Again, big thanks to everyone who reviewed. Chocolates to everyone except Lexi Lupin who gets her all-time favorite.....BOLOGNA LOLLIPOPS!!!!!
Again, none of this is mine. I'm simply a high school sophomore with too much time on my hands.
CHAPTER 4
Molly Weasley's POV
When you've raised as many children as I have, you begin to believe that the whole world is your family. You have to reach out and gather them all into your arms, keep them safe from the monsters you know lurk around every corner. This behavior's caused me enough teasing from my real family. Or should I say 'my blood family'. All of them are my real family.
I remember the original Order. I was not a member, being the busy mother of two children with a third on the way. But Gideon and Fabian were and I attended a single meeting. I haven't thought about it in years, but as I sit here now the memory is seeping back into me as if a Memory Charm is slowly decaying. Arthur had taken Bill and Charlie on an overnight and I was staying with Fabian because I was afraid to be alone while I was that close to giving birth. It just so happened that the Order was meeting at his house that night. After much discussion with Dumbledore, they allowed me to stay in for it. I knew a good many of the members but there was a small group that were strangers to me. Young people, fresh out of Hogwarts. Dumbledore had recruited them, saying they were the best students in their year.
There were five of them, four boys and a girl. The girl and one of the boys were obviously a couple. They held hands throughout the meeting, occasionally glancing nervously at each other. They reminded me of Arthur and me ten years earlier. The boy had messy black hair and glasses. I remember itching to brush his hair, make it behave. The girl had beautiful red hair, a deeper shade than my own. Another boy sat on her other side. He was pale and a bit sickly looking, but intelligent and thoughtful and we had a long conversation after the meeting. Something to do with some new regulations that had been passed in hopes of slowing You-Know-Who down. On the other side of the couple sat a boy with longer black hair and a mischievous look in eyes that were trying their hardest to be solemn. Another boy came too. He sat next to me. He was small and plump and didn't add anything to the meeting.
Years have passed since then, obviously. The young people I'd been so keen on faded into names in the Daily Prophet. The lovely couple were killed and their son brought about the first fall of You-Know-Who. The boy with the mischievous gleam was thought to be his second-in-command. He was sent to prison for the murder of the little one. The sickly, clever one was hired as a teacher, my children's teacher, only to resign in disgrace. The little one returned from the dead as the enemy. His "murderer" escaped his prison and died a hero's death. I heard all these stories and never connected them to that night until now. Perhaps it was a Memory Charm.
I did remember them for a while, however. And the one I remembered most fondly during my time with newborn Percy was that young man with the odd French name. We had talked long after the business had been completed and everyone was just enjoying each other's company, possibly for the last time. The conversation had turned to the Ministry's methods of dealing with half-breeds, a subject he was apparently very passionate about. I could not figure out why that was. Many times I longed to talk with him again during those late nights as I tried to rock Percy to sleep. I never thought of him in a romantic way, don't get me wrong. I was completely devoted to Arthur, but something about him had gotten to me that night. Soon though, he too faded to the back of my mind. Sometimes when Arthur would come home talking about some new bill that was being passed regarding non-humans, I would think of him. But I could never remember his name.
Now Remus Lupin lies here in front of me, stunned and silent. Sirius was his last remaining brother and now he's gone. He looks much sicklier today than he did that night nearly twenty years ago. And I've found the reason why he was so passionate. He's a werewolf. Knowing this man, knowing what he goes through despite his beautiful heart, it makes me feel ashamed of all those times I supported werewolf regulations. I believed they were for the best, that they would keep my children safe. I never thought about the real people being affected. It is nearly impossible for him to find a job. People don't even want him washing floors or lugging boxes, let alone teaching their children or having a voice in the government. I can only thank heaven that he had Sirius. Sirius stayed with him, letting him live at his house. He doesn't say anything, but we all know how bad off he is. He's so skinny. I can feel the knobs of his spine perfectly through his shabby robes. But he never thinks about his own situation. Everyone else always comes first. I remember that horrible night with the boggart. He told me that if anything happened to Arthur and me, we needn't worry about the children. They'll be taken care of. Well, the same goes all around.
These people here are my family. My beautiful boy, Bill, my Arthur, Remus, Alastor Moody, Kingsley, even bitter, sarcastic Severus. They are all my family and I'll be there for them come hell, high waters, or the end of the earth.
After all, what are mothers for?