May 6th 1998

Harry stared at Alicia in shock. "Are you serious? Was anyone hurt?"

"All of the customers got out okay, thankfully," Alicia answered. "We'd only just opened so we weren't that busy."

"James!" Lily called, hearing the back door open. "Get in here!"

"Last time you yelled that, there'd been a mass murder," James said, appearing in the doorway. "What happened?"

"The twins' shop has been burned down," Lily told him. "It sounds like Fiendfyre if the aurors are still trying to extinguish it."

"They said it wasn't quite that bad," Alicia said, clinging to her boyfriend's hand. "Thankfully, they're more safety conscious than anyone gives them credit for. They had wards all over the place, so the fire didn't spread to the apartment upstairs and the fire didn't spread to the neighbours either."

"Can't tell Fred," George said again.

"Sweetheart, Fred's still unconscious," Lily said gently.

James cast a Patronus and sent it to find Sirius and Remus. "George. George, buddy, listen to me. We will make sure that you can rebuild, alright? You've still got the shop in Hogsmeade; you can keep going."

"Summer's coming up," George said hoarsely. "Diagon Alley would take most of the traffic."

The floo chimed and Sirius and Remus came tumbling out in quick succession.

"Merlin, James, what did you tell them?" Lily asked, startled by the worry on their faces.

"I may have been a bit too abrupt," James admitted. "Sorry."

The colour began to seep back into Sirius's face. "You git. You … George?"

"We're going to Diagon Alley," James told them. "The shop's on fire; we're going to go and see what we can do."

Sirius cursed, but clapped George on the shoulder. "Hang in there, mate."

George managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Padfoot."

"I'll get you some hot chocolate," Lily said, patting his arm, "and a Pepper-Up Potion; you look like you need it."

She was only half surprised when Alicia followed her.

"Mrs Potter, I'm worried," she said in a low voice.

"Alicia, please call me Lily," Lily said. "George is family, which makes you family. What's worrying you?"

"I don't think it's Death Eaters," Alicia said. "They wouldn't have any reason to go after the shop. But … there's no one that hates the shop like Mrs Weasley does."

"What do you think?" Lily asked.

Jen pursed her lips, her eyes glancing over to Fred's unconscious form, but didn't answer.

"A mother wouldn't do that to her sons," Addie said. "Would she?"

The three women were gathered at Ravenscroft Manor at Fred's bedside. George had finally agreed to get some rest, but only if someone was there with Fred to break the news to him if he woke up.

With James, Sirius and Remus still assessing the damage, Lily had jumped at the chance to floo over, and to discuss the matter with her friends.

"She's losing it," Jen said finally. "We've known that for a while."

The door to Fred's room opened and Percy stepped in, faltering when he saw them. "Oh, sorry …"

"Don't leave on our account," Jen said with a smile. "We're just keeping Fred company and gossiping. Relax," she added when his eyes darted towards Serenity. "Her head's blocking everything."

Percy gave a nervous smile and moved to the empty seat. "Did you say something about someone losing it?"

The three women glanced at each other.

"Percy," Addie said, "I don't know if you've noticed, but …"

"Mum's acting erratically," Percy finished heavily. "Yeah, I had noticed. She never even mentioned me leaving. I spoke to Dad and apologised, but Mum won't even talk about it. Dad agrees she needs to speak to someone, but Mum just insists that she's fine." He hesitated. "This morning, she wasn't home when I got up and when she got back, she smelled of smoke of all things." He looked around at the three of them, reading the worry on their faces. "What?"

"I'll go and speak to her," Addie said, standing. "I might have an idea."

Jen nodded. "I'll finish feeding Serenity then go to Ministry to get Arthur. I think we all need to get together and talk about the situation. Maybe if we all give Arthur what we've seen, he might take action."

Addie left the other two to explain to Percy what had happened, and hurried downstairs to take the transport stone to the apparition point.

The idea was starting to take hold in her mind; if it worked, it would be brilliant.

If it didn't …

Well, best not think abut that.

Molly met her at the door with a smile and no signs that anything was wrong. She puttered around the kitchen, making tea, while Addie sat at the kitchen table, nibbling on a ginger biscuit, or trying to, anyway.

Percy was right - the smell of smoke was overwhelming.

"What brings you here, Addie?" Molly asked, placing the teapot on the table. "I would have thought you'd have classes."

Classes were still cancelled to help with rebuilding, but if Addie was right, Molly would have blocked that fact from her mind.

"Well, I wanted to come and speak to you," Addie answered. "I don't know if you've heard, but I'm expecting twins in November."

Molly beamed at her. "Oh, how wonderful!"

Addie smiled. "Thank you. I figured you had some experience in that area."

"Oh, I'm sure yours will be better behaved than my two," Molly said, just a hint of annoyance entering her voice.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Addie muttered under her breath. Aloud, she said, "What's that smell? It smells like something's burning."

Molly didn't even glance towards the oven. "I had to do something, Addie."

"About the shop?" Addie asked.

"They've got it out of their system," Molly said, taking a sip of tea. "It's time for them to get a proper job now. While you're here," she added, holding up two fabric swatches, "which do you think?"

Addie frowned, thrown off by the sudden change in topic. "For what?"

"The wedding," Molly answered. "I'm trying to pick napkins."

They both looked the same colour to Addie, a kind of pinkish cream. "Erm … the one on the right?"

Molly nodded. "Yes, that's what I thought. The other one would clash horribly with Ginny's hair."

Addie set her teacup down. "Has Ginny given an opinion?"

"Ginny's refusing to discuss it," Molly said, a little disapprovingly. "I know the wedding's not for a few years, but she's only got two summers to plan it. And Harry, bless his heart, won't have an inkling."

"Molly," Addie said gently. "You know your children are worried about you."

"I'm fine," Molly said, rolling her eyes. "I really don't understand what's got them all so shaken up. I blame Jen, you know."

That explained the number of Howlers, and the fact that Lily hadn't had any.

"Well, I'm on your side," Addie said. "There's nothing wrong with wanting the best for your children."

"Thank you," Molly said. "At least someone understands."

Addie smiled at her. "I might have an idea to make the children feel better."

As she expected, taking that approach immediately got Molly onside. "Thank goodness - what is it?"

"Well, you know I'm a natural Legilimens," Addie said. "That's how I could help Frank and Alice. What if I take a look, and then I can tell your children that you're okay."

Molly hesitated. "You could just tell them you did."

"I could," Addie conceded. "But Hermione's the same and she'd know I was lying."

Molly was silent for a few seconds, and Addie waited, hiding her nerves in her tea.

If Molly did not agree, there would be no choice but to persuade Arthur to invoke his Head of House position to force her to get medical care - a decision she was sure would break his heart.

"Alright," Molly said finally. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"Not at all," Addie said, setting her teacup to one side. "We don't even need to make eye contact, which is good, because that's the bit I get the giggles with."

Molly cracked a smile. "I'm not surprised."

Addie took her hands across the table. "Okay, take a deep breath for me and just relax." She closed her eyes, plunging into Molly's mind.

Entering another person's mind was the strangest thing - Addie had no idea if it was the same for those who weren't naturals, but she really did not enjoy it.

As a result, Molly's was probably only the fourth or fifth mind she had entered.

She flew past thoughts and feelings, all of the outer areas of the mind, before landing with a thud in Professor McGonagall's office at Hogwarts.

Molly and Arthur were setting in front of her desk, both white-faced with fear.

"I'm so sorry," Minerva was saying. "We're trying to pull together a team to locate the Chamber, but Ginny's chances really don't look good."

This must have been the day Ginny went missing, Addie realised, and she suddenly noticed a strange mist floating into the office, like she was watching the memory through a haze. She followed it, through Molly's memories, until she ended up in the Hogwarts infirmary.

Hermione was sitting with Padfoot's head on her lap, her eyes fixed on her hand scratching his ears while she told Molly and several of her children that Voldemort had returned.

The mist began to get thicker, until Addie could barely see.

Blinking, she withdrew from Molly's mind, returning to the kitchen at The Burrow.

Molly was looking at her with concern. "Did you find something?"

Addie hesitated. "It's probably nothing."

"But it might not be," Molly said.

"There's a really strange mist," Addie said slowly. "It appeared when Ginny disappeared in her first year and settled properly when Voldemort returned, probably because you couldn't deal with what was happening. I don't think it's doing anything, but it could be … affecting your judgement."

"Get rid of it then please," Molly said. "I don't need it anymore."

Addie hesitated - she wasn't entirely sure what would happen if she did, and she was certain that Molly wasn't really in a state to make an informed decision on the matter.

At the same time, this was almost certainly the only opportunity she would have. She stepped back into Molly's mind, took hold of the mist, and pulled.