Harry smiled back as he hugged Sirius “As if I could forget about you. I’ve been kind of busy between school and Cat..uhm Miss MacLeod.... in fact she just got me out of some serious trouble with Snape, ...again.” he said as he rolled his eyes, some days it seemed breathing got him into trouble with Snape.

“You don’t say” Sirius groaned “and exactly *how* did she do that?” He could only imagine.

“Don’t know, just talked to him I guess” Harry said as he pulled the food out of his pockets to Sirius great surprise “Figured you might be hungry, Cat says you look to thin.”

“Really, and what else does Cat say?” Sirius asked between mouthfuls, he was dying to know what she thought about him.

“You mean about *you* or in general” Harry teased, his godfather looked like a schoolboy with a crush whenever he mentioned Cat’s name “I know she and Remus like hexing each other... did you hear what Dumbledore did to them?” Harry laughed as he remembered the looks on their faces.

Laughing loudly Sirius remarked “Yeah, Remus told me. I wish I could have seen that” he said wistfully. “Actually I wish I could have been playing with them” he sighed deeply “I’m still missing out on so much of my life, I had thought by now I would have been cleared. I’m still in prison, its just not fair.”

Harry placed his hand on Sirius’s shoulder, “I know, I wish we could catch wormtail, then you could finally be free to marry Cat.”

Sirius’s eyes opened wide, “Marry Cat, ... Harry were did you get that idea.....her?” he asked hopefully.

“Uhm, no” Harry said quietly “you and Remus, your both always talking about her, and you get the strangest look in your eyes when you start thinking about her.” Harry took a deep breath “It was really obvious at the dance the other night, when Snuffles came up to us.”

“Yeah... I guess it was” Sirius said as he gave Harry a one-sided grin “never was very good at hiding my feelings I guess.” He sighed as he remembered the dance “I wanted to be able to dance with her so badly Harry” his eyes were getting a haunted look to them again “it hurt me so much to be that close and still not be able to touch her, she loves to dance, we used to dance all the time.” Sirius closed his eyes for a moment, not wanting to lose his composure in front of Harry.

Harry watched his godfather, it was so clear to him how deeply he loved Cat. Harry felt a pang of guilt as he remember the way he had treated Sirius at the dance. “Actually, I came to apologize for the other night, for the way I spoke to you” Harry said softly “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings” he was looking down at his feet, to ashamed to look Sirius in the eyes. “I just didn’t know what to do. You and Cat are like family to me, I love you both, your kind of my parents.... you know?” Harry said, hoping Sirius still felt the same way.

Sirius looked at his godson and smiled tenderly “Its alright Harry, I know how difficult this all must be for you” Sirius waved his hand in the air, signifying Harry’s life, the Dursley’s, Voldemort, everything “can you tell me why you were so upset? Is there anything I can do to help?”

Harry paused, he needed answers, but he didn’t want to hurt Sirius anymore than he wanted to hurt Cat. Looking back at Sirius, he saw his godfather’s worried eyes, taking a deep breath Harry told him “I was angry with you because as soon as I said your name Cat started to cry” he was practically whispering for fear his words would hurt Sirius even more “Sirius, what happened between you two make her cry like that?”

Sirius felt a stabbing in his heart, he couldn’t even begin to explain to Harry what a mess he had made of things. Looking forlorn, Sirius spoke softly “I don’t even know where to begin Harry, I made so many mistakes....” Sirius took a deep, jagged breath “why don’t we talk about something else... I heard you had an interesting dream the other night, care to share?” he added, trying to be cheerful for Harry’s sake.

Harry grinned widely at the thought, maybe this would chase away the ghosts Sirius was obviously fighting. “I don’t know Sirius, its pretty intense.... sure you can handle it?”

“Intense?! Remus and Cat said it was about her husband” Sirius paused a moment as a terrible thought passed through his mind “Oh no, Harry..... tell me it wasn’t Snape... Please!”

Harry screwed up his face at the thought of it “Snape..... eeeyywww, Sirius what are you thinking, why would anyone marry him?”

Sirius had to laugh, leave it to Harry to cheer him up. “Okay, so if it wasn’t Snape who was it? And this had better be good.” he warned teasingly.

“Its better than good, its great. We were at this old house with a pond in the back, Cat was in the kitchen and you were trying to work a grill, she told you not to burn off anything important, and you told me that you used to be an auror, you could manage a grill. Only you used your wand and caused a fire, Cat came running out and turned the hose on you” Harry began laughing as he remembered the dream clearly “ you were drenched, you stood there and told me to take the hose away from my mother, she was a danger to everyone.” Harry felt his heart soar as he saw Sirius begin to smile widely and then laugh, truly laugh.

“The scary thing is, I can so easily see her doing that.” Sirius said as he laughed at the thought “she probably planned it, just so she could douse me.”

“I don’t think so” Harry added, waiting for his godfather to pay full attention “I mean considering her condition and all.” Bingo, Sirius snapped to attention.

“Condition.... Harry what do you mean condition? She was alright, wasn’t she?” Sirius knew it was only a dream, but still, if Harry had the same gift as Lily and Cat.....

Harry smiled when he saw the concern on Sirius’s face, it made him feel even more confident in his dream “Of course she was fine.” Harry said, waiting to see his godfathers face as he finished his sentence “just really, really big..... I guess having twins will do that though.”

Harry thought Sirius was going to drop over right there. “Twins, she was pregnant? With my children?” Sirius asked softly as Harry saw the joy in his eyes. “We were a family Harry, a real family?” Sirius’s eyes filled with tears of happiness as he thought hopefully of a future together with Cat and Harry and an apparently growing family.

Harry nodded vigorously “and Cat recognized the house in my dream... she said she lived there when she went to school here, ..... so ... ..maybe...” He didn’t need to finish, Sirius understood perfectly.

“I sincerely hope so Harry” Sirius told him, “In fact, I believe it is true.” It had suddenly dawned on Sirius what Harry had said about him being an auror, very few people had ever known about that, Remus and Albus were probably the only two in the school, and Harry would have asked him about it long before now if anyone had told him. Maybe his did have his mother’s gift after all. Harry and Sirius continued talking and planning their futures, they both seemed to have the same ideas of what they wanted, and each was sure that Cat would want the same thing. Their conversation was interrupted by the slamming of Albus’s office door.

“Minister Fudge, I have told you time and time again, I will not allow dementors in my school. Miss MacLeod had every right to have them removed.” Albus said irately, he did not know how much longer they could keep the ministry and its foolishness out of Hogwarts.

“Well thats interesting, seeing as how she has no business being here” Lucius remarked snidely, “I certainly don’t remember signing any employment parchment for her.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not getting paid.” Cat said evenly as she sat down between Remus and Minerva, she was not about to let Lucius Malfoy get her temper going, not yet at least.

“Your salary is the least of our concerns” Fudge said nervously “these creatures you’ve brought with you are dangerous...”

“And your dementors aren’t?” Cat cut him off, “at least my friends can control themselves, they don’t suck the souls out of people..”

“Just their blood” a minister said harshly, “vampires are a well know danger, as are banshee’s” he added pointedly.

Cat rolled her eyes and sighed “First of all junior” she said addressing the minister, “if you want to insult me at least get the names right.... its beansidhe, not banshee... and they are vampyres... at least some of them, the ones - entertaining - the dementors are Garou” she smiled sweetly “I’ll introduce you to them later if you like.”

“Now Cat...” Remus warned her gently, “lets not start off on the wrong foot, after all we’re all here to protect the students, isn’t that right Minister Fudge?”

“Oh ... yes... yes, of course, the students” Fudge stuttered, the sidhe was making him nervous, Lucius had warned him about the creature, and it was evident that she was controlling the monsters now inhabiting the school. Fudge paused as he saw the sidhe woman staring menacingly at him, as if she was reading his mind.

“Good guess....” Cat replied, “and be careful who you call a monster. I’d take a very close look at my companions before I went around calling other people nasty names.” her voice was completely calm, without malice or anger.

Lucius sensed his chance “You see my point Minister Fudge, I believe mind reading is strictly prohibited by the Ministry.” his smile was painfully forced as he addressed the Minister “She is a danger to us all.”

“Your laws Lucy... not mine, not my peoples” Cat responded almost absent-mindedly as she twirled a bit of her hair around her finger, she knew Lucius, she knew his type, if you ignored them it would push them right over the edge, and she was more than ready to see him fall.

“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT” Lucius roared, everyone in the room stared at him in shock, except Cat, who was busy studying the details of Minerva’s robes.

“I’m sorry.... did you say something?” she responded pleasantly, as several of the younger ministers began to chuckle at him.

“You bitch, who do you think you are, my son was almost killed because of you and your monsters” Lucius seethed, “they attacked him and Professor Snape, its nothing short of a miracle that they are alive. Don’t you agree Professor Snape? ”.........

Harry looked at Sirius, he had never seen such a look of pure anger on his face, Lucius Malfoy’s attack on Cat had his godfather shaking with anger. Harry heard Sirius muttering something under his breath, but he couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. Harry felt very uncomfortable, he hadn’t been afraid of Sirius since that night in the shrieking shack, but at this moment he understood how intimidating his godfather could be....

“I consider you completely responsible for their condition, you encouraged those beasts to attack both students and teachers” Lucius went on, trying to get the other ministers to agree with him, “and what about this *dance* you instigated, how many students became meals for your *friends* that night?” a murmur could be heard coming from the Ministry members.

“First of all, its Queen bitch to you,....Lucy” Cat said evenly and very, very clearly “Secondly, the only students who have ever been harmed by my friends, were the ones who nearly killed me the night of the dance. I would have stopped the attacks, if I had been able to walk, as it was I had lost quite a bit of blood myself.” she stood up from her chair and casually picked up a book that was laying on Albus’s desk “Remind me to thank your son for that by the way, interesting spell he used, learned it from you I assume” she paused as she flipped through a few pages of the book. She turned to look at Lucius smiling proudly, nodding that yes he had taught his son a few new spells.

“I thought so.... recognize a deatheaters deceit when I see it, ... always have.” she grinned wickedly as she saw the look on Lucius’s face, he had been caught with his own anger and pride. “Something wrong Lucy... you seem... I don’t know... trapped?” she raised her eyebrows as she blinked innocently, as she slammed the book shut with a heavy thud.

Lucius looked as if he would kill her right there, he hated her and her kind. “You still haven’t told us who attacked my son and Professor Snape, who are you protecting?”

“Strange, I don’t recall anyone asking me who attacked who, Did I miss something while you were screaming like a lunatic Mr. Malfoy?” Cat asked as she tried desperately to keep her temper under control. But she had the winning hand here, they were terrified of her, she could see it in their faces and hear it in their minds. She was a complete mystery to them, she was clouded in the mists of half-truths and fear, they were pathetically ignorant of her and her people, and she intended to use that against them. “Be careful Lucius, you know what I’m capable of...” Cat said warningly “you should remember that from your last attack ... so many never went home.”

Lucius felt self conscious as he felt every pair of eyes turn to stare at him, “You have my son attacked and you try to incriminate me?” he snarled “My son was practically torn apart by a wolf and some huge dog, and you try to accuse me of .....”

“Grim...” Cat interrupted

“What did you say” Fudge asked her nervously.

“The dog that Lucius is ranting about... It was a Grim” she answered simply, as if it were nothing special. Cat smiled to herself as she saw several of the ministers fidget noticeably in their seats.

“HAH, then you admit you sent them” Lucius crowed victoriously “they were doing it for you.”

“of course they were, .... they were protecting me.” Cat continued “they are my friends, I had been nearly killed by your brat, they were doing what came naturally” Cat paused as she surveyed the room “they defended me, it is their nature. Where I come from we take responsibility for each others safety and well being” she looked disdainfully at Malfoy “not that you would understand, guess it’s a clan thing.”

“So you take responsibility for them..... and their actions” Malfoy asked hoping to trap her by her own words.

“Yes, the wolf and the Grim are mine” Cat growled. “and you’ll have to go through me before you so much as touch either”she was quickly losing her temper, this needed to be settled on the battlefield, not an office. Lucius Malfoy was going to die, and if fate was kind, she would be the one to do it.

“I was told the dog belonged to Harry Potter” Lucius hissed nastily as he turned to face Remus Lupin who had stood up and protectively placed his hands on Cat’s arms.

“a gift from me, and I take responsibility for Harry as well” she dared any of them to defy her will. “By clan law he is MY son, and I don’t need to tell you what that means to me.” Remus tightened his grip on Cat, he had seen this look before, she was very close to attacking, and possibly killing Malfoy right now. Her eyes were beginning to glow like Cash’s and she was clenching her hands, it was only a matter of time at this rate........

Sirius and Harry looked at each other and winked. She was so protective of them both, but Sirius was still concerned ,he recognized the tone in her voice. She was angry now, very angry he hoped Albus and Remus could keep her calm enough to avoid any trouble, things had a bad habit of becoming strange when she got upset, Morano’s office was only one of many instances. Cat had a strange sense of humor, almost twisted at times, she freely admitted that sometimes things would just pop into her mind, usually that wasn’t a problem, in fact most of the time it was rather funny, but when she was angry.... those thoughts could become terrifying realities. Sirius let out a deep sigh, he hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath, he strained to hear what was going on. It seemed to be unnervingly quiet suddenly..........

Minister Fudge stood up to speak, he had to stop this from going any further, he had heard more than enough stories about her kind to know he did not want to provoke her. It was Dumbledore that needed to answer for his actions, he brought her here, and allowed her monsters to come with her, it was inexcusable. “Dumbledore what gives you the right to speak for the ministry, we have not authorized any negotiations with these creatures.”

Cat turned towards Fudge “I know, ....they are not aligning themselves with you, the ministry has a very bad reputation. Albus Dumbledore, on the other hand is above reproach. If they decide to become allies, they will be allies and protectors of Albus Dumbledore and his school.” she said icily “the ministry can fend for itself, it always has, regardless of the costs.” she looked Fudge squarely in the eyes as she finished.

Fudge shuddered violently as her eyes bored into him, she was certainly unlike anyone he had ever met, and the stories Malfoy had told about her made his blood run cold. He suddenly began to wonder if any of them would leave Hogwarts alive. “Miss MacLeod” he began tentatively “I was addressing Professor Dumbledore, he is headmaster, not you” Fudge gave a sigh of relief as Cat nodded her head and moved aside as Professor Lupin guided her to her chair. He puzzled for a moment, she seems absolutely tame suddenly.

“Quite right Cornelius” Albus said warmly “and she is very much adored by her students as well.” he winked cheerfully “However it is Miss MacLeod who is responsible for the diplomatic relations with the Gangrel and Garou” he nodded towards Cat “and with any luck, she will soon convince several other clans to join our fight against the dark lord as well.”

“Albus please tell me your not still going on about that” Fudge sighed “you know as well as I do that Mr. Potter’s rather..erh..active imagination is to blame for that ridiculous rumor.” He paused as he felt the teachers glaring at him. Looking at them all “You cannot honestly tell me that you all believe that you-know-who has returned.”

“Well I believe the attack against the school a few weeks ago would have proved that to everyone” Minerva said sarcastically “honestly the smell from the ghouls alone should have been proof enough. Even for the Ministry,” She continued “surely the smell of burning ghoul must have made at least some of you wonder what had happened.”

“Burning ghoul?” Fudge asked, “Albus, how on earth did you manage that?”

“With the assistance of Minerva and Cat” Albus replied as he smiled at them both “they are both experience in the art of defense, and Cat is particularly inventive, makes it very hard for the enemy to anticipate our moves.” Albus looked directly at Lucius as he said this, knowing full well he would give Voldemort a full report of everything that was said.

“Minister Fudge..” Cat waited until he looked at her “Am I correct in my understanding ...... you are telling me that you have no knowledge of Voldemort’s return. Diggory’s death, the attacks on this school, on Harry ....... None of this rings any bells for you?” She asked, truly curious at his response to the situation.

“All of which can be explained easily” Fudge quickly explained “Mr. Potter has had a difficult life, his mind tends to ......”

“Stop right there!” Cat said firmly “Despite Harry’s neglected childhood, he is well adjusted and very concerned for his fellow beings” she said as she rose from her chair “and I personally take offense at your reference to my son’s state of mind. I suggest you apologize.” Cat placed her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot on the stone floor, waiting impatiently for his response.

“Miss MacLeod, I understand your loyalty to him, but he is hardly your son” Fudge said trying to humor her “Lily Potter was his ........” he realized to late what a terrible mistake he had made.

“How dare you” Cat whispered menacingly “By clan law he is my son, and it is my duty to protect him” she continued as she began walking steadily towards Fudge “it is my responsibility to train him in our ways, it is my honor and the honor of my family to have him take his place among us.....”

Malfoy jumped in front of her, blocking her way to Fudge “First you attack students, then teachers, and now the Minister himself.” he sneered “It only proves what a danger you are, you can’t control yourself, much less your monsters. I say we take you to Azkaban, let the dementors deal with you”

Snape grimaced as he saw were this was heading, he racked his brain trying to figure a way to prevent the brewing battle without endangering anyone in the room or showing his true loyalties. “I thought we came here to discuss the vampyres, not Miss MacLeod’s family” he drawled, looking completely uninterested in either.

Malfoy turned and shot daggers at Snape, while his back was turned to her, Cat winked at Snape as she nodded her head. She knew what he had to do, she understood that he didn’t mean anything he was going to say about her.

Fudge jumped at the chance to change the subject “You are absolutely right Professor Snape. The vampires are a known danger, they have attacked at least three students and Professor Snape.” he paused to make sure he had everyone’s attention “I insist they leave immediately.”

“As do I” Malfoy added as he glared at Cat.

“Oh and I’m sure you would love that Lucius” Cat said nastily “I’m sure you would waste no time at all reporting to your master Voldemort that the school was left defenseless once again.” Cat turned to Fudge “Due to the consummate stupidity of the Ministry.... of course.” She finished as she gave a mocking bow in Fudge’s direction.

Before Fudge could reply, Malfoy had drawn his wand and pointed it at Cat. The teachers quickly rose to protect her, even Severus stood up, unsure as to what his actions would need to be. “You bitch, you don’t belong here, you never belonged here. The only smart thing Dumbledore ever did was expel you from this school” he snarled “I can’t believe he was duped into allowing you to return. What sort of promises did your disgusting family offer him, forbidden magic perhaps?”

Cat didn’t bother to answer, everyone else was responding for her, yelling about her right to be there, defending her honor, she actually had to hold back Minerva, certainly a position she never imagined herself being in, usually it was the other way around........

Meanwhile, Sirius and Harry were busy listening to every word that was being said. Harry could have screamed when Fudge all but accused him of either lying or being insane, but his heart swelled with love and pride as he heard Cat defending him so fiercely. “I told you Sirius” Harry whispered “she’s every bit as protective of me as you are. I bet she would do the same for you if they say anything to her.” he smiled widely as Sirius grinned back at him.

“Let’s hope they don’t” Sirius whispered back “I don’t think she knows anything about me being in Azkaban, and I haven’t really thought of a gentle way to break it to her.” he sighed softly, he needed to talk to her, alone, just one night to explain the past 17 years, he knew in his heart she would understand. She always had in the past, no matter what, she had always stood by him, and she would know immediately that he would never harm James or Lily, he wouldn’t have to *prove* his innocence to her. Sirius smiled as he thought of how their night of conversation would most likely end.

Harry and Sirius winced as they heard Fudge’s comment about Harry not being Cat’s son. “Now he’s done it” Sirius said as he rolled his eyes “Her temper is worse than mine” he grinned as Harry nodded, she had already begun to lash out at Fudge. Suddenly they both heard Malfoy’s comments about Cat and Albus. Sirius had actually begun to growl, he so wanted to burst into the room and tear that creep apart. “Looks like I bit the wrong Malfoy” Sirius lamented.

“You mean you actually did bite Draco?” Harry asked as his eyes practically popped out of his head “I though they made that up.”

“Uhm, ... no, I did it” Sirius replied sheepishly “I got a bit out of hand, I thought he had killed her, I guess I lost my head...I only did it because....” Sirius began to blush a bit from the embarrassment of having to tell Harry that he had lost his temper again.

Harry looked at Sirius in shock, but quickly grinned at his godfather’s blush, “You did it because you’re still in love with her” he finished for his godfather, who looked over at him and smiled widely “and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.” Harry added, winking at Sirius........

The noise in the office was getting out of control, Cat was standing with Minerva, each keeping the other from doing any serious harm, but Remus and Lucius had faced off. Lucius had already sent several spells at Remus, who luckily had avoided all of them. Albus stood up from behind his desk and roaring loudly, silenced the room. “That is quiet enough from everyone” Albus continued in his normal soft spoken way “Mr. Fudge, the vampyres are my guests and will be staying.” he held up his hand to prevent any objections “and Mr. Malfoy, I neither appreciate your allegations against me, nor against Miss MacLeod. She is here at my request” he said pointedly “her family was kind enough to allow her to accept my invitation and she was gracious enough to aid me in defending Hogwarts against Voldemort and his forces.”.......

Cat had to smile at Dumbledore’s words, she loved her *Uncle Alby*, he was one of the few people outside of her clan that her father trusted implicitly, and he was proving why. She turned and smiled at him, he returned her smile with his own. She knew the terms of her father’s arrangement with Albus, he was to take on the position of her “father” which means he was wholly responsible for her, and she was to obey him as she would her father. It felt a bit odd at times, but she had been fostered in the past and understood the rules and their necessity......

“There is no Voldemort” Fudge yelled exasperated, “he is dead, has been dead since the night he failed to kill Harry Potter, every child knows that.”

The teachers turned and looked at Fudge with a mixture of contempt and pity. “How can you be so blind?” Cat asked disdainfully “Do you really believe that Harry has been the cause of all the deaths?” she asked sincerely “and what about all the disappearances, just coincidence?”

Fudge was at a loss for words, he didn’t know how to answer her without having the sidhe come after him again. He stood there dumbly, hoping for someone else to answer for him. Malfoy, of course, jumped at the opportunity.

“You have no right to question the Ministry’s judgement on this, you’re not even one of us.” he said snidely, “You are just a pathetic piece of trash trying to force your way into our world by using the sidhe name to frighten people.”

Cat froze, “What did you just say?” turning quickly on her heels she stared directly into Lucius’s eyes. The thing she noticed most about him was the emptiness, nothing but cold, empty space in his eyes, no warmth, no soul, nothing, just death. She shook her head and laughed softly “You don’t give a damn about your son, you are only here to see how much trouble you can stir up for Albus. You know your master still fears him.” Cat said sadly “just as he fears my people. That’s right Lucy, I know what my people can do to him, and so does he.” she paused as Lucius began to turn beet red “that’s why he’s so desperately searching for the bearer of the Phoenix’s gate, he needs their blood and mine to gain complete control of the mage’s grimore.” she watched with a satisfied smile as the blood drained from Malfoy’s face.

“The ministry has ways of taking care of people like you” Malfoy said threateningly as he recovered from his shock.

Cat became suddenly furious, she had had more than enough of his bullying “you mean the way you ‘took care’ of my mother. I don’t care if it wasn’t your hand on the blade” the venom was pouring out with her words. “you are just as responsible for her murder as the pieces of filth that you sent.” her voice was hard and cold, her eyes turned to glittering jewels of ice.

Everyone in the room froze with the exception of Minerva and Albus, who quickly went to Cat’s side, they were the only ones who had known. It was Albus who had calmed her father down enough to stop him from attacking the entire wizarding world, his powers were almost as immense as MacLir’s if he had attacked it would have cost to many innocent lives, it took Albus several weeks but he finally convinced her father to only kill the men responsible for Diedre’s murder. The ones who had physically participated were dead within hours of his agreement, Albus shivered as he remembered how they had died, her father could be amazingly cruel when his family was harmed. Magnus had begun working out from there, anyone who so much as had an idea of what was going to happen had been killed, it was only a matter of time before he got to the Malfoy household. Albus took Cat by her arm and forcefully guided her back to Remus’s waiting arms, he could trust Remus to protect and care for her. He needed to turn his attention to other matters at the present.........