Looking back at Cat’s bed, Poppy frowned, there were now screens up around Cat’s bed “Now what?!” she fumed as she walked back to Cat, only to be stopped by Albus “She needs her rest. I cannot allow this....”

“Poppy, please. I am sure this is not Severus returning. It is only fair to allow his ... uhm.. competition some time with her.”

Poppy sighed “If you mean Professor Lupin, I’m surprised he wasn’t here earlier. That girl had better make up her mind, I don’t want to be tending to dueling wounds. Professor Snape doesn’t exactly play nicely with others.” she added as she gave Albus a knowing look.

Albus grinned from ear to ear “I agree wholeheartedly with you Madame Pomfrey. She does need to make up her mind, the sooner the better...”

Cat lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, she was trying to figure any way to prevent Tremere from coming to Hogwarts. She could feel tears of hopelessness welling as she found faults with every plan she came up with. She never even notice Sirius as he used the wand he had borrowed from her to set up a screen around them.

Sirius stood there just watching her for a few moments, she looked so frail, and something was bothering her, that was obvious. Sirius wished he could make all her pain and worries go away, he would gladly suffer in her place if he could. Knowing he couldn’t, he decided to do the next best thing - simply be there for her. Silently Sirius walked up to Cat’s bed and sat down “Hey” he said softly as he touched her cheek, he smiled as he watched her eyes light up when she saw him.

“Hey yourself” Cat said as she smiled up at him. She couldn’t even begin to put into words how happy she was to see him. Placing her hand over his she pressed it firmly against her cheek as she closed her eyes and sighed “hmmm, you’re so warm” she said weakly, she opened her eyes again to see him smiling back at her. “Just like old times” she joked “me in the hospital and you keeping me company”

Sirius felt his heart melting as he looked at her “Yep, just like old times” he whispered hoarsely, “Only you’ve been crying, I don’t remember that” he said as he gently wiped away her tears. Sirius saw the look of torment in Cat’s eyes “Want to tell me about it?”

“Sirius... for once in my life.... I don’t know what to do. I’m lost” she said weakly “even surrounded by Clan, I feel as if I’m alone.” She shut her eyes tightly, trying to stop her tears “the deamhan arrachtach, Sirius....they’re coming. And I know the first person they’ll harm is Harry”

Sirius paused as he let the shock of what she said sink in. “Deamhan arrachtach, ... Kitty whatever your talking about.... it can not be that bad. Demon monsters?” he said, trying to joke. “Come now mo grá, what could possible frighten you so badly?” He waited for a typically off-handed comment from her. But instead saw only the terror lurking within the depths of her eyes. “Catri?” Sirius wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up against himself, his hand combed through her soft hair as she sobbed quietly against his chest. “Hush Catri... whatever it is, I’ll protect you and Harry. You know I would die before I let any harm come to either of you.”

Through her sobs Cat explained “There is no protection against them, even Cash has lost Clan to them. Sirius.... Harry.... he’s got to leave here. Albus insists he will be safe here, but I know better, he hasn’t seen what they can do.” Cat grabbed Sirius’s robe tightly in her hand as she tried to make him understand, she knew Severus and Albus thought she was over-reacting, her only hope was that Sirius or Remus would listen to her “Sirius, you have got to take Harry away, take him to my home. I’m too weak to take him myself. Please.....” She looked up at him with large tear-filled eyes.

Sirius had no idea what to do, he had seen her go up against obstacles in her life and never did she flinch, even when it seemed hopeless. But now .... he could feel her shaking in his arms, she was absolutely terrified, and she seemed sure these monsters would be coming for Harry. “I promise you mo grá, if I see any danger to you or Harry, I am taking youboth home.” he saw Cat shaking her head as if to argue. Gently cupping her face in his hand Sirius pressed his thumb against her lips as he quietly whispered “Shhhh, .... Kitty you need to heal, Harry won’t leave you. If you want to keep him safe, you need to rest and get better.” Sirius sighed as Cat laid her head against his chest again, he felt his heart swell with love and protectiveness. They were his family, no matter what anyone would ever tell him, they meant more to him than his own life, they were his reason for living.

Sirius let his head rest against Cat’s, he hated to see her crying, he needed to get her to laugh, even if it was only for a moment. “So ... are you going to ask me about my trip? Boy, that Magda... what a hottie.” He waited for a moment to see if Cat had heard him. Sure enough pushed herself away, just far enough to look him in the face. Trying as hard as he could to keep a straight face, he continued “NO...really, she is... I especially love the accent..... and the whip.” He watched as Cat closed her eyes and let her head fall against his chest, slowly shaking it from side to side while mumbling something about his mother dropping him on his head. Sirius laughed as he lifted her face to his, a huge smile danced across his lips, she was finally smiling.

Cat groaned at his joke “Sirius Black,... Sirius .. Whatever were your parents thinking. When have you ever been serious about anything?” she sighed contentedly as she saw him smiling, she didn’t realized exactly how much she missed seeing his smile, or hearing his voice. “What are we going to do? I can’t bear the though of anything happening to Harry.” then added “and Yes, I want to hear *all* about your trip to the Roma... and you better not have called Magda a hottie to her face” Cat grinned as she watched Sirius’s smile spread from ear to ear.

“Trust me, I never called her anything.... to her face” he chuckled as he pulled Cat close to him again. Becoming a bit more serious he summed up his trip “It was a little dicey at first, but Dimitri was a huge help. And Magda’s daughter, Fallon... she’s the one the younger Roma are looking to for guidance. Unfortunately that did *not* make Magda happy. But Fallon seems to be squarely on our side, she and several of the Roma will be here after the holidays. Dimitri will accompany them.” Sirius played with her hair as he continued “Dimitri seems like a nice fellow, but he’s been through a lot. How much did Cash tell you about him?”

“Cash hasn’t said much, but Julian has told me everything.” Cat replied “Dimitri is badly in need of a family, his clan, both of his clans, human and kindred, have abandoned him.” she said sadly, his story was a painful one, she understood his need to belong. "He was treated dreadfully, Sirius, both in life and afterwards. His creator, his sire, both human and kindred. . . the things they did to that poor boy."

“I know, he told me a little about his past." Sirius nodded solemnly. "So of course this Julian sends him to you.” Sirius hugged her tightly “still taking in strays I see.”

Cat laughed softly “Yes,... still a bleeding heart I’m afraid. I guess I’ll never learn”

“Neither will I” Sirius said softly “Kitty, do you have any idea how terrified I was when I came back and saw you here? I thought you were going to die.” He gently pushed her back onto the bed until her head was laying on the pillows. “I was half mad with worry. Do you have any idea how much I care for you? Any at all?” he asked as he brushed her hair off of her face. He watched as she began to blush, picking up her hand, he kissed it gently as he stared into her eyes. “Catri MacLeod, I don’t want to lose you again. It broke my heart the first time, I’ll never survive it a second.” He placed her cool hand against his warm cheek and kissed her palm, waiting for her to respond.

Cat was blushing furiously, she had no idea what to say to him, she was confused and overjoyed at the same time. “Sirius, do we have to bring that up now?” She just wasn’t sure where this was heading, or what he truly wanted from her.

“Alright, ...... we can discuss it later, on one condition.” He told her softly “You have to promise me that you will never run away from me again. Please, if we had only had the chance to talk, to work it out then.....” Sirius paused as he gathered himself, he didn’t want to start crying in front of her. “Promise me...” he pleaded as he gazed deeply into her emerald eyes, praying she would agree, that she would be willing to at least listen to his reasons.

Cat nodded her head, it had hurt her to leave like that, and she always wondered what may have happened if she had insisted on making him talk to her “I promise Sirius.”

Sirius smiled as he kissed her softly on her cheek “I don’t suppose I have any chance of getting you to go with me to the Yule Ball? I’m guessing Remus already asked you” he whispered.

Cat blushed “uhmm no, Severus did actually”

Sirius hung his head, causing his hair to fall forward and cover his face “Please tell me you’re NOT going with that slimy, greasy git. He doesn’t deserve to breath the same air as you.” for once he was glad of his overgrown hair, it would at least hide the hurt on his face. He didn't mind her going with Remus, he would trust his friend with his heart and hers, but Snape was another story entirely.

Cat sighed as she rolled her eyes “Honestly Sirius, he is NOT slimy and he is far from being a git. And the ONLY reason he’s greasy is because of you. You would think that after almost two decades you would have removed that curse. For the love of mike, even you can’t hold a grudge *that* long.” she teased, waiting for him to look at her again, it almost seemed as if he was hurt she was going with Severus.

“After what he did to me? Try me. Next time I curse his hair, it won’t be greasy, it will be pink, ... hot pink, with streaks of... of.... green. Thats it..” He smiled as Cat laughed “I still say he deserves it, he didn’t remove his curse from me.... three weeks I went without being able to kiss you properly, all because of his half-arse curse. Stupid git couldn’t even do a block head hex without screwing it up royally.”

Cat giggled as she remembered all too well the fights between Sirius and Severus. “Talking about the head cold from Hades. I have a strange question for you.” Cat paused as Sirius raised his eyebrow, waiting to hear her question “Harry’s dog... Was he a present from you? Or did you name him?”

Sirius cringed, was it possible she had figured out he was the dog. “Harry’s dog... the black one... lots of fur ..... That dog?” he asked, trying to buy some time to figure out how much she knew.

Cat rolled her eyes dramatically “Yes Sirius, unless he has another dog I haven’t met yet. I was just wondering how he got his name........ Snuffles” she said as she gave him a toothy grin and blinked innocently.

“Leave it to you to remember that.” Sirius sighed “You and Lily called me that for weeks.” he began laughing again “even more reason not to let Snape off the hook.”

“Oh stop it... And we thought it was cute” Cat teased “and you seemed to enjoy the attention” she reminded him as she felt her heart flutter, Godess, how she loved to see him smile, it still made her melt.

“Attention from the two most beautiful women in the entire school” he grinned “You bet I did, even James was jealous by the end of the week.” He felt his heart flutter as Cat smiled and blushed at his comment. They teased each other about their school days for several minutes, Sirius had almost forgotten how wonderful it was to hear her giggle and see her eyes light up with happiness. He wondered how much more the dementors had stolen from him that he had not remembered. What other pieces of joy and comfort he had lost to the cruelty of Azkaban.

Cat must have noticed the change in his expression, she suddenly became quite. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his cheek and smiled at him “Deep in thought mo céadsearc, you look upset about something. Actually, ... you look haunted” she said as she caressed his face, carving every touch and line into her memory. This is how she wanted to remember him, with kindness and love, not the Sirius of her last week at Hogwarts, she needed to forget him. Cat sighed contentedly when she saw the ghosts leave Sirius as he smiled tenderly at her.

“Mo céadsearc, I never thought I’d hear you call me that again.” he said as a bittersweet smile crossed his face. “I miss that, .... I miss you” he told her. Taking her hand from his face, he held her hand to his lips and kissed her palm, right before he placed her hand over his heart. “Please tell me you’ve missed me.” he asked as his blue eyes misted over. He needed to hear her say it, to know that she still cared about him, that there was still hope for them.

“Of course I’ve missed you Sirius” Cat replied softly, she almost melted as she felt the beating of his heart “you were the first man I ever loved. And I will never forget you” she turned away as she took a deep breath, she couldn’t do this, not again... as far as she knew, he already had a family of his own “but life goes on. And so have we.” She paused, hoping Sirius would say something, wether he agreed or disagreed, she just wanted him to acknowledge what she had said.

Sirius felt as if he had been stabbed straight through his heart. What had he done, she loved him, and ... somewhere deep inside, she probably still did. But once again the stupid mistakes of his youth leered back at him. He had hurt her, and he knew it, but he had hoped the wounds would have healed more by now. He squeezed her hand and placed it back on her bed. He had no right to expect her to return to him, not yet at least. He knew he would have to prove himself to her all over again. “I heard you filed adoption papers for Harry ..... I’m kind of surprised.” he told her as he tried to change the conversation.

“Why would that surprise you?” she asked sincerely “you of all people know how close Lily and I were. And I know she wouldn’t want him to left without clan”

“I know, I just thought... well .... isn’t being his godmother enough? Although I have noticed he refers to you as mum every so often.” Sirius said softly, it was bad enough her life didn’t include him, but he couldn’t bear the thought of losing Harry as well. “You do know I’m his godfather... don’t you?” he whispered “I would miss him terribly if you took him”