13
THE kitchen was quite a bustle of activity as Norah gingerly stepped inside, with most of the other Order members already sitting at their respective places at the long rectangular wooden table.
Given the immense pain in the young werewolf's side and the burning pain in her ankle, it felt like such a short walk as she sized up the only two chairs left at the very end, next to him.
Norah's blood bristled in her veins as her wolfish sight landed upon Mundungus Fletcher, the witless git, who'd given her such awful directions on how to get to the Headquarters.
His face blanched immediately upon meeting the werewolf's piercing, hardened stare, and he immediately looked away. Norah looked to the man's left, seeing the only other chair available was to Remus's left, and Tonks's right, sitting in the middle, which meant Brennan couldn't sit by her.
Not that the man was looking like he wanted to, she thought in a somewhat mean fashion as the man's pale features quickly flushed as he sneered. Brennan quickly took the seat on the opposite end of the table, just across from where Norah sat, though the man pointedly averted his cold gaze.
Norah resisted the urge to huff in frustration. She hoped Brennan would have calmed down a bit from his tirade earlier, but that didn't seem to be the case, and a ginger-haired woman, Molly, she thought someone called her, interrupted her musings of her new partner here in the Order.
"Help yourself to the potatoes, dear, and pass them on," came the matronly, older witch's kind voice, and suddenly, Norah found herself holding a bowl of buttered garlic mashed potatoes. She blushed and took the bowl, mumbling a half-hearted thanks under her breath as she worked quickly to dish up her potatoes without comment.
To her left, Lupin held the platter of meatballs while Tonks speared a couple and put them on his plate, and then turned and did the same for her.
Norah silently tried to thank the witch her age with her eyes. Tonks returned the look with one of her own that suggested Jameson did not have to.
"…A bit chilly, huh?" Norah chuckled nervously, attempting small talk with Lupin and Tonks as the rest of the Order helped themselves to food. She noticed Brennan out of the corner of her vision, watching her, begrudgingly interested.
"We've noticed," Lupin answered kindly, though he was seemingly interested in continuing his conversation with Tonks, and Norah fell silent.
Norah swallowed thickly down past the lump in her throat, not wanting to spare the man so much as a second glance for the rest of the night if she could help it.
Suddenly, the room felt like it darkened as Professor Dumbledore reappeared, an unusually stern expression upon his withered face. He hesitated, lingering at the head of the table.
Norah eyed the aging old warlock for the first time since earlier when she'd almost argued with the man.
What was he doing back here, then?! Oh, my Merlin, he knows, she thought breathlessly, her blue eyes widening and going round with shock, taking note of how Albus Dumbledore stiffened a bit before taking a seat.
It did not escape the young blonde werewolf's attention how, when everyone settled down once their plates were prepared, how Brennan's blue eyes that still burned bright with anger towards her seemed cracked and red-rimmed at the irises.
Her gaze followed his movements curiously, still hurt, of course, but nevertheless, intrigued. Norah began to notice that all of them, Brennan, Lupin, Tonks, and even herself if she were to look in a mirror, suffered from red eyes.
Yes, there was definitely tension in the air and drama brewing between the four of them tonight.
The young blonde witch let out a tired sigh and glanced down at her plate, unable to remember when she'd been in the presence of so much delicious-looking food.
Her plate was utterly packed. Meatballs, mashed potatoes with butter and garlic, dinner rolls, green bean casserole, stuffing, the works. Father back home never fed her this much of a smorgasbord all at one time.
Norah rolled her eyes to herself as she shoved a spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, not realizing that the Order of the Phoenix, whenever they convened as a group, often gave thanks to Merlin and His Light for the meal.
Dumbledore's dark little chuckle that escaped his lips gave it away, startling the blonde wolf as Jameson looked up, with a guilty blush flushing her pale cheeks.
"My, someone's hungry. If you don't mind, Miss Jameson, we often give thanks to Merlin before we sit down to eat as a group. Perhaps you would like to start?" Dumbledore questioned Norah kindly.
Ollie couldn't help but roll his eyes and scoff, though no one else heard it save for Remus and Norah, both werewolves shooting the dark-haired Legilimens a rather scathing glower for his unnecessary noise and hostile behavior towards her.
"O—oh," she stammered, not sure what else to say in that regard, suddenly feeling her blush intensify as all of the heads currently seated at the kitchen table swiveled to look in her general direction. To say it made her feel uneasy was an understatement. "W—well, I—if you insist, Albus."
Norah felt her cheeks flush a dark beet red and part of her felt like bursting into tears from the sheer awkwardness of her situation this evening.
Ollie huffed in disgust and folded his arms across his chest. What a Merlin-damned insult.
"Uncouth witch," he muttered to himself darkly. Both Lupin and Tonks's heads whiplashed sharply upward from their places at the other side of the table and shot their mutual friend a truly withering glower for his unnecessary comment.
Norah, thanks to her sharp, wolfish hearing, had heard every word uttered in malice and a pained expression flitted across her ashen features as she drew in a shaky breath, trying to ignore how hurt his comment made her feel.
"Merlin…we, ah, thank you for this meal, and I myself would like to thank you for bringing me these two gentlemen sitting by my side tonight, for if it weren't for them, I'd surely be dead."
Here, she glanced to her right and saw a light blush speckle along Remus's cheeks, while Ollie's flashing blue eyes shifted, darkening in color, and narrowing in a look of anger.
Norah swallowed, trying to ignore her partner's piercing glacier stare currently devoid of warmth.
She forced a strained smile onto her face as she desperately looked towards Dumbledore for a distraction.
"And I would further ask that you bless Professor Dumbledore, for the man has granted me an opportunity not usually given to a…" Oh, Merlin here it goes, "to a werewolf-like myself," she muttered darkly under her breath, lowering her voice. She figured it was better to get her condition out into the open and let them all get riled up all at once, rather than having to explain separately to everyone in private just what the hell was wrong with her.
Norah drew in a breath and waited for the entire table to erupt into an enraged outburst.
But it didn't come. They merely looked at her, sitting, waiting, acting like polite adults while they patiently waited for Norah to continue the prayer. Norah's cobalt blue eyes widened a moment before her blush intensified. She paused, unsure whether or not to continue as she accidentally locked her gaze with Brennan yet a third time.
Her heart jumped against its cage and her cheeks managed to burn even hotter than before. She could not back down, and Norah narrowed her own piercing eyes of blue in suspicion at him, at how he stared.
"I am grateful to Dumbledore for this opportunity, and I will do my hardest to not disappoint the organization. I hope that you all will accept me into your group as one of your own, and may you, Merlin, grace us with your light, and see fit to bless everyone here at this table. Thank you."
She huffed and folded her arms across her chest, feeling like throwing her fully-loaded plate of food at the blue-eyed handsome bastard giving her a look of daggers.
Brennan grumbled something inaudible under his breath and shoveled a bite of food in his mouth. Tonks, curious, slowly looked over between her best mate and their new recruit out of interest.
Things were beginning to add up…
Professor Dumbledore slowly cleared his throat. "As I am sure you are all aware, before we get too comfortable digging into this truly delectable meal that Molly has prepared for us tonight, there has been increasing amounts of Death Eater activity, and it has been suspected that Fenrir Greyback is in the area, as a few Muggles were viciously attacked earlier this evening, their bodies found in an alley, their throats ripped out."
Norah, who had been about to take a bite of her food, promptly lowered her fork, her blue eyes wide and round with shock, and a sheen of sweat along her browbone.
She hoped no one at the table noticed her strange shift in countenance at the mention of her father's name.
The quiet, somber mood of the news delivered startled the blonde so badly, she nearly choked on her spoon as her bite of meatball went down the wrong windpipe, and it took Remus Lupin giving her a few good hits on her back for it to dislodge. An eyebrow raised in confusion as Lupin looked at her.
"Are you all right, Norah?" he asked.
"Fine," she blurted out hoarsely, reaching for her wine goblet to down a swig. "Just choked a bit. Was there…was there something you needed, Professor Dumbledore? Perhaps ah, Remus, and I could go check it out for you. If it's a werewolf attack, the signs will be obvious," Norah quickly spoke up in a raised voice, wanting to steer the conversation away from herself, praying her eyes did not betray her fears.
"That is quite kind of you, my dear," Albus began, peering at Norah over the rim of his silver, half-moon spectacles, his blue eyes twinkling. "However, considering Mr. Lupin seated next to you is Miss Tonks's partner and not yours, I would advise you and Mr. Brennan going first thing in the morning."
"What?!" Ollie exclaimed violently.
Norah's eyes widened in shock as Ollie, who startled a bit, looked up to see her panicked expression, and his face paled in anger. Norah let out a sardonic little laugh despite her best efforts to contain her honesty about the revolt she currently nursed against her new partner, shaking her head.
This situation was an utter joke. Now she was well and truly in a bind. She was now, for better or worse, stuck with him on a mission. Alone. Just the two of them, and…and…
Greyback's words to her earlier tonight rang in her throbbing eardrums, which roared with sound.
Seduce him. Get the man to fall in love with you before I rip his heart out with my own claws…
Norah flinched and actively averted her gaze. Professor Dumbledore ignored the young blonde werewolf's outburst as he continued, his lips pursed into a scowl, with Norah not paying any attention.
The rest of the dinner seemed to drag on in a truly awkward silence that never seemed to lift.
Quickly dismissing himself, Ollie Brennan bolted so fast from his chair in his haste to leave, that the towering, dark-haired man stumbled and almost overturned his chair in the process, and left, with a sneer, not glancing back over his shoulder even once, not sparing Norah a glance.
Slowly, the other Order members trickled out, until it was only the red-haired woman from earlier, Mrs. Weasley, but she had instructed Norah during the dinner to just call her Molly.
Norah nervously met the redheaded woman's gaze, but quickly looked back down as she saw Molly rise.
She stumbled, tripping over herself trying to leave, hoping the older witch would excuse Jameson for her lack of grace, considering she was still healing, when the witch called out.
"Wait! Miss Jameson! Norah, dear, a moment."
Norah, who had been heading for the doorway, turned gingerly on her heels, one hand on the door's frame to steady her wobbling, uneven gait.
Mrs. Weasley was smiling at the young blonde werewolf kindly, a quiet expression of nurturing etched on her lined and slightly weathered face.
She was standing with her back to Norah, though Molly had turned her head to look at Norah and was fussing over what looked like to Norah were a pan of freshly-baked double chocolate fudge brownies.
Just the smell of chocolate made her eyes water and her mouth start to salivate a bit. When she turned back to regard Norah still standing in the doorway, her dark brown eyes were twinkling.
"Your new partner left the kitchen before I had a chance to offer him dessert," Molly added in a tone that sounded more than a little annoyed and offended, and Norah faltered in movement. "I'm sure that boy's had quite a, ah, rough day, shall we say, considering the circumstances. Much like you have, dear. I merely thought that you could be a love and take some of these to him, perhaps make amends," Molly offered Norah softly.
As if to emphasize her point, she held out a small plate now holding four of the brownies.
Norah was briefly tempted to fling the plate right out of Molly's hands, or better yet, poison the brownies and only then give them to Brennan and watch as he choked.
The young blonde felt a fiery heat creep to her cheeks. "W—wait," she stammered. "You…heard?"
Mrs. Weasley chuckled darkly and moved to sit at the kitchen table. "My dear, perhaps the entire household heard of your argument with Mr. Brennan. Ollie's voice carries when he so wishes it. I imagine he is not taking the death of his father well," she added somberly, her eyes darkening.
Molly's insatiable curiosity was practically bursting at the seams. Unable to hold her tongue any longer, she asked the young witch the question that had been burning on the tip of her tongue ever since her unorthodox arrival this evening, and even more so upon hearing Ollie shout at Norah earlier.
"You have an…interesting look in your eyes, Miss Jameson. Judging by that strange look you got on your face just now when I mentioned Ollie, I take it you're familiar with the man and his father?" Molly questioned in a nonchalant tone.
She was careful to mind her choice of words around the young woman, not wanting to startle the blonde any more so than the girl already was.
"I…" Norah started to say but faltered off.
There was a time when telling the truth was admirable. And other times, not so much. Moreover, given that barely knew Molly Weasley standing next to her, she decided, for now, at least, against telling the older red-haired witch the truth.
At least all of it, that was. Norah decided a partial truth would work in her favor, perhaps.
"I ah…know of him," Norah stammered, recollecting Brennan's name, both his and his father, Jack, coming up in passing conversation amongst Greyback and the other Death Eaters whenever the Dark Lord would host meetings.
The blush speckling in her cheeks refused to leave. If anything, it only deepened as her embarrassment worsened.
Was she that obvious? Was Molly Weasley simply a woman that observant? Apparently so, judging by the way her kind brown eyes narrowed and regarded her, somewhat suspiciously, though she did not speak.
The older witch had backed Norah into a corner with no way out. Jameson wildly wracked her brain trying to think of a retort. But none came.
"I…ah…well…h—his father, Jack was a…" she stammered, swallowing thickly past the lump in her throat. But to her surprise and immense relief, Mrs. Weasley held up a hand to stop Norah's incessant babbling as she stammered to think of an excuse to explain how it was, she knew of Jack.
Molly let a light little chuckle escape her lips. "Calm yourself, dear. I got the gist of your rambling. Nothing to trouble yourself over, Norah. You might be surprised to learn this, but it was Ollie who saved your life tonight from Rookwood."
Norah's eyes widened and all she could do was blink owlishly at the red-haired older witch and nod. She did not want to let on that she'd already learned this for herself by probing Lupin's mind earlier.
The guilt at what Greyback was forcing her to do sat not on Norah's chest, but inside the werewolf's mind, tormenting her, and she had not really even gotten to know her new partner yet. What Father was forcing her to do, to the very man who had saved her life from that—that creep of a man that dared to call himself a loyalist to Voldemort?
Norah could probably make amends to Brennan in subtle ways, but confession to anyone here in the Order of the Phoenix was off the table.
Especially since that git, Mundungus Fletcher was in the Order and couldn't keep a bloody secret if his stupid, miserable life depended on it, and it was this fact that Norah realized there was no guarantee her confession would be private.
No. Best to assume the walls of this hovel had eyes and ears, especially with Dumbledore and Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody around, Norah thought.
The young blonde werewolf could tell just by looking at Mrs. Weasley, that the matronly witch was very likely the 'walls' of this townhouse, with eyes and ears as keen as a hawk's.
She definitely seemed like a gossip hound, with a vast wealth of information, as Mrs. Weasley had filled Norah in on who was who in the Order during dinner.
To her surprise, what the older witch said next surprised Norah. "That man, Mr. Brennan, is a hero, whether he thinks of himself as one or not. I've said it time and time again since he joined us a few years back, around the same time as Tonks, he does not give himself credit where credit is due. If it weren't for Ollie, Tonks, and Lupin both would have been killed a few months ago at the Ministry. I owe that boy, I think of those two like family. And…considering you're the man's new partner, now, if you're going to stay here with us, I think you owe it to yourself to get to know him better."
Molly shot her a kind smile. "It's the least you could do for the man, after all," she pressed on, almost as an afterthought. "He did save your life."
Norah resisted the urge to groan in frustration, finding it incredibly difficult not to seize tufts of her blonde hair and throw back her head, and scream. She was right. Merlin damn her, but Molly was right. Besides, Greyback would be even more furious with her to learn she'd not at least tried to introduce herself to the man who'd killed her uncle.
Adopted uncle, Norah quickly reminded herself, squeezing her eyes shut as visions of Bryce's face flitted through the forefront of her exhausted mind. And Greyback is NOT my father.
Norah listened intently, not realizing she'd been hanging onto Molly Weasley's every word until she exhaled slowly through her nose, not even aware she'd drawn in a breath and held it while she held out her hands to accept the plate of brownies.
"As a Legilimens, he's an integral part of obtaining information and keeping our organization running smoothly, though he'll tell you otherwise," Mrs. Weasley snorted in a playful manner, rolling her brown eyes in jest at Norah. "The man is far too modest, as I said, and thinks too lowly of himself if you ask my opinion, dear. I think that, in time, the two of you could get along if you would give yourself a chance to know him."
Her brown eyes lost their kindly shimmer and had suddenly grown wistful, as if she were remembering something she did not want to, her smile fading as the corners of her mouth twitched.
Norah furrowed her brows in a frown, knitting them together in confusion at the older witch's sudden abruptness in her cheery disposition.
"And you think…I could be that brute's friend, Mrs. Weasley?" Norah breathed in a breathless voice. She almost laughed at Molly's inner wish.
"He is not a brute, my dear, and you would do well to mind your language around me. I'll not have that kind of talk about Mr. Brennan coming from anyone within this Order, know this now," Molly admonished, her hands now on her hips, the edges of her voice clipped.
She narrowed her gaze and looked toward the young blonde in a moment of suspicion.
There it was again, she noticed. That strange look tinged with just a hint of melancholy in her blue eyes. Molly just had to know for sure. Something about this entire situation felt a little 'off' to her.
"You are quite certain you've never met Ollie before, perhaps out on the streets?" Mrs. Weasley asked carefully, and to her disappointment, she was not surprised when the young blonde werewolf shook her head, confirming her suspicions, though there was a strange, unreadable glint in her eyes.
Molly let out a sigh of understanding and nodded. "Oh." Her face fell, crestfallen. "That's a shame, dear. I merely thought, you get this strange look in your eyes whenever his name or his father is mentioned in passing conversation and, well…I would be lying to you if I said I did not think Mr. Brennan could use a friend, considering…circumstances," she stammered, her cheeks flushing, wondering how much of Remus and Tonks's relationship she could divulge to Norah.
But it was not a secret the man still harbored unresolved feelings for his best friend, though whether or not he would learn how to deal with them in an appropriate way or not, remained to be seen.
She was surprised when the werewolf gestured towards the area of skin under her eye.
"Jack, his father, was behind that, his...his scar, wasn't he?" the young blonde witch asked in a somber voice.
Molly knew immediately the blonde was referring to the burn mark underneath Ollie's eye. "Y—yes, that's…that's right," Mrs. Weasley stammered, glancing at the girl out of the corner of her eyes as she turned back to the stovetop to continue cutting the rest of the brownies and putting them on a platter with the intent to deliver to the rest of the Order.
She herself almost never became flustered like this, especially in the presence of another witch, so what was going on? It was this woman, Molly was sure of it. Molly could not explain it, but something about this petite little blonde werewolf was… was different.
She could tell Norah Jameson was a special young woman, just like her Ginny was, just like Hermione and Tonks were. To save the poor thing from the further embarrassment of making an even bigger fool of herself, Mrs. Weasley took initiative to try to steer their conversation in a different direction.
Molly did not want to discuss Jack Brennan. It was bad enough the entire household had probably heard how the boy had flown off the handle and lost control when Tonks had informed the young man of the Death Eater's passing.
"I was merely suggesting, dear, that if you were his friend or not his friend, even, I guess, since he did have a hand in saving your life tonight, that you might try to get to know him better. If nothing else comes of it, then you should thank Ollie. It's the right thing to do, Norah. Ollie's work keeps him busy, and considering how he gets…"
Here, she pantomimed headaches, wildly gesturing with her hands, given the man was a natural-born Legilimens, he very rarely ventured out into the streets, hating that he could not turn off his gift of reading peoples' minds whenever he so chose to.
Jameson quickly nodded her understanding. "He…and I…" she began slowly, trying to find her words. "Might have gotten off on the wrong foot," Norah said slowly and cautiously, twisting her fingers together, "but if what you tell me is true, and he did save me, then…maybe he is not so bad," she whispered, suddenly sounding ashamed.
"Ollie is very nice and quite kind. He doesn't get out much, as I'm sure you can understand. He has…"
Mrs. Weasley paused, unsure just how much of the man's past involving Jack, what little she pieced together from what Ollie had told her, and what Tonks, as the man's best friend, had let her know as well, that she could divulge to her.
In the end, she decided less was better. And if the blonde wanted to know more about her new partner, then the only way she would get answers would be to directly ask the man her questions herself and open up to him.
"He's had a difficult life, and it has been challenging for him, adjusting to life in the Order."
This much was true. The man rarely indulged in conversation with the other Order members, save for Remus, Tonks, and sometimes Sirius.
But perhaps now that this cute little slip of a blonde witch was here, werewolf or not, maybe Jameson would be just the type to break him out of his spiraling torpid whirl of depression.
"Why?" Norah asked, interested, feeling her brows knit together in confusion as she clung to the little plate of brownies to take up to the man.
She paused as she pondered over her next choice of words, wanting to be careful in what she said. It wouldn't be good at all if the man were to learn that she was gossiping about him behind his back, though Molly seemed kind enough, really.
"He could… leave if he…if he wanted to," Norah whispered, visions of her new partner's face flitting in the front of her mind as she talked about him, though it took her a moment to realize that she was really referring to herself, and Greyback.
What was even more troubling, were her thoughts on this matter.
How Molly and Lupin and Tonks and even Dumbledore were right about her. That she owed it to the man who'd saved her life tonight to try to befriend him, to make amends.
Here she was, in a safe house, Headquarters to the Order, no less, miles away from Father and his filth, but would she ever really truly be free of the Alpha's cruelty, if only she stayed in these walls?
"He could, but he chooses not to. I think there is a small part of him that likes being around the select few people that he does trust," Molly added, thinking of Lupin and Tonks, before giving her head a curt shake to clear it, and continuing. "I think he quite likes his room here, but whenever I do talk to Ollie on those rare occasions, I get the feeling that, well, something's missing in his life."
Her original idea came back to mind as she looked into werewolf Norah Jameson's blue eyes.
Molly had seen it during the duration of the dinner earlier first hand for herself, the fleeting glances she gave Ollie Brennan, and the looks he sometimes shot her in return, watching her out of the corner of his eye, clearly interested.
Jameson wasn't outright admitting it, but it was clear that Norah knew something about Ollie that Mrs. Weasley did not, and she couldn't help but getting the feeling that, despite Ollie never having met the witch until tonight, that Norah somehow knew this man. Or knew of him.
They had to have met before. They just had to.
"Dear, why don't you take those up to him?" Molly suggested kindly, gesturing towards the plate of brownies in her hand. "The man stays busy up in his room by himself, always fighting those headaches. He wouldn't even stop to eat if we didn't make him. Oliver could use the company, and it would be a good excuse to introduce yourself, since you're going to be staying with us for quite some time, perhaps indefinitely, you might as well get to know your new partner, yes?"
Molly was expecting the werewolf to jump at the chance to do this one small favor for her, though she hoped the werewolf wouldn't catch onto what she was really doing.
This new girl had a keen sense of intelligence about her. If perhaps she was a little bit strange, saying things at times, talking to herself in a way that made no sense.
But the girl was cute enough.
Almost spritely, with elfin-like features and a beautiful smile, and an infectious personality, which Molly thought it strange for her to make another connection so fast. She had known Norah Jameson for all of maybe an hour, at best. The young woman looked to be around Tonks's age, maybe a year or two older, maybe closer to Ollie's age, she couldn't say.
"Age is right. You might be just what he needs." Only when Jameson's head turned to regard what Molly had said did she realized she'd said it aloud.
"Wh—what?" Jameson stammered. "Molly? Did...did you say something?"
Molly blanched and immediately tried to correct her mistake. "I—I meant…it will be good for Ollie to have a partner close to his own age to talk to."
Whatever kind of reaction Molly had been expecting the blonde witch to have, pure unadulterated terror was admittedly, not one of them.
The matronly witch watched as the wolf's blonde eyes grew wide and round with shock at the very suggestion. Molly noticed with some small measure of affection that the girl had the same nervous habit that Ollie did, of taking her hands, painfully twisting them together whenever she was nervous or thinking about something that ailed her, weaving her fingers in between her knuckles.
Norah cast a wary glance over her shoulder towards the kitchen's entryway, and Molly didn't even have to look to know she was looking towards the stairwell, not wanting to go up there alone.
"Oh, but Mrs. Weasley, I…I can't!" she squeaked and grabbed a hold of the skirts of her black dress as she stepped back a few paces, a look of utter horror on her face. "Um, what if he doesn't want to be bothered? Maybe he has a headache? He will yell at me again for sneaking up there, won't he?"
"No, dear. I seriously doubt he would turn you away," chuckled Molly kindly. "I will admit," she added, heaving a tired sigh, "that Ollie doesn't tend to take kindly to strangers coming up to his room unannounced, as we've had…ah, problems, shall we say, the last few weeks with his headaches."
She paused, cringing as Molly recanted the number of times the man had erupted into an outburst, his screams of anguished torment practically rattling the very walls of Headquarters.
"But…" Norah's voice trailed off as she looked into Molly's eyes, unable to tear her gaze away.
"If I go up there, I tend to just annoy him to no end," she confessed rather sheepishly, reaching up to tuck back a stray lock of red hair that had come loose from her bun.
A light chuckle escaped her lips as her brown eyes grew hazy as she remembered something, no doubt remembering the last time she had annoyed him.
"No, I think the best chance I have of reaching the boy who, I might add, is something like a son to me, is if a beautiful woman such as yourself goes up there and tries to talk to him." If it was possible, the girl's eyes grew even wider, almost bug-like.
"Please, Norah," begged Molly, as she fell silent and waited for Norah.
The witch watched and waited patiently as Norah fought the internal conflict that was currently waging war in her mind and stifled her urge to smile at her.
Were this any normal woman, most would be worried about taking Molly up on her request for fear of what they would find when they went up to his room. There were, suffice to say, still quite a few people out there who labeled Ollie Brennan as some form of demon or beast or a monster rather than a man.
But with this creature, Molly sensed that such was not the case.
No, there was something else entirely on her mind. Noting that the girl's inner struggle was not going to cease anytime soon, she spoke once more, this time in a sincerer fashion, losing any semblance of teasing.
"Please. Let me put it to you this way, Norah," she began, setting the tray down on a side table and rested against the wall for support. "You would be doing me an enormous favor, and if, for whatever reason, things should go sour up there, I will bear the brunt of the blame as it was my idea in the first place."
It was the use of the word please that did it, Molly knew then. Molly decided to offer a few words of what she called 'matronly encouragement,' given that she had seven children and was quite used to this by now, but she cared for Ollie Brennan like he was her own son.
This girl could very well become like a daughter to her if she opened up. Molly sighed sadly as she stared at the youthful blonde opposite her.
She knew exactly what was happening to the poor dear, the emotions she was feeling at being away from her home, she had seen the process again and again with each new Order member that came to them with no family to go home to.
By keeping busy, by remaining focused on some menial task, they could forget.
"Is everything okay, Norah?" asked Molly as she drew closer to her.
Norah's head, which had been lowered, quite possibly so Molly would not see the tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes and threatened to spill over, whiplashed sharply up at hearing the witch ask her yet another question.
"Oh, yes, Mrs. Weasley, everything is fine!" she replied brightly.
Molly scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Molly, dear, Molly! Everyone who stays with us here in our doors is equal, at least around me. The first couple of weeks are usually the hardest if you're new to the Order of the Phoenix, so if there is anything you need while you are staying with us, anything you wish to discuss, come to me, and we can always chat over a glass of wine while I cut your hair."
"O—oh," stammered Norah, unable to form a coherent reply. All she could do was stare and blink owlishly at Molly, touched and quite frankly, in awe of the witch's kindness.
She had not expected anyone in Headquarters to be so kind to her, given what she had come for.
To seduce one of their own members and the added bonus that she was a werewolf, besides. Norah had fully been expecting the Order to turn her away, or for everyone that she had met in this world to be rude, impolite, and generally unkind to someone such as her.
However, in her current state of unease and vulnerability, kindness coming from someone like Molly felt like a stab in the heart with a rusty dagger, twisted so far in her chest she couldn't pull it out.
She could fear her eyes beginning to tear up. "Thank you, Molly," she croaked hoarsely. "For your kind words and your concern, but I am certain I will be just fine, I can handle Brennan and his temper," she replied, and she recognized her voice sounded cold.
"Of course, child," Molly replied kindly, not blaming Norah in the least for not knowing how to react to her situation. "I need to distribute the rest of these before they get cold," she added, gesturing towards the pan of brownies she'd just finished cutting. "Let me know how it goes up there," she added, a coy grin forming on her lips as she pointedly turned away.
Norah nodded. Biting her lip, Norah cast one last longing glance towards the stairwell as she headed out of the kitchens, and that was when Molly sensed the shift within the young blonde woman as something changed.
She gave a curt nod, signaling she would do this, though there was no mistaking the look of trepidation in those bewitching eyes of hers as she gingerly gathered the plate in her hands, carefully balancing the tray in one hand, lifted the skirts of her black lace dress a bit as she began to climb the stairs, a newfound determination and courage seeming to propel her to go.
Molly watched the strange little blonde depart, and, as the girl climbed the stairs, the witch was inexplicably hit by the feeling that before too long, it was likely she would have new stories to tell Remus and Tonks and the others, assuming this new girl and the Legilimens hit it off as she hoped.
She would be the first to admit the boy deserved love in his life.
"Maybe this girl will be the one for him," she mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully before disappearing down the hallway. "Only time will tell."
And at that moment, Molly had no idea just how right she was.
I thought it would be nice to have Mrs. Weasley play matchmaker for a change instead of Dumbledore, though Dumbledore has his own reasons for pairing the two damaged and broken souls together in a non-romantic kind of way, but more on that later.
Coming up in Ch. 14, Norah dares to enter Ollie's room unannounced, but will her new partner take her unexpected presence in his room well, or will he fly off the handle into an unpredictable rage again? Stay tuned for more!