A/N: Alrighty, reviewers, people who read this in general, thanks a ton guys! So, sorry about the new cliffhanger, I'm about to explain everything, so don't hurt me.

Professor Slughorn was sitting in his office eating chocolate doughnuts when a small black cat leapt onto his desk and began meowing at him as though trying to tell him something. Professor Slughorn had seen this cat somewhere before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on where.

"What's the matter, Kitty?" he asked it. The cat meowed louder, but this time, it sounded menacing. "You look angry," he observed. The fur on the back of the cat's neck bristled and she meowed threateningly again. Then, the cat leapt off the table and walked over to a cauldron, leaping up onto it. The cat was trying to communicate something to the professor.

"I don't know what you are trying to tell me, kitty," explained the teacher. The cat hissed at him. Somehow this cat knew that Professor Slughorn was supposed to be working on an antidote for Claire, and the cat wasn't going to leave him alone until he made it. The cat meowed another threat and then jumped up into the rafters and down onto a shelf, picking up a small vial in her teeth and hopping back down onto the teacher's desk. Slughorn took the vial from the cat and looked at the label:

Antidote.

The professor knew the cat now, it was Lily's cat, and it was telling him to get a move on so that Claire could be saved. The teacher moved to a cauldron and began working, making something to counteract the ingredients that Madam Pompfrey had said were in the poison part of the potion. The cat sat on the rafters, watching the professor's every move that day.

Meanwhile

Everyone was praying that Professor Slughorn would find some antidote to the potion, but after a week, nothing came. When two weeks had passed and Claire had about five screaming fits each day, Slughorn entered the ward with a small glass vial, Moonstone on his heels, meowing madly at him before leaping into Lily's arms.

"I have something. It won't cancel out the effects completely, and it's not truly an antidote, but it will prolong the effects so that, instead of dying at the end of this month, she will die by the end of the year, and it will be much more peaceful for her. This potion will change her from having these spasms five times a day to only about once a week," he explained, seeing Claire's wide eyes filled with fear and clutching the sheets madly while she whispered to herself quietly. "She will also be free of these hallucinations and she will stop talking to herself."

Sirius debated for a moment, not really knowing what to do. Either way she could still die.

"And there is no way you can make a true antidote?" he asked.

"Not this late, no. It would probably take me a month at the least to make, and by then, she'll be…dead," explained Slughorn.

"Alright, if it's okay with Madam Pompfrey, I think it would be best for Claire to take this potion. It will make whatever life she has left easier for her," said Sirius. He looked hopefully at Madam Pompfrey, who was sitting in a chair, wringing her hands,

"I have never had a more serious case before. And, I agree with Mr. Black. We will give her this potion you have," said the nurse.

"She'll only have to take what's in this bottle, and she'll only have to have this one dose," explained the professor, handing the vial to Madam Pompfrey. Madam Pompfrey uncorked the vial and look to Sirius.

"She's to frightened to take anything from me, but maybe if you could give it to her, maybe you could convince her to take it." Sirius nodded and Pompfrey handed him the vial.

"Claire," he whispered. Claire stopped talking to herself, he wide eyes looked to Sirius now. "Claire, do you want a drink, this drink will make it all better, it will go away, I promise, it will be gone for a while." She nodded and Sirius tipped the vial into her mouth and she drank it, he eyes going wide at first, and then smaller until it was gone and she fell to sleep, no long clutching the sheets, but her grip was relaxed in Sirius's hand.

"Will she be okay?" asked Sirius, looking to Pompfrey.

"I think so, but let's check her pulse," she said. Pompfrey moved around the bed and placed her fingers on Claire's wrist. "Ah, her pulse is back to a normal pace. Professor Slughorn has kept the poison at bay for now. She'll be free to go in a few days, Mr. Black. Bring her here if she has a fit again." The tension Sirius was harboring was relaxed immediately. Claire would be better in a few days. He looked around at all of his friends.

Happy tears streamed down the cheeks of Lily and Tanya. James had a weak smile across his face, and Remus, well, Remus looked solemn, but at the same time, he looked happier than before. Peter was asleep, so no one really knew what his expression was.

Claire rolled over, facing Sirius.

"It's gone. What happened?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Professor Slughorn found a way to keep the poison at bay so that it will help you to live a normal life," he explained. She nodded softly and Sirius bent over her, kissing her forehead. "Just rest now, you've had a trying week."

"Thanks," she sighed, closing her eyes with a weak grin across her face. Sirius still refused to leave the hospital for the next few days, and everyday, Claire became healthier and healthier. After a day, she could sit up on her own, and after two, she was eating solids again. By the end of the week, Claire was walking around the hospital wing. Sirius had fallen asleep in the chair next to her when Madam Pompfrey was examining her for the last time. The two were asleep, but James, Lily, Tanya, and Remus were wide-awake. Madam Pompfrey lifted Claire's arm ad saw the bruises.

"What are these?" she asked in shock.

"Don't know," shrugged Lily.

"I think we should ask her," suggested the nurse.

"But, Madam Pompfrey, she's sleeping, we'll ask her later, okay?"

"Oh, very well. Anyway, she'll be free to go by tomorrow. Tomorrow is Saturday, correct?"

"Yes, Madam Pompfrey," said Lily, trying not to say something she may regret.

A/N: Sorry about how long it took to update, I know ya'll are probably hating me right now, but hate school cuz that's where the blame should lie. So, the next chapter will be way longer, sorry about how short this one is, but you know, with school starting again and all that, it's tough. So, the next chapter should be out in around thrre days, maybe two if I can start working on it before the weekend...once again, sorry for shortness and lateness.