The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

127. Motherly Affections...and When They Misalign

"Althea," Remus said softly as Arthur and Bill began discussing something else among themselves as dessert was placed before them.

"Yeah?" she replied, glancing over at him.

"Are you all right?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet so as to not be overheard. "You seem quieter than usual."

He almost added, "And you're not sitting by your friends," but he decided at the last moment it was unnecessary.

"I don't know," she admitted with a sigh, setting down her fork. "I've just been out of it lately. I'll be fine. I don't really know what's going on."

"Althea, if this is about-" Remus began, but before he could finish, Molly, with a yawn, called, "Nearly time for bed, I think."

They had been at the table nearly an hour now, and all felt rather sleepy and very full.

"Not just yet, Molly," Sirius said, pushing away his plate and fixing his eyes on Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

A nervous tension instantly filled the air.

"I did!" Harry replied indignantly. "I asked Ron, Thea, and Hermione, but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so-"

"And they're quite right," Molly said fiercely. "You're too young."

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" Amara asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Harry's been trapped in that muggle house for a month. He's got a right to know what's been happen-"

"Hang on!" George cried.

"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" Fred added angrily.

"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing," George agreed.

"You're too young. You're not in the Order," Fred mimicked in a high-pitched voice that sounded so like his mother Amara was tempted to laugh. "Harry's not even of age!"

"It's not our fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," Sirius said calmly. "That's your parent's decision. Harry on the other hand-"

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" Mrs Weasley snapped sharply.

Instantly, Amara felt her blood begin to boil. She couldn't ever remember growing so angry so quickly. The entire table went deadly silent.

"You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said I suppose," Molly resumed cooly.

"Which bit?" Sirius asked with an air of readying himself for a fight as his hand shifted from where it had been resting leisurely on the back of Amara's chair to her shoulder.

"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know," retorted Mrs Weasley.

"My husband is more than capable of listening and remembering," Amara said in the coldest voice any of them had ever heard her use.

"I don't intend on telling him more than he needs to know, Molly," Sirius shot back. "But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back, he has more right than most to-"

"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" Mrs Weasley cried in a shrill voice. "He's only fifteen and-"

"-and he's dealt with as much as most in the Order," Amara interrupted angrily. "And more than many."

Althea's eyes widened. She knew that comment had been far too targeted to not mean what she thought it did. Apparently, Molly didn't miss the meaning either as her cheeks flushed.

"No one denying what he's done!" Molly retorted. "But he's still-"

"-not under your authority!" Amara cried.

"He's not a child," Sirius snapped.

"He's not an adult either," Molly cried. "He's not James, Sirius!"

"We're both perfectly clear who he is," Amara snapped in a ringing voice.

"I'm not so sure he is," Molly retorted. Looking at Sirius, she resumed, "Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"

"What's wrong with that?" Harry interrupted.

"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, no matter how much you may look like him," Molly snapped. "You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"

"Watch yourself," Amara growled, her voice suddenly low and dangerous. Rising slowly to her feet, she argued, "It is stupid and irresponsible to keep him in the dark! He is not some random child who happens to be involved in this war because of the people he spends time with! A certain level of information could potentially be vital to his very survival!"

"And you should be the one to decide that, should you?" Molly cried, also rising to her feet.

Amara did not immediately answer. She paused a moment, releasing a shaking breath as she said in as calm of a voice as she could muster, "I sincerely hope, Molly, you are not implying Sirius and I are irresponsible godparents incapable of looking out for the closest thing to a son I will ever have!"

Despite her attempts to control her anger, her voice had risen to a shout. She was trembling with anger now. Harry could not help, despite the tension in the air, to feel touched. He had wondered why Sirus and Amara had no children. The fact they couldn't have children had never even occurred to him. The fierceness with which she was fighting Molly now made far more sense to him than it had before.

"You've both been known to act rashly," Molly retorted. "Which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you both to stay at home and-"

"We'll leave our instructions from Dumbledore out of this, thanks," Sirius said, cautiously resting a hand on Amara's wrist.

She seemed to calm slightly, but she did not sit.

"Arthur!" Molly cried, rounding on her husband. "Back me up!"

Amara instantly shifted her gaze to Mr Weasley. He did not immediately speak, waiting until he had cleaned his glasses and replaced them again before he said, "Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in to a certain extent now that he is staying at headquarters."

"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!"

"Personally," Remus said in a calm voice, "I think it better that Harry gets the facts, not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture, from us rather than a garbled version from...others."

"Well," Molly said finally, giving Amara's unyielding expression one last look before looking around the table for support that would not come. "Well...I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has got Harry's best interests at heart-"

"He's not your son!" Amara snapped, her hand convulsively clenching into a fist.

"He's as good as!" Molly shouted back. "Who else has he got?"

"He's got both of us! His actual guardians!" Amara shouted.

"Yes," Molly said, her lip curling in a way that so vividly reminded Amara of her brother she nearly lost her head instantly. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for either of you to look after him while Sirius has been locked up and you've been Merlin-knows-where, hasn't it?"

"Enough!" Eliana shouted, jumping to her feet, looking at both Amara and Molly incredulously.