Authors note: You all wanted to know why Molly acts the way she does & here is my response. This is from the same universe as awakening solace but I promise not all of my stories are. Just this one. By the way this is going to be a very short story 2-3 chapters at the most.

Molly's Dark Day

Part One: Molly's madness

by Empathicallychosen

"I believe that always, or almost always, in this all childhood and in all the lives that follow them, the mother represents madness. Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met."--Marguerite Duras

(o)(o)(o)

Sirius Black was just tumbling out of bed by the time his brother Remus came in to wake him for the fifth time that morning. It was a running joke between them that Remus couldn't imagine why their brother James named Sirius godfather and guardian over their fifteen-month-old nephew Harry. Remus always claimed that if anything were to happen to Lily and James poor Remus would be stuck raising two toddlers. The last time this statement was made young Harry overheard and the powerful little wizard refused to speak to his Uncle Moony for the rest of the evening despite Remus's reassurance Harry was the one Remus wanted to look after. Remus didn't make statements like that anymore.

Instead he resorted to rolling his eyes and dirty looks whenever Sirius refused to act his age. Something coincidently that Sirius refused to do on a daily basis. Except of course when he was working as an Auror. Mostly because the head Auror Moody was scarier than most of the Death Eaters Sirius was working to capture. Not to mention the fact that the world was currently at war with one of the darkest wizards of all times. It was bad enough that Lord Voldemort was tearing apart families and killing off people that Sirius knew from his days at Hogwarts but just yesterday afternoon Sirius received horrible news that made this war all the more personal.

Professor Dumbledore Voldemort's sworn enemy received reliable intelligence that the evil overlord put little Harry and his two best friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley on the top of his hit list and in two weeks James and Lily would take Harry and Hermione into hiding while little Ron and his family went to Ireland to go into hiding with Molly's parents. No one took this news well at all. Lily ran from the office and was gone until well after James put their child to bed.

Neither James nor Sirius was positive as to where she'd been but Sirius suspected the young mother had gone to a graveyard in Kent. Just last week Lily had to bury her parents after a tragic car accident. It was never a good time to hear that somebody wanted to hurt your baby but professor Dumbledore couldn't have chosen a worse time to make this announcement if he tried.

Still Lily's reaction couldn't compare to that of Ron's mother Molly Weasley. Both of her brothers and their entire families were recently killed during a Death Eater raid on Diagon Alley. She was very close to her brothers. Gideon in particular and family meant the world to her . . . Molly prided herself on being a mother. She had six red-haired boys and a child on the way. Molly's greatest fear was losing any member of her family to Lord Voldemort. Upon hearing the news that her youngest son was now a target Molly was frantic. She then rounded on Arthur slapping him hard across the face claiming that Ron received his powers from Arthur's side of the family. Molly was convinced that if it weren't for Ron's remarkable abilities her family would be safe.

Sirius on the other hand had the exact opposite reaction of the two mothers. It was true, he was scared. Actually he was mortified but in that moment something inside of him changed, rather than flying off the handle as he normally would have done a strange calm had come over him. Sirius didn't often take a lot of things well – seriously but there was nothing funny about the separation of his puppies and the only way that the scum sag was getting to his children was over his cold, dead body. After leaving the headmaster's office Sirius sent a letter to Moody asking him to meet up in The Three Broomsticks. Moody was often classified as paranoid but his vigilance made him an expert on self-preservation and Sirius could use the man's knowledge to keep Harry, Ron and Hermione safe.

Sirius didn't have to worry about any of that today however. Today was his day off, as he sipped his morning tea Sirius contemplated what he would do with his day off he decided he would spend it with his godchild. While I still can, Sirius thought dolefully. Sirius shook his head to get rid of that particular thought and decided he would raid Remus's stash of chocolate and bring an absurd amount to Harry. Sirius didn't care how angry Remus or even Lily became.

He didn't know when he'd see his precious Harry again and as the boys godfather Sirius had a right to indulge the child. Besides Sirius might even be able to justify the ridiculous amount of chocolate frogs he had in his arms if one or more of the other pups were at Founders Haven. Lily wouldn't dare begrudge a grieving godfather the joy of watching Harry's face light up for what could be one of the last times in months. It was this same twisted logic that caused Sirius to stop by Hogsmeade and buy up half the local toy store before flooing to Founders Haven.

When Sirius arrived it was to find pure and total chaos and for once he hadn't been the cause of it. Lily was sitting at the Potter's kitchen table with her best friends Olivia Cole and Victoria Willoughby. All three girls were crying heavily. Harry and Hermione two highly developed baby empaths were feeding off this grief and wailing as well. James Potter was frantic trying to soothe all five of them at once. I guess it's a good thing I brought all this chocolate than. Sirius understood few things about women (although he would never admit it,) but he knew one thing for certain when girls were really upset most of them tended to binge on chocolate to make themselves feel better.

As for the toys, from the looks of it, James desperately needed the help distracting the children. He looked worn between comforting his wife and quieting his son. To make matters even more complicated James most certainly didn't have time for any of this. Not only did he have to get some very important documents to Moody, he also had a Quidditch practice that afternoon. Dropping the chocolate on the table and the toys on the floor Sirius scooped up Hermione who was on the verge of a meltdown because she couldn't understand what it was she was feeling and spoke to his friends.

"What happened," he called over the wailing of the children.

"La – Lana McEwen was attacked by Voldemort last night," Olivia sobbed.

Sirius swallowed hard. Lana McEwen was a Hufflepuff they had gone to school with. Lily, Olivia and Victoria were particularly close friends with her for much of their later years at Hogwarts. Sirius had even gone out with her a few times. Nothing terribly romantic just a few Hogsmeade weekends together still Lana was a good person who didn't deserve her fate. None of Lord Voldemort's victims deserve to die. Just the same this statement was especially true of Lana. She wasn't even on the front lines in the fight against the evil overlord. She was an advice columnist for the Daily Prophet who spent most of her time commenting on the right kind of magical mulch to use to get your dancing daffodils to flourish.

"What do you need me to do," asked Sirius.

"Can you take the kids to the Burrow? Molly and I arranged a play date for the kids what with Ron going to Ireland and all. I would take them myself but I'm just not up to it," stated a watery-eyed Lily.

"A play date, are you sure it's a good idea James? What if there's an attack? Remember what Dumbledore said yesterday," Sirius replied with a sideways glance at his godson who was now happily playing with the new Hungarian Horntail stuffed animal that Sirius brought for him.

"At the moment it's just as likely the children could be attacked right now with all of us standing here. Be a mate and do this for me, yeah? I'd do it myself but I was supposed to be in Moody's office fifteen minutes ago," James replied. "Besides is it healthier for them to stay here?"

Despite his worries Sirius couldn't deny that the longer Harry and Hermione stayed in their current environment the more inconsolable they were. Reluctantly Sirius gave his brother a swift nod of ascent. Smiling gratefully at Sirius, James received permission to leave from his wife and dashed toward the fireplace. With a sigh Sirius set about gathering up everything he would need for the play date. At the news that they would be visiting Ron, Hermione cheered up considerably. Harry on the other hand became even more upset and attached himself to his mother's legs.

Sirius understood this response. Lily was Harry's anchor meaning she was one of the few people who could keep the emotions of the entire world at bay in Harry's mind. From experience the young man knew that an empath was not inclined to leave when one of their anchors was in distress. It took all four of the adults to persuade Harry that it would be all right for him to go on his play date. He only let go of his mother after she told him she needed him to go and make sure that Ron was all right. Even then Harry didn't seem too pleased with this arrangement. Nevertheless, he allowed his godfather to place a jacket on him. Sirius scooped up the children into his arms then he picked up the hairbrush Portkey and waited for the familiar tug on his navel.

Sirius landed elegantly in the Weasley household. He knew instantly that something was wrong. Several of the boxes Molly and Arthur had been packing up their things in were knocked over in several plates of food were knocked over as well. Honey and jam sandwiches littered the floor getting gobs of jelly into the carpet. Molly never let the children eat in the living room and she normally fixed side dishes to balance out the honey and jam sandwiches. But the out of character way Molly prepared today's meal was wiped out of Sirius's mind when he heard a commotion coming from the kitchen and one of the Weasley boys, Charlie if his suspicions were correct cry out nervously.

"No Mum, stop! your hurting him," the boy said.

All of the sudden there was a splash as something fell into water then without warning the anguished cries of a baby fill the silence. Charlie was yelling and pleading even more fervently to talk some sense into his mother. Molly was shouting back Sirius couldn't tell exactly what was being said but he knew instantly with even more certainty that things weren't quite right. Molly would never shout at one of her children. Obviously the family was going through something. Sirius knew that the polite thing would be to come back later. Nevertheless he couldn't ignore Ron's anguished howling no matter how hard he tried. Taking a deep breath and preparing himself to be told off by Molly for interfering Sirius stepped into the Weasleys kitchen.

Sirius was so surprised by what he saw that he unknowingly let Hermione and Harry fall. Luckily the children were not hurt. Both children bounced encasing themselves in a protective bubble. Hermione was outraged. Never had Sirius ever behave so irresponsibly. If Hermione had a better vocabulary, Sirius might have worried that the young girl would get him in trouble with Lily. Sirius wasn't paying attention to Hermione however he was too shocked by what was happening in the Weasley household.

Ron was currently sitting in the sink, in an overflowing basin of water that was so hot Sirius could hear it sizzling. Five-year-old Percy sat huddled in the corner hidden behind some of the packing boxes. The three-year-old twins were both too young to understand anything was wrong and were eating their sandwiches without any idea that something was out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, nine-year-old Charlie was busy trying to pull his youngest brother from the scalding water getting badly burned in the process. Whenever he would try, Molly would push her son away from the sink screeching that he was a Death Eater.

Over the years Sirius and Molly never exactly got along but even he couldn't be upset with her at the moment. Even that dim-witted swindler Mundungus Fletcher from the order could've seen Molly was horribly out of her mind. Luckily part of the requirements to becoming an Auror was to learn how to handle the mentally disturbed. But first Sirius needed to get Charlie, Percy, Fred and George out of harms way.

"Charlie, why don't you take your brothers into the other room for me," Sirius requested.

"But Ron – . . . "

"I'll take care of it," Sirius interrupted. "Right now I really need you to take your brothers upstairs and call your dad and tell him what happened."

Charlie nodded and Sirius watched making sure that Charlie and Percy were all the way up the stairs with the twins before turning his attention back to the disgusting scene between Molly and Ron. Ron's sobs were heart wrenching and the way the little boy held his arms out to be rescued was enough to make Sirius forget all about protocol but he had to stay focused there would be time to calm Ron down later. Sirius only hoped that Ron would get annoyed at Sirius and Apparate to his bedroom.

Nevertheless Sirius knew that if Ron hadn't been so already it wasn't likely to happen. Ron likely sensed his mother's fears and despite the fact that Molly wasn't Ron's anchor it was quite apparent Ron was desperate to make her happy. Sirius imagined Ron was choosing to do so by showing his mother he could be a good boy and not use his magic. Such thinking would be impossible for any other two-year-old wizard but Ron wasn't an ordinary wizard by any stretch of the imagination.

Sirius could only assume that the longer Ron sat in the hot water the more damage was being done to him but he couldn't risk upsetting Molly by trying to take him from the scalding liquid before he'd calmed her down a little. If Molly suspected Sirius was about to take her son away from her Molly may panic and try to kill Ron in order to protect him. If Molly was diluted enough to think that Charlie wanted to harm his baby brother it wouldn't be inconceivable for Molly to determine that Sirius was a Death Eater as well.

"Molly, do you recognize me," Sirius asked slowly.

"Of course I recognize you, Sirius dear, what a silly question. I'm sorry you had to come all the way over here but I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our little play date today. If I don't wash the magic off Ron the Death Eaters will find him," said Molly cheerfully.

Under normal circumstances Sirius would have laughed at the statement. The idea that any amount of hot water could wash magic away from her child was ludicrous. Yet another indicator that Molly had let go of her faculties was just how pleasantly she was speaking to him. Molly was a nice enough woman to be sure at the same time she and Sirius were infamous for playfully sniffing at each other whenever they were in one another's company.

"Say Molly, don't you think you ought to turn the water down just a bit, I don't think Ron's used to having such a hot bath," said Sirius trying to block out Ron's lamentation while he prayed Molly would realize what she was doing.

Unfortunately Sirius's prayers went unanswered. Molly shuddered glaring daggers at Sirius and hurtling protectively over her baby boy muttering that Sirius was a hoodlum who just didn't understand the complexities of protecting a child like Ron. This was more like the Molly Sirius remembered but the Molly Sirius knew would never stand around while her child was in pain hoping he hadn't permanently dismantled Molly's trust in him Sirius raised his arms in surrender

Harry and Hermione began to cry. Sirius wondered what it would be like to feel the emotions of the mentally disturbed woman but he didn't want to think of Harry and Hermione being tortured like that. It was bad enough dealing with Ron's anguish. Speaking of the elemental wizard Ron seemed to realize that Sirius wasn't going to rescue him right away and he was becoming very uncomfortable with the increasing heat of the water in a magical sink was starting to get agitated. That it's it Ron now apparate up to your room, Sirius thought. Most luckily Ron didn't comply with Sirius's thoughts. As uncomfortable as he was the child was still determined not to upset his mother. For the love of magic! Why must you be such a stubborn little boy?

"PAFOO! PAFOO-OO," Ron moaned.

Hold on little fellow I'm doing the best I can, Sirius thought. Come on mate just apparate upstairs and everything will be all right. Once again Ron proved to be the most obstinate child in the world as he sat in the steaming water whimpering in pain. Godric, Sirius wished James didn't make him come on this play date alone and where in the name of magic was Arthur? Charlie should have been able to contact him by now. Please don't be out of the office. I could really use an extra pair of hands here. If a miracle didn't happen soon, Sirius would have to risk emotionally scarring Ron for life by stunning his mother in front of him. Thankfully at that point Molly offered him the perfect opportunity to trying get around it.

"Really, Ron, what has gotten into you today," she sighed exasperated.

"Why don't you let me have a go Molly? Maybe I can calm him down," Sirius stated at seemed

There was a long moment in which Molly appeared to be sizing the young man up. Sirius prayed with all his might Molly would step away from the sink for a moment. At long last Molly nodded looking outside to where the close were hanging out to dry. Sirius smiled to himself the further she was away from Ron the better. Sirius had been worried Molly would retreat upstairs in search of the other boys or worse not leave the kitchen at all.

"PAFOO-OO! PAFOO-OO-OOO!" Ron was now howling in the exact same Manner a wounded dog.

"Go ahead Molly, I'll take care of everything in here," Sirius assured her.

"You just be sure to get my boy good and clean," Molly demanded picking up an empty laundry basket. "You-know-who – . . . "

"PAFOO-OO-OOO! PAFOO-OO-OOO!"

Just get out of here already woman, Sirius thought impatiently tears beginning to prickle out of the corners of his eyes. Notwithstanding he forced himself to remain calm when he spoke. "Don't worry Molly, I'm going to make sure Ron is safe."

Molly smiled lovingly at Ron, looking at the little boy as though he were being just as cute and fun loving as always. she blew a little kiss at him before picking up an empty laundry basket and heading outside. The millisecond the door close behind her Sirius said about rescuing Ron from the boiling hot water which was bubbling under Ron's body. Cursing Sirius conjured a large, fluffy, sunny yellow towel and started carefully fishing Ron from the scalding hot liquid.

Right away Sirius's worst fears were confirmed .The greater part of Ron's body was covered in third-degree burns. His little bottom was especially blistered. Trying not to touch the affected areas made getting Ron out of the water exceptionally difficult. It didn't help that he refused to move staring up at Padfoot accusingly.

"Bad doggie," Ron announced firmly, repeating the words he'd heard from his godfather on countless occasions.

"Don't bad doggie me. I didn't put you in this mess. Besides you could've popped," Sirius snapped impatiently.

Sirius regretted his tone instantly. Snapping at Ron was a stupid, childish thing to do and before now Sirius would've liked to think he'd gotten rid of such awful habits years ago. It wasn't Ron's fault that he was lashing out at Sirius. Many adults would have trouble understanding what was going on here. How was Molly's two-year-old son meant to make sense of it? With his tear filled eyes widening in shock Ron twisted away from Sirius landing back in the water with the splash. Ron didn't cry out though, turning his head away from Sirius to look out the window and his mother in the garden.

"Pafoo finks me a bad boy," Ron wailed sorrowfully.

"Whoa, I don't think you're a bad boy. I'm sorry I got a little upset, I just hate it when your hurt," Sirius insisted.

He set down the towel and continued to fish around the water to get run out of it. This time the boy was a good deal more helpful but it didn't prevent Sirius from burning his hand regardless. Consequently Sirius released several choice expletives vulgar enough to make little Ron cringe despite the fact that the boy didn't have the faintest idea what the words meant. Had Molly been in her right mind she would have skinned Sirius alive.

"Oh no. Do me a favor and don't tell Tori, Moony or Queen Lily, I said that okay. Those are very yucky words and only big people get to say them. Anyway Ron why didn't you just pop out of the water?"

"Mummy say bad boy Ronnie, no ma'ic," said Ron as though this settled the matter as well as the matter before.

"Oh – oh no Ron, don't cry, Mummy didn't mean it."

Ron stared at Sirius as if he were the one who lost his mind.

"It's true, see your mummy is very, very sick right now and she doesn't know what she's saying to you," he chuckled.

"Mummy owie," Ron asked innocently.

"Something like that yeah," said Sirius wrapping the towel tightly around the little boy's body.

Ron winced, "OWIE PADFOOT!"

"I know. I'm sorry. Tell you what Tiger, promise not to tell Lily or Tori what I said and I'll go out and buy you the biggest ice cream sundae Florean Fortescue will make for me," bribed Sirius.

Ron smiled brightly.

"Good lad, Well I suppose we ought to get going to Saint Mungo's than . . . Come on Harry, Hermione, we're going to play at the hospital," Sirius announced projecting an air that this was what he considered fun no matter how blatant a lie it was.

Obediently Harry and Hermione who been oddly silent while the exchange between Sirius and Ron was taking place toddled over to their guardian. Sirius was half way to the abandoned Portkey when something happened that made him stopped dead in his tracks. Molly reentered the kitchen. Ron's face split into an unexpected smile and he Apparate directly into his mother's arms.

"I sowwy you owie Mummy. Ronnie kiss make better," said Ron sweetly.

Ron punctuated his statement with a big sloppy kiss. Were the situation not so dire it would have been adorable. Sirius groaned poor little Ron had unknowingly delivered himself into harms way. Surprised Molly allowed Ron to drop to the floor with a thud. The contact must have been torture on Ron's injured body. Not shockingly the young boy began to cry. Without thinking Sirius moved to pick up Ron only to find himself staring down the wrong end of Molly's wand.

Authors note Okay I don't want people flaming me telling me that Molly would never do something so evil. I know that. It's called in alternate universe people and besides mentally disturbed people don't behave normally that's why they're called mentally disturbed. Coincidently if anyone is looking for a story I've written not relate to the Eternus Liberi series the first chapter of a time of secrecy is coming. It should be up later today as well. It's a rewrite of my popular story troubled times but it's a lot better written now. I was ashamed of it before and now I'm quite pleased.

Next chapter. How will Padfoot escape his current predicament and how will everyone react when they find out what Molly has done