The compass hesitated for only a moment before shuddering in his palm. The device seemed to turn into quick silver as a mist rose from the puddle in his hand. He peered into the mist and saw a large stone house built into the side of a hill “Deeper” he insisted. The image faded then reappeared, it was the inside of the house, Sev stared with amazement at the gathering before his eyes. Every sort of creature imaginable was there, even creatures he had thought were nothing more than legends. “Find the wearer, now!” he insisted loudly, at the moment he was unsure which was making him more nervous. The thought of Catri with these strange beings, or her with Sirius Black, as far as he was concerned neither option was a good one.

He paced back and forth in his office, taking long strides as he held the mist in his hand waiting impatiently for the next image to appear. He felt his heart catch in his throat as a hazy image of Catri appeared before him, she was obviously weeping, although the image was so distorted he could not tell if she was alone or not. “Oh my dear Catri, please, please be well.” suddenly another horrible thought occurred to him. Pulling out her note with his free hand, he quickly re-read it. “Potter” he gasped, he knew if anything ever happened to Harry it was over for all of them. The only thing preventing Voldemort from gaining the power to destroy their entire way of life was the secret hidden within Harry’s bloodline. A secret that only Albus Dumbledore was fully aware of, and apparently, unwilling to share.

Severus turned and looked back to where the potion sat simmering, it was going to be a very long twenty four hours………

Orpha shook her head as she watched Remus search the room and quickly hone in on Tris. She smiled knowingly as she felt a presence near her side. “My, but you’ve been a busy man tonight, haven’t you?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes at Merlin. “It seems you’ve gotten your thumbs into it all tonight.”

Merlin feigned a look of innocence, “What ever do you mean Orpha?” he asked as he picked up a bright crimson apple and bit into it deeply. “I’ve been doing exactly what you have,… only better.” he added as he winked and bit into the apple again fading from view as Orpha playfully tossed another apple at him, only to have it hit Frank.

“Hey!! Aunt Orpha what was that for? I wasn’t even doing anything this time.” Frank insisted as he rubbed his shoulder where the apple had collided with him.

Thinking quickly, Orpha replied “Well that’s for the last time, I was so busy I forgot to do it then.” she snapped as she bit her lower lip, trying not to give away Merlin’s presence in front of the others. “You will pay for that wizard” Orpha growled lowly as Merlin winked at her and applauded her quick thinking.

“Now, now Orpha, don’t be jealous.” he teased his old friend and former lover, “Just because I have a flair for matchmaking that seems to have eluded you.”

“You won’t be happy until I hurt you, will you?” Orpha teased back, “And what did you do to Remus? He was insistent on remaining alone an hour ago?”

“I simply made him face a few fears, and a few secrets. Although I have the feeling he has a few more that he needs to share my god daughter.” Merlin explained as he gave Orpha a quick kiss on her cheek “He’s a good man, intelligent, kind, strong. He’ll make a fine husband for her.”

“For ‘who’ exactly?” Orpha questioned knowingly.

“For whoever can catch him of course.” Merlin shot back, enjoying his little conversation with Orpha, it had been too long since he had been able to mingle with his friends and family. If only he could finish removing the rest of the curse and become full and whole again. But things were looking up quickly, the terms of the curse had been clear, ‘until the blood became whole once more‘, and at this rate, it would only take another generation or two before the circle closed in upon itself and repaired the ills of the world…….

“I think Aunt Orpha’s losing her mind” Frank groused as he picked up the apple, “Since when does she pull stunts like that?” he asked Duncan who was doing his best not to laugh at either of them.

I think the stress of being immortal may have finally gotten to her, either that or she found out it was you who turned Stryker purple and stuck him to the ceiling with super glue.” Duncan teased, “Although that would ’not’ explain her talking to herself like that.” he added, becoming suddenly concerned about her. “I’ve heard too many stories about what happens when people live too long, I don’t ever want to be like that.”

“Talking to herself?” Frank said as he knitted his brow and turned to look at her. Duncan was right, Orpha seemed to be having quiet the conversation with herself. “I’ll be Maharet has something to do with this” he said darkly “You know as well as I do, Orpha is one of the few people who can and will stand up to her. And she’s so worried about Sis and what they plan on doing about her lack of children.”

“You don’t actually think Maharet would turn on her? I mean I know things can get heated amongst the crones, but family is family, right?” Duncan asked as he moved towards Orpha, only to be stopped by a hand on his arm. Looking back, he saw his brother Luke staring intently at Orpha.

Luke interrupted them both as he narrowed his eyes at Orpha, “Let it be boys, there is more going on over there than you know.” he explained, “She’s not alone. Oh, and Duncan, don‘t worry, you were born to be immortal, just like Orpha was, and Cash has certainly made a go of it.” he added, winking at his brother as he made his way towards Orpha and Merlin, only to be stopped by Duncan’s hand on his arm.

Duncan rolled his eyes and Frank sighed heavily “Oh not that second sight thing again. Come on Luke, who’s with her? Anything we need to worry about.”

Luke shook his head as he walked towards Orpha, “I don’t think so, but I want some answers……Stay here and make sure no one bothers us.”……

“Path? What path are you talking about?“ Harry asked curiously as Bree rolled her eyes at him.

“You mean to tell me you have ‘never’ heard of declaring your path? Don’t they have initiations where you live?” Bree replied snarkily.

“Now Bree” Katie admonished her “Harry hasn’t been fortunate enough to grow up with clan as you have. Its only natural that he wouldn’t have heard of such things.” she turned to Harry and smiled warmly “Don’t worry Harry, your mum and dad will help you though this, and believe me, Collin and your uncles will be training you. You’ll do fine.” She paused as she noticed the crest fallen look on Harry’s face. “Harry, honey, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Harry looked up at her, and noticed Collin and his cousins all staring at him with concerned faces. He felt Moira place her hand on his arm as she whispered “It’s alright Harry, tell them. We can all help, we’re family, clan. We always stick together and help each other. They can talk to your mum for you.”

“Harry?” Collin added “Moira’s right, we’re here for you, and Kitty does listen to clan about most things.”

“Can you get her to marry Sirius?” Harry asked softly, “I know she loves him every bit as much as he loves her, but I don’t know if she’s forgiven him yet. Or even if he’s really asked her to.”

“Forgiven him” Collin repeated “I don’t know Harry, they seemed fine this evening when we were playing, she was sitting on his lap and they were both laughing…”

“Laughing? Howling is more like it, especially when she got you and Duncan with that water.” Katie teased “Talk about a team, she got you, he saw what she had done and grabbed her by the hand and got her out the door before you two could even stand up. And then he even ran interference for her so she could get a head start.” turning to Harry, Katie added “Honey, I don’t know what he did, but it seems to me that they are fine with each other now.”

“Really? She was sitting on his lap? Did she kiss him?” Harry asked, the light of hope returning to his eyes as he listened to Katie talk about Sirius and Cat. “Oh, and what path was Bree talking about?”

Katie smiled and motioned for Collin to explain the path, since it was the man’s passage into adulthood, the woman’s being quite different. “Well, it takes place during one of the feast days. Your mum will explain those and the festivals to you later, but to make it simple, you and the other boys who have turned fifteen this past year will be made to wander along a path. You will meet challenges and difficulties on your way from the beginning of it to the end. You will be asked many hard questions that you must answer honestly, as well as several tests of both skill and strength.”

“When you complete the path” Collin continued “you become a man in the eyes of the clan. You will be able to voice your opinions, make decisions, raise a family. Of course with new freedom also comes new responsibilities, you will be expected to support and defend the clan, protect the children.”

“And it determines what you’re going to be in the clan” LJ added, “I’m going to be a warrior,” he said, beaming proudly “just like my uncles.”

“Now LJ, you may ‘think’ you know what you will be, but that remains to be seen.” Collin reminded him “Just because you don’t ‘want’ to be a seer like your father and aunt doesn’t mean…”

“Not a chance, there is no way I’m going to be a seer. I’ve watched my da go through it too many times. I’d rather face a sword than those monsters.” LJ replied emphatically, “And they say its even worse for Aunt Kitty, they say she inherited it from grandmum and Tristessa”

“Inherited what?” Harry asked, his voice brimming with concern and fear as he remembered the horrible ‘episodes’ he had seen her suffer through over the past few weeks.

“Now Harry, don’t get yourself upset.” Collin soothed, “Kitty is more than able to handle it. She’s much stronger than anyone gives her credit for.” he said, all the while giving LJ a very pointed look. “Besides, your biggest concern should be what you’ll say to the king and queen.”

“What king and queen?” Harry asked, becoming more and more nervous, “I thought the clan was ruled by the Chieftain, not a king and queen.”

“Not that sort of…” Collin shook his head as he placed a friendly hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Look, I’ll leave most of this to your mum to explain to you, alright? But the basic gist is this; you need to travel a path, the path represents the choices and hurdles of life. Part of this is deciding what you intend to do with your life, a warrior, a seer, a teacher, and so on. You have to look into your heart and decide what you are, what skills and abilities you can bring to the clan. And then you must stand before the faceless king and queen and declare your path to them. They will look into your heart and soul and determine if your actions are just and pure, or if you are still confused and in need of more time.”

“Just remember” Bree added, teasing her brother “No man can be part of the clan without a skill.”

“But what if I don’t have a skill” Harry asked “Will I have to leave? And who are the faceless king and queen?”

“Hush Harry” Katie cooed, “Honestly Collin, I thought you had more sense than to bring things like this up before bed. The faceless king and queen, sounds like a pair of monsters.”

“Hey, you’re a woman, ‘you’ didn’t have to stand before anyone and declare anything.” Collin responded.

“That’s right, I didn’t.” Katie shot back as she grit her teeth, “I had to join the ranks of women who bleed but do not die. I have to endure my ‘rite of passage’ every friggin month. Want to trade?” she asked dangerously.

Collin hesitated as he looked Katie over, “LJ, if you’re going to be a warrior the two most important things to know is: one - never underestimate your opponent, two- pick your battles. That being said, I think I’m going to take Katie and find some chocolate or ice cream or something.”

“Smart choice” Katie replied as she smiled sweetly at her boyfriend. “And don’t let them worry you Harry, trust me, you already have a lot of skills and with Cat as your mum, I have a feeling your path is already chosen.” she added as she kissed his forehead and wished them all a good night.

Tanja waited until the door was completely closed and the footsteps of the adults had become nothing but soft echoes before speaking. “So Harry, what’s this about Sirius not being your da? I mean I know he hasn’t married her yet, but he’s still your da, right?”

“My godfather actually” Harry explained, “My real dad was murdered when I was a baby, he and Sirius were best friends. Sirius wanted to raise me, but they wouldn’t let him, just like they wouldn’t let mum. They kept her away from me, and away from Sirius.” he said glumly as he sat on one of the hammocks.