"Isn't it enough for you that you kept your pregnancy a secret from him and aborted his baby, Molly? Trapping him into a marriage that will never produce anything seems quite cruel. Especially when it's so clear he wants children," Molly's mother chided as she continued cooking a pie for who-knew-what reason, likely because her father had asked for one, as usually was the case.

"It really would be best, I think, if you broke things off while you still have a chance and picked up a lucrative hobby and contented yourself with that. Breeding kneazles and selling them I hear is quite profitable," her mother suggested.

The middle age woman reached for the pie pan to put the cherry filling in as she continued to chat about all the things Molly should do besides marry Arthur. "Or, better yet, Molly, you are quite good at knitting and sewing, you could work for the Secondhand Robe Shop! I bet you'd enjoy it there. You'd get to hear gossip all day from the witches and wizards coming in and just think of the fun you could have making things pretty again!

"Oh, this might also interest you! I remember a year or so ago I read a nice little engagement announcement in the paper about this man and woman, who said how they met through her work. He was a widower with children and she was sweet on his little boys when they came to her workplace and, eventually, he asked her on a date and then he proposed a short time later! I'm sure by now they must be happily wed. If you let poor Arthur go to find a more appropriate wife, you might have the same luck, Molly. It's not as if you aren't a becoming girl and surely, with your skills with children, you could woo a widower into marrying you by being kind to his children."

Uncurling and curling her toes at the kitchen table where she painted them in preparation for the toe-less heels she'd be wearing with her wedding dress, Molly didn't stop the sneering pull of her lips as her hair was blocking the majority of her face. Her mother was a ridiculous woman, she noted for what had to be the hundredth time since she lost her child bearing capabilities in her last year of school.

Even years later, her parents could not accept that Arthur still wanted to be with her after all that had happened. She didn't know if it was because they secretly blamed him for her misfortunes or if it was as her mother so blatantly told her, Arthur deserved a wife who wouldn't keep secrets from him and could give him children. Either way, Molly was done.

This had carried on far too long and it was time to make a decision and stick with it. If she didn't, Molly feared someday she'd end up believing what her mother and father said about her. Then, she'd no longer think she was good enough for Arthur and that he really did deserve someone better than her.

(But of course he did, she had lied, she had killed his baby and ruined his chances of ever having another by accepting his engagement ring…)

"Have you ever considered, Mum, that he loves me more than he cares for having children?" Molly demanded with only the slightest quiver to her voice.

The clinking of dishes going into the sink was all the answer Molly got. When done with her toes, she cast a quick drying charm on them and slipped her shoes back on before she stood up from the table and looked around the sage room one last time.

This was the kitchen she'd grown up in. The one where she played tea party with her mother and brothers, where she learned how to make the perfect pie and learned the Prewett secret for their Pork Loins. This is where she and her father discussed politics before her troubles in seventh year and where she and her brothers ate all their breakfasts and some of their lunches in the summertime. This was the kitchen that had always felt like warmth and safety as a little girl when the rest of the world had seemed so frighteningly cold and dangerous.

But not anymore.

Clearing her throat, Molly declared airily, "Anyway, it doesn't really matter what you think. Arthur's feelings and opinions are all I care for. I just thought I'd let you know the wedding is next Saturday and you're welcome to come if you like, but if you don't want to… Well, that's your choice.

"I left Fabian and Gideon a portkey in their room so they could come if they want–please don't try and stop them. They're almost sixteen. They have the right to choose if they want to be a part of their devious, man-ruining sister's life."

Her mother spun around at that, spatula held high as a queen's sceptre. However, Molly's mother was no queen of hers. She hadn't been for quite some time, just as her father was no longer the king of her world.

"Molly–" her mum started, a disapproving crease forming above her brows.

She didn't stick around for the rest of the scolding.

A pop later, Molly was back in the one room flat she and Arthur had been sharing in muggle Canterbury since they graduated from Hogwarts almost four years ago. Looking up from where he was seated at their secondhand table, Molly could have laughed at Arthur's appearance if it were any other day. His face was smudged black with mechanical oils and his red hair stood every which-way thanks to his dissection of a toy boat's motor.

"Molly!" he joyfully greeted.

She attempted to smile back, but in the end, started crying. Up in an instant, Arthur came to wrap his arms around her and kiss her cheek. "Oh, Mollywobbles, what happened?"

"I don't think my parents will be coming to the wedding. My mum still can't accept we're together. It's like she can't even be happy for me! Merlin, do you know what she said today? She said I was being cruel to you by marrying you because you want children!" Molly sobbed into the arms of her fiancé.

Kissing her forehead and then her mouth, Arthur ran his thumbs in a soothing, circular motion on her upper arms. "If they can't see that we're in love, then they aren't worth it, okay? You have me, my family, your brothers and our friends on our side, okay? They're thrilled to see us get married! Think we're a perfect pair, they do!" he proclaimed brightly.

Blinking back her tears, Molly whispered, "How did I ever end up with such a kind, understanding man?"

"Well, how did I end up with such a devoted and beautiful girl?" Arthur countered sweetly.

Molly smiled. Arthur smiled back and, for a long while, the two just stood together as one, growing stronger as a couple even as they mourned for the loss of Molly's parents' love and acceptance.

Just as Molly felt it time they turn their togetherness to their bed, she decided to take a step back. This was important and Arthur needed to know so. Meeting the eyes of her fiancé, she said, "Even if I can't give you children myself, someday, I swear we'll have one of our own."

Arthur gave her a nervous smile. "Of course we will," he agreed, but there was no conviction in his tone.

He didn't mean what he was saying, nor did Arthur seem to really believe her, but Molly could live with that as, someday, it would happen. When she proved him wrong, Arthur would then forever after trust her as implicitly as he did the air he breathed and the world he saw with his own two eyes.

And, if Molly were to be truly truthful with herself, she'd have made up for her one biggest, most awful mistake; the killing of their first and now, only child.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

Celestina Warbreck's crooning drifting in from the other room, where Horton and Robert must have left the wireless on after playing with it earlier, Molly all but slammed the potatoes down on the plates of her guests. Turning a scowl on her brothers, she waved the spoon at them in a wagging motion.

"Honestly, Gideon! Fabian!" she grumbled. "You're already aurors. Did you really need to join the Order as well? People are dying just by showing sympathy to one side or another, what do you think will happen to all of us if they know you're a part of it?"

Wincing just a little at the shrill pitch of her voice, Fabian grinned at her. "We'll protect you, Molly-dear. That's what us Order members are supposed to do."

"Auntie Molly, can I have more roast?" Horton asked.

Smiling at the nine year old, Molly agreed, "Of course, love."

From where he was shoveling down his own dinner, the ten, soon to be eleven, year old Robert, asked, "If you're a part of the Order, does that mean you get to talk to Dumbledore and like, the Minster for Magic?"

"We do!" Gideon replied enthusiastically.

Freckled-face lighting up at the prospect, Robert proclaimed, "I wanna be a part of the Order!"

"No, you don't," Molly disagreed as she handed Horton a napkin to clean his messy face. "It's very dangerous," she informed him.

Pouting, the boy said, "But I wanna be a hero like Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon!"

Amused, Arthur looked up from the papers he had brought home from the Ministry and laughed. "That's a first, isn't it? I don't think I've ever heard either of you called such. Pests, yes. Jokesters, of course. Foolhardy, most definitely, but heroes–"

"We get it, thanks, Arthur, " Fabian broke in with a roll of his eyes.

Gideon, waving his fork around, commented, "You know, Molly, the Order could actually use a woman like you."

"A homemaker and part-time seamstress?" Molly questioned with disbelief as she finished putting more roast on Horton's plate.

Helping his brother along in his explanation, Fabian shook his head. "No, no, sister-dear–"

"–they need someone who can be a trustworthy babysitter," Gideon finished.

Arthur, from behind his paperwork, commented, "Molly is a brilliant minder. Owen still thinks we're dousing Wilber with Calming Draughts to make him sleep through most of the night."

"You're quite the minder yourself, Arthur!" Molly shot back.

Fabian and Gideon shared wide smiles and high-fives. "So, are you in? A fair number of the Order members need someone they trust to watch their children while they're busy at meetings and on missions."

"Do it, Aunt Molly! You'll be a hero!" Robert insisted, looking quite excited at the thought of having his favourite aunt and uncle becoming members of the Order.

Biting her lip, Molly muttered, "I don't–"

"Come on, Molly, Catherine's a member."

"She is not!" she decried. Surely her friend had better sense than that!

Reaching over, Gideon patted his sister's shoulder. "I thought you knew? I'm sorry, I hate that I had to be the one to break it to you…"

"Arthur?" Molly pleaded, looking to her husband for a decision.

Smiling, her husband gave her a wink as he tipped his head in the direction of the children. "We won't mind being used as a babysitting service. As you can see, my brothers take advantage of us enough as it is. What's it matter if we have a few more children running under foot?"

Sighing, Molly said, "I guess that's that, then. Tell all your Order members we're open for business."

"What a relief! Edgar Bones and his wife can now stop dropping their little brats off at the head quarters for unsuspecting members to get saddled with!" Fabian cheered.

"Should we assume that happened to you a couple more times than to your liking?" Arthur asked with an underlying note of amusement.

The twins shot Molly's husband a mock-angry glare before switching the subject to a story about a prank they pulled during their school days. She was glad for it. She never did like having her nephews hear about the war, but Fabian and Gideon were so busy these days she couldn't help but want to get as much information out of them about it as she could when she saw them.

What that meant, unfortunately, was that sometimes the little ones ended up hearing more than she liked about the war. Settling in her seat next to Arthur, Molly watched wistfully as Robert and Horton were quickly swept up in the tale and forgot about the Order talk. If only she could forget so easily.

Molly nearly jumped from surprise when she felt Arthur's warm fingers wrap around her own. Meeting his gaze, Molly gave his fingers a squeeze. Maybe they'd never have children of their own, but their home would never be wanting for company at this rate.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Molly and Arthur were woken from their late night slumber by a pounding at their front door. Sitting up in bed, Molly rubbed at her bleary eyes and reached for a robe as Arthur put his slippers on and said, "I'll get it, dear."

Feeling around for a hair-tie in the dim room, Molly made a noncommittal noise as she found one in a drawer and tied her bed head away from her face. Walking out of her bedroom next, she was surprised by the people she saw standing in her doorway.

She vaguely recognized them. The man, she was certain, had been a Hufflepuff a couple years below her while at Hogwarts, and the other…hadn't she been in Slytherin? How interesting. Molly hadn't realized Slytherins were being terrorized by Death Eaters too.

Well, no matter who they were or what house they belonged to during school, it was not they who concerned Molly so much as the little girl between them. She was shaking, February's cold nip slicing through her cotton nightie.

"–set fire to our house!"

Ignoring what seemed to be quite a sordid tale, Molly declared, "In! In! Your little girl's going to catch her death out there!"

The three were more than happy to comply with command and in a matter of fifteen minutes, they were all seated in Molly and Arthur's cozy sitting room with hot tea in hand and a plate of biscuits sitting on the coffee table between them all.

Bouncing his daughter on his knee, the man swore furiously. "And those fiends! As if it wasn't bad enough, they torched our home! They had the gall to place an anti-apparition charm on it too! Wasn't trying to kill us with fire bloody enough?"

Grimly, Arthur said, "I suspect nothing beyond total annihilation will be enough for them."

Molly had to agree with her husband. The Death Eaters were truly devilish. Scaring the populous into their way of life was not enough for them. They wanted everyone who did not fit their vision completely eradicated from existence. Eyes flickering to the little girl, Molly almost sighed out right. Her little head was drooping, even as she struggled to keep her eyes open and alert.

"Here, your daughter's falling asleep where she's sitting. We have an extra room Arthur's nephews use when they visit. Why don't I lay her down in there for you?" Molly offered as she got up from her seat.

The parents' faces took on uncertain looks–as if they didn't want to be parted with their child just yet. Molly thought she understood but couldn't be certain. Nonetheless, though, she pressed a little more. "Poor thing has been through enough tonight, don't you think? Making her listen to this scary talk where her parents curse and demand the death of others doesn't seem right to me…"

"Okay," the woman agreed as she reached for her little girl. "Nymphadora, love, Missis Weasley is going to put you to bed in the other room, alright?"

Rubbing at her eyes, the little girl wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and sighed contentedly. "Okay, Mummy. You an' Daddy'll come sleep with me soon, though, right?"

"That's right, pumpkin," Ted Tonks agreed as he gave his daughter's cheek a kiss.

Giggling, the little girl pulled away from her parents and with an implicit trust all young children seemed to have, Nymphadora offered herself fully to Molly for protection and care.

Accepting the child into her arms, Molly soaked in the fruity scent of the little girl's shampoo buried beneath the smell of smoke and soot. She'd always wanted a little girl…

Not letting herself dwell on the fact, she took Nymphadora to the bathroom first. "Do you have to use the loo, sweetheart?" she asked.

"Yeah," the child agreed. Slipping easily from her arms, the child did not have any shame in relieving herself in front of Molly before hopping off the loo to use the foot stool they kept by the sink for Arthur's sister's son who wasn't yet four. When done, Nymphadora demanded to be picked up once again.

Obliging, Molly took her to her nephews' bedroom and laid Nymphadora down beneath the sheets and quilts.

Tucking the cover around her, she asked the child, "Seeing as you don't have any dollies or stuffed animals with you, would you like to have one of my nephews'?"

"Uh-huh," Nymphadora agreed eagerly. "Do you got a monkey? I like those. Daddy reads me a book about ones that jump on the bed."

Smiling, Molly was happy to say, "I do have a monkey!" Reaching for the smiling creature, she handed it to Nymphadora. "There you are, dear."

"Thank you, Missis Weasley," the little girl yawned. "I like his curly tail."

Petting back the girl's hair, Molly told her, "You know, that used to be my oldest nephew's favorite toy. But he's too old for it now that he's gone off to Hogwarts. Would you like to keep him?"

"For forever?" the girl asked.

Molly nodded. "Yes, for forever."

Cuddling it close, the child showed herself to be extraordinary as her hair changed from its brown curls to a jubilant, bubblegum pink. "Thank you Missis Weasley!" the girl exclaimed.

Shaking off her surprise, she kissed the girl's forehead. "You're welcome, dear. Sleep tight."

Snuggling down with her new monkey, the child did just that.

Watching her a moment, Molly was awed even further when the girl's hair took on a tranquil blue tone. It was a curious sight, she had to admit, but it must have been even more stunning to her parents the first time she did it.

"Has she settled down alright?" a voice from behind asked.

Covering her heart, Molly whirled around to see Andromeda Tonks standing in the doorway. "Yes, she has," she answered. "Nymphadora went right to sleep after I gave her a toy to cuddle."

"That's my girl," the woman grinned. Then, face taking on a more serious appearance, she thanked Molly. "Thank you for stepping in when you did. You were right to say it wasn't good for her to be hearing us talk like that. Half-asleep or not, we're trying to raise her to be better than that."

Smiling at her, Molly dipped her head in acknowledgement. "It was no trouble. And if you need a place to stay for a couple days as you figure out what you're going to be doing next, our home's open to you and your family. It always will be. Arthur and I like to help where we can."

The woman's shoulders sank with relief. "We'd be very grateful if we could, Molly."

"It'll be nice having a little girl around for a day or two, Arthur's siblings only have boys and my brothers don't look to be having any children anytime soon."

Chuckling, Andromeda remarked, "You might be quite surprised by how very similar those boys and my daughter will be."

Molly just grinned back as she made her way back to the hall. "Even so, I think it will be enjoyable," she said. "Here, let's go back to the living room and I'll fix you both up with something a little stronger than tea. I'm sure you could use it to settle your nerves before you go to sleep."

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

The blonde woman looked a little frenzied as her baby yammered in the crook of her arm, but Molly knew, even so, she was a capable witch and the perfect choice to help in tonight's mission, a raid on a known Death Eater gathering place.

"Are you sure you don't mind watching both Eddie and the twins? I'm sure I could get my sister-in-law to at least watch the baby. I know Marlene's visiting her friend, Lily, but she'd understand if I told her that Dumbledore himself asked me to go on this raid…" the older woman chattered nervously.

Hearing the woman's twins, Tamara and Todd, laughing in the background with Arthur as he introduced the duo to a muggle children's game, Molly knew they'd be more than fine, they'd do splendidly this evening. The children seemed in much higher spirits than the last time she saw them and Eddie seemed to have outgrown his colic. However, she knew that it was not the children that were the real problem here. Bethany McKinnon was scared for tonight. She'd just lost her husband a little more than four months ago and now she was being asked to go on a mission that was almost identical to the one that had killed her husband.

Yet Molly knew what Bethany feared was not her death, but what would happen to her children if she died tonight. It was a reasonable fear as well, Molly had to admit. Bethany's parents were also a couple years dead from a Death Eater attack on the family's broom shop. While Bethany's husband's parents and sister were still alive, they were all quite vocal in who they supported in the war and could just as easily die any day now.

Molly liked to think that if they all died, the Order would find a safe place for the children to go. She knew she'd take them in a heartbeat. Surely, that meant others would be just as willing to as well. After all, Tamara, Todd and Eddie were the children of the men and women who so valiantly put their lives at risk for the continuation of their world as it was.

"We'll be fine, Bethany," Molly answered as she gently took the baby from her.

Eddie began to sniffle at that, but with a bit of shushing, he calmed down easily enough and turned instead to playing with her red hair. Reaching out with her free hand, Molly took hold of Bethany's and told her confidently, "You'll be successful tonight, you hear me? Dumbledore wouldn't put you on a raid he didn't feel good about. He knows how much your children need you."

Smiling back at her, the blonde nodded. "You're right, Molly. As you always are."

"It's no trouble, dear. I know how bad the nerves can get–I'm a right wreck when Fabian and Gideon go off on missions."

"Missus Molly! Missus Molly! Mister Arthur said you had biscuits we could eat. Can I have one?" Todd demanded excitedly as he tugged at her skirts.

Sharing a look with Bethany, the two grinned as the blonde wagged a finger at her son. "Todd McKinnon! What do we say when we want something?"

Huffing loudly, the tiny boy rubbed at his eye and grumbled, "Missus Molly, can I please have a biscuit?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Molly agreed with a pat to his dark hair.

Reaching out, she took the boy's mother in a one armed hug. "Good luck, Bethany."

"Thank you, Molly."

With that, the woman was gone, leaving Molly to close the door and offer Todd a hand. "I made chocolate chip and butterscotch, which would you prefer?"

"Chocolate!" the boy happily declared with a whoop.

Letting the needs of the children overtake everything else, Molly all but held her breath the whole night and only relaxed when a tired, but proud looking Bethany showed up at her door the next morning with her arms open for her children.

Relieved to see the broken family reunited, Molly had settled into the arms of her loving husband and hoped that some day, she wouldn't have to give a child back to its family because it would be her's (and Arthur's) child and no one else's.

A/N: How do you like the role Molly's taken in the order as official babysitter and unofficial voice of reason to the adults? Like it? Dislike it?
Thanks for reading and please vote and comment!