January 3

"Nice jacket, Molls," Lou said, wrapping his lanky arms around her.

"Err…thanks, Lou."

"And I like your shoes…" Another young man said, his thick French accent and dark hair setting him apart from Lou with his blonde cap and British accent.

"Oh, Molly, this is Pierre. Pierre, my cousin Molly."

"Why 'ave I not met her before, Louis?"

"Oh, she's been traveling around Europe with a band of thieves."

"We aren't thieves, Lou," Molly said, "We're thespians."

"Eh, what's the difference? Give me your coat so I can dispose of it for you."

Reluctantly, Molly unbuttoned her jacket. She hadn't even let her mother see her before they left. Lou helped her out of it, offering a sense of hospitality that no one else had.

"Thanks, Lou." She watched him go to the closet, still awed by how much of a man he had become. His shoulders had filled out and the fitted clothes he wore showed exactly how divine his form was. He dressed nicely, but wasn't nearly as flamboyant as Pierre.

"Merlin's asscrack!" a voice Molly hadn't heard in years shouted. "I told you not to sit on top of me, Flick! My freakin' Hallows! Hey! Give that the fuck back!"

"Lily!" Grandma Weasley's aged voice rang through the Burrow.

"Flick!"

A ten year old girl, an exact replica of Lily at that age, sped by with something tucked under her arm, heading outside with the precious cargo.

"Felicity!" An older version of Lily sped by, her red hair tied back in a pony tail and her left arm in a sling. "Felicity!"

"Who was that?" Molly asked, looking at Lou.

"Felicity and Lily," Lou replied. "Their relationship is one of quite a bit of animosity."

"You can say that again," a ten year old boy said, sitting down at the kitchen table next to Pierre. "I don't think they ever stop!"

"And you are…"

"Geoff. Their brother."

"Aunt Gin had two other kids?"

"Unplanned and unexpected," Geoff said with a nod of his red head. "There is no doubt about that. Though, honestly, Lou, when is Rose getting here? I need to ask her a question about form. And Hugo. I need to know the state between the US and France."

Molly looked at the kid, wondering where he was getting these ideas from. The state of what? She hadn't a clue.

"Besides," Geoff continued, "Flick can't last that long against Lily. Though the duel between Flora and Lil should be interesting."

"Oh, oui," Pierre said. "Zhe auror and zhe aspiring duelist, no? Haha! Zhat is a good one, no?"

"Yes, it is," Lou said, grinning at his counterpart.

The door flung open and Rose ushered three little boys inside.

"Greg, can you make sure Quinn didn't soil his pants?"

"Um…yeah. C'mere, you rascal." Greg swept the kid up in his thick beater's arms, the little brunette squealing it delight as his dad held him upside down. "He's good."

"Alright, awesome. Come on, boys, take off your coats and give them to me and then go say hello to…"

Rose looked up and caught sight of Molly. Molly stared at her, wondering how in the world the ruthless Gryffindor became so nurturing.

"Joey," she said. "Take care of the coats and go say hello to Grams and Grandma."

"Kay," the oldest said, his blonde head running out of the room with all the coats and scarves.

"Are you really here?" Rose asked, wrapping her arms tightly around Molly.

"Yeah. I'm really here," Molly said.

"What…what prompted this…this return?" Molly felt a pang of guilt as she saw the tears beginning to glisten behind Rose's eyes.

"I'm not sure. It just…got old, I guess. I needed something new."

"Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry," Rose muttered, wiping her eyes. "I just…if any of my boys did to me what you did to your mother…they're going to be hunted down and killed."

"Don't mind her," Greg said, putting an arm around his wife, his dark hair wet from melting snow. "She's pregnant, but we haven't told anyone yet."

"Well go and tell them," Lou said, a huge grin on his face. "You guys are trying to outshine Grandma Weasley. I just know it! Hey, if you need babysitting over the course of the week, we'd be willing to watch the boys for a bit."

"Awesome," Greg said, "this one has a conference she has to go to but was going to blow off. Ha! Now you don't have an excuse, Rose. I have back-up."

"I still don't know," she said. "Three boys and Lou? No offense, but they aren't the easiest things to handle."

"I've watched 'em before. I know the drill. Wear 'play clothes' and expect to get dirty. No big deal. I love 'em regardless. Any chance to mess with their heads, really."

"If you make them Harpies fans…"

"Nah, I'll save that for your girl," he said, a broad grin on his face. "Which I know is what this one is."

"Pfft. Yeah right. Just like the last one?"

"I called Quinn a boy. I'm sorry, but I did. I haven't missed one, yet."

"Sure, sure, whatever, Lou."

"Ugh. Fine. I have to go into the sitting room, anyway. Come on, Pierre. You know how my grandmother can get…"

"That boy's going to die a painful death," Greg said, "if he ever converts my daughters to being Harpie Harlots."

"Hush, Greg!" Rose laughed, hitting him lightly on the arm. "And don't you dare let Aunt Gin hear you say that."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, Molly, have you told Lily you're back yet?"

"Um…no. She ran by chasing her clone, but…"

"Yeah, that'd be Flick. Quite a handful, that one. Nothing compared to Geoff. He's so mild-mannered, I have no idea where he gets it from. Kind of reminds me of Al a bit. Not much, mind you, but just enough. There must be a calm gene passed down with those eyes of his. Anyway, Flick and Lily won't be back for a while. They're usually good for an hour or so before Lily's had her fill of games and gets serious."

"I would have thought things would quiet down…"

"Ha! That's a good one…come on, you need to get introduced to everyone."

"Oh, Merlin."

"That's what you get for being gone for so long."

Rose led her into the sitting room where the whole crew was crowded. Many of the faces she recognized -- all the cousins, all of them grown up, Greg, her aunts and uncles. Many of them she didn't -- Flora's face had matured considerably and Molly never would have guessed it was her without the magenta hair, all the fiancées and spouses and children were strangers. She was home. It felt the same, smelt the same and looked the same, but it was an odd place between what it should be and what it was. The fact that every face was turned to her and was staring like she had three heads did not help the matter.

Flora, in particular, stared at her, probably trying to figure out who she was. Molly awkwardly stood there, taking it, wondering when she should say something and if so, what.

"Er…hey, everyone."

"Look who's back from the dead!" James cried out, standing up and smoothly crossing the room. He wrapped his arms around her to whisper in her ear, "You'd better start saying your prayers. When Lily figures out you're back, you're dead meat."

"Thanks for the warning, Jim. Its good to see you, too."

"Come on, come on, sit down," Uncle Harry, his hair beginning to gray, declared, waving her to sit down.

Tentatively, Molly sat on the available chair next to Flora, awkwardly fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. Flora was still staring at her.

"Molly, you're all skin and bones," her grandma said disapprovingly. "Did they starve you or something?"

"Well, we were traveling the continent without any reliable source of income, so…"

"Tsk. Hear, eat up." Her grandma waved her wand and a plate of sweets appeared in her lap.

"Grandma…"

"Not a word! Eat!"

"Flora, you want some?" she whispered to the fourteen year old next to her.

"How do you…wait…Molly?" Flora stood up, a bit of excitement in her eye. "Yes! Yes it is you!" Flora jumped on her, knocking over the plate of sweets and making the room chuckle in unison.

"It's…uh…good to see you too, Flora."

"When you first left," Vicky said, a three year old sitting on her lap. "The only thing she would ever talk about is when 'Molmols' was going to babysit again. You really had a way with her. Went through ten babysitters since trying to find one half as good as you were. Only glad this one can handle the other two."

Flora rolled her eyes and settled back down into her seat.

"Merlin, Flick!" they heard in the kitchen. "Won't you ever l-learn! Fuck that hurts!"

"Lily!" Aunt Ginny snapped.

"She pulled the stitches out of my bloody hand!"

"Oh, Merlin! You need to start acting like a member of the order, Lily! You aren't in Hogwarts anymore. You need to stop fooling around!" Victoire shouted back, handing the kid in her lap to a man presumably her father. "I'll be right out! Where did I put my…Adele, give me my wand, please." Victoire held her hand to the little girl on her father's lap. The father whispered something into the girl's ear and she produced Victoire's wand.

"No! It's fine, it's fine!" Lily growled, coming into the room with a dishtowel wrapped around her hand. "I have to go to St. Mungo's anyway…Flick may have…um…gotten into some trouble?"

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing technically. She had a run-in with a neighborhood kid and he magicked her unintentionally. She's got a pig-tail. I tried to fix it, but uh…Molly? Molly! Molly, what're you doing here? When did you…?" Her face turned from excitement to pissed off faster than a light changes from green to red. She walked up and slapped Molly upside the head. "Do you know what you did?"

"Left."

"Without any warning! And then you don't write? Come on! That's pathetic! Have some class."

"I'm back now, aren't I?"

Molly stared at Lily, at the scars visible on her collar bone exposed by her too-large sweatshirt, at the bags under her eyes, the bandage around her hand, the years etched firmly into her body and countenance.

"Yeah," Lily said, offering a grin. "I guess you are. Lunch tomorrow? I'm on leave because of, well, this ridiculous thing, you know. So, if you want…"

"Sure."

"Awesome."

"Is it time for Louis to open 'is presents?" Pierre asked, looking around the room with a boyish gleam in his eye.

"Oh, Merlin, here we go again," Lou muttered as Pierre put the first present in his hands.

3

"Manchester? Really, Molls?" Lily said, laughing as she wrapped her arms around her cousin. "Not much really has changed with you, has it?"

"Slept with a few more guys, drank a few more bottles of whiskey, and listened to a few more football games," Molly said, grinning. "Unlike someone…"

"Hey, look. It isn't my fault I found something I'm good at."

"More like something you're trying to forget," Molly dared to say.

Lily's face fell for a moment and paled a few shades. Her mouth twitched into an uncomfortable grin and sat down.

"If you weren't my cousin, Molly…"

"You'd have my head faster than Scorpius stole your heart."

"I don't like talking about that boy."

"I think he's a man, now, Lily."

Lily shot her a dubious glare.

"Alright, alright," Molly said, putting a hand for truce. "I get it. No talking of former relations."

"So how's Lorcan doing?" Lily asked, a Slytherin grin on her face.

"My, my, my -- still passive aggressive, are we?" Molly asked, looking at the menu of the Leaky Cauldron that was completely changed from the one ten years ago. "He's doing fine, I think. I'm not sure what exactly he's doing. I don't think it's field work. Maybe classifying? I don't know."

"Is there potential there?"

Molly shrugged.

"What's the giant squid special?" she asked, pushing away Lily's smirking face.

"You don't want to know. Get the salad. It's actually really good."

"What're you getting?"

"Hippogriff steak. Healer says I need more protein to heal this up." She waved her bandaged hand. "Or something like that. I can never keep what they say straight."

"Have you had to see a lot of healers over the years?"

"I don't want to talk about that, either," Lily said quickly, her voice taut. She took a sip of her water and closed her menu. "The biggest thing you missed, though, was Lou coming out of the closet."

"We always knew he would."

"Yeah, but the fallout was much worse than we imagined it would be. I mean, I honestly didn't expect Uncle Bill to be so…I don't know. Awkward about it. It was actually pretty bad. The kid lived with me for a few years before Uncle George sent him to France to open up a new international branch of the joke shop. I feel bad for him. Grandma is still…uncomfortable with it, but Pierre is willing to obey her groundrules."

"Which are?"

"I don't even know. Mum says Grandma took the two of them out for lunch one day and they all came back on good terms, so…whatever it is they're doing, it's probably working."

"Yeah. What about all the marriages?"

"Ha! The marriages? Honestly? Vicky and Al both married at the Burrow, and Rose and Greg had a muggle wedding and a wizarding reception. Greg's parents are muggles, you see. They were in this gorgeous church in the middle of London. They have some wonderful pictures. I was kind of afraid mum was going to have a cow before Al's wedding. She was so anxious, and James, of course, got all jealous that Al was the first and not him. For weeks -- weeks -- it was hell in the Burrow."

"Where did Vicky meet…um…?"

"Raul? Italy on a trip for work. He's a healer, too, working on lycanthropy, though he's more focused on curing the incurable while she's working on prevention. So…yeah…he transferred to St. Mungo's, they got married, and a year later they had Rafaelle, the older boy, and that was that."

"How'd Flora take it?"

Lily grinned and took a sip of her water.

"Flora? Honestly? Terribly. She took to Raul instantly, but she still hasn't fully warmed up to Rafaelle and Adele."

"And what about Albus? Who did he find to marry?"

"A secretary to the minister, actually. Your father gave his instant approval, but it took mum quite a while to warm up to her. Didn't like the way she held herself or something ridiculous like that. Dad said it was like when Grandma first met Aunt Fleur. It made me laugh, to be sure."

"And Rose's kids?"

"They're really wonderful boys. And Rose and Greg both have a lot of time for them because their quidditch schedules are really flexible. Greg's usually away in the afternoons until around six and Rose works mornings three days a week and on Saturday. They all go the games together. I think Quinn and Adam always go with Rose, but Joey gets to pick. From what I hear, the kid's turning into quite the Tornadoes fan."

"Have you ever thought of having children?" Molly questioned, wondering where precisely her cousin stood on the spectrum of relationships.

"Yes. However, they are not conducive to my job. My job is my life."

"But doesn't that get lonely?"

Lily looked at Molly with her clear eyes glistening with a sort of knowledge and wisdom Molly wouldn't expect from her.

"I'm used to being lonely," Lily said, her eyes unmoving, emotionless. "It's the only thing I can rely on these days. Or ever, really. When you're out on a mission, and all your teammates are back at base, and you're charged to find the hideaway, it's just you and your wand. That's all. And that's when you feel the most lonely, when faced with a deatheater with his mask. But you need that loneliness, that disconnect from the world, to do your job without any restrictions. No strings attached. Strings complicate things, cloud your judgment. No. A good auror needs to be lonely, to rely on it. It's a price that has to be paid."

"That sounds like a terrible life," Molly muttered.

"Not everyone is suited for it."

"I'm not sure you're suited for it."

"I've been doing it for ten years, Molls. I think I am."

"I still think you need a boyfriend."

"I don't need a boyfriend. You're the one that needs a boyfriend. I hear Lorcan just broke up with his girlfriend of two years the other day. You might have a chance."

"I'm not a rebound girl."

"No, his former girlfriend was. He's still gaga over you, you know."

"Just like you and Scorpius?"

Lily's face flushed bright red, her eyes narrowed, and her lips pressed together.

"Not much has changed with me," Lily said. "Except for the fact that now I can kill a man without anyone around me realizing it."

Molly laughed, not for a second doubting.

"Sounds like Scorpius is on your list, then," Molly said.

"You're forgetting I'm a Slytherin, Molly," Lily said in low tones. "Slytherins don't forgive easily. And they certainly never forget."

"Then he is on your list."

"On what list? Of people never to talk to again? Hell yes. To kill? Unless he's busted for illegal possession of dark arts materials, then he's off limits. I'm waiting for the day, though. Malfoys aren't notorious for keeping their magic pure." Lily took a sip of her water. "On another note, how's work coming?"

"Eh. It's not." Molly stirred the ice in her Coke with a blue straw. "No one wants me."

"Have you shown them your OWL scores?"

"Well, yeah, but it doesn't seem to matter. All they see is ten years as a low-level thespian and it's all over. My dad was right…I've wasted too much time. I'm not going to get a position."

"Where have you looked?"

"Diagon Alley, mostly. But I inquired about some Hogsmeade positions and one in the Hollow. Most of them have already fallen through and a lot of them are going to."

"How can you tell?"

"How can I not tell?" Molly let her head fall against the table. "I don't even know what I want to do."

"What about working with kids? You seemed to get along with both Rafaelle and Adele at Lou's party. And they aren't easy kids to get along with."

"What's wrong with 'em? Give 'em a sugar quill and they're all yours."

"See? That's not it. I've given them more bribes than anyone and they still hate me."

"It's because you're a Slytherin and they can tell. Kids usually don't like conniving. They like honest. A good Hufflepuff or Gryffindor'll do."

"Yeah. No. You should see Lucy trying to get along with them. Not good."

"That's because she's too uptight."

"Just think about it, ok? I know you like working with kids, it's a matter of fact at this point. And if you don't want to work at the joke shop, then I suggest you work on this. I hear a wizarding daycare is trying to open up in the Hollow, but they need more…erm…facilitators? Is that what they're called? I don't know. You know what I'm saying."

"I don't know."

"You aren't going to find anything else. At least not with your experience."

Molly groaned and played with her straw. Lily grinned.

"Here comes our food," Lily muttered.