CONGRATULATIONS RON AND HERMIONE— NEW PREFECTS. Molly looked in a better mood than Tori had seen her all holiday when they finally came down for dinner later that night.

''I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner," She told Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Tori, and Ginny as they entered the room. ''Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron. I've sent them both owls and they're thrilled," She added, beaming.

Fred rolled his eyes, causing Tori to nudge him with her elbow.

Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were already there and Mad-Eye Moody stumped in shortly after Tori had got herself a Butterbeer.

''Oh, Alastor, I am glad you're here," Molly said brightly, as Mad-Eye shrugged off his traveling cloak. "We've been wanting to ask you for ages — could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing-room and tell us what's inside it? We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty."

''No problem, Molly..."

Moody's electric-blue eye swiveled upwards and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen.

''Drawing room..." He growled as the pupil contracted. "Desk in the corner? Yeah, I see it... Yeah, it's a boggart... Want me to go up and get rid of it, Molly?"

''No, no, I'll do it myself later," beamed Molly, ''You have your drink. We're having a little bit of a celebration, actually..." She gestured at the scarlet banner. "Fourth Prefect in the family!" She said fondly, ruffling Ron's hair.

"Yippie," George muttered, taking a seat at the end of the table. "Oh don't be such a spoilsport." Tori rolled her eyes at the twins, taking a sip from her goblet.

Molly was in such a good mood she did not even complain that Arthur and Bill had brought Mundungus with them when they arrived. He was wearing a long overcoat that seemed oddly lumpy in unlikely places and declined the offer to remove it and put it with Moody's traveling cloak.

''Well, I think a toast is in order," said Arthur, when everyone had a drink. He raised his goblet. "To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor prefects!"

Ron and Hermione beamed as everyone drank to them, and then applauded.

''I was never a prefect myself," Tonks was telling Tori and Ginny brightly as everybody moved towards the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato red and waist-length today; she looked like Ginny's older sister. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."

''Like what?" Ginny asked, who was choosing a baked potato.

''Like the ability to behave myself," Tonks replied.

Ginny and Tori laughed; Hermione looked as though she did not know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra-large gulp of Butterbeer and choking on it.

''What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked, thumping Hermione on the back.

Sirius, who was right beside Harry, let out his usual bark-like laugh.

''No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."

''I think Dumbledore might have hoped I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends," said Lupin. ''I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."

"Maybe that's why Tori wasn't made Prefect!" Fred said loudly from further down the table. "She wouldn't have been able to control us!" Tori sent him a playful glare in return.

The room was filled with such an enjoyable aura, Tori's mind never crossed over to the fact that the world was getting worse around them. For the first time in a while, she was able to enjoy herself without the guilt of just being alive dragging her down.

During the beginning of the summer, Tori wasn't doing well. Even laughing at a joke made her feel awful. Her mind always wandered to Cedric, and how he would never laugh again.

But today she felt like herself, and it made everything much better.

Tori slid away from the party in the direction of Fred and George, who were huddled in a corner with Mundungus.

Mundungus stopped talking when he saw Harry, but Fred winked and beckoned Harry closer.

"It's okay," He told Mundungus, ''We can trust Harry, he's our financial backer and Tori technically gave us the idea for the shop."

"They're in debt to me forever," Tori replied.

''Look what Dung's got us," George said, holding out his hand to Harry and Tori.
''Venomous Tentacula seeds, we need them for the Skiving Snackboxes but they're a Class C Non-Tradeable Substance so we've been having a bit of trouble getting hold of them."

''Ten Galleons the lot, then, Dung?" Fred asked.

''Wiv all the trouble I went to to get ''em?" said Mundungus, his saggy, bloodshot eyes stretching even wider. "I'm sorry, lads, but I'm not taking a Knut under twenty."

''Dung likes his little joke," Fred said to Harry, but Tori crossed her arms.

''Yeah, his best one so far has been six Sickles for a bag of Knarl quills," George chuckled.

"You expect them to get that handful for over twenty knuts? You're ridiculous. Absolutely not." Tori shook her head at the price range.

''Be careful," Harry warned them quietly.

''What?" Fred furrowed his eyebrows together. ''Mum's busy cooing over Prefect Ron, we're okay."

''But Moody could have his eye on you," Harry pointed out.

"And I'm sure he'd agree this is a ridiculous deal," Tori mumbled.

Mundungus looked nervously over his shoulder. "Good point, that," He grunted. ''All right, lads, ten it is, if you'll take ''em quick."

''Cheers, you two!" Fred said delightedly when Mundungus had emptied his pockets into the twins' outstretched hands and scuttled off towards the food. ''We'd better get these upstairs..."

Tori watched the two of them runoff, rolling her eyes and turning back to the party.

✧ ✦ ✧

It wasn't until later, Tori was sitting on one of the stairs, taking a drink of butterbeer. "What are you doing away from the party?" Harry's voice asked her as he sat himself down next to her

"Just need a breather, you know?" Tori said. Harry nodded, opening his mouth to reply when they heard a noise.

Someone was sobbing in the drawing-room.

''Hello?" Harry called.

There was no answer but the sobbing continued. Tori and Harry climbed the remaining stairs two at a time, walked across the landing, and opened the drawing-room door.

Someone was cowering against the dark wall, her wand in her hand, her whole body shaking with sobs. Sprawled on the dusty old carpet in a patch of moonlight, clearly dead, was Ron.

All the air seemed to vanish from Tori's lungs. Ron no, it couldn't be...

But wait a moment, it couldn't be — Ron was downstairs —

''Mrs. Weasley?" Harry croaked.

''R-r-riddikulus!" Molly sobbed, pointing her shaking wand at Ron's body.

Crack

Ron's body turned into Bill's, spread-eagled on his back, his eyes wide open and empty. Molly sobbed harder than ever.

''R-riddikulus!" She sobbed again.

Crack.

Arthur's body replaced Bill's, his glasses askew, a trickle of blood running down his face.

''No!" Molly moaned. "No... riddikulus! Riddikulus! RIDDIKULUS!"

Crack.
Dead Fred and George.
Crack.
Dead Percy.
Crack.
Dead Tori.
Crack.
Dead Harry...

''Mrs. Weasley, just get out of here!" shouted Harry, staring down at his own dead body on the floor. "Let someone else —"

Tori could hear others start to come upstairs but her head was spinning. It wasn't exactly easy to see herself dead. Lupin rushed towards the sobbing Molly, pulling her out of the way and that's when Tori struck first.

She ran in front of the boggart, her wand ready as it shifted into the familiar silver snake. Tori felt her gut drop as it towered over her, but something was different about the snake.

It's eyes were red, and it had... the dark mark painted on its side. Tori raised her wand defiantly, yelling, "Riddikulus!"

With a puff of smoke, the snake vanished leaving Tori to turn back towards a sobbing Molly.

''Oh — oh — oh!" gulped Molly, next second, she was sobbing her heart out on Lupin's shoulder.

''Molly it was just a boggart," He said soothingly, patting her on the head. "Just a stupid boggart..."

''I see them d-d-dead all the time!" Molly sobbed into his shoulder. ''All the t-t-time! I d-d-dream about it..."

Sirius was staring at the patch of carpet where the boggart, pretending to be Harry's body, had lain. Moody was looking at Harry, who avoided his gaze. Tori shut the drawer of the desk, her hand shaking while she did so.

''D-d-don't tell Arthur," Molly was gulping now, mopping her eyes frantically with her cuffs. "I d-d-don't want him to know... Being silly..."

Lupin handed her a handkerchief and she blew her nose.

''Harry, Tori, I'm so sorry. What must you think of me?" She said shakily. ''Not even able to get rid of a boggart..."

''Don't be stupid," Harry was the only one who could say anything. Tori just shook her head.

"I'm just s-s-so worried," She said, tears spilling out of her eyes again. ''Half the f-f-family's in the Order, it'll b-b-be a miracle if we all come through this... and P-P-Percy's not talking to us... What if something d-d-dreadful happens and we've never m-m-made it up with him? And what's going to happen if Arthur and I get killed, who's g-g-going to look after Ron and Ginny?"

''Molly, that's enough," Lupin said firmly. ''This isn't like last time. The Order is better prepared, we've got a head start, we know what Voldemort's up to —"

Molly gave a little squeak of fright at the sound of the name.

''Oh, Molly, come on, it's about time you got used to hearing his name — look, I can't promise no one's going to get hurt, nobody can promise that, but we're much better off than we were last time. You weren't in the Order then, you don't understand. Last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one..."

Tori suddenly had a splash of guilt hit her like a wave. She had now realized why Molly had been so firm about not wanting them to join the order.

''Don't worry about Percy," said Sirius abruptly. "He'll come round. It's only a matter of time before Voldemort moves into the open;
once he does, the whole Ministry's going to be begging us to forgive them. And I'm not sure I'll be accepting their apology," He added bitterly.

''And as for who's going to look after Ron and Ginny if you and Arthur died," said Lupin, smiling slightly, ''What do you think we'd do, let them starve?"

Molly smiled tremulously.

''Being silly," She muttered again, mopping her eyes.

But Tori , helping Molly back down to the party, could not think she was silly. Tori couldn't help shake the feeling deep down in her gut after seeing everyone dead.

i just want to hug molly