22 June 1996 – Anger

Molly held Arthur's hand tightly as they walked down the hospital corridor; in her other hand she clutched a bouquet of flowers from the garden at the Burrow. "I don't know about this, Arthur," she whispered, coming to a stop and facing him. "I still say we ought to try to talk to Remus—"

"We're not going after him on that mission, Molly," Arthur replied firmly. "And meanwhile, Tonks is here alone, thinking that he's coming to see her."

"But that letter he sent us—" Molly began.

"I'm not saying it was right, and I can certainly promise you that Remus and I will be having words about it when he's back," he said, "But there's nothing we can do at the moment. I know you care about Tonks too much to leave her alone like this. He asked us to visit her and apologize for him—we can at least do that."

"I'm not apologizing for his behavior, he can do it himself," Molly muttered darkly, but she shook herself and stopped the nearest nurse. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Nymphadora Tonks, please? We were told she was in this ward…"

"Down the corridor, second on the left," the nurse replied. "I believe her parents are with her."

"Oh," said Molly. She looked around at Arthur. "Should we come back later?"

"Not at all—I remember Ted," he said happily. "Nice chap—was very interested in taking Muggle Studies, though I think he was a Muggle-born—imagine it! Come along, Molly."

He took tighter hold of her hand and led the way down the hall to the room that the nurse had indicated, and knocked gently on the door.

"Come in," said an unfamiliar male voice.

"Hello," Arthur said brightly. He stepped aside, so that Molly could enter. "Ted Tonks, how are you?"

"Arthur Weasley!" said a large, jovial-looking man whom Molly did vaguely recognize, now she saw him—a Hufflepuff, if she remembered correctly, several years younger than Arthur and herself. "And Molly Prewett! How good to see you," he said, shaking Arthur's hand, and then Molly's. "Dora's been telling us for months about you both, I'm sorry it couldn't have been sooner that we saw each other."

"And that it's not a nicer setting."

Molly looked around Ted and Arthur to the bed where Tonks lay. Her hair was the same shade of brown as her mother's, and though she looked drawn and a bit paler than usual, she beamed at Molly. Her mother, Andromeda—who had spoken—stood beside her, smiling tiredly. Molly's first thought was that she looked a great deal like Bellatrix, but the vast differences between them were instantly clear. Andromeda had smooth brown hair lightly touched with gray, kind, warm eyes, and her expression was very gentle.

"I'm Andromeda Tonks," she said, extending one hand to shake Molly's. "I do think I remember you from Hogwarts as well, although Nymphadora has told us a great deal about you. Thank you for being so kind to my daughter."

"Mum," Tonks muttered, blushing slightly.

Molly turned to her at last, smiling. Tonks held up one hand and she took it. "And how are you, miss?"

She didn't seem able to lift herself, but she shrugged gently. "I've felt worse," she said, as Andromeda settled herself on the mattress beside her again. It was obvious she had been perched there for some time; there was exactly the right amount of space for her to sit beside Tonks and keep an arm around her. Tonks rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "Are those flowers for me, Molly?"

"Of course," she replied, beaming.

"I'll take them," Ted offered, and he conjured a vase, filling it with water and setting it on the bedside table.

"We did hear all about it," Arthur said from the foot of the bed. "We're sorry we couldn't have helped you all."

"We should have been there," Molly agreed, patting Tonks's hand.

"Only we could've found our way there in time," Tonks replied, shaking her head. "I don't think you know the interior of the Department that well, do you?"

"Not particularly, no," Arthur smiled.

"Arthur's never liked the Unspeakables," Molly told her, winking at him.

Tonks snorted, then winced slightly, turning white and squeezing Molly's hand suddenly. To cover this, Andromeda looked significantly at Ted. "Why don't you get the Weasleys chairs, dear?"

"Oh, right—sorry," Ted replied quickly, flicking his wand. Two comfortable chairs appeared on one side of the bed. "Make yourselves at home," he said, gesturing for Molly to sit down.

She did, still holding Tonks' hand, and Arthur sat down beside her.

"Anyway," Tonks breathed, after a moment. "Ginny and Ron are all right?"

Molly nodded. "Thanks to you all," she said. "I understand that Hermione and Ron are still in the hospital wing, but they'll be just fine—all six of them that were there."

"Good," Tonks sighed, smiling. Then she reached up one hand and touched her mother's, which was draped protectively around her shoulders. "Mum, Dad—can I talk to Molly and Arthur alone for a minute?"

Andromeda looked startled. "Oh—well, darling, can you—?"

"I can manage," Tonks insisted gently, though the note of impatience in her voice reminded Molly of Ginny. Tonks smiled at her father. "Please—just a minute. Go and have a cup of tea."

Ted chuckled. "Our girl, the Auror. Come on, 'Dromeda, she can look after herself for a bit."

"Stay still," Andromeda murmured to Tonks as she got up, kissing her hair. She smiled in a strained way at Molly and Arthur before following her husband from the room and closing the door.

Tonks let out a little sigh and looked at Molly. "So the kids are okay? I didn't know the boy who was with Harry, but there wasn't really a moment for introductions…"

"Poppy wrote to me to say that our two have come out perfectly all right—though Ginny wrote to me as well, she said Hermione is a little more the worse for wear than anyone else, poor dear," Molly answered. "As for the others, one was Xenophilius Lovegood's daughter—she's a good friend of Ginny's. The other was Neville Longbottom."

"L-Longbottom?" Tonks repeated. "Wait—I know that name—"

"Most of the Aurors do," Arthur said heavily.

"They're—but they're the married couple, the ones—oh." Tonks put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, no."

Molly was quiet for a moment. "Was she—there, then?"

Tonks blinked up at the ceiling and nodded once. "I met my auntie for the first time," she said with heavy irony. "It was…well, it was almost exactly the family reunion one might have anticipated." She wrapped her free arm around her middle and adjusted herself slightly on the bed. "Damn it, I'm tired of sitting here."

"Bellatrix did this to you?" Arthur asked.

Tonks nodded again, swallowing hard. "Right before she—before she got Sirius, apparently. I was unconscious. Kingsley told me about it, when he was here yesterday. Mum's really upset."

Molly looked down; for all of her disagreements with Sirius, she had truly liked him a great deal. His loss seemed to settle over them, and all three were silent for a long time.

Then Tonks looked around, breaking the quiet. "Er—don't tell my mother that, please—about Bellatrix? I've told her I don't know who it was that cursed me. I'll tell her the truth later on," she insisted, at Molly's frown. "I just can't see her face if I did it now, while I'm stuck lying here. She'd probably go out and hunt her down herself."

Molly felt a flicker of heat chase down her spine; she wouldn't have minded joining Andromeda. Instead she patted Tonks's hand again. "We're glad that the rest of you are all right," she said, swallowing a lump in her throat.

Tonks frowned for a moment. "Speaking of which…you haven't heard from Remus, have you?"

The hope that she was trying so hard to hide in her voice was heartbreaking—so much so that Molly wanted to lie, but she looked at Arthur. "He's, erm—he's left on his mission—to the werewolves. He wrote to us to tell you—that—that he's sorry he can't come and see you."

"What?" Tonks blinked. "R-really?"

"Apparently, Dumbledore wanted him to start sooner, rather than later," Arthur added. "But he should be back very soon." Molly shot him a smile; this part was untrue, so far as they knew, but perhaps it could soften the blow.

"I—thought that—after the other night…" Tonks shook her head. Tears were forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, trying to get control again—it clearly hurt her a great deal to cry, for she was squeezing Molly's hand fiercely.

"Don't cry, dear, don't," Molly insisted, wrapping her other hand around Tonks's as well. "It's going to be all right…"

"Of course," Tonks replied, shaking her head; she was calming down. "No—no, of course—it's just—" she drew a steadying breath, "—Remus was—he was here, when I woke up. He was the first one here, before they'd reached my parents, he brought me from the Ministry…and…I—I might have said something—foolish."

Molly lifted her eyebrows and looked at Arthur; that couldn't be good—Remus was already extremely wary when it came to Tonks. "Well," Molly said bracingly, "You're not in any good way to worry about that right now. You need to get well, and—and then you can come over to the Burrow, and we'll talk all about it."

Tonks gave a watery smile, wiping her tears away. "Right—thanks, Molly." She was quiet for a moment. "Have you—have you seen Professor McGonagall—Minerva?"

Molly shook her head. "Is she still here?"

"Professor Sprout came to see me this morning. Apparently, she's just across the hall," Tonks replied. She sounded much, much more tired now, and she looked terribly exhausted. "I'm sure she'd like to see a familiar face, as well."

It wasn't a brush-off, but Molly recognized that for the moment, Tonks wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She smiled gently. "We should let you sleep, anyway. You'll write to me as soon as you want to talk, won't you?"

"Our door is always open," Arthur said seriously. Molly looked around at him in mild surprise; he was rarely openly emotional over anyone but his own children, but his voice was rather constricted as he spoke. She took his hand. It had been a hard few days for everyone in the Order.

"Thanks, both of you," she said. Then she bit her lip. "Maybe you can convince my parents to step out for lunch? My mother hasn't left this room in two days."

Molly chuckled, rising. "I'll see what we can do. You rest."

Tonks nodded, accepting a gentle hug from Arthur. "I'll see you in a few days—Dumbledore will want a meeting, I'm sure, once McGonagall's out—she's worse off than I am."

Molly clucked her tongue, shaking her head sadly, and bent to hug Tonks as well. "We'll see you soon, dear. Try—try not to worry about Remus."

Something darkened in Tonks's features, but she smiled, raising one hand slightly to wave as Molly and Arthur left the room. Once they were outside, they couldn't see Ted or Andromeda anywhere, but they did see—

"Pomona," Arthur said, and the short little witch, who was just leaving a room across the corridor, turned.

"Oh—hello," she said, in an exhausted sort of voice. They met in the middle of the corridor. "How are you, Arthur? Molly? I trust you've heard your children are all right?"

"We have, thank you, Pomona," Molly said kindly.

"I'll tell you, the castle's in an uproar," she said, shaking her head. "Albus is back—Dolores Umbridge is on her way out—"

"And not soon enough," Arthur interrupted darkly, and Pomona scowled.

"I couldn't agree more."

Molly nodded over her shoulder to the private room she had just left. "How is Minerva?"

Pomona turned around to stare at the closed door, as though she had only just remembered why she was there. "She's—well, she's better."

"Is she awake? The last we'd heard, she hadn't…" Arthur said slowly, but Pomona nodded.

"She finally came round yesterday, thank Merlin, it was getting a little worrisome. I'm afraid she didn't take all the news very well," she said. "But I think she'll be up and about soon—or at least, she's determined she will be. I'm off to answer a letter to her brother. He's offered her a place to stay for the summer while she recuperates." She held up a piece of parchment that Molly had not noticed before. "She's a bit tired from her treatment, but would you like to say hello? I'm sure she'd be happy to see you."

Molly looked up at Arthur. "We wouldn't want to disturb her—"

"Oh, she's had quite a bit of medicine, I doubt anything can disturb her at the moment," Pomona said slyly, and Molly smiled. "Go on."

Molly looked at Arthur, who shrugged as if to say, Why not? So, Molly nodded and Pomona brought them to the door, which she opened quietly and peered in.

"Go right in, she's awake," she whispered, withdrawing and nodding. Molly and Arthur entered as Pomona left, shutting the door again after herself.

The luminescent crystal bubbles on the ceiling were dimmed in here, and the blinds drawn, presumably for Minerva's comfort. Minerva herself lay in the bed, her face absolutely colorless; she was worse off than Severus's reports had indicated, that much was evident. She raised her head slightly, looking around at them. "Pomona? Oh—Molly, Arthur," she said, looking confused but smiling weakly in a manner quite unlike herself. "How are you?"

"Well, thank you," Molly said gently. "How do you feel?"

Minerva's forehead creased as she shut her eyes. "I've been better. I feel very foolish."

"Not at all," Arthur told her. "We've heard about what happened. It sounds like anything we would have done. It was very brave."

She snorted gently. "I hope I've taught my students better than to be as headstrong as I am." She seemed to force herself to open her eyes. "I imagine I'll see you at a meeting, soon…I'm sure we'll talk about—well, everything that's happened. But the children—Bill and—no—oh, dear—"

"Ron and Ginny," Molly told her. "They're both fine, thank you for asking."

Minerva shook her head drowsily, clearly frustrated that she wasn't more lucid. "Those two, yes. You've had several, you know. They're well. Yes?"

"Yes," Molly assured her. "And I'm told that the other four—Harry, and Hermione, Neville—and the Lovegood girl, Luna—they're going to be fine, as well."

Minerva twitched an eyebrow. "I'd rather see that for myself," she muttered. Molly had the impression that she was thinking more of Harry than anyone else. Minerva looked terribly tired, so Molly nodded to Arthur.

"I think we'll leave you to rest," he said kindly. "It's good to see you."

And, unexpectedly, Minerva put her hand out and grabbed Molly's arm with surprising strength. "I am sorry that I couldn't stop them from leaving the school, Molly," she said. "It was foolish of me to—to get myself—"

"Minerva," she replied, startled. "It's all right."

"I'm sorry," Minerva insisted.

"They're not seriously hurt," Molly told her. "They're all going to be fine." But even as she said it, she found herself blinking back tears. She took Minerva's hand and placed it gently on the bed again. "Try to rest, please—we'll see you very soon."

As if on command, Minerva sighed, closed her eyes, and spoke no more. Molly swallowed and pressed her palm to her forehead, closing her eyes for a moment. Then she took Arthur's hand. "Let's go home," she said heavily.

They left the room and walked in silence down the corridor. Arthur kissed the top of her head gently as they left the ward, and, finally, Molly could bear it no longer.

"Is this what our lives are, now?" she burst out, coming to a stop outside the doors. She faced Arthur, torn between fury and tears. "Visiting friends who have been injured and put in the hospital, wondering how our own children are? What is this, Arthur?" she demanded. "First—first you, and now Tonks, and Minerva, and Ron and Ginny and Harry and Hermione and every single other person—"

He embraced her tightly, stifling all speech. "I know," he said. "I know."

"It's taken barely a year for all of this to happen—just one," Molly said angrily, stepping back and wiping a tear from her cheek. "How much longer is this going to go on?"

"I don't know," Arthur said honestly. "But the important thing to remember is that all of them—Tonks, the kids—all of them are going to be fine. Even Minerva."

"This time," Molly told him, shaking her head and looking away. "This time, they're going to be fine."

Arthur was quiet for a moment. "You know, sometimes I look at you, and I think you'll end all of this single-handedly."

Molly blinked. "What?"

"Well, you remain to this day the only person I have ever seen bring Fred and George to shame," he replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and strolling down the corridor. "What's stopping you from going and having a talk with You-Know-Who? I'm sure you could—"

"Don't joke about that, Arthur," Molly insisted, shoving his side gently, though she wrapped her arm tightly around his waist. Arthur kissed the top of her head again, and she hugged him back.

How are we, darlings? :) You know how happy your reviews make me! Leave them, leave them, leave them, PLEASE! :)

xo