Sirius paused as he heard footsteps approaching, hiding in a shadowed doorway, he crouched into the blackness as he saw Severus Snape walking past, Sirius fought back a growl as he noticed Snape was walking away from Cat’s room. The worse thoughts imaginable went through his mind, had Snape taken Cash’s abuse out on Cat, was she hurt; or worse, did he force himself on her. Sirius ran swiftly to Cat’s door, wondering if he should knock or just push it down, taking a deep breath, he decided to use discretion, and scratched at her door whining loudly.....
Cat’s thoughts were disturbed by the sound of scratching and whining outside of her door. She wrapped herself in her dressing gown and opened the door, only to see Harry’s dog. He was whining softly, pawing the air, Cat knelt down to talk to him “I’m fine puppy, honest” she said as the dog pushed at her dressing gown with his muzzle, causing it to open slightly. “What are you up to?” Cat asked as he looked at her expectantly “Where did this blood come from” she said as she noticed the dried blood on the dogs muzzle. “Don’t tell me you actually bit that little creep?” Cat was sure the dog smiled at her. She rubbed his sides, as she hugged him “Aren’t you a good doggy, so big and brave” she cooed “Yes you are”
Sirius thought he would die from happiness right there, he rested his head on Cat’s shoulder as she rubbed his sides, praising him for going after Malfoy. Sirius’s breath was taken away as his sharper canine senses took over, he had always loved the way she smelled, it reminded him of flowers, but as a dog, he could sense so much more, he pressed his nose against her neck to get a deeper sniff, only to hear her gasp, and fall backwards.
“Gheez, puppy, what a cold nose you have” Cat looked at him intently “and a dirty one, come on you” she said as she regained her feet “Up here, come on” she patted her bed. Sirius jumped up immediately as Cat sat down next to him, she materialized a cloth and a bowl of water. “No need to ask where this blood came from, is there?” she said as she gently began to clean Sirius’s muzzle, “Well at least its not enough for him to be dead” Cat leaned closer “But just between you and me, I hope you bit him where the sun doesn’t shine.” she sat back up and smiled brightly as she yawned. “Its been a very busy week, puppy” she said as she continued to clean him up, “the lecture, and the party, ..... and of course Sirius” Cat’s eyes began to tear up as she shook her head. “But I’ve got my Harry,... and apparently his dog as well” she scratched him behind his ears, “Now all I need is to do is stop Voldemort, keep Harry and Hogwarts safe, stop the Ministry from making any more fool mistakes, and maybe start a family and my year will be full” she said brightly as she rolled her eyes. “I think I’ve finally become an overachiever, what do you think?”
Sirius made a whining growly sound, as he licked Cat’s face, he didn’t know what to do. He wanted so much to transform and tell her everything, but after seeing the look on her face when she mentioned his name, he just wasn’t sure anymore. Cat took his paw in her hands, she was looking them over, saying something about not wanting to upset Harry, can’t send you back with blood on you. She was wiping his paw now, the same way she had cleaned his muzzle, Sirius found himself wondering if she would do this to him if she knew who he was, if she knew he could understand her, that he wasn’t just a dumb animal. Regardless, her tenderness touched him.
Cat stood up from the bed as she scratched the dogs chin, “alright boy, go back to Harry and tell him to go to sleep, everyone is fine now. Okay” she said as she kissed him on the top of his muzzle. Sirius followed her to the door but sat down and whined as she opened it for him to leave, “I know, Cash probably told you to stay with me” Cat began “but Harry needs you more that I do, go on now”
Sirius watched as Cat smiled sleepily at him, it was obvious that she loved Harry every bit as much as he did. He walked out to the hall as Cat closed the door, he only walked a few feet, when he stopped and transformed. Sirius turned around and headed back to Cat’s door, he needed to talk to her, he needed to tell her everything. She would understand, she had to. Sirius put his hand on the knob and froze, what if she didn’t understand? What if she thought he was trying to mislead her? What if Snape had already told her, she would be furious.
Sirius took a deep breath and leaned against her door, his forehead resting against the ornately carved wood. He tried to rationalize the last twenty years of his life into an easily explainable conversation, but nothing sounded right, it was all just to incredible to be true. His mind began to wander again, he remembered holding Cat in his arms, dancing with her at their Holiday Ball during their 6th year. He had to talk to her, there was just no way around this. Carefully and quietly he turned the knob of her door, he smiled as it easily turned, she never did lock her door, he used to have to remind her about that constantly.
“Cat........ Cat” Sirius whispered softly, not wanting to frighten her, he waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Sirius wished he had Harry’s invisibility cloak right now, it would make this so much easier. “Cat” he said more loudly this time, but there was still no answer. Using the light of the fire Sirius crossed her room, and opened her bedroom door, he saw her laying on her bed her long hair spread across the pillow, reflecting the light of the fire. “Cat ?” Sirius said yet again, only to watched her sigh and snuggle more deeply into her pillow. “Just my luck,..... fast asleep” he said with an equal amount of disappointment and relief. He stood there a few minutes, just watching her sleep, it didn’t seem like much, but to him it meant everything, it had been so long since he had seen her like this. He smiled as he reached out to touch her hair, it was as soft and silky as he remembered, and all of those little curls hidden at the nape of her neck, they were still there. Gingerly he ran his fingers across her cheek, thrilling at the warmth and softness of her skin. He paused as she softly moaned at his touch, it was all he could do not to kiss her, but he was afraid to push his luck any further, she was notoriously bad tempered when she was tired, and he knew from experience she could throw a pillow or a brush harder and faster than anyone he had ever seen. Giving one last deep sigh, Sirius smiled contentedly as he left her room, making sure he locked the door behind him, no point on taking any chances......
Back in Gryffindor tower, Harry had finally settled into his bed. He smiled as the night replayed in his mind, it felt so wonderful to know he had a family now, and according to Cat, a very large one at that. His mind drifted back to his encounter with MacLir, Cat had told him that all of the people he had seen were all relatives, everyone of them, and they were all very proud of him. Harry snuggled deeply beneath his covers, he had a mother, and grandparents, and uncles, maybe even aunts, he couldn’t remember, now all he needed to do is convince Cat that Sirius would be a wonderful father, and everything would be perfect.
Harry fell asleep quickly, he was dreaming of where they would live when Sirius and Cat were married, it was a large old house built out of stone and wood, he had his own room that looked out over a large pond, full of lilypads and frogs that sang as the sun set. Harry could feel the cool breeze caressing him as he sat on the back porch, listening to Cat and Sirius in the kitchen, Sirius was actually going to try to use a barbeque and grill something for supper, Cat was laughing at him, telling him to go ahead and try his luck, just don’t burn off anything important. Harry didn’t need to see them to know how happy they were, he could hear it in their voices. Sirius sounded so strong and alive as he laughed at Cat’s comment, Harry turned as he heard Sirius bang into the screen door, nearly dropping the plate of food as Cat laughed at his antics.
Sirius was grinning broadly as Harry held open the screen door for him “Do you believe her” Sirius said nodding towards Cat in the kitchen, “I used to be an auror, and she’s worried about me using some muggle device, sheesh” Sirius was rolling his eyes as Harry laughed, following him towards the grill. Harry turned back to see Cat watching them through the screen door, smiling as she wiped her hands on a blue checkered dish towel, her hair was pulled back from her face, but otherwise was hanging loose, she looked so happy. Harry caught a glimpse of himself in a globe that was near the garden, his reflection was upside down, but he could still see the joyful look on his own face. He felt completely content, as if this was the way life was always supposed to have been, even as he saw the flames rising out of the grill and Cat running outside to grab the hose. Sirius had used his wand to light the grill, sending the flames almost six feet into the air, and singeing his hair. “Sirius” Cat yelled as she doused the fire, “are you alright?!”
Harry’s concern immediately turned to laughter as he saw a drenched but unharmed Sirius giving Cat a look of pure devilment. “Harry, please take the hose away from your mother” Sirius told him as he folded his arms across his chest “she is a danger to herself and others.” As Harry walked over to Cat he was suddenly struck by her appearance. Her belly was huge, she was going to have a baby, he hadn’t notice before when she was standing at the screen door. Harry reached out his hand hesitantly, not sure if he should touch her or not. Cat looked at Harry and tussled his hair, “What’s wrong sweetie?” she asked him “Your not still worried about the twins are you?”
Twins, Harry’s legs almost gave way underneath him, they were going to have twins, he was going to be a big brother. “May I touch them, uh you?” Cat stared at Harry like he had just landed from outer space, “Harry, what’s wrong?” Sirius said as he approached him from behind, “since when have you ever needed permission to talk to the babies?” Sirius placed his hand on Harry’s forehead to make sure he didn’t have a fever. Cat walked over to them, she cupped Harry’s face in her hands and looked deeply into his eyes, then she smiled as she placed his hands on her belly. Harry immediately felt the life within her, as Sirius looked at them smiling proudly........
. Harry awoke with a start as the warmth of his dream began to fade, although the memory remained clearly etched into his mind. Harry sighed deeply as he tossed in his bed, wishing his dream would come true, as so many of his other dreams had, if only there was a way to tell which dreams were precognitive and which were just dreams, he made a mental note to ask Cat tomorrow after class, she would probably know Harry thought sleepily as he drifted fitfully back off to sleep.........
Cat was having a dream of her own, she had dreamt that Sirius had come to her room, dragging Harry’s dog with him, he picked up the dog and sat him on her bed telling the dog to stay, as he sat down on the chair across from her bed and stared at her and the dog. Every time she opened her mouth to say something, Sirius would hold up his hand, signaling her to be quiet. Sirius finally got up out of the chair and sighing loudly told the dog “Get out, your not helping anything”, the dog jumped off of her bed and ran quickly out of the room and down the hall. Cat looked at Sirius questioningly, he grabbed he firmly by her wrist and pulled her to one of the windows, pulling the heavy curtains aside, he motioned for her to look through the glass.
As soon as Cat looked through her window, she became sick. The school was being attacked, bodies where lying all over the grounds, teachers, students, deatheaters, nothing but death and destruction everywhere. She groaned as she turned her face away from the window, only to have Sirius gently cup her face and turn her back, she needed to see *something* it was important. Bracing herself for the feeling of nausea at the sight of so much death, she opened her eyes to the scene again, she looked intently, trying to find the reason for her to witness this, when it caught her eye. In the middle of the fighting were she, Sirius and Remus, they were fighting for their lives as Voldemort and several members of the Ministry looked on with apparent amusement. They were hopelessly outnumbered and she couldn’t see Harry anywhere, Cat watched with horror as Sirius and Remus were mortally injured. She saw herself throw down her sword, resorting to nothing but magic, she never fought with magic, it just wasn’t her style. She was throwing bolts of energy from her palms, killing anything that stood in her way, she was sobbing and screaming for Sirius and Remus to be alright to say something, anything. She turns to see Remus was obviously dead, a silver dagger sticking through his chest, as his beautiful hazel eyes staring blankly back at her, but Sirius was still gasping for air.
She gave one last thunderous round of energy blasts, as she ran towards Sirius, she was sobbing hysterically as she took Sirius in her arms, cradling him as his life’s blood flowed out of him, she was stroking his hair, kissing him, begging him to hold on, “No Sirius, no! Please, don’t leave me again” Cat watched herself shedding tears of blood as Sirius died in her arms. The scene faded away, Cat was back in her room, she felt Sirius’s strong arms around her, protecting and comforting her. Cat turned to kiss him, she wanted to be in his arms again, to know it was just a nightmare, that he was still here, alive and well. Cat’s heart stopped as she turned to face Sirius, he was a ghost, as the terrible truth hit her, he was gone, dead to the world. Cat felt herself slipping, falling into nothingness, her body was tingling with pins and needles until she felt the sudden thud of hitting her own body, her consciousness had returned to her body. Cat woke up in a cold sweat, tears streaming down her face, she was sobbing uncontrollably, it had to be a dream, please Mother in Heaven, let it be nothing more than a dream.....
The next morning was rough for everyone, they had been up much to late. Harry, Ron and Hermione trudged to the great hall for breakfast, yawning the whole way through. The only thing that had even brightened their morning was the fact that three Slytherins were missing from their table. “Wonder how long they’ll be with Madame Pomfrey” Ron said smiling as he winked at Harry.
Cat and Remus where practically falling asleep at the table, they actually landed against each other once, shoulder to shoulder, until Snape pulled Remus back up causing Cat to start as she felt herself falling. Cat gave Sev a look, as if to say *thanks a lot* but he looked bad to, in fact they all looked like hell, along with half of the students. Albus couldn’t resist teasing them about staying up to late. “I see by all the sleepy faces that last night must have been a resounding success” Albus said brightly as he winked at Cat.
“Well my students will be having an easy day, thats for sure” Cat replied as she got up, “I may not even make it up the ladder, oh well at least my class isn’t dangerous, right Sev?” Professor Snape looked at her and rolled his eyes, he could only imagine the destruction his students would cause in their half awake state today. “Thank you for the reminder Miss MacLeod” he said dryly “It is exactly what I wanted to hear this morning.”
Remus laughed at Severus’s look, sometimes he could be funny, whether he meant to be or not. Remus put his arm around Cat’s shoulders “See you later then, after lunch” she nodded as he headed of to his classroom, Severus paused and looked pointedly at her.
“What, .. we need to discuss the next lecture” Cat said innocently, “Doing vampires, vampyres etcetera...”
Severus gave her a look of absolute disbelief “Please tell me your not bringing anything else into the school” his mind raced back to his encounter with Cash the night before.
“You worry to much Sev” Cat told him cheerfully as she headed towards her classroom “I’ll be listening for explosions”
True to her word, Cat’s first class had it extremely easy, in fact she suggested either reading one of the books she had brought in from her personal library, or better yet, put your head down and take a nap. Most of the class had opted for the second choice. Harry was tempted to take a nap himself, but he needed to ask MacLeod about his dream.
“Uhm, Miss MacLeod” Harry asks softly as he approached her desk “I have a question, it relates to the class, but its kind of personal.”
Cat looked at him curiously “Go on Harry,” she paused as she yawned “Oh excuse me, still a bit tired from last night, you were saying?”
Harry laughed at her as he yawned back, he was sure yawning was contagious “I had a question about dreams” he was surprised to see her eyes light up, as if she knew he were going to ask her this question “how can you tell the difference between precognitive dreams and regular dreams?”
Cat paused before answering, hoping Harry had not had the same dream she had “Well Harry, you can’t always tell the difference.” Taking a chance she continued on “Would you like to tell me your dream and we’ll see what happens when we look at it in the light of day?”
Harry agreed quickly as he pulled a chair up to MacLeod’s desk. “It started with me in an old house.. You were there and a pond and ...... uhm.. A man, your husband I think” Harry told her, deciding not to mention Sirius’s name just yet.
“Whoa, Harry, slow down” Cat said as she took out a parchment and quill “My husband huh, hold on, I’m taking notes” she laughed as she began to write “You said and old house, can you describe it?”
“Sure, it was stone and wood, it had a large front porch with an old wooden bench or swing hanging from the ceiling, and it had a back porch with flower pots and a lot of chairs ... oh and a huge pond in the back” Harry began excitedly as MacLeod wrote down what he said.
“A pond.... uhm okay” she said strangely “I don’t suppose you remember anything from the inside of the house?”
“You bet I do, I remember my room, it was on the third floor, well kind of an attic I guess, but it was great. It was painted blue and the ceiling had clouds painted on it...”
“And the bed was made to be part of the window” continued Cat “and the hallway going to the third floor had stars, moon, dragons and fairies painted on it.”
Harry stared at her in disbelief, “How did you know? Did you have the same dream?”
“If only” Cat laughed half-heartedly “please continue Harry, I’ll explain when your done.”
“Uhm, alright.” Harry said nervously “You were in the kitchen joking with your husband, he was going to use the barbeque and you told him not to burn off anything important, he laughed so hard he walked right into the screen door.” Harry began to chuckle as he remembered Sirius smiling and laughing with her.
“He walked into the screen door” Cat laughed “Lovely, so in other words I’ve married a loon, is that what your telling me?” she smiled brightly at Harry.
“No” he said emphatically, “You two were fooling around, he just wasn’t paying attention” Harry felt a need to protect his godfathers reputation “and from what I could see, you two were deeply in love” Harry said almost dreamily
“Really, and who was this mystery man?” Cat said becoming intrigued “Anyone I know?”
“All I could see clearly was his hair, but I could tell he loved us, and the babies..” Harry said quickly hoping to breeze over the husband part.
“BABIES?!” Cat said as her eyes opened wide. “What babies? Harry, start talking” she said as she pointed the feathered end of the quill at him.
Harry couldn’t help but laugh at her “Calm down it was only a dream... but yes, babies, you were kind of pregnant” he paused as Cat stared at him “alright REALLY pregnant” he said as he held his hands out showing her how large she had been in his dream, “but I got to feel the babies moving inside of you, you let me touch your belly and I felt them.” he finished excitedly, remembering how thrilling it felt to feel unborn life and to know he was going to be a brother.
“Wow, Harry your scaring me now.” Cat said dumfounded “I wouldn’t be to worried if it weren’t for that house” she told him “I know that house like the back of my hand.”
“How do you know the house, and the room?” Harry asked enthusiastically “Did you have a similar dream or something?”
“No Harry, nothing like that,” Cat said softly, as she shook the remnants of her nightmare away “I think it’s the house I used to live in, but I haven’t been back there in ages.”
Harry stared at her in disbelief “It was your house?” Cat nodded “I used to live there when I attended Hogwarts, it was easier to go back and forth from there, it just a few miles from here, Lily and I used to pop over there constantly, even the marauders managed to sneak over from time to time.” she said, smiling softly at her memories.
“You knew the marauders, Dad, Sirius and Remus?” Harry asked anxiously, he wanted to hear about his dad, and maybe she would talk about Sirius finally.
“Oh yes, I knew them well” Cat said as her smile grew large “What a band of hooligans they were, especially Sirius, that man could always find some way of getting into trouble” she sighed deeply “thank heavens for James, he was the only one who could talks sense to him sometimes”
“Really, I knew my dad and Sirius were friends, but were they really that close?” Harry asked her, knowing the answer, but at least she wasn’t crying when she said his name this time.
“Closer than brothers Harry, as close as Lily and I” she smiled at Harry “and I always knew how to get you dad going” she said as she winked at him.
“Really... how?” Harry asked innocently
“Like this” Cat said as she reached over and tussled Harry’s hair “He hated that, but I always got away with it.” she was grinning like a fool, Harry had to laugh at her. He understood why his dad would let her get away with almost anything, she had the best smile, it seemed like it warmed you up from the inside out.
“Tell you what sweetie” Cat said smiling mischievously “If Albus says it’s alright, maybe we can visit the old place, see if it really was the house from your dream. What do you say?”
“What do I say... I can’t wait” Harry replied, practically jumping out of his chair, if the house was real, then maybe the rest of the dream would end up being just as real. Just as he was about to ask Cat more questions the chime sounded signaling classes where over.
“Time for DADA Harry, if your lucky Remus is still sleepy and you can take a nap yourself” Cat said as she moved to wake up some of the sleeping students in her class, she paused when she got to Seamus Harper and Jamie Krafty, she remembered them from last night, Seamus was leaning against the back of one of the overstuffed chairs, snoring softly while Jamie was curled up next to him, holding his hand. “Well it seems these two have made up” Cat sighed softly as she gently shook the two love birds awake.
Harry and Ron where sincerely hoping Professor Lupin was going to give them a free period like MacLeod had, but one look at his face told them that wasn’t the case.
Hermione was standing next to him, a look of dread and embarrassment on her face, she had no idea that no one had told him about Draco Malfoy’s attack on Miss MacLeod last night, she had naturally assumed that Cat or Sirius would have told him, all she wanted to know was if he knew what sort of spell Cash had used on the blood to heal Miss MacLeod, she never meant for him to get so upset.
“Harry Potter, come here please” Remus said sternly as Harry jumped, Remus never spoke like that to anyone, at least not anyone in Gryffidor.
Harry went up to Remus immediately, knowing as soon as he saw Hermione’s face this was not going to be pleasant.
“Harry, Miss Granger was just asking me about a spell that was performed last night on Miss MacLeod” Remus said slowly, over pronouncing each word “Perhaps you would like to fill me in”
“I thought you knew about it” Harry said honestly “I figured either Cat or Sirius would have told you”
“No” Remus replied tersely “No one seemed to think it was necessary. What happened Harry?”
Harry gulped, he had never seen Remus like this, he wasn’t sure if he was angry or worried, but it was apparent that he was not happy. “Last night when Cat and Cash were playing with their swords, Draco cursed Cat’s sword, ... he turned it to glass, Cash couldn’t stop in time” Harry stopped as he saw the look in Remus’s eyes he thought he might cry “Its alright Remus, she’s fine. Cash and Sirius took care of her.”
“Sirius, he was there, he saw everything?” Remus asked “Tell me he didn’t transform, please, please tell me he had enough sense to stay a dog.”
Harry bit his lip as Remus looked at him, “He transformed....wonderful” Remus sighed “How many people saw him” he asked resignedly.
“Actually I don’t think anyone did” Hermione chirped in “The Gangrels circled around them pretty fast, I think they knew Sirius shouldn’t have transformed like that”
Remus sighed and relaxed noticeably “What did Cat say when she saw him? Was she upset?”
“She really didn’t get much of a chance to say anything” Harry told him “But she did smile at him, right before she passed out.”
“She passed out?!” Remus repeated “How badly was she hurt? And why didn’t anyone get me?”
“Well we didn’t really know you weren’t there” Harry said, yelling a bit, this was getting ridiculous, “If you were that worried about her why did you leave?”
Remus paused for a moment as he gave Harry an incredulous look “Excuses me Mr. Potter?” Remus was somewhere between irrate and amused, Harry was beginning to sound like James more and more everyday.
“I’m sorry Remus, I didn’t mean......” Harry trailed off as he saw the grin on Remus’s face.
“Its alright Harry, I shouldn’t be taking this out on you, any of you.” he sighed deeply letting his shoulders slump “I left last night after Cash and I had some words, I didn’t like the idea of them playing with swords, it can get dangerous.”
“Well they would have been fine if Malfoy would have staid out of it” Ron said nastily “They were amazing up ‘til then, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I’ve never seen anything like Cat and Remus dancing before” Harry said as a huge smile spread across his face “that was pretty amazing in itself” Harry couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore.
Remus had begun to blush terribly, he went to say something but apparently decided not to and closed his mouth again. Remus thought back to those dancing lessons the Del la Vega’s had given them at Lily’s summer home, he had been paying for those forever, first Sirius getting jealous and pushing him in the pool, then Cat insisting he dance with all of her sisters and cousins, not that he particularly minded that, she had a great looking family. But the looks he would get when he and Cat danced together, he couldn’t help it if they just clicked. Remus thought that after all this time maybe things would change, but after Snape’s jelly leg curse, and Sirius’s hurt expression, he knew they hadn’t, now Harry and the kids were getting in on it, winking and smirking at him. Remus rolled his eyes “It was just a dance, sheesh, forgive me for having a little fun” he answered a bit over dramatically.
“Looked like fun to me” Ron grinned nudging Harry, only to yelp as Hermione pinched his arm.
“Thank you Miss Granger” Remus chuckled “he needed that. But seriously, what happened, you said Cash healed Cat, and Sirius transformed,..... I know the Gangrels, they’d never let Malfoy get away with that, did he get away?” he asked hesitantly.
The trio looked at each other before Harry answered “Well, it wasn’t just Malfoy,... Crabbe and Goyle helped him, I don’t think Crabbe even made it out of the hall, the Garou got a hold of him, we saw he and Goyle in the hospital wing last night.”
“Hospital wing, I thought you said Cash took care of Cat?” Remus asked anxiously staring at Harry.
“He did, but he told me it was my responsibility to take care of her, so I figured she should at least go to the hospital wing, just to make sure” Harry explained.
“You decided....” Remus asked as Harry nodded “and she didn’t put up an argument, she went along with it?”
“Pretty much” Harry responded “She whined a little, but she didn’t refuse or anything”
Remus’s smile grew larger by the second, Cat allowing Harry to step in and take care of her, it was just to unbelievable, Remus knew Cat considered Harry her son, but it just never really struck him before how accepting her clan was of this, Cash left Harry in charge, and Cat listened.... it was mind-boggling, Remus knew if it was him instead of Harry, he would probably of had to toss Cat over his shoulder and carry her to the hospital, she hated that place. “Amazing Harry, simply amazing” was all Remus could say.
“Uhm Professor Lupin” Ron asked while trying to stifle a yawn, “Miss MacLeod gave us a free period this morning...... do you think .... I mean”
Remus nodded happily “Go on, take a nap.... I know I could use one right about now...Hermione you can study if you like, I just got some new books one is on the Celtic Dobhar-Chu that you were asking for” Remus hardly got the chance to finish as Hermione ran up to his desk and unwrapped the package that was sitting there.
“Dobhar-Chu what is that?” Harry asked curiously “Does it have anything to do with Cat?”
“I hope not” Remus laughed “Its also known as a waterhound or an Irish crocodile, very nasty creatures, apparently Hermione heard Cat and Hagrid discussing them one day. Miss MacLeod was very insistent on what she would do if Hagrid showed up with one”
Harry looked up at Hermione, who’s face had gone pale as she read. “How nasty are they?” Harry asked timidly.
“Very nasty, most people never live to tell of the encounter, worse than the Aughiska; at least they let the liver, the Dobhar-Chu, your lucky if they leave the clothing” Remus replied shaking his head, “Sometimes I have to wonder about Hagrid’s judgement about these creatures.”
“I hope he listens to her then” Harry said earnestly “I’m fine with the drakes, barely, but something that actually eats you” he shuddered visibly “no thank you!”
“Harry, one question before you take your seat” Remus said “Has anyone seen Draco, and did anyone tell Dumbledore?”
Harry shrugged his shoulders “I didn’t see Malfoy, and I honestly don’t know if anyone told Professor Dumbledore, sorry.”
Harry went to sit down next to Ron, he needed a nap badly, especially after hearing about Hagrid’s latest monster infatuation......
Remus sighed as he returned to his desk, he needed to talk with Cat, she could fill him in on all the details, especially what happened to Draco Malfoy, if Cash was involved it was sure to be trouble.
Lunch time came quickly, as the students hurried to get their food, Remus lingered for a few moments in his classroom, carefully thinking over what Harry had told him. Cat had been seriously hurt, Cash had healed her, but not before Sirius had transformed, “well at least she smiled at him, thats a change for the better” Remus sighed.
“Who smiled at whom?” a cheery voice called out from the doorway.
Remus jumped as Cash came strolling in, wearing a huge grin on his face, “You wouldn’t happen to be talking about Angel, would you?” Cash questioned knowingly. “She did seem kinda happy to see Sirius, even if she was suffering from a concussion at the time.”
“Yes Cash, about Cat being wounded...” Remus said sternly
“Now mother, no I-told-you-so’s please” Cash replied sarcastically “how was I to know some Slytherin brat would do anything so wicked” he finished practically growling.
“Speaking of the Slytherin brat.... he is still alive, isn’t he?” Remus asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
“Only because Sirius insisted, if it were up to me the brat and his teacher would be gone” Cash said grimacing as he hopped up on Remus’s desk, making himself comfortable “So you gonna fill me in on this Sirius character or what? I’ve heard all your stories, but don’t recall hearing about prison, or him being on the run.”
Remus paused “Exactly how much did Sirius tell you Cash? I thought you two met for the first time last night?”
“We did” Cash replied nonchalantly “He seems like a nice guy,... so why’s Angel so twisted up about him?” Cash stared directly into Remus’s eyes “What aren’t you telling me Lupy? Its obvious Sirius loves her, and she certainly *responds* to his presence.”
“Wait a minute!! What do you mean responds, I thought she passed out?” Remus asked, getting more and more aggravated by Cash’s games.
“That was later, I meant earlier, when I accidently opened the door on them,....Remember I told you about the way she was blushing.” Cash told him slyly, smiling as he saw the gleam in Remus’s eyes, “So I take it you approve of them getting together?”
“Getting back together actually” Remus corrected him, smiling at Cash’s surprised face “Sirius wanted to marry her when they were in school”
Cash stared at Remus bewildered “Marry.... why didn’t I know about this... and why didn’t it happen,... that prison thing?”
“NO.... and don’t tell her about Azkaban.... let Sirius do that” Remus said quickly “it would be better coming from him, she’ll have to many questions we won’t be able to answer” Remus explained. “I want your word Cash, your word of honor..... wait for Sirius to tell her, agreed?”
Cash nodded his head and offered his hand to Remus “Agreed. But I hope he hurries, that other teacher seemed pretty sure of himself were Angel was concerned.”
Remus arched his eyebrow “What do you mean sure of himself. I assume your talking about Severus Snape... the potion master”
“Yeah, I think that was him, pale, dark eyes, dresses in black” Cash continued as he saw Remus nod “according to Olia and Kara, he seems to think Angel is going to marry him, and he intends to take her away from us.” by the time Cash was finished his eyes were beginning to flash, just the thought of losing a member of his clan for any reason was enough to make his blood boil.
“Calm down Cash, she would never leave her family” Remus reassured him “and I doubt Harry would ever accept Snape as his father... just a feeling I have” he began to chuckle as he finished.
“Harry’s a great kid” Cash said smiling softly “I’m glad they are finally letting her have him, her hearts been broken up over that kid for the past 14 years, it killed her not to be able to take care of him, she promised Lily ... you know?”
Remus placed his hand on Cash’s shoulder, “I know, I remember how close they were” he gave Cash a little squeeze as he smiled sadly “but we have to think about the future now, and that means keeping them all safe. Think your up to it?”
“As if there was any doubt” Cash said grinning madly as he jumped off of Remus’s desk, “Loyal to death and beyond” he said as he hugged Remus tightly. As Cash was walking out of the room he added “Thanks for not harping on me about last night, if I ever though it would end like that....”
“I know Cash, I know” Remus said kindly as Cash left to continue his rounds of the school. Remus looked up at the clock, lunch was nearly over, he ran to the hall, he needed to talk to Cat about a great many things, maybe he could get her to bring her lunch back here, so they could finally talk in private. She needed to know about Sirius, now more than ever, if Cash was right about Snape, and considering some of the packages that had been delivered the other morning he probably was, there was no time to lose......