"No... I'm not, its just" Harry sniffled "the song, its beautiful, but its so sad at the same time. Is that about you?"

Cat paused, "Its about a lot of things Harry. Especially what's been going on here in the last few weeks. I'm kind of confused about my feelings, and other peoples feelings towards me." she said softly "Speaking of which... we were discussing who you would like as a father earlier.." Cat asked timidly "I seem to remember kind, gentle, quidditch, handsome .... anything else? Personally I think intelligent would be nice." She hinted.

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he wasn't sure if he should blurt it out or just give her hints. He wished Sirius would have been able to tell him how much he told her last night. As much as Harry wanted to scream *marry Sirius* he didn't want to be the one to explain Azkaban to Cat. It simply wasn't his place.

"So, are you going to answer me?" Cat said expectantly "About who you had in mind for a father. You certainly seem to have it all planned out." She winked as she smiled brightly, enjoying the conversation immensely.

"About a father..." Harry repeated, trying to buy some time to figure out how to say it "I wasn't thinking about Remus. . . I mean he's more like an uncle or something"

Cat nodded, feeling a bit relieved, she had gotten so used to seeing Remus as a brother the thought of actually becoming *romantic* with him was a bit odd. "And I have a strange feeling you haven't exactly warmed up to Severus.... so who's left?" Cat asked as she nibbled on a sandwich Dobby had brought up earlier as she wondered who on earth Harry had in mind. Maybe the arithromancy professor, he had always seemed rather nice, although Severus was sure to put up a fight, but if it would make Harry happy, she would gladly give him a chance.

"Actually," Harry said softly "I was kind of hoping you and Sirius would be able to adopt me.... I mean he *is* my godfather and all." Harry watched as Cat's eyes grew sad "and I really like him..." Harry paused when he saw Cat turn her head "I know you two broke up, I heard all about it..."

"Harry" Cat said softly, not looking at him "I doubt Sirius is an option. I'm sure he's married by now, albeit judging by the looks of him, not happily" she was barely whispering "I .... we ..... let it go Harry. .... Please" she asked as she bit her lip and wiped at her eyes. "I just can't deal with it right now.... maybe later we can talk about it..."

Harry looked at Cat, it tore at his heart to see her so sad "Alright mum, we can talk about it later." he said softly "But I'm pretty sure Sirius isn't married.... I know I've never heard him talk about anyone but you." Harry watched as Cat's head lifted slightly when she turned to face him, he could see the confusion and pain in his eyes.

"Of course he is Harry, I saw the ring he gave her, and their wedding photo" Cat explained "I even saw the dress, though how she could even *think* of wearing white is beyond me." She sighed deeply "It ripped my heart out Harry... I loved Sirius so deeply..." she shook her head "I honestly thought we would be married one day... with a large family, .... he always wanted a large family."

Snuffles sat up and stared at Cat, a ring... who did he ever give a ring to but her? And who else had he ever even thought about marrying? He watched as the pain filled Cat's eyes, he knew she felt every word she was saying,..... was it true? Was it a memory lost to him from his time in Azkaban? Snuffles stared blankly as he tried to remember anything at all about what Cat had just said.

Try as he might, he was drawing a complete blank. He laid down and closed his eyes as he tried to think back, the dementors only stole happiness and love, those were the only memories he was missing. He wracked his brain, who could he ever love more than her nothing was coming to him at all okay, she said I gave this woman a ring.... the only ring I would give my wife was my grandmother's... where did I put it?

Sirius thought back to those last few weeks of school, he cringed as he remembered the final ball of the year, it had been only three weeks before school ended. He remembered the next week, Cat's tear-filled eyes and Lily's angry glares, he had almost managed to talk to Cat several times, but something kept happening to stop him..... Sirius growled as he remembered, Esmeralda, she had shown up every time he tried to talk to Cat.... Well he would certainly never ask that creature to be his wife... He remembered clearly the day he had run back to the tower searching frantically for Cat, only to find his ring and some love poems he had written to her left on his pillow. He had cried the rest of that day, he couldn't even go to classes. Lily refused to talk to him, James and Remus didn't know what to say to make him stop crying, and the rest of the tower simply avoided him. It wasn't until he had gone nearly three days without eating that Lily had finally spoken to him convincing him to eat some food James had gotten from the kitchen. He had still had his father's ring with him, he never gave it to anyone else. He carried it with him, still on the broken chain Cat had worn around her neck.

Something was terribly wrong! He had the ring, no one else ever had it. It was impossible for her to see anyone else with it. When he left Hogwarts and returned home for summer break, he had placed his father's ring in the large wooden box his father had gotten him for his twelfth birthday, and his grandmother's ring was there as well. It was hidden safely in his room, even his mother never knew about this hiding spot.

Sirius quickly dashed out of the room, .... he had to find Moony! Moony would know what Cat meant, she told him and Lily everything.

                                                        . ~@~@~@~@~ Dimitri smiled as he heard Fallon rap on the box, they were finally going to be leaving. Fallon knew her mother would do something drastic by nightfall, so they had made plans to leave during the middle of the day. He could hear Magda screaming loudly at Fallon and the others, it only made him laugh, she would assume he was still in his caravan and would catch up with them later. No doubt Magda would try to kill him shortly, sneaking into his caravan and stake him as he slept..... to bad he wasn't going to be there. However, he did make sure to leave a certain surprise for her in his place.

Dimitri smiled wickedly as he imagined Magda’s reaction to the body of her favorite lover nestled snuggly in the deep bed of the caravan. He had been foolish enough to try and kill Dimitri shortly before sunset last night. Apparently Cash had been quite right in his judgment of humans, their knowledge was all myths and rumors. He may be too young to bear the full light of day, but inside a darkened caravan, well hidden from the burning rays of the sun, he was every bit as dangerous as if it had been midnight. A fact the man learned a bit to late to do him or anyone else any good.

Fallon rolled her eyes as her mother threw blasphemy and curses at her and her new tribe. Turning to Magda, Fallon said clearly and loudly "Mother, you are too late. You had your chance and you refused to listen, we are leaving, and you are powerless to stop us. Farewell" She sat down and snapped the reigns, the horses quickly began to make their way into the forest path as Fallon smiled. She saw the nervous looks from her fellow Roma, they were frightened of Magda that was obvious. So Fallon did the only thing she could think of; she sang to the goddess Maeve, to guide and protect them against the onslaught of her mother’s wrath, and the evil that may await them on their journey. She smiled happily as she heard Erich and Elora join in with her, very shortly the entire tribe was on their way, putting their faith in the goddess and in her. She only hoped she would be worthy of their trust.

~**~*~*~*~**~ Harry had to change the subject, he had no idea what Cat was talking about. Sirius had told him about making a stupid mistake, but NEVER did he mention anything about marrying her. Deep in his heart, Harry knew Sirius would never keep such a thing from him. He had seen how Sirius had reacted whenever Cat was near, how concerned he was for her, how tenderly he held her, how much he loved her.... there was simply no way he would have asked anyone else to be his wife. Harry's eyes darted around the room, he had to find something to ask her about. He caught something glinting out of the corner of his eye. "Uhm... Hey mum? I noticed that necklace before. I don't think I've ever seen you without it. Where did you get it?"

"It's from my mother" Cat replied softly "She gave it to me right before I came here as a student. It has a lot of meaning to my people, this is Brighde's cross." Cat looked at Harry, he seemed just as upset as she was "You don't know who Brighde is do you?" she asked, she wanted to talk about anything but Sirius right now, it was simply to painful for her to relive. "She is a triple aspect goddess - maiden, mother and crone. She is the patron of knowledge, healing, the arts and as the Morrigan of battle, death and sex. She is very powerful and very kind, she helps young things grow, she protects and teaches them, making them strong and helps them pass into the next world when their time here is done."

"Wow, she sounds amazing" Harry replied "but why does she use a cross? I thought that was for Christians?"

Cat laughed softly "No Harry, the cross has been around since the beginning of time, just like the circle. Don't forget the Christian's only use a cross because Jesus was crucified on one. So the Romans were using the cross for centuries prior to that. It's the same thing with the Star of David, it and many other signs were adopted as one religion replaced another. Even Brighde was *adopted* by the Catholics. They tried to change her into Saint Bridget or Brigit, just to keep all us unruly pagans happy" she smirked as she rolled her eyes.

"Unruly pagan.. .is that what you are?" Harry laughed "Is that why Cash and Tris wear the same thing?"

"Tris yes, Cash wasn't dedicated to Brighde like Tris and I were, he was dedicated to the Greenman. He wears Brighde's cross as a show of affection and knowledge, but if you have any questions you can ask him. After all, he pre-dates Christianity by a few centuries, he’d probably be able to give you a first hand account of it all. He’s quite a bit older than he admits, he is also a lot smarter than he lets people believe" Cat winked "Cash likes to pretend he's this mean, cold-hearted, nasty vamp..... but I know better" she laughed as Harry rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah... he seems really mean. I know I was terrified when he picked me up and carried me over to you and told me to dance." Harry started laughing as Cat giggled hysterically, this is what he wanted to see, her happy. With any luck Sirius would be coming to check up on them soon and they could all talk about it together.

"So.. .. Who is the Greenman and what does he do?" Harry asked.

Cat concentrated for a moment before answering "The Greenman does many things, he is responsible for protecting and nurturing the plants and animals, to the point that he sacrifices himself so that those he protects may thrive. He is reborn yearly, regenerating himself and the plants of the forest and field. He holds the key ancient knowledge, love and contentment. And within our clan he is also responsible for fertility, many young lovers make offerings to him in the hopes of having large healthy families."

Harry gave Cat a confused grin "So that is what Cash does? Help people have lots of children?"

Cat laughed so hard her hair fell in front of her face "No Harry, I'd have to say Cash is more into the protecting aspect of the god than the fertility. Although he does have the ability to handfast and to recognize a child within the clan."

"Handfast and recognize? What's handfasting and why wouldn't someone recognize their own child?"

"No Harry, I don't mean recognize like that...." Cat explained "let me see if I can give you an example. Hmmmm, do you remember when I explained fostering to you? About the way our clan and its allies will exchange children, so they learn from each other and come to accept the fact that they are part of something bigger?" she waited while Harry nodded "Well sometimes those children are orphans of war. In our clan we don't kill the children during a war, its not honorable. However sometimes their parents are killed, in that situation the welfare of those children now rests with the warrior that had to kill the parents. That warrior is responsible for finding homes for the children, many times if the children are young they will be raised as the warriors own children, or if the warrior themselves are young, their mothers will take in the orphans and raise them. Sometimes these orphans truly become one of us even though there is no blood bond. In a case like this, the adoptive parents can ask the clan to recognize the children as a true blood borne member of the clan. Cash is one of the few people who can speak for the clan on this."

"So Cash can decide who is and isn't part of the clan?" Harry asked "What if he says no?"

"Then the parents can go to my father, but he rarely contradicts Cash's rulings. My father trusts Cash with our lives, he has a great deal of faith in Cash's abilities and his judgment."

Harry simply nodded "Is handfasting like recognizing? And do I get to meet your father during holidays? What should I call him?"

Cat smiled "Unfortunately Harry, poppa won't be there this year. Clan business will keep him away, but you will be meeting him as soon as he can leave. He can't wait to meet you" she said as she touched Harry's cheek "as for what to call him?... granda I guess, that’s what his other grandchildren call him." she watched as Harry smiled brightly "Now... handfasting, that's not so easy to explain.... I guess a trial marriage would be the *simplest* way to explain it, though not the most correct."

"A *trial* marriage? I thought once you were married it was for life?" Harry asked "How do you have a trial marriage?"

Cat smiled gently "Handfasting is just like being married, the one difference being it only last one year and one day, ...... unless of course a baby is involved" she grinned "then its thirteen years from the youngest child. Or basically for good." she winked "we very rarely have only one child. And if you’re talking about being married for life? Then you mean heartjoined, and Cash cannot do that, it is a very special ceremony, you must be handfasted first before the high priestess would even consider performing such powerful magic. And even then you must be very, very sure. Once it is done it can never be undone, two people literally join as one, their hearts, their souls, their magic.... " Cat shrugged her shoulders "they can never be separated by any one or anything, except perhaps death."

"Wow! I had no idea" Harry whispered "Have you ever been handfasted to anyone?" he asked, noticing the way Cat diverted her gaze.

~@~@~@~@~ Snuffles waited impatiently as Remus gave his class their homework assignments and spoke with Hermione and Ron, they were asking him what had happened to Harry. After several minutes of reassuring them Harry was just fine and Cat would soon be as well, Remus caught a glimpse of Snuffles. Remus quickly hurried everyone off to lunch as Snuffles slipped unnoticed into his classroom to wait for him.

Remus shook his head the minute he saw Sirius "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting? You haven't been bothering Harry and Cat .... have you?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Sirius shook his head as he walked towards his friend "That isn't important right now! Moony you have to tell me something? Please, its very important. Was I *ever* engaged to anyone? Ever?" he looked imploringly into Remus's eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Remus responded "Was I ever engaged.. ... have you gone completely daft now?" He knew as soon as he said it how serious Sirius was.

"Remus.... I am not joking." Sirius took a deep breath "Did I ever love anyone besides Cat... enough to marry them or even ask them to marry me?"

"What are you going on about Sirius?! She was the only one you ever settled down for... before her you had a different girlfriend every week or so..." Remus said as he motioned for Sirius to sit down with him. “In fact that was my biggest hurdle when I tried to get Kitty to date you. She felt she would just be one of your many conquests, you just never kept them around for very long.”

"Then why does Cat remember seeing my ring on some other woman's finger??!! Harry told her he wanted me to be his father" Sirius stopped a moment as he realized what exactly he had said. Harry wanted him as his father, Sirius smiled as the idea sank in, there was nothing he would like more. Harry's father and Cat's husband, it made him feel warm just to think about it. "She told him I was married, she had seen this woman and the wedding dress. How could she, I don't remember any of it.... I know I still have pieces of my memory that .... well.... they are just not there, but I would remember that... right?"

Remus sighed deeply as he sat down across from Sirius, he hated to even bring this up "Sirius, remember when you had to stop Lily from killing Esmeralda?"

Sirius thought about it for a moment "Vaguely, she was the one I took to the dance, and... well.. .you know" he said softly.

"Yes, I do know." he said flatly "Do you know why Lily was so intent on hurting her?" Remus watched as Sirius shook his head no. Remus sighed "Esmeralda did a lot of things to Kitty we never told you about. It went far beyond cruel..... Every opportunity she had to make her cry she took. I knew most of what she was saying was outright lies. But given Cat's rather emotional state, well, we couldn't make her understand Esmeralda was lying. After all, she did show up with a ring and quite a few interesting pictures that she made certain Cat saw."

"Pictures of what?" Sirius nearly yelled "Surely Cat must have known they were lies, she knows I love her." He became quiet as Remus held up his hands and motioned for him to stay quiet.

"Sirius,.... I don't want to hurt you my friend. You know I love you like a brother" Remus said softly "But understand what you had just put her through. She loved you. And unless I am *very* much mistaken you were her first in many ways. She trusted you with her heart and her body, that is a very, very hard thing to do. Then to have you turn on her the way you did, only to have James and I convince her it was a misunderstanding, or a hex or .. .or something. James had to take her by the hand and lead her to you, only to have her see you and that filthy little tramp......" Remus took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "I don't think you ever understood how deeply you cut her. It went far beyond breaking her hear Sirius, I heard her talking to Lily... she had always thought she would be your wife. She even told us about the letter your father had written to her..”

Minerva noticed Professor Lupin was missing from lunch, as did Professor Snape. "I am quite certain Professor Lupin is checking in on Miss MacLeod and Mr. Potter. I shouldn't worry if I were you Professor Snape." She could tell by the way his eyes suddenly flashed at her that she had caught him by surprise.

"Of course" Severus replied "I am sure everyone is fine. We would be told if something had happened, would we not?" it was more a demand than a question. "After all since Mr. Lupin has taken over as her sole protector" he became suddenly quiet when he saw Minerva smile.

" Professor Lupin is clan to us Severus" she said softly, registering the surprise on his face. He apparently had not realized how deep clan ties ran "and as such he has every right, in fact he is duty and honor bound to protect her. After all, she is the chieftain's daughter." once again Severus looked surprised.

"Chieftain's daughter? You mean she is their ...." Severus paused "I thought her father was a powerful wizard, not a ruler"

"He is both. Magnus is extraordinarily powerful, and a great leader among his people. He demands a great deal of respect and loyalty from many people. Although to be honest I am quite surprised he allowed Catri to come here. He knows how much danger is involved and it is not like him to risk anyone's life, particularly his baby girl‘s"

"Talking about Miss MacLeod are we" Albus asked as his eyes twinkled at Minerva and Severus "I checked in on her this morning while Poppy was there. You will both be happy to know she is feeling much better this morning. And Mr. Potter's presence has definitely been a positive influence on her mood. She was absolutely beaming when I saw them" he turned to Minerva "and you were right Minerva" he said as he handed her two knuts "she was teaching him to play her guitar. Tell me Severus how did she seem to you?"

"I would not know..." he answered tersely "I was informed I need a chaperone to see her. Apparently *professor* Lupin feels my behavior warrants supervision."

Minerva raised her eyebrows "A chaperone? Severus, what did you do?" she gasped as her mind ran wild with ideas. She realized quite some time ago he considered Catri more than a passing infatuation, and he certainly did seem to be rather passionate in his attentions towards her. Minerva stared pointedly at Severus “I certainly hope you didn’t do *anything* unspeakable to her.”

Severus became slightly flustered by Minerva's question "I did not do *anything* to her. I was simply concerned. I had promised her I would come back to watch over her after I finished with my preparations for my classes, but when I went to leave my office I found myself locked it. It appears that filthy Gangrel Cash decided to lock me in for the night. I was worried that something may have happened to Catri.... so much so that instead of knocking on her door as I usually would" he began to blush slightly as he lowered his voice "I made the mistake of bursting in. Lupin apparently took exception and decreed that *I* would need a chaperone in the future if I wish to see Miss MacLeod. It seems that as the oldest member of her *clan* present he had every right to do so."

Minerva looked at Albus who winked back at her, turning to Severus she smiled and said "I'm *slightly* older than Remus I'll see what I can do. I'm sure it was said in the heat of the moment, he is very protective of her as you yourself have mentioned."

Harry laughed as Cat screamed loudly "You know you really shouldn't play this game if you're going to keep screaming like that, you're scaring Shashe." he said as he petted the cougar, doing his best to lull her into sleep again.

"I'm sorry Harry, I love exploding snap, but loud noises do tend to frighten me." she explained as she giggled "and my poor Shashe... did I scare you baby?" she asked as she scratched Shashe under her chin.

"Boy, you must be fun during thunderstorms" Harry remarked as he rolled his eyes.

Cat stuck her tongue out at him "As a matter of fact Mr. Potter.. *I* happen to like thunderstorms, they don't bother me at all. Of course those lightening strikes are another matter all together."

Harry just shook his head "Unbelievable, you play with Garou and Vampyres, fight deatheaters and ghouls, and a little bit of noise sends you screaming...." he didn't have time to duck the pillow. "Hey!!!! No fair"

Cat smiled at him wickedly "Unbelievable, you survive every curse ever thrown at you, beat Voldy at his own game, and yet a sack full of feathers ......" she yelped as she dove to avoid being hit by Harry's pillow "Ya gotta do better than *that* boy-o." she teased as she grabbed another pillow and held it menacingly in her hand.

"Ohh.... I can do better" Harry told her as he also grabbed a pillow.

Within seconds the game of exploding snap was forgotten as Shashe bolted off the bed and onto the relative safety of an armchair as Harry and Cat commenced with a truly exuberant pillow fight. They were both laughing and screaming so loudly that neither of them had noticed Minerva entering the room. Minerva watched them battle with a smile on her face, they reminded her of happier times, long before Voldemort ever rose to power.

"Well Catri... I see you're feeling much better today" Minerva laughed as Cat and Harry fell back on the bed completely exhausted from their little battle. "Good afternoon Mr. Potter, I trust you are not wearing your mother out" she watched as Harry smiled at her comment "Yes Mr. Potter, I also consider Cat to be your mother... Welcome to the clan."

Harry blushed profusely "Thank you Professor McGonagall" he had forgotten that she and Cat were related "Mum told me that you and Professor Dumbledore gave her permission to take me home for the holidays."

"Speaking of which" Minerva said "Catri dear.. .would you mind taking some presents with you? I understand several of my grandchildren will be with you in Caledonia this year."

Cat smiled happily "Of course not Tanta. I heard Quentin and Bridget would be there with their children. Is it only the two of them this year?"

"I'm afraid so, the other three are staying in Greece this year. Although Michael will be joining you this year." Minerva said as her eyes misted over.

"Michael?! Oh Tanta... can't you come with us?" Cat pleaded "Its been so long since you and he have been able to spend time together."

"Who is Michael?" Harry asked "Is he your son?"

Minerva smiled brightly "No Mr. Potter, Michael is my husband. Unfortunately his responsibilities keep him away from home most of the time." She sighed, how she missed her dear Michael, nearly seventy-five years of marriage and still the thought of him made her swoon.

"Your husband??!!" Harry gasped "You're married?? I had no idea."

Minerva looked at Harry with a slightly shocked expression on her face "Well of course I am married Mr. Potter, why ever wouldn't I be married?"

Cat laughed loudly as she covered her face with her hands "Oh Tanta... I guess the students just don't see you like that." she teased.

"Well at least I've had children Catri... I only wish I could say the same for you." Minerva stated in a very matter of fact voice "and when are *you* going to be getting married? It seems you have had several interested suitors. In fact I can think of one or two in this very school."

Cat rolled her eyes "Now Tanta... don't start this again. I've told you before, when I'm ready to settle down I will and until then..."

"And until then I will be an old woman and you will be forced into a marriage whether you want to be or not!" Minerva took a deep breath and tried to calm herself "Catri, I know your heart has suffered, but I know for a fact that Severus Snape loves you very deeply. I can see it every time he looks at you. I realize he may not be your first choice. But I would rather see you with someone who loves you than to watch *certain* members of our clan insist on an arranged marriage." Minerva softened when she saw the look on Cat's face, crossing over to her she took Cat's hand in her own "I know how you feel about this Catri, and I don't blame you. But you must realize your father can only protect you from this for so long. They want heirs dear, blood heirs, and it is getting to the point that they won't care how."

"I know Tanta.... but I'm just not sure enough about my feelings for Severus... and he and Harry don't get on very well" she added as she looked at Harry who was looking nearly frantic himself. "If they want me pregnant fine.... but I won't marry unless I'm sure."

Minerva rolled her eyes "Catri Marzia MacLeod shame on you!" she fumed "and in front of your son, you should be ashamed."