Chapter 32 Jamie
"All students who wish to return to their houses may do so now." Cat yelled out over the talking in the classroom, "those of you wishing to continue the discussion may join our guest in the great hall for food and activities."
"Activities?" Ron asked Harry "What sort of activities can you have with a roomful of wolves?"
His question was soon answered as most of the class made a beeline towards the great hall. All the tables had been moved against the walls leaving the middle of the floor wide open. Harry was amazed to see even more Gangrel and Garou in the hall waiting for the rest of their clan. "Remus, there must be nearly 50 of them all together" Harry said in awe.
"Does that make you nervous, little one?" Raul asked Harry, he seemed very concerned about Harry's reaction.
"No, not nervous" Harry replied honestly "It just never occurred to me that there were so many of you."
Raul and Remus smiled at each other "I told you he would adjust quickly" Remus said "and so have most of the other students, look.".........
Cash was still waiting in the classroom for Sirius to transform "Hurry up, we'll miss the party" Cash said impatiently.
"Party, what party?" Sirius asked, he was still smiling over the way Cat had treated him.
"The party that Angel promised we would have if everything went well." Cash explained, "actually I think that was more to keep the Garou in order, tend to be a bit high strung them." he finished grinning at Sirius
"I haven't been to a party in ages" Sirius said wistfully "I wish I could join you guys, but 'afraid that won't happen."
"You aren't coming!" Cash cried out "Why not, I was counting on you being there, I was hoping to have some fun."
Sirius smiled at Cash, he didn't know how to explain it to him, but he better get it over with, before someone else told him first "I can't go because I'm still on the run, from Azkaban" he said softly.
"Azkaban, who's that? An old girlfriend of yours, .... better not let Angel find out." Cash laughed.
Sirius looked at him like he was mad "You mean to tell me you've never heard of Azkaban, the wizards prison"
"Nope, should I" Cash answered back, completely unfazed by the news.
"So it doesn't bother you that I escaped from prison?" Sirius asked him doubtfully
"Depends on what you did to get there," Cash replied honestly "did you hurt a child, or betray your clan?"
"No, I was accused of killing some muggles while trying to kill the man who betrayed my best friend and his wife" Sirius answered painfully.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that these wizards would lock you away for defending your friends, or claiming vendetta?" Cash asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Sirius nodded, waiting for the inevitable shunning he was sure would follow.
"What wankers!" Cash replied, as he squeezed Sirius's shoulder. Sirius couldn't believe how easily Cash was accepting the news, if only it would be this easy with Cat.
"Still no reason for you not to join us." Cash continued, " It may even cheer you up, especially if Angel starts dancing again." he was grinning widely.
Cat dancing, Sirius closed his eyes, he remembered that so well, holding her tight in his arms as they swirled across the floor, or jumping around like lunatics to the beat of the latest song it was always fun. She loved to dance and sing, and they had all loved to join in. "Have you ever seen her belly dance?" Sirius asked Cash mischievously, grinning and blushing at the same time.
"She can belly dance.....tell me more" Cash sat down on one of the desks, getting comfortable. He was surprised how likeable this Sirius was, he had heard Remus telling story after story about his school friends, but he had always assumed they were exaggerations. Looking at this man however, Cash knew Remus had been telling them the truth.
"We found out by accident, actually." Sirius said, reminiscing "There was this one guy at school, a real bastard named Lucius Malfoy, he was always trying to hurt people, still is unfortunately. Anyway, Cat had recently transferred in from another school, Professor Dumbledore had mentioned that she had just come from Arabia, so Malfoy started giving her trouble, making stupid jokes about camels and why they had to cover their faces at first, but then he started to get really nasty. Tried to embarrass her in front of everyone, hexed her broomstick so it grew a camel head that kept spitting at everything, ended up throwing her off the broom, luckily Lily was close enough to catch her. Then, when she landed, Malfoy started giving her grief about her not knowing how to do 'real' magic, and that she should just go back to Arabia and learn to belly dance or something."
Sirius suddenly smiled, picturing the scene in his mind "Well I'm sure you know her temper, and she was fit to be tied. She walks up to him," Sirius was acting the scene out for Cash, he put his hand up two inches in front of his face "gets right in his face and tells him exactly what she thinks about him, and his parents, who's great misfortune it was to bear a son like him, and then proceeds to punch him out." Sirius swung his fist into the air laughing, "It was priceless, he never even saw it coming, landed it right in the middle of his chin, talk about finding the sweet spot" Sirius and Cash were both laughing now, each easily picturing her doing that.
"But were does the belly dancing come in?" Cash asked when he had caught his breath.
"That's the best part, as she's walking away she's yelling about what an ignorant s.o.b. the guy is, how he has no understanding of other cultures, and that she didn't need to learn to belly dance, she already knew how, and she was damn good at it as well." The light had returned to Sirius's eyes as he remembered the day, thankful that more of his memories were returning to him. "James, Remus and I looked at her like she was completely insane, I mean she knocks out this guy and then she's ranting about culture and belly dancing. But Lily goes up to her and says 'you really know how to belly dance, that's so cool, can you teach me', well James, her boyfriend, and I look at each other like yes and sure enough Cat told her no problem, its really easy to do."
"This was all the girls were talking about on the way back to the tower, Lily asking all these questions on how to do it, and Cat explaining it. Then she told Lily that she's pretty sure she still has some stuff in her trunk, since she never got home to unpack it. They make plans to go to their dorm as soon as we get back so Cat can teach Lily; so naturally James, Remus and I make plans to sneak into the girls dorm so we can watch Cat teaching Lily." Sirius was wearing the widest smile Cash had ever seen in his life, "So as the girls go upstairs to their dorm, we run up to ours, then sneak into their dorm" Sirius decided to leave out the invisibility cloak, he liked Cash, but he didn't really know how far he could trust him yet.
"When we got there, Lily and Cat had already changed into tank tops and shorts so they could practice, we were hiding there as Cat is trying to teach Lily this hip shaking thing, well Lily was having a lot of trouble with this part, so Cat goes tearing through her trunk looking for something, she finally finds these gold chains with all these coins and bells on them, she must have had a least a dozen of them. She puts three or four around her hips and put the rest on Lily," Sirius took a deep breath as he looked at Cash "then things really started getting fun. Cat used these chains to show Lily how to move different parts of her body, and Lily was learning, really, really fast, I thought James was going to explode right there. Now you have to picture this, the three of us hiding behind one of the girl's beds trying to keep quite, and two beautiful red heads, belly dancing in front of us..... can you say disaster waiting to happen?" he laughed again, he had almost forgotten how nice it was to be able to laugh and talk to someone, he had been separated from life for far too long.
"So, go on,..... what happened, did they catch you?" Cash asked eagerly "Or did you do something to them?" Cash was truly surprised by this, he had come for Angel's sake, he really hadn't cared what happened to the wizards or anyone else outside of his clan. But after meeting and talking to just a few of them, he was beginning to realize what Angel saw in them, he had the same feelings of fondness and protectiveness for them at the moment. Especially this one, he could almost pass for clan, he could even shape shift, and he had a sense of humour to rival his own. It was no wonder Remus liked him so much.
"Oh no, they caught us.... and did we pay." Sirius said smiling at the warmth the memory was giving him "Poor James couldn't take it anymore, he tried to sneak out of the room, but it was all of us or none of us.... and James was trying to make us leave with him when Cat and Lily heard us. They figured out where we were hiding, and jumped us, man I never knew girls could hit so hard. They completely whomped us, chased us downstairs into the common room and every thing. It was so embarrassing." Sirius rubbed his arm as he remembered the punches. He and Cash laughed again as they finished the story.
"It sounds like you two were really close," Cash said seriously "Did you love her then too?"
"More than I ever realized" Sirius said sadly as the absurdity of his life hit him, he had had every thing he had ever wanted, great friends, a woman he loved deeply, a bright future and an almost sure shot at a life full of happiness, and now look at him, he had lost everything, and the few things he had regained, like Harry and freedom from the dementors had cost him dearly, it was a fight everyday of his life.
Cash saw the shadow passing over Sirius's face. "I have the feeling there's something you're not telling me. I know Angel's not seeing you, did she find someone else?" Cash asked gently, not wanting to hurt him.
"I don't know, maybe....there was this one guy in school, we all hated him, well a least us guys, but Cat and Lily were always defending him, and I know he loved her then. He was always trying to get her attention, and now he's a teacher here at the school with her. I've seen them together.... I don't know." Sirius said dejectedly, he wanted to believe that Cat was still his, but it had been years since he last saw her, and Snape had always been right there, waiting to grab her from him, even in school. And face it, right now Snape was in the better position, Sirius couldn't even show his face for fear of being captured and returned to Azkaban, the love of his life was right down the hall, having a party and he couldn't even dance with her. He felt the horror and pain of his life creeping up on him, he shook his head trying to chase the shadows from his mind.
"So you come as a dog then," Cash said insistently "Though I don't know how long that's gonna fool her." he warned "actually I can't believe she hasn't realized it already, she must be spending too much attention on her little boy to notice."
"Her little boy..... you mean Harry?" Sirius asked, although he felt sure he already knew the answer.
"Yeah, I think that's his name, he was the one who covered for you when you kissed her." Cash shot Sirius a sideways glance "Not exactly the smoothest of moves, by the way. I thought for sure she was going to figure it out then and there."
"Hey Cash, honest answer okay?" Cash nodded his head "What do you think she would have done if she figured out it was me?"
Cash thought for a moment before answering, "Know that whomping you were just talking about, ... she can hit a lot harder now. If you're looking for advice, all I can offer is to lay it out on the table mate. Its gonna hurt like hell, but a least you'll know for sure. It's the only way, - besides how can she make a decision if she doesn't know she has any options." he winked at Sirius, hoping to cheer him up a little.
"Sound advice, but pretty near impossible to follow" Sirius sighed " I just don't know if I can do it. When I see her I just get all crazy inside, I say stupid things, or worse, say nothing at all."
"Well in that case, maybe you should stay a dog,.... it would be easier" Cash teased him "Never have to talk at all, and she loves animals and children. Besides I want you to come, there's this girl who was in class today, she has red hair with some blonde streaks in it, she's really cute."
Sirius smiled at the look on Cash's face "which one was that, not the one Fang scared so badly?"
"That would be her." Cash was smiling widely now "I have got to meet her."
"I think her name is Janie or Jamie something....Krafty..... at least I think that's what Cat called her when she took the quiz."
Cash grinned at Sirius, "So you coming or what? I need moral support here, can't go letting a fellow canine down now, can you."
"You do know she has a boyfriend, right?" Sirius asked as they got up from the desks "He may not be to happy about this."
"So he has to work a little harder to keep her attention tonight" Cash replied off handedly, "Keep him on his toes, consider it a public service for women everywhere."
"Now I've heard everything" Sirius laughed, "Since when is trying to steal someone's girlfriend a public service?"
"Since I decided that flirting is the healthiest thing in the world, and if he doesn't care enough to make the effort to keep her, then he deserves to lose her. See public service, I assist women every where determine if their boyfriends are worthy." Even Cash couldn't keep a straight face any longer, he gave Sirius a friendly punch, "Come on, lets go"
Sirius transformed back into a grim and happily followed Cash down the hall. He heard the sound of music and people coming through the large wooden doors of the hall, he could hardly wait to go in, the last party he had been at was Lily and James anniversary, two months before they died.
"Just do me a favour and go up to the girl I was telling you about, okay?" Cash asked Sirius "I want to get her attention without being too obvious"
Sirius barked happily as he followed Cash into the warmth and laughter of the party. His entrance had not gone unnoticed, however; lurking in the shadows Severus Snape watched as one of the vampyres and Black had gone into the hall. He was beside himself, Professor Dumbledore had told him time and time again that these vampyres were no threat to the school or its students, but as far as Severus was concerned there was little difference between vampires and vampyres, regardless of what Cat and Albus may think. Severus's mind flashed back to the first time he had seen a vampire kill, the sickening sound of ripping flesh as the creature tore open a gaping wound in his victims neck, greedily slurping the blood as it gushed from the wound. Severus's body shook visibly at the memory, dark days, ones he did not wish to live through again.
Severus waited until the hallway was empty before he stealthily crossed to the doors of the great hall and silently slipped inside, if there was going to be any trouble it would be best if he were there to help protect the students. Severus quickly slipped into the shadows hugging the walls of the great hall, luckily many of the candles had not been lit, and the enchanted sky in the hall was only at a quarter moon, enough to help see by, but not enough to chase away the darkness.
Severus grimaced as he saw the vampyre who had walked in with Black; they were both approaching a Ravenclaw girl. Typical thought Severus, joining up with murdering beasts, it's so like you Black, how can people believe you're innocent when you take up with creatures like them. A scowl crossed Snape's face as he watched Black go up to the girl attracting her attention, as the vampyre came up behind him, acting like Black was his pet. Severus fingered his wand, if either of them tried anything, he would be ready.......
Jamie was taken aback when the dog from class appeared at her feet "Hey I know you," she said happily as she patted him on the head "Did you come to the party too."
"Yeah, he's with me" Cash answered "Sorry if he frightened you, he seems to like red heads." Cash used his most charming smile on her, knowing full well its effect on women.
"Oh, no problem, he's really sweet" Jamie was blushing despite herself, she wanted to walk back over to Seamus, but Cash was so cute she couldn't bare to leave just yet "So you know Miss MacLeod?"
"Angel, yeah, known her all of her life" he said, never taking his eyes from Jamie "she's the reason we agreed to come here."
Jamie looked Cash up and down, he was just too gorgeous, he was and inch or so shorter than Seamus, with dirty blonde hair that had the most amazing highlights in them, he wore his hair short but wild, she had the strangest urge to run her finger through his hair. And that was nothing compared to the rest of him. Blue eyes and the warmest smile, his body was obviously toned, if a bit pale, and he had no problems showing his interest in her. She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks as she suddenly began very warm. "Have you met any of the other students?" she asked him stammering slightly.
"No, but then I'm not really interested in meeting them, ... just you" Cash said softly, looking deeply into Jamie's eyes. He reached out for her hand, loving the feeling of warmth as he took it in his. "Care to dance?"
Jamie gasped as he took her hand; it felt like electricity flowing through her veins. She almost dropped when he asked her to dance. She looked over to the table where Seamus was talking with several members of the Quidditch team; he hadn't even noticed she left. "I don't know, my boyfriend would probably have a fit."
"Who, him? Strange, he doesn't seem to care that you're here and not with him" Cash coaxed "I don't think he'd be upset if you danced with me, doubt if he'd even notice."
Jamie looked back to Seamus, Cash was right, he hadn't even noticed she was gone, feeling a bit hurt she agreed to one dance with Cash, just as a slower song had started. Cash took her gently in his arms as they started to dance, thrilling at the heat of her body. The second most intoxicating thing about humans mused Cash, and he loved it, especially when they were beautiful and Jamie fit into that category nicely. "So have you been dating him long?" he asked gently "He certainly seems to be comfortable with you."
Jamie didn't think it was possible for her to blush anymore, but that comfortable comment had brought the term 'flushed' to a whole new level. She became acutely aware of his hand on her back as he gazed into her eyes. "Uhm, we've been dating for a while, you know" she replied nervously "Its kinda serious."
"Really, ..... I apologize then, I would have thought he would be a bit more attentive if it was serious" Cash cooed, "I certainly don't want to cause you any trouble" he whispered into her ear "you're far too precious to be put through anything so ......"
"Exactly what is going on!!"
Cash stopped mid sentence as Seamus stood next to he and Jamie, glaring at them. "Just dancing, nothing to worry yourself about" Cash said coolly as he twirled Jamie around and grasped her again holding her a little closer than before as he moved her through the dance floor "I'm surprised you even notice."
Seamus gave Cash a look that could melt stone "Yeah, I notice. Now get your hands off of her." he seethed walking towards them again.
Cash easily spun himself and Jamie out of Seamus's reach "My, my, but aren't we possessive" taunted Cash "too bad it took you this long to notice, I really don't want to return her just yet our dance isn't over."
Seamus could feel the anger rising within him, how dare this creep talk to him like that, and why wasn't Jamie coming back to him. "Jamie, come on, its time we left" Seamus said tersely, "we have divination first thing tomorrow, and its late."
Jamie looked at Seamus, she was enjoying the attention, he did take her for granted sometimes, and what harm could a little dance do, not to mention Cash was a wonderful dancer. "I'll be right there honey, I just want to finish this dance," she said sweetly as Cash grinned victoriously at Seamus.
"No, we're going now!" Seamus said as he pulled Jamie away from Cash....
Remus was talking with Raul when he noticed there was a problem, it seemed Cash had gotten himself into trouble already. Raul notice Remus's look and turned around, "That man will be the death of me" Raul hissed as he strode towards Cash.
"No Raul wait, let me" Remus asked, he didn't want a scene "I know the girl, she would be more comfortable if I interceded." Raul nodded, he trusted Remus's judgement, but he watched from a distance, just in case Remus should need his help.
Remus stepped in just as seemed Cash was about to strike at Seamus "Gentlemen, what is the meaning of this?" he asked sternly
"Just a little difference of opinion, that's all" Cash replied, still staring at Seamus, who had Jamie by the arm "Apparently some people don't know how to treat a lady."
Remus sighed and rolled his eyes "Cash, didn't we have a talk about this the other day. Just because you see someone you like, doesn't mean you can just walk up and ...."
"I asked her first" Cash responded cutting Remus off.
Remus turned to Jamie "Miss Krafty, is this true?" he asked her gently, not wanting to alarm her.
"Well, yeah, his dog came up to me and we started talking, and then he asked me if I wanted to dance." she explained .
Cash smiled at her "See, I was doing exactly as you said, being polite and considerate" he said smugly. "You should know me better than to think otherwise, Remy."
Remus sighed deeply, his dog huh, Sirius was somehow involved in this "Fine Cash, I'm glad you were listening, now please say goodnight to Miss Krafty, she has classes tomorrow."
Cash glared his way pass Seamus, who finally left go of Jamie's arm. "Thank you for the dance, Miss Krafty" Cash said as he kissed her on the cheek, thoroughly enjoying the look of pure hatred Seamus was giving him.
Remus sent Cash over to Raul and the others "Miss Krafty one moment please" Remus called after her and Seamus "Please excuse me, but I need to make sure of something" Remus gently touched Jamie on cheek, moving her head just enough to make sure Cash didn't kiss her to hard. "Good, your fine. I'm very sorry Miss Krafty, Mr. Harper, I am afraid Cash hasn't quite learned how to behave in our society yet, I'm sure he didn't mean to upset anyone."
Remus and Raul both stared at Cash with looks that could stop a clock "What were you thinking Cash" "That is not how we make friends" they both began to rant simultaneously.
"Well she didn't seem to mind," Cash responded as he waves to Jamie, who waves back and winked as she left, "in fact if her boyfriend doesn't wise up, I may be spending a lot more time in the school than I thought." Remus rolled his eyes again, wondering where Cat was, he could really use her influence right about now........
Cat was involved in an intense conversation with Gaz, "he's young and impulsive, but he understands the importance, he will stand by his clan" insisted Gaz
"I have no doubt about that Gaz, all I am asking is that you keep a very close eye on him. He may inadvertently cause harm, I know he would not do so knowingly, but as you yourself have just said he is impulsive." Cat didn't want to have this conversation here and now, but Gaz needed to know that she had not been offended by Fangs behaviour "and this is uncharted ground, I have no idea how these people will react when they find out what we have done. They are not like us."
"That much I know" sighed Gaz, she was tired of playing politics, she wanted to get on with the inevitable battle against this Voldemort, and get back to her life, after all she had a cubs at home and she missed them. "I just need to be sure that my clan will not suffer for our involvement..."
Cat looked at Gaz sympathetically, she understood Gaz's concerns "Gaz, you are here out of your loyalty to clan MacLeod, and when have we ever punished loyalty. Your decisions have elevated you clan's standings, surely you know that. Even the kindred have raised their opinions towards your clan." Cat told her emphatically "You should be proud of your efforts and the efforts of your clan, including Fang......
Severus was watching the discussion between Cat MacLeod and the Garou Gaz very carefully, the Garou seemed upset about something, and Severus was just waiting for it to make a move towards Cat or one of the students. His mind was in a fevered pitch over this little 'lecture' that Remus had talked Cat into, surely even Lupin could see the inherent dangers of opening the doors of Hogwarts to creatures like this. He scowled as his mind raced through all the possible horrors that could occur at any moment. How could Cat be so stupid, putting so many people in danger like this; she was an intelligent woman, quite possibly the brightest he had ever met, so why did she take such foolish chances. Severus's mental rant was disturbed by the pulling at his leg, something was next to him, something small but strong......
Severus looked down at his leg to see the cougar gnawing on his cloak, he could swear the thing was smiling at him, actually knowing Cat's history, that may not be to far fetched, nothing was ever as it seemed when she was involved. Severus shooed the cougar away as he turned his attentions back to the party, how could she act as if everything were fine, she had to know what a dangerous situation this was. Severus's attention was drawn to the cougar again, he watched in horror as the beast made a bee line for Cat and the Garou. Holding his breath, Severus sunk deeper into the shadows, hoping the beast would not reveal to anyone that he was there....