“I’m not worried” Cash responded, “I saw our little girl do things tonight that I thought were impossible. She’s much stronger than you or I can imagine.” he explained. “Besides, with Sirius and Remus by her side, …. Well, let’s just say, if one doesn’t catch her before she falls, the other one will.”

“So, can we agree that Angel, Harry, Sirius and Remus are now safe?” Raul asked, relieve to see affirmative nods to his question. “And at least for the moment, the school and its students are safe from harm?” again heads nodded.

“Good. Now for the hard part” Raul sighed “Cash, there was some other trouble you were not informed of, it involves the Weasley children.”

Cash froze as he stared at Raul “The Weasleys?” he closed his eyes as he shuddered, Angel was so fond of the girl Ginny, how could he be so stupid as to think Gustavas would miss such an opportunity, after all, he had already tried to take Ron. “Are any of them dead?” he asked, his voice little more than a whisper.

“Thanks to Remus, no” Raul replied, “However one of the twins was badly injured, and given blood by Hamish and Roel to preserve him.”

Cash immediately turned to Hamish “You did what?!” he gasped “Was he that bad? You know how our blood affects humans.”

“I know Uncle” Hamish replied, unusually sedate “and yes, he was that bad. Roel and I made the decision together, and I stand by it.” he said, squaring his shoulders, refusing to back down to his ancestor and sire. “We did only what we thought necessary to save his life.”

Cash stared deeply into Hamish’s eyes, he was certainly telling the truth, he had been terribly frightened the boy would die, and Hamish did not scare easily. “And the addiction? What about that?”

“That’s the odd thing Cash” Roel spoke up, standing next to his cousin Hamish. “There doesn’t seem to be any addiction. We’ve both been to see him several times since we gave him our blood. It helped heal him, but he doesn’t crave it, not even a little.”

“In fact he was making jokes about hoping he’d never have to ‘kiss’ us again.” Hamish stated. “They, or at least Gred, seems to be immune to us.”

“Gred?” Cash asked flatly.

“Yeah” Roel teased “Gred and Forge…… Never mind, its an inside joke.”

They halted their conversation when they heard Albus chuckling from behind his desk. His eyes had their familiar twinkle, and his mouth was drawn up in a mischievous grin. “Kitty had mentioned something to me regarding the Weasleys. It seems she took Ginny with her to Fernglennis shortly before the ball. Apparently one of Miss Weasleys’ brothers had ruined her gown, so Kitty took her home to borrow one from a niece of hers.”

“And the child had no ill effects?” Cash asked, “No strange dreams, no aversions to Angel, nothing?”

“Nothing” Albus responded. “Kitty was worried about the same thing. She came to me because she was concerned and upset. It seems she regards the Weasley children as, oh dear, what was the word she used?” Albus said absently as he tried to recall her exact words. “Something to the effect that she considered them extended family, kine I believe she called them. In any event, she was upset because she had taken Ginny with her, she had completely forgotten how humans could be effected by her magic, let alone staying any length of time in her world.”

“She called them kine?” Cash, Raul and Hamish asked in unison. Raul knitted his brow as he turned to Cash and Hamish, only to see Rick, Angus and Roel with the same confused look on their faces.

Cash and Hamish looked at each other and immediately laughed with understanding and relief. “She found them, she doesn’t even know it, but she found them.” Hamish grinned as he slapped Cash on the back.

Raul rolled his eyes at Cash and Hamish, it was obvious to him they had no intention of explaining what they knew. “In any case” he said loudly, drawing attention back to himself and the matter at hand.

“In any case” Albus repeated gently, “I’ve sent an owl to their mother, Molly. Telling her to expect her children, since Harry will not be staying, would not be considered unusual for her children to want to come home.”

“Then ‘we’ will take them home to their mother” Hamish insisted “it’s the least we can do. And I’ll need to apologize to her for placing her sons in danger.”

Raul turned and gave Hamish a pointed look “You placed her sons in danger. Since when do you make the decisions? Have you been appointed Primogen while I was tending to other matters?”

Stepping between them, Cash took control of the situation. “It’s really nice of you fellows to want to shoulder the blame, really it is…. But if Angel considers them kine, then in falls to Clan MacLeod to deal with this little mishap.” Turning to Raul, he added “I’m sure that’s all Hamish meant. Don’t be so danged sensitive all the time, he’s learning.”

“Clan MacLeod matter” Raul responded flatly “Fine, then ‘you’ deal with it Cash.” he said as he headed towards the door, only to be held fast by the hands of Angus and Rick.

“Raul” Cash sighed deeply “You have to stop doing this. You knew when you came here that this was more Clan MacLeod than Clan Gangrel. You know how much you mean to us, and I think its obvious how much Angel trusts you. She’s allowed you privileges she normally only grants to Clan, she’s allowed you to feed from her for the love of Mike. How can you think …..why are you acting like this?”

Shrugging off the hands that held him, Raul refused to turn and look at Cash. “I’m just tired of people forgetting the traditions. We have Primogens for a reason, if I’m not needed here, I can just as easily leave.” he said as he stormed out of the room and quickly disappeared down the spiral stairs.

Cash shook his head and rubbed his temples “Angus, he likes you. Follow him and make sure he’s not going to do anything stupid. I don’t think he counted on anything like this, almost losing those kids is preying on his mind.” Angus nodded and quietly slipped out of the room disappeared in a blur, fast on the heels of Raul.

“Oiy, what a day.” Cash added as he slumped in one of the chairs. “Hamish, Roel do I understand that the two of you take complete responsibility for those boys? You were to watch them, and you decided to give them your blood?”

“Yes Cash” they answered in unison, their heads hung down as they waited to hear Cash’s judgment.

Cash glanced to Albus, who had a very concerned look in his eyes. Cash gave him a crooked grin and winked, indicating he wasn’t nearly as upset as he was pretending to be. “Well then, it is only right that both of you, and I return the children to their parents. As soon as Fred is well enough, we go. Am I understood?”

“Yes Sir” Hamish and Roel replied quickly, seeing that Cash was done with them, they quickly left to see the twins before Cash had a chance to reconsider.

Cash was about to speak with Albus, when he realized Rick was still in the room. “You need something Rick?”

“Just a minute or two Cash.” Rick said, his large blue eyes meeting Cash’s as he pushed his long brown hair behind his ear. “You … I don’t think you realize how crazy things got. You must realize Hamish and Roel would never have knowingly placed those boys in danger….”

“Relax Rick” Cash grinned “I know, believe me, if I thought it was stupidity or thoughtlessness, I’d have beaten them to within and inch of their nigh immortal lives.” he laughed softly as he saw the surprise on Rick’s face “Listen, I’m not the hard ass that everyone thinks I am, but don’t let them know that. You and Angus are the thinkers, you know what needs to be done, you do it and you move on. Those two” Cash shook his head “Those two are the jokers, loyal to the ends of the Earth, but they need to learn to temper themselves. Hamish has within him the makings of a Methuselah, if he can learn to think ahead and see all sides of things. Its my job to teach him that. He has a great sense of Clan, of responsibility for those weaker than himself, he has a good and true heart. Although I’d like to see him use his head a little more.” Cash winked as a huge smile crossed Rick’s face, “Go on, make sure they stay out of trouble, and keep your eyes on Raul as well, something’s going on with him. I want to talk to Albus for a few minutes.”…

….. Sirius’s brow knit with concern as he watched Cat’s unsteady steps “You shouldn’t have pushed yourself like that” he chided gently as he took her face in his hand. He winced as he saw the bruises from Gustavas’s attack, he didn’t recall seeing them a few minutes ago in Albus’s office. “Cat? What is it?” he asked, immediately circling her waist with his arm as Remus stepped back. “Gra? Come on, don’t do this, not now.”

“Don’t do what?” Cat replied irately, “I’m just tired, its been a rough few days. And I can walk on my own, thank you very much.” she added, pushing her hands up against his chest.

“Of course you can” Sirius said, humoring her “and I’m sure your family will just love to see you fall flat on your face as soon as you open the door. Happy Solstice.” he said sarcastically as he pulled her closer to him, gently forcing her head to rest against his chest. “It looks like we’re not the only ones who needed healing gra. Is there anyone here who can help you?” he asked, resting his cheek against the top of her head as his free hand caressed her long hair.

“Sirius… please, I’ll be just fine. All I need is my clan and some rest.” Cat insisted as she attempted a half-hearted push against Sirius. She knew she shouldn’t be allowing him so much sway over her, but she loved the way he insisted on taking care of her. It made her feel so safe to feel his strong arms encircling her, she realized, deep in her heart, he would die rather than see any harm come to her. “Oh Sirius” she sighed as she gave up her feeble efforts to get away and enjoyed the warmth of his body against hers “I’m fine, honest.” she insisted as her arms circled his waist.

“And I intend to make sure you and Harry stay fine.” Sirius replied very matter-of-factly. “No more crazy stunts like this evening.” he added, kissing her lightly on her forehead “Promise me Cat, promise me you won‘t ever risk you life like that again. I‘d die if I lost you or Harry.” He said as she nuzzled against him, finally accepting his embrace and his strength…..

“Are you four coming in or are you going to stand out in the cold all night?” a familiar lilting voice asked as Siobhan opened the door and smiled cheerfully. “Although I have to say cousin, you look very comfortable at the moment.”

Cat sighed and shook her head “Not a word Siobhan, please, its been a very, very long day. And I’ll have enough to do just introducing Harry to his family without you starting any rumors.” she said wearily as she raised her head from Sirius’s chest and dropped her arms to her side.

“Me? Start rumors! Not a chance, besides, half the clan was peeping through the windows and saw everything anyway” Siobhan said as she pulled Cat into the warm kitchen.