Remus took Cat from Albus, he wrapped his arms around her protectively, he had always known Malfoy was capable of unspeakable things, but to kill Cat’s mother, he was dumbfounded. It took all of his strength to hold Cat back, she wanted to tear Lucius apart, and Remus had no doubts whatsoever that she could do it, in fact a part of him wished she would manage to slip through his grasp and do exactly that.

As Albus approached Lucius Malfoy, Minister Fudge tried to intercede “You don’t honestly think Lucius had anything to do with that woman’s murder Albus” he whimpered “you can’t believe her, look at her, she’s as mad as Potter is.”

Albus froze, he took a deep breath as he narrowed his eyes “Neither Miss MacLeod nor Mister Potter have gone mad.” he said evenly as his temper began to rise “although both would have every reason in the world to do so. Both were witnesses to their mother’s brutal murders, both have been accused of doing horrible things that have in fact been orchestrated by Voldemort and his followers.” the power emanating from Albus Dumbledore was immense and overwhelming, it was no wonder Voldemort was still frightened of him. Albus stared intently at Lucius Malfoy, who averted his eyes from the old wizard’s gaze, Albus turned next to Cornelius Fudge who had much the same reaction. Snorting in disgust, Albus walked over to where Remus was trying to restrain Cat.

“Remus, please take Cat some where..... soothing” Albus had asked as Cat continued to struggle, he stared at her, but she had no problem returning his gaze. Albus sighed as he placed his hand on her cheek and whispered “Cyatriheadgh, grá, dílseacht agus cairdeas” Cat winced as her eyes filled with tears, but she stopped her struggling. “Please, escort her, and stay with her Remus, I do not want any *accidents* in my school” he added as he shot a glance at Lucius.

Remus nodded as he gently maneuvered Cat out of the office, his arm was still around her, ready to either restrain or protect her at a moments notice. It wasn’t until they were more than half way down the stairs that he realized someone was waiting for them at the bottom.......

As soon as the door had closed behind Remus, Albus turned to Fudge. This needed to end now. “I understand if you do not wish to negotiate with others in the magical realms, but Voldemort will, he has in the past. As it stands now, he already has the dementors, and several clans of vampires, but then we have some vampyres of our own.”

You have no right to speak for the ministry” Fudge said as he timidly returned to his chair, visibly withering in Albus’s presence.

“Your correct Mr. Fudge. I do not, and I am not. I am speaking for myself, as head of this school, it is my responsibility to protect my students” Albus answered firmly and clearly.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be headmaster..” Lucius began to say, only to stop mid sentence as the *someone* Remus and Cat had run into entered the room.

“Angel seems upset, she won’t talk to us.... Remus said something about wicked, stupid gits” Raul said pleasantly “Since we are honor bound to protect your school and its inhabitants, we thought it would be best to see what has happened” Raul smiled now, showing his teeth in all of their savage glory.

Albus smiled graciously at Raul and the others who filed in behind him. He had only just met a few of them earlier this evening, Tristessa of course was well known to him, she and Cash were both cousins to Cat, and her looks were equally as deceptive as her cousin’s. To see her you would think she was a frail and helpless woman; not much taller than Cat, her hair was a sunny blonde and she shared Cat’s green eyes, but her beauty hid her strength and her ferocity.

Accompanying her were several new additions to the alliance, two Ventrue clan vampyres Joshua and Dimitri, both rather suave looking. Dimitri was very striking with his curling blue-black hair and piercing grey eyes. Joshua on the other hand was most notable for his large soft brown eyes and shoulder length dark blonde hair, neatly tied back. But the most imposing by far was the Nosferatu a rather sullen fellow known as Mohrg.

“You would allow monsters like this to walk the halls with students” Lucius roared indignantly.

Mohrg was first to answer him “Be careful who you call monster, quite often evil is hidden inside comeliness” his voice was amazingly soft and almost serene, “Monsters we are, lest monsters we become.” he finished as he bowed his head ever so slightly towards the Ministry.

“Dumbledore, you are hereby dismissed as Headmaster of Hogwarts” screeched Fudge, he could feel his throat tightening, he could hardly breath due to his own fear. He had never seen so many vampires at such close range, and the one looked as though he had been laying in his grave for centuries. .........

To some extent this was a fair description, one of the hardships of the Nosferatu was their appearance, they were the ones who least resembled their former human selves. They were stronger by far than any other clan, but that strength came at a terrible price, they were all made for the grave, their hair was gone, both man and woman, and the cartilage in their body’s decayed rapidly, causing their noses and ears to droop horribly. The smell was not pleasant either, seeing as how they lived almost exclusively underground, but Cat assured them all that he was vital to their success, and he had shown himself to be a gentle and reasonable person thus far. Especially towards Cat, Albus had noticed the way Mohrg treated her, almost as if she were a china doll....

“No, he is not.” Raul was speaking this time, barely containing his anger “We will protect him, and his school, from ALL danger. That includes you.” he said becoming fiercely protective, he had developed a fondness for this old man who cared so much for his charges. Raul could do less than his very best to protect such an honorable, kind man.

The scene quickly deteriorated, as the Ministry takes Raul’s warning as a threat against them all. The Ministers pulled out their wands preparing to battle the vampyre, a battle that was over before it began, Mohrg quickly threw a fine powder over the Minister’s causing them to literally become rooted to the floor. Raul sneered as the thick gnarling roots twisted and twined their way across the room, trapping everyone who held a wand.

Raul nodded to Joshua and Dimitri who nimbly climbed through the thick tangle of branches and roots to gather all of the wands. As they finished they went to hand the wands to Raul, however he stepped aside and with his arm motioned toward Mohrg, indicating that they belong to him. After all it was the Nosferatu’s magic that had defeated the Ministry, he should be rewarded with their weapons.

After Mohrg safely had all the wands in hand, he waved his arm and muttered a spell, as quickly as they came, the roots vanished into the very floors of Dumbledore’s office. The Minister’s were beside themselves with anger and fear, they were unarmed and surrounded by monsters who were less than friendly. Lucius, of course, was furious. He had begun screaming at the top of his lungs about betrayal and deception.

“Interesting choice of words coming from you” Dimitri said coldly “How many have needlessly died at your hands? How many of them called you friend?” Dimitri’s grey eye’s flashed dangerously, as he stood face to face with Lucius. Dimitri watched anxiously, waiting for any excuse to prove himself in battle to Raul and Mohrg. Clan politics were extremely important to status and power, he knew the laws and traditions by heart, he also understood the overt politeness needed to soothe inter-clan relations, but as far as the Gangrels were concerned, if you couldn’t fight, you couldn’t lead.

Tristessa steps between them “Gentlemen, the matter is closed. We are here, we will remain here. It is our duty to protect, we are loyal to death ...... and beyond.” she explained calmly “It does not matter what you rule regarding us or him” she nods towards Albus “We have allied ourselves with him, not whomever is headmaster, not the ministry. So unless you want a very quick, very bloody war, I suggest you all leave quickly, and let us to do what we do best.” she stood there, waiting for anyone to dare disagree with her, secretly hoping Malfoy would, it would give her an excuse to tear his sorry excuse for a heart right out of his chest.

Fudge quickly surveyed the situation, they were hopelessly outnumbered. Dumbledore and McGonagall surrounded by five all to willing vampires, his forces were no match for this and he knew it. Always being a survivor, Fudge motioned to his Ministry it was time to leave, and quickly froze as he saw Raul holding the door for him.

“As Professor Dumbledore does not wish any, what did you call them dear friend, accidents....” Raul smiled sickly “please allow me to escort you to your cars.” He motioned for Joshua and Dimitri to lead the way as he, Mohrg and Tris brought up the rear. “Your wands *may* be returned to you as you leave, but I will leave that decision to the most honored Nosferatu.”

The Ministers were moved quickly through the halls, Raul did not wish to upset the students, he looked upon several of them as his own mortal children. The group did not so much as utter a single word as they wound through the school and out the front gate. Just as the Ministers thought they could breath easily, there attention was caught by the figures along the forbidden forest........

They had had no idea how many vampyre or Garou had been here at the school, but now they saw. Nervously staring towards the edge of the forest they saw several dozen figures, all loyal to Dumbledore and the Sidhe woman. Several of the Garou had begun to approach them, eyeing the ministers suspiciously, several even appeared to be growling. It was then that Fudge noticed what was left of the dementors strewn about the grounds. One particular Garou had caught his eye at this point, he was almost white, young and very arrogant, he was tossing the head of one of the dementors up and down, as if it were a ball.

“Fang” Tris said sharply “stop playing with your food, ..... its very rude.” She knitted her brow as she scolded him.

Fudge was ready to pass out, the only member of the Ministry who looked worse than him, was Lucius Malfoy. Lucius was becoming frightened himself, not because of a few creatures lurking in the shadows, but because of his master. Voldemort was already displease at his last attempt to abduct Potter and the Sidhe, and now he would have to report that Hogwarts was much better guarded then they could ever have imagined. A shudder passed violently through Lucius as he thought about Voldemort’s reaction to this new turn of events....

As Raul and the other vampyres re-entered the school, he pulled Tris aside “Tristessa, I know you have recently returned to us, but do I need to remind you of your place? I am primogen, you overstepped your bounds in Albus’s office.” he told her sternly.

Tris looked Raul deeply in his eyes, “My apologies Raul, but please remember, it is not just clan honor or allegiance to me” she said forcefully “Angel is blood to me, our mothers were sisters. She is *my* family, that supercedes any politics.”

Raul regarded her for a moment, it was obvious she was telling the truth. It seemed odd to him, both she and Cash were extremely powerful, in fact Cash had destroyed the last primogen of the clan, yet neither of them had any ambition to take over the position. “I accept you reasons Tristessa.” Raul said as he returned her gaze and smiled softly.

Mohrg silently stepped to Raul’s side and waited for the Gangrel to look at him.

“Yes Mohrg, may I assist you?” Raul knew you could never be too polite to the Nosferatu.

“Their wands...” Mohrg replied softly “It is done” Mohrg almost smiled himself as he watched to grin spread across Raul’s face, so human these Gangrel, borne to the blood, but not consumed by it as his clan was. “They never suspected anything, they were to relieve to have them returned.”

“Amazing, I never even thought such a thing was possible” Raul said with wonder “but how will you control all of their wands at once? Surely the strain would be to much, even for one as strong as yourself” Raul asked, genuinely concerned, this was the first time he had ever even seen a Nosferatu outside of the conclave, much less been able to stand so close.

“We have our ways” Mohrg said softly as he watched Raul and Tristessa closely, he was as fascinated by them as they were of him, especially the woman Tristessa. “Tell me Primogen of Clan Gangrel, may I speak with your childer?” Mohrg asked as he looked intently at Tristessa.

Raul paused for a moment, as curious as he was about the Nosferatu, his first concern was to his clan, he must protect and lead them. “She is not my childer, she is older by far than I.” Raul said hesitantly “She is free to make her own decision in this matter” he added as he gently placed his hand on her arm.

Tristessa was looking at them both, she had no fear in her eyes, the Nosferatu did not frighten her, Angel had told her too many stories about the clan she had met in America to fear them any longer. “I would be honored to speak with you Mohrg of Clan Nosferatu” she replied as she bowed slightly “Angel has told me a great deal of your brothers and sisters across the sea.”

A slight smile crossed Mohrg’s lips “Then it is her, she is the angel we have heard so much about?” rumors of a strange woman, beautiful and fearless had recently be circulating throughout the entire clan, he had put it down to wishful thinking, until he had received a letter from Daedelus, they had been embraced together, made brothers in death by their sire. He had met this woman, she had given his clan hope, she was known to them as Angel.

“Yes, it is she” Tristessa said confidently as she lightly touched Mohrg’s sleeve, Angel had told her how enamored the Nosferatu had been by her physically affectionate ways. They were not used to being touched by others, it had endeared her to them immediately they quickly took her under their wings, teaching and protecting her against all. Tris smiled softly as she saw the surprised look in Mohrg’s eyes, it was exactly as Angel described it, intense shock that immediately softened into tenderness. “In life we were also family” she said softly, as Mohrg nodded at her.

“I heard your explanation to Raul” he said softly “It is my understanding that Clan MacLeod and Clan Gangrel are one. Is this true?” Mohrg looked directly into Tris’s eyes, his clan had seen how the Gangrel held on to their humanity, their *family* it sustained them when other clans had fallen “Do they accept you as the rumors say?” his eyes glimmered with a faint hope.

Tris hesitated for a moment, “We are not exactly one, but so many of us have crossed from one to the other....” her voice trailed off. She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, she needed to explain this carefully “. Our Clans have always been tied to each other. Many of us, myself and Cash included, are Clan MacLeod by birth. We were born, lived and nearly died as MacLeod. At the time of our deaths, we were offered the embrace, it was a free choice, some accepted, some did not.” it was the simplest way she had to explain it.

Mohrg thought about it for a moment and bowed his head towards Tris “I thank you for your time and honesty dear lady” his voice seemed to have become even softer, Tris noticed that he moved to touch her but hesitated, he looked at her longingly as he stepped back into the shadows, he had heard the students moving through the hallways heading for their next class ........

It felt like hours to Harry as he tried to get Sirius to respond to him, he was becoming frightened it wasn’t like Sirius to be like this. Sirius was still on the floor, but at least now he was sitting up, his head was resting on his knees as he rocked back and forth slightly, never making a sound. This must have been what it was like for him in Azkaban, Harry winced as he thought about it. Harry’s attention was torn between his godfather and the conversation outside of the room, he sighed with relief as he heard Raul’s voice and it sounded as though he had brought some friends. After some yelling and the sound of boards creaking things really seemed to quiet down, Harry waited for a while before taking a chance. Cautiously he peeked out from behind the tapestry which hid the passage to Sirius’s room, relief flooded through him as all he saw were the familiar faces of his teachers.

Stepping out quietly from behind the tapestry, Harry quickly got Dumbledore’s attention. “Harry?” Albus said as he frowned “How long have you been in there?”

Harry looked down at his shoes, “Since before the meeting, Sirius and I were talking about a few things” he said softly “by the time we realized who was here, we couldn’t leave.” Harry looked up at Dumbledore timidly, waiting for his reply. He was surprised to see Minerva walk up to Dumbledore and take him by the arm.

“Mr. Potter, when you say *we*, do you mean to tell me that Mr. Black heard the conversation also?” Minerva’s concern was evident as she looked from Dumbledore to Harry.

Harry nodded as his face shattered “He won’t talk or even look at me... he’s just ... I don’t know what he’s doing” the panic was beginning to edge into his voice. Minerva, Albus and Severus all looked at each other and quickly ran into the room. There was Sirius, still sitting on the floor his arms wrapped around his legs and his head resting against his knees.

Albus knelt next to Sirius and gently placed his hand on Sirius’s shoulder “Sirius..... Sirius... its Albus Dumbledore.” Albus looked up at Minerva and Severus, they exchanged worried glances. “Sirius, Harry is here.” Sirius finally stopped rocking at the sound of Harry’s name. Albus decided to push a little further “Harry is worried about Cat, he wants you to help him find her. Remus took her somewhere safe, do you know where?”

Slowly Sirius lifted his head, his eyes were red with crying and he wore an anguished expression on his tear stained face “They killed her mother... they murdered Diedre” he whispered as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his robe.

“Yes Sirius, almost four years ago now.” Albus replied gently “She still cries over it, I’ve heard her keening, she needs someone to talk to, someone who would understand.” He paused to make sure he had Sirius’s full attention “Do you think you can find her? As a dog, can you track her down? Remus is sure to need help.” Albus allowed a slight smile to cross his face as he saw the idea take hold in Sirius’s mind.

“Blessed Brighde, Cat...... she can’t go through this alone.” Sirius said forcefully as Albus breathed a heavy sigh of relief “Did you say Remus took her somewhere safe?” he questioned Dumbledore.

“Yes, I did” Dumbledore had the twinkle back in his eye, that had been to close. Sirius was still somewhat delicate when it came to emotional matters. Actually it was a wonder he was even sane considering what the dementors had done to him, but much like his father, and his best friend James, all he needed was someone to care about, someone to protect. In this case that was obviously going to be Harry and Cat, whether anyone else approved of it or not.....

It was painfully obvious to the others in the room that Severus did not agree, he grit his teeth as he listened to Dumbledore sending Black off to look for Cat.

Minerva was particularly interested in Severus’s reaction to this turn of event. She was torn; part of her wanted Cat to settle down and marry Severus, who she knew could provide for her and any children who might come along. The other part wished desperately that she and Sirius would run away so they could be together, in peace, no dementors, no ministry just the two of them, and perhaps Harry when he finished school of course. Minerva saw the pained look on Severus’s face as he watched Harry and Sirius bolt out of the room, headed towards Cat, she could tell he wanted to go with them. The look in Severus’s eyes when he heard Cat talking about Diedre’s murder would remain in her mind for a very long time, he was beyond shocked, Minerva could quite literally see Severus’s heart breaking for his dear Catri.

Minerva sighed audibly as she turned to Albus “Perhaps Professor Snape should join the others Albus. I imagine Cat will need all the friends she can find tonight, she really has never talked about what happened to her mother.” She suggested “Its not good for her to keep it inside like this, perhaps between the four of them...”

Sirius immediately transformed into Snuffles as he and Harry ran towards Remus’s room, it would make the most sense for Remus to take her there. The duo raced to Lupin’s bedroom, only to find it empty save for a luke-warm cup of chai. Sirius reverted to his human form as Harry skidded to a stop outside of the door.

“Gheez Sirius, slow down would you, I only have two legs, remember?” Harry reminded his godfather as he bent over, hands on his thighs and panting heavily.

“Where are they?” Sirius wondered out loud “It looks like she never even touched her chai.... I hope Remus didn’t have to take her to the hospital.” the worry in Sirius’s voice was evident.

“What is chai and why would she be in the hospital?” Harry asked, still winded and happy for the chance to stand still for a moment.

“Chai is a type of tea, I think its from India.” Sirius explained as he picked up the cup and handed it to Harry, “it has a warm spicy scent to it, and I think she said it was milk based or something like that, not water. She always drank it when she was feeling ill.”

“You think she’s sick?” Harry asked wondering how Sirius would handle it if she was. “Should I check the hospital wing?”

From out of the hallway came an emotion filled voice. “No, don’t bother”

Harry hardly recognized the voice as Remus’s, it was so filled with worry and anguish.

“She’s gone Sirius” Remus told him mournfully “I don’t know where she is, I can’t find her.”

“What do you mean ... gone?!” Sirius practically screamed “How could she be gone, ... do you think someone took her?”

A frantic Remus replied “Exactly what I said ... GONE. She was shaking again, I thought she was going to have another episode, I went to get her some Chai, and when I got back from the kitchen she was gone” he looked dreadful “not a word or a note, and she didn’t go back to her room I ‘ve already checked” he paced the floor as he spoke, looking terribly worried Remus added “She in a very delicate state, we need to find her and fast, if anyone comes across her when she’s like this, she’s easy prey.”

They decided to split up and search for her, Harry took the upper levels, Remus the ground floor and dungeon, Sirius the forest. Remus seemed half frantic which frightened Harry terribly, he was used to seeing Sirius get emotional over things, but Remus had always been the calm one, it took a lot to get him rattled. Harry ran quickly from room to room searching for Cat, it took him over an hour, but he had checked every room. Sighing heavily Harry leaned against a window ledge, he let his eyes wander over the grounds when it hit him. “The solarium” he said loudly, startling himself. Cat loved it there, she and Professor Sprout had planted all sorts of flowers there, roses, clematis, foxglove it was like walking into a flower shop. Harry quickly ran down the stairs, he knew that is where Cat had to be. ......