Gwen

“Shh, do you hear that?” I questioned the group, well except Fred and George they had to go back to their flat over their joke shop. They sat there without motion. I held my pointer finger over my lips before standing up and walking out of the bedroom and downstairs quietly.

“Who’s there?” Mum questioned, her voice laced with nervousness. “Declare yourself!”

I leaned over the railing with a grin.

“It is I, Dumbledore, bringing Harry.” I jumped down the last step with a grin. Mum turned in shock, she looked extremely tired and I felt bad for her - she must be worried sick, shaking her head.

“What are you doing up?” I shrugged with a smile, taking a seat next to Tonks - she’s a young witch with a pale, heart shaped face and mousy brown hair, her usually bubble-gum hair wasn’t there, she looked sad - a large mug was clutched between her hands.

“Wasn’t sleeping,” I grinned, she shook her head, opening the door at once. Mum was wearing an old green dressing gown.

“Harry, dear! Gracious, Albus, you gave me a fright, you said not to expect you before morning!”

“We were lucky,” Dumbledore said gently, ushering Harry over the threshold. “Slughorn proved much more persuadable than I had expected. Harry’s doing, of course. Ah, hello, Nymphadora, Guinevere!”

I watched as Harry looked around and I wondered why Harry was coming to the burrow at such a late hour. I grinned at the two - waving at them.

“Hello, Professor,” Tonks said. “Wotcher, Harry.”

“Harry! Professor!” I greeted, bouncing in my seat slightly.

“Hi, Tonks, Gwen.”

“I’d better be off,” Tonks said quickly standing up and pulling her cloak around her shoulders. “Thanks for the tea and sympathy, Molly.”

“Please don’t leave on my account,” Dumbledore said courteously, “I cannot stay, I have urgent matters to discuss with Rufus Scrimgeour.”

“No, no, I need to get going,” Tonks held a soft frown, not meeting Dumbledore’s eyes. “Night.”

“Dare, why not come to dinner this weekend, Remus and Mad-Eye are coming?”

“No, really, Molly … thanks anyway … Goodnight, everyone.”

Tonks hurried past Dumbledore and Harry into the yard; a few paces beyond the doorstep, she turned on the spot and vanished into thin air. I turned my attention towards Mum - she looked troubled.

“Well, I shall see you at Hogwarts, Harry, Guinevere,” said Dumbledore.

“Take care of yourself, Molly,” Dumbledore nodded, he bowd, following Tonks, vanishing at precisely the same spot. Mum closed the door on the empty yard and then steered Harry by the shoulders into the dim light of the lantern on the table to examine his appearance.

“You’re like Ron,” she sighed, looking him up and down. “Both of you look as though you’ve had a Stretching Jinxes put on you. I swear Ron’s grown four inches since I last bought him school robes. Are you hungry, Harry, Gwen?”

“Yeah, I am,” said Harry, I shook my head with a grin.

“Sit down, Harry!” I said happily, pointing to the chair that Tonk’s had been sitting in.

Just as Harry sat down, a furry ginger cat with a squashed face jumped onto his knees and settled there, purring.

“Hermione’s here?” Harry questioned happily, scratching Crookshanks behind the ears. I nodded with a laugh.

“So is Anne, Willy, and Olive.” I said as Mum a large iron pot made clunking noises with her wand - it bounced onto the stove with a loud clang and began to bubble at once. “

“Everyone’s in bed, besides Gwen, of course,” I shook my head just as mum shook her head. “we didn’t expect you for hours. Here you are.”

There was a loud knock at the door, I stood up from the table - looking at my mum with my eyebrows raised, she stood there shaking with her wand in her hand. I peeked out of the window to see a dark haired, eyed boy. My eyes widen as I went to go unlock the door but before I could mum sat her hands over mine.

“Mum, it’s just Orion,” she shook her head.

“Gwen, you should make sure,” I sighed pulling my fingers away from the lock.

“What song do you like to sing to me when I’m sad?” I questioned Orion from the other side of the door - he chuckled before singing the first couple of lines.

I remember tears streaming down your face

When I said, "I'll never let you go"

When all those shadows almost killed your light

I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"

But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight

I grinned at my mum, she sighed while I flipped the lock - hearing the click, I swung the door open. Orion had his trunk sitting next him with his Gryffindor bag strapped across his chest.

“Orion, come in, dear,” Mum said sweetly, waving her wand - his stuff disappeared. He stepped over the threshold, a small smile playing at his lips - he held his arms open for me, I ran into his chest - he wrapped his arms around me tightly.

“Dear, are you hungry?” Orion nodded, setting his head on mine gently. I pulled out of his hug - grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the table - I took my seat next to Harry as Orion sat next to me.

Mum moved towards the pot, tapping it; it rose into the air; flew towards Harry, and tipped over; Mum slid a bowl neatly beneath it just in time to catch the stream of thick, steaming onion soup. She did the same thing for Orion.

“Bread, dears?”

“Thanks, Mrs. Weasley.” Harry said with a nod.

“Thanks, ma'am,” Orion grinned, mum waved her wand over her shoulder; a loaf of bread and knife soared gracefully onto the table - as the loaf sliced itself and the soup pot dropped back onto the stove, mum sat down opposite from us. I laid my head on Orion’s shoulders.

“So Harry, you persuaded Horace Slughorn to take the job?” I watched Harry carefully - his mouth full of bread.

“He taught Arthur and me,” Mum said. “He was at Hogwarts for ages, started around the same time as Dumbledore, I think. Did you like him?”

Harry shrugged and gave a nod.

“I know what you mean,” Mum said, nodding wisely. “Of course he can be charming when he wants to be, but Arthur’s never liked him much. The Ministry's littered with Slughorn’s old favorites, he was always good at giving leg ups. but he never had much time for Arthur -- didn’t seem to think he was enough of a highflier. Well, that just shows you, even Slughorn makes mistakes, I don’t know weather Ron’s told you in any of his letters -- it’s only just happened -- but Arthur’s been promoted!”

I sighed, but a small smile forming - Mum was bursting to say this to someone who would listen - well sort of listen.

Harry swallowed a large amount of very hot soup: “That’s great!” he gasped.

“You are sweet,” beamed mum possibly taking Harry’s watering eyes for emotion at the news. “Yes, Rufus Scrimgeour has set up several new offices in response to the present situation, and Arthur’s heading the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. It’s a big job, he’s got ten people reporting to him now!”

Orion sighed with comfort, leaning his head against mine.

“What exactly --”

“Well, you see, in all the panic about You-Know-Who, odd things have been cropping up for sale everywhere, things that are supposed to guard against You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. You can imagine the kind of thing -- so-called protective potions that are really gravy with a bit of bubotuber pus added, or instructions for defensive jinxes that actually make your ears fall off … Well, in the main the perpetrators are just people like Mundungus Fletcher, who’ve never done an honest day’s work in their lives and are taking advantage of how frightened everybody is, but every now and then something really nasty turns up. The other day now and then something really nasty turns up. The other day Arthur confiscated a box of cursed Sneakoscopes that were almost certainly planted by a Death Eater. So you see, it’s very important job, and I tell him it’s just silly to miss dealing with spark plugs and toasters and all the rest of that Muggle rubbish.” Mum ended her speech with a stern look, as if it had been us suggesting that it was natural to miss spark plugs.

“Is Mr. Weasley still at work?” Orion asked.

“Yes, he is. As matter of fact, he’s a tiny bit late … He said he’d be back around midnight …”

Mum turned to look at the large clock that was perched awkwardly on top of a pile of sheets in the washing basket at the end of the table. The object was recognizable at once: It had ten hands, each inscribed with the name of a family member, and usually hung on the our sitting room wall, Mum had taken to carrying it around the house with her. Every single one of it’s ten hands were now pointing at “mortal peril.”

“It’s been like that for awhile now,” I said softly towards Orion and Harry.

Mum nodded: “Ever since You-Know-Who came back into the open. I suppose everybody’s in mortal danger now… I don’t think it can be just our family … but I don’t know anyone else who’s got a clock like this, so I can’t check. Oh!”

With a sudden exclamation mum pointed at the clock’s face. Dad’s hand had switched to “traveling.”

“He’s coming!”

A moment later there was a knock on the back door. Mum jumped up and hurried to it; with one hand on the doorknob and her face pressed against the wood she called softly, “Arthur, is that you?”

“Yes,” came Dad’s weary voice. “But I would say that even if I were a Death Eater, dear. Ask the question!”

“Oh, honestly…”

“Molly!” Orion laughed quietly to himself before I punched him in the thigh.

“All right, all right… What is your dearest ambition?”

“To find out how airplanes stay up.”

Mum nodded and turned the doorknob, but apparently Dad was holding tightly to it on the other side, because the door remained firmly shut.

“Molly! I’ve got to ask you your question first!”

“Arthur, really, this is silly…”

“What do you like me to call you when we’re alone together?”

Even by the dim light of the lantern we could tell that she had turned bright red; Harry and Orion blushed around the ears and neck, and Harry hastily gulped soup while we watched, he clattered his spoon as loudly as he could against the bowl.

“Mollywobbles,” Mum whispered mortified into the crack at the edge of the door.

“Correct,” said Dad. “Now you can let me in.”

Mum opened the door to reveal Dad, a thin balding red-haired wizard wearing horn-rimmed spectacles and a long and dusty traveling cloak.

“I still don’t see why we have to go through that every time you come home,” said Mum, still pink in the face as she helped Dad out of his cloak. “I mean, a Death Eater might have forced the answer out of you before impersonating you!”

“I know, dear, but it’s Ministry procedure, and I have to set an example. Something smells good -- onion soup?”

Dad turned hopefully to the direction of the table.

“Harry! We didn’t expect you until morning! Gwen! What are you doing up? And Orion, what are you doing here?”

“Well, you see,” Orion said while rubbing the back of his head with a sly grin. “Mother and I got into a fight, I packed my stuff and came to one of my only homes I’ve ever known while besides Hogwarts,”

Orion and Harry shook hands with Dad while I stood up and gave him a hug and a kiss, dropping into the chair on the other side of us as Mum set a bowl of soup in front of him too.

“Thanks, Molly. It’s been a tough night. Some idiot’s started selling Metamorph-Medals. Just sling them around your neck and you’ll be able to change your appearance at will. A hundred thousand disguises, all for ten Galleons!”

“And what really happens when you put them on?” Orion questioned.

“Mostly you just turn a fairly unpleasant orange color, but a couple of people have also sprouted tentaclelike warts all over their bodies. As if St. Mungo’s didn’t have enough to do already!”

“It sounds like the sort of thing Fred and George would find funny,” said Mum hesitantly. “Are you sure --?”

“Well, parents. The boys and I are going to bed!” I said happily, shifling a fake yawn, Orion and Harry looked at me with questions in there eyes. I gripped both of their hands tightly - running up the stairs, making sure that I wouldn’t trip; I giggled a couple of times catching the boys groans and they tripped over their feet.

I opened my bedroom door slowly, peeking in to see them still playing the game - I grinned opening the door, pushing the boys on either side of the door.

“What took you so long?” Olive exclaimed, I giggled with a shrug.

“You guys played without me!” I pouted while crossing my arms, they laughed.

“You took too long,” Willy said while grinning, he was practically jumping in his seat - I didn’t know what was going on with him but I could see Ginny blushing slightly while staring at him.

“I brought you gifts!” I happily called out, grabbing for Harry’s hand pulling him into my side - he stumbled slightly with a grin. I kissed his cheek before pushing him into the group.

“Harry!” Hermione and Ron said happily, pulling him down in-between the two.

“I’ve got one more thing,” I giggled, while winking at Olive - she looked at me as if I was crazy. “I’ve got Orion!” I danced slightly while pulling him towards me - he grinned while leaning down and kissing my cheek. My eyes widen, catching as Olive’s face dropped.

I pushed him into the room, I followed closely behind - closing the door gently behind me, I took a seat in-between Willy and Anne while Orion followed my lead.

“What are we playing?” Orion asked with a devious grin on his face. I laughed rubbing my hands together.

“Truth and Dare,” Willy laughed. “and I’ve just decided that it is your turn, Orion.”

“So, what do you say Orion - Truth or Dare!” He glared at Willy with a insane laugh.

“Dare!”

“Alright, hmmm,” Willy said, while stroking my imaginary beard. “I dare you to write a letter to someone you love and send it to them,” Orion nodded with a grin, standing up - moving towards my desk and grabbing parchment and a quill, he quickly jotted down what he wanted to say before rolling up the parchment and whistling.

In flew a chestnut brown barn owl with honey colored eyes, his owl: Knight. Orion quickly tied the parchment to Knight’s leg with a grin - taking his seat back next to me.

“Truth or Dare,” Orion said grinning at me, his eyes lighting up.

“Truth,” I said with a nod.

“Have you had your first kiss?” I blushed, looking down at my hands while shaking my head.

“What I can’t hear you?” I sighed, rolling my eyes.

“No, I haven’t had my first kiss yet!” I shouted. We stood there stiffly staring at the door. The door cracked open with a loud squeak - I groaned as we caught the sight of mum’s plump physique, we groaned in disappointment.

“Everyone to bed, now!” She nearly groaned, they nodded - standing up, everyone leaving my bedroom at one at a time besides Olive and Anne. The last one to leave was Orion and he left with a smirk plastered across his face.

“Goodnight, Mum!” I yelled as she shut my bedroom door.