Fury

Fury

Chapter Ten

Rescue from an Unexpected Source

Cate waited at the kitchen table as the man- his name, he revealed, was Alistair Keith, but if she could just please call him Al?- prepared a large, hearty breakfast for her, talking all the while of nothing, and certainly not asking questions.

Al had, at her request, sent his giant owl, Egil, to George, with a note about her whereabouts, and a plea to come to get her. When she had asked Al where they were, he hadn't batted an eyelash before saying, in a gruff voice, that they were in the Outer Hebrides, and then had given her exact coordinates. She had no one else to owl; her father surely hated her, and her brother, while a lovely human being, wasn't the most helpful. Her grandmother was in France for two more weeks, and none of her aunts or uncles knew what she was.

It was only after she had sent the note that she realized that George didn't know, either. She would have given anything to take it back, then.

In the meantime, Al set a plate piled with ham and eggs in front of her, ordering her, in his gruff, Scottish voice, to dig in.

Al was surprisingly helpful for a man who had had a girl show up on his doorstep, far too early, naked, and covered with blood. He said he had seen stranger things, and she almost believed him. He asked her who was coming to get her, and how she had gotten there, but she gave as little as possible, and he soon changed the subject to his rocky garden, and pests. They were nearly finished with the pan of eggs when Egil flew through the window, uttering a low hoot.

Al tipped the rest of the eggs in his dish, and Cate straightened. George was coming.

Sure enough, there was a brisk knock on the door only a few minutes later, and George's voice calling out. Al opened the door, and she saw George take a step back before seeing her.

"Cate!"

He pushed past Al- no mean feat- and rushed to her side. She suddenly realized what a sight she must be, covered in blood and wearing a man's shirt that reached past her knees. Regardless, she threw her arms around George and felt immeasurably better.

George's voice, muted, came above her head. "If you've hurt her, I swear..."

Al's low rumble of a laugh echoed in the tiny cottage. "Not I, no. Found the lass like that this morning on my doorstep. Figured she needed help."

George gripped her tighter. "Then thank you. I'll take her home now."

Cate pushed him away gently. "Thanks for coming, George."

He looked down at her quickly. "You knew I would."

She nodded noncommittally, then turned to Al. "Thank you for your hospitality. And the shirt. I'll return it as soon as I can."

The big man blushed. "No problem, lass. And don't worry about the shirt. Keep it."

Cate blushed herself, mumbled thanks, and then let George lead her outside.

When the bright yellow door had closed behind her, he murmured, "Are you really alright?"

Cate shook her head. "George, there's a body..."

He blew out a heavy breath. "I thought...is that why..."

She shivered, not answering the questions he couldn't ask. "It's over here."

She gripped his hand tightly, shaking the closer they got to the body of the man she had killed. As soon as they were close enough, George cursed, not looking at her. She stared at the ground, and so didn't seen his face turn white and clammy.

"Merlin, Cate, what happened?"

She flinched. "I...I woke up...I wasn't supposed to be here, you see, I was supposed to be near the Manor...I woke up, and I was here, and he was there, and I don't know what happened, because I'm a werewolf, and the bloody potion didn't work like its supposed to..."

She stopped as George turned away. "You don't remember killing him?"

Cate shook her head, tears welling up. "No, but I must have...the teeth marks..."

He made a gagging sound. "Don't say that!"

She turned back to the bloody mass on the ground, and said, in a small voice, "I need your help."

There was a long pause. "And here I thought that maybe you went out with your cousins, got a bit drunk, and forgot where you Apparated to. Maybe did something stupid, like get married. I never... I don't know if I can..."

She rushed forward and grabbed him. "I don't know what to do! Tell me what to do! Please, George! I need you! There's no one else I can trust with this!"

His eyes were bleak, but determined, his voice expressionless. "Fine. But you do what I tell you, alright?"

She nodded.

~*~

They Apparated back to his flat, and Cate collapsed bonelessly on the floor, exhausted. George stared helplessly at her before turning towards the fireplace and grabbing a handful of Floo powder.

Cate barely heard the name (Harry Potter!), or the conversation, but soon his arm was under hers, and he was leading her to the bathroom. Once inside, he stripped off the heavy shirt that Al had given her and let it hit the floor. Turning on the water, he stripped as well, and then pulled them both in the shower.

It could have been sensual, but it wasn't. He scrubbed the blood with no comments, making sure there wasn't anything left on her, flinching every time he had to touch one of the scars that marked her body. Soon, he was washing her face, and she didn't know whether it was shower water or tears that ran down her face, but she was in his arms, crying.

He led her into his room, grabbing a robe and a change of clothes for her before dressing himself. Then he tucked her into his bed, leaving her black hair unbrushed and loose around her face. Kissing her forehead, he dragged the curtains closed and left her alone. She was asleep in seconds.

~*~

She woke refreshed to the sound of raised voices in the other room. She wore the clothes George had given her- a bright pink top and soft black pants- with the robe- brilliant red with glowing salamanders crawling up the sleeves- over the top. Her hair was a mess, and there were rings under her eyes, but there were no longer streaks of blood everywhere.

She crept to the door, opening it a crack to see George, wand drawn, facing down Harry and Ron, who also had their wands out, and another man, who was unfamiliar; all three were in maroon robes.

"She as much as confessed, George!" Harry's voice had the tired sound of someone repeating themselves once too often.

"I don't care what you think she said, Harry, but I know her! She wouldn't do that!" George's voice was angry; she could almost feel the fury pouring off of him.

Ron's voice was just as angry, and his ears, like George's face, were bright red. "You don't know what she's capable of, George. She wasn't herself last night! I like her, too, but you have to let us do our jobs!"

Cate had heard enough. Pushing open the door, she watched with detachment as the stranger drew his wand. "George, put your wand down. I'll go with them."

He didn't look at her. "You don't know what they said about you!"

Cate smiled at Harry, who didn't smile back. "They said I was a werewolf, and that I killed that man last night."

George shook his head. "I don't believe it."

She walked towards him, aware of the wand on her. "Which part? I told you what happened last night; I told you what I am. They'd have to be stupid to doubt that I could do it, and you could hardly accuse them of being stupid."

George snorted. "Like bloody hell I can't."

She put her hand on his arm. "George, please."

He looked down at her, his eyes angry and red and sad, all at once. "Don't make me let them take you."

She smiled gently. "Don't make them hurt you. Please. Let me go." Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to grin cheekily. "Visit me? Conjugal visits are allowed, right?"

He choked back something akin to a laugh. "Don't...don't say that. You didn't do anything wrong. I know you, and you wouldn't do that."

She tried to keep the brightness in her voice. "Then they will let me go, and Harry and Ron will apologize for being wrong and drawing their wands on you. But you have to put your wand down first and let me go."

He nodded and lowered his wand, grabbing her in a bear hug. He buried his face in her hair, and she held him as tightly as she could. He mumbled something that she couldn't hear.

Harry tapped her shoulder. "Cate, I'm sorry." He stood taller, his wand held loosely but competently in his hand. "Catherine Moon, I am arresting you under suspicion of being an unregistered werewolf and for the murder of an as yet unidentified person. Place your hands in front of you, please, and surrender your wand."

Cate let George go, kissing him on the cheek. "My wand is at the Manor. It...it should be with my clothes from yesterday."

Harry nodded, tapping her hands. Manacles appeared, heavy and tight. "Moretti, search her."

The stranger, a gleam in his eye, patted her down roughly. Ron's "Oi!" was ignored; Moretti seemed disappointed as he said, "She's clean."

Harry sighed, and seemed years older. "George, when I know something, I'll let you know as soon as possible."

George nodded, face haggard.

And then Ron grabbed her arm, and she was Apparated away. The last thing she saw was George's anguished eyes and his wand falling to the floor from nerveless fingers.

~*~

She didn't know how long she sat there, in that little room that was neither cell nor waiting room. The room itself was square, and a plain, boring gray, with a metal table and two chairs attached to the floor. For a brief moment, she wondered what would happen if someone was too...big...to fit in the chairs, and giggled, but remembered where she was and squashed the errant giddy thought.

She tapped her fingers on the metal of the table top, humming along to what she thought might be the latest Weird Sisters tune; she couldn't really remember the words to the song. Waiting was driving her crazy. When the song was done playing in her head, she began to pick at her nails; she found a little dried blood under the nails that George had missed, and in a frenzy began to dig it out. She was on her third nail when there was a sound at the door.

She jumped, making the chair squeak, and blushed brilliant red as the door opened. Harry Potter- as the Harry Potter, Auror Extraordinaire- entered, looking stern, followed by Ron and a woman she didn't recognize. Harry and Ron were both sober looking, though Ron gave her a small, tight smile, but the woman had a stern, unforgiving face, with a gleam in her eye that said that she was either extremely pleased with herself or slightly insane.

Harry sat in the opposite chair, and the woman conjured a plain, utilitarian chair from nothing and sat slightly behind him, crossing her legs and looking prim. Ron leaned against the door casually, but Cate wasn't fooled; they thought she was dangerous. Well, to be honest, she was, but that time had passed when the moon went down and the sun came up. Now, she was little old Cate Moon, apothecary assistant and daughter of a Pureblood family- which might not exactly help her now, come to think of it.

Harry placed a roll of parchment on the table, along with a quill, and tapped it with his wand. "My name is Harry Potter, Auror in charge of the investigation. I am joined in this inquiry by Ronald Weasley, Auror, and Demetria Brooke, liaison from the Werewolf Services Office. This is the interview of Catherine Moon. The time is eighteen eleven, and this interview is being recorded. Please state your name for the record."

It took Cate a second to realize that he was talking to her. "Oh, sorry. My name is Cate."

Harry smiled. "Full name, please."

Cate blinked. "Right. Catherine Elizabeth Moon."

Harry nodded, watching the quill as it sped across the paper. "Birth date?"

Cate watched the quill as well, watched it pause after writing her name, hovering over the paper. "October 22^nd, 1981."

"Age?"

Cate sighed. "Twenty-three."

Harry opened his mouth for another question, but the woman, Demetria Brooke, interrupted. "How long have you been an unregistered werewolf, and were you aware that it is a crime to withhold this information from the Ministry?"

Cate stared at her for a second, mouth wide, before she clamped it shut. Harry glared at the woman. "Ignore that question, Miss Moon. How long have you been a werewolf?"

Cate glanced at the woman, whose mouth was pursed into a narrow line and whose muddy brown eyes were full of anger. "I've been a werewolf since I was sixteen."

Ron's mouth opened and closed, but he didn't say anything. Harry sighed. "What were the circumstances surrounding your biting?"

Cate frowned. "I thought this was an interview about the man I...the man I found."

Harry nodded. "It is, but we need to know more about you. For the record." He didn't add anything, and the woman, Demetria, simply looked smug.

Cate nodded. "Fine. I was at Hogwarts during the Siege, when Death Eaters held the school."

Demetria interrupted. "That has never been fully substantiated."

Harry stared at her, stunned. "Yes, it has. I have given testimony, as well as the other students and teachers at the school. But that is neither here nor there. Continue."

Cate watched Demetria's face as she continued. "My parents didn't support You-Know-Who, even though they were wealthy Purebloods. My family always supported Albus Dumbledore, even if wasn't publicly acknowledged. When my father refused to join You-Know-Who, an order was sent to Hogwarts. Either one of my brothers was to be set outside during the full moon, or I was. It wasn't the first time this had happened. Fenrir Greyback was expert at changing children. I don't know who chose me, but I can tell you it wasn't Greyback; he would have preferred my younger brother, Charles, who was eleven. I was chosen instead. I was placed outside, near the Forbidden Forest, and tied to a tree. No one knew but the Death Eater that had been given the order and the one that escorted me, if they weren't the same person."

Harry glanced up at her, confused. "You said brothers. I was under the impression that your older brother, Nathan, was in America during this time."

Cate nodded. "I had another brother, Leo. He died, later, in the Final Battle."

There was a moment of silence, where both Ron and Harry looked pained, and Demetria continued to look smug.

Cate sucked in a breath. "I was bitten, and the next month, I was changed for the first time. I was put in a dungeon under the school, along with a few others who had been changed, and we weren't released until the next day. My parents were told, and given the choice to either join You-Know-Who or lose another child. They didn't have to choose; the Final Battle took place a couple of weeks later. Leo died. I survived."

She paused, trying to regain control of herself. "I never registered because the Ministry was in huge disarray after the war, and by the time things were settled, I had been a werewolf for over a year. My father set up the refuge on our lands, and nothing ever went wrong. I moved on."

Demetria Brooke looked gleeful. "You have admitted to knowingly passing yourself off as a normal witch, endangering the population with your recklessness. Aurors, I demand you arrest her for this, immediately."

Ron leaned casually against the wall, and Harry grimaced. "Thank you, Miss Brooke. Your services are no longer required."

She stared at him, mouth dropped open in shock. "I beg your pardon?"

Harry raised a brow. "You are interfering with an open investigation. Please leave, before I have you escorted out. You will be apprised of the situation when the investigation is closed."

"Do you have any idea..." she snarled through her teeth.

Harry's entire body straightened, and he gathered authority around himself like a cloak. "Miss Brooke, you are not helping. Now leave the room before I have Auror Weasley escort you out of the division."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it. "If you say another word, Miss Brooke, other than 'Yes, sir,' I will have you escorted out of the building."

She stared at him for a second, muddy brown eyes radiating anger, before she hissed, "Yes, sir," and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. A ward, not visible before, flashed briefly before becoming invisible once again.

There was silence in the room, and the minutes ticked away.

Cate cleared her throat, breaking the silence, but Harry spoke before she could. "Miss Moon, the charges against you are serious. We have not been able to identify the body of the man you found, but there is evidence that he was killed by a werewolf. Where were you last night?"

Cate felt her heart sink. They thought she had killed that man. For all she knew, she had.