Fury

Fury

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Beginning in the End

George sat in the hard wooden chair with his head in his hands, tears streaming down his face. He didn't, couldn't believe that she was gone. After all they'd been through, after all she'd endured, he couldn't believe that it had ended like that.

~*~

He wasn't sure how Ron had found them, and at the moment, he didn't really care. His baby brother helped him to his feet and immediately placed him in the hands of two Medi-wizards in pale green robes. They'd gripped his arm tightly and Apparated away from the cave. George saw Ron lean over Cate, his wand held tightly, and heard him direct a couple of Aurors to search the cave. Then he was gone.

He'd been placed in one of the Spell-Injury wards, though he personally didn't think that he was injured seriously enough to require any treatment. The two Medi-wizards insisted, however, very forcefully, saying that they were under orders to Stun him if necessary. So he laid back on the bed, arms crossed over his chest, and let them do whatever it was they felt they had to do, but inside, he was seething.

They gave him a couple of potions, and he dutifully took them, gagging at the flavor of one and smacking his lips at the sickly-sweet ooze of the other. Soon, his eyelids were sagging, and he tried to rage at them for slipping him a sleeping draught. But the seductive power of the potion drew him in, and he could no longer fight it. So he slept. Dreamlessly.

He woke suddenly, jerking upright and throwing off the blankets. He stared wildly around the room, searching for something. Someone. His brain was slow to catch up, but then, with a howl, he remembered.

Cate.

He dropped his face into his hands and began to cry. It wasn't pretty, he thought, but he couldn't have held it in even if he had wanted to. When a hand was placed on his shoulder, he batted it away, but it returned, squeezing tightly.

"George?"

He recognized the voice, but that was impossible. He'd seen...

Looking up, he met the eyes of Harry Potter, very much alive.

~*~

George stared at his brother-in-law, for once at a loss for words.

Harry, however, seemed extremely happy to see him, and almost chatty. "You have no idea how glad I am that we found you, George, even under the circumstances. Are you alright?"

George's mouth moved, but he couldn't say anything other than, "You're dead."

Harry groaned. "Oh, bloody hell. Ron didn't tell you?"

George crossed his arms over his chest, glaring. "No. I saw him for about five minutes, and then they threatened to Stun me. I guess by the time he came around to visit, they'd drugged me."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "I was never dead. We had gotten wind of an assassination plot, but, to be honest, we never would have suspected Cate. I was well protected, and nothing she could have done, short of the Killing Curse, would have done it."

George shook his head, relaxing slightly. "And even then..."

Harry grinned. "So, we let the news leak that I was killed, hoping it would flush out who was controlling Cate. She'd let on, though I don't think she knew how much, that you were being held for her good behavior." He looked down at his hands, picking at a fingernail. "We didn't know that your kidnapper had done something to her. We didn't expect what happened."

George nearly launched himself at Harry. "You didn't expect it? But you thought something might happen? And now, because of you, she's..." He choked on a sob, overcome with rage.

Harry held up a hand; the other went to the bridge of his nose. "I know, and I'm sorry, but the Healers are doing all they can for her. It's not as bad as they thought, apparently, though there'll be some recovery time, apparently..."

George really did leap off the bed at Harry's words. His legs were shaking, and he was still dizzy from the sleeping potion. "What do you mean, recovery?"

Harry blinked. "Well, apparently they'd seen that spell before, and they were able to help. There was something inside of her that was interfering, though, and the last I checked, they were working on removing it..."

George grabbed Harry's collar, nearly lifting the smaller man off of the floor. "Where is she?" The words came out as half snarl, half desperate plea.

Harry loosened George's fingers. "I'll...I'll take you to her. You mean, you didn't know?"

George pushed Harry out of the door, not caring about his state of undress. "No, I didn't."

~*~
He followed Harry down the hall past the lift, to another corridor. George could have hit someone; she was on the same floor as he was, so close, and yet no one had told him... His addled mind, still slightly foggy from sleep, couldn't grasp that he had been asleep the entire time he'd been in the hospital, and no one could have told him if they'd wanted to.

They reached a door with a polished brass 17 on it, and Harry, with a second glance at George, swallowed and knocked. There was a hurried "Come in!" and Harry pushed the door opened, stepping to the side to let George in.

George nearly knocked aside a Healer as he rushed to Cate's side. His wife's face was pale, nearly as white as the sheets. Below her neck were horrific, half-healed burn scars. They'd bared her chest; the burns extended halfway down her arms and down to her hips, some areas more severe than others. She was surrounded by Healers casting spells, Healers dripping potions down her throat, Healers taking notes. He hardly noticed; all he cared about were the slight motions of her lips as she breathed.

One of the Healers, an older man with iron gray hair and dark eyes, pulled him away, just out of reach. "I'll assume that you're Mr. Weasley, as Auror Potter let you in. I'm Healer Aurochs."

George nodded, his eyes not leaving her. "Yes. What's wrong with my wife?" he asked, then took a deep breath. "Aside from the obvious."

Aurochs gave him a severe look. "Aside from the spell burns, which will heal nicely but still leave a significant scar, we found evidence of a magically animated creature inside of her; a silver spider, to be precise."

George blanched. "Yes," he whispered. "I saw..."

The Healer interrupted. "We have been attempting to remove it, but have been successful only in causing it to remain dormant. It has been eating away at the flesh of the patient's stomach, causing what I'm sure was extreme pain. If we knew more of how it had been created, what it's purpose was... As it is, even dormant, it causes some pain for your wife."

George nodded. "Yes. She's allergic to silver." He glanced up at Aurochs. "You know what she is?"

Aurochs nodded. "Yes, and that is working in her favor, we think. Some of the potions and spells we've done shouldn't have worked as fast as they have. We think that her condition is increasing the healing process, and if the spider itself is removed, we believe that she can only improve that much quicker."

George looked away from Cate and turned to Harry. "Have you caught the woman?"

Harry blinked at George, surprised to be addressed. "Woman?"

George nearly snarled in frustration. "The woman who started this, the woman who hurt Cate. Did you catch her?"

Harry pulled George to the side, away from the Healer. "Did you get a look at her? We weren't able to find any evidence of who she was or even where to begin looking."

George watched as a very young Healer dripped viscous red liquid into Cate's slightly open mouth. "I got more than a look. I know her name."

Harry clapped George on the shoulder. "This should be easy, then."

~*~

Even with the information that George had provided, it still took the Aurors three days to track down the woman. By that time, the papers had gotten wind of the fact that not only was Harry Potter not dead, but that he'd been involved in an elaborate plot to catch a murderer, and that the woman who had reportedly murdered him was lying near death, waiting for the true killer to be caught. The fact that the woman probably hadn't actually murdered anyone was lost on the intrepid reporters of the Daily Prophet, who were touting her as a madwoman out for revenge on someone who hadn't done her any harm.

As most of the reporters didn't even know the woman's name, and the ones that did were currently sworn to secrecy, the stories were a full of speculation, and read like short crime novels. One enterprising individual had thought to connect Cate to the woman, and had even dubbed her "The Werewolf Killer," but the name had sent the public the wrong connotations, and it had been quickly dropped.

Harry and Ron worked non-stop for those three days, but it was a junior Auror, new to the team, that finally discovered the whereabouts of Ms. Susannah K. Lawrence, nee Thompson. After catching a good look of her through a kitchen window, the Auror had called it in to his superiors. Within minutes, a strike force had broken down both doors, cast an Anti-Apparition Jinx, and apprehended Susannah Lawrence. She'd fought bravely, they said as they dragged her into St. Mungo's Secure Ward, but had been taken down by a carefully targeted Stunning Spell bounced off of a mirror by the Great Harry Potter.

Actually, and Harry told this to no one but Ron, he'd meant to hit the wall next to the mirror to distract her, and had missed. It had been a lucky shot. Ron's laughter was heard down the halls, and Harry swore him to secrecy. Within minutes, both of their wives knew, and agreed, for Harry's sake, not to tell anyone, lest his precious image be tarnished. Harry had blushed, both in slight anger and actual embarrassment, and Ginny promised to kiss it better. Ron promptly gagged, and Hermione smacked his arm. And that was that.

Susannah Lawrence was uncooperative in the interrogation room, and so Harry resorted to stronger measures, giving her Veritaserum and asking her to explain, in detail, how to safely remove the spider. She gave him the deactivation spell, but said, honestly, that she hadn't cared about it's removal, and that she knew of no way, other than cutting it out of the body after deactivation.

Within a day, at George's (and numerous others, including Cate's parents and aunts and uncles, and George's siblings) insistence, a Muggle surgeon was brought in. She was the sister of a Healer, and so knew something of the Wizarding world. After a nerve-wracking surgery that took far longer than George thought it should, the Healers brought the surgeon out to talk to George.

The woman introduced herself as Christina Graham, sister of Healer Natalie Graham, who had assisted. She held out a hand and shook George's roughly, then briskly told him what she'd done. "I was quite impressed by the assistants I was given for this surgery, mind," she added when she'd finished. "It was all quite neat, hardly any scar at all. Now, this was a mix of Muggle and Wizarding techniques. I had to cut her open the hard way, but blood loss was prevented the magical way, and closure happened the same way. After the removal of the object, we were able to determine that the damage, though initially thought of as quite severe, was minimal enough, and able to be Healed magically rather quickly. She might experience some discomfort, later, and I'll go over some things for your Healers to consider, but all in all a very successful surgery. Now, I really must get back in there. My sister is going to show me a few techniques that she uses post-op, and I'd like to see them performed. Your wife should be out in an hour or so, and awake in about four hours." She clapped him on the shoulder. "Magic is truly amazing, isn't it?"

He gave her a humorless smile, and turned around. His entire family, minus the small children, and Audrey, who was watching them, waited for him. To one side stood Cate's parents, and her older brother, who had his arm around a tiny woman with pointed pixie features. He gave them a relieved grin and walked over to give them the news.

~*~

Cate stared at the ceiling for a good long while before she realized that she wasn't dead, and was, in fact, in a great deal of pain. She struggled to sit up, to perhaps see if there was someone there who could help with the screaming agony in her chest and ribs, but couldn't move her arms. Her attempts attracted the attention of a Healer in lime green, a woman with straight blond hair pulled tightly back from a handsome face and heavy dark brows.

The Healer rushed to Cate's side, drawing her wand. She pushed Cate gently back into the bed, casting several spells in quick succession, all but one non-verbal. When she was satisfied with the results, she turned back to Cate, her dark eyes full of sympathy.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm Healer Graham. Is there anything I can get you? Are you in any pain?"

Cate blinked at the woman. "It hurts," she managed to whisper.

The Healer Summoned a vial full of violently violet liquid. "This should help. Drink it quickly, mind; it tastes vile."

Cate gagged it down, but a pleasing numbness quickly spread throughout her body, leaving a slight tingling in her ears, and her eyebrows twitching madly.

The Healer turned to the door and opened it, speaking with someone just outside. She turned back to Cate for a moment, only to squawk in protest when she was shoved aside.

Cate let out a wordless cry as George flung himself at her, his arms wrapping around her body. She closed her eyes and felt the tears sliding down her cheeks, holding him as tightly as she was able. She didn't want to let go, but the Healer pulled George off of her and began to scold him, then cast a succession of rapid spells, annoyance in every line of her body.

George watched her, his eyes never leaving her, his hand twitching at his side, as if to grab hers and never let go. When the Healer was done, she retreated to a corner, warning George not to touch the sensitive scar tissue again, or he would be removed.

Cate glanced down at her chest, remembering discomfort at George's hug, but not knowing why. The last thing she remembered was Sukie's mother shouting, and then darkness, with George's voice whispering that he loved her, over and over.

George moved cautiously to her side, taking her hand in his and squeezing. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked, his voice quiet.

Cate shook her head. "No," she whispered; she couldn't make her voice any louder.

George looked back at the Healer, and steeled himself. "I thought you were dead."

Cate tried to squeeze his hand, but could barely move her fingers. "I thought you were, too."

George looked back at her, and his features softened. "Why are your eyebrows twitching?"

She shook her head, glancing at the Healer. "Pain potion."

George looked suddenly guilty. "Sorry."

"Don't be," she said fiercely. There was a knock at the door, and the Healer answered it, blocking whoever it was from coming in. "Who's with you?"

George looked back at the Healer, who was deep in conversation. "My family. Your parents. Nathan, and some girl. Your sister is having some pregnancy thing, and couldn't make it, and Audrey is watching all the little ones. Well, they're taking it in shifts; Hermione just got back."

Cate frowned. "Why are they here?"

George squeezed her hand, and his breath caught in his chest. "We thought...we thought you weren't going to make it."

Cate looked away. "I'm still not sure how I did."

George sucked in a deep breath and looked back at the Healer, still in conversation. "After that, that woman tried to kill you, the Aurors came. I don't know how they knew, but they were there, and I thought...but they healed you here. You'll have scars..."

Cate jumped in. "Scars? Where?"

George flinched. "You were...you were burned. But most of my family bears scars. I mean, look at Harry! His scar is famous!"

Cate flinched. "How can you just say his name like...like nothing happened?" Her voice was quiet, full of pain. "I killed him." She didn't add 'for you', but the words hung there between them.

George laughed, and Cate stared at him, openmouthed. "Harry's not dead. As usual." He nodded his head towards the door. "They knew something was wrong, and he was protected. All part of a plan, he said. Because you did what you had to do to keep me alive- and by the way, thanks a lot for that, love- they were able to catch the woman who did this to you. To us, I mean. And it's over."

Cate sucked in a breath, wincing as it pulled muscles in her chest. "Over?" How could it be over, just like that? She'd spent a good deal of the last three years worrying, panicking, running away, hiding...and it was over?

George leaned down and kissed her, and the thoughts that had been racing through her head disappeared. "It's over, love."

Cate couldn't help it. She burst into tears.

~*~

Cate lounged on the couch in her living room, ordering various brothers and brothers-in-law to move this box and that, shrink that piece of furniture, move that table. She had been ordered to rest, but moving day had struck quite suddenly, and she had a lot of work to do. She watched as everyone laughed and worked in concert; George was in their bedroom, packing clothing, his sister going behind him and refolding everything, their mother going behind them and doing it just so. Cate's brother Nathan and his girlfriend, Grace, were in the spare room, supposedly shrinking the furniture, but there was a lot of giggling going on that said that they weren't really working. All of George's brothers- except for Percy, who hadn't been able to get out of work- were in the living room, moving furniture. Their wives- including Audrey, who had become a fast friend of Cate's- were in the kitchen, packing food and dishes. Within an hour, they were ready.

Another hour after that, and George, struggling, it had to be said, carried her across the threshold of their new house.

It had taken Cate years to convince George that living above the shop, while eminently practical for him, had not been what she truly pictured for their lives, and over the last six months, George had come to agree. They had wonderful memories of the place, but it was too small, now.

They'd found the perfect house not far from London, within Apparating distance to both of their jobs. It was stone, with three floors, wide open rooms, and a large attic, as well as a basement with windows. George had claimed the basement for his workshop; Cate, the attic and kitchen. A small woods filled the back yard, with a tiny creek running through it, and there was a shed at the edge of the wood, filled with garden tools. They could just make out the house of their nearest neighbor, down the lane.

The first floor was soon filled with furniture, some sober and plain, the rest the bright stuff that had worked so well in the apartment. There was the large kitchen with a small fireplace, perfect for Floo calls, a long, bright dining room, and a living room with a huge fireplace that dominated one wall. Within five minutes, George had charmed the bricks of the living room fireplace to match those at the apartment, and Cate grinned. She loved those bricks, and was surprised to note that she would have missed them.

They moved their bedroom to the second floor, leaving the third empty for the time being, and set up the spare room, with Molly dropping hints that she'd love to come and stay for a week, or two. Cate, always happy to see her mother-in-law, but usually in small doses, was happy to smile and not say a word, and leave the arguments to George. Molly opened the door to the room at the end of the hall, cooing about a nursery, but George stepped in and crowed that it was perfect for his office, which dominated the rather tiny space at the shop. Cate left them to it with a grin.

She went down to the kitchen, where Hermione, Audrey, and Ginny were unpacking the crates of supplies and Fleur was scrubbing the counters, muttering in French. The boys were all laughing in the living room, and she could see Nathan and Grace sneaking off into the woods, hand in hand. There was a slight chill in the air; it was October, and her birthday was in four days.

She jumped when she felt strong arms wrap around her from behind, and leaned back slightly into George. She had to be careful, now; she wasn't as tiny as she'd been three years ago, when they'd married.

George kissed her above her left ear. "Happy?" he asked, watching his sister dump half a bucket of soapy water down Fleur's leg, and grinning as Fleur retaliated by spraying her with the water from the kitchen sink.

Cate looked up into his face, now as familiar as her own. "Desperately."

He rubbed his hands along her belly, six months gone with his child. "Love me?"

Cate giggled. "Desperately," she said impishly. "I could ask the same."

George tickled her ribs, and she laughed, startling the women who were tossing water in handfuls at each other, making a huge mess. "I'm a holy man; I don't have to answer your questions."

Cate raised an eyebrow, and he grinned, flashing a look at her that both promised and begged. "Of course I love you, woman. I'm here, aren't I?"

Cate smacked his arm and pulled him down for a kiss, only to pull apart from him with a screech as Ginny dumped a bucket of warm water down their backs.