Molly Weasley sat at her kitchen table with her head in her hands. From her spot downstairs she could hear seven-year-old Bill Weasley, her son, talking to her husband, Arthur.

"Daddy, is mummy very upset?" Bill inquired, with a serious, worried tone that was unlike him.

Arthur sighed, "yes, she is honey."

"Why?" Bill said innocently.

"Because…" Arthur sighed again, "we talked about this. Remember how I said we had to be very careful not to upset mommy because of Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian?"

"Yes, I know mummy's very upset about them dying." Bill had been shocked and sad when he heard about the murder of his favorite uncles. But he was still a little bit too young to fully grasp it.

When you live in a world of magic, where wounds and broken bones can be mended with a flick of the wand, it's hard to understand that the dead are not coming back, Molly reflected.

"That's right." Arthur smiled a tired smile at his young son.

"But she seemed sadder today. You told her something and she took a big breath and got all white." Bill informed him.

Molly was amazed at the perception of her son. How could he have guessed that the news brought today was what caused her tears? The voices of her husband and son faded out as she was again consumed by the grief that threatened to overwhelm her…

Molly heard Arthur's heavy footsteps on the stairs. He sat down at the table and sighed for a third time.

"You know I have to work tonight," Arthur finally broke the silence.

Molly didn't reply for a long time, only looked wearily down at her growing stomach. "I guess you do," She said softly after a pause.

"Send Charlie by Floo powder to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department at the Ministry if you need anything. Perkins will be there, and he'll know how to contact me." Arthur got to his feet and stretched.

Molly smiled at him, hiding her disappointment at the fact that she would be alone again. Suddenly it struck her how old he was getting. They both were. Too old to be tracking down dark wizards.

Molly was downstairs making tea when she heard Bill's voice from just above the stairs.

"Mummy?"

"Yes, darling?" Molly turned in time to see Bill trip over his pajama feet.

"Mum, Ronald- whoa- Ronald's getting out of bed. And I think he's crying." He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "how late is it?"

"Pretty late. Thanks for telling me. I'll go see him." She put down her tea and began towards the stairs to see what Ron needed. Bill followed her.

After Ron had been settled, Molly trudged up the stairs with Bill to tuck him in bed again. He had a look on his face like he was wondering something.

"Mommy, Ronald cries lots doesn't he?"

"He's a baby. All babies cry."

"Yeah. Did I cry a lot?"

"No, you cried about average, I guess. Not too much, not too little." Molly smiled at her son. "why do you ask?"

"Well, before I thought just babies cried. And then Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian died, and I was really upset. I actually-" Bill seemed hesitant to say something. "Well, mommy, I cried when I heard that. In my room."

"Oh, Bill, that's okay. Everyone cries. Even your dad cries sometimes."

Bill's eyes got huge. "Daddy cries? I've never seen him cry."

Molly gave him a hug. "everyone needs to cry sometimes."

"Okay." Bill seemed reassured. "You know, I love you mommy. And I love daddy too. I hope nothing bad happens to him, ever ever. Or you."

"Don't worry about it, Bill. Daddy and I are very safe." Molly said, hoping her words would hide her thoughts. With both of them in the Order of the Phoenix, it was a miracle that they had come so far without being touched.

"'Night, mommy." Bill snuggled under the covers.

"Good night, Bill," Molly called softly from the door. But Bill was already drifting off to sleep, his thoughts untroubled by where his dad was, knowing that mommy would keep everybody safe.

Back in the kitchen, Molly reheated her tea and stared into the dregs. If Voldemort wasn't stopped soon, if the Order didn't succeed, then Bill might very well be joining the Order when he turned 17 and graduated from Hogwarts. Or an even worse prospect- he could be without a dad.

That was Molly's worst fear- losing her family. And it had finally come true. Her two brothers, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, had been murdered. They weren't sure who had done it, but they had an idea. That was what had made Molly's face white and her tears many this evening. The accused was Remus Lupin.

She buried her face in her hands, and tried to forget. Getting up, she turned and looked at the mess that was in the living room. Those two three-year-old twins of her were a menace. They were going to grow up to run a joke shop or something. She shook her head and dumped the tea down the sink.

Across the country, in the old courtrooms underneath the Ministry of Magic, Remus Lupin paced the hallway and waited anxiously for the jury to reach their verdict. He thought he had done a good job, but… you never know with the Wizengamot. He still did not understand why they had accused him of the murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett. Hopefully Molly and Arthur Weasley hadn't found out, because he knew they were having a hard enough time dealing with the death of their brothers. Finding out that one of your most trusted friends was accused had to be a blow.

Suddenly the door swung open and Tonks, Dawlish, and Kingsley, along with a couple of other Aurors burst out.

"Tonks! You stay here with Remus!" Dawlish shouted.

"What! But you need me to come!" Tonks was clearly upset.

"Do as I say! You're not as experienced as us and you could get hurt. Now stay with Remus, we have to leave!" Dawlish blustered as he ran.

"Fine then, GO and leave me here! What if you need an extra hand? Hmm? They're powerful dark wizards! They'll fight you, no doubt!" Tonks snapped and stopped dead in her tracks.

"No time to talk! Be an angel, Tonks, and stay here!" Kingsley yelled over his shoulder at her. "and don't do anything stupid!"

Tonks looked furious but she agreed. The second she did, the Aurors rushed down the hallway, sprinting to make up the time they had lost arguing.

"What was that all about?" Remus was confused. "I thought the Wizengamot was judging my trial."

"They were," Tonks said, still looking angry, "but then Dumbledore got an urgent owl. They've found the Longbottom's torturers."

Remus gasped. Alice and Frank Longbottom, two highly respected Aurors, had been tortured into insanity by a gang of Death Eaters from Voldemort's inner circle. "Who was it? And where are they?"

"It was Rodolphus and his wife Bellatrix Lestrange, and Rabastan Lestrange. Rodolphus's brother. And-" Tonks's voice lowered. "Barty Crouch Jr."

Remus stared at her, dumbstruck. "Barty Crouch's son?"

"The very same. Guess Crouch doesn't take much time off work to see what his son's been up to. But weird, hey… the biggest opposer to the dark side, got a son who's a Death Eater… apparently he got his order straight from Voldemort, is what our spy tells us."

"And Bellatrix Lestrange being Sirius's cousin?"

"Yep. Distantly related to me, as well. My mother's cousin's cousin. So that'd be… hmm… my second cousin twice removed? No, that can't be right. My third cousin…"

Remus tuned out to Tonks's musings, and turned his worry onto his own case. Was he just going to be let free? Or would he have to wait until they judged the Longbottom's trial? He interrupted her thinking aloud with a question. "Did they say if I was free to go or not?"

Tonks seemed mildly surprised. "Oh, pretty much. The only people that opposed you were that Umbridge woman, and Fudge. Oh and this other guy, weird looking fellow, caught him picking his nose once… funny story, actually…"

Remus's heart felt a thousand times lighter. "So they don't think I'm guilty?"

"Nah. Umbridge is just prejudiced against all werewolves." Tonks grinned. "So got any love in your life?"

Remus shook his head, laughing. That was classic Tonks. Change the subject to something that interests her. "Nope. Just keeping an eye out for Lily."

"Oh, how is she? I hear James and his friends are pretty rough on her." She seemed genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, he's a jerk alright. But I think he's straightening out his life- Lily and I convinced him to go to counseling. When he isn't drunk, he treats Lily like gold. 'Cept those times are getting fewer and fewer. He'd do anything for her, but drinking is a hard habit to break, especially when you're in as much debt as James is."

"That's true love for you." She smiled.

Remus smiled too. He only hoped that it would be enough to keep James from blowing his top and doing something crazy.