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It's Time

Harry and Cat took the lead as they approached the house. The door opened the moment it saw them, though Harry assumed this was something to do with the fact he was the new owner of the house. Grateful to having been there when the new fidadelius was cast, he entered, wand at the ready, to his home.

Ron took the lead, hurrying into the kitchen where they heard a joyful yell of "Ronald!" Hermione followed him, after a quick glance at Cat's haughty, bored expression. She barely made it to the door, however, before she was grabbed in a bear-hug. Mrs Weasley was famous for them.

When she had finished squeezing all the air out of Hermione's lungs, Molly (as Harry had now been asked to call her) turned to Harry. After a good long stare (during which he was very glad he was good at cooking charms) he was also pulled into a tight hug. Then she turned to Cat.

From Cat's hurried speech, Harry had understood that Mrs Weasley had practically adopted her. Yet as soon as Molly saw her, her wand was out and pointed directly at Cat's heart. "Who ARE you?" Molly's voice was strong and deadly and Harry had no problem believing that Molly Weasley could get Voldemort to curl up in fear at that voice.

Cat, on the other hand, was completely relaxed by the voice. The corners of her mouth were twitching and the bored look in her eyes was replaced by a twinkle that could have given Dumbeldore a run for his money. "Why Mrs Weasley," her voice was sweet and full of foe horror. "How could you not recognise me?" Her hands were over her eyes in her melodramatic fake crying. "I'm so hurt."

Molly turned to Ron who was still freaked out by her first speech as he shrank into the corner. "Who is she?"

"Mrs Weasley, I am Cat. You know, the girl you practically adopted, Charlie's best friend, stayed with you every holiday till Charlie decided that getting caught on fire was more fun than getting a normal job and I got a flat. Ring any bells. Oh, and the code word is Serpent Flame" Molly's face shone with sudden recognition at what Harry guessed to be a code they'd made, but then her eyes narrowed and her mouth became a slit.

"CATHERINE! You walk off and we don't hear from you for years, no idea if you're OK, and then you suddenly turn up with goodness knows how many tattoos and a face caked in make-up and clothes that barely cover half your skin. You look like a … a … a Lady of the Night!" Ron snickered. "For goodness sake, what were you thinking?" Molly's rant came to an end there when Cat hugged her and said "Great to see you too, Mum."

Harry hadn't seen Molly grin in far too long and was so glad that this war could be over soon. The overwhelming feeling of guilt came over him. They would all be in danger. Suddenly, he felt someone by his shoulder and heard Cat whisper in his ear "You can always think things are your fault, but in the end it won't do anything except cause you more pain when you push everyone you care about away. I've done that before and all it did was made me miss them, and reopen wounds that took along time to close." Her smile was that of experience and pain beyond her years. He saw the hurt, guilt bubbling under again and realised that this would be him in a few years if he didn't let go of the guilt now. Being eaten away by the pain and hurt of past sins. She was letting go, but years later than she could or should be. He saw that. He knew what she was telling him. The past is gone; he couldn't change it, no matter how much he wished, all he could do was accept it and move on. Distancing himself from others wouldn't help him, or anyone else. Everyone had told him this and he hadn't believed them, but for once, he decided that she was absolutely right. Ginny, he'd left her. And he'd missed her every second of every day. He shouldn't have pushed her away. It may have been noble, but it was one of the stupidest things he had ever done, including going off to the Department of Mysteries. She didn't want him anymore. It was all his own fault.

He followed the others to the kitchen where Mrs Weasley was serving everyone large portions of soup and bread. Hungrily, the four devoured everything in front of the in seconds, ignoring Molly's disapproving looks and tight lips.

When they finished, after so many servings Harry lost count, they turned to Mrs Weasley. Harry decided to start. "Molly, can you call an order meeting? I know it's a full moon so some can't come, but could you call as many others as possible?"

Molly looked at them suspiciously but a silver tigress jumped out of her wand and left through the window. "Now children," she stated, suspicion soaked into her caring features. "What is this about?"

Harry looked at the others, knowing the grim satisfaction on their features was mirrored in his own. He turned to the only motherly figure he had ever really known. "We can kill Voldemort." He answered.

Mrs Weasley stared at them as if daring them to say something to the contrary. Slowly, a small smile graced her features, growing larger by the second. "He can die." She kept repeating under her breath. When, moments later, Arthur entered the kitchen, she threw herself on him and gave him a big hug. The look on Mr Weasley's face made everyone in the kitchen chuckle.

Harry and Cat collected the plates and bowls while Molly told Arthur the full story and Hermione and Ron avoided each others eyes, blushing when they accidentally made eye contact. Cat charmed them to wash themselves.

Harry suddenly remembered the comment Cat had made that he wanted to ask her about. He turned to her. "Cat," he asked. "What did you mean earlier when you said 'how was the slut in Albania'?"

Cat chuckled under her breath and pulled out an old Daily Prophet. On the front page was a picture of him sitting in that Albanian night club, talking to Hermione's aunt – who was unfortunately dressed as a hooker at the time – and holding her hand. Harry sighed. Well that explained why Ginny had got a boyfriend. She thought he found someone else.

Interrupting his thoughts, the majority of the order walked in and sat at the table, magically expanded by Mrs Weasley.

After everyone had been informed of the reason for the meeting, Cat stood up. Everyone turned to her. She seemed born to lead. "Listen up OK." Her voice permeated every inch of the area. It made Harry smile to see her usually relaxed face serious and stern. "Tomorrow, at 10 in the morning, Voldemort and all his Death Eaters will come to Hogsmeade. We have to be prepared. We are going to go there and we are going to kick his arse once and for all!"

No one could sleep well that night. As day broke, every one of the Order members gathered together in the kitchen, wands at the ready. Cat's emotional and heartfelt speech pumped everyone up, though many me seemed to find her rather tight clothes more interesting. And Harry knew that if he came out of this alive, Voldemort wouldn't. It was time.