Fury

Fury

Chapter Twenty-Four

Something Deep Inside

Cate struggled awake, her eyelids heavy and little tingles running up her fingers and arms. She shook her head, trying to clear the fog.

"Cate!"

Someone was whispering, their voice harsh. She couldn't focus on the words; her eyes wouldn't even open yet.

"Cate! Come on, love, wake up!"

She forced her eyes to open and found herself staring at a blank stretch of pale wall. She blinked slowly and felt her head drop to her chest. Jerking it upright, she focused on the rough block wall, willing herself to stay awake.

"Cate!" The whisper sounded closer, and much happier.

She twisted to the side, groaning as something dug into her hips and hands. She looked down. It took a moment to realize that there were ropes holding her to a chair. They bound her chest and arms, and wrapped down her legs; the only thing she could move was her head, and that felt heavy and awkward. Her eyes focused on the ground, tight packed dirt

She turned her head only this time, trying to find the source of the whisper. "Hello?" Her voice cracked, and she realized that she was thirsty.

"Damn it, Cate, I'm right here! Look at me!"

She groaned in response and turned her head. "What?"

George was looking at her, worry etched in every line of his face. A thin cut dripped blood down the side of his cheek, soaking into the collar of his maroon robes. He must have gone to work. And where that thought had come from, she had no idea.

"George?" she mumbled, her tongue feeling two sizes too large.

"Cate! Thank Merlin! Are you alright?" His eyes lost some of their panic.

She tried to shrug. "I don't...are you...where are we?"

George grunted. "No idea. But we've been here awhile. And our wands are gone."

Cate stared at him. "Wands?"

George frowned. "Did they give you something?"

Cate blinked slowly. "Something..." Her voice was dazed.

There was the sound of metal scraping against concrete. George tried to look behind them, but he couldn't move his body.

"Well, isn't this sweet? Move him." It was a woman's voice, low and silky, with a hidden malice.

Cate watched dazedly as a brute of a man picked George up with his chair and took him out of her line of sight. George struggled, shouting, but the woman shot a spell at him and he slumped. Soon, he was gone.

Cate tried to focus, but the scrape of metal distracted her. She was left staring at the wall.

The woman's voice purred in the sudden silence. "Hello, Catherine. My, but you've been a naughty girl." Cate tried to turn, but her body wasn't responding the way it should. A hand appeared on her shoulder, sliding across her back. "A bad dog." The last was said in a near whisper, almost seductive.

Cate frowned. "Who are you?"

The woman came into her view, and Cate gasped. "I...I know you." The woman was tall, solidly built, and handsome, in a square way. She had graying dark hair, and flat black eyes that held more than their share of madness.

The other woman gave her a bitter grin. "I should think so. It is your fault, after all, that my daughter is dead."

~*~

Cate would have rocked back on her heels if she had been standing, but there was nothing for it. "I...your daughter?" There was a heavy fog over her mind, and she had to fight through it to get the words out.

The woman's grin faded into a snarl. "Yes, you stupid girl. My daughter. My beautiful girl, who you killed. Bad dog." She lashed out suddenly, slapping Cate hard. "If not for you, none of this would have happened. My daughter would be alive if not for you."

Cate blinked away the fog "I don't know...what...her name..."

The woman sneered. "My daughter's name is Sukie Lawrence. You were classmates. Do you remember now?"

Cate felt the blood drain from her face. "Sukie?"

The woman nodded, her back straightening. "Ah, so you remember her? I'm so pleased." She hissed the words, and the sarcasm was evident. She kicked the chair, knocking it over.

Cate grunted as she hit the ground. "What did I ever do to you?"

The woman narrowed her eyes. "You killed my daughter!" she snarled, grabbing the front of Cate's shirt and pulling her up. "And I'm going to destroy your whole life, just as you've destroyed mine."

She grabbed her wand out of her pocket and whispered a spell full of malice. The last thing Cate saw was the woman's eyes, black with hate.

~*~

She woke suddenly this time, with none of the haziness that had accompanied her last waking. She remembered everything as well, including the wand tip shaking at her nose and the woman, Sukie's mother, staring at her with malice and madness in every line of her face.

She struggled, but her hands and feet were completely bound; she could only move her head, and that only just. The slab of stone - she knew it was stone, because it was freezing on her back - molded to her every movement, and even tightened slightly. She wanted to call out, but her voice was gone.

She remembered Sukie, a Ravenclaw in her year that had been very smart, very kind, and just about as popular as Ginny Weasley. In that last, horrible year, she and Sukie had become, if not close friends, as least more than passing acquaintances. Sukie had been pretty, of course, with her mother's dark eyes and curly light brown hair that she said she'd inherited from her father. Cate was the taller of the two, and yet Sukie was more outspoken, often getting into arguments to defend others. Sukie had even been on the Quidditch team, though she'd been a backup Chaser. Some of the other Ravenclaws whispered that she should have been a Gryffindor, and it wasn't a compliment.

She remembered that horrible day when Sukie died, because it was the day her life had been changed forever.

Cate was dragged out of class by that hideous Carrow woman who had the audacity to call herself a teacher. She'd been in Potions, which Sukie hadn't taken, and had been surprised to see the other girl when the Carrow woman threw her in one of the dungeons. Sukie was disheveled, her curls falling out of their ponytail. The two girls had huddled near each other, shivering as the temperature dropped. Sukie had smiled up at her, and it was a resigned smile.

"What'd you do?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Cate frowned. "Nothing. At least, I don't think I did anything. What'd you do?"

Sukie shrugged. "I stopped that brute from torturing a first year girl. A Hufflepuff, not that it matters. Apparently, it was the last straw, whatever that means."

Cate blinked. "Oh."

And there was really nothing else to say. Potions had been her second class of the day, so when lunch passed, they were looking hopefully out of the door, thinking that this alone must have been their punishment. But then hours passed - Sukie had a watch, even if their wands had been taken away - and it was just past dinner. The sun was setting, and both girls were freezing.

Suddenly, the door was pulled open. The Carrows, beastly things, walked in with wands drawn, grinning madly at the girls. Alecto, the woman, rubbed her teeth with her tongue, and then said, with a terrifying grin, "Up you get."

They were forced along the corridor until they came upon the great doors that led out onto the lawns. The students were lined up along the corridors, mostly confused. Cate saw her brother Leo being restrained by several of his classmates.

They were halted by the doors, and the man, Amycus, spoke up to the student body, barely repressing a giggle. "This is what will happen when you disobey orders."

Alecto shot a Cruciatus spell at Sukie, who fell to the ground, screaming. Cate shivered next to her, trying to look. Leo called out to her, and was struck down by one of the "hall monitors", a fellow student who had proven adept at the Unforgivables.

Sukie screamed for long minutes before Alecto let up, giggling all the while. Amycus sneered. "And this is what will happen when your family disobeys."

He pointed his wand at Cate, who closed her eyes, waiting for the pain. When it didn't come, she blinked rapidly. Amycus was staring at her, his piggish little eyes gleeful. "March."

The doors opened, and he marched her outside, with Leo screaming in the background.

Alecto led the rest of the students down the grass behind both Cate and Sukie, stopping when they came to the edge of the Forest, where two tall trees stood slightly away from the rest of the woods, heavy manacles hanging from two low branches. Alecto giggled as her brother forced first Cate, and then Sukie, into the chains.

None of the other professors were there. She didn't know what they could have done if they had been.

Alecto began the march back up the hill, but before he left, Amycus, in a voice that would carry over the student body, said, "Full moon tonight. Fenrir's going to be so happy."

Leo struggled to get back, before Amycus stunned him. Cate whimpered, and Sukie began to cry.

The full moon rose only an hour later, and not long after that, Cate heard shuffling in the trees. She tried to turn around, but the manacles prevented that. Sukie, too, tried to see, but there was nothing either of them could do, wandless and alone. Cate nearly screamed when she felt the cold, wet nose against the back of her knee, and did when teeth clamped onto her calf, ripping into the flesh and sinking deeply. The wolf - and it had to be a werewolf - bit her legs a few more times, and then grabbed onto her hip, shaking fiercely. She screamed and cried, and tried to free herself. She could feel the blood dripping down her legs, legs that wouldn't hold her anymore. She tried to sink to the ground, but only succeeded in pulling on her arms, now the sole support of her body.

The wolf snuffled in her hair, and licked a tear off her face. She could smell something on his breath, and then he bit her shoulder. She screamed again, hoarsely, and then he shook his head again, and she sank into the oblivion of unconsciousness as pain ripped through her entire body.

She'd awoken slowly the next morning. She couldn't feel her hands anymore, and there wasn't a part of her body that didn't ache and burn with pain. She could feel gentle hands at the manacles, and muttered curses. She opened her eyes, and found herself staring at the kind, ragged face of Madam Pomfrey. She blinked stupidly at the woman, who patted her face gently.

"Oh, my poor child," the matron said, her eyes filling with tears. "Let's get you to the infirmary, and I'll see what I can do."

Cate blinked again. "Sukie?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes filled with tears. "I'm afraid Miss Lawrence...well, let's get you up, dear."

Cate was released from the manacles and slumped into the matron's waiting arms. As she was led to the hovering gurney, she saw Sukie.

Or rather, what was left of her.

She felt the bile rise in the back of her throat and choked back a sob. Madam Pomfrey patted her gently on the back. "It's alright dear. It's not your fault. Let's get you up to the castle now, that's a love."

~*~

Cate tried to blink back tears as memories of that terrible day overwhelmed her. She couldn't wipe them away, as her hands were bound, but for once she wasn't ashamed of the hot, wet tears that slid down her face. Sukie had been a friend, and she'd died a horrible, unnecessary death. Why shouldn't she cry?

"So beasts have feelings, do they? Or are you just sorry to be here?"

The woman's voice...Sukie's mother. She remembered Sukie talking about her family. She'd been a pureblood as well, though an only child; her father had died when they were in their third year, and Sukie's mother had taken it rather hard. Obviously. And now, with Sukie gone...

Cate struggled to find her voice. "Not a beast." She felt her lips move, but no sound came out.

The woman leaned over. "Of course you are. A hideous beast that should be put down. But I want everyone, even that little family of yours, to know that, so I've got a job for you. Been planning this for months, now. Years. Poetic justice, as they say. They'll put you down like the bad dog you are, and your family will be shamed, and so will the family of that poor, misguided boy that married you. He'll see, soon, what a terrible creature you are. He'll know. And he'll hate you. Might even put you down himself." She released a cackle that made the hairs on the back of Cate's neck rise. "But first..." She leaned over, and spittle clung to the side of her mouth.

She pointed her wand at Cate's face, and Cate felt the muscles freeze. She flinched when the woman ran a hand down her face. "And now, for my little pet here..."

She pulled out a tiny silver spider, perfect in every detail. Cate tried to shriek when it shook itself and moved, but her voice was still gone. The woman pulled open Cate's mouth, not trying to be gentle, and whispered to the little spider, in a lover's tone, "Be good, my pet. Do as I bid you, and be good."

The spider wriggled a little, and she dropped it into Cate's mouth, closing it behind the little creature. Cate's eyes widened as the woman forced her to swallow, and screamed bloody murder in her head. She stared at the woman as the spider crawled down her throat, tickling, and down into her belly. She could feel it settle, pinching at the inner walls, before cutting. Cate saw black spots as the pain increased, and then burning. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she tried to sink into oblivion, but the woman wouldn't let her.

She slapped Cate hard, and said, "Now, that little beauty was my insurance policy. My plan is perfect, and yet, things, as they say, will happen."

She released Cate from her bonds, but she couldn't move quite yet. "You will perform one task for me, and one only. You will complete it by Friday. If this is not done, I will kill your so-called husband, and leave his body for his family to find. And when you have heard of his death, I will activate my little pet, who will eat away at whatever he can find, and you will die a slow, agonizing death. If you disobey any of my instructions, or try to tell anyone, or say anything I do not like, and I will know, he will do things that cause pain, but no irreparable harm. When your task is done, he will deactivate, and not harm you." She grinned maliciously. "Oh, but I had forgotten. He is made of silver. You only have days either way, then. At least this way, your George," she sneered the name, "will live."

Cate nodded, gasping, as the woman released the spell holding her silent. Her voice was rough and pained. "What do you want me to do?"

The woman stared at her, madness buried now beneath cunning. "You will kill Harry Potter."

Cate gasped, blinking. "No!" she whispered, her hands going to her throat.

The woman tilted her head, birdlike. "You will kill Harry Potter, on Friday, in the Ministry of Magic. With this."

She held out her hand. A thin knife, long and slender and beautiful, with a heavy ruby in the hilt, lay across her palm, glittering with deadly sharpness.

Cate stared at it, shaking her head.

The woman grinned, bearing her teeth. "You will do this, or George will die."