Chapter 15 Pranks
As Cat MacLeod was walking to her class room to prepare for the next days classes Remus Lupin came running down the hall, waving at her. He stopped at the end of the hall and signalled for her to follow him. Holding the door open for her, Remus asks her to come into his classroom for a moment
"You left this laying around again, please remember to keep it with you, remember your agreement." Remus said as he handed Cat back her wand. "And since you broke your agreement you owe me, so I decide you will start helping me with DADA, your travels make you one of the few to actually come in contact with most of the creatures we're studying" he finished smiling broadly.
"Oh really, well you'll have to do better that returning a wand for that" Cat smiled slyly "I mean I'm already teaching Divination and helping Hagrid with the drakes. I'm really not sure that I can add anything else to my schedule."
"Oh really, not good enough huh." Remus replied a knowing smile crossing his face " hmm how shall we settle this?"
"Now Remus, remember what Albus told us. He won't be happy about this." Cat said, the same smile now on her face.
"He told us we couldn't continue the game....it was a draw" Remus slowly drew out his wand. "But he never said anything about a practice round, now did he?"
"Remus, don't start what you can't finish." Cat warned him in a sing-song voice "I don't want you crying that you weren't ready"
"PRECIPITAT SPHERIS" Cat began, as snowballs began hitting Remus about the head and chest.
Quickly diving behind his desk, Remus retaliates with "FELINIS" hitting MacLeod on her backside as she dove for cover.
"A tail!... come on Remus, you can do better than that" MacLeod challenged.
As Remus was busy laughing at MacLeod's twitching tail she nailed him with "LUPUS GAROU" as he started sprouting a tail and ears to match.
"Okay, now you've gone to far woman." Remus yelled as Harry walked into the classroom "FORTIS MORTIS" Harry hit the floor quickly, wondering what was going on.
"You dirty dog. You almost got me with that one." Cat fumed "That one is an unforgivable curse I'll have you know" Harry saw Remus sneaking up on MacLeod, unfortunately for Remus, MacLeod figured out his game plan. "Oh no you don't. GRAVA PARA PERMAFROS." Harry just gawked as the floor around Remus and Cat began to ice over.
Now it was Remus's turn with the snowballs "PRECIPITAT SPHERIS" Harry began laughing as the snowballs launched out of Remus's wand hitting MacLeod and making her slip on the icy floor she created.
"Oohhh" Cat yelled "that's it TRANSFORMOS BASSON ........UTENLI"
"A spoon" Remus was practically hysterical now "you turned my wand into a wooden spoon. You're losing your touch MacLeod."
Harry decided to end this before anyone really did something horrible. So he quickly took out his wand and used the tickle charm on both of them. As they fell to the floor laughing hysterically, slipping on the ice, Harry walked up to them.
"What are you two doing? Look at this place, look at you" Harry stood there shaking his head, bemused by his two teachers. "You both have tails, and Remus what happened to your ears?"
Laughing and trying to help each other up, with very little success, Lupin says to Harry "would you mind, Harry, its kind of hard to stand up and laugh at the same time." so saying he immediately preceded to fall on top of MacLeod.
"Always the gentleman, huh Lupy" MacLeod was in tears now. Hugging each other trying to stand up, Harry was beside himself with laughter. "He's your nephew, or godson or something...make him remove it."
"I'll only remove it if you two stop" Harry was trying his best to stop laughing, with very little success.
"She started it" whined Lupin, hugging his friend.
"No." Cat replied a wide grin on her face "I finished it. FORTIS MORTIS." She fell to the floor again, still laughing as Lupin stared at her disbelief on his face.
"Cat,... how could you?" looking down at his stomach, which was usually on the thin side, there was now approximately 40 pounds of extra Lupin firmly attached. "That's it, you're going down."
"Yeah right, what are you gonna do...." Cat was in tears now, trying to catch her breath "beat me to death with a spoon?"
Harry just looked at Lupin and shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly Cat, you're worse than Remus and Sirius together." After getting Remus and Cat to promise not to jinx or curse each other he removed the tickle charm. Harry couldn't help but smile at what he saw, besides all the damage from the snowballs and ice, there was Cat and Remus. Their faces were completely red from their "fun", yet there they sat, in the middle of a frozen DADA classroom, laughing and smiling with their arms around each other, almost like they were still kids. Granted kids with long twitching tails, and rather large ears, and Harry had to admit, Remus really didn't look to good with a belly like that. But still, it made Harry feel warm inside to see Remus so happy, it reminded him of what it was like living with him and Sirius over the summer.
"So Cat, do you give up?" Remus asked "Are you going to assist me, or do I have to start getting rough?" he finished grinning from ear to ear.
"Assist you with what ?" Harry was curious, and after the last 10 minutes, slightly concerned.
"Your friend here wants me to assist him in DADA." Cat explained "He seems to think my 'practical' experience would come in handy." rolling her eyes as she finished.
"I don't know" Harry said thoughtfully "I think it would be kind of neat if you" he paused suddenly.
"Harry is something wrong" Remus jumped up immediately concerned.
"Ah, well, its just..." hesitantly Harry said "can you two do something about yourselves. I'm really beginning to get the creeps looking at you."
"Now Harry, is that anyway to talk to a lady," Remus chastised playfully "I mean, some people might think a tail rather....fetching."
Cat swatted him across the back of his head. "You know Lupy, that line might just be a little more convincing if you could say it with a straight face."
Cat stood up took a deep breath and literally shook the snow and tail off of her. Looking at Remus, she held out her hands "Like some help sweetie?"
"Please" Remus replied. Cat touched his face with her palms, and closed her eyes. Harry was amazed as the ears, tail and belly practically melted off of Remus. "I guess we should clean up this mess too." she said.
"Allow me" Remus took out his wand "SANITIO PER DIEM" again Harry was amazed as all the snow and ice quickly disappeared into thin air and the chairs sat themselves upright again.
"So, um Cat, are you going to help Remus?" Harry spoke up.
"I don't know, I really don't see how much help I can be. I mean most of the 'creatures' your Ministry consider to be enemies, well, they're kind of my friends."
Remus shot Cat a warning glance
"What do you mean, your friends" Harry asked thinking of Voldemort and his deatheaters "I thought Dumbledore was your friend?"
"He is Harry, and he knows about my other friends as well." Cat answered honestly. "I know I told you we would talk tomorrow after class, but I think maybe now is better. You don't have any classes right now, do you?"
"No, this is free time, before supper." Harry was becoming more and more intrigued.
"Remus, is it alright with you?" Remus nodded his head as Cat began to tell Harry.
"Albus Dumbledore and my father have been friends for years. In fact they have saved each others lives many times. I think you know what that means, between wizards?" Harry nodded "Well imagine the bond that produces between two wizards as powerful as they are. Albus tried to convince my father to join forces with the MOM back when it actually stood for something. But my father refused, basically because they refused to admit many of my clans allies into the ministry. Our clans have several basic beliefs which cross all boundaries of race or region, one of them is this" Cat said showing Harry one of the rings she always wore, it was a pair of hand holding a crowned heart. "This is the claddaugh it is a symbol of our most basic beliefs, Friendship, Love and Loyalty. These are the basis for everything our clan does, we can no more betray our allies than they could betray us."
"When you say your clans "allies" you mean.....?" Harry questioned
"Okay, let me give you a little political background on clan life. Each clan is whole and complete unto itself, self sufficient, it must remain strong or it will cease to exist, other clans will absorb it, or it will simply fall apart. But in order to remain strong, you need strong allies, other clans. In my land there is a network of clans from one end to the other, we've spread across the globe while still managing to keep our identity and our strength. Many of the strong clans will ally themselves with other clans who have the same goals as our own. Once these alliances are forged, very little will ever dissolve them. One example is several thousand years old, involving my clan and two others, they were living in the mountains when the emperor of the area decided to take a definite dislike to folks of the magical persuasion. When the clans living there realized they could not defeat his forces without losing their own people, and there was no hope of any truce. The three clans met together and decided the only way to save their respective people was to join forces and leave the mountains of Carpathia. Now Harry, I don't want you to get upset by this next part, I know it will sound strange to you because of everything you've learnt so far, so just listen, I think this may help you understand a little better, you can ask me questions in just a little while, Okay?"
Entranced, Harry simply nodded his consent.
"Now the three clans, one was a clan of gargoyles, one was vampyre, and one was sidhe." Cat paused for a moment as she saw Harry's eyes grow large. "I know you've been told that they are enemies to all, including each other, but that is simply not true. Our clans have in fact been allies since before this story happened. You see we needed each other, each clan was very strong, very large, but each had a weakness. The gargoyles could not travel by day, the sun would turn them to stone, leaving them helpless against their enemies by day. The vampyres had similar trouble, although some could walk during the day, if they had fed well, and the sky was overcast. The Sidhe weakness was their children, the journey out of the mountains into a safe land was long and dangerous, they knew that they would loose more than half of their clan to enemies, starvation, and disease. So the clans bonded together in order to save themselves and each other. The Sidhe would travel during the day, transporting and protecting the others, at dusk when the vampyres and gargoyles would stir everyone would stop and hunt for the days food. After everyone had eaten, the sidhe would sleep while the vampyres and gargoyles transported and protected them. They all survived because they bonded together in trust and friendship, and that bond has NEVER been broken, even to this day."
She paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "That is why my father refused to join with the ministry, because they would not accept the vampyres and gargoyles. There was no choice, they had been our allies, our trusted friends for generations, if my father had accepted the ministry, he would have been turning his back on them, and on his own clan. He would have betrayed their friendship and their loyalty to us. That would have reduced my clan to nothing more that vagabonds in the eyes of other clans, it would have destroyed us."
"But if that's true, why are you here now?"
"Because of Albus, my father considers him both a friend and an ally. When Albus came to my father asking for help, I was sent."
"I don't mean to sound nasty, Miss MacLeod, but why you. I would think you father would have come himself?"
"Because it would have drawn Voldemort's attention if my father had come here. I'm drawing enough attention as it is." she sighed, remembering her trip to Hogwarts a few short weeks ago.
"And Mac Lir didn't exactly help."
Harry thought a moment before questioning Miss MacLeod "I was wondering, about Mac Lir and you. You said he was related to you, but he nearly killed you. If loyalty is so important, why did he do that?"
"Mac Lir had no intention of killing me, or you by the way. He was fine until Severus started attacking. You see, Remus understands my people, that's why he didn't attack Mac Lir, he knew if he used force, Mac Lir would return it several times over." MacLeod explained.
"So if Snape hadn't attacked Mac Lir" Harry began
"Severus knows nothing of my people Harry. He adheres to the Ministry's law about my ways being 'forbidden knowledge'. He was just trying to protect us." MacLeod was getting irritated now, she was speaking as much with her hands as her voice.
"I guess I just never really thought of Snape as the protective kind" Harry said sarcastically.
MacLeod looked Harry in the eyes "There are many things about Severus Snape that would surprise you."
Harry didn't doubt that, especially after seeing him with Miss MacLeod. He could honestly say he had never seen Snape act quite like that before. He seemed like a different person when she was around, almost human.
"You said that there were three clans, vampire, sidhe and gargoyle." Harry paused as he took a deep breath "So you must be a vampire then."
Remus just looked at Harry, slightly amused, with a crooked smile on his face.
"Tell me what makes you think I'm a vampyre?" Cat asked curiously.
Feeling a bit awkward Harry answered. "Well you are awfully pale, and you have really bright eyes, and.....well... you did say your knowledge was forbidden....and...."
"Go on Harry" she said gently "you won't insult me."
"Its just .....I mean....." Harry didn't know how to say it so he just blurted it out. "When Remus was hurt so badly, and you were upset, you ran up to him and just held him in your arms and started crying,...and....and....you were crying blood."
Cat looked completely dumbfounded "I was crying blood, are you sure?" she look to Remus for confirmation. As he nodded back to her, she remembered their conversation in the hospital.
"Yeah, I'm sure. It was kind of hard to miss." Harry told her. "But I can't figure out how you can go out in the sun and stuff. Is it a special charm?"
"A charm?" MacLeod was somewhere between laughter and tears at this point.
"Yes, like the parchment you had me give to Snape today." Harry said matter of factly.
"So you think the letter I had you deliver was charmed too?" Cat was doing everything she could not to giggle
"It had to be. Snape lives to give me detention. But when I gave him the parchment, he just told me to take my seat and catch up" Harry was grinning now "No detention, no points, nothing. That had to be some sort of charm."
"So your saying as long as I can do things like that, having a vampyre for a teacher isn't so bad?" She asked grinning widely.
"Well, if you put it that way." Harry grinned back at her "I guess not."
"Harry, sweetie, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not a vampyre."
"Your not." Harry was completely surprised "Well you're certainly not a gargoyle, you're too pretty." realizing what he just said, he began to blush. "But what about the blood? We both saw it."
"Yes Cat, what about the blood?" she could hear the concern in Remus's voice.
"Sometimes, when I fell things very deeply, pain or joy or sorrow, that happens." she said slowly "I'm sure its no surprise to anyone here that I care a great deal for Remus, we've been friends a very long time" she smiled at Remus "and when I saw him like that, it kind of broke my heart. I really didn't mean to cause any concern."
Remus's eyes were becoming moist, as he beamed at his dear friend. Harry was smiling as well, it made him feel good to know that Remus had someone else besides him and Sirius.
Wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath, MacLeod asked. "So if I'm not a vampyre, and I'm not a gargoyle...." Cat said expectantly.
"You mean you're a Sidhe?" Harry wasn't sure if he was frightened or amazed "but the Sidhe are evil, and ugly, they kill wizards all the time. They sing or scream or something, until it kills people, they hate us."
"No Harry, your confusing Hags with Sidhe." She replied softly " Hags like Black Annis and Old Meg, they live to kill, even vampyres give them wide breath." Cat said quietly, waiting for Harry's reaction.
"So what do Sidhe do?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Now do you see why I want you to talk to them?" Lupin said softly, as he placed his hand on MacLeod's shoulder "If they can accept me, knowing I am a werewolf, I think its time they know the truth the ministry has been trying to hide."
"What truth? Remus you know all about this?" Harry couldn't believe Remus would keep this from him.
"Like I said before Harry. Remus knows my people." she paused " He was 'taken in' by my clan years ago. We were hoping we would be able to help him." Cat said sadly, looking at her friend as she placed her hand on his.
"Why didn't you tell me Remus?" Harry sounded hurt, "I thought we could tell each other anything."
"He didn't tell you because it wasn't his secret to tell, it was mine." she said gently, trying to make Harry understand.
Harry looked at them both carefully, he knew they were both good people, he could feel it. Remus had proven it time after time, and Remus and Sirius were best friends, Sirius would never let anyone near him who wasn't trustworthy. Then there was MacLeod, she was a complete mystery to Harry, but Remus knew her, very well by the look of it, and he could tell he trusted her. So why didn't Remus tell him about all of this, why was he keeping secrets from him.
"Harry," MacLeod spoke softly "are you alright?"
Harry could hear the concern in her voice, but there was one thing he needed to know, had to know before he felt he could really trust her.
"Why did Mac Lir call me your son?"
Cat MacLeod looked at Harry, her eyes were becoming moist. "Harry that's a very long and complicated story. I don't know if I can explain it right now." as she began wiping her eyes "Suffice it to say, your mother and I were extremely close. We shared everything."…
As Harry left Remus and Cat to talk amongst themselves, he headed towards the great hall. He was sure Remus would talk Cat into helping him with DADA, he couldn't believe all the things she had seen all the places she had travelled. MacLeod had told him that it was her duty to visit other clans, to forge alliances, but he had no idea how many different types of creatures actually existed in the world. Wait until Hermione heard about this, she would go crazy for sure, and no books to study, just seminars on magical beings and creatures. This was definitely going to be a great year, all that was missing was his godfather.
Harry couldn't wait for the day Sirius would be back, he had said in time for the first Quidditch game of the year, that was next weekend, and Remus had promised him that he would bring Miss MacLeod to the game. He wondered what would happen when Sirius saw her again, Harry hoped that Hagrid was right about the two of them. He could just picture it now, Harry could live with Sirius and Cat, all of them together like a real family, with Remus coming over for dinner all the time, just like Hermione's Uncle did. He wondered if Cat was a better cook than Sirius and Remus, then again, pretty much anyone would have to be a better cook than those two.
Harry ran over to his spot at the Gryffindor table. "Ron, Hermione, guess what?"
Ron and Hermione stared at him blankly
"Guess who Remus is going to have help him with DADA class?" Harry could barely contain his excitement.
"Since when does he need help with DADA, he's the best teacher we've ever had." replied Ron.
"I know his is, but she's seen all the things he's teaching us about. Oh and Hermione, the books are wrong about a lot of them." Harry couldn't resist teasing his friend about this, he was rewarded with a look of shock from her.
"What do you mean, wrong. They can't be wrong." she was already getting panicked "These are what I study for the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s....they- can -not -be- wrong.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and began to laugh hysterically. As he was laughing, Harry noticed Snape staring at them, and then to Lupin and MacLeod's chairs. "Oh boy, I think Snape's ready to blow a fuse, look at him." Harry said to Ron as he quickly put his head down to avoid Snape's piercing eyes.
Harry could still feel Snape's eyes on him, it was not the most comfortable of feelings. He was sure Snape knew where Cat and Remus were. Luckily at that moment Harry heard their voices coming down the hall, they were both laughing again. Harry couldn't help but smile, he liked to hear Remus laughing like that, he wondered if he would hear Sirius laughing with them soon. Harry hoped that Sirius's name would be cleared soon, maybe then, finally they could all have some sort of life, one that didn't include hiding all the time.
Harry looked up and smiled widely as Remus and Cat entered the great hall. As they passed Harry, Remus gave him a wink and a 'thumbs up" sign, something Snape did not fail to notice. Professor Dumbledore smiled as he saw them approaching the table.
"So Professor Lupin, I assume by the smile on your face that you have managed to convince Miss MacLeod to assist you?" Dumbledore said knowingly.
"Indeed I have, she has agreed to start next week. Seminars on Tuesday nights." Remus replied, refusing to look at Snape, who was scowling now.
"And what will your first topic be, if I may ask." Dumbledore asked Cat.
"I was thinking of starting with the differences between Gangrel, Werewolves and Garou. I'm hoping it will hold their attention." Cat replied nervously not knowing if this was an appropriate place to discuss it.
"Don't worry Cat, they all know. That's why I wasn't here last year." Remus said as he squeezed her shoulder again, completely enjoying the look on Professor Snape's face.