From that moment forward, Kalliope had done everything she could to make sure Lady Emma never regretted her decision. Even when Areanna joined them, insisting that Kalliope be taught how to fight, claiming that she would one day be called upon to protect ‘both flesh and blood of our kine’ while in the Lady’s service. It had been so difficult for her at first, Areanna was stern and demanding in the ways of combat, but with a great deal of effort, Kalliope had managed to please even the immortal Areanna, winning both smiles and praise.

Smiling softly at her own life, Kalliope nodded and thanked the merchant as he showed her the range of wares he had to offer. She picked out only the best for Lady Emma’s guests, just as the Lady herself would. Looking at her list, she saw how near to ready they were, only the food and the choosing of the rooms were left. Turning to walk back to the castle, Kalliope’s mind wandered as she replayed this morning’s conversation over again. Lady Emma had not only complimented her on how well she had been doing in her service, but had also broached the subject of Kalliope herself joining Lady Tara’s daughter in the far North. As both her guardian and as a spy for Lady Emma, it seemed the Lady trusted MacLeod as completely as any one person could trust another, but the people of this northern land were quite another story……

“So Emma, am I to take it Orpha has made all the arrangements?” Tara asked as she helped her sister brush out her long, brown hair.

“That’s what she wrote, and that we should expect them shortly after the New Year. Although according to Areanna, the crones themselves have NOT been consulted on this matter.” Emma replied, handing the jeweled hair clips to her sister. “Father seems rather shocked by it all, but agrees that its best to stay on the good side of Orpha and Catrianna, seeing as how they hold sway over both the warriors and priestess. The others can really only cause problems within the clan, therefore, nothing to do with us really.”

“Deo is that sure?” Tara gasped, “I though Clan MacLeod moved as just that, a clan…I can’t imagine a rift between the crones. Sebastian lived in mortal fear of them, they seemed to hold the power of life and death over the clan.”

Emma nodded, “They do, but only because they are rarely publicly challenged. Both father and Areanna seem to believe that that may change shortly. According to what is being whispered through both Gangrel and Caitiff society, Orpha and several others are overly concerned with some of the choices the crones have made during the past century or so. She has even hinted that Catrianna nearly lost her life due to one of these decisions, and now Orpha has decided to defy the crones and instead become a sort of protector to her youngest rion.”

“Hmptf, about time too” Tara huffed, “I’ve seen some of the things they expect that poor girl to do in the name of her clan. I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t just walked away from them all and disappeared into the vapor.” sensing her sisters somewhat uncomfortable silence, Tara froze “What ‘aren’t’ you telling me sister?”

“Can you keep a secret Tara?”

“Do I need to name ALL of your secrets that I keep? I mean, if you’re worried about blackmail or something?” Tara teased.

“Its not like that at all,…” lowering her voice, Emma continued, “I overheard Areanna and father speaking, they think that may be exactly what Orpha has in mind. He agrees that Orpha is trying to keep Catrianna out of the crones reach, and they both think that this man, her might-be-husband, is a big part of that.”

“Do you honestly think that Orpha would challenge Maharet like that?” Tara gasped.

“After what happened to Catrianna’s mother and grandmother…..I have to say, knowing Orpha the way I do, I would be shocked if she didn’t challenge Maharet over the future of the clan.”………

Elora moaned softly as she continued dreaming about Paddy, his soft voice, bright eyes and that wonderful, melt your heart smile of his. Of course the part she dreamt about the most was his lips, her stomach fluttered every time she remembered the kiss they had shared just before he left to return to Fernglennis. He had promised her he would be back, a promised he sealed with a tender, whisper soft kiss. He was so different from the other men she had known, he didn’t seem to be afraid of falling in love, or of committing himself to her and her children. In fact he seemed to adore her children, always taking time to play with them or teach them how to play the flute or hold a sword. She wondered if he would be returning with his own child, he had told her so many stories about his baby girl, hinting to her that it would be nice for her to have a mother and a family…….

Fallon pulled the pillow over her ears, sighing as Elora continued talking in her sleep. “If I hear her say his name one more time, I may well scream” she sighed as she tried to return to her own dreams. Although she had to admit, they must pale in comparison to Elora’s for passion, but certainly not for strangeness.

She had been dreaming of a flower, one with deep yellow petals and a bright, blue center. It seemed common enough, at least until the army of cloaked figures approached the meadow it was standing in, on their way to the forest beyond it. She felt a horrible cringing in her stomach as the flower twisted grotesquely, its leaves turning into sharp blades, which it brandished against the cloaked army. Watching in amazement, she saw the flower fighting back dozens of men, killing or maiming them as they tried to cross his meadow and defile his beloved forest. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she felt herself cheering for the flower, encouraging him to fight on and protect what he loved.

It was then that she saw it, a flash of liquid silver that cut the flower in two, separating him from his stem. Fallon felt hot tears in her eyes as she screamed and wailed over the flower’s destruction. She felt as if all of her hope had perished with the flower, as if her future was empty now. Through her tears, she watched as the flower refused to die, and instead struggled to continue fighting as if it were the only reason for its existence. The seemingly delicate petals pulled the flower towards what was left of its stem, the moment the ends of the stem touched, Fallon heard a heart-wrenching scream come from the flower as it’s once bright colours faded.

Wiping at her tears, Fallon watched as the flower once more took up the fight, only this time it was using more that its razor sharp leaves, now it was using a pair of vicious fangs, tearing apart those that would think to attack what he loved. She felt her blood run cold as the flower turned to face her, its fangs still dripping with the warm blood of its victims, but there was something that drew her attention even more than the evil looking maw, it was the pair of eyes that now looked back at her from its face, eyes she knew she had seen before……

Mohrg lay in his haven, listening intently to the nearly silent school. He loved nights like this, nights when even the stones in the walls seemed to sing and whisper to him. He smiled contentedly when he heard some of the Gangrels singing, trying to encourage the dark and scowling professor to join them in both friendship and playfulness. “Obviously the Gangrel have become optimists” he mused, laughing silently as he pictured the look on the potion master’s face. Turning his attention and acute hearing elsewhere, he began to blush softly as he heard the heavy breathing as the Gangrel and Caitiff Primogens entwined their limbs in one another, enjoying each other’s company. Those noises were quickly replaced by the sound of the two Roma women dreaming, and of their children in the room next to them, snoring softly as they enjoyed soft, warm beds and full stomachs. However it was the last conversation he heard that drew and kept his attention, it was Cash and the hunters discussing the state of the blood hunt for the Tremere, Gustavas.

Mohrg concentrated on the conversation, finding it more interesting that he cared to admit. After all, if Gustavas was caught, it would mean a huge shift in the powers that be, within the Kindred world. The Tremere would no longer be able to brag of their imperviousness, and if it was in fact the Gangrels, or even better, Angel herself who managed to bring about his end, all the better. With the Tremere in disarray, the Nosferatu may finally have their chance to do what should have been done centuries ago, especially if they had the support of Clan Gangrel and the Angel behind them……

“So you’re telling me that Gustavas is still on the grounds” Cash asked flatly, obviously not liking the idea.

“Without a doubt” Brutus stated “he’s weak, and it appears Angel’s spells are still confining him to the grounds of this school.”

“Then those spells won’t last long” Cash sighed, “I know her, she’ll let them stand as long as the students are gone, but the moment they start returning from holidays - - she’ll remove the spells in the hopes that he’ll run and let the children alone.”

Brutus nodded his head, “That sounds like her sort of logic. So how long until the students return? And is there anyway to buy extra time if we need it?”

Cash nodded, “Albus and I have already discussed that, he doubts there will be any problems if he extends the holidays. For ‘administrative’ reasons, of course, we don’t want anyone to panic, and since the only students who have been harmed are either Clan, or quite possibly Kine, we have all the corners covered.”

“Kine?” Brutus questioned “Do you mean the Weasley children that Hamish was talking about before he left?” Seeing Cash nod, Brutus gave a low whistle, “It sounds like the prophecy is really coming together. That was part of it, wasn’t it? The lost clans will once again return to the fold?”

“Lost clans?” Cobryn interrupted softly, hoping the Gangrels would not take offense to his questioning them, but so far, they seemed to have no reservations to speaking openly in front of him. He tensed for a brief moment as the Gangrel Methuselah turned his intense blue eyes toward him. This one above all the others intrigued the young Caitiff hunter, he was ancient beyond words, full of knowledge and power that others could only dream of, yet to see him, you would think he was no more than a few centuries in the blood. And the way he treated others, especially those who were by all accounts insignificant to him made no sense, he seemed to treat them as equals, or at worse, children. Cobryn shook his head slowly, he had only ever seen two other Methuselahs, his current Prince, Daithi of Ventrue, and the Toreador Cassandra. However neither of them could ever have walked among the mortals as Cash could, they looked and acted as cold and hard as the marble statues they now resembled.

Cobryn forced back the shudder that he had felt the first time he had met with Prince Daithi, the power emanating from him had been overwhelming, but Cobryn had refused to turn away, a choice that greatly pleased the Prince. He had quickly become Daithi’s favorite, being quick in both body and wit, the Prince found him equally useful as a hunter, and as a companion when traveling in ‘unfriendly’ areas of the realm.

“During what we call the burning times, or as humans tend to call them, the Inquisition. My clan was cut off from itself, some of us remained in our hollows and hills, others evacuated to more friendly lands, such as Holland and Southern Greece. Others did their best to blend into which ever culture and land they found themselves in, such as we believe the Weasleys’ have.” Cash explained briefly, “And don’t bother to tell Daithi about it, he already knows and I assure you, he finds it boring.”

Cobryn paused and swallowed hard, “I’m sorry, but what do you mean by…”

“Don’t bother youngster, ….. childer, …… hunter” Cash retorted, softly but very, very clearly. “I know Daithi better than any man alive or dead, I know his tricks, I know his methods. He’s sent you to help us, he says….and as long as you give us no reason to doubt your intentions, I’m fine with that. But I know he gave you other orders as well, one of which was to spy and report back to him.” Seeing the hunter about to argue, Cash held up his hand, insisting on silence. “Listen to me childer, I don’t hold this against you, I know what sort of man Daithi is, and I know what he expects. Just make sure my mortal clan stays safe, because if I even ‘think’ that one of my clan was harmed by either your actions or inactions, I swear to you, you will pray to any god you have ever heard of to be mortal once more,…. so that you may die.” Without so much as a second glance, Cash turned back to Brutus and continued their conversation, as if nothing had even happened.

Fang grinned as he watched the stunned look on the young vampyre’s face, leave it to Cash to inform someone with such utter serenity that their life hung by the thinnest of threads, that the person wasn’t even sure they had just been threatened. Its no wonder he adored Cash, the Gangrel’s easy ways and openness towards the world never failed to enchant him. Turning back to look at the twins, he expected they must feel the same, Fang gently placed his hands on the back of the girl’s necks, trying to calm Kara and Regeane as they bristled at the newcomer. “Come on girls, Cash can take care of himself” he winked as he gently pushed the girls in front of him, moving towards the main hall. “We have work to do today, that creature is still out there somewhere, and it’s our duty to sniff him out.”

“And when we find him” Kara growled as she smiled knowingly.

“We get Cash!” Fang said sternly, “I have no intention of losing anymore of my clan. Cash has fought him before, they have sent more vampyre hunters to help him destroy this monster.” seeing the look on Kara’s face, Fang sighed deeply, he understood how she felt. “Listen to me Kara, I know how much you hate him, he nearly took Fred from you. But if “I” can restrain myself enough to find Cash or one of his Gangrels after what he did to Olia, then so can you. Understood?” ……..

Harry was grinning from ear to ear when Cat and Sirius walked into the kitchen, the first thing he noticed was they both looked tired and a bit disheveled, the next thing he noticed was they were still holding hands. He couldn’t help but think they had spent the night ‘together’, which must mean they were now officially back together, and his hopes for having Sirius as a father was getting that much closer to being a reality. Feeling someone kicking his leg, Harry looked over to see Sara winking and smiling brightly at him, apparently she had noticed as well.

Harry rolled his eyes as Mea pulled Sara’s hair, drawing her attention and talking in hushed tones, it probably was another competition of theirs he thought. Not that it mattered to him this morning, right now the only thing that mattered was the look on Sirius’s face as he pulled Cat’s chair out for her, smiling from ear to ear as he kissed her cheek and pushed the chair back in before sitting next to her. Harry watched as the rest of the clan smiled and whispered amongst themselves, all the while glancing at the couple who seemed to be oblivious to everyone else around them.

Harry was so wrapped up in his dreams of family, that he barely noticed that Sara and Mea had dashed to occupy the seats next to him that LJ and Zach had just vacated. “Harry, psstttt, Harry” Sara whispered, tugging on his sleeve as she did so. “So, are they getting married?”

Shaking his head, Harry replied “I don’t know, but I sure hope so” his smile grew even wider as he continued, “can you imagine it? I’ll finally have a mother and a father, I’ll be part of a real family, no more being sent off with ‘relatives’ who hate me…..and maybe I’ll get to be a big brother too.”

Mea laughed loudly, “Maybe??!!!” only to be hushed by Sara and Harry as everyone stared at them, including Sirius and Cat, who gave Harry curious looks.

“Mea, so help me…” Harry and Sara warned her in unison.

“I’m sorry, honest I am, just seemed a funny thing to say it all,” she giggled “I mean, ‘look’ at them, you may be a big brother already.” Mea stopped laughing long enough to hear the deep sigh coming from Harry. “What’s wrong cousin? I thought you wanted to be a brother?”

“I do Mea, I’m just afraid something will happen again, like Snape finding her or something.” Harry explained.

“Over my dead body!! And her brother’s too….. Shame on you Harry, you should know we would NEVER allow one of our own to be harmed by anyone.” Mea began.

“You don’t understand Mea, Snape isn’t out to hurt her…..its,….its just….”

“He’s in love with her too” Sara chimed in quietly, “and according to my mum, she and this Snape fellow spent time together, if you catch my drift.” she added distastefully.

“Well she’s here and he’s not” Mea replied, almost indignantly, “if he cared about her ‘that’ much, he would be here, wouldn’t he. Besides, I like uncle Sirius, he’s fun.” she giggled once more, “Did you see the trick he played on Uncle Duncan the other morning? It was classic, although I though Uncle Duncan was going to ring his neck, it’s a good thing your da can run fast Harry.”……

“So, what do you think they are talking about?” Cat asked nervously, “I don’t like the look in Sara’s eyes, or the fact that they keep staring over here.”

Sirius smiled softly, pulling Cat towards himself and kissing her temple. “You worry too much gra. Besides, Harry’s a good kid, he won’t do anything you wouldn’t approve of.”

“I know, but still, those looks.” Cat sighed, “And you need to eat more Sirius, that’s hardly enough to keep a grown man healthy. And needless to say, I want to see you healthy.”

“Any particular reason for that gra?” Sirius teased, his smile widening as he watched her blush softly.

“Well for starters, how about being able to fight back when the boys decide to play rough, or at least be able to run away a bit faster.” she teased back, trying to hide her smile as he gave her one of his lop-sided grins, she could never resist those, he just looked so adorable when he smiled like that.

“Oh, he can run plenty fast enough” a deep voice interrupted, “and try to remember you’re at the table and not back in the study” Duncan remarked, enjoying the uncertain look Sirius was giving him as he quickly removed his hand from Kitty‘s.

“Knock it off you big bully” Cat retorted, swatting Duncan playfully, “you like him and you know it.”

“There you go, giving away secrets again” Duncan said, rolling his eyes dramatically, “why do I even bother trying to protect you?” He tried to make it sound playful and light, but he still couldn’t get passed the conversation from this morning, She was his little sister, and no matter what, she should be able to come to him, and the fact that she hadn’t hurt him deeply. However, looking at her now as she and Sirius continued to talk and tease each other, he felt a warmth caress his soul. He knew he was right, they loved each other, and judging by the look on Harry’s face, nothing would have made his nephew any happier than just that.

Duncan leaned back into his chair, surveying the room and his clan, so many of them had been lost, but those that remained were certainly doing their best to keep the clan strong and vibrant. He smiled joyfully as he counted all the women with large bellies at the table, he closed his eyes for a moment and imagined Kitty looking just as they did. An overwhelming feeling of sadness and joy filled him as he realized that one day, more than likely not very far away, she would no longer be his ‘little sister’ but a wife and mother. She would have all of those long conversations with her husband then, not him, he would lose her to her new life.

Duncan sniffled softly as he felt Kitty’s hand on his arm, and her voice questioning him. “No Kitty, everything is fine, just having one of those….what do you call them… sob sister moments…” he grinned, blinking back the tears that were brimming in his eyes. Seeing the look of heart-felt concern on his sister’s face, Duncan leaned down and kissed her forehead, “Honestly Kitty, its fine…Although I intend to see this wizard of yours out in the barn later this morning….he and I need to finish our discussion.” he remarked sternly.

“Does that mean I should bring along help? Or Just dry clothing?” Sirius teased, relieved to see a smile on Duncan’s face.

“Don’t be a pain….just show up and behave yourself with my baby sister.” Duncan replied as he rose from the table, his mind still full of thoughts of the future and what it may hold for them all.

“Well that was interesting” Cat said softly, watching her brother leave the room, “I wonder what’s gotten into him?”

“Nothing compared to what’s gotten into them.” Sirius replied softly, nudging Cat as he motioned for her to look at Harry. Obviously the girls were overwhelming him with attention. …………

Remus smiled warmly as he felt Tris’s hand on his shoulder, turning from his breakfast he rose and pulled out the chair next to him, “Just heading off to bed?” he asked when he saw the tired look in her normally bright eyes.

“Not quite yet, I still have to speak with Orpha, seems there are ‘rumblings’ that need to be sorted out before I can get any sleep.” she yawned. “Although maybe I’ll just stay here and watch the show. What is going on with our little Harry? He looks like he’s about to bolt for the door.”

Raising an eyebrow, Remus looked at Harry, “Ah yes, Clara and Callista, they seem to be at odds over him. It seems Calli found out about what happened between Clara and Harry in the barn, and is less than pleased.”

“Clara and Harry in the barn?” Tris repeated, her eyes growing wide with concern.

“No…no… nothing ‘that’ bad. From what I’ve heard from Zach, Clara there decided to play ‘kissing cousins’ with a rather shocked Harry. Seems the boys have been teasing him rather harshly over his lack of reaction.” Remus added, smirking slightly.

“Good thing for him, I actually shudder to think of what Kitty may have done if ‘she’ had found them.” Tris shivered and laughed softly. “Although she may be too occupied with your friend there to notice.” she added a bit flatly.

“Kitty not notice something about Harry? The only thing I’ve seen her turn a blind eye to is the fact that he’s growing up quickly. I think she wants him to be her little boy a while longer.” Remus explained softly, a warmth lighting up his hazel eyes. “Not that I can blame her, it was wrong of them to keep them separated for so long.”

“It ‘was’ necessary Remus” Tris insisted softly, “and their together now, that’s all that matters.”…….

Harry’s eyes grew wider and wider as Clara moved closer and closer, turning to Sara, he mouthed ‘help’, he needed to get out of there as soon as possible, and knew he could rely on his favorite cousin to help him out. And judging by the looks Callista was shooting at Clara, the sooner he got out of there, the better for all concerned. Seeing Sara nod and point towards his Mum, he smiled and agreed quickly “Hey, Mum… is it alright if Sara teaches me some new spells? She promised she’d tutor me if you said it was alright.”

“As long as its nothing dangerous, Harry. And Sara, you are fully aware of my definition of ‘dangerous’ right?” Cat questioned, a stern look on her face.

Jumping out of his chair, Harry quickly went to Cat and Sirius’s sides. “Sirius is right you know, you worry too much” Harry teased as he kissed Cat’s cheek, “we’ll just be at the barn, Uncle Duncan and Paddy will be there, and I promise we won’t do anything dangerous.” Harry watched as Sirius reached under the table and squeezed Cat’s hand, as if to tell her that he saw no problem with it.

“Alright Harry, but please, don’t over do it, you have to learn to focus the power first.” she sighed, “And I’ll be out to check on you, so be forewarned.” she added, winking at him, then whispered softly “and if this has to do with Clara, you just say the word, I know exactly how to handle this sort of thing.”

Harry felt his face turn crimson and his stomach tighten, lowering his head in the hopes no one else would notice his embarrassment, he whispered back “You know about that?”

“Sweetie, look around you, do you honestly think ‘anything’ goes on here that ‘someone’ doesn’t see.”

Sirius felt his body relax at Cat’s answer, the last thing he wanted Harry to know was that he had been the one to tell Cat. Not that she wouldn’t have found out sooner or later, she was right, nothing went unnoticed here, not even the blushing and giggling of Meg and her sister Diana at the other end of the table…