-1Molly's POV
Hogwarts! Attacked!
I'm all over with worry; it seems to be tearing me to shreds inside. I tap my fingers against the wood of the table on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, waiting for the meeting. Waiting on tenterhooks. Ron, Ginny, Hermione… are they okay? Are they alright? Minerva is attending the meeting, but so far she has told no one of what happened at Hogwarts. I've never been so nervous, not since the time Arthur and I thought Ginny had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets, or that time Harry faced Voldemort alone…
The door opens and a procession of people enter. Minerva, Kingsley, Arthur, Lupin, Mundungus and anyone we can spare. We're getting low on recruits, and Moody's too busy to attend, hunting for the Death Eaters. I can't help it. I rise out of my chair, immediately trying to question Arthur.
"Arthur, what's happened? Are they okay? Ron and Ginny; are they okay?"
"Hush, dear. I don't know. Minerva's about to update us all."
I take my seat again, knowing it's not my place to interrogate everyone. This time, my hands go beneath the table, gripping my shawl till my knuckles turn white. People take their seats; only Minerva stands. Why is she keeping the silence? What could have possibly happened? Surely she'd tell us if anyone had died…
"As I'm sure you all heard, Hogwarts was attacked by You-Know-Who himself, today. Three students were killed, and Professor Flitwick has been severely injured, but it seems the Death Eaters left without interest." Minerva surveyed me in particular. "Of the three students killed, Molly, none of them were one of yours."
I couldn't help giving an audible sigh - even though I knew that had any of them been harmed, I would have been informed immediately.
"However, the news is not much better. This concerns Arthur and Molly in particular. I witnessed it myself; both Ron and Hermione, it seems, have been in contact with Harry. Today, when the Death Eater's attacked, both were present when Voldemort began a duel with Harry. Somehow, I can't even imagine how, he managed to escape before they were all killed, and they apparated somewhere."
"Ron?" I gasp. How could he hide something like that from me? Time and time again I've asked him if he was in contact with Harry, and time and time again he's lied. And now he's out there, with Harry and Hermione, alone. Who knows what the dangers out there may be? I could… I could… kill him! Or try and protect him. That's the difficulties with my children. I never know what to do, and as a result, I normally end up giving them the cold shoulder.
"Calm down, Molly!" Says Minerva, and I know immediately she hasn't told us everything yet. "Ginny hasn't been at Hogwarts all day… and well, we think she left around the same time Hermione, Harry and Ron did… seeing as when they were in Hogsmeade, the apparation barrier would have been weak enough to break. I'm sad to say it… but without Dumbledore's protection, Hogwarts is falling apart."
So, great. That's supposed to distract me from the fact that Ginny and Harry and Ron and Hermione are out there, thinking they can take the world on their shoulders.
"Why would Ginny want to go with them?" Says Arthur, voicing my thoughts exactly. He does worry. Almost as much as me, the poor soul.
Minerva looks up, surprised. "Well, I thought she would have told you," she says, a mild note of shock in her voice. "Her and Harry began…" she sniffs at the word, "… 'going out' together."
"What?" I say incredulously; but they never said! If I'd known…
It's wonderful, my daughter dating Harry Potter. But then again, it's awful, too. Because all my children are het up in this mess, somehow or another, and there's not one thing I can do to stop it.
Heck, what do I do?
A/N: Just a short one this time, but I thought you ought to know how Molly felt. Harry's next, promise.