Disclaimer; anything that you recognise does not belong to me
Author's Note; For the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, prompt is the film The Orphanage
Molly examined the dusty orphanage that lay abandoned on the empty street. It looked extremely fragile; with its windows shattered and its walls crumbling all over the place.
She took a step forward and ran her hand along the top of the railing. Its paint was peeling away and Molly was brought back to the days when its colour wasn't faded and instead was a bright orange.
Only Merlin knew how much she hated that orange colour. It was way too vibrant and always left her eyes burning. But now, looking at this place in this worn-out state; she wouldn't exactly mind seeing that orange colour again.
Fixing this place was going to take a lot of work, perhaps more than what she first thought. But when she remembered what this place used to be and what it used to represent; especially for kids like her, she knew it was worth it. She knew she was willing to put in the work.
Sweat dripped down her forehead as she kneeled down and pulled the stubborn weeds from out of the ground. Dirt stuck to her bare knees and baby hairs flew in front of her face. Everything was just too sticky and hot.
She had been working for what seemed like hours now. Ever since she arrived earlier that morning she had been labouring out in the yard; cleaning out all the weeds and cutting down the unkempt grass. She really needed a break.
She yanked out the last weed and tossed it onto the ground beside her. With a huff she wiped the sweat off of her face with the palm of her hand. She stood up cautiously and stretched her limbs before walking inside the house. It was full of dust and dirt.
She was yet to even get a start on restoring the inside of the house. It was simply just too much work for her to handle. The whole building was going to have to be demolished. It simply wasn't sturdy enough anymore and if it was going to last another hundred years, like Molly hoped, it was going to have to be rebuilt.
The idea of tearing this place down made her heart ache. Out of all the orphanages that she had lived in, this one had to be her favourite one of all.
The nuns who had owned the place were nice and treated her kindly and the other children that she lived with were pleasant enough too. The food was nice and unlike the other children's homes that she had lived in before, she only had to share a room with two other girls.
But the reason that this place held such a special place in her heart wasn't because of the nuns or the other children or even the extra space; but because this was the place where she met her parents. This was the place where she finally got adopted after years of waiting and waiting for someone to take her home. This was the place where she found her family.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. It was loud and brash caused her to jump slightly. She turned around and started walking down the hallway towards the source of the noise. She wasn't expecting any company. Lucy, her sister, was the only one who knew of her plans to re-open the orphanage and there was no reason for her to be visiting. So, she didn't really have any idea who it could be.
She opened the door slightly, taking care not to open it too wide in case it was someone she didn't want to talk to. When she looked outside, she saw a man with long black hair and dark brown eyes. He was tall and lanky and had glasses perched upon his nose. She didn't recognise him.
"Hello? Is there something you need?" She asked, her voice wavering slightly.
"Um, hi," he said. "I'm Leo. Leo Osaka. Uh, what exactly are you doing here? With the orphanage I mean."
She raised her eyebrows. Why did it matter to him? Why exactly was this any of his business?
"I'm renovating it," she said confidently. "Though I don't see how it's any of your business."
He grinned widely and shoved his hands into his jean pockets.
"I'm glad somebody finally bothered to fix this old dump. Back in the day this place meant a lot to a whole lot of people. So, I guess if you need anything, I'm here."
He turned around and left before Molly was even given the chance to say goodbye. Instead she was left there wondering just how many lives this old orphanage touched and whether it was always for the better.
Not everyone always got adopted; instead they were usually just left here until they turned eighteen. Molly knew that she was one of the lucky ones; that meeting Audrey and Percy was probably the best thing that ever happened to her. She wondered whether Leo was just as lucky.
"So, what exactly did you need my help with again?" Leo asked.
"This place, it needs to be torn down before I can finish rebuilding it. I'm not sure that I can do it on my own and since you're like the only other person who I've even seen in this town, I kinda need your help."
He nodded, his long hair bouncing along as he did.
"Alrighty then, where do we start?"
Molly smiled before turning around to face the crumbling building.
"I have no idea."
He turned to face her; his eyes half-closed and his face covered in dust. It was done. The inside of the house had been torn to shreds and the only thing remaining was the foundation. It may have taken a while but at least it was all over. The only thing left to do now was hire a builder and wait for the finished product to come about.
She smiled wearily back at him. For weeks now, they had been working their hardest; trying to get the job done as soon as they can, so that eventually this place could be back up and running.
She had gotten to know Leo pretty well over the past couple weeks. She knew that he had never gotten to really know his biological parents and that the nuns were the ones that ended up raising him. She knew that his favourite colour was green and that he absolutely despised Japanese food, despite his Japanese heritage. She knew that he was a squib; that his parents just dropped him off at a wizarding day-care centre one morning and never came to pick him back up.
She considered him a friend and a close one at that.
"So, what happens now?" He asked as he plopped down to sit on the lawn outside.
She shrugged; too tired to make proper conversation.
He nodded, all too understanding of her reluctance to talk.
A comfortable silence filled the air around them and neither one of them had the energy to break it. It was getting dark out and as looked up at the stars that lay above them, they were filled with a sense of peace.
This idea that they might be helping others was extremely appealing to Molly. Her whole life she had wondered what might've happened if she wasn't adopted; if she had never met Percy, Audrey, Lucy or anyone else who went on to shape the person that she was today.
How different would she be? Would she be as happy or as kind or as understanding? Where would she be in life?
Her adoptive family had given everything she ever needed to be successful in life; both in her social and professional endeavours. She just hoped that this orphanage would on to give others the opportunities that she had been given; the opportunity to find a loving family.
As she looked around at her surroundings, she was filled with a sense of accomplishment. She was filled with the knowledge of what she had achieved and how well-deserved it all was. She had done this. This was her doing. Everything that was going on around her was because of her hard work and effort. It had all finally paid off.
Although she hadn't really done it alone. Leo had been by her side since almost the beginning. And since then he hadn't really ever left.
After they finished demolishing the old orphanage building it didn't take them long to hire construction workers to rebuild the home. The process of reconstruction took ages; it wasn't an easy project and it required a lot of work.
But at least it was all over now. Today was opening day and all of her family and friends had come along to support her. She had never felt more loved.
Love, she was beginning to realise, was what made the world spin. It made people happy and it made people cry. It was the beginning and the end of everything. Everything revolved around love. She just hoped that every child that would come into her care would realise that too.
"Attention everyone!" Leo yelled into the bustling crowd, once again interrupting Molly's thought processes. "We are about to officially declare this new orphanage open for business but before we do we would like to reveal our new name of establishment."
She smiled at how official and proper he sounded. He seemed to be taking this rather seriously and she couldn't help but feel proud about that. She watched on from a distance as he yanked the curtain from of off the banister to expose the new company name that they had decided on.
Weasley-Osaka Children's Home
Because as much as this was the end of their journey, it was also just the beginning.