Author's Note: My immense, immense apologies for leaving you guys hanging so long. My life's been a bit crazy. To keep a long story short, I had been living with my neighbor after I sold my house with limited net access, then I moved to another state and had no net access for a bit, then I started medical school where I had no brain for a bit (because it was busy oozing out of my ears), and now that we've had our first set of exams, I have a few days to breathe a bit before brain oozage begins again. And what with the bit about starting medical school, obviously my free time has suddenly been decimated, so my goal is to be able to provide you at least an update a month. I'll try to do two, but realistically it may only be one. I'm sorry about this.

In this bit, I have figured the Weasley children ages to the best of my ability, but it is possible I've messed up. If I have, just mentally adjust accordingly. It's really not that critical to plot.

Wolviesfan - Yes, I was very frustrated at the lack of consistency in werewolf mythology, but it does give one license to play a bit. I deliberated on the silver issue and I did consider sickles. I theorized that sickles may be a silver alloy (pure silver being the only harmful form) but in the end, decided that was a cop out, so I have worked another solution for that issue. Cause lets face it, I doubt Remus often has galleons on him.

ylana - Glad you enjoyed. I thought it was fun to bring in the Philosopher's stone angle. Some things writers do for plot, others we do purely because it tickles us to do so.

Gulogirl - Nice to see a new face. Yes, I love Sirius and Remus stories and I also do not see that as a coupling. Nothing against it, as you said, and I've seen some good plots in some of those stories, but I always saw the Marauders as brothers by choice, something I find to be quite sacred and I personally wouldn't choose to follow that angle with it. I'm not known for being subtle, so I'm sure readers have seen the winks to the theory that the two were more than friends, but I like to think that these four boys and young men were the best of friends and chosen brothers and thus they tease and rough-house, but are still nothing more. Ah, the voluntary transformation. I really did struggle with whether or not I wanted to do that. It will not factor much into the story. Remus will not be popping into werewolf form like an animagus. He doesn't like being a werewolf and twelves times a year is more times to spend furry than he would prefer. As for the seeming inconsistency of why Greyback would position himself near children at the full moon if he could transform any time, I did consider that and I have a solution to it, but I would prefer not to explain as it might come into the story later. If I see that it doesn't come in, I'll explain in my notes. The one bad thing about posting a story bit by bit before it's entirely finished is that if you do dig yourself a plot hole, it makes it hard to get out, but I caught that one. I welcome comments about stuff that doesn't seem to fit in. It can get easy to get carried away on a pet plan that doesn't really serve the story, but in this one instance, I decided to jump out of the plane and hope the parachute deploys.

catwalking.owl - your plea is my command...

Chapter 4 – The Order of the Phoenix

To anyone who had ever known Molly Prewitt Weasley, she would be described as many things: intelligent witch with five NEWTS to her name; first rate baker; promising Ministry worker for the Department of Lost, Misplaced, Misguided, Abandoned, or Orphaned Children before she left for maternity leave and never returned; knitter of warm sweaters, scarves, and socks; former Head Girl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; passionate lover (though only one man could attest); first rate gardener; lioness of a mother. Molly Weasley was each of these and more. One thing Molly Weasley was not, to any that knew her, was hesitant, insecure, or unconfident. Not that she ever let anyone see. But as eight red heads tried to make their way inconspicuously through the London streets, Molly Weasley was hiding all of those things inside. She and Arthur had not been members of the original Order of the Phoenix. At the time, Bill had been only eight, Charlie six, Percy two, and herself heavily pregnant with George, with Fred hiding behind him, of course, making his mere presence the first of many surprises conducted in his life. Just trying to keep the Order of the Weasley's was all they could handle at the time, an apologetic Arthur had said to Dumbledore who could only chuckle agreement and nod in understanding.

Were they any better off now, Molly found herself wondering? Three of her children were technically grown, two joining the Order themselves tonight, but what did it matter? They were still her children. She still looked at Bill and remembered him charming candy out of women in stores when he was four with a gap in his front teeth. She could see Charlie tracking mud prints in from the garden to show her a snake or frog that he'd managed to catch. To her mind, they were no less her babies now than then. Were they doing the right thing?

Her eyes watched the numbers of the houses on Grimmauld place slowly decrease, number sixteen, fifteen, fourteen…she could detect the beginnings of shimmer as they approached number twelve as the Fidelis Charm began to fade, each of them having been told the address by Professor Dumbledore that morning. A faded, peeling black door with a silver snake's head knocker materialized before them. Behind it, she knew, waited a convicted murderer and a werewolf. What were they doing!?

She turned to look at her husband and found his eyes already on her face. He smiled that calm, gentle smile, the one that never failed to reassure her, even if it didn't remove all her fears, "We're doing the right thing." He never failed to know her mind.

She nodded shortly and raised her hand to rap the knocker. She jumped as she heard a boom resonate throughout the house with each knock and a screeching voice wailed indistinctly. Footsteps rushed to the front door, ripping it open with a hasty "Come in quickly" thrown at them before the footsteps receded in a flurry of dark colored robe. At the end of the hall, Molly could see a pale man struggling to pull curtains across the portrait of a gaunt woman whose mad eyes rolled in her head as she sputtered, "The muggle-loving filth arrives! Blood traitors! Scourge! Get your diseased hands off my frame you animal!"

"Shut up you foul bi…"

"Sirius!"

With an effort, the two men wrenched the curtains over the portrait and the sudden silence was almost as disconcerting as the screaming. Chests heaving, the two men leaned against the wall on either side of the portrait and shared a glance before turning their gazes to the family standing just inside the doorway and looking all the world like they weren't coming a step closer.

"I thought…you were going to put…a sign on the door…to come right in," a hoarse voice mumbled.

"I did," the other glared at the group.

"Um, it was on the frame to your left, Mum," Ginny said meekly.

"Oh," Molly said awkwardly.

"Though it was a bit low," the youngest Weasley added, seeing the dismay on her mother's already tense face.

"I'll move it to the knocker," Sirius said, plowing his way through the crowd.

"And use a Permanent Sticking Charm," Remus coughed, catching his breath, "Sorry," he said, approaching the group, "His manners were poor even before he spent twelve years in Azkaban. I'm Remus Lupin," He held his hand out to the woman. She flinched slightly and dithered about taking his hand long enough that the man beside her took it quickly.

"Arthur Weasley," he said quickly, "Sorry, I think we've all had a fright at the initial greeting."

"Well if someone would look for notes," Sirius grumbled, shutting the door behind him.

"Sirius…" Remus growled a bit too well for Molly's comfort as she took a step back.

"Sirius Black," Sirius held his own hand out to Arthur, "and the greeting was from my dear, sweet Mum. Amazing how much personality they actually capture in a portrait. She was just like that in real life, a bit more reserved about it when I was living here, but I suppose we all lose our marbles a bit in our old age, not that she had many left."

"You lived here?" Ron's face wrinkled in disgust looking about at the cobwebs, peeling wallpapers, and… "Are those house elf heads?!"

"Yes, but there's one missing," Sirius shook his head casually, not noticing the looks of shock on the Weasley's faces.

Feeling that they weren't exactly making the best of first impressions, Remus invited them all into the kitchen. Arthur began introducing each of his children in turn as Molly followed them all reluctantly. Her eyes kept sliding between the gaunt, pale appearance of Sirius Black to the peaky, shabby visage of the werewolf. What were they doing?

Black was handing out butterbeers to the younger members of the family and offering tea or wine to the older ones. She frowned slightly, noting that Fred, George, and Ginny seemed delighted to be speaking with their old professor again. Honestly, what had Dumbledore been thinking, hiring a werewolf to teach children? The three were talking animatedly, each trying to get words in around the other as they described what they'd learned over the past year…

"From a Death Eater in disguise!" Fred whooped, "I mean, if you're doing to learn about the Dark Arts, that's first-hand knowledge!"

Ron looked keen to join the discussion, though she noted that he at least was more reserved. Even Charlie was looking at the man with interest, though she supposed that it was a professional one, working with dragons and other such creatures.

"Tea, Mrs. Weasley?" Black startled her.

"Oh, erm, yes, thank you," she took the mug from him, glancing at it curiously as it seemed to be quality china.

Behind her, the kitchen door eased open and an unfamiliar face stuck its head through, glancing about uncertainly until his eyes found Sirius, "Oh good," the man said, "I didn't think there would be more than one concealed house on the block."

"Elphias," Arthur smiled warmly and Molly relaxed. It seemed her husband knew this man.

"Arthur," Elphias smiled warmly, "So wonderful to see you here…"

Slowly, faces began to appear in the kitchen and it was very rapidly becoming crowded. Many faces were unfamiliar, but there were some she knew, mostly from Hogwart's staff.

"Would you like more tea?" A hoarse voice inquired politely.

"Oh yes, I…" she turned to see the werewolf at her side and started back a few steps, "Oh, no, thank you. I'm quite all right," she turned away quickly to find Arthur. Instead she found Ginny glaring at her disapprovingly.

Remus sighed lightly, watching Molly Weasley retreat. He'd held out slight hope that things might be different this time around; that years of loyalty and even holding a teaching position at Hogwarts might make people see him as something besides a dark creature, but he should have known better. He didn't know why he built his hopes up only to be disappointed every time, but the other path led to becoming a bitter old man. So he did what he always did, shoved the hurt firmly to the back; he rather fancied it accumulated under his right shoulder blade which he noticed over the years was more and more prone to being his chief location of constant discomfort.

"Want me to hex her for you?" Sirius appeared beside him, sipping a firewhiskey.

"No. People are the accumulation of their knowledge and experience. She's reacting off of what she's read, which we both know is largely rubbish, and what she's heard, which are half-truths and the worst of my kind…"

"Stop saying they're your kind!"

"Give her a chance to get to know me." There was that damn hope again.

"Ron seems a little hesitant too. I'd have figured Harry for better judge of character in his friends," Sirius glowered.

"The last time Ron saw me, I was snarling and drooling."

"He withheld chocolate from you?" Sirius asked.

Remus narrowed his eyes, "You know very well when it was."

Also, my apologies for the ending always being abrupt. Often I'm breaking up chapters and they're not intended to be a breaking point.