Fury

Fury

Chapter Four

Newsworthy

George was kissing her. George Weasley, kissing her, Cate Moon, in the middle of a crowded bar at almost three in the morning. The kiss was wet and sloppy, and he tasted like a mixture of Firewhiskey, butterbeer, and something else, but it was perfect. She wrapped her arms around his neck, melting into his embrace; he seemed to be trying to hold himself up as he kissed her, but she barely noticed.

Cate saw a flash of light through her eyelids, then her aunt was pulling them apart. She let the words of her aunt's tirade wash over her, staring at George, who looked both sleepy and pleased. Her aunt hurled a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace and shoved Cate in. The bar disappeared around her, revealing a dark tunnel of grates that flashed by too quickly to make out any details. She stumbled as she hit the fireplace in the entrance of the Manor, falling gracelessly at the feet of her grandmother, her mother, and three of her aunts.

She felt a strong hand under her arm, lifting her away from the marble fireplace as another figure swirled into existence. This one was, surprisingly, George, who fell face-first onto the stone floor as her Aunt Temmie appeared in the flames behind him.

Cate could hear her aunt's words to the rest of the family as she was helped out of the room and up the stairs by who she thought was probably her father- her eyes didn't seem to want to focus properly, and it was slow going.

"Caught that one snogging him just after I sent the rest home. Thought she was supposed to be the good one, Serenity, not drinking and all that. Drunk as a skunk, she is, and this one no better."

Her grandmother's voice overrode anything her mother might have said. "That's enough, Temperance. I recall a few occasions where your brothers had to bring you home, and it wasn't for lack of effort that you weren't caught snogging a boy in a public place by any one of them. Put the young gentleman in one of the guestrooms. I'll call his mother and let her know that he's here."

Temmie's derisive voice came as Cate walked slowly up the stairs, supported heavily by the person helping her who was probably her father, and walked down the hall to her room. "So you recognize him, Mum? So did half the people in that bar, and by tomorrow everyone will know..."

Her aunt's voice disappeared as the door to her bedroom shut behind her. Cate stumbled to her bed in the dark, not bothering to get undressed, and collapsed on top of the blankets, asleep before her head hit the bed.

Her last thought was of George, and the kiss, and what her mother would say to her when she woke in the morning.

~*~

Cate woke to a gentle tapping on her door. Groaning, she rolled over and yelled something unintelligible, but the tapping persisted. She grabbed a pillow and threw it at the door. Sadly, it was the pillow her head was on, but she didn't notice until her head bounced off the mattress. Her headache, which had hovered on the edge of consciousness, slammed into her full force. And the tapping went on.

Cate growled something that sounded like "Come in," which trailed off into mutters of what she would like to do to the person knocking. Through slitted eyes, she saw the door open and close, and the tips of ears making their way to her bed. Sliding closer to the edge, she looked into the wide brown eyes of a house-elf. He looked nervous, and was twisting the edges of the little tunic he wore. His ears began to droop slightly.

"Miss Moon, Miss? Your mother is wanting to see you, Miss. Please, Miss?"

Cate stared at him through bloodshot eyes. "What time is it?"

The little elf winced in sympathy. "Half-past nine, Miss."

Cate growled, then groaned when that caused her head to pound. "Tell my mother I'll be there in a minute."

The elf winced again and twisted the tunic harder. "She said now, Miss, and I is to wait with you, miss."

Cate rolled off the bed less than gracefully. "Fine. Where are my clean clothes?"

The elf backed away a few steps. "I is not knowing, Miss. I is a kitchen helper."

Cate sighed. "I'll check the wardrobe. Could you at least stand outside the door?"

Shaking a little, the elf backed away another step. "No, Miss. I is to wait here, in the room, no exceptions, Mistress said. Sorry, Miss."

Holding up a semi-clean robe that only had a few wrinkles, because she downright refused to wear any of the violently colorful dress robes, Cate nodded. "Yes, Right, Fine. Just...just cover your eyes, alright? And what's your name again?"

She didn't know if elves could blush, but she could see something like one under his hands where they covered his eyes. "I is Remi, Miss."

Cate smiled tightly, hoping he wouldn't notice the fact that her eyes were probably bloodshot and she had a screaming headache while trying to retain the politeness that he wouldn't often require as a kitchen servant. "Thank you, Remi. I'm sure my family is extremely pleased by your service."

Now she was sure elves could blush, because Remi's little face was bright red, and the tips of his ears were quivering. From behind his hands, she could hear his voice, almost faint with happiness. "Thank you, Miss."

While throwing the robe on, she asked, seemingly off-hand. "Do you know why my mother wants me?"

Remi, his voice muffled by his hands, mumbled, "I is not knowing, Miss. I is only told to get you."

Sighing, Cate pulled her messy hair into a tail at the back of her head. If her mother demanded an immediate entrance, than she was going to get what she would get.

Stomping towards the door (she wasn't being petulant, she told herself; her feet were numb), she followed Remi down the stairs to the small formal sitting room. She felt a sense of foreboding wash over her; even at her most irritated, her mother never used the formal rooms with family. She took a deep breath as Remi knocked, and followed the little elf in as her mother's crystalline tones echoed into the hallway.

Remi gave her an encouraging sort of smile as he scuttled past her, presumably to go back to the kitchens. Cate stood just inside the doorway, examining the floor and trying (and failing) to understand why she had been summoned, without even the decency of a hangover potion.

"Catherine."

Jumping, she looked guiltily at her grandmother, whom she hadn't even noticed. She gave her a tight smile. "Grandmother."

Her grandmother sat enthroned in a high-backed chair in the center of the room. At her right hand sat Cate's father, looking uncomfortable and tense, and at her left sat her mother, looking as serene as her name, with a newspaper neatly folded in her lap. Cate had always had a close relationship with her grandmother, but the look on the old woman's face left little doubt that this was a personal interview, as had happened in the past, with pleasant repercussions.

Her grandmother's voice was the only sound in the room. "Catherine, do you know why we have called you here today?"

Cate's mother snorted inelegantly. "Of course she does, Elspeth. How could she not?"

Cate's father looked at his fingers. "There was quite a bit of alcohol consumed last night, Serenity. You saw the bill this morning."

Cate winced. She and her cousins hadn't thought before charging everything to the family's tab, and obviously that was coming back to haunt them today. But why was she the only one here?

Elspeth stared hard at her granddaughter's face. There was confusion, a slight wince at sounds, and she was studiously avoiding looking near the open windows. "Catherine, why did you not tell us you were in pain?" She snapped her fingers, ignoring Cate's wince, and a house-elf popped into existence next to her. "Fetch a hangover potion for my granddaughter, please. And put one in each of the rooms of the children, as well." Looking at her son with a small smile, she laughed. "Might as well stave off the pain now so they can feel the rebukes later."

Cate frowned. "Am I being punished for something?"

Serenity leaned forward, her hand resting on the newspaper in her lap. "Yes, Catherine, you are. You embarrassed not only yourself, but your family."

Cate jumped in. "But it wasn't just me! I wasn't even there when it began! George offered to walk me to the Three Broomsticks, and the party had already started! There was nothing I could do to stop it, even it I had wanted to," she added rebelliously.

Serenity sat back, glancing at Elspeth. Her grandmother held a hand out to Cate and motioned for her to come forward. "My dear child, I do not fault you for the festivities. Goodness knows that only a handful of people could have stopped them, and we certainly should have known that something like that would happen. It usually does, with those family members. No, my dear, we do not blame you for the drinking, or the carousing."

Serenity raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking otherwise, but both Elspeth and Cate ignored her. Cate glanced quickly to the right. Her father had a bored yet anxious look on his face. He obviously didn't blame her either, but there was something else going on here.

Cate looked into her grandmother's eyes, so like her own. "What happened, then, Grandmother, that you felt the need to see me so bloody early?"

Her grandmother ignored the language, though her mother leaned forward, her lips thinning. "This, my child." She held out a hand to Serenity, who sullenly gave Elspeth the newspaper. Elspeth unfolded it, then handed the front page to Cate.

Cate stared down at the picture of herself, deeply kissing a drunken George. Blushing, she watched as the kiss continued, with a shouting Rosmerta in the background and a stunned Aunt Temmie in the corner. She hadn't realized that his hands were there. The caption read: "George Weasley, war hero and business owner, snogs Catherine Moon in Three Broomsticks last night after a long night of debauchery."

"I...I don't understand."

Serenity shook her head. "There was a reporter there. There always is, with the Weasley family. You should know that. We are not unpopular ourselves, Catherine."

Cate threw the paper on the ground. "How was I to know that he'd kiss me?" she demanded, hurt.

Elspeth frowned thoughtfully. "You have not been dating him, then?"

Cate groaned. "No. I just ran into him in Hogsmeade and he came with to the Three Broomsticks. That's all. He knows Isabelle, and Nathan, though neither well."

Cate's father leaned forward. "Then why..."

Elspeth stalled him with a hand. "Hiero, let me. The article states that the two of you were seen in Diagon Alley last week, at the Leaky Cauldron, eating lunch. And that you were seen arm in arm in Hogsmeade prior to the kiss."

Cate's heart sank. "Oh, Merlin. I can explain," she began, but was interrupted by her mother.

Serenity laughed harshly. "So it's true, then. See how she lies to us, Hierophant!"

Elspeth snapped, "That's enough, Serenity!"

Serenity glared at Cate for a second before turning to her grandmother. "How should we deal with this, Elspeth? It will be all over the Wizarding World, today. And the shame..."

Elspeth glared at her daughter-in-law before turning to Hiero. "I see no shame in my granddaughter, a beautiful young girl from a good family, dating a famous war hero. Do you, Hierophant?"

Her father gave her a quick smile that didn't look at all pleased. "No, Mother. Of course not."

Elspeth clapped her hands together, making Cate wince. "Excellent. To breakfast, then."

Serenity stalked out first, glaring at her daughter and ignoring her husband. Hiero patted her gently on the shoulder, avoiding her eyes, before following his wife. Elspeth, still seated, ignored the two. "Catherine, come here."

Cate was almost out the door, but turned resignedly and sat in the chair her father had vacated. "Yes, Grandmother?"

Elspeth sighed thoughtfully and pulled Cate's hands into her own. "Darling, you must be careful."

Cate snorted. "You think I don't know that, Grandmother?"

Elspeth gave her a little look. "I do not mean about the news, my dear, although you should have been more watchful. I do not blame you for the media's propensity to photograph anything they believe newsworthy. I do, however, ask you to be careful with this boy in particular. It is dangerous for you to be involved with someone so much in the public eye."

Cate sighed. "I do know, Grandmother. But it wasn't planned, and I certainly wasn't expecting to be kissed by a drunken boy in the middle of the Three Broomsticks."

Elspeth kissed her hand. "I know, darling. Please, be careful in the future."

Cate stood, dropping her grandmother's hands. "I am always careful."

She walked out of the door, not looking back, knowing that something had changed, but entirely unsure of what that might have been.

~*~

After a hot shower, a chug of potion, and a change of clothes, breakfast seemed in order. She passed numerous cousins stumbling along, their own potions in hand and mothers and aunts pushing them down the stairs to the dining room.

Unlike most other times, the aunts had decided to put the children in one room and take the smaller breakfast hall for themselves. Cate was relieved; she hadn't wanted to put up with her mother's glares and her aunts' gossiping. On the other hand, she did still have to deal with a self-righteous Isabelle and a large group of half-drunk and sobering cousins.

She hadn't realized until she sat down that three of her cousins were hovering over the newspaper, staring at her with awed and bleary eyes. Demi, Cornelia, and Elinor were all giggling over what she saw to be the front page. The three girls changed seats, taking the chairs around her.

"Is this true?" a giggling Elinor asked, her eyes wide.

Cate blinked at her cousin. "What?"

Elin shoved the paper under her nose, getting egg on the corner. "This. You and George Weasley. The paper says that you've been dating for almost a week now. Apparently, that's the longest he's gone out with any girl in a long while."

Cate groaned. "Oh, Merlin. Seriously?"

Demi laughed, drawing the eyes of several of the others. "It is true! I knew it, when he showed up with you!"

Cate opened her mouth to speak, but the appearance of a stumbling and disheveled redhead at the door caused the room to fall silent. George stared at them before flopping into the nearest empty chair and shoveling food onto his plate. Occasionally he would look around the table, blinking stupidly at Isabelle and Matthias and frowning at Nathan.

When he noticed everyone looking at him, he set the half-full fork on his plate and grunted a sullen, "What?"

Cornelia giggled and passed the paper down the several chairs to him. Each cousin had a different reaction, but Cate was frozen. What would he say?

When the paper was finally in George's hands, he stared at it for a second before jumping up. His chair fell out from under him, as if in slow motion, and his bellowed "Bloody hell!" echoed in the room. Cate's head fell into her hands, and she moaned.

She would never hear the end of this.