Molly Weasley was a woman who was used to worrying.

With seven children, all of whom at one time had lived under the same roof, she worried.

She worried about sniffles and fevers, bruises and cuts. She worried about fights and pranks and crashes and bangs. She worried about cats and owls and rats and hinkypunks, about garden gnomes and chickens and pigs.

She worried about school tuition, books and robes and brooms.

She worried about food.

And clothing.

And medicine.

And whether or not they would have the galleons to pay for them in a true emergency.

She worried about how they would care for their brood if Arthur lost his job and about who would care for the children if their parents lost their lives.

After all, you don't fight your way through a wizarding war while looking evil straight in the face and then, having lived to tell about it, not worry that it could happen again. Her brothers had not lived through it. Neither had James nor Lily Potter.

Molly Weasley worried a lot.

But none of these things were worrying Molly Weasley this Friday afternoon. Molly was worrying on this fine day because her youngest son was about to go spend the weekend with his best mate, Harry.

Now Molly was very fond of Harry. She had become quite attached to the young man while he had stayed at the Burrow the previous summer. He was polite and kind and generally well behaved.

In Molly's world, that would have been enough to recommend anyone as a good friend for her son, but Harry had something more.

Apart from his designation as the Boy-Who-Lived and his unwanted notoriety, she owed her only daughter's life to the small framed black haired Gryffindor boy. It was his bravery in the fight against that monster of a basilisk that had saved her little Ginny. Molly owed Harry a debt that could never be repaid by all of the hand knitted jumpers and homemade mince pies in the world.

However, Molly was now worried.

Ever since she was informed that Harry was going to be permanently placed in the care of his godfather, Sirius Black, Molly had had an uneasy feeling.

She barely knew Sirius personally.

Of course, like all pure blood wizarding families, the Prewetts and the Blacks were very distantly related and they had met once or twice over the years growing up.

Not too often, though. The Blacks were strictly dark wizards, overwhelmingly concerned with the connection of pure blood and the Prewetts were, let's just say, not quite as concerned. However, blood was blood and the rare occasion had presented itself.

In Sirius' defense, Molly knew that his family had all but disowned him when he was made a Gryffindor at Hogwarts because in the strictly Slytherin-only Black family, that simply was not done.

When Sirius had left home for good at sixteen and moved in with the Potters, a family of so-called blood traitors not unlike the Prewetts, Molly knew that he had been cast out of his birth family's good graces forever. Although Molly herself had not been a member of the Order of the Phoenix during the war against darkness, her brothers had been and were often paired with James Potter and Sirius Black as mentors.

So obviously they knew Sirius much better than she did, having spent quite a bit of time with him on missions and such and they had always described him as great fun, mischievous and and maybe just a bit wild.

Then her brothers were killed like so many were at that time, and after them, the Potters were next. When Black was accused of Pettigrew's murder, Molly remembered feeling horribly let down by Sirius because there was a part of her mind that just expected so much better of him after the years of praise by her beloved brothers.

Truthfully, there had also been moments (a lot of them, actually) when she secretly wondered if he was somehow responsible for Fabian and Gideon's terrible fate as well.

After all, if Black could so coldly betray the ones he'd always claimed to think of as family, what was to stop him from cutting down a couple of other decent men he didn't really have a strong connection to?

When it had been proven this spring that Sirius was innocent, Molly was happy for him, if only to have the comfort of her brothers' faith in the other man preserved, but twelve years of playing the blame game was hard to overcome in a heartbeat.

Hearing that he would now be responsible for the growth and welfare of a boy that she had taken to her heart had worried her more than she cared to admit, and it was with great reluctance that she had promised herself and her husband that she would keep quiet for a bit and see how the former miscreant took to instant fatherhood.

Harry had written and fire-called Ron several times since he had taken up residence with Sirius, which was something he'd never been able to do with those terrible Muggles he'd been forced to live with. She couldn't help but notice that he definitely seemed happier and healthier than he had last summer after suffering at his relatives' house.

On the surface, at least, Sirius seemed to be doing a better job than the aunt and uncle, not that it was saying much to admit that.

Harry looked well fed and well clothed for a change and Molly knew that Sirius, even after his fallout with his parents, had access to quite a bit of family wealth so she was pleased to see that Harry seemed to be benefiting from that.

She remembered that there had been rumors going around about the death of an uncle or some such thing at the time that Sirius reached adult age who left the disowned young man a small fortune. Also, now the Daily Prophet was making quite a fuss about how he had been reinstated as heir to the House of Black which was still one of the most wealthy wizarding families in Britain.

So Molly was confident that Harry was at least financially well provided for.

However, she firmly believed, her own humble family serving as prime example, that money did not buy happiness or security or love.

These were things that Molly knew that the slight bespectacled boy needed desperately.

The question was, did Sirius provide these things to Harry as well as the material comforts of life?

Molly didn't trust what her own eyes didn't see, so she was determined to investigate Harry's current situation for herself. Especially since she wasn't entirely comfortable with her own young son spending any long amount of time under the care and guidance of a man that her brothers used to refer to as a serial prankster and career bachelor.

An experienced mother of seven children, six of them boys, Molly knew better than most that boys, especially adolescent boys, needed looking after. They could conjure up unlimited amounts of trouble just in the time it took to put a load of wash in.

Would a guardian who had been immature as a twenty-year old and then a prison inmate well into his thirties, be up to the task of caring for two boys who, let's be honest here, had a habit of finding trouble when it did not find them first?

It was a question she was determined to get answered to her satisfaction before Ron stepped one foot into Sirius Black's house.

While Molly Weasley was at the Burrow busily worrying, Sirius and Harry were having a heated discussion in the right side parlor in Celestial Court.

"I know, Sirius," Harry was whining, impatient to floo and collect his friend.

"Harry," his godfather started to admonish him, "this is very important. Ron must know about our rules here, especially regarding the forbidden rooms and the grove. I am going to be responsible for his safety while he is your guest. I want to trust you when you tell me that the two of you are going to behave this weekend. Please do not give me a reason to regret that."

Harry looked at the stern look on Sirius' face and nodded.

"I won't, Sirius. I promise, we'll stay out of trouble."

Desperate to reassure his godfather, Harry was determined that neither he nor his best mate would step one toe out of line during Ron's visit. They were both looking forward to the match and all of the other entertainment that were planned for the next two days and neither boy wanted to muck it up.

Sirius was no fool.

He had not needed the kind and almost certainly surreptitious owl from Arthur Weasley outlining his wife's concern for their son's welfare while under his care to realize that, even though proven innocent, people still distrusted him.

Sadly, he reflected on his fallen friends and distant relations, the Prewett brothers. Good lads, the both of them. Smirking to himself, he recalled the way they made near constant reference to their younger sister's penchant for being a little mother hen, long before she had any chicks of her own to cluck after.

The two affable young men were fearless in their fight against the dark lord, but absolutely paled when being threatened with their petite sister's ire. So Sirius clearly remembered that little Molly was a force to be reckoned with and he knew that he had to proceed accordingly if he wanted to get into her good graces.

Sirius Black was many things.

A wizard, a friend, a godfather, and a Marauder.

But when he needed to be, he was something even more powerful.

Sirius Black, with his twinkling gray eyes, carelessly messy black hair, rakish grin, devilishly slick tongue and aristocratic carriage was, when he chose to be, a very charming man.

There was no mystery about the extremely frequent occurrences of a pretty witch dangerously close to losing her robes while under the powerful spell of his seductive essence.

Sirius knew that while in theory, he may just be going to the humble home of his godson's best mate to collect the boy for a weekend, but realistically he was entering a war zone and he, of all people, knew that when encroaching on hostile territory, you needed to pull out the strongest weapon in your arsenal.

Molly Weasley would not know what had hit her.

At precisely five o'clock, the fireplace in the Burrow flamed vivid green and a slight messy haired figure was ejected unceremoniously onto the threadbare carpet. Struggling to sit up, the dizzy boy coughed and sputtered for a moment before the stony hearth blazed again. With a dancer's grace, a tall elegant man, impeccably dressed and sporting a winning smile, stepped lithely out of the blackened opening and slid effortlessly to the side of the discombobulated teenager than had preceded him.

Reaching out a perfectly manicured hand, he grasped the boy's soot covered fingers and easily pulled him up to his feet. With a soft touch, and genuine kindness in his striking eyes, he gently brushed away the grainy dirt that was clinging stubbornly to the boy's hair and clothes.

"Easy, Harry," he laughed, giving the boy a fond wink. "We can't have you bested by something as innocent as a fireplace, now can we?"

Harry rolled his eyes at the gentle teasing. Under the best of conditions, he was not a coordinated child and he was well aware of it. He didn't mind the playful jest when it came from his godfather.

Suddenly aware that they had an audience, Sirius cleared his throat, grinning like a madman.

"Harry!" cried the taller ginger haired boy as he rushed to his still slightly dazed mate, clapping him on the shoulder and shoving him good-naturedly. "Alright there?"

"Hey, Ron," Harry answered with a smirk as he brushed the top of his head to flick more soot out of the unruly locks. "Yeah, you know me and floos."

Sirius turned his attention to slightly plump ginger haired woman that was now making her towards Harry with her arms outstretched, completely ignoring the godfather by his side.

"Harry, dear. How good to see you!" she gushed as she enveloped the boy into her colorfully robed arms. While she was suffocating his indulgent godson, Sirius warmly shook hands with the patriarch of the family who had followed his wife's entrance, a wary look on his face.

"Arthur, it is good to see you again."

"And you, Sirius. You look well."

Arthur Weasley's words were warm and his face was kind. Unlike his skeptical wife, Arthur felt a great injustice had been done to a good man and as far as he was concerned, Sirius would get nothing but kindness in their home as long as he treated Harry well.

Sirius tilted his head forward slightly in appreciative acknowledgment and then turned to favor Arthur's wife with a winning look. Moving deftly, he caught her hand up into one of his own and, sweeping into a courtly bow, he brushed a kiss against the slightly rough skin of the back of her hand before stretching back up into his full impressive height.

"My dear Molly! How lovely you look! How did Arthur manage to capture the heart of the prettiest women in the whole wizarding world?"

Molly Weasely was not a stupid woman by any means. She had, after all, raised the two most dastardly hellions the world had ever known.

Namely, Fred and George.

As a result, she possessed the uncanny ability to see right through slick words and subterfuge as if it was a predominant sixth sense. Unfortunately for her, one look from a dashing suave wizard and she was completely undone.

So, when Sirius dazzled her with an award winning smile of gleaming perfect teeth that outshone even Gilderoy Lockhart and a devil-may-care glint in his silvery eyes, her legs turned into jelly and she became putty in his classically crafted hands.

Arthur viewed the greeting with a carefully concealed smirk, knowing exactly what the younger man was up to.

Oh, Sirius is good. Very, very good.

Meanwhile, the two adolescent boys watched on in disgusted horror with Harry trying very hard not to gag as Ron squinted his eyes shut, hoping that the nauseating display would soon be over.

Sadly, for them, Sirius was not even close to being finished.

Pulling his wand from his perfectly tailored suit jacket pocket, he expertly gave it a small flick and a fraction of a second later, an enormous and gorgeous bouquet of fragrant and exotic blooms appeared in his empty hand. Presenting them to a flabbergasted Molly, he affected a dismayed look.

"I'm afraid that these sad posies pale in comparison to your beauty, Molly, but unfortunately, they were the best that I could offer you. Please don't judge them too harshly. Their competition was just too overpowering."

Blushing furiously, Molly bought right into the flattery as she buried her face into the swirling scents, inhaling deeply. When Sirius gifted her with a devastating smile she positively swooned.

The interaction quickly proved to be too much for the two nearly nauseous boys. Grabbing Harry by his shirt sleeve, Ron tugged him, with no attempt to be gentle, towards the rickety and slightly crooked stairs.

"C'mon, Harry. I..I need to get my stuff,"he stammered, looking at his temporarily mental mother with slightly embarrassed concern as they fled.

Running up several flights of creaking stairs, the two boys raced to Ron's small room. Hiding themselves inside and banging the old door shut, Ron dropped onto the floor while Harry threw himself on Ron's small single bed.

"What. the. bloody. hell. was. that?" Ron gasped, eyes wide.

"I have absolutely no idea," Harry answered truthfully, shaking his head as if he could rid it of the mental images. It had truly been some of the most uncomfortable few minutes of his life.

The two mates sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Ron hoisted himself up and began to throw clothes into a small backpack with no regard for neatness.

"I vote we get out of here as soon as possible," he stated forcefully while darting around the tiny space looking for odds and ends to add to the pile.

"Yeah, I second that," Harry agreed, his ears blushing furiously as he tried to help his friend with his task.

What had gotten into Sirius? And what really had gotten into Mrs. Weasley?

He didn't want to think about it.

Because Harry was entirely inexperienced with the opposite sex, he didn't recognize at the time that he'd just witnessed the master in action. Later on, during his awkward dating years at Hogwarts, he would have given his Firebolt for an ounce of Sirius' natural charm.

As they boys made their getaway, Molly, tittering to herself like a schoolgirl, swept Sirius into the kitchen for a spot of tea. Seating him in a place of honor at the awkwardly extended long table surrounded by mismatched chairs, she poured him a steaming cuppa into a thick rimmed slightly chipped cup. He took a bracing drink of the cinnamon scented liquid, closing his eyes and sighing contentedly as he swallowed.

While her husband looked on in amusement, Molly just watched Sirius in fascination, temporarily forgetting to breath.

Merlin, that man can even make drinking tea look sensual.

Opening his eyes, Sirius winked at her lasciviously before pulling up the corner of his mouth into a handsome smirk.

"Delicious, Molly. Is there anything you can't do? I'm sure you are a woman of many talents."

Stunned, Molly stood stock still as the teapot she was holding crashed to the floor, splattering tea and porcelain pieces messily across the wooden surface. Across the table, Arthur choked slightly on his own beverage and excused himself from the room so that he could make his way into the parlor where he proceeded to quietly laugh himself sick.

After blinking rapidly for several seconds, her heart thudding in her chest, Molly noticed the ruined teapot on her floor and gradually regained her senses. Pulling her wand from the knot in her hair, she cast a repairing spell and attempted to compose herself as her grandmother's favorite teapot mended itself. She took several deep breaths and forced herself to remember her concerns regarding Ron's weekend stay.

Observing her carefully, Sirius easily noticed her mind shifting gears and he followed suit. Tucking away his I'm-too-sexy-for-my-robes mannerisms, he flawlessly slipped into the persona of responsible-and-concerned-parent. Giving her a thoughtful and genuine smile, he proceeded to broach the new subject matter.

"I'm so grateful that you are allowing Ron to visit with us, Molly. You don't know how much Harry has missed him," he told her truthfully. As much fun as he and Harry shared, Sirius knew that his godson keenly felt the absence of the affable redheaded boy.

"Well, Sirius," she stammered, finding sure footing in her natural arena of conversation. "Ron has missed Harry terribly as well. They are quite a pair."

Observing the handsome man in front of her nodding gently, she forged ahead, her maternal nature taking over from blushing housewife.

"I would be less than honest if I didn't say that I was a bit concerned," she warned. "Those two can get into quite a bit of trouble when they are not properly supervised."

"Oh, I don't doubt that, Molly. Having been a fourteen year old boy myself," Sirius replied with genuine smile. "I am well aware of what goes on in those little minds. But there is no harm in a little spirited mischief."

By the look of disapproval slowly spreading across Molly's face, Sirius could tell right away that he was he coming dangerously close to a sharp rebuke from the gingered mother lion and quickly recovered.

"However, I don't tolerate any nonsense from Harry," he continued before she could interrupt, "as he well knows already. I assure you that he is..painfully aware that I will give him a good spanking if he genuinely crosses a line with poor behavior, so I doubt they will get up to anything too awfully bothersome while Ron is with us."

For one of the few times in her life, Molly Weasley was at a loss for words. At no time did the thought ever cross her mind that the younger man her brothers had called carefree and occasionally irresponsible would step up to the plate and become a strict old fashioned guardian. Honestly, if Sirius hadn't come right out and said it, she wouldn't have believed the man had it in him.

Taking advantage of the stunned silence, Sirius continued with his parental barrage.

"We have rules at home that Harry knows he has to abide by. Speaking of which, his bedtime is ten o'clock. I know..I know," Sirius raised his hands up as if in protest, "it's probably too late for a young boy such as he, but it is the summer and you are only young once."

It was shameless he pandering. He knew fully well that he was grossly exaggerating the lateness of the hour as well as the youth of the boy, but he suspected that it was better to err on the side of caution when it came to discussing parenting with Molly Weasely. She did at least seem to once again be under the spell of his charms.

"If that is too late for Ron, just tell me what time you prefer and that is when I'll put the boys to bed while Ron is with us," he assured the gobsmacked mother in front of him.

Blinking rapidly, Molly could only stammer as she nodded her consent.

"Uh...oh..yes, ten is fine, Sirius."

Smiling inwardly, Sirius felt a distinct pleasure as he deemed himself to have successfully navigated his way through the treacherous waters.

Always keep one step ahead of your foes.

"Also, does Ron have any allergies or is there anything that I should not allow him to eat during his stay?" he asked, eyes round with sincerity and feigned innocence.

"Errm...ummm...ahh, no Sirius, nothing that comes to mind."

Molly groaned silently as she heard the awkward stammering issuing forth from her mouth like verbal diarrhea.

Lovely, Molly. I'm sure Sirius is impressed with what a brilliant conversationalist you are.

Sensing triumph in the distance and also sensing Arthur quietly making his way back into the kitchen, his fit of giggles firmly under control for the moment, Sirius pulled out his trump card.

"I'm really trying to get a firm grasp on being a good parent to Harry, but I could use some advice. Molly, would it be too much for me to ask you to join me for lunch sometime at Celestial Court so that I may benefit from your years of experience?"

Sirius leaned back into his chair with a genuinely concerned look on his face as he watched Molly's jaw drop open farther than he thought physically possible. Laughing to himself, he heard Arthur's poorly disguised snort as he spun around and charged into the parlor to throw his face back into the cushions of the lumpy sofa right before Grandmother Prewett's daffodil teapot made its second unexpected trip down to the rough floor.

At that moment, the boys came crashing back down the stairs, eager to do whatever was necessary to separate the fawning Molly from the flirting Sirius before one of them lost their lunch on the Burrow's floor. Harry desperately cleared his throat, hoping to hurry his guardian along and Sirius fortunately got the message without needing to further embarrass his godson.

Standing quickly, he gallantly held his arm out for Molly.

"Shall we, Molly? I do believe that was my cue to get the boys home."

Still nodding slightly incoherently, Molly took the outstretched arm and allowed Sirius to escort her back to the parlor where Arthur had finally managed to compose himself. As the boys came to join them, Sirius overheard Harry excitedly describe the Celestial Court Quidditch pitch and suggesting that they go flying as soon as they got there. He stopped a bit too late in his enthusiasm to remember that Ron did not have a broom of his own, nor was one of his brothers likely to lend theirs for an entire weekend during the summer.

He choked slightly, trying and failing to cover his mistake before throwing his godfather a visual plea for help.

Quietly observing Ron's face as it flushed as red as his hair, Sirius understood quickly what the problem was. He had seen that look too many times on Remus' face not to recognize it immediately. Turning Harry towards the fireplace, Sirius gave his backside a gentle swat to prod him forward.

"Come now, we're going to be late for lunch," he scolded his godson, "and neither of you are sitting down at the table covered in soot. After you wash up and eat, you and Ron may go flying. And Ron can use my broom so he doesn't have to drag one with him for the weekend. Is that okay with you Ron?"

Sirius turned at looked at the redhead who had a slightly relieved expression on his face as he nodded and gave the winking godfather a grateful glance.

Temporarily relieved from the "spell" that Sirius had kept her under during the whole visit, Molly Weasley watched as the tall handsome man she used to be afraid of hook an affectionate arm around his godson's shoulders and hold the slight boy close in a warm embrace. They seemed perfectly relaxed, completely at ease with each other and it was very apparent when one saw the looks they exchanged that the two positively adored each other.

As she and her husband hugged the two boys goodbye and ordered their youngest to behave himself and mind his host, Molly's breathing calmed and she smiled her first genuine smile of the afternoon and then, Molly Weasley, worried no more.