"Harry, dear can I talk to you for a moment?" Mrs. Weasley asked quietly the next morning.
"Yeah, of course," Harry stood up and followed Mrs. Weasley into the living room, watching impassively as she cast silencing and privacy spells.
"I wanted to talk to you about last night," Mrs. Weasley began nervously. "I just wanted you to know that you can always come to me. You should never have to feel as though you can't depend on me. I want to protect you!" She cried desperately.
Harry looked at her sadly, "I know you do, Mrs. Weasley. I know that you and Sirius want to be there and that you just want to keep me out of danger. That was never really the issue it's not that I don't think you want to, it's more that I don't think you can. The fact of the matter is that you guys just aren't ever there when it matters most."
"Because you don't let us!" Molly cried. "You three are always putting yourselves into danger without giving the adults a chance to help."
"I give people a chance to help me. I have McGonagall a chance and she blew it, I will not be giving her another chance. I gave Lockhart a chance even though I didn't trust him. Not only did he blow it, he tried to attack me. I gave Lupin a chance and he lost it when he sided with someone who everyone thought was trying to kill me. I don't care that Sirius was innocent; I won't be able to trust Lupin knowing he had lied to my face and deliberately didn't tell me about how dangerous he knew Sirius was. I don't fully trust Sirius either. When my parents were killed rather than try and fight for me Sirius decided revenge was more important. And when he escaped 'for me' he didn't come to me and watch over me or try and warn me, instead he went after Wormtail again! How can I trust him to help me when he never puts me first?" Harry broke off hear, breathing hard.
"Sirius loves you. No matter how reckless or immature I think he is, I know he loves you." Molly spoke softly, fighting back tears at what Harry had revealed.
"I know. Like you, I know he cares but he just goes about it in all the wrong ways. Just like you actually."
"Me?" Molly asked, surprised at the sudden change in topic.
"Yes you. I know you care about me like a son but I don't need you the way you think I do. I need you for comfort, like after the tournament. I need you for that. However, I am not a child. I've learned how to take care of myself, I don't need you to try and protect me. I am fifteen. I am not some five year old child that needs to be sheltered from the world. I love you, really, but you need to realize that I won't allow you to treat me like a kid."
"I see," Molly said. "So how do you think I should act? No matter what you say, you ARE a child. Maybe you are more mature than many adults, but there is still so much you don't understand. I can say that with so much certainty because of the way you handle what happens to you. Sometimes the most adult thing you can do is ask for help."
"I can understand that. I agree that there are probably a lot of things that I don't understand. It's because I am so mature that I can understand that. I've learned that some things can only be gained by experience and there are a lot of experiences that I just haven't had yet. It's as simple as that. I would appreciate if you treated me maybe like you treat Tonks. You acknowledge that she is not someone that you can talk down to and boss around but you also offer her guidance because you do know more about life than she does. That is what I want."
Molly looked at Harry for a while and finally said, "I understand how you feel. I can appreciate your need for independence but I need you to do something for me too. I need to work on asking other for help. I cannot in good conscience not do everything in my power to protect you knowing that you are in danger. I will work on not being so overbearing if you will look me in the eyes and swear to ask for help, deal?"
Harry grinned ruefully, "You strike a hard bargain, Mrs. Weasley. I swear to ask for help. I don't want anything to happen anymore than you do."
"If you really want to star being treated as an adult, dear, you will have to start calling me 'Molly.'" Molly said in an amused tone. "Now, let's get back to the kitchen before those nosy children of mine start trying to poke around."
"Too late," Harry muttered under his breath, following her out of the room, not at all surprised when they found Fred and George trying to listen in. "See you in the kitchen, Molly," he said, rather enjoying the shocked looks on the faces of the twins at his sheer audacity.
"Be right there," Molly said glaring at her children. "It seems not everyone can be as mature as you. Well, if they cannot act like adults, I will not treat them as such."
Harry flashed the twins a smirk and waved at them cheekily as he left the room.