“So what did she say when you asked her?” Sirius prompted, concerned at the way Cat had suddenly stopped speaking. “Did she tell you why she wanted you to have everything?”

“Yes, she gave me several reasons, but the one that struck me was that she wanted to make sure the MoM didn’t ever get their hands on anything that belonged to the Black family.” Cat replied, conveniently skipping the daughter-in-law comment. “She seemed to think that someone in the Ministry had it out for her and all the Blacks, and she wanted to make sure that not only would they never get anything upon her death, but that the person who did have it had the strength of will to fight them tooth and nail.”

“Well that would be you mo ionúin” Sirius laughed softly, “she adored you every bit as much as father did, as I do.” he added, squeezing Cat tenderly. “So, you bought everything?”

“Of course, what was I going to say to her? Ghee, sorry, not a very good investment, and much too high a price.” Cat replied sardonically, “You know me Sirius, I would have done anything she asked of me, no matter what.”

“I know Cat, I know” he agreed, “So what did you do with everything? Apparently you didn’t feel they were very good investments.”

“They weren’t, at least not when I bought them” Cat replied slyly, “but after a year or two under my care, they turned profits and many expanded within five years.”

“So you didn’t sell off any of them?” he asked hopefully, his father had loved running those muggle businesses, he considered them to be similar to children, needing constant attention and care to help them grow.

“A few of them went under, they were badly mismanaged and sadly out of their depths. But I was able to save most of them, although some of them you would never recognize now.” Cat explained. “Like that start up computer company, it just couldn’t compete with Apple and IBM, so we changed its focus. It now produces the best security software available on the market. And the toy factory now specialized in props for stage magicians and movies.”

Sirius smiled as he thought of how proud his parent would be of her and what she had done with his father’s legacy. “Movies? Angus would have loved that, he was fascinated by cinema. …. Cat? What about the radio station? The one father named after me, did you keep that?”

“Sirius Radio…. Uhm, well, yes and no.” she replied nervously. “I still have the company, but its name and focus have changed a bit, although it still part of the communication industry.”

“Oh Kitty, did I hurt you so badly you couldn’t even stand to hear my name?” he asked dejectedly “Angus adored that one, it was his own private toy…”

“I know,” Cat replied softly “but now he’d have toys all over the world. I didn’t change the Sirius part, I changed the radio, it didn’t fit anymore. I was fortunate enough to get in on the ground floor of the satellite race. The company is now called Sirius Satellite, we broadcast via space satellites to stations all over the world. And Angus would love the new logo, it’s a black dog with an antennae for a tail, its quite cute actually.” she added, grinning playfully.

Sirius closed his eyes as he felt them becoming moist with gratitude and relief. “Sirius Satellite…”

“Yep, a division of the Blackstone Corporation.” Cat finished for him, waiting expectantly for his reaction.

“Black - Stone?” he repeated as his eyes opened wide, “You named it after my mother and father?” he asked, turning to look into Cat’s eyes “Gra, why? I thought you would have made it a clan thing.”

“No, I never felt right owning them, they should have been yours” she said softly as her hand moved to his cheek, “I have the entire portfolio at my home in Greece, its yours if you want it.” she added, noticing the barely contained tears in his eyes.

“No Cat, they belong to you now. They would have been yours anyway, mother knew that.” he explained softly, trying to control the sudden rush of conflicting emotions as they flooded through him. Part of him felt cheated that what he thought was his was no longer even in his family’s possession, but mostly he felt relieved that his mother had taken it upon herself to find Cat and entrust his family’s fortune and future to her. “Did mother keep in contact with you after that?”

“For a few weeks, yes.” Cat replied sadly, “The last time I spoke with her was right before David sent me to South America to trouble shoot for him. There was a problem with a few curses, he didn’t really understand what I was, but he knew if it was something odd, I was the person to send. When I came back, David himself was waiting at the airport for me, so I knew it wasn’t good.” She sighed deeply as she continued. “He had the most pathetic look on his face and a telegram from the British consulate in his hands.”

“He told me he had tried to get a hold of me for days, but my location had been so remote, and the civil wars so bad that he had no way of getting through. He handed me the telegram and put me in the back of the limo, while he got in the front with Owen. They just drove around the city while I cried” she said as her tears once again fell at the thought of what the telegram said. “Rebekah had died shortly after I left, I never even made it to her funeral. I’m sorry Sirius, I should have been there for her, for you.”

“Shhhh, it’s all right Cat, it’s all right” Sirius cooed as his own tears fell. He had found out several weeks after the fact that his mother had passed away, one of the Ministry’s inspectors had mentioned it off-handedly one day during a walk through. It had torn his heart apart then, but now for the first time it really hit him. His mother was gone. His father was gone. Everyone he had know and loved, save Harry, Cat and Remus was dead and gone. He would never talk to them again, never hear their voices, see their smiles. Nothing….

Sirius pulled Cat tightly against him as they lay in silence, with nothing but the crackle of the fire and the occasional, sleepy murmur of the toddlers to disturb the stillness. “I didn’t make it to the funeral either” he finally spoke “I was imprisoned, I didn’t even know she had died until weeks later…”

“Imprisoned? By who? And why didn’t anyone tell me? I would have found you and ….” Cat quieted as Sirius hushed her and held her tightly.

“I know you would have, Mo ionúin believe me, I know.” Sirius reassured her. “But nobody else……” he paused as he gulped loudly. “I didn’t have anyone to help me Cat. Not one person to help or believe me, not even anyone to send to find you.” he said softly, still not able to actually ’say’ the word Azkaban.

“Is that why you look like this now?” Cat prodded gently, “And who did this to you Sirius? I want names and reasons.”

Sirius shook his head and chuckled sadly “Leave it to you to want to make a list at a time like this.” he teased, remembering the saying she and Lily used to have about taking names and kicking tush. “And I think you know the answer to who.”

“The Ministry” Cat replied flatly as Sirius nodded “But why? And how? The Black’s are one of the most respected names in the wizarding world, you’re a pure blooded family that goes back thousands of years. How could they manage to pull off a stunt like that?”

“By blaming me for the murder of Lily and James Potter” Sirius whispered as he winced, half expecting Cat to turn on him. “They… I…. People believed that I was the one who betrayed them to Voldemort…”

“I remember you telling me about this a few weeks ago” Cat replied softly as she sat up and turned to face him. He looked so lost, almost frail, as if the life had been drained from him over the years. “I didn’t believe you betrayed them then, and I don’t believe it now.” She assured him, “You and James were like brothers, everyone knew that. How could the MoM twist things around so badly that someone, anyone, would believe such a load of rubbish?”

“I’m not sure, but I think the dozen or so dead muggles in the street may have helped” Sirius replied sarcastically, “Not that it matters, they said it and people believed them, and I was imprisoned for years….” he closed his eyes as he turned his face from her, not wanting her to see him weeping yet again. He wanted to tell her the rest, but he couldn’t find the words, he had been running away from the pain and terror for so long he simply couldn’t face it right now. All he could see, all he wanted to see was Cat’s bright green eyes, gazing deeply into his own, offering her compassion to him.

Cat reached out to him, she couldn’t stand to see him hurting like this, she knew he needed to get it out. Remembering something her father had told her years ago after her mother’s death “ Do you know what Poppa said to me about grief? If you keep the pain inside of you, it owns you; controls your actions. If you can talk about it, open your heart to others, it weakens the pain as it releases it, soon it no longer has a hold on you. Sirius, you know I’m here” Cat said as she took his face in her hands and caressed it gently.

“I know gra, it’s the only thing that’s kept me going lately. And the thought of losing you again.” he turned his head away as he tried to compose himself. “I love you Catrianna, I always have and I always will. Please, if nothing else, tell me you believe that. Tell me you still have a place in your heart for me.”

Cat trembled as she looked into Sirius’s eyes, there was so much fear, so much pain. What could have happened to him to make him like this, it had to be more than being imprisoned. Her Sirius had always been so brave, almost to the point of being foolhardy, but this Sirius was different, he was wounded, broken in heart and spirit. “I believe you loved me Sirius, and I will always have a special place in my heart for you. But how can I believe you love me now if you can’t even trust me with the truth, let alone your heart?”

“I trust you with everything Cat” Sirius insisted as he cupped her face in his hands. “With my heart and soul I trust you. With Harry’s life and happiness I trust you like I trust no other.” he said adamantly “I want to tell you everything gra, but I don’t know were to begin, I don’t have all the answers. And I’m so frightened you’ll turn from me, I just couldn’t bear it if you …” he sniffled as he tried to blink away his tears.

“Hush now” Cat cooed as she pressed his head against her heart. “When have I ever turned away from you Sirius Black? When have you ever needed to be afraid to tell me anything?” she asked as she stroked his hair, enjoying the warmth of his breath on her skin.

Sirius took her hand in his and kissed it as he listened to the beating of her heart. “I know” he was so tired of the emptiness and the pain “Just let me pretend for tonight, let me be happy.... Please. Let me believe, just for tonight that my life turned out the way I wanted it to. Let me imagine that we married, that we have a family of our own”. All he wanted right now was the warmth and comfort that only a family could provide, the sense of love and safety. He laid his head down on her lap, just as he had done so often many years ago.......

Cat was weeping silently as she ran her fingers through his dark, wavy hair, listening to the sound of children playing. She closed her eyes against her own pain as she realized how much they had both lost over their lives. Winter holidays, Christmas, Chanukah, Solstice all a time for friends and family, she had always thought she would be married with a houseful of children by now. She looked down at Sirius as she stroked his hair and wondered what could have caused him so much pain in such a short period of time, it had only been seventeen years since they last spoke, barely a turning of the tide to her people........

Part of her wanted to pick up where they had left off in school, another part felt dirty and dishonest for even thinking about it. It had not been more than twenty-odd hours since Sev held her in his arms, sharing his love with her, and yet, she could easily forget all of that right now, just looking at Sirius “Promise me you’ll tell me the truth Sirius, no matter how hard it is for you. I’ll take it from your mind if it will make it easier for you.”

“No” he sighed, “I know how much it hurts you to do that, I remember you explaining it to me on several occasions. I have to learn to be brave again Cat. I have to learn to trust all over again. Please be patient with me, I swear I’ll tell you everything, just give me time.” he pleaded as he nuzzled against her lap.

“I’m a Sidhe Sirius, time is the one thing I have in abundance” Cat teased, trying to lighten the mood as she resumed playing with his hair, smiling softly as she watched the way his now long hair would twine around her fingers. “Just promise me one thing?” she asked, waiting as Sirius nodded his head. “Shave.. Please. That beard does nothing for you.”

Sirius closed his eye and smiled as a wave of relief passed over him, she was teasing him, trying to ease his pain. She loved him even now, knowing as much as she did, she still loved him. He released a deep shuddering breath, no longer bothering to hide his tears as he rested his head on her lap, enjoying the sensation of her fingernails against his scalp as she played with his hair, now all he had to do was actually say the name Azkaban.………