HARRY POTTER AND THE UNFORGIVEN

A Sixth Year Harry Potter Fanfiction

BY

Jayiin Mistaya

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."

...never tickle a sleeping dragon


COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to Harry Potter. Those rights are held, exclusively, by JK Rowling, and any other entities, corporations, subsidiaries, or groups not named here possessing legal rights to the aforementioned books and/or trademark.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to everyone who has been reading, even if you haven't reviewed, and especially to those people who have me on author alert or favorites.

More information on Harry Potter and the Unforgiven can be found at my website, which is linked in my Author Profile.

Feedback of any kind is always appreciated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:Thanks to Elusive Evan for making me continue to post this.


CHAPTER ELEVEN

Weasley Woes

Charlie was the last to arrive.

The rest of the Weasley children (except Percy, though he had been invited) had already gathered in their customary spot by the watering hole at the back of their property. They were sitting on a pair of logs set on opposite sides of an ancient firepit. Bill and Ginny sat on one side, the twins on the other. Ron was pacing back and forth between the logs, his back to Charlie, a piece of parchment clenched in his hands.

The sun was setting, haloing all of them in a descant of warm colors, their hair seeming to catch fire from the sun, making it seem like a conclave of fire-elementals.

Ron stopped pacing, turned around and glared at Charlie. His face turned red in the surest sign of a Weasley in danger of losing their temper. "I want to know why, Charlie."

"Why what, little brother?" Charlie asked mildly.

"How could you do this to him?" Ron practically snarled as he thrust the parchment at Charlie.

Charlie unfolded the letter and started reading.

At first, there was silence while Charlie read. No one could quite figure out what Ron was talking about. The twins looked at each other, then at Ginny's stricken expression, and then at Bill glaring at Charlie.

"It's about Harry, isn't it?" Fred asked.

"Only reasonable answer, really." George stated flatly.

Ginny nodded at them both. Hedwig flapped down from a high branch to land next to Ginny at the mention of her master.

"Yeah," Ron seemed to deflate, his anger rushing out of him. He sat down next to his sister. "Yeah, it's Harry."

Charlie waved them silent. "When did you start going through my mail, Ron?"

"When did you get the right to go through Ginny's, Charlie?" Ron shot back. "I'm still waiting for an explanation."

"So are we," Fred added. "We almost didn't come."

"Figured ickle Ronniekins was just trying to find out about Order business." George shook his head.

"Can't have that, can we?"

"Not a bit. But we came anyway, 'cause we heard Ron was making dinner."

"Figured we could bribe him to slip Snape a little something special."

"Brilliant plan, thought us." George sighed.

"But now we find out Charlie's done something to Harry." Both twins were looking at Charlie now. The hard expressions on their faces seemed out of place.

"Can't be order business, or we'd know about it, seeing as how we're in the order."

Charlie looked to Bill, who just shook his head. "I can't help you, even if I wanted to. You over-stepped yourself."

Charlie looked around at his brothers and sister, and in that moment very much understood how Percy must have felt when the entire family had arrayed against him because he held and acted on beliefs diametrically opposed to the rest. He tried to find the words, to find a way to explain, but he had never been good with people. He was good at flying, good at handling dragons and stalking through the Forbidden Forest. He left dealing with people to Bill and the twins.

"I did," he spoke calmly, "the only thing I knew to do under the circumstances. And I will not explain anything more to you, because it infringes on Order business."

Ginny gaped at Charlie in disbelief. "You betrayed Harry to the Ministry. You put him completely in their hands. He's saved my life at least once...and he's spent his entire life...and you just...gave him away? Just like that?"

Ginny wasn't sure why she was crying; she wasn't sure if the tears were for her, for Harry, or for what she had hoped might be between them – friendship or otherwise. He had written her a letter. He had wanted to get to know her. He had apologized to her. He had always seemed at least a little happy at the Burrow, or with the Weasleys. He'd lost Sirius...now he was losing more. He was losing his entire world.

It struck her that she was crying because of what she'd seen in her dream. And none of them would believe her, except maybe Ron. She knew a fraction of what Harry was enduring because of what Charlie had done.

Earlier, when Charlie had demanded to see the letters, she had known the letters didn't post a danger to Harry.

Now, she was positive what Charlie had done did threaten Harry, maybe as much as Voldemort himself.

"Yes. Just like that," Charlie said.

"Wait." The twins spoke as one.

"We don't know what's up," Fred began.

"So is anyone going to explain?" George finished.

"Not in front of them," Charlie said, pointing to Ron and Ginny. "This is Order business!"

The silence drug on until Bill spoke. His voice was soft, but deep and held an indefinable air of menace.

"Order business, Charlie?" Bill seemed amused. "The Order agreed the Ministry needed to know some things. This," He held up the tattered parchment, "has gone well above and beyond what was agreed to. Either time."

Charlie turned to look at Bill. "Yes. I know. But I think it was necessary. You know why."

"I still disagree."

"What's done is done, Bill. You can't undo it." Charlie was almost whispering now.

"Seriously," George said, a note of frustration in his almost-cheerful voice, "if someone doesn't start explaining, you're all going to end up with new body parts."

Bill sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Right. But this goes no further than this meeting."

"You can't do this, Bill," Charlie warned.

"I can, and I will. Percy was dumb enough to send an unaddressed letter and you were dumb enough to past what the Order agreed to. If I don't explain something, those four," he gestured to Ron, Ginny and twins, "are loyal enough to Harry to find out on their own, and damn the consequences."

"Too right." The twins nodded in unison. Ginny wiped her eyes.

Charlie was silent for a long moment, then sighed and sat down. "After the Department of Mysteries, the Order decided to tell the Ministry, via Percy, information regarding Harry and You-Know-Who. Mostly, proof You-Know-Who was after him. We wanted the Ministry on our side, helping to protect Harry."

Ron pointed to the parchment. "It doesn't explain that." He looked to the twins. "That," his finger was still pointing at the parchment, "is an update from Percy to Charlie about Harry. Fudge sent Umbridge to talk to the Dursleys and now Harry is completely cut off from the wizarding world. Percy thanks Charlie for making sure no one is in contact with Harry."

Everyone's eyes flicked to Ginny. From Percy's note, it was obvious she and Harry were somehow keeping their correspondence secret.

"Umbridge." Again, the twins spoke as one, a deep hatred in their mingled voices.

Bill looked startled. "What about her? I mean, aside from her taking over Hogwarts and getting Dumbledore sacked."

Ginny answered softly. "She tortured Harry with a blood quill. A few other students, too, but mostly Harry. She made him write 'I must not tell lies' over and over. Enough to make it permanent. She used Veritaserum on him. She was going to use the Cruciatus Curse on him. She was the one who sent the Dementors to Little Whinging a year ago." She looked up at Charlie. "That is who Percy and Fudge are trusting Harry's safety to. Charlie, please. What else did you tell them?"

"I think I know." Bill looked at Charlie. "Even after we agreed to help you. Even after we trusted you. You told them about the connection between Harry and You-Know-Who, didn't you?"

Charlie said nothing; he didn't even move.

"Why?" Ginny asked softly. "Why would you betray him to the Ministry like that?"

"Because there are some things greater than you or me or even Harry. Things that need to be preserved as much as You-Know-Who needs to be destroyed."

Ginny stared at Charlie as if she had never met him. "Greater things? Like what?"

"Harry is only one person. He's done great things and doesn't deserve most of what happens to him, but he is not more important than defeating You-Know-Who. Which could be jeopardized by him seeing what Harry knows or by fooling him again."

Fred and George looked at each other. "Are you saying Harry is expendable?"

"I am trying to tell you isolating Harry from the Order and what the Order is doing is more important than any one person. Right now, Harry Potter and what he knows could be a danger to us."

"Why is Harry expendable, Charlie? Do we even know what the Prophecy was about?" Ginny spat the words at her brother. "Do you have any idea why Tom wants to kill Harry? I should think if Tom wants Harry dead, then protecting him – which turning him over to the Ministry isn't – should be a number one priority for the bloody Order!"

Charlie sighed and gave Ginny a patronizing look. "All right, little sister. You might have a point. However, your judgment where Harry Potter is concerned is very suspect!"

"Why is that?" Ron drawled. "I happen to agree with her."

Standing, Charlie let out a slow breath. "He saved your life, Ginny. Remember? You're magically bound to him. Not to mention your little crush."

Fred and George both stood at that, but were stopped by a look from Bill. This was her fight. If she couldn't win it on her own, no one would ever trust her where Harry was concerned.

"Oh, really?" Ginny asked softly. "He sent Hedwig to stay here this summer, you know."

Ron gave Hedwig a glance. "I don't think he'd have sent her away unless he thought she was in danger. I mean, have you seen the way he treats her? If Harry thought Hedwig was in danger then he probably is too! I thought the bloody Order was keeping an eye on him!"

"We are," Bill said. "As best we can. Which isn't as well as we'd like. Fudge gave Dumbledore an ultimatum at the beginning of the summer. Either Dumbledore's people leave Harry Potter be this summer, or he would be made a Ward of the State and put into a residential facility for troubled orphans. Which," he added with a dark look for Charlie, "makes a lot more sense than it used to."

Ginny flinched at the idea of Harry in an orphanage, but a quiet part of her whispered he might be better off there than at the Dursley's.

"You knew this was going on and didn't tell us?" Ron asked Bill.

"Yes," Bill said. "Because Dumbledore ordered me not to. There's no point in hiding it now, because you found out most of it."

"Look, if he got sent to an orphanage, he'd be outside Dumbledore's protections," Charlie said. "Leaving him open to You-Know-Who's attacks. Or worse, Fudge would put Harry under such restrictive security we'd never see him, maybe even under Umbridge's control. He'd be a Ministry prisoner in all but name. At least this way, he's as safe as we can make him."

Ron shook his head. "If Fudge tried it, we'd stop him."

"Who, little brother? You?" Charlie asked, a bit patronizingly. "Or maybe Ginny?"

"You don't know what fate you're tempting, Charlie..." Ron warned, with a bit of a growl in his voice. "You don't know half of what we've done or what we can do. Ginny's one of the best of us."

"As nice as it is to see you stick up for Ginny," Charlie said, "I want to know who is 'us' and what makes you think you could take on the Ministry, Aurors and the Minister of Magic? Isn't that a bit arrogant?"

"No." Ron shook his head. "It's not. The DA is about half the upper class of Hogwarts from three houses. We'd have Fred and George and anyone from Gryffindor who ever knew Harry. We're not as good as Harry is, but Neville and Hermione and I, we could train 'em up a bit. Then there's Hagrid...and you don't want to know about the Creevy brothers."

Ginny nodded. "They'd go to hell and back for him. Trust me."

Charlie was taken aback. "All those people would fight for Harry?"

George cut in. "That's just those we know would do it, Azkaban or not."

Bill cut the conversation short. "That's all speculation. The best I can do is tell the Order what Charlie did and ask for an update on Harry, but I can't promise I'll get an answer. Most of the Order knows I side with Mum and want him away from the Dursleys, and Kingsley Shacklebolt is being a royal pain in the ass about it. The more I ask, the less they tell."

Ron stood and started pacing. "Bloody...we need someone to get on the inside...the Muggle inside, I mean, use a Muggle way of getting in contact with Harry...find out what's really going on, you know?"

Ginny half hid her face behind her hair. "Hermione. Have Hermione call him. On the fellytone, or whatever it is. Maybe she can talk to him."

Ron jerked to a stop. He didn't look up at anyone. "Someone else would have to write her. I can't."

"Oh?" Charlie looked at Ron. "And why's that?"

Ron turned away from the group and shoved his hands in his pockets. "She won't answer my letters right now. Hell, she won't even read 'em. Have Ginny write it. This is about Harry, not me."

He walked off towards his workshop.

Ginny's glare caught all of her brothers. "Leave Ron alone. I will Owl Hermione, and I will make sure she talks to Harry."

She jumped up to follow Ron, but changed her mind. He probably needs a bit by himself. And I need to think this Hermione thing through.

This was not going to be as easy as it sounded.

Hermione had written once that summer, when she'd send her letter to Ron. Her letter to Ginny had been short, and to the point – she wasn't going to talk to Ron about it. Not only that, but she would send his letters back, unread. And oh, would Ginny kindly mind keeping this all a secret? And try to keep everyone else from bothering her unless the situation was dire? Though, Hermione had given Ginny a way to get a short message to her quickly if things were dire.

Well, this is dire. Harry is in some serious danger. Not that he'd ever think we worry, or care. Not that he'd ever really notice any of us at all...

Grah! What was she thinking? I swore, I promised this was over. No more Harry-angst, Harry-dreams, or Harry-hopes. I'd given up on him.

All that last year, she'd tried. She really had. And in the end...there had been nothing. She had dated Michael Corner, but he'd used her to get Cho Chang after Harry's abortive attempt at a relationship.

Near the end of the year, despite what she'd told Ron, she and Dean Thomas had shared a few kisses – rather intense kisses, but they didn't know each other. She'd tried to start correspondence with him, but every time he wrote back, all he wanted was to talk about the next time they kissed.

It wasn't exactly what she was hoping for.

And what are you hoping for, Ginny? Harry Potter, the Boy Who is Blind?

Ginny winced, thinking of what Charlie had said about magical bonds...Could all of this be because I'm bound to him?

She didn't like the thought, so she pushed it aside.

- 0 -

It was well past midnight, and Ginny was getting worried. Had Hermione not gotten her message? Maybe the charm hadn't worked?

It seemed brilliant when she suggested it. Hermione had given Ginny a watch. All she had to do was set the time on hers and it would change on Hermione's, alerting the girl she wanted to talk. Hermione had said if Ginny used the watch, she would contact her on the Order's secure Floo.

Forcing herself not to pace back and forth, Ginny waited by the fire.

Maybe she can't use a long-distance Floo connection...I have no idea where in Bulgaria she is...

Ginny tightened her robe around herself, and stared at the flames, willing them to turn green and for the bushy-haired know-it-all to appear with the answer.

Five minutes of nothing.

Ginny yawned, her jaw cracking. Her stomach sank and her insides twisted.

I can't go to sleep until I tell Hermione what's going on. Life-debt bond or no, I know something is wrong with Harry. She grit her teeth and forced herself to stay awake. Hell, maybe what ever this connection is makes me better suited to figure out what's going on with him!

She had been getting strong feelings about Harry and if he was in danger. It made sense if she were connected to him, she might know something everyone else didn't!

More time ticked by, and the fire stayed warm and red.

She's not going to be here...and Harry's alone. She won't answer because of my stupid brother, and Harry's going through hell and won't ask for help because he's blaming himself. It's not his bloody fault Sirius was a git and got himself killed!

Even as she thought it, Ginny was wracked by guilt. Sirius had come to protect Harry – protect all of them, really – and had gotten killed doing so.

Isn't this how he would have wanted to die? Fighting? Doing something, anything?

Ginny had gotten to know the moody Sirius Black last summer when her family had stayed at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. They had sat in silence, him not demanding, her not asking. They had talked about Harry – Sirius had been desperate to learn more about his Godson, and was stunned at the story of Ginny's first year.

"Killed a Basilisk, banished Voldemort, destroyed the diary, and saved the girl?" Sirius had laughed, shaking his head, dark hair flying across his face. "James would have been proud. Hell, any Marauder would!"

She rested her head against the mantle. This is all your fault, Tom Riddle. And someday...you'll pay for it.

She turned away from the fireplace with a sigh, ignoring the crackle and rush of the flames as a log rolled over.

"Ginny! Ginny, is that you?"

Spinning on one bare foot, Ginny saw Hermione's face in the fireplace.

"Sorry it took so long...it took forever to break away from Victor!"

The anguished look on Hermione's face was too much for Ginny. She actually giggled. "That bad?"

Hermione made a face. "Worse. I..." she seemed to have to force her words out. "I miss you guys. I even miss Ron. And I'm worried about Harry."

Ginny grinned weakly. She knew what Hermione and Ron felt for each other, but she also knew they were stubborn, prideful and blind.

Not like me. I know how I feel. It's always there, and it never goes away. And I don't even know if I want him to see it or not.

"That's what I'm calling you about." She rubbed her forehead. "You need to call him, on the phone-thingie. You need to find out what's going on with him."

Hermione gave Ginny her patented Look. The look that had made both Ron and Harry pause and reconsider what they were planning to do more than once.

"Ginny, you'd better tell me what's going on. Why is it so important that I need to call Harry?"

The redhead was silent for a long moment, trying to come to terms with what she was about to say.

"Charlie told the Ministry Tom can get into Harry's head. Now he's under watch by the Ministry."

"I'm not surprised," Hermione answered. "To be honest, I've expected something like this for awhile." Her expression was grim. "But I can't. Not with what I'm involved in out here. Besides, the Ministry won't like me contacting him. I'm sorry, Ginny."

"I thought Muggles made phone calls all the time!" Ginny was shocked Hermione had refused – she hadn't even thought of that as a possibility.

"Yes,we do," Hermione snapped. "But getting away from Victor and the Order long enough to call a friend long-distance with no privacy from some random place in Bulgaria just isn't possible!"

"You managed this fire-call, didn't you?" Ginny scowled at Hermione.

"I did." Hermione nodded. "But it's the middle of the night. I'm not calling the Dursleys in the middle of the night. Angering his relatives certainly won't help him!"

Ginny growled. "So you're just going to leave your 'best friend' to rot in some living hell when you could find out what's going on with a single call?"

Hermione's eye blazed with the righteous indignation for which she was so famous.

"Harry is my best friend, Ginny. I've known him for five years, and I know his moods. Even if there were something wrong – which I don't doubt there is, he just lost his godfather! – I know he wouldn't tell me. Not to mention the grief he'd give me over checking up on him if it got me in trouble. To say nothing of the trouble I could get him in!" She paused for breath. "If the Ministry is having him watched, they'll know I called, Ginny. Then what? Get us forbidden to talk to him? That is, if I even get past his relatives to talk to him!"

Ginny snorted disdainfully. "Fat lot you know, for such a supposedly smart witch. Harry will never deal with Sirius' death by hiding in some dark little pit in Little Whinging. He'll wallow. He'll close off. He'll be emotionally abused by those...those Muggles and he'll have no one, nothing to lean on, even a little – only this time the Ministry will be looking over his shoulder, too. Remember last summer? How he was when he finally got out of there? Yes, he just lost his godfather. Which is why he needs his friends right now!" The sheer amount of disgust Ginny managed to lace into her voice startled Hermione. "But by all means, don't let me disturb your little love nest. Go back to running away from Krum. I'm sure you'll have loads of fun."

Hermione glared hard at Ginny. "Just when did you become the expert on Harry Potter's guilt, Ginevra Weasley?"

Ginny swallowed a sudden lump that had formed in her throat.

This was Hermione, the girl who two years ago had excitedly confided in her, whispering and giggling over the mysterious and suddenly oh-so-desirable Victor Krum; she had sobbed on Ginny's shoulder when Ron had hurt her – so many times neither girl could keep count – and who later had leaned on her when Harry was taking everything out on his friends. Ginny had sobbed on Hermione's shoulder and whispered her secret and undying obsession with one of her best friends.

But like everyone else, she didn't remember why Ginny might understand Harry.

Why doesn't anyone remember, except to tell me I was a fool?

Ginny swallowed the lump.

In the end, she was still Ron's kid sister. She knew she wouldn't be let inside the walls the three had built around themselves. And any time she got close to any of them, they'd just remind her of what she'd done her first year – while any other time, like now, it was conveniently forgotten.

But even if she weren't allowed in, she was still going to take care of them.

Someone had to.

Ginny's whisper was hoarse. "If you don't know, if you can't figure it out, then I'm not sure I want to tell you."

"Ginny..." Hermione might have reached up a hand, had the Floo connection allowed that.

Ginny turned away and threw a pinch of Floo powder over her shoulder, severing the connection.

"Whatever."

- 0 -

Molly Weasley sat at her dinner table and waited. She knew someone would be coming to talk to her soon. They would try to talk her out of it or tell her why she was wrong.

Not this time. They're wrong.

She wondered about the Dursleys. How could they have raised him, and he turn out like he had?

I hate them. I've never really hated before...but I hate the Dursleys.

It was a painful, startling revelation. She didn't even hate Voldemort; Ginny had spent so many nights crying on her shoulder from the mere memories of the horrors he had inflicted upon her. And of the horrors inflicted on Tom Riddle.

Riddle had been far more protected, loved, sheltered than Harry – but Molly couldn't hate him. Worse: she pitied him, saw him as a lost cause. In that, at least, she and Albus Dumbledore saw eye-to-eye.

But she hated Vernon and Petunia Dursley. It was raw, red hot emotion. Every time she thought about them, her guts clenched and every maternal hormone, every maternal feeling, she had raged out of control.

It had nothing to do with them being Muggles. It had nothing to do with how they felt about Wizards. It had to do with what they had done to the small child who had been left on their doorstep.

Any child left on her doorstep would have been given a warm and loving home and grown into maturity emotionally and mentally whole.

Vernon and Petunia had spat on the chance they were offered. The chance to give their son a brother; the chance to do something purely and truly wonderful by giving Harry a home. Instead, they treated him as less than human.

In Molly's heart, two of her sons were alone right now. Percy had turned away from his blood for what he saw as a greater cause. At least Molly could take pride that Percy was willing to stand for what he believed in, even if it meant standing against his own family – Merlin knew she had done the same.

But Harry was locked away from her by the secrets of Albus Dumbledore. She knew there were still secrets Dumbledore had not told her, secrets that would make or break Harry Potter. The same secrets that had allowed the Ministry to come between Harry and the Order.

So, she had made a decision. To her, it was really the only option.

This was the last night.

This was her last night.

When the sun rose, Molly Weasley would no longer be a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

For a moment, she had a twinge of regret, but it vanished swiftly.

The Order is not as important as one child's soul. If I can save his soul, then I will...and the Order can burn.

Now, she waited for the Order's answer to her resignation.

Minutes passed, and all Molly heard was the ticking of the clock.

CRACK!

"Molly." The tall, thin woman pursed her lips, as if unsure what to say. Or if there were really words for her to say that would mean anything or make a difference.

"Minerva."

I don't want to fight with you, Minerva. But even as she thought it, Molly heard herself speaking.

"Come to tell me to keep what I know to myself and that you can't tell me any more than you can tell the children?"

Minerva McGonagall didn't flinch away from Molly's anger. She was far too stoic, too strong for that.

"I came to ask why."

At one point, the two women had been friends; before that, they had been teacher and student.

Now, Molly was looking at her as if she didn't know her.

Maybe I don't.

The red-headed woman shrugged. "Does it matter why, Minerva? You have the ability to be there with him. You could be there for him. At least let him know he is not alone. But you don't."

Minerva refused to look away. "This is what must be. Believe it or not, he is safer there than anywhere. He has faced worse, and lived."

Molly spoke softly. "And he is still a child. He is still fifteen years old. He has never been held. Never been told it's okay to cry. Never been told it's okay to hurt. And all of you...you act like he's a man. You force him to be a man, and don't give him a bit of slack when he can't live up to what you demand he try to be! You trap him between being a child and being a man, and you won't commit to either course."

McGonagall scowled. "That is a burden circumstances placed on him as much as any of us did. You-Know-Who is at least as responsible as the Order or his teachers, Molly. Not a one of us wanted him involved, but he gave us no choice!"

Molly huffed indignantly. "As if he had a choice? He is a child expected to be a legend. No one bothered to prepare him for what people would see when they looked at him. The savior of the Wizarding world, Minerva - we all think it, even if we don't say it."

Shaking her head, McGonagall sighed. "How could we prepare him, Molly? How could we help him?"

Molly rose from her chair, every inch a redheaded she-bear defending her cub. "You could have listened to him, trusted him. You ignored him when he came to you and told you about the Philosopher's Stone. He faced You-Know-Who alone because no one would trust him, even though we credited him with saving us all. So of course he didn't even dream you would listen to him when he was hearing that damn basilisk – and my daughter paid the price! She didn't live, Minerva, she survived!"

Instead of being the bright red of a Weasley on a tirade, she was pale as a ghost, and so intense that Minerva felt trapped by her gaze, held in place by a force of personality no magic could overcome.

"She survived because he and my son were brave enough to do what grown wizards could have done if they had only given a child reason to trust them."

She took a step forward.

"You hid his past from him, as if he doesn't have the right to know who he is and where he came from! Sirius Black broke free of Azkaban, and you turned around and expected him to understand and think about it like an adult! He nearly died, nearly had his soul sucked out by Dementors! And after, Harry saw clear to listen to a man our entire world turned their back on. A man we locked up without so much as a trial!"

Minerva opened her mouth to speak, but Molly cut her off. "Now Sirius is dead because of the choices you heaped on Harry without a whit of the knowledge or guidance he needed to make those decisions! Sirius and I were at odds, yes, but I could at least respect him because of his love for Harry. He wanted to help Harry be the man you and Dumbledore force him to be."

"And what of you, Molly? Where have you been? Why haven't you tried to provide such guidance to him?" McGonagall was looking at her as if she were an errant schoolgirl caught cheating.

"Oh no you don't, Minerva McGonagall." Molly shook her head. "Who stood by him during the Triwizard Tournament? I would have been there, but I wasn't supposed to interfere. I wasn't supposed to 'mother him' – weren't those the words you and Albus used in your letter telling me not to come until the very end?"

Minerva bowed her head. "Yes. Those were the words. Because if he came to depend on you, then how could he live at the Dursley's? Trust me, Molly, that is the last place we want him, but that is where he has to be!"

Molly shook her head. "If the Order considers Harry Potter's emotional and mental well-being a 'reasonable sacrifices' for his 'safety' from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, then I have no reason to be a member of your Order."

Minverva looked at Molly sadly. "That is very unfortunate for the Order."

"Yes," Molly said. "It is. Now get out of my kitchen."

CRACK!

McGonagall Apparated away and Molly sank back down at her table and buried her face in her hands.

- 0 -

Morning came and the sun rose over the Burrow. Bill Weasley stood outside and held a steaming mug of hot chocolate, enjoying the warmth on his face.

There was a whisper of sound behind him; the curse-breaker didn't turn.

"Hello, Tonks."

He heard her sniffle, and he turned around to her, arms open. Every time she came back, it was like this.

Tonks leaned against him, drawing comfort from her friend. She'd been a Hogwarts with him and Charlie, but had only really gotten close to Bill, despite being three years younger.

Although I don't think she's ever forgiven me for not going into Auror training.

Bill had seen what the Ministry had done to his father. He had taken his skills elsewhere. Besides, he had his own dreams to fulfill.

"Shh." He ran his free hand through her multi-colored hair. "Bad night?"

Tonks nodded. "Bad."

He handed her the hot chocolate. "Drink up, and then hit the rack."

She nodded, and cradled the mug. Bill reached over to the patio table and grabbed the second mug he had waiting, and took a careful sip.

"You always keep it just warm enough, you know." Tonks stood next to him, their shoulders barely touching.

"I try." He stared at the sun, and smiled; he missed it while he was in England. It was usually so cloudy here. In the Sahara, it burned bright overhead, cleansing, pure heat blasting the desert. He took in a deep breath, remembering the scent of the sands.

"It gets worse every night."

Bill took her hand. "I know. How is he?"

"The same. Silent. Withdrawn. Bill, why the hell did Fudge do this? Do you know what's going to be left of his mind when he gets out of there?"

Neither one of them wanted to think about what Harry might be like when he finally escaped the Dursleys.

Finally, Tonks sighed.

"Minerva talked with your Mum."

He nodded. "I know. Mum told me when I put her to bed. I found her at the kitchen table, just staring at some letter."

"You got her to sleep?" the Auror asked, surprised, as she drained the rest of her mug.

"Slipped her a mickey in her hot chocolate. There'll be hell to pay this afternoon, but she needed the sleep."

Tonks looked mournfully at her empty mug. "Oh, damn. You're slick, Bill Weasley."

Bill grinned impishly as Tonks blinked, getting woozy. "Mum always said I had a way with the ladies."

End Chapter

Revised 12-25-07