Now, the title of this chapter and a lot of the speech in it are taken from the chapter with the same name in Order of the Phoenix, so I take no credit for those words :) Again, sorry this has taken a while...real life is getting in the way a bit.

53 The Woes of Mrs Weasley

Of course we weren't worried. Well, that was the official party line. However, I think given the enthusiasm of Harry's reception when he returned from his hearing at the ministry, he must have had a suspicion that we were all more worried than we let on. He himself had looked extraordinarily nervous the morning of his hearing, and I really felt for him. The day Dumbledore found out that I had almost killed Snape, I was sent to his office, and I had been absolutely sure then, that Dumbledore was about to expel me; so I knew what it felt like to entertain the possibility that you might never see Hogwarts again, and I knew just how unpleasant that feeling was. But justice prevailed and Harry was cleared of all charges.

As august raced towards September Sirius boomeranged back into a foul mood again. It was obvious why: Harry would be leaving soon. Sirius knew Harry belonged at Hogwarts, but he was going to miss him. To Sirius, the few weeks of August he had spent with Harry had passed all too quickly. The Weasleys would be leaving as well, and although at times Sirius found their presence trying, he far preferred it to an empty house. I assured him that Tonks and I would be there most of the time, but it didn't seem to make much difference. Comforting words were apparently too weak a remedy for his manic depression.

It was the last day of August, a tuesday, and I had convinced Sirius to give his opinion on the truly ancient dress robes I was going to wear to the SWAMP (Society for Wizard and Muggle Peacefulness) ball that weekend, with the killer argument "well it's better than spending the whole day as a dog".

"What's this ball for again?" Sirius asked me as I stood in front of the mirror in Regulus' room with the frock coat of my dress robes on over my jeans.

"To raise awareness about muggles." I replied distractedly, as I was too busy worrying about whether it was obvious that I had sown together a seam on my shoulder with brown rather than black thread.

"Is that really needed? I mean they do outnumber us three to one. I think if wizards don't know about them yet we've got more to worry about than I thought."

"Oh you know what I mean, Padfoot." I said. "There's been so much anti-muggle propaganda recently – that they are violent, that living near a muggle house will give you squib children – the ball is trying to counter that a bit."

"I see." Sirius murmured making it obvious he wasn't really interested."Are you taking the kids to Kings Cross tomorrow?"

I saw his shoulder's droop as he inspected my bow tie which hung over the end of the bed.

"Yes, with Tonks and Moody." I replied. Sirius sighed deeply and I felt a tugging in my chest.

It was against my better judgement, and I knew Dumbledore would dissaprove, but I found myself saying: "Why don't you come?"

"What?"

"Come with us – to say goodbye to Harry and the others."

"But...'what if someone sees me'?" Sirius said imitating my gravelly voice and mild irish accent.

"You'd have to stay as a dog the whole time." I said, and Sirius face cracked into a grin instantly brightening his ageing face.

"Anyway, what do you think? Does it look okay?" I said turning back to the mirror and doing up the buttons on the front.

"Yeah." Sirius said stepping towards me and putting his hands in his pockets. "You've looked after it well."

"You don't think it looks faded?" I asked. I bought this set of dress robes when I was twenty one, a shocking fourteen years ago. It was very plain, black with a silk lapel and some embroidery on the cuffs. But it wasn't cheap – not by my standards anyway.

"No, it looks great." Sirius said sincerely. "She wont be able to resist you." He added after few moments.

"What? Who wont?" I asked suddenly on edge as I inspected Sirius' sly smile.

"The girl you are trying to impress." He replied.

"I'm not trying impress anyone." I lied.

"Sure." Said Sirius sarcastically, "Just like Andromeda's party." I made a show of rolling my eyes as I took off the robes. Sirius just smiled at me and I worried about how much he knew. He must have twigged by now. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Sirius and I called at the same time. The door opened and a basket of dirty laundry appeared followed shortly by Molly Weasley.

"Oh Remus, you look very handsome." She said as if talking to one of her sons.

"Er, thank you." I said sheepishly.

"I just wanted to know if either of you wanted anything from Diagon Alley. Ginny and I are going in this afternoon to get the kid's schoolbooks." She said.

"No thank you Molly, I don't think I need anything." I said taking off the coat.

"What about you Sirius?"

"You have a much better knowledge of this house's inventory than I do." Was Sirius' response.

Molly sighed, "fair enough."

"Mu-uum!" Ginny suddenly cried from somewhere downstairs.

Molly leaned her head out of my bedroom door, "Yes dear? What is it?"

"Have you seen my hairbrush?"

"No I haven't. When did you last see it?"

"When I was brushing my hair." Ginny replied sardonically. Molly looked back to Sirius and I with a roll of her eyes and the two of us smiled as we remembered what it was like to be a teenager.

"Buckbeak might have her hairbrush." Sirius suggested.

"Buckbeak? What would Buckbeak be doing with a hairbrush?"

"Er, he likes to play with them. He pretends they are hedgehogs I think." Sirius said with a shrug.

"Right, well could you ask him if Ginny could have it back?" Molly said in a slightly mocking tone. Sirius gave her a lopsided grin.

"Of course." He said, and Molly left to help her kin.

"She really doesn't like me." Sirius said after she had left.

"It's all in your head, Padfoot." I said as I hung my dress robes back in the wardrobe.

"How are we getting the kids to Kings Cross then?" Sirius said as he opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway.

"Just going to walk I think, it's not very far from here." I replied following him, "Moody wants Harry to go with a guard."

"Is that really needed? It'll be broad daylight." Said Sirius as we made our way downstairs.

"I know, I don't think it is really necessary, but better safe than sorry. We are going to go in three groups I think. Tonks and Moody are coming with us – and Sturgis as well."

We got to the third floor and suddenly heard someone scream from downstairs. Sirius and I looked at each other. The shrieking continued but it didn't sound unhappy. No it was definitely happy shrieking, though I couldn't make out any words.

"I wonder what's happened." I mused calmly.

"That's definitely Molly's voice." Sirius added.

"A Galleon says the kids are packed."

"No way." Sirius replied. "Oh wait, I know what is is. Harry, Ron and Hermione are going into their fifth year right? Isn't that when prefects are chosen?"

"Oh damn, yes. I want to change my bet."

"No! You will accept your defeat like the loser that you are." Sirius reprimanded.

"Little Ronnie, a prefect! And don't forget to pack your trunks...A prefect...oh, I'm all of a dither!" We heard Molly cry happily. I raised my eyebrows and smiled. I would have thought Harry was the more obvious choice for Gryffindor prefect. Prefects were generally chosen for their maturity and leadership skills, and of the Gryffindor boys, Harry was the most natural leader. However, with Voldemort after his blood and the Daily Prophet labelling him as a mad man, maybe Dumbledore thought Harry had enough stresses to be dealing with without the added responsibilities of a prefect; and perhaps Dumbledore thought that giving Ron the extra responsibility was just what he needed to unlock his potential.

"Alright, I wasn't excepting it to be Ron, but you still lost Moony." Sirius hissed. I rolled my eyes and shoved a galleon into Sirius' hand.

Hermione had also been made a prefect – but that really was no surprise – and to celebrate their success Molly decided to throw a little party that evening. Tonks arrived at Grimmauld Place at about six with Kingsley Shacklebolt, just as Sirius and I were magically hanging up a banner that read "Congratulations Ron and Hermione new prefects!" in shimmering gold lettering. Tonks' hair was its natural length today, and a very vivid red not dissimilar to Ginny's tomato-red locks, which was an untypical colour for Tonks to wear. However, vivid red felt like crunchy dry leaves to her, if I remembered correctly, and when I asked, she told me that morphing her hair to that colour helped her cope with the prickly feeling she felt whenever she looked at the Weasley's orange-red hair. Whatever her reasons for morphing her hair however, she looked very beautiful.

"Oh wow! They've been made prefects!" Tonks exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen and admired the banner. "Mad-Eye will love this: 'gotta watch yourself! Position of authority – always a target', you wait." She added doing a very impressive imitation of Moody.

"But isn't it good news?" Molly said happily. "I wanted to celebrate."

"Of course! Great idea!" Tonks replied enthusiastically. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Er..." Said Molly tentatively, remembering how many items of crockery were broken last time Tonks tried to help in the kitchen. "I think everything is about done actually."

Molly pointed her wand at the oven and summoned a tray of baked potatoes from inside it. She caught the tray with an oven-gloved hand and began to transfer them to a serving dish.

"I could butter them. I'm sure I can't do much harm there." Tonks said a little crestfallen.

"Yes, alright." Molly reluctantly acquiesced gesturing towards the butter dish. While Tonks cut open and buttered the baked potatoes, Kingsley discussed the ball with Molly.

"It's going to be a bigger event than I thought actually," Kingsley said, "SWAMP have managed to get Transfiguration Today to sponsor it. I'm not sure their shareholders will approve of them associating with a pro-muggle movement though."

"Maybe the ball will change their minds." Molly offered hopefully as she watched Tonks with mild displeasure: clearly the haphazard way Tonks was dolloping butter onto the potatoes was not to Molly's liking.

"I'm excited about it." Tonks said, oblivious to Molly's frown. "I haven't been to a ball since school."

"I didn't know you were going to this thing as well, Tonks?" Sirius suddenly questioned. Up till that point, Sirius had been magically carving small scorpions into the shelving units, but now he was disproportionately interested in the conversation.

"Yeah. A bunch of us from the department are going, right Kingsley?" Tonks replied.

"Yes, Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour...Mafalda Hopkirk." Said Kingsley.

"Did you know Tonks was going, Remus?" Sirius then asked me, his silver eyes glinting mischievously.

I gave a small nod and mumbled "Mm" in response, hoping Sirius wouldn't put two and two together. But he saw through my poker face – as he always did.

"Of course you knew!" He declared knowingly, before letting out a loud bark of laughter. "I knew it!" He added giving me a meaningful stare.

"Knew what? What's so funny?" Tonks asked.

"Oh nothing little cousin." Sirius said happily, walking over to Tonks and throwing his arm around her. "Nothing at all." If I had known that simply acquainting him with the current status of my rather pathetic love life had such a cheering effect on Sirius I wouldn't have waisted my time being extra nice to him the past week or so.

"There's going to be dancing at this shindig right?" Tonks asked changing the subject.

"I would have thought so." Kingsley replied.

"How will you cope Lupin? You told me, you couldn't dance." Tonks said with an eyebrow arched.

"No, I said that I don't dance, usually – I never said I couldn't." I corrected as I remembered the conversation we had had at her mother's birthday party.

"Can you dance then? I wont let you waltz with me if you have no timing." Tonks asked.

"Of course I can." I said cooly.

"I need a second opinion." Tonks said narrowing her eyes and turning to Sirius. "Is it true? Can he dance?"

"Yeah, Moony can dance." Sirius admitted somewhat reluctantly. "It was James who was the terrible dancer. He danced like a granddad. He used to do that twist thing remember? With his arse sticking out."

Sirius mimicked the slightly constipated expression James used to pull when he danced and gave us a rendition of his ungainly two-step, much to everyone's amusement.

"You wont be able to dance with Remus though, Tonks." Kingsley said seriously once we had all stopped sniggering.

"Why not?" Tonks asked with sincere disappointment.

"You can't really be seen to be friends in public. It wouldn't be good for the Order." Kingsley said with a frown.

"It would probably be better to keep your distance from me in front of your other work colleagues as well, Tonks." I said quietly. "It doesn't send a good signal: a dark wizard catcher friends with a dark creature."

"Oh." Tonks said sadly and she looked at me like she still couldn't quite believe what I was. "Oh well, it's probably for the best, I'd only end up stepping on your feet anyway."

I paused, "I'm sure mildly bruised insoles would be a small price to pay to get to dance with you."

Tonks smiled and asked: "why are you so nice to me?"

Sirius laughed so hard he almost cried. Although it was at my expense, it was the first time Sirius had really properly laughed in about a week, so I couldn't be completely irritated. Tonks alternated between looking at Sirius like he was having a fit and demanding that he tell her what was so funny. Kingsley made no comment: presumably he thought this was just part of Sirius' endearing madness. Eventually Tonks got so frustrated with Sirius she knocked the butter dish onto the floor. Thankfully Harry and the others entered the kitchen at the point and Tonks was able to surreptitiously put the butter dish back on the table and pick out the flecks of dirt that had stuck to the butter before Molly noticed.

As Molly's impromptu celebration got under way I noticed Harry seemed a little subdued. I wondered if he was a disappointed about not being made a prefect. Tonks seemed to notice as well because she told Harry animatedly that she had never been made a prefect – she was too much of a mischief maker apparently, which really didn't surprise me.

"What about you Sirius?" Ginny asked, "were you ever a prefect?"

I smirked and Sirius laughed, "No one would have made me a prefect, I spent far too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."

Sirius slapped his hand on my shoulder and Tonks and the kids looked at me expectantly.

"I think Dumbledore might have hoped I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends, I need scarcely say that I failed dismally." Memories of my vain attempts to reign in my friends wayward sense of fun played out inside my mind. In fact, trying to give detentions to James and Sirius for skiving charms or hexing Slytherins was probably the best duelling training I could have got. Harry's face cracked into the first genuine smile I had seen in a while, and he looked as if a weight had suddenly lifted off his shoulders.

While we helped ourselves to food Sirius discussed Quidditch with Harry, Ron and Ginny and Hermione sought me out for some prefect advice.

"I think I remember seeing your name on the list of school prefects in the trophies room." She informed me, and I smiled politely while I felt Tonks silently snigger as she sat next to me. "I understand it's quite a lot of responsibility isn't it? You've got to sort of be a role model, and a uh, spokesperson for the student body."

"Yes, I suppose you do." I replied. "The younger years especially look up to you. First years often come to you for advice."

Hermione bit her lip as she thought about what she might have to do as a school prefect. While she ruminated I glanced at Tonks, who was smirking.

"I knew you'd be a prefect." She whispered in that seductive voice of hers.

"How? How can you tell?" I whispered back.

"It is just obvious that you were far too well-behaved at school." Tonks said.

"I assure you I wasn't. I just never got caught." I replied so that only Tonks could hear. It thrilled me to see the sparkle in her eyes as they turned from blue to gold. The thrill was short-lived however, as Sirius shot me a knowing glance from the other side of the room.

"I think it will help me promote SPEW, being a prefect I mean." Hermione continued pulling my attention away from Tonks. "I wanted to talk to you about that as well actually, do you mind?"

"Not at all." I said politely, as Tonks drifted away from me to talk to Bill about how he was getting on with Fleur. "What does it stand for again?"

"The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare." Said Hermione. "My long term goals are to get elves wages and decent working conditions, because at the moment, well, they are slaves! I think it's awful that no-one has protested before me. I mean, it's the same kind of nonsense as werewolf segregation, isn't it? It all stems from this horrible thing wizards have of thinking they're superior to other creatures."

"Sadly, I think you are right Hermione. Wizards like to be in control – no matter what the cost. However, as noble as your cause is, you have a problem: elves like to serve humans, they help us from their inherent generous nature – they would see wages as an insult."

"I'm sure that's just a cultural norm – it could be changed."

"I don't know if it will be that easy. Perhaps wages isn't the best thing to give them in exchange for their services." I suggested. "Perhaps they would prefer increased freedom to wages."

While Hermione considered my suggestion I struggled to take my eyes off Tonks, even with Sirius watching me like a hawk. I loved the way she moved her hands when she spoke. In fact, I loved the way she moved full stop. Alright, she was a little clumsy, she tripped over things easily and hardly went five minutes without knocking something over, but that was only because she had so much energy and vibrancy in her that she had little time to pay attention to her surroundings. After an embarrassing length of time spent gazing longingly at her from across the room I decided to throw caution to the wind and actually speak to her. We discussed the book she was reading (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne) and then the morality of vengeance and punishment (at a rational level, both of us were against the old eye for and eye maxim, generally we saw punishment as a deterrent and a means of protecting the law abiding from harm, and that was all – however, we recognised that there were events in our own pasts where our moral beliefs and our emotional reactions didn't quite correspond).

Our cosy discussion in the corner of the kitchen was ended when Ron came to show us his new broomstick. Having been on the Quidditch team herself when she was at school (as a beater, she was far too uncoordinated for anything else) Tonks left my side to admire the broom. While Ron told her about all of its safety features, I spoke to Kingsley, who was also surprised that Harry had not been made a prefect.

"He'll have had his reasons," I said simply when Kingsley questioned Dumbledore's decision.

"But it would've shown confidence in him. It's what I'd've done, 'specially with the Daily Prophet having a go at him every few days."

"I think being made a prefect would just have attracted more media attention." I argued. "Perhaps Dumbledore thinks that Harry has enough to be dealing with at the moment."

Kingsley nodded in agreement.

"Well congrats on the prefect thing, Ron." I head Tonks say before she wondered back towards Kingsley and I.

"Cheers Tonks." Ron said a grin stretched from ear to ear, before he darted off to speak to Hermione.

"Well, folks I gotta go." Tonks announced.

"Already?" I couldn't help but say.

"Yeah, sorry." She said. "It's Avery's trial tomorrow afternoon and I'm a witness, so I wanted to read through my notes before bed."

"Right. Of course"

"I'm a bit nervous 'cos, you know, this is my first big case – I need it to go well."

"Don't worry Tonks, you'll be fine." I said earnestly. She smiled and tucked a loose strand of her bright red hair behind her ear, making me notice the pretty freckles she had across her nose.

"Thanks Remus." She said, "anyway, I'll be back bright an early tomorrow for the exodus of the Weasleys. And Harry. And Hermione."

Kingsley decided to leave as well and I offered to let the two aurors out, but was saved the trouble by Molly who was heading upstairs to bed anyway. With some regret I said goodbye to Tonks at the kitchen door. I knew I would see her again in just nine hours, but that still seemed such such a long time. Once she was gone the party seemed to loose its flavour.

Dung had already left and Moody had gone off somewhere. Harry too had disappeared. Arthur, Bill and Sirius were sitting at the far end of the table obviously beginning to feel the pull of sleep. Hermione, Ron, Ginny and the twins seemed to be the only ones with any energy left, and they continued to chatter noisily about who the new defence against the dark teacher would be. Moody had decided that he could better serve the order if he was out in the field investigating Death Eaters, so Dumbledore had had to look elsewhere for a DADA teacher. I had no idea who he had managed to convince to take the job, but evidently he had found someone because they had set a new text book. Not a very good one, mind: Defence Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard was an informative book I suppose, but it was excessively dull. Anyone with any experience teaching should know that children learn nothing when they were bored, so judging from the new DADA professor's book choice I had a feeling teaching wasn't their main profession.

I decided to head to bed so bid goodnight to everyone and slowly made my way upstairs. I got as far as the hall when Sirius caught up with me.

"You like Tonks." He announced. His tone was matter of fact, but his expression was impish.

"Of course I do. She's a lovely girl." I said innocently putting my hands in my pockets.

"I don't mean like that." Said Sirius suggestively as he leant against the garden room door. "Come on, I'm right aren't I? The way you look at her. And you can't stop smiling whenever she's near."

Sirius looked positively ecstatic. Like this was the most exciting revelation he had uncovered in months. I examined the leathery skin of the troll's leg umbrella stand and the ugly toes that Tonks tripped over so frequently. I sighed. There was no point denying the obvious.

"What's your point Sirius?" I said wearily.

"Well, are you going to do anything about it?" Sirius said with sinister glee.

"No." I said simply.

"No?" Said Sirius staring at me like I was mad.

"No."

"Why not?"

I looked at Sirius incredulously: could he really not know?

"Because, for one thing, I'm far to old for her," I began quietly, "she'll never feel the same way. She deserves a lot better than me."

"Oh, bloody hell! You say that about everyone!" Said Sirius crossly. "How do you know she doesn't feel the same way?Have you not noticed how she asks your opinion on everything? How she looks at you like you are a bloody work of art? Personally, I can't understand it, but it seems quite obvious she's as fascinated with you as you are with her."

"Really?" I said with genuine disbelief. I riffled through my memories for evidence of Sirius' theory. There were lots of moments that sprung into my mind. Glances, smiles, suggestive remarks. But weren't they all just in my imagination? How could I be sure I wasn't just hoping to see those things? And what did it matter anyway? Even if by some miraculous twist of fate she didn't feel completely indifferent to me, nothing could happen. I could see so clearly how it would go. It would be fun at first, but all too quickly she would realise that life with a werewolf is just too hard. What with the stigma and abuse she'd get from other people, the fact that it made me so ill so often, my poverty, that I couldn't have children because of it, and of course the constant risk that I could give it to her. Sooner or later she'd realise she could be so much happier with someone else. I couldn't go through all that again. I don't think I could ever stand loosing her.

"Stop it." Sirius suddenly said.

"Stop what? I'm not doing anything."

"You're thinking. Stop it." Sirius said pointing an accusing finger at me. "When it comes to women, your head only ever gets in the way."

I paused to consider Sirius' suggestion, and was about to argue with him when, for the second time that day, we heard a shriek come from somewhere in the house. This time however, there was no trace of happiness in it. Sirius looked anxiously at me as if for confirmation that the scream wasn't within his own mind, then the two of us rushed upstairs. I heard Harry shouting from the drawing room so burst into the room.

"What's going on?" I demanded. Molly was staring down at the lifeless body of a young man, tears coursing down her face, her shaking hand over her mouth. The body was Harry, but of course not the real Harry: he was standing by the glass cabinets staring blankly at his own dead body. I took out my wand.

"Riddikulus!" I said firmly. The body vanished and the full moon took it's place. Like Molly, I was reminded of my worst fear: death and injury. For Molly it was the death of her own family, for me it was the death of anyone by my own hand. With some anger I swiped away the Boggart with my wand. Far from being soothed by the Boggart's absence, Molly was consumed by a fresh storm of tears.

"Molly," I said hopelessly as I walked towards her, "Molly, don't..." I put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, and to my slight surprise she collapsed into my arms. She cried heavily into my shoulder, and I patted her head.

"Molly it was just a boggart, just a stupid boggart." I said quietly.

"I see them d-d-dead all the t-t-time!" She wept. "All the t-t-time! I d-d-dream about it..."

This was how is was during the first war: we lived in constant fear. People we knew died everyday, and every night we prayed that it wouldn't be someone that we loved who died tomorrow. As I held Molly, I remembered holding my mother in the same way, as she wept after I told her that my father, the love of her life, had been killed. I had met Molly for the first time just a week later, at at the funeral of her brothers, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, the very people my father had died trying to protect.

"D-d-don't tell Arthur, I d-d-don't want him to know...being silly..." Molly continued as she frantically tried to wipe the tears form her face. I wordlessly conjured a clean handkerchief and handed it to Molly, who took it gratefully and blew her nose.

"Harry, I'm so sorry." She said shakily to Harry who was standing awkwardly near the place where the vision of his own dead body had been. "What must you think of me? Not even able to get rid of a Boggart..."

"Don't be stupid." Harry said kindly, giving Molly a comforting smile.

"I'm just s-s-so worried," Molly admitted and fresh tears poured from her eyes, "Half the f-f-family's in the Order, it'll b-b-be a miracle if we all come through this...and P-P-Percy's not talking to us...what if something d-d-dreadful happens and we've never m-m-made it up with him? And what's going to happen if Arthur and I get killed, who's g-g-going to look after Ron and Ginny?"

"Molly, that's enough," I insisted before Molly could go any further. "This isn't like last time. The Order are better prepared, we've got a head start, we know what Voldemort's up to-"

Molly squeaked with fear at the sound of his name.

"Oh, Molly, come on, it's about time you got used to hearing his name -" I said briskly, "look, I can't promise no-one's going to hurt, nobody can promise that, but we're much better off than we were last time. You wren't in Order then, you don't understand. Last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one..."

"Don't worry about Percy," Sirius contributed, "he'll come round. It's only a matter of time before Voldemort moves into the open; once he does, the whole Ministry's going to be begging us to forgive them. And I'm not sure I'll be accepting their apology."

"And as for who's going to look after Ron and Ginny if you and Arthur died, what do you think we'd do, let them starve?" I said smiling encouragingly at Molly who gave a weak smile in return.

"Being silly..." She mumbled.

"Come on, let's get these kids to bed and have a cup of tea." Moody said. I knew he was trying to be comforting, but Moody's gruff voice seemed to make everything he said sound like an order. By the time we reached the kitchen Molly had composed herself so that the only thing that suggested she had been crying was the slight pink tinge to the whites of her eyes. Not wanting to go against Molly's wishes I didn't tell Arthur what had happened though judging from the concerned look he was giving his wife, I think he had guessed. I stayed up for the cup of tea Moody had suggested we have, then headed to bed.

While I brushed my teeth in the bathroom that adjoined both Sirius and Regulus' rooms, Sirius sat on the toilet so he could speak to me.

"Boggarts are strange things aren't they?" He remarked thoughtfully, "you don't normally think of them as being terribly dangerous creatures, but if they catch you at the wrong moment – they can send you to pieces. When I saw Harry's body there like that -"

I spat out the foam that had gathered in my mouth, and said, "I know. It's a horrible thought."

"I try not to think about what might happen to us, when war comes. I just focus on what we can do to win it, I don't think about how things could go wrong." Said Sirius.

"I think that's probably for the best – if you worried too much about what might happen, well, you'd break down like Molly did. I know I would anyway." I said wiping the traces of toothpaste from my lips with a towel. Sirius stared into space and chewed his lip, obviously ruminating on exactly what he had said he tries not to think about.

"You know, I don't know how I'd cope if I lost you or Harry or any of our friends." Sirius admitted sadly, then he laughed, "best make sure I'm the first to go."

"Jeysus Sirius can we not talk about something else." I complained feeling like a cold claw had wrapped around my heart for a moment. Sirius just grinned.

"Alright alright," he said, "we can talk about how you want to shag my cousin."

"Forget it, I'm going to bed." I said heading to the door that led to Regulus' room.

"Oh, come on!" Sirius whined, "I've hardly had time to tease you about it yet! I've thought of some great cradle-robbing related jokes!"

"Feck off you git!"

"Fine! I've got more werewolf ones anyway." Sirius called as I opened the door. "Like if all went well and you and Tonks ended up having kids, they'd be adorable little monsters with bright pink fur."

I leaned back round the bathroom door to tell Sirius: "That was phenomenally bad."

"Now, now, save that growl for seducing Tonks! Oh! I should tell her that you like to have your belly tickled!"

"Goodnight Sirius!" I said exiting the bathroom. I shouldn't have bothered though because Sirius opened the door a second after I shut it.

"I should warn her not to let you get too amorous though, I know you have a vicious love bite!" Sirius taunted. "And I'm a great believer in safe sex, Moony, so no shagging on the full moon."

"Go to bed Sirius!" I ordered trying to push him by the head out of my room.

"Oh! One more! She needs to know the sound you make when you're really in pain, you know, just in case she's looking after you during a transformation, or you're in bed and she accidentally elbows you in the face. Just tell her, the sound is 'ow-ow-aawooooooooo!"

"Oh for the love of Merlin!" I exclaimed forcing Sirius out of the room. "Goodnight!"