Fury

Fury

Chapter Eight

Breakfast at the Weasleys

They took nearly an hour for them to get to the Burrow, by which time the rest of the family had also arrived, and been briefed by Ginny as to who George was bringing with him.

They stumbled out of the fireplace (George's explanation being that Apparition on an empty stomach still full of wine was probably a bad idea) to shouts of welcome. Within seconds, an older woman with faded red hair had wrapped him in a hug and was scolding him for being late.

When she finally released him, the woman turned to Cate. "And who is this, George, dear?"

Cate blushed, suddenly aware that everyone in the room was staring at her. George flung an arm over her shoulder possessively. "Mum, this is Cate Moon. Cate, this is my mum, Molly Weasley."

Cate smiled lightly. "Hello, Mrs. Weasley."

But Molly's answering smile was much wider as she pulled Cate into a hug that had her gasping in shock. "Hello, dear; call me Molly. George didn't say he'd be bringing a guest. Introduce her to everyone, George. Ron, get the plates." This was said in a much sharper tone, and had the air of repetition.

George grabbed her hand and led her around the tiny kitchen. "Cate, this is Hermione, Ron's wife, and that's my brother, Ron; you've met him before." The bushy-haired girl who couldn't have been much older than she was waved at her and smiled, and Ron, with a wave of his wand that nearly sent the plates flying across the kitchen, waved at her as well. George smirked, and said in a loud whisper that could be heard throughout the kitchen, "She likes the Cannons, Ronnikins."

Ron's face lit up, and Hermione laughed. "Oh, no, did you have to tell him that, George?"

Harry and Ginny, Cate already knew, but the thin, serious man in glasses she didn't recognize, and who George introduced as "My older brother, Percy." He smiled at her, and then pushed his glasses back up his long nose. George pointed to the woman sitting next to him, with lovely golden blond hair and a wide smile in a freckled, though plain, face. "That's Audrey Campbell, Percy's girlfriend."

Then he led her into the living room, where the rest of his brothers waited for breakfast, along with an older gentleman that must have been George's father- she recognized him from the Floo- a little boy with turquoise hair and a severe looking woman that appeared older than George's father. She met Charlie, another of George's brothers, in the door between the kitchen and living room; he was, apparently, the only one without a date, as George quickly pointed out. Molly glanced longingly at her second son, but Charlie affected not to notice, and George didn't say anything more on the subject in front of his mother.

George pointed at everyone as he said their names. "Cate, that's my oldest brother Bill, his wife, Fleur, and their youngest daughter, Dominique. Their eldest is the girl playing with the boy- those're Victoire and Teddy Lupin. Andromeda Tonks, there, is Teddy's grandmother, and this..." he led her closer to his father. "Is my father, Arthur Weasley. Everyone, this is Cate Moon."

Cate smiled and said "Hi." in a timid little voice, suddenly overwhelmed. She didn't know why; her extended family was certainly larger than this, and they were always around the Manor. But there was something about this place, something about the people, that made her feel both shy and welcome.

As it was too cold to eat outside, and the kitchen was clearly not large enough for everyone, Molly ordered the tables put in the living room, and the furniture moved. George told her, as he passed by with a stack of silverware, that it was just like Christmas, and winked cheekily. Cate felt herself blushing for no reason, then, seeing all the activity, offered to help.

Molly looked surprised, and glanced at her sons, who were taking stacks of dishes and silverware, as well as chairs and napkins, into the living room. "No, but thank you, dear. Now, why don't you and the rest of the girls go and see how the boys are doing?"

Shooing them out of the kitchen, Molly bustled around the stove again, wand waving and food cooking itself. Cate, Ginny, Hermione, and Audrey (who was surprisingly friendly, given the seemingly uptight nature of her boyfriend and George's own comments on the subject) all moved into the doorway to watch. Fleur, Andromeda, and the children had disappeared, and it seemed like that had probably been a good idea; the boys waved their wands with abandon, and plates, silverware, napkins, and utensils flew around the room, some doing battle, some merely dancing an energetic jig. The other girls looked as though this were commonplace, but Cate had never seen anything like it; her family had certain rules of behavior, and making the silverware dance to the latest Weird Sisters tune was a definite no.

Audrey, laughing and grinning, quickly joined Percy as he attempted to get his brothers to actually set the table. Arthur, seated in a very comfortable-looking, if threadbare, chair, merely smiled and watched his boys having fun. Ginny snuck behind an unsuspecting Harry and put a conjured ice cube down his back; he shouted a curse and nearly leapt through the ceiling.

Hermione, standing beside her, was laughing uproariously, and turned to Cate. "Is your family anything like this?"

Cate grinned. "No. They're a little more...um, sober?"

Hermione laughed. "That's probably an understatement."

Cate looked at the older girl. "What about you? Is your family like this?"

Hermione grinned. "Not at all. Just me and my parents, and a couple of cousins. And it is- what did you call it?- a more sober experience."

The girls laughed, getting louder as they watched Harry chase Ginny around the living room with a conjured snowball in hand, darting around brothers and furniture and laughing hysterically.

George had his wand out and was forcing the spoons to tap themselves to their proper settings. Cate walked up behind him and watched. He was so focused that he didn't notice her until Ginny caused Harry to drop the snow on his own head and tackled him into the ottoman. When she laughed, he nearly jumped over the table, and the silverware followed him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So, sneaking up on the one-eared man? That's not very sporting, is it?"

Cate giggled, drawing her wand. "Here, let me help you with that."

George shook his head as he turned back to the silverware. "No, I've got it."

Cate raised a single eyebrow, and whispered something under her breath. George was so focused on the last set of silverware that he didn't notice the other settings rising in a smooth- and silent- arc, and form into a giant ear. Holding it steady, Cate watched the others in the room pause and wait for George's reaction.

He finally noticed Ron and Harry snickering in the corner, and looked up. A grin split his face, but Cate wasn't done yet. Another spell, and dozens of tinny voices suddenly echoed around the room. "Ear, ear!"

The room erupted in laughter, with Cate taking an enormous bow; George spun around in surprise, an enormous grin nearly splitting his face in two. "That was you?"

Cate looked at him innocently through her lashes. "Who else would it be?"

Everyone in the room was howling with laughter, and didn't calm down until Molly entered, trays and platters and pans following her in a strange train. With a flick of his wand, Arthur set the table before his wife was fully in the room, and everyone took their seats, Cate placed between George and Teddy Lupin, with Andromeda on the other side, and Ron and Hermione across from her.

She hadn't seen or tasted such good food since her days in Hogwarts. The meal was loud and rowdy, with at least five different conversations, punctuated by one adult or another telling Teddy to please sit down, not to flick egg bits at Harry, not to play with his food. Once, Molly sternly told George to let the boy eat in piece, and not have his food dance the tarantella across his plate or spelling naughty words.

There were no small children in Cate's family; the youngest were her twin cousins, who were both ten. Having three under the age of five was a shocking, and sobering, experience. So many of her cousins were getting married; would the family gatherings soon be like this controlled chaos?

The meal lasted almost two hours, and by the end, Cate knew more than she wanted to about Teddy's bowtruckle collection, Ron's fascination with the Cannons (which she shared, but not as heartily), Hermione's work, and Molly's disappointment with her second son over his lack of a date, or, indeed, a decent haircut. The other conversations- Fleur's impending promotion, Bill's earring, Percy's work (which wasn't as interesting as Hermione's), and Audrey's parents' disapproval over her career choice (Cate realized she didn't know what exactly it was that Audrey did)- were pushed gently to the background by the more exuberant conversations of the younger, and louder, boys.

After the dishes were cleared and Ron and Ginny roped into dishwashing duty, they all sat around the living room and talked, or played games, or talked about games, or played with the children. Cate was fascinated by the games the children played, and the way the adults acted around them.

Her family- other than her mother, and that was recent- were not particularly cold towards any of their children, but they had always been bundled off into another room, with the oldest watching out for the youngest. The parents occasionally checked on them, especially when they were younger, but with older cousins (assisted by the ever-present house-elves) and bossy aunts, there was rarely any trouble, and they were never bored. Here, however, the children were included, even encouraged, and any adult- even in the middle of a conversation- would play with any child. Dominique, the baby, a little over two years old, was passed around the room. When it was Cate's turn, she looked adoringly at the little blond girl sleeping in her arms; she had never held a child this young before.

Breakfast turned into lunch, which was just as tasty as the first meal, and then gradually, as it grew darker, into dinner. Cate felt a part of the family, and told George so as he passed by with a platter of dirty dishes for Charlie and Percy to wash. He grinned, pleased, and made a quick motion with his head, pointing to where Ginny, Hermione, and Audrey were sitting, playing with a simple deck of playing cards that one of the girls had conjured.

She joined them, and spent the rest of the night with the girls, talking and laughing and having a good time. Soon, she had lunch plans in two days with Hermione and Ginny, and she and Audrey were going to go shopping the next week. Fleur joined their group, and soon she was getting tips on how to do her hair in such a way that she looked both older and more innocent. They laughed and talked, and occasionally mocked their significant others.

It seemed that Ron and Hermione had only been married for a little over a year and a half, and Harry and Ginny's wedding were moving soon, after Ginny's career change from Chasing for the Holyhead Harpies to the sports section of the Daily Prophet. Percy and Audrey had been dating for a little over four months, with no long term plans as of yet, and Fleur had been married since before the war ended. This was Audrey's second visit on a Sunday, but Cate would have sworn the girl was already a daughter of the family. They talked about families, friends, colleagues, and everything else, and by the end of the night they were all good friends.

When the clock struck nine, Andromeda, the stern older witch who was much nicer than she looked, took a dozing Teddy home; Bill, Fleur, and the girls followed soon after. By nine thirty, Percy and Audrey left, both claiming early mornings, and Charlie followed soon after, kissing his tired mum on the cheek and giving Cate a saucy wink. At ten, George stood slowly and motioned to Cate.

"Well, Mum, we've got to get going. The shop opens early tomorrow, and Cate has work."

Cate felt a flush of something when he said that; she hadn't realized that he knew her schedule. Molly stood slowly, her face tired but happy; Arthur was asleep in his chair, and didn't wake at George's voice. Ron and Harry were playing chess, and the girls were watching, occasionally throwing out helpful hints, other times mocking the opposing player (though it seemed Hermione was the least helpful, and Ginny the most scathing).

As they entered the kitchen, Molly enveloped Cate in a warm, crushing hug. "It was lovely to meet you, Cate, dear. Please come again."

Cate grinned. "I would love that, Molly."

Molly grabbed her son next. "You make sure she gets home safe, alright, and then straight home for you."

"That's not too hard," George answered without thinking, grinning cheekily.

Suddenly, there was a tension around Molly that hadn't been there before. Her voice was a quiet hiss as she asked, "What do you mean?"

George flinched, and Cate took an unconscious step backward as Molly began to swell.

~*~

In the other room, everyone jumped as Molly's strident voice echoed through the door.

"What do you mean she's living with you?"

~*~

By the time they stumbled into George's flat, it was nearly midnight, and their ears were ringing.

Molly hadn't taken the fact that Cate was staying at George's very well. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione had left as quickly as possible, leaving the chess pieces set up and yelling in their tiny voices at the cowards. Arthur had gone quietly upstairs, leaving an angry Molly, a red-faced George, and a stunned Cate alone in the kitchen.

Molly's wrath had been short-lived when she found out the reasons behind Cate's staying, until George let it slip that he had only known her for a couple of weeks, and that she was the girl he had been kissing on the front page. She had, at one point, burst into tears, and Cate, with an insight she didn't know she possessed, conjured up a teapot and teacups, and made Molly sit at the table and calm down.

She found herself admitting that she had feelings for George, something that still made her blush, and George had told his mother that she was probably the nicest girl he had ever met, and that she had made him happy for the first time in a long time.

When they arrived, brushing soot from their clothing, Cate deflated suddenly, sinking onto the sofa. George joined her.

"Not exactly the perfect end to the night," he said, sighing.

Cate smiled tiredly, closing her eyes. "At least you know she cares." She leaned sideways, resting her head on his shoulder.

After a long pause, George cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, you don't have to go to your...um...you can stay with me, tonight. If you like."

Cate opened her eyes and looked at him, face serious. "What exactly do you expect me to do tonight, George?"

He smiled quickly, and the words came out in a rush. "Nothing, nothing!" He blushed. "I just liked waking up with someone," he mumbled, blushing.

Cate smirked. "Let me get changed. I'll be right in." Standing, she paused at the doorway to her bedroom. "I liked waking up with you, too, George."

~*~

The days seemed to drag on over the next two weeks, but the nights more than made up for it. She had lunch with Hermione and Ginny, was yelled at by her boss a few times, and met her brother Nathan for lunch in the park on her day off. She and Audrey had shopped for hours, and she'd found a kindred soul; they hadn't left the bookstore until they'd each found at least a dozen titles to read. George was at the shop all day, every day, often not coming back to the flat until well after nightfall.

The Aurors, so Harry said, were nearly done. There had been several other curses found, but no one else had been injured; her house-elf had cleaned behind the teams, and made sure everything was in order. They were checking her mail for curses as well, and Harry had intercepted one written in what looked like pencil, but which turned out to be silver ink. He had told her in private that someone must know, and to think of anyone, but she had no idea; most of her cousins didn't even know.

December approached, and so did the full moon. Cate arranged to stay at her parents the night of, and told George that she would be gone. He had seemed surprised, but not unopposed; it seemed that Lee had invited him out that night, anyway, and he hadn't been sure if he would go or not. Now he could go without feeling guilty. She began to feel that he never wanted her to leave; she had long since acknowledged that she would miss him when she had to go back to her apartment, though she would like a little privacy, perhaps, once again.

He still didn't know her secret, and she wanted it to stay that way.