Disclaimer: Hello, all. Don't own it, don't really wish I did, because then I'd be even more disturbed by some of the stuff I find on AFFN and restricted section. (Shudders) For now, though, we are just borrowing Sirius and Remus and promise to return them almost whole and only partially used.
Warning: Violence, magic, racial issues, and spell-o-tape
Chapter 28: When It Rains, It Pours...
Kate's eyes snapped open as the alarm under her pillow started buzzing. She turned her head to have her view of Remus blocked by Sirius's nose. She shifted to find the animagus sprawled between her and her mate, his limbs flung over both their forms. It took a moment for her to remember how he got into that position, his face turned towards her and his chest flat against the mattress. At least it's better than his famous knee against my kidney and elbow in Remus's ribs position, she thought sleepily as the alarm vibrated at a more fevered pitch.
Gathering her wits, Kate turned off the alarm and shimmied out from under Sirius. She then dropped to the floor and crawled over to Remus' side of the bed. "Beloved", she whispered as she gently shook his shoulder.
He adjusted in his sleep. "Funny, I didn't know monkeys had forks.", he murmured.
She giggled before kissing his cheek. "Remus, we need to perform the ritual, now."
"Interesting, but doesn't mining effect banana harvesting; the ones in pajamas are the best.", he mumbled before pulling a pillow over his eyes.
Moving closer, Kate nipped at Remus's ear causing him to sit up.
"Call off the hedgehogs, the spiders have gravy!", he shouted before the room came back into focus.
Sirius simply grunted and rolled over, commandeering Kate's side of the bed and the entire down comforter. "The earwigs make all the chutney so I can live in a cloud. Be gentle little bees for wasps make fuck-all."
Remus scratched his head. "Earwigs make chutney?"
"I don't know, do spiders make gravy?", Kate asked with an impish grin.
"What?", he replied as he stretched.
"Never mind", she said and stood up. "We have to open the jar and then you can go back to sleep."
Remus stood up and wrapped her in a hug. "Will you be joining me?"
"I wish I could but I need to go to work today.", she whispered as she nuzzled his neck.
"Alright, dearest. But only if you promise not to let that git get to you and to return to me as soon as possible.", he purred into her hair.
"I promise I will come straight home as soon as I get off at six.", she purred and kissed his cheek. " I will also leave you a list of contacts to call so you don't get too bored.", she replied, punctuating her statement with a yawn.
"Are you sure you can't stay? I think you could use the rest.", he said concern flooding his voice.
Kate gave him a knowing smile and pulled him towards the window, stopping only to pick up the clay jar from the dresser. The pair held the jar between them as the pre-dawn light turned the clouds various shades of purple and pink. As the first rays of dawn filtered into the room, the seal on the jar exploded with a flash of white light, illuminating the entire room.
Sirius groaned in his sleep and covered his head with a pillow. "James, you stupid wanker, cover up the bloody disco ball before the griffin wakes up.", he growled as the light diminished to candle like glow.
"Hogwarts must have been interesting.", Kate said with a smirk before turning the jar over in Remus's hand.
"Well, the seventh years in Hufflepuff already had a bear.", he said innocently causing Kate to giggle. He then righted the jar and turned it over in her hand.
Kate closed her hand around the object that fell from the jar and placed the now empty vessel on the windowsill. She and Remus locked eyes and smiled at one another. "You go first.", they said simultaneously.
Remus chuckled. "You go first", he gently commanded.
Taking a shaky breath, she opened her hand and gasped in awe. The blood Moony had given had transfigured into a flat crystal disk in the shape of a stylized sun. In the center of the sun, there was a carved representation of the world tree linking the heavens and the earth. Kate held the piece so it caught the light, causing the little sun to reflect the golds and oranges of the summer sun. Where the tree was carved, the light shone a deep garnet. "It's beautiful, Remus", she whispered.
Remus gave her a shy smile and slowly opened his hand to reveal a silvery white full moon. He carefully turned the piece over to reveal a phoenix rising from the flames of a large bonfire in front of the moon. As he held it to the light, the moon took on an opalescent quality and the flame shown with orange and red with undertones blue. The phoenix sparkled in a wide range of reds and golds, seeming to soar against its backdrop. Clumsily he wiped a tear from his eye and pulled Kate into a tight embrace, not finding the right words to say.
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By the time Paige arrived back at the apartment, the sky had clouded over and a gentle misting of raindrops could be seen over the valley. She hobbled in the door and started for her bed. Peering into her room, she found it to be empty. Hoping to find someone, anyone to give her hand, she closed the door and headed to Kate's room.
Looking inside, she saw Remus on his side hugging Kate's pillow and Sirius laying face down over him. She laughed at the sight of them, each breath causing pain to shoot through her body.
The wizards on the bed stirred and looked at her, taking in her battered appearance. Considering that she was on crutches, her leg was in a brace, her head and hands were bandaged; the guys were justifiably shocked.
Remus jumped up. "What happened?", he asked as he guided her to sit on the bed.
Paige smiled weakly. "Evidently, Kevin Costner movies aren't the best guide for being a body guard."
Sirius kneeled before the animagus and eased the shoe off of her good foot. "What? Who's Kevin Costner? Did he do this to you?"
Paige winced as she laughed again. "No, just a bad joke. I'll be fine by evening, don't worry."
Sirius gently laid her back and wiped a strand of hair out of her eyes. "What happened? Is Clayton alright?"
Paige gave a short nod and winced. "Ow, I shouldn't do that. Clayton is fine. I was attacked by nine fuck-head know-it-alls, whose idea of a good time is to play hide the silver in the werewolf."
Remus cut in. "How badly were you hurt? Are there any special instructions from the healers?"
Paige smiled. "The important thing is I'm okay. I had just passed out when the aurors arrived. If they hadn't I wouldn't' be as well off as I am now. I still have a broken leg, three cracked ribs, a mild concussion, and my arm will be somewhat fragile for the next three hours." The two men stared at her dumbly ands she added "Oh, and I burned my hands."
Sirius's jaw dropped and he asked, "Okay, so what are the instructions for you? Why couldn't they fix everything right away?"
Paige waved to the living room. "I've got another potion to take at 10:30. It will kind of mess with me, so don't get worried if I start mixing my words up. I'm not to go to sleep for another hour, because of the concussion. I can't grip or lift anything, and I am not to put my weight down on my leg under any circumstances until at least 6:00 tonight. I was also told no rugby until after I sleep."
Sirius grinned. "Rugby? You asked about rugby?", he queried, slightly dazed by all the information that had been thrown at him.
Paige giggled and held her side. "Nope, that's just what I call sex when I'm trying to be covert about it. It just sounded funny in this situation. Can you get my next potion?"
Remus left the room and Paige looked at Sirius. "Can you get me my cell phone and a glass of tea? I'm really thirsty and I need to call Kate and Clayton." Sirius smiled reassuringly and walked out to get the phone.
He walked back into the room to see her drinking from a vial. She laid back and sighed. "K, I'll start talking funny in a moment. Don't pay any attention to it, I have a reaction to this particular potion every time.", she warned and reached for her phone.
Sirius handed it to her and watched as she dialed Kate's office. After about a minute, she shook her head and hung up. "No one's anshuring.", she proclaimed, causing Sirius to chuckle. He sat down next to her as she called Clayton. "Damsit, no one is anshuring.", she whined and hung up. She gave a big yawn and looked at the clock. Sighing, she stared at the ceiling for a while and brightened when the doorbell rang.
Clayton came into the room a moment later followed by Remus. The young werewolf sat on the bed next to her. "Are you alright? What did the healers say? Why aren't you still in the hospital?"
Paige smiled. "Firsh of shawl, I'm fine. The eelers said I'll be fine by donight. I'm not in the hoshpital 'cause I raised hell about comin' home."
Clayton smirked and tired to hide a laugh, but was unsuccessful. Paige glared at him and turned her head away, making the situation all the more amusing to him. He gave her a hug before motioning for Sirius to give him a moment alone with her.
Remus led Clayton out a few minutes later. The boy flopped on the couch next to Sirius, unshed tears in his eyes. "Is she really alright? She wouldn't tell me anything other than that she wanted a glass of tea and then she told me I need a haircut."
Sirius chuckled and patted the boy on the shoulder. 'She's fine now. Sure, she was in a fight at work and all, but it wasn't that bad.", he reassured.
"I guess she hasn't told you everything, yet. She almost died, all because I wanted to stay home last night instead of going to the safe house."
Sirius frowned "What? Alright, tell me what happened."
Clayton looked at his hands and sniffed. "I was playing a video game and I heard a noise outside. Paige told me to go and wait in the closet, my safe spot when I need it, and went to investigate. I took her cell phone with me and called the office to get her backup. The next thing I heard from anyone was that I needed to come out and see if I knew any of the attackers. I went outside to see a lot of blood on the ground, by the smell of it most of it belonged to Paige. They told me what happened and I've been anxious about her ever since."
Sirius furrowed his brow as he listened. "What did they tell you?"
Clayton drew in a breath before replying, "They told me that she was attacked by nine men and wouldn't have lived more than an hour if she didn't receive any medical attention."
Sirius's eyes widened. "Dear God, she didn't say anything like that."
Clayton nodded, a tear running down his cheek. "They only caught six of them, three of them are still out there. They were after me. They wanted me dead and they almost got her instead. People think I'm this terrible monster, but the real horrors are hidden inside themselves."
Remus took a step towards Clayton, a sympathic smile on his face. "Well spoken, Clayton. Although, I fear you have learned that lesson at too young of an age. It is knowledge of people's inner workings that will keep you alive in life and grant you the compassion for others you will need to keep from going mad." Clayton looked up at the older wizard and gave him a watery smile.
Sirius patted the teen on the shoulder. "Paige is strong, she'll be alright. Even if she wasn't, I think she'd stay alive because she's too mean to die.", he joked.
Clayton laughed and shook his head. "You have no idea how right you are.", he replied and sniffed. "That's the worst I've ever seen her.", he continued quietly.
Remus sat next to the younger werewolf. "She'll be fine. Now have you slept at all?" Clayton shook his head. "Do you want to rest or would you just like to sit up for a while?", he asked, feeling rather protective of the young man before him.
Clayton thought for a moment. "I wanna stay here. Do you mind if I sleep here?"
Sirius stood and walked to the kitchen. "Go ahead, there are two beds in the spare room that aren't being used. I'll wake you when Paige is better."
Clayton wordlessly walked down the hall. Sirius gave Remus a lop-sided grin as he filled a glass with tea. "Poor kid, he looks exhausted."
Remus sighed. "He's a strong young man. He'll pull through, he just needs a few hours sleep."
Sirius chuckled. "More than a few hours, but you're right. I'm going to go keep an eye on Paige."
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Remus sat in an arm chair next to the phone, sipping on tea as he listened to the witch on the other end of the line. He was on his twentieth call of the day and had successfully recruited fifteen members for the Order from the list Kate had left for him. He hung up the phone after thanking the witch on the end for her time. He sighed taking a moment to enjoy the sound of the steady beat of the pouring rain; it had been coming down in sheets for the past hour and didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon. Taking a swig of tea, he dialed the next number on his list.
Kate stumbled in the door a few minutes later, carrying a file box and looking like a half-drowned kitten. Droplets of water spiraled down her curls, dripping on to her cloak and face. Remus looked up, flashing a bright smile that quickly faded as he took into account her appearance.
"Is everything alright?", he mouthed still holding the phone up to his ear. Kate nodded and set the box down. Remus jerked his head towards the hallway and mouthed "Bedroom". She mumbled a quick spell to unlace her boots and kicked them off, before padding down the hall to their bedroom.
Walking in, she saw Paige sleeping in her bed and Sirius reading in the chair next to her. Kate wrinkled her nose as the smell of Paige's injuries hit her. She strode towards the bed and looked over her roommate. "What happened?", she quietly asked.
"Hmmm?", Sirius responded, not bothering to look up from his book.
Kate cleared her throat. "Sirius, what happened to Paige?", she repeated more forcibly.
Sirius turned the page. 'There was an attack last night. Nine men were after Clayton."
She swallowed hard and brushed some wet curls out of her face. "Is he ok?", she stammered.
"He's fine, he's asleep in the guest room.", he said sounding almost bored.
"How badly was she hurt?", she said in a whisper.
"Clayton said she almost died.", he said matter-of-factly and turned another page.
Kate kneeled next to the bed. "Why is she home then? They should have kept for at least twelve hours."
Clayton stepped behind her. "They tried but Paige raised hell so they gave her a Mithra's Light potion."
Kate turned and looked at the young wizard. "Are you alright?", she asked shakily.
"Better now I've slept some.", he answered with a yawn.
Kate stood and led him to the door. "You can lie back down if you like. We'll wake you when she comes to."
Clayton nodded and went back into the other room.
She turned to Sirius. "Do you want to watch her or would you like a break?"
Sirius looked up from his book and waggled his eyebrows. "Why, what did you have in mind?" , he asked smoothly, his smile dropping when he finally saw her.
She sighed. "I don't know. I thought you might want a drink or a bathroom break."
Sirius got up and tried to walk casually towards the door. "Ok, she's boring to watch anyway." Kate simply nodded and turned back to the animagus sprawled on her bed. Sirius quickly walked down the hallway to the living room.
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Sirius strode into the living room to find Remus glaring at the inside of a box by the front door. He walked behind the werewolf and glanced inside to find nothing really out of the ordinary, a stapler, some photos, diplomas, some spell-o-tape, and a few other odds and ends.
The two friends looked up at each other. Sirius cleared his throat. "She's a little shaken up. You might want to check on her."
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Remus walked into the bedroom to see Kate kneeling beside the bed, stroking Paige's hair. She had shrugged off her cloak. He shivered at the sight of her, she had been soaked clear through, her blouse clung to her like a second skin and was almost transparent. Her skirt didn't fair much better.
He stepped behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You should really dry off, you'll catch your death.", he murmured. Kate shrugged and he cast a few drying spells on her.
"Thanks", she said with a weak smile. "She's so drained, they probably came close to loosing her at the clinic."
"That is what Clayton said.", Remus stated thoughtfully.
"When it rains, it pours I guess.", she said wryly. She was running her hands over Paige's body, and occasionally making motions as if she was pulling something off of the animagus. She started to hum gently and her motions became more precise.
"What are you doing?", he asked,
"Close your eyes and you tell me.", she responded gently and continued running her hands over her friend.
Remus closed his eyes and saw the auras of both women silhouetted against the bed. Paige looked almost faded compared to Kate, who was pulling small black, red and green thorns off of Paige's aura and sealing the holes in her shields that were leaking energy. He opened his eyes and stared dumbfounded at Kate for a moment. She knows Reiki, he thought.
Kate shrugged. "Hexes leave holes in the energetic body and a nasty residue that attracts other things, which can cause infections and other …complications."
He nodded and watched as Kate mumbled something under her breath and placed her hands over Paige's heart sending a surge of energy through the animagus. Holding her position for two minutes, she flooded Paige's body with energy. Kate finally stemmed the flow of energy and fell backwards.
Remus deftly caught her before she hid the floor. "Let me help you.", he whispered and scooped her up into his arms. He carried her to the chair and then situated her into his lap.
"Where did you learn that?", he finally asked.
"I finished my NEWT's early and entered university late, so I had time to be trained in different healing methods.", she replied, looking at Paige.
He smiled and started rubbing small circles on her back. "So what are you? First or Second degree?", he asked conversationally, trying to distract her.
"Third degree, Master status since 1985.", she answered factually.
"That is wonderful, you could teach others then.", he brightly.
Kate gave a hollow laugh. "A lot of good it does me.", she said and pushed off his lap. She walked down the hall and passed Sirius in the living room on her way to the balcony.
She stared down over the ledge at the water pooling on the sidewalk and angrily picked at the stucco on the railing. Letting out a heavy sigh, she hurled a few pieces down into the water.
Remus followed her out and stood in the doorway. "I'm sorry this happened, Kate. I'm sorry Paige was injured. I'm sorry, they came after Clayton.", he paused and looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "And I'm sorry about your job."
"It's not your fault, you have nothing to be sorry about." She gave him a forced smile and then continued, "Really, no worries, we are all survivors. That's what we do, we survive. We get the crap kicked out of us and we keep going in spite of it all", she said bitterly and looked out across the complex into the downpour.
"You'll find another job, dearest.", he said moving closer.
She gave him a sad smile. "I know I will. It just won't be what I want. No one seems to want a monster around their loved ones these days." Remus moved to say something, but she held up her hand. "I excelled on my NEWT's at the age of fifteen. I have been trained as a Healer, Reiki
Mistress, and Potions Mistress. I have Muggle degrees in Psychology and Social Work. I also have three years experience as a social worker and tonight I will be talking to John about a bar tending job at his club because all I am evidently qualified to do in this world is pour drinks, wash glasses, and show overly intoxicated patrons the door.", she said with a hollow laugh.
"Kate, calm down. It really isn't that bad, you are an inspiration and…", she cut him off with a dark look.
"An inspiration? Of course, why didn't I see it before? I am a credit to my race, aren't I? Well, guess fucking what? All of the training and schooling doesn't matter in the end. I can be the most pristine example of everything good in the Wizarding world and it won't fucking change the God damn fucking fact that I am still a werewolf and none of it fucking matters. The best I can hope for is working at a few werewolf friendly locations and occasionally patching up people and creatures that won't be let into a respectable hospital because it is more honorable to let them bleed to death in the gutter than for respectable witches and wizards dirty their hands by caring for them.", Kate was shaking with rage by this point and her voice nothing more than a rough whisper. Remus wrapped his arms around her and she struggled to get away. "Let me go.", she growled.
"No.", he replied gently and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too much, I won't let you go." With those words, all of her walls came crashing down. The wall of professionalism Kate had built up around herself since she had been asked to resign that morning and Lockhart had ever so politely informed her that she could have her job back if she were willing to let him fuck her during the lunch hour. The wall of being a nurturer, who just took care of others and didn't have time to acknowledge the emotions threatening to break her calm façade, which was erected when she saw Paige laying there. And finally, the wall of anger at a world that seemed to have nothing but contempt for her and all she loved. It all came crashing down and Kate broke, knowing she couldn't keep him out. She buried her face into Remus's chest and sobbed like she had never been given the chance to cry in her life.
For his part, Remus just held on to her and stroked her hair. "It's alright, dearest. We'll find a way through this together. No matter what happens.", he whispered lovingly.
Sirius decided to take this as his cue to cheer Kate up. He burst onto the balcony covered in spell-o-tape, which caused his face to contort in several different directions. "Kate, I think there is something wrong with me. I'm having a few problems."
Remus pulled Kate closer and glared at the animagus, his eyes flashing a dangerous shade of gold. "That is the understatement of the century.", he growled.
Sirius blinked and looked at the floor. "Right then, I think I will look in on Paige.", he said quickly and backed into the dining room.
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Sirius adjusted another book from the bookcase, and levitated the slinky to the top of his make shift staircase for the fourth time that afternoon. He had to hand it to Kate, the box she brought home did contain some interesting toys and all her books did come in handy. Although, he still couldn't figure out why she took everything out of her office.
Paige looked on as he set the slinky in motion. "Do you realize I've watched you do this for the past half hour?"
Sirius turned to look at her and his face lit up. "Do you realize I've been doing it for the past three?"
She let out a warm laugh, which caused her to wince. "No, I didn't realize that."
He gave her an appraising look. "How are you doing?"
"My eyes keep wanting to cross, but other than that I'm fine. How are you?", she replied giving him a sleepy smile.
Sirius crossed his arms and took on a very solemn posture. "Today, I learned that it hurts to take tape off your eyebrow.", he declared before sticking his tongue out at her.
Paige giggled. "How is Clayton?"
"Asleep in the guestroom.", he replied casually.
She chuckled and began to sit up with some difficulty. "Cool, I'm going to go scare the shit out of him."
Gingerly, she stood up and walked to the guestroom; to his credit, Sirius followed her every step of the way. Crouching down, Paige took a running leap and landed on Clayton. Unfortunately, Clayton acted on instinct and placed Paige in a stranglehold.
Wincing, Paige let out a low groan. "Ow. I shouldn't have done that."
Clayton quickly let go of the animagus and glowered at her. "Don't do that to me!", he shouted.
Paige attempted to wriggle off him without any success. "Ow", she whimpered.
Kate and Remus ran into the room wands drawn, but after seeing Paige laying on Clayton quickly sheathed them.
"I see you are feeling a little better.", Kate drawled as she helped Paige off of Clayton.
"I can move, so I'm feeling a lot better.", Paige replied happily and then did a double-take. "What the hell are you doing home?"
Kate gave Paige a silencing glance and nodded her head towards Clayton. "I will tell you later, but first, Clayton your parents called and you need to head back home. You can use the fireplace in the dining room."
Clayton rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine."
Kate gave him a small smile and turned to her mate. "Remus, why don't you walk him out? I need to give Paige her next round of Potions." She gave Clayton a quick hug. "You be safe, young man."
Clayton nodded and gave Paige a quick hug. "No more full moons for your protectors.", Paige chastised causing him to laugh.
Remus then gave Kate a quick a nod and walked Clayton to the dining room. When they were both out of the room, Kate pulled a turquoise potion out of her pocket and handed to Paige.
"Thanks, Katie, you are a life saver.", Paige said with much relief as the potion kicked in.
Kate shrugged and gave her roommate a shy smile. "I try. How bad was it?"
Paige shuddered. "Half an hour and I would have been dead. I have to call my contacts. This wasn't a random attack."
"Doesn't sound like it. What did they give you besides Mithra's Light?", Kate asked more concerned over Paige's current condition at the moment.
Paige shook her head. "I don't remember. I think they gave me two doses."
Kate sucked in a breath through her teeth. "You were in Searchlight, weren't you? Help would have come a lot faster in the city."
Paige nodded. "Clayton wanted to stay home for once and I didn't think there was a threat."
Kate patted her friend's hand. "That's understandable." She pulled Paige's cell phone from her pocket and handed it to her. "Here make some calls, and I will talk to Dad tonight to see if he has heard anything." She then returned to her room to set her bookcase to rights.
Sirius gave Paige a sheepish grin. "I think I better help her clean up, luv. I will be back."
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Sirius and Kate came running into the room as they heard Paige scream. "That stupid little fuck! What the hell did he think he was doing!" was all they could make out before the animagus just started yelling obscenities.
Kate raised an eyebrow as Paige composed herself and dialed the phone. "Hello, Mrs. Wynn. Can I talk to Clayton for a minute? Thank you…What the fucking hell did you do, dipshit? So you think it's a good idea to go chatting up pureblood bitches? I'm sure you did a great job of kicking his ass, but honey you should have stayed away. Yes, that's why they were after you…Okay…You get back to your homework…Bye."
Sirius winced. "Don't you think you were a little hard on him?"
Paige and Kate both turned to Sirius. "No!", they shouted in unison.
Paige furrowed her brow and tried to calm herself. "Because he saw a pretty girl, he drew attention to himself. They weren't going to kill him, Sirius."
He looked between the two witches; Kate looked rather disillusioned for some reason and Paige looked positively livid. "What were they going to do?", he asked hesitantly.
Paige huffed and threw up her arms. "Evidently, Lord 'I'm a cheap imitation of Hitler' Voldemort has been getting bored and wanted a new toy. Clay drew attention to himself as always, and the Deatheaters thought it would be fun to play 'how long can the werewolf last'!"
Kate rubbed her temples. "I will be back", she said in a hushed voice.
Paige glanced up at the werewolf. "Try to make him understand this time."
Kate sighed. "I will do my best."
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Paige went back to her room and sat down on the bed, smiling as Sirius followed her into the room like a puppy. "That boy always seems to do what he can to get me in trouble."
Sirius sat down in the chair at her desk. "How many times has he done this to you so far?"
She sighed as she slumped over. "This year or total? He just can't seem to live with current standards. "
Sirius nodded and replied, "Complacency is a dangerous thing, luv. He shouldn't accept things as they are now."
Paige let out a short laugh. "I'm not saying he should accept them, but he can't resist even the smallest chance to push the envelope. He's always trying to show up 'the stupid purebloods'"
Sirius nodded. "That's a good thing, though. It means he'll be the type to change things for werewolves. He'll stop the prejudice."
Paige let out a short laugh. "Yeah, just call him Clayton Luther King, Jr.", she joked, then turned more serious. "I know he will. He's extremely intelligent, charismatic, stubborn and a born leader. He'll go far in life. For now, I just wish he'd stop beating people up."
Sirius barked out a laugh. "You know how many times James and I heard that about ourselves in school?"
Paige smiled. "How many times have you beaten up a man more than twice your age?" Sirius almost answered but stopped and Paige went on. "Yep, he did. Incidentally, Michael has only met one werewolf that he knows of. I guess he should learn what not to say to Clay."
Sirius quirked an eyebrow. "What did Clay do? Surely, Michael can best a fourteen year old boy?"
Paige laughed. "No, he couldn't. One of the perks of being a Generation kid is that you get taught how to fight extremely well." Sirius looked skeptical and Paige continued, "Test it out sometime you'll lose, I did."
Sirius smiled and went to the bed. "Are you sure you're alright?"
She smiled and nodded. "I'm fine, tired and still slightly achy but fine."
Sirius frowned. "Sleep, then. I'll read a book at the desk so I can get you anything you need."
Paige yawned. "I could definitely go for a nap right now.", she admitted as she laid back, sighed, and closed her eyes.
Sirius wondered at how peaceful she looked when, not ten minutes earlier she was yelling at Clayton so violently it had startled him. He turned back to his book and continued reading.
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Kate smiled at Sirius as he left to give the two witches some privacy. "Thanks, Sirius. You should be able to come back in a few minutes." As the door closed, she turned to the witch that was sound asleep on the bed. "Might as well get this over with.", Kate mumbled to herself before gently shaking Paige's shoulder. "Hey, hon. We had our talk."
Paige's eyes blinked open, and she let out a rather large yawn. "And?"
Kate sighed and sat next to her on the bed. "He promises to watch himself but he thinks the double standard is stupid and unfair, as always."
Paige snorted and sat up. "He always promises."
Kate twisted her neck so that it let out a loud pop and then rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yes, but he was very scared so I think he will stick to it this time."
Paige shook her head. "I can hope."
Kate brushed some stray hairs out of Paige's face. "He will be good this time, you being hurt scared him senseless. Now, are you going to be ok?"
Paige nodded. "I'm fine, just a little upset that all of this was over a girl."
Kate sighed. "He's fourteen. How far would have gotten if every time you flirted it was an excuse for the purist moral majority to lynch or rape you? It's not an excuse but he's still struggling with it. He was bitten at twelve it's not like he's had it drilled into him from day one. He has freedom here, the minute he leaves the Valley it's gone."
Paige rolled her eyes. "You forget, I come from a family of purists."
Kate smiled and patted Paige's hand. "I remember, Paige. You would have gotten a stern talking to if you were that girl. And Clayton would have gotten what he deserved for being a half-breed that decided to get uppity with the wizards, a half-blood half-breed at that." Paige grimaced at Kate's choice of words. "Sorry, it hasn't been the best of days."
Paige nodded. "That's alright. What other precautions can we take?"
Kate's smile dropped. "Keep him in the city or send him to the Bay. Generation took out three Deatheaters near Decatur and Charleston last night. They were evidently celebrating something and said something to the wrong wizard, namely Clayton's uncle." Paige gave Kate a questioning look. "They asked him where they could find a Mudblood whore to play with to celebrate their victory over a blood traitor.", Kate said with a frown. "The Wynn brothers are not to be trifled with Paige, Clayton's dad worked for Generation for a couple decades before his son was bitten. The Wynn's were not too happy to hear about Clayton's situation to say the least. There is a hit ordered on all Deatheaters within 200 miles of the city. Remus is currently flooing Dumbledore to make sure Snape has his letter with him at all times. " Kate just stared at her hands when she had finished.
"So what are you up to tonight?", Paige asked, trying to change the subject.
"I thought I would take Remus to John and Abby's house to hang out for a bit. I need a reminder that only a handful of my clan actually work for Generation.", Kate said not meeting Paige's eyes.
Paige noticed something was amiss but didn't say anything. "Well, you have fun and we can meet up at the Peppermill for drinks later tonight."
A/N: So, everyone, we've got a proposition to make for alla y'all. We've been beta-ing this ourselves for the last... yep, 29 chapters. We're tired of doing this ourselves and we were wondering, any takers on becoming the most esteemed beta reader two pennies can buy?
MissMoony: Isn't she, though? She's eeeeevil! EEEEEEEEEEEEVIL! Harry might find out about Sirius being alive, that still remains to be seen. Sirius's dream, on the other hand, will be explained in a few chapters. As for your teacher, hellifIknow.
Surfergurl: Is Remus Wooting in bed AGAIN! I thought I told him to use the bathroom for that. Honestly, he may seem so civilized and mature, but he loves Wooting. Strange fascination, but I guess everyone needs a hobby.
Jen: You just mentioned canon. Haha! Made you say it again! Vegas in your mind? You might want to be extra careful getting all the drunks and hookers out of there, they start emitting a sticky residue that never comes off and then you start collecting hair follicles. Not good for a healthy mind!
(Prof. Pendragon would just like to say at this point that Vegas is not full of hookers or drunks. First of all, Prostitution is illegal in Clark County. Second, you only have to worry about drunken tourists, who can't seem to remember which casino they currently are in. As illustrated by the fact that she has to answer the question 'is this the ?' at least four times a night. Bloody hell, you'd think they'd be able to figure it out between the name tag and the 7foot tall sign literally hanging above her head that reads Insert Casino Name Here . Sorry about that it's been a long couple of weeks. In general, Vegas is just like any other large metropolitan area)
Katarina: As long as everyone knows that it is NOT SLASH, then I'll admit that he's gone to Remus for comfort after those dreams. I don't think Sirius was hanging, so much as bobbing slightly in the breeze, but that could be a personal preference. Ah well, which ever way you'd like him. (Personally, I'd like him on a king size bed in the Bahamas)
Anyway... (fans self) Is it warm in here? What was I going to say? Oh yeah! Thanks for reading and you can either email me personally or review to tell us that you would like to beta. We really do miss quite a bit by doing it ourselves. That, and it gets bloody annoying. Bye for now!
Hornhead