Fury

Fury

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Howling

Cate had never seen her grandmother look so frail. She laid on stretch of white sheets, in the finest fabrics, of course, her silver hair tied back from her face, which was pale and drawn. Her eyes were closed, and one hand, thinner than Cate remembered, rested on top of the coverlet. She reached back for George, gripping his hand tightly, and walked over to her parents, who were sitting on chairs near the foot of the bed.

Cate felt tears prickle in her eyes as her father stood, his face a mix of hope and exhaustion. His voice was so warm and familiar as he said, "Catie?"

She nodded, and rushed into his outstretched arms. She buried her face in his chest and let the tears fall. She hadn't realized until this moment how much she missed her father. He was kissing the top of her head, mumbling something under his breath that she couldn't quite make out.

When they pulled apart, her mother was there, her pale, perfect face a mirror of her husband's. For the first time since her brother's death, her mother pulled her into a hug, without flinching, and just held her close.

Cate could have died happy at that moment, but there was something more important. "What happened to Grandmother?"

Hiero was too choked up to speak, so her mother did, her dispassionate words belying the anxiety on her face. "She's been sick for a few weeks now. We've had the healers in, of course, but they weren't able to do much. She's just too old, and if she doesn't recover on her own... There's just nothing they can do. I think..." She looked at her hands, where one of the nails was chipped. "I think she was waiting for you to be here. She knew, somehow."

Cate turned blindly back to George, who was just there, a solid presence, and closed her eyes. "Did they... Do you know how long?" Her voice was rough, low, full of unshed tears.

Hiero shook his head. "No. They didn't say." He swallowed. "She'd want to see you, but this is the first time she's been able to sleep longer than an hour. We can come back, if you would like." He glanced at her fingers, interlaced with George's. "I think perhaps there are some things to talk about."

Cate nodded, then took George to her grandmother's side while her parents left the room. She stared down at the woman who had ruled their family for her entire life, who had survived two wars, the death of her husband, sons, and grandchildren, and felt her heart breaking.

She leaned back into George, and he held her up, his arms around her waist, not saying a word. She closed her eyes, soaking in his strength, before leaning down and kissing her grandmother on the forehead, gently, whispering, "I love you."

They left the room.

~*~

She and George found her parents in a small sitting room near the bedroom where her grandmother lay dying. It was one rarely used by the rest of the family; it was a part of the manor that her grandmother had commandeered for her own purposes years ago, and it showed. There were no cobwebs, no dust - the house-elves would have banged their ears in the doors if any dirt were to be found anywhere in the manor - but there was an empty, impersonal feel to the room, with its tasteful silver wallpaper of fluttering butterflies and waving flowers, its cream sofas and white marble tables. It was nothing like her grandmother; in fact, it was too like her mother.

Serenity and Hierophant sat near on another on the largest sofa, the skirts of her somber robes just touching the leg of his trousers. Her mother sat perfectly straight, and though her face showed lines of tiredness and worry, she seemed almost composed. Her father, on the other hand, looked simply ragged, with his too-long hair and beard that looked to be about four days overdue for a shave. His robes were clean and newly changed; his mother would have been extremely annoyed if he showed up in her sickroom dirty, Cate thought.

She and George took the loveseat opposite the sofa, their fingers still intertwined, and waited.

Serenity glanced briefly at her husband before giving him up as a lost cause. "I see that there have been some developments," she said, her voice distant and exhausted.

Cate nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. "We're married."

Serenity blinked, and the aura of calm shattered. She sank back into the sofa, and reached for Hiero. "You've got to be bloody kidding," she stammered.

Cate went mute from the shock. She'd never once, in her entire life, heard her mother swear. George squeezed her hand, and she nodded. "No. We've been married two days now. We got married in America."

Serenity's lips thinned and she bit back a sharp retort. Hiero patted his wife's hand and leaned forward, his face pale. "And you were in America because..." He left the statement open to either of them, seeming lost.

George scowled. "I told you. I sent you letter after letter, but I received no reply. Harry and Ron, my brothers, they're Aurors, and they had knowledge of death threats against Cate and those she loves. She ran away because I was attacked. We've had words about it, and I love her, so we got married before we arrived in England. There were witnesses," he added, as if daring them to deny it.

Cate turned to her husband and gave him a look that told him to let her handle things. "Mother, Dad, I'm sorry to drop this on you now, but we had no idea... If I'd known about Grandmother... Well, suffice it to say I would have written. I'd have come back. Anything."

George's face was set with fierce determination. "As if they'd have given a damn," he muttered.

Cate froze, not realizing that her face was set with the same expression of shock as her mother's.

Hiero found his voice. "I beg your pardon?"

George glared at them, his hand holding hers so tightly that she could barely feel the tips of her fingers. "You know exactly what I mean. You didn't once ask how the search went, though I stopped sending letters after receiving nothing but silence for months. I tried everything but calling you out a duel, and you still showed no sign that you missed your daughter. I don't even know why we're bloody here! You don't give a damn what happens to her!"

Hiero's face contorted into a snarl. "Get out," he hissed through his teeth. "Catie, get him out of here."

Serenity launched herself to her feet and practically ran out of the room. Cate thought she saw a tear.

"Dad, I..." she stammered, her voice catching.

Hiero didn't even look at her. "You can stay. You are family. But if this...person...is not out of this room, indeed, out of this house in the next two minutes, he will be dead! I don't care if you love him or not!"

He followed his wife, gripping his wand in a bloodless hand.

Cate spun on George, whose face was white with shock and anger. "How could you? My grandmother is dying down the hall, and you choose now to pick a fight?" She shook her head and glanced at the door, hearing voices in the distance. "I'll meet you at home. I want to speak to my grandmother, and I can't do that if you and my parents are fighting."

George clenched his jaw. "Fine. But I'm not apologizing. What they did to you..."

Cate held up a hand. "Later, George. Please. I'll talk to you later. For now, just go."

~*~

She watched George Floo out of the third floor fireplace, and then tracked her parents down. Her mother was in her favorite room - light green, open room, on a corner, with two walls full of windows and utterly full of flowers, both real and painted. Her father stood over her mother, who was seated in a large chair facing the pond, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. Cate hesitated to interrupt, but her father spoke before she could.

"Nathan's up visiting your grandmother."

She didn't need to hear anything else, and neither glanced at her as she left the room, never having spoken a word.

~*~

She had always, for her entire life, felt safe around Nathan. He was her big brother, her rock, and the one that had always supported her in everything.

So when she saw him sitting in a chair next to her grandmother's bed, she didn't hesitate. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as if the world depended on it. After a brief hesitation, where he collected his thoughts, he wrapped his arms around her middle and squeezed.

"Missed you, little sister," he muttered into her hair.

"Missed you more, big brother," she answered, trying to control the tears that threatened to fall. She was happy, damn it, and didn't need any more awkwardness.

He finally pulled away, holding her out at arms length and looking her over. Satisfied, he nodded. "Not bad." He winked, grinning. "Not good, either."

She punched his arm, forgetting, just for a moment, where they were. They both instantly sobered when their grandmother rolled slightly, wheezing in her sleep.

Cate pulled up a matching chair and settled into it, and they both watched Elspeth sleep for a moment. Nathan, as usual, broke the silence.

"So, you're back."

Cate nodded. "Yep."

"With a bit of an American accent." His voice held a hint of amusement.

"Yep, though I hadn't really noticed until I arrived." She grinned, showing her teeth.

Nathan didn't look at her. "And married, I hear."

"Yep." He'd asked it - stated, really - so casually that she almost hadn't noticed how tense he was. "You have a problem with that?"

Nathan shrugged. "Not if you don't. At least, I think he's a good guy, and you did run away from him once, but yeah, if you're happy, I am."

Cate sucked in a deep breath. "Good, because I'm very happy. And I love him. And we're going to have lots of babies together, and live in a castle, and be happily ever after."

Nathan scowled. "Leave that kind of talk for your girlfriends. I'm just as happy to think of you being celibate and not touching each other." He paused. "In fact, let's pretend, for the rest of our lives, that you are as celibate and virginal as ever."

Cate raised an eyebrow. "Just because I wasn't married to him before..."

Nathan held up a hand, leaning forward. "Grandmother?"

Elspeth was watching the two of them talk with watery eyes, a small smile on her pale face. "Catherine. You're here."

Cate nearly leapt out of the chair and onto the bed. "I...I...I'm so sorry..."

Elspeth waved the apology away. "There is nothing to forgive. I'm just so pleased that I get to see you again."

Nathan glanced at his sister. "She got married without us."

Elspeth shrugged slightly. "At least I got to meet the young man before I die. I'm assuming its George, right? That Weasley boy? He was very nice. A bit slow, perhaps, but very nice."

Cate swallowed back her instinctual reply, and simply nodded, while Nathan sniggered into his hands.

Elspeth leaned toward her granddaughter, and gripped her hand tightly between her two heavily veined and thin hands. "I am so proud of you. I know I don't say it enough, but I am. I am proud of you both, and I love you. Now go, fetch your father. Both of you."

They stood together, almost as one, and made it to the door. Something stopped Cate, and she put a hand on Nathan's shoulder. Something made her say, "I love you too, Grandmother." She heard Nathan's stuttering as well, and then the siblings walked down the hall to tell Hiero that his mother was awake.

Hiero sat in the silver sitting room with his arm around Serenity's shoulder. They looked tired, completely worn out, but looked up in unison as their two children walked through the door.

Nathan gave them a tight smile, stopping just inside the room. "She wants you, Dad."

Hiero got to his feet and raced out of the room, Serenity calmly making her way at his heels. Cate sank into one of the comfortable chairs and put a hand over her eyes. Nathan didn't move. "I suppose you know, but later this week is the full moon."

Cate nodded. "Yeah, I knew, but thanks for the reminder."

Nathan nodded, staring at his feet. "Yeah."

There was a strangled howl from the direction of their grandmother's room. Nathan glanced down the hall, but made no move. Cate felt the tears rising, and let them.

~*~

Cate Flooed home nearly two hours later. She felt drained, physically and emotionally.

Hiero had walked into his mother's room to find her peacefully resting, her hands folded neatly and a small smile on her lips. It had taken a few seconds for him to realize that she wasn't breathing.

Serenity had kept her husband together, and had taken it upon herself to notify the children, and the rest of the family, about Elspeth's passing. Before twenty minutes had gone by, the Manor was full, of aunts, uncles, cousins, and, for some reason, small animals. They had been overjoyed to see Cate safe, and heartbroken at Elspeth's death. It had been all Cate could do to extract herself from the situation, but she had done it. She had never been one to grieve in public, and she wanted George.

She collapsed into one of the chairs by the fireplace and let the reality hit her. Her grandmother was gone. She had been there for the entirety of Cate's life, a larger-than-life figure of power and correctness. And suddenly, she wasn't there anymore.

She sobbed, sobs wracking her chest, and buried her face in her hands. She was shaking, wanting the beast inside of her to tear its way free so that she didn't have to feel the pain.

The blast of the stunner was a welcome oblivion.