“Oh, please, that innocent act does NOT work for you.”

“Really?” Sirius replied, looking shocked. He pointed his finger to the top of his head as a halo appeared, “There, is that better?”

Rolling her eyes, Cat sighed “I’m going to take a shower before the lightening starts striking. Get back into bed and rest.”

Grinning widely, Sirius did as she asked, snuggling under the covers as he listened to her running the water and moving about the bathroom. It was a strange sort of intimacy, to be laying in her bed as she bathed not more than a few feet away. “Behave she says” he sighed “I wonder if she has any idea what sort of thoughts are going through my mind right now.” He closed his eyes and let his mind drift, imagining it was his soapy hands rubbing over her body, caressing her curves as the water rained down over their naked flesh….. “Oiy, Dia, I’ll never make it.” he sighed to himself as he threw back the covers and got out of bed.

“I wonder if my boots are still slithering around on their own or if Siobhan’s spell has finally worn off of them.” he wondered out loud as he dropped to his knees and looked under the bed. “Huh, guess that answers that,” he sighed as he saw them quickly scurry to the far end of the bed, just out of his reach, “hope Cat can undo that spell, I really like those boots.” he smirked as he rose to his feet and roamed aimlessly around her room.

Walking to her book shelves, he shook his head as he saw the eclectic mixture of tomes, everything from ancient Sanskrit texts on transfiguration to “Philosophy for Dummies” to “Le Morte d’Arthur” to “1001 Practical Jokes and How Not to Get Caught Playing them”. Seeing several old wooden boxes, he picked up one and looked inside, gasping as he saw stacks of old photos. His eyes teared up as he saw several of James and Lily back in their school days, along with a few of the rest of the marauders. He cringed as he looked at Peter Pettigrew’s face smiling up at him from one photo, his arms draped over Remus and James’s shoulders. Sirius remembered that photo, he had finally talked Remus into letting him try out his new camera, this was one of the first pictures he had taken with it. Deciding it was best to not think of such things right now, Siri quickly put the pictures and the box away, choosing instead to find something else to occupy his time.

Sirius quickly regretted his decision, when the next thing his eyes found was the stack of letters Rick had brought last night. He looked from them to the fire blazing in the hearth. A thousand different thoughts and arguments went through his mind as he considered destroying the letters. Then again, maybe HE should read them first, find out what he was up against…… Sirius shook his head as if to shake such thoughts out of his mind, he couldn’t do anything like that, he just couldn’t. He had to have faith in her, he had to believe that their love was stronger than anything else in the world.

As if in reply to his thoughts, Cat opened the bathroom door, smiling at him as she made sure her bath robe was properly fastened. “Don’t bother on my account.” he quipped as she rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, Sirius, can’t you think about anything else?” she smirked, only to laugh as Siri checked his pulse.

“Still alive, so the answer to that question is ‘no‘. Besides, I’ve been an awfully good boy, even when I didn’t want to be.” he replied, his smile growing wider as Cat edged further away from him. “Where are you going, Miss MacLeod? You do realized the door is behind me, and you are hardly dressed to be out and about.” he commented. Taking a few steps closer to her, he added, “Oh, and I almost forgot, I still need to get even with you for all that tickling from last night and this morning….” He laughed deeply as Cat yelped and dashed, grabbing a pillow as she ran passed the bed.

Not to be out done, Sirius also took a pillow from her bed as he cornered her near the fireplace. “Well, Miss MacLeod, are you ready to take your punishment like a good girl?”

“You have to catch me first, Mr. Black.” Cat retorted as she swung her pillow at him, hitting him squarely in his mid section. “And your reflexes aren’t nearly as good as they used to be.” she taunted as she darted passed him. “What happened to my infamous Sirius Black, hooligan of Hogwarts and bane to all Slytherins?”

“Oh, he’s still here, a bit older and scruffier, but here.” Siri grinned as he dodged one of her swings “And it seems you’re getting a bit slower yourself, Cat. Or maybe you really ‘do’ want me to catch you.” he was answered by her giggling as she ran away from him and hid behind a chair. “I seeeeeeee you.” he teased as he stood on the other side of the chair, peering down at her as he looked over the back of the chair. He reached down to grab her, but only succeeded in pulling the towel off of her hair.

He dropped the towel on the floor as he took off after her once more, ducking as she threw her pillow at him. “Now you have no weapons, gra, not a bright move.” he warned as he ran towards her, scooping her up around her middle as they both spun into the chair. Sirius quickly tossed Cat over his knee and paddled her as she screamed and giggled at him to let her go. “Not until you tell me you love me again.”

“That’s blackmail, no fair.” she whined as she tried to wriggled her way out of his grasp, only to have her eyes grow wide as she felt his manhood growing hard against her tummy. “Sirius…” she gasped.

He didn’t need to hear her say it, he could feel it too, only he didn’t want it to stop. He wanted her to feel how much he desired her, how painful it was for him to keep holding back. Gods, he wanted to throw her on the floor and make love to her until they both passed out from sheer exhaustion. He grimaced with effort as he stopped himself from exploding within his own robes. But he wasn’t about to let her go, not yet. Still holding her wrists firmly, he reached down with his other hand, reaching under her robe, slowly running his hand over the back of her thighs.

His heart pounded as he felt her body tense under his touch only to begin squirming again as his hand cupped her bottom, softly pinching the full cheeks as he heard her gasp his name again. Never in his life had he been more tempted to take her, or any woman for that matter. He knew he ‘could’ do it, they were completely alone, it would be little work to cast a silencing charm over the room, and he had the distinct impression that she wouldn’t fight him much, or for very long. The only real problem was that he never ‘would’ do that, not to her. He didn’t want to screw her, he wanted to make love to her, to feel the passion that they had always shared, he needed to feel her soul touching his again.

“Sweet Medea, Cat, how can you keep doing this to me?” he asked, his hands trembling as much as his voice. Releasing her before his urges got the better of him and he did something unforgivable. He watched as she went scurrying across the floor, recovering her pillow. He smirked as she gasped the pillow, clutching in in front of her as if it were some sort of shield, as if it would somehow protect her from him.

“Not even on my worst day would a bag of feathers keep me from you” he smirked, “face it, gra; You’re trapped. You’ve got no where to run, no where to hide, and you’re being pursued by a man who loves you with all of his heart.” his smile grew wider as he saw her blush deepen. “Of course, one would have to ask if you truly ‘did’ want to get away, seeing as you never even ran towards the door…”

“Sirius Black, you are a beast” she huffed, stamping her foot as she realized this was his way of convincing her to give in, a sort of ‘playful seduction’ as it were. And as odd as it was, she found herself enjoying it. After all, hadn’t this been the way it had all started out? Him with his goofy yet lovable ways, teasing her one minute, kissing her the next, keeping her off guard until she had completely fallen in love with him. “I’m warning you, Sirius, I have a pillow and I know how to use it.”

“So do I” he responded as they battled once again, pillows making contact over and over as they laughed and shrieked in turn. It wasn’t until almost two minutes into their little ‘battle’ that he noticed the provocative gap in her robe. Taking careful aim, he easily caught the edge of her robe, forcing it open even further, giving him a wondrous view of her left breast.

“Careful, gra, that robe is NOT leaving much to the imagination.” he grinned, laughing as she did her best to re-adjust the bath robe, while still holding onto the pillow. “Hmm, this brings back many happy memories. Care to make a few more?” he was answered by a pillow to the face. “You know I love it when you play hard to get.” he smirked as he chased her, jumping across her bed as she tried to run around to the far side of it.

Realizing she was now trapped, Cat took her best shot. Pulling the pillow up to her shoulder, she put her whole body behind the swing, catching Sirius squarely on the chin as her entire frame spun around in a full circle. She looked up just in time to see Sirius do a spectacular spin onto the bed, were he suddenly remained very, very still.

“Sirius, come on, knock it off, no one is going to buy that a little thing like me could knock you out.” she taunted, only to become concerned as he remained motionless. “Sirius? Sirius, stop it, this isn’t funny” she insisted as she slowly approached him.

“Sirius? Gra?” she whispered as she stood little more than an arm’s length away from him. She saw that his breathing was even and steady, but his hair was covering his face, making it impossible to tell if he was simply pretending to be unconscious, or if he was in fact hurt. Feeling a sudden wave of panic wash over her, Cat dropped her pillow and ran to his side. She saw her hand shaking as she pushed his hair off of his face, only to groan as she saw him trying not to laugh. “You out and out dung head.” she vented, slapping him hard across his chest, “You scared me, I was worried something had happened to you.”

Before she could make another move, Sirius reached up and pulled her on top of himself, right before rolling over, effectively pinning her underneath him. “So, Mrs. Black, are you ‘really’ that angry with me?” he asked, kissing her tenderly before she could reply. “Think carefully before you answer, gra. This is our future at stake.”

“Our future? Is that why you’re calling me by your mother’s name?” she teased, laughing as he groaned and flopped his head on her shoulder. “Gotcha, Siri.” she grinned, kissing him playfully.

“Now that is just mean, Cat. Bringing up my dear, sainted mother at a time like this.”

“At a time like what?” Cat asked, obviously confused and a bit concerned by his statement.

“I am about to take full retribution on you for all the teasing I’ve had to put up with for the past two weeks, and you bring up Mum. Its shameful I tell you, positively shameful. And don’t bother squirming around so much, you are NOT getting away from me this time.” Sirius warned, “Not to mention what the feel of your hips against mine is doing to me.” he added as he once again fought of the urge to rip off her clothes and plunge into her.

“Sirius Onior Black, so help you if you do that paddling thing to me again…...”

“Oh no, I have something much more devious in mind for you, my lovely Miss MacLeod.” Sirius teased as he did his ‘evil pirate laugh’. Straddling her waist as he loomed above her, he continued his pirate speech. “Prepare yourself to be tortured, my lovely. And there’s no use in screamin’, me heart’s as black as me name.”

Deciding to play along, Cat looked aghast at Sirius as they both tried to keep a straight face. “Why, Captain Black, whatever do you intend to do with me? You don’t intend to rob me of my virtue, do you?”

“A bit late for that, don’t you think? Although I have a few ideas regarding the plank.” he quipped, only to get swatted soundly for the comment. “Now you’re going to get it.” he grinned as he tickled her mercilessly, laughing as she pounded against his chest with her fists. Siri’s heart felt as light as air as he watched Cat laugh, it seemed like ages since either of them had laughed this hard or this long.

Catching her hands as she slapped them against him, he quickly pinned them down over her head with one hand as he other continued to tickle her. It wasn’t until her wiggling loosened the ties of her bathrobe that he suddenly stopped, undecided as to what to do next. He stared deeply into her eyes as his hand moved from tickling her ribs, to slowly pulling the tie of her robe. He heard her gasp his name as the bathrobe opened easily, displaying her in all of glorious softness. His mind immediately flashed back to their time together, of her writhing under him, desire written on her face as her body blushed rose petal pink……

Cat laughed and screamed as he continued tickling her, pleading with him to release her. “Siri, please….no, stop…this isn’t fair, you’re much bigger than I am.” she whined as he pinned her wrists over her head with one of his hands. She looked up as he finally stopped tickling her, only to wish she hadn’t when she saw the look in his eyes. “Sirius, ……we can’t” she insisted softly as she saw the look of pure longing on his face as he slowly undid the tie of her robe.

“Why?” he asked as his free hand gently traced the outline of her face. “I love you, Cat. I always have and I always will” he stated, pausing only to kiss her before continuing. “We keep having this same conversation, you do realize this, right? The night I came home with you, the day we walked through the snow, the night they left us to watch the children when your clan had their meeting. I can see how much you still love me, gra, its there in your eyes every time I look at you.”

“I still remember it all, the way you looked, the softness of your skin, even the scent of your body” he sighed as his hand ran down her silky smooth belly, just skimming the edge of her pubic hair. He watched with rapt fascination as her nipples grew pert, even though his hand was nowhere near them. His eyes locked with hers once more as he leaned down to kiss her, only to have her avoid his lips as she whispered his name.

Part of him cringed as she turned her face away from him, but another, more devilish side, saw it as an opportunity. His lips pressed against her neck, relishing the warmth and softness of her skin every bit as much as he relished the sharp gasp that accompanied his kisses. “Mo ionúin bean céile,” he whispered tenderly, releasing her wrists as his hands caressed her form, gently cupping her breasts as he continued to kiss her neck, “gráim thú” he promised as he kissed her deeply, pushing the terrycloth out of the way, completely exposing her large, full breasts to his tender caresses. He closed his eyes and sighed as he felt her back arching against him. He slowly kissed his way up her neck until he reached her lips, relieved as she kissed him back, whispering “I love you too”.

Any questions he may have had regarding the extent of her desire were quickly put to rest when he tried to speak again. He found himself unable to do anything but kiss her as her arms quickly embraced him, her fingers running along his spine and through his hair as she deepened the kiss. Not needing much encouragement, Sirius quickly slipped his arms under her, pulling her so tightly against his chest that he felt, more than heard, her breathing, shuddering with delight as he felt her nipples rubbing against his hard chest.

He kept waiting for her to say no, to say or do something to stop him, but she never did. In fact, the further he pressed her, the more willing she seemed to become. He gasped with surprise as he felt her fingers undoing the buttons of his shirt, her soft hands rubbing over his chest, pausing to tease his nipples as his kisses became more and more frantic. He could feel his hips grinding against hers, all but groaning as her back arched again, sending him into delirium as his manhood begged to be released from its prison of cloth.

He felt her struggle for just a moment as he pushed his leg between her knees, forcing her legs apart as he lay between them. But any protests were quickly silenced when he hushed her, gently assuring her he remembered his promise. Although he had to admit, that promise was becoming increasingly difficult to keep.

Something in his canine senses stirred as he buried his face against her neck to kiss her once more. It may have been her soft, contented sigh, or the silkiness of her flesh, or maybe the scent of her freshly shampooed hair, but something about her had changed, something wonderful. Sirius felt a tingle run through his body as he nuzzled against her, inhaling deeply as he tried to understand what was different. Then it hit him, it was her scent, her own personal scent, something had changed, something had been added to it. But before he could take the time to figure out what it was, he was distracted by Cat’s fingers undoing the closure of his trousers.

He felt his head swim as her fingers ran gingerly over his belly, exciting his senses even more than they already were. Clamping his mouth over hers, he easily rolled over onto his back, taking Cat along with him as he did so. He half expected her to take the opportunity to end their little make out session, but much to his surprise and joy the idea seemed very far from her mind.

He surprised himself as a low, passion-filled groan escaped his lips, all from nothing more than Cat tenderly kissing the many scars that littered his body. He felt his head swimming as her lips moved further and further down his body, moving from one disfigured patch of skin to the next. Before he could stop himself, Sirius grasped Cat by her upper arms and lifted her so he could kiss her lips once more. It wasn’t until he ended the kiss and opened his eyes that he realized how provocative a position this placed her in. He lifted her just a bit higher, kissing her breasts as he worked his way to her hardened nipples. His own passion rose even further when he heard her moaning as his mouth closed over the pert nubs, rolling his tongue over them as he gently suckled.

She had always been so sensitive to his touch, his lips, his tongue; her reactions to him were more intoxicating than any liquor he had ever imbued. And this…this was nothing short of heaven, to have her in his arms, to feel her body growing taunt as she flushed that same rose petal pink that he remembered from their teenage days. She wanted him, she desired him…he wasn’t alone in his passion. “Gra….please, don’t keep me out; let me be one with you again.”

Hearing her softly whimper, Sirius released his hold of her arms, placing her back down against his chest as he attempted to slow his pace, hoping she was only unsure of his question, and not his intent. Wrapping his arms around her, he bit his lip at the effort it was taking not to grind his hips into hers, to stop his body from seeking what he knew she alone could give him. But no matter what he did, nothing seemed to quell his urges, as much as he hated to do it, he had to force the issue with her.

Sighing deeply, Sirius took her face in his hands, forcing her to look him directly in his eyes as he spoke. “All or nothing, gra. Don’t tease me then make me stop” he whispered breathlessly, “as it is, I’ll have a devil of a time stopping now.”

“I know, I’m sorry” she all but sobbed as she wondered if he had any idea how much she wanted this. But he was right, she knew she couldn’t and this wasn’t fair to either of them. “Why don’t you go take a shower, Siri. I’ll get dressed and bring you some fresh clothes.” she suggested as she kissed him again, wishing with all her heart that things could be different.

“Yeh, a nice, long, cold shower. Thanks a lot, Cat” he joked half-heartedly. But his sarcasm quickly gave way to a soft sigh as he felt her wrap her arms around him, placing her head on his chest and listen to the beating of his heart. “Can we spend the rest of our lives like this? Happy, content, and at least ‘somewhat’ fulfilled?” he asked, running his hands through her damp, curling hair and down her naked back as he felt her kiss both his chest and his throat. Sirius closed his eyes and smiled as he enjoyed their closeness and the comfortable silence of the sleeping household around them……

Severus groaned painfully as he removed his cloak and stared at his bed. He knew he should get some sleep, tonight had taken a lot out of him, but the thought of sleeping alone in such a large, cold bed was doing nothing to encourage him. Slumping into one of the large, leather clad, chairs near the fire, Sev closed his eyes and thought of Catri. Had she read any of his letters yet? Would she be returning to him soon? Or at the very least, contacting him? And what of Rick, had he returned yet? And more to the point, how angry would he be when he realized that there had been more than the obvious reason for sending him away last night.

“Rick, I hope you understand why I did this, and that you can forgive me.” Severus sighed, “But I had to do this, I had to keep the school safe.”

“And exactly ‘how’ did you do that?” an accusing voice asked from behind him.

“Cash?!” Severus half shouted as he jumped up from his chair.

“Surprise, surprise…so, fill me in Snape. What did you and Minnie do last night, and how was Rick involved?” Cash asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, not even bothering to wipe off the dust and soot that was covering him.

Severus paused for a moment, unsure of what to make of Cash. While he was far from being fastidious about his appearance, he did tend to be clean. But at the moment, the Gangrel was covered from head to toe in what appeared to be several layers of dust, soot and perhaps a few more rather unsavoury elements. “Cash, what…..you….how….”

“Yeh, like you don’t know. I know wizard magic when I fall into it, Slytherin.” Cash snarled, “Now tell me what’s going on and how Rick and the school are involved.” Seeing the blank stare on Snape’s face, Cash took a few, menacing steps towards the potion master, hoping to intimidate him into confessing. But instead of the frantic admission Cash had been expecting, he watched as Snape took a step back, only to fall into the chair, his eyes still fixed on Cash, or more precisely the grim covering Cash. “Are you going to sit there and act like you don’t know anything about this?”

“I assure you, Cash, I have no idea what you are talking about. I have done nothing that would cause you to be in such a state. You look as if you’ve run into Peeves on one of his worse days.” Sev stated, his voice sounding tired rather than angry.

“And the comment you made about Rick forgiving you and keeping the school safe?!” Cash asked, pressing the professor to answer.

“I think you should be discussing this with Professor McGonagall, not me.” Sev replied, “Although I do suggest you clean yourself up first. And since you seem to be blaming me for this, would you mind awfully if I asked you to tell me what happened to you?”

Cash paused, evaluating the wizard and his comments as he tried to decide if Snape was telling him the truth or just using the skills that had kept him alive as a spy for so long. “Swear to me you have nothing to do with the traps that were left for me.” he insisted, only to be shocked by Severus’s response.

“TRAPS!!? What traps? Where? Have any of the students been harmed? Does Minerva know..” Severus gasped as he felt Cash’s strong hands on his shoulders, forcing him back down into his chair.

“Well, I guess you aren’t acting, are you? And what the hell happened to you anyway? You don’t look too good yourself, your eyes are all glassy….” Cash began, only to be interrupted by Snape.

“I am simply tired. But about these traps…”

“Yeh, those traps. The first one was outside your office door. I went there to make sure you were safe when Rick came to check up on Roel…..tell me, did Hamish check up on you at all last night?” seeing Snape avoid his eyes, Cash decided to ask a more direct question. “Severus Snape, where were you last night, and why wasn’t Rick with you?”

“Rick has nothing to do with this.” Sev replied quickly, “I convinced him to…… I didn’t want to risk……”

“Don’t make me pull this out of your mind, Snape” Cash stated harshly, “This isn’t just you, this is MY clan, MY childer. I may not compare to the ferocity and anger of one of my womenfolk, but I swear, I’ll do my best if you or anyone else is trying to harm my clan.”

“Do you HONESTLY think I would do that?” Severus screamed as he stood once more, standing nose to nose with Cash. “I thought at least you would realize that I would never harm your precious Gangrel, if for no other reason than Catri. Even Mohrg seems to understand….”

“When did ‘you’ talk to Mohrg?” Cash asked, completely ignoring Snape’s question.

“When he was with me” another voice answered, “And may I add, Cash, that I take great offence to the manner in which you are ‘interrogating’ Professor Snape. He did what he did at ‘my’ request. And just so we are clear on everything, ‘I’ am the one who set those traps. I needed to delay you from finding us and getting yourself killed.” Minerva stated as she stared pointedly at Cash.

“Minnie? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea of what…..” Cash ranted

“I will thank you NOT to take that tone with me Caisearbhan MacLeod. You may be my ancestor and protector, but I am deputy head mistress at Hogwarts, and I will do as I see necessary to protect my staff and my students.” Minerva stated, her mouth now a tight ribbon as she fought to control her temper. “If you care to discuss this in a civilized manner, I suggest you clean yourself up and meet me in my office. Professor Snape needs his rest, and I will not tolerate you abusing any of my staff for any reason. Am I understood?” seeing Cash nodding mutely, Minerva gave one curt nod as she left Snape’s room.