This came up in a pm after the last chapter, so other people are probably wondering this too, unless you've read the original. Yes, I'm quite aware Harry's mental state is across the board. There is a 100% justified reason for this that you will find out in later chapters. The second question was is this story supposed to be confusing. Yes. I'm only six chapters in and I'm not about to answer everything right away. Harry is confused, and scared, and going through a lot. Since Harry doesn't know what's going on yet, neither do you, the reader. Not yet anyway. I apologize if this causes some of you to shy away from the story, but this is a rewrite and a lot of people like this story, myself included. I hope you can still enjoy it.
Warnings: This is shounen-ai, slash, yaoi, gay, Sirius/Remus, Harry/Tom Don't like, don't read.
Notes: (X) pov change and or time jump
WARNING NOTE: Major character death
Chapter 7: Heated Emotions
"H, Ha, Harry!"
Not again, Harry thought. Part of him told him he should be alarmed. There was obvious fear in Ron's voice. As a good friend, hell as a good person, Harry should open his eyes and see why his friend was calling out to him. Harry also decided if Ron was any friend of his, he'd shut up and let him go back to sleep. He could still feel a dull throb in his head and unless someone was offering him a cure for it, he wasn't budging.
"Harry! Wake up," Ron said more urgently.
Just go back to bed. He moved over just an inch, his eyes snapping open as his body connected with something solid and warm. The shadow was still in bed next to him, perfectly visible. Heart hammering, he slid his hand across the blanket and touched it. Definitely solid.
A scream erupted from across the room. The candles brightened, not a single crevice left dark, and Ron screamed again.
The shadow's eyes opened. Harry could feel a sense of dread and knew he needed to shut Ron up.
His friend seemed to have other ideas. Harry sat up just as Ron came rushing at him, a pillow held high over his head. He brought it down hard onto the shadow's form. When it didn't vanish, he hit it again and again, his screams growing as the onslaught continued.
The dread in Harry grew and before he knew it, he was tackling Ron, the pillow landing on the floor, and pushing him back onto his bed. They landed onto it together with a crash, Harry on top of Ron. He gripped both of Ron's arms and held his friend down. The dread he felt eased up.
"What in the hell do you think you're doing," Harry demanded.
"CAN'T YOU SEE IT," Ron asked, horrified. "SOMETHING WAS IN YOUR BED!"
The door to their room slammed up against the wall, Sirius, Remus, and Mrs. Weasley running in. All three of them had their wands out.
"Ronald Weasley! What in the world," Mrs. Weasley demanded. "Do you know what time it is," she raged. She seemed to notice Harry was holding Ron down then. "Harry?"
"S-sorry." He released Ron's wrists and moved off him.
"What are the two of you doing," she asked.
"B, but!" Ron pointed at Harry's bed. The three adults and Harry followed his outstretched finger.
To Harry's relief, the shadow was nowhere in sight. Not that it'd done anything wrong. Ron had just seen the thing and went nuts, but trying to explain it to the others wouldn't be easy. A conversation about the shadow would lead to the necklace and then to Dumbledore, and then to what Harry had done…
"Harry," Lupin asked.
"I don't know what's going on," Harry lied. "He thought he saw something I guess, because he ran over to my bed and started beating me with his pillow." He hoped Lupin would understand his meaning, because he didn't want to lie to him or Sirius, but Mrs. Weasley…he couldn't trust her. Not with this.
Ron's mouth fell open, a look of betrayal on his face.
"You had to have seen it," Ron shouted. "It was right next to you!"
"I didn't see anything," Harry said removing himself from the bed. He hated the look Lupin and Sirius were giving him. They knew he was lying. He hoped they also knew he would explain everything to them as soon as they were alone.
"What's wrong," Hermione breathed, running into the room, Ginny right behind her.
"Idle Ronnikins had a nightmare," Fred said from the door.
Harry wondered how long the twins had been standing outside of the room.
"About sent Harry to St. Mungo's with his pillow," George added.
"Shut up," Ron roared. He was on his feet now. "I know what I saw! There was some kind of ghost lying next to Harry in his bed! Was I supposed to just let it kill him?!"
"Do sleeping ghost kill people George," Fred asked.
"I think the better question is, can you kill a ghost with a pillow? That something we missed in Defense class, Hermione?"
"You two," Hermione sighed. She entered the room, giving it a once over before turning back to the adults. "Is this place haunted? I haven't seen any ghosts since we've arrived."
"Not that I'm aware of," Sirius said.
"Wouldn't be too surprising," Lupin said. "But no, I haven't seen any and Alastor would have mentioned it if there was."
"Oh…!" Mrs. Weasley let out a frustrated sigh. "This is why they shouldn't be here! This is too much on them!"
"Molly," Lupin attempted.
"There's too much anxiety and stress here! Too many hushed meetings getting them worked up! I knew we should have just kept the children at the Burrow!"
"This is the safest place from Voldemort," Sirius snapped. "If you want to take your family and leave, fine, go, but Harry stays here with me."
Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to cast an unforgivable on Sirius. Her face went from pale to a dark shade of red, her body shaking. Harry wondered if she'd been taking lessons from his uncle.
"Just because you don't care about Harry's safety," she started in a calm tone.
"You don't trust him," Sirius roared. "Harry is more than capable of handling any situation thrown at him!"
"Harry's been a complete mess since he's arrived! He's acting like a completely different person! Not that I'd expect you to know, you've only just now shown up in his life!" Everyone in the room looked at Mrs. Weasley. Even she was wearing a horrified expression at the words that had just slipped out of her mouth. "I… Sirius—"
"No, you're right, Molly," Sirius growled. "I haven't been there for him! I've been locked in Azkaban for a crime I didn't commit! Not that any of you bothered to find out if it was true! Not one of you trusted me," he screamed. "But I'm here now, and I sure as hell aren't going to let you take my godson away from me!"
Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to have an answer to that. She shoved her way out of the room, tears streaming down her face.
"Really Sirius," Lupin asked tiredly. He went after Mrs. Weasley, leaving everyone else standing around in awkward silence.
Ron gave Harry an accusing look and stormed out of the room. He could hear Fred, George, and Ginny going after him. Well, that took care of most of their spectators. Now he just had to get Hermione out so he could tell Sirius what had really happened.
"How is this my fault," Harry called after Ron.
"Let them cool off," Sirius said. "Molly and I have been butting heads over what's best for you since she got here," he muttered. "Hermione, can you go help with Molly?"
Hermione looked extremely torn. Harry knew she wanted to listen in on their conversation, but he needed to speak with Sirius alone. He nodded at her. Reluctantly, she left the room. Harry closed the door as soon as she was gone.
Harry had known that Mrs. Weasley and Sirius weren't in agreement, but he hadn't expected it to turn into some kind of war between the two. And even more unbelievable, it was over him. No one ever wanted him. Not as a friend, not as a family member. He sometimes thought everyone in the Gryffindor house hated having him, unless he won a Quidditch match. And now that he was pretty sure he'd killed some student he didn't recognize for a necklace; he couldn't blame any of them. All the students that had accused him of being crazy had been right. Sirius and Mrs. Weasley would probably disown him, too, if he mentioned anything about it.
While they were in the dark though, how could Harry even begin to choose?
He could never thank Mrs. Weasley enough for taking him in as she had. Hand knitted sweaters every Christmas, handmade cakes for his birthday. She always made sure he had enough to eat, and she sent him letters while he was at Hogwarts, making sure he was okay. She had given him the loving family that he'd never had.
Sirius was his family, though. Regardless of who had actual guardianship. His stomach sank just thinking about it, because if he thought about it, the ones with guardianship were the Dursleys.
Sirius had fought for Harry to be brought to number twelve. He'd tried to send him letters so he'd know exactly what to do if it turned out the Gytrash had bitten him so he wouldn't die. His godfather was also the only reason he could visit Hogsmeade. In that sense, Dumbledore had decided Sirius' claim to Harry was stronger than Mrs. Weasley's. She hadn't had the authority to sign his permission slip.
"Ah well. Molly and I were going to have it out sooner or later. Better here than in Diagon Alley." He gave a small shake of his head. "She thinks I'm incapable of taking care of you. That I don't have your best interests in mind," he snorted. "But you're going back to school soon and I'd rather you know what you're getting into rather than sending you in blind!" He turned his gaze on Harry. "You understand, that, right? You'd rather be prepared than caught off guard?"
Oh, how much Harry wished for that. He wished he knew everything, not just what was going on with the Order, but who'd sent the necklace and more importantly, how he'd obtained it in the first place. Did whoever sent it know about the crime he'd committed?
"Of course," Harry said. How much trouble had Harry gotten into, because he hadn't had the full story?
"Good," Sirius said, his body relaxing. "Because I'd hate to think I just pissed Molly off for nothing." He stretched his arms out and yawned. "Well, I doubt anyone is getting back to sleep. Already five," he muttered. "So, what really happened?"
"Actually, nothing," Harry said, frowning. "The shadow wasn't doing anything; it was just lying next to me in bed. Ron's the one that freaked out."
"Can't really blame him after the other day. I thought that thing was broken."
"I thought so to, but it showed up last night." He hesitated. "It was eating my candy bar."
Sirius looked alarmed. "That's…" He shook his head. "Dumbledore better know what he's doing this time. Just… keep that thing under control."
"Yeah…" Harry had no idea if having the necklace gave him any control over the shadow. It was a nice thought, but he didn't think so. If he could control it, it wouldn't have caused him the pain it had.
"Guess I'll go start breakfast," Sirius said, sighing tiredly. "Any requests?"
"Anything is fine," Harry said. "I'll come help as soon as I change."
"Sure." Sirius left the room looking rather happy, happier than Harry had seen him since he'd arrived.
(X)
"Come on Molly, I'm sorry Sirius is being such a git," Remus said. He was standing in front of Molly's bedroom door; the room Molly had locked herself in. He could hear her crying, loud sobs filling the room. I should have forced them both out, he thought tiredly. He'd known allowing Molly and Sirius to be in the same room was not the best thing, and with Harry? He might as well have stuck a match and thrown it onto a pile of dried up papers. The results would have been the same. A huge fight that dragged everyone in and destroyed the trust they had in each other. Trust they would never be able to build back up to where it'd been. "We're all stressed and tired. Give Sirius about fifteen minutes. He'll calm down and apologize, I promise."
The door unlocked and swung open just a few inches. Remus did not hesitate. He dashed into the room and shut the door, grateful for the energy he had thanks to the new potion Dumbledore had been giving him.
Molly was sitting on the edge of the bed, a box of tissues next to her. Her eyes were bright red, her nose swollen.
"It, it's not all his fault," she sobbed. "I, I said such horrible things!" She cried louder, Remus cursing under his breath.
"I promise, he won't hold it against you," he said moving towards her. He pulled her into a hug, wishing Sirius for once in his life could have more control over his mouth or just be a tad more tactful. He knew Sirius loved Harry more than anyone in number twelve. That much had been proven when everyone else had decided to abandon Harry at the Dursleys after the Gytrash attack. If he'd been there, had known what was going on, he'd have been at the Dursleys' that night. Instead, he'd been stuck dealing with a pack of werewolves and for his own safety, out of contact with the Order.
No one else had dared to second guess Dumbledore's orders. Remus had returned home to find an extremely frustrated Sirius who'd only remained in number twelve, because Dumbledore had threatened to turn him into the Ministry himself if he stepped outside. Sirius had still left and gotten as far as the store a few blocks from the house when Kingsley had found him as a black dog. Sirius hadn't stood a chance when the Auror used a body binding curse on him. The only reason Sirius had been released from the basement a few days later was thanks to Remus returning home from a mission. No one had wanted to be the one to inform Remus that Sirius was locked up in the basement and thought it better to just watch him.
From there, Remus had gotten filled in by Tonks. Remus had grabbed Alastor, who'd just returned from a mission himself. Tonks agreed to join them and the three of them left to grab Harry minutes later, before Dumbledore could try to stop them. To think that Dumbledore, that everyone else in the Order, people who were supposed to be protecting Harry, had allowed for his possible death at the Dursleys, by a possible Gytrash bite no less, had appalled him. He didn't care if Dumbledore had his reasons, Harry didn't deserve to be left for dead, because bringing him to number twelve any sooner didn't fit into the headmaster's plans.
So, if Remus was being honest, Harry's safety and best interests were with Sirius and himself. How could anyone else claim such things in the Order? He'd been shocked that Molly hadn't tried to put up some sort of fight. Even Ron and Hermione had tried sending Harry a first aid kit through the twins disguised as a box of chocolates. The only reason they'd failed had been Dumbledore's anti mail charm placed on the Dursleys' house.
Regardless of all of that, Remus knew, and had warned Sirius, they couldn't take it out on the other Order members. They deserved it, but putting a wedge between them and the rest would only result in worse problems down the line. Besides, they'd gotten Harry in the end. And thank Merlin for that. Remus had expected to enter the Dursleys and find Harry dead or near death in his room. He didn't know of a single witch or wizard that had survived a Gytrash bite without proper treatment after the first few hours of the bite. That Dumbledore had taken such a gamble…
Luckily, he'd only gotten scratched, and even luckier, Harry wasn't a fool. He'd cleaned the scratch extremely well, as good as any healer at St. Mungo's would have. When Remus had seen Harry on the top landing, he'd lost his composure. He'd been so happy; he'd hugged Harry without a second thought.
"He should," she said, her voice calmer now. "Oh, Remus, he has every right to be angry with me, with all of us! Sirius was the only one who questioned Albus!"
"We all agreed to put this behind us," Remus said. "Harry's safe and here."
"Bu, bu, but we didn't know that for sure!" She began to sob again. "W, wh, what if he'd…!?"
"A little late for regret Molly," Remus said, giving her a tired smile. Even he could only fake being okay with the Orders' past choices so much. "Let's focus on what we can do for Harry now. Like not making him choose between you and Sirius."
"You're right," she said, using a tissue to wipe some of the tears from her face. She blew her nose into it. "I'm just so embarrassed and so worried. I want to hide everyone away from this awful mess!"
"We all do, but unfortunately hiding doesn't help. If we just stayed in number twelve and did nothing, we'd be no better than the Death Eaters supporting Voldemort." She shuddered at the name and Remus stood up. Now he'd have to convince Sirius to calm down before Molly approached him.
"You're right… you're always right, Remus. You're one of the few people here who manage to keep yourself together. I don't know how you do it."
"Years of practice," Remus answered. Years of dealing with James and Sirius and all their pranks. Of being screamed at by the pranked victims. Of entering his dorm and never knowing exactly what he was walking into. A few times he'd had no choice but to turn around and leave. His lifetime of running, of having to endure the racism, because he was a Werewolf. Having Sirius taken from him and sent to Azkaban just months after they'd agreed to spend the rest of their lives together. Sirius making him promise to never visit him in Azkaban. And during it all, he'd been the one who had to remain calm, because if he'd lost control, the situation would have compounded into a hellfire storm. "I've learned to have patients, with everything." He had to hold back a twitch and keep a half-forced smile on his face as he said it. The whole world was lucky he'd been so drained as a child from the werewolf curse that he'd learned to be patient and endure. If he'd had the energy, he had now than, there would have been a lot of injured people. He probably would have been next to Sirius in Azkaban.
"Oh…" Molly was looking at the clock setting on the bedside table. "It's almost five… It's my turn to grocery shop. I think I'll go before I run into anyone else… thank you again Remus." She stood up and went over to the wooden dresser.
"No problem Molly. Did you want me to come with?"
"No… no… I need some time to think… and…" She stopped going through the drawer. "What can I do to make it up to him?"
"Fire Whiskey," Remus said. "But given the circumstances don't." He tried to think what a safer option would be. No one in the house needed to be drunk, or even a tad tipsy. Anything could happen at any moment and they had to all be ready for that. An idea struck him, and he smiled. "Get the ingredients for Beef Wellington, only get field mushrooms and Aah! Bistro Gravy Granules," Remus said. "I should have time to grab the Fairy Mushrooms from Diagon before dinner tonight."
"Wh, what?"
"I know it sounds odd, but Mrs. Potter didn't like following cookbooks and well. She substituted as she went," Remus explained. More than once he'd visited the Potter home and Mrs. Potter had cornered him every time to ask about Muggle ingredients. She claimed her husband was tired of the same old dishes and she needed help keeping him happy. Remus had no idea if that had been the case, but he'd gone along with it just the same. It wasn't a big deal and she earnestly wanted advice. He enjoyed talking with her and she was offering him to stay in her home, happily, despite knowing his curse. She'd also been the one to help him get Sirius.
A smile crossed his face. Every time she could sneak in praise for Remus when Sirius was around, she did. James had accused him of being the son his mother had always wanted, at least where grades and manners were concerned. It'd almost gotten them into a fight, and Remus had been forced to come clean about his feelings for Sirius. He'd finished by promising James a very horrible and slow death if he ever told anyone before he was ready.
"The list is in the kitchen. I'll go grab it." He turned and gave Molly another smile. "And don't worry about any of this. It'll be okay."
"Thank you, Remus," Molly said, returning the smile.
"You're welcome." He left the room so Molly could change. At least he'd gotten lucky and her children had been persuaded to go back to their room by their father. He owed Arthur for that one. Trying to get Molly calmed down with Fred or George twisting the situation into something it wasn't would do them no good.
Now he not only had to convince Sirius to apologize, regardless if he meant it. He needed to get Harry to get the shadow under control. If he couldn't….
Dumbledore will stop by tomorrow for Harry, he thought, tiredly. He had to grab Harry for the court hearing. Of all the stupid things Fudge had tried, this was one of the stupidest. It was bad enough he was trying to make it sound like Harry was crazy in the Daily Prophet. If he managed to get Harry expelled, he'd be discredited for life. No one would ever believe Voldemort had returned, even if he walked down the street waving a flag stating as much. Why are so many people okay with being ignorant?
A mouth-watering smell washed over him before he even reached the bottom of the stairs. It grew as he approached the kitchen. When he entered, he stopped and just stared. Sirius was mixing something in a bowl while Harry cooked beside him. Both of them looked happy. Remus noted that there were mushrooms and cheese set to the side as well as bacon.
I'm so glad we got to him in time, he thought. He'd have never forgiven himself if Harry had died, if he'd been hurt at all. He'd have never found peace again, because James, Lily, and the Potters would have tormented him for the rest of his life if Harry hadn't survived. And Sirius would have lost his mind.
He didn't want to intrude, but maybe it'd be easier to get Sirius to agree to an apology if he was in a good mood. If not, he'd have to corner him later when he was alone.
"Hey." Sirius and Harry turned at the same time to look at Remus and he couldn't help laughing. They were wearing identical expressions, shock that they'd been caught doing something innocent and curiosity. "Should I be worried about those looks?"
"No," Sirius said. "We're making oatcakes with cheese and mushrooms and bacon on the side."
"It smells delicious," Remus said.
"Was Harry's idea," Sirius said.
The two of them turned back to their activities.
"I have to leave soon. Sirius, I'm begging you. Apologize to Molly later. She feels horrible about what she said, and she wants to apologize too. We can't have Order members fighting each other."
"Course I'll apologize," Sirius said. "You told me I was allowed to hate only one Order member at a time, and you know exactly who that's reserved for."
"Sirius…"
Sirius set the spoon in the bowl and turned to Remus.
"I'm mad, but I'll get over it, I promise. I don't hate Molly. She looked after Harry for years when I couldn't. I'm grateful for that, but now that I am here, it's my turn."
Remus threw his arms around Sirius, glad that for once, his lover was being sensible. He'd half expected to have to fight Sirius just to lie to Molly, but it seemed he understood. That made this whole ordeal a lot easier.
"Thank you…" He rested his forehead against Sirius's. "Don't get into any fights over custody while I'm gone. I'll be back before dinner."
Sirius grabbed his wrist.
"Be careful."
"I will." He gave Sirius a quick kiss on the cheek. "A lot more than you ever are," he added with a smirk.
"I know or I wouldn't be letting you out of this house." They exchanged another kiss, Remus revealing in it. He'd been so against dating Sirius at first, doing everything he could to silence his own feelings. He'd tried to keep a wall up between himself and Sirius that had only resulted in him wanting Sirius more. His friends and Mrs. Potter had cheered him on even stronger. Every time he tried to get a moment alone, there was Sirius, ruining his quiet. Eventually, he'd realized Sirius was so far caught up in his mess, it didn't matter if he dated him. What difference would it make? His friends had made sure Sirius was with him every waking second, a few times he'd woken up to Sirius drunk in his bed. Shifting from friend to boyfriend had been simply a matter of formalities by the time he'd grabbed Sirius at Hogsmeade and demanded a proper date from him. He was so grateful his friends had pushed him to tell Sirius.
"I love you and I'll see you later," he whispered. "Behave."
"Must you always add behave," Sirius asked, with a fake pout.
"Yes," Remus chuckled. "I don't want to have to lie to Dumbledore if he asks why I didn't tell you not to cause problems." Sirius released his wrist. "Alright. I'll see you later. Harry, no more incidents?"
"I'll try," Harry said, not looking at him.
Remus could tell Harry's face was bright red. He probably wasn't used to seeing people show affection to one another.
Ah well, once he falls for someone he won't think twice.
He removed the grocery list from where it had been attached to the fridge and left. He hated leaving without Sirius. It wasn't so much he didn't think he could handle himself. Remus knew he was a more capable fighter than half the Order members, at least physically now that he had the new potion. He just hated leaving Sirius stuck inside number twelve all day, every day. There had to be some way around that.
"Remus, did you get the list?" Molly was just heading down the steps.
"I did." He handed it to her. "I talked to Sirius and told him no more fights for custody." Molly's face flushed at his words. "Dumbledore will be here tomorrow to take Harry for his trial—"
"The trial—!"
"We'll go from there."
"I completely forgot Harry's trial is tomorrow! He must be so nervous," she said. "How could I forget? It's all this stress, Remus!"
"It's okay, Molly. Sirius is in there making oatcakes with Harry. He'll keep Harry's mind off the trial."
"Oh… we'll need dessert and a cake for tomorrow! Oh, there's just no way they can expel him!"
"No, there isn't," Remus said. "So, no one needs to worry." Of course, he was going to worry, because these were not normal circumstances. He'd never heard once of a witch or wizard ever being brought to trial for defense against a magical creature. Fudge was trying to do everything in his power to ruin Harry's life and shut him up. None of them were going to let that happen.
(X)
This was exactly what she'd needed. The sun had risen by the time she'd left number twelve. She'd arrived at the store with no hassle, the weather warm, with just a hint of a breeze. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It was a shame they couldn't have a barbeque. That would lift everyone's moods.
The store had just opened its door when she got there, all its shelves stocked and ready for the day. She loved this Muggle store. It was cozy, large enough to carry all the ingredients they needed to feed the Order, but small enough to only have groceries in all its ten aisles. There were only two people inside the shop to check people out. One of them, a teenage blonde boy, probably close to Ron's age, was currently setting up a tower of canned green beans not far from the front.
She couldn't shop there all the time. No, with the Order trying to stay secret, she was forced to shop at five different stores throughout the month, but this one was her favorite. And, while her pride wouldn't let her admit it out loud, she rather enjoyed not having to worry about money when she shopped now. Of course, she was a pro at making money stretch, but if she saw something, she thought one of her children would enjoy, or a good sale on a certain item she could stock up on, she was free to do so.
The shop smelled of fresh bread, courtesy of the bakery it shared a connecting door in the back with. The grocery store usually kept the door open to allow the smell of baked goods to waft through. A hungry person bought more groceries after all. And once they finished buying more than they intended, the shopper would still end up in the bakery to buy something else.
Today she was justified in giving in to that smell. Remus had told her to get a cake from the bakery, though she suspected her homemade recipes were much better. But she'd done enough damage for the day and wasn't about to cause any more trouble. Remus had managed to soothe things over and when she returned with the groceries, she'd have to swallow back everything she believed to be right and apologize to Sirius.
She pulled out a small shopping cart from its home, amazed at the things Muggles came up with sometimes. A metal basket with wheels! Ingenious in its own way. Poor Muggles couldn't exactly float their purchases home or shrink them all to fit into a single bag. She pitied every Muggle she saw struggling to juggle a bag or two and hold one of their toddler's hands to cross the street.
"Good morning," she said cheerfully to the worker behind the counter. He was a tall man with brown hair and a good-natured face.
"We're having a sale on green beans today," the man said just as cheerfully. "And Raspberries."
"Thank you." Fresh fruit would be a great addition to the shopping list. It was healthy and sweet, so getting her children to eat it wasn't nearly as complicated as having them eat vegetables. Ron, on the other hand, was a bit more stubborn, but he'd have to get over it. If he didn't want any raspberries, he didn't have to eat them.
A plastic container of strawberries caught her eye, and she stopped. Ron was fond of strawberries. Her eyes flickered to the price, wincing slightly. They were just about out of season, but… She plucked the container anyway and put them into her cart. The children were having a rough enough time as it was. A few sweet things would improve their moods and perhaps stop them from having nightmares. As she thought that, she realized it should have been Harry having the nightmares, not Ron.
I guess he's just more sensitive than we thought, she mused. Nothing wrong with a sensitive man. Arthur was plenty sensitive, and he was the definition of a proper man. Remus too, she thought.
She checked off each item on the list, adding a few extra things, some Muggle cleaning solutions, a mop, and the two items Remus had told her to get for Sirius's apology dinner. She could feel her face flush at the thought. Sirius didn't deserve to be apologized too, not in this case. How on Earth could any responsible adult think it okay for their child to know what was going on? She didn't even want to know half of what was going on. It terrified her to think about what some of the Order members were doing. Albus was on her side, though. He had wanted Harry left out of everything and he would agree with her. She would be permitted to take the children back to The Burrow where they could be kept safe and away from all the dangers and information passing from member to member.
When she was finished purchasing her items, she passed through the back door that connected the store to the bakery. It was a small bakery with just a few plastic tables pretending to be wood and black chairs to the left side. A long glass counter that began at the right wall and wrapped around at the far left took up most of the back. Inside was filled with numerous pastries, most of them breads and other breakfast items right now, and a few cakes. The smell of fresh bread was stronger, and she wished she'd eaten something before she'd gone shopping. She would have started another fight the second Sirius opened his mouth, though.
"Good morning," a woman with a short ponytail called out. She placed a fresh tray of scones inside the glass counter before giving Molly her full attention "How can I help you today?" She was grinning ear to ear.
"I need a cake," Molly said, scanning the baked goods in front of her. "There was a strawberry one, a chocolate, and a vanilla. If she remembered correctly, however, Harry was more of a spiced or pumpkin fan. "Is there any chance you have a pumpkin flavored one?"
"A pumpkin-flavored cake," the woman asked, making a face.
"Or spiced," Molly said.
"No. We only have spiced cakes towards the winter holidays. I'm sorry."
"I suppose chocolate will have to do then."
The chocolate cake was a single tier, round, and decorated with flowers. She decided she could write congratulations on it herself. The woman boxed the cake up and Molly gave her the Muggle money, almost fainting when she heard the price. She could have made two cakes for what she just paid!
Now came the fun part. She would have to balance the cake and her bags of groceries until she was able to shrink her parcels. Last time she'd brought the twins with to help her carry things. If she hadn't been in such desperate need of alone time, she'd have brought them again. If she called a cab, she'd have to wipe the driver's memory after he dropped her off, and she hated doing that. It made her feel like a bully.
"Ma'am, would you mind if I have a scone?" She stepped towards the counter, leaving her purchases on one of the small tables. "I think I need to sit after all this shopping."
"Sure!" Molly took the scone, the woman taking the money. She went back to the table and sat down, nibbling on the blueberry scone she'd just purchased. It felt like forever, but the woman finally left to check on some bread in back. As soon as the door swung shut, Molly pulled her wand out and shrunk all her bags and the boxed cake. She stuffed them into her purse and exited the bakery before the woman could question where her things had gone.
The sun was still bright when she stepped out, the air fresh, and she knew, somehow, today would be a great day. Perhaps when Albus came tomorrow, she could get Sirius to agree to something. He had to know deep down that Harry didn't belong at the headquarters any more than Ginny or Ron did. Everything would work out for the best.
She inhaled a large breath of air and smiled. They could have the fruit with some whipped cream on individual shortcakes. That would make them all feel better. A small taste of summer.
The breeze picked up, bringing with it the smell of flowers and other wonderful scents that told of summer. She smiled again marveling at how lucky she was to be enjoying such a beautiful day and collapsed to the ground, her purse landing beside her with a dull thud.
(TBC)
I'm amazed at how I managed to write this chapter. Remus and Molly had so much to say. Harry's in too much of a mind frenzy and maybe even too young to allow for this kind of stuff, so it was a nice change of pace.