Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own these characters. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

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Chapter 1

It was late at night. The children were sleeping and peacefully dreaming of broomsticks and pumpkin pasties. No sound could be heard in the house except the occasional snore or sniff. Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door, which waked everyone in the household. A sleepy Molly and Arthur Weasley walked to the door and opened it to find Albus Dumbledore, holding a small baby.

"Dumbledore!" Arthur exclaimed in a thick voice. "What in the world are you doing here so late at night?"

Dumbledore smiled at the bedraggled Mr. Weasley. "Well, Arthur," he replied, cheerfully, "I have a favor to ask you and your wife. May I come in?"

"Yes! Forgive our bad manners," Molly said, standing aside as Dumbledore strode past her. The couple led Dumbledore to the family room and he sat on the couch.

"What do you want to ask us?" Arthur asked, curiously.

"Well, Arthur," Dumbledore began, "I have found myself in a little situation. This little girl," he nodded to the small child who was now biting her hair, "is now alone. Her parents, who were very close friends of mine, have gone missing. I found her in the house in which she has been living in for the past two years with her mother and father. Of course, now it is not much but a few pieces of wood and many destroyed belongings. But this was the most curious thing: the Dark Mark was hovering just above the ruins." Molly gave a small gasp at this remark. "Yes, I see you have realized the seriousness of this."

"Where do we come into all of this?" Arthur asked.

"Alaena, the girl who was left behind, has no one to care for her. And since you two have already produced seven wonderful, healthy babies, I thought that maybe I could leave Alaena with you, for I believe that you two can take care of her better than anyone else. I will, of course, find a family, which will care for her in a short time, but until then, could you please look after her? I believe young Ronald is her age, and I am sure they will become very good friends if you will do me this small favor."

"Of course we will!" Arthur said, enthusiastically. "We will take care of her for the time being."

"Good!" Dumbledore beamed at the two of them. "I am afraid all of her clothes and toys were destroyed, so she only owns what she is wearing."

"That is fine!" Molly replied. "I can sew some clothes from her from parts of Ron's old jumpers."

Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you very much for taking on this responsibility. I must be going now, but I will be back in a week's time." He stood, nodded to them both, then left the room, leaving the two-year-old sitting on the couch, curiously gazing around at the new environment.

Molly smiled at the small girl and picked her up. "Poor thing," she said softly. "It must have been so scary. The Dark Mark," she shuddered. "What could this mean? It's been nearly a year since You-Know-Who was destroyed, but now his Mark is back."

"Yes, it's very scary," Arthur agreed. "I think we should get this one to bed," he added as he noticed the girl yawning. "Alana, wasn't it?"

"Alaena," Molly corrected him.

They took Alaena to Ron's room. Their son was the same age as the newcomer. He was asleep as Molly made a bed out of pillows for Alaena and gently placed her in it. The little girl smiled sweetly at the motherly figure the fell into a peaceful sleep.

The big family enjoyed having another child in the house. The other children in the house were also very young, and quickly decided that Alaena was a good friend; except Ginny, the youngest, who did not really care that there was there was another girl to play with. Molly and Arthur loved caring for Alaena. She was sweet, didn't cry too much, and laughed at almost anything.

The Weasley's had a good week. They talked, laughed, and played games nearly all day long. But, unfortunately, the fun had to stop at some point.

A week later, once again very late at night, Albus Dumbledore showed up the door of the Burrow. Molly and Arthur Weasley, who had been waiting for him, ran quickly to the door as they heard a loud knock. "Good evening," Dumbledore politely greeted them. "I have good news. I have found a muggle family who wants to have a daughter. I spoke with them, and they agreed to care for Alaena." He had been telling them this while walking to the family room where Alaena was sitting, smiling happily.

"I hope she did not cause you trouble," Dumbledore said as he picked her up.

"No, no, she was perfect," Molly replied.

Dumbledore nodded, "I need to leave now, her new family is waiting for her." Molly let out a sob. "It is all right," Dumbledore comforted her. "I assure you, that you will meet her again." With that, he waved goodbye to them, then swept out of the room.

10 Years Later….

The children were on the train, heading to school, Arthur was at work, and Molly was at the Burrow, cleaning. She wanted to have a clean house, since no child could mess it up now. As she dried the dishes, Molly's thoughts turned to the baby Alaena. She had asked Ron if there had been a girl with that name in his year, but he said there was no 'Alaena' in Hogwarts that he knew of.

What could have happened to her? Molly asked herself, now turning to the dust-covered bookcases. Maybe Alaena was a squib. She hadn't seen the baby do anything magically, but she had been two-years-old. That was too young to show any potential. Molly sighed. If she were meant to know what happened to Alaena, then she would know at the right time.

Arthur had raided four homes that day, and he was arriving home very, very late. He hoped that Molly had gone to bed so he would not have to hear any lectures about not telling her he would be late at work. But, of course, his wish did not come true.

Molly had waited up for Arthur and was furious when he finally tried to sneak through the back door.

"There you are, finally!" she exclaimed, her hands on her hips.

Arthur eyed his wife warily, "Hello Molly, dear."

"That's all you have to say to me when you just waltz right in here, in the middle of the night?"

"Well," Arthur stopped as he heard a loud knock at the door. "Who could be here at this time?" he mused as he walked toward the front of the house, Molly right behind him.

He opened the door and was face to face with none other than Albus Dumbledore and a very small girl at his side. Arthur blinked at the child, curiously, as she looked around at the front door. She was frowning at it as though she were trying to remember something.

"Good evening, Arthur!" Dumbledore said, cheerfully. "I have brought someone that I think you and Molly would like to meet, again."

"Again?" Molly asked, blankly, staring at the girl who was now gazing at a rose bush.

"Yes, again," Albus replied. "This," he indicated the girl, "is Alaena."