Fury

Fury

Chapter Two

At Home

For the next couple of days, Cate looked for every opportunity to avoid going out on the Alley during work hours. The lunch with George had been a welcome respite, and she liked him, but she really didn't know him, and certainly did not want to get on the front page of the Daily Prophet. They had been exceptionally lucky- the backfire of the spell he had been testing had disguised him thoroughly.

Since the War, and their involvement in it, the Weasleys, as well as Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, of course, had been front page news almost constantly. It made dating a public spectacle- as evidenced by the fact that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley hadn't yet had a date without the public knowing intimate details the next day. Cate didn't need to put herself, or her family, in the spotlight.

By Friday night, she was exhausted. The shop had been working full out until late that afternoon. When she reminded Madame Pine that she had a family event that weekend, the woman seemed both pleased and annoyed.

"Fine. See you Monday. Mind you wear clean robes. I noticed a stain on the back of the one you wore yesterday, and I want all my workers to be neat and professional." Her voice, thready and tense, rose a bit on the word stain; Madame Pine had been nearly hysterical since her usual Thursday deliveries hadn't yet arrived.

Cate hid her frustration until she made it out of the door. Sara, who was a year younger than she was, often wore rumpled robes, and Electra, a woman in her thirties, was never on time. She pulled her cloak closed around her. The wind was blowing straight at her, and since Apparition was illegal on the Alley, she'd have to walk all the way to the Leaky Cauldron to get home.

Cate kept her head down as she passed the Wheezes shop, but she was one of the few that did. Nearly every other person on the Alley was staring at the brilliant signs and posters that decorated the little shop. From what she had heard from her littlest brother, the new one in Hogsmeade was no different.

She made it to the Leaky Cauldron without running into anyone, and Flooed back home. The full moon was tonight, and she had only an hour to get her things and make it to her family home before she changed. She grabbed the bag she had packed that morning, took a deep breath, and apparated to the end of the drive.

~*~

The walk up to Moon Manor, her family estate, took nearly ten minutes. There was an Anti-Apparition ward around the property, which was extensive, and her mother disliked anyone using the Floo.

Moon Manor was an elegant gray stone building on top of a gentle slope, with a long circular drive and a high stone fence around the entire property, with a heavy wrought-iron gate that was usually left open. Trees, tall and ancient, lined the drive, and there was a huge lawn in front of the house. Cate couldn't see them from the front, but in the back were the gardens, orchards, and forest that her family had maintained for generations, as well as a large lake, surrounded by trees.

Cate knocked on the magnificent door that was three times as tall as she was, and at least five hundred years old. It was opened immediately, with no sound of creaking or distress, by a little house-elf with enormous brown eyes and a cheerful smile. Like every elf employed by her family- and since the new laws, written by one Hermione Granger, had been enacted, they were employed- this little elf wore a neat dress in the Moon colors of navy blue and gray.

"Good evening, Mistress Catherine." The elf grabbed her bag out her hand and set it on the expansive marble floor. "Is the little mistress wishing to see her mother?"

Cate grinned at the elf. "Yes, thank you, Mora. Where is she?"

Mora shut the door; the knob was just slightly above her head. "Madame Moon is in the conservatory, miss, with Mistress Isabelle and Mister Winters."

Cate sighed. "Thanks, Mora. Could you put my bag in my room for me?"

Without waiting for an answer, Cate walked through the grand entrance hall, down three corridors, and then through a small library. The conservatory was an entirely glass room by the lake, where her mother grew her favorite flowers and magical plants.

Her mother, Serenity, a tall, elegant woman with long blond hair and a cold smile, was watering her daylilies, while her sister, Isabelle, lounged on a loveseat with her fiancé, Matthias Winters. Isabelle looked like their mother, with golden blond hair that brushed her shoulders and the same smile, but she lacked that grace that made their mother a true beauty. Matt had short, curly brown hair and sharp blue eyes. Sitting next to Isabelle, they looked the perfect couple.

Serenity looked up from her lilies at Cate's entrance. "Hello, Catherine. Did you have a nice walk up the lane?"

Cate hid her grimace. From the look on her mother's face, her hair must be a mess. If Isabelle had walked up the drive, her hair would have been as perfect at the end as it was in the beginning. "Yes, Mother. I did, thank you. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here."

Serenity turned back to her flowers. "Of course. Mora would have told me. Your father is waiting for you down by the forest. And your cousins are coming tomorrow night for dinner. Twice in one week." She snipped a bud with her wand tip. "How wonderful."

Cate forced a smile. "Great. I'll just pop down by Dad, then."

Serenity waved vaguely at her daughter. Isabelle hadn't moved, or said a word, and Matt had followed her example, as he usually did.

Cate ran down to the forest's edge as soon as she was out of sight of the conservatory. Her father, Hierophant, a tall, broad man with wavy black hair and Cate's eyes, stood watching the fish in the lake on the side furthest from the house. He waved his wand, and the water rippled slightly. A low glow seemed to come from the water, and then a ball shot upward. He grinned at Cate.

"Hey, love. Charles dropped his Quaffle in the lake before he left, and just now feels the need to tell me to fish it out."

She hugged her father. "I can see that. Is everything ready?"

He nodded and dried the ball with another wave. "Yeah. Just pop behind the fence and you'll be good. Oh, and your mother insisted that you be dressed when you walk back up to the house. So I left a box for you to put your stuff in."

She sighed. "Fine. Yeah. Thanks, Dad. Any others coming?"

Her father frowned thoughtfully. "Not that I know of. Radisson is out of the country, Nomes is trying out his basement, and Zacharias is at the other one tonight."

Cate felt a smirk starting. "Just me, then. Excellent. See you in the morning, Dad."

He kissed her forehead. "See you at breakfast."

Cate walked towards the heavy iron gate set innocuously in a tall fence. Her father hadn't moved. "You'd better get in. Moon's rising."

He saluted her with a grin, dripping Quaffle in hand. "Night, princess."

She slammed the gate behind her. "Night, Daddy."

~*~

The next morning, after a long and tiring, but exhilarating, night, Cate strode up to the house in the same clothes as the night before. Bypassing the breakfast room, where she could hear her family eating, she went straight to her own room for a shower and a change of clothes. Even though every part of her body ached, she knew her mother would hear no excuse for missing breakfast.

After her shower and change, she headed down to breakfast, her hair still wet. Her father winked at her as she walked in, and gave her an exuberant hello. Isabelle didn't acknowledge her as she sat down, but Matthias gave her a sleepy good morning. He wasn't fully awake yet, and never was in the mornings. Her older brother, Nathan, waved absently at her as he devoured a small mountain of pancakes. Her two youngest brothers, Charles and Hercules, were both still in Hogwarts. It should have been a peaceful breakfast, with light conversation and eating. No serious concerns were ever addressed at breakfast.

Her mother, however, possessed a talent for hidden venom that made Cate want to disappear. "How was your evening, Catherine?" The words, perfectly polite on the surface, carried several levels of hidden meaning.

Cate smiled tightly. "It was fine, Mother. The new fence is quite sturdy."

Her father grinned. "Thanks, Catie."

Serenity ignored him. "I was a bit concerned. It was a bit chilly, last night."

"Mum, I do have fur," she snapped, her patience lost for the game.

Matthias flinched, but the rest of the family ignored the comment. Serenity looked at her daughter, her normally cold face seemingly surprised that her daughter had responded so venomously. "Why, you do, don't you?"

Cate grabbed her fork and picked at her sausages, hoping no one would notice that she wasn't eating. Her father gave her a tight smile and began a conversation with Matthias, who merely blushed and ignored Cate, as usual. Serenity ate her fruit and cheese quietly, and Nathan teased Isabelle mercilessly and quietly, with the occasional rebuke thrown in by their father.

When the meal was done, they all went their separate ways, as was normal. She saw Isabelle sneaking off with Matthias, giggling in abandon like a schoolgirl; they were kissing each other as they walked towards one of the smaller, darker libraries. Nathan grabbed a few biscuits from the table and raced outside, brushing past their mother, who was wandering towards her conservatory. Her father wrapped an arm around Cate's shoulders and led her towards the stairs.

"Hey, love, I'm sorry about that."

Cate looked up at her father, her eyes worried. "She's getting worse."

Hierophant frowned slightly. "No, you just haven't been around much. Not that I'm blaming you; there's nothing you could have done, and she simply will not allow me to help her." Cate stumbled slightly, and her father smiled. "Now, Catie Bear, it's time for sleep. Your cousins are coming around six; I'll have Mora or one of the others wake you about four, if you aren't already up by then."

Cate kissed her father's cheek. "Thanks, Daddy."

~*~

When Cate woke later that day, it was to find a house-elf, not Mora, leaning over her bed and poking her gently.

"Miss? Miss? Is you waking yet, Miss?"

Cate yawned. "What time is it?"

The elf smiled her wide, ugly grin. "It is four, Miss, when you is wanting to be woked."

Cate sat up and stretched. "Thanks." She took another look at the elf. "Are you new?"

The little creature practically bounced with excitement. "Oh yes, Miss! Started two weeks ago, didn't I?"

Cate hid a laugh at the creature's boundless enthusiasm. "And your name, please?"

The elf grinned hugely. "Miss, I am Reesa, and Madame Moon is asking me to be your personal elf."

Cate frowned thoughtfully. "So you're a spy."

Reesa backed away a few steps and let Cate swing out of the bed. "Oh no, Miss. Madame is asking me to help you every day, Miss, while you is working."

Cate sighed, but didn't want to go against her mother. At least, not now, and not so obviously. It wasn't Reesa's fault, after all. "Fine. But please, make sure you tell me what time you're coming. I don't want to be surprised."

Reesa bounced a few steps towards the door. "Of course, Miss, but it is likely to be while you is working, Miss. Dinner is at six thirty, Miss, and Master says that the guests should be arriving soon. Mistress Isabelle says that it is a formal dinner, Miss, and you is to dress up."

Cate walked slowly into her bathroom, feeling every ache of the change. "Thank you, Reesa. Tell my father I'll be down soon."

She showered for the second time that day, reveling in the feeling of the hot water running over her aching muscles. With a flick of her wand and a spell she'd learned from one of her very clever Ravenclaw roommates, her hair was brushed and dried, in heavy curls that hung past her shoulders. Makeup, which her mother would insist upon, was applied quickly, in less than fifteen minutes. And then came the wardrobe.

All of her favorite, comfortable clothes were at her apartment, but her mother had insisted that she keep a wardrobe of the latest fashions at the Manor, for their little family gatherings. Cate hated the fancy robes, with the long trailing sleeves and trains, but she would do anything to keep herself in her mother's good graces. And thus the wardrobe was born.

Her sister shopped for her, almost constantly, and that certainly didn't help matters. Isabelle looked fantastic in anything, and usually cared what she wore. Her own wardrobe was bigger than Cate's bathroom, and that didn't include the shoes and accessories that went along with it. No, Cate had to be the plain one, who everyone ordered to dress up but no one really cared if she looked good. Or comfortable.

She flung the doors open on the wardrobe and began to sort through the jewel colors. If only her sister would get it into her head that Cate preferred darker tones, than maybe it would be fine, but there were some truly hideous yellows and pinks, and even one that looked as if it were made out of gold. There were very few items that Cate would have picked for herself, and none that looked as though they were made for her.

She finally settled on a pretty navy blue set that had very subtle shading on the hems and sleeves. It was the plainest thing she could find, and it would have to do. She wouldn't parade around in that ghastly magenta set that looked as though someone had vomited daisies all over it. Maybe she could give it to Isabelle... But then, Isabelle would look fantastic, and would ask why Cate hadn't ever worn it.

After settling on the robes, she picked out matching jewels from the box that her mother kept stocked from the family vault, and a pair of low black shoes. She wouldn't be caught dead in the heels that Isabelle was sure to expect with the robes.

Bracing herself, she opened the door. Ten minutes until the guests arrived, and it wouldn't do to be late.