On Loss

Authors Notes: Follows on from another story of mine, 'Unravelling.' I recommend you read that before reading this.

~*~*~*~

The knock on the door came as Molly was getting around to scrubbing a particular pot she had been dreading all night.

The idea of a visitor did not sit well with Molly Weasley. She grabbed her wand out of the pocket of her apron and clutched it tightly in her hand. Ginny was in her room, Ron in his, with Quidditch magazines to be read and letters to friends to be written before they went to bed. The pair of them would probably not be seen again that evening. Arthur was at work as always and not expected back for a few more hours. She was relatively alone.

"Who's there?" she called cautiously.

"Remus."

Molly recognised his voice and felt the relief wash over her.

Arthur was always trying to get her to ask questions but she honestly could not think of anything to ask the younger man on her doorstep, so she opened the door. If he really was a Death Eater in disguise, she did not see how it mattered whether she opened the door or not.

Remus Lupin stood there a devastated man, clutching his suitcase tightly in hand as he walked in, his face a mess of worry.

"I need you to do me a favour Molly," he asked, barely having stepped beyond the threshold.

"Yes - Yes, what is it?" He had such a mournful look in his eyes; it stuck a cord. Remus Lupin led a tragic existence and Molly would do anything to alleviate his misery even slightly.

"Can you go an check on Tonks tonight. It's urgent."

Molly understood immediately. She had been worried this would happen for the past week, silly man, throwing away the greatest thing he ever had. "What have you done?" she asked, realising she sounded like she was scalding him. She decided she didn't care if it did.

"What needed to be done," he replied quietly, staring past her, out the window and into the night.

She sighed heavily. Molly knew that she was needed. Poor Tonks had a falling out with her mother over Remus. But Molly's own family needed her. She had her own children to worry about; she couldn't always act as the substitute mother for all the members of the Order.

But now was not the night to bring that up. Molly quickly formulated a plan.

"Well I can't leave Ginny and Ron without anyone here. Stay here until Arthur arrives home and I will go," she ordered him. "Tell Arthur I'll get home when I get home," she added as an afterthought.

Remus nodded, and walked over to the table and sat down, clutching his head in his hands.

Molly pulled her apron off and headed outside, grabbing her wand she apparated onto the spot to right outside the door of Tonks' small muggle flat. Statute of Secrecy be damned, she wasn't going to wander around the streets of muggle London at night. Thankfully there were no muggles in the hallway. Molly knocked on the door of number nine. Not a sound came from within.

"Tonks dear, it's Molly," she called.

There was still no reply, but with her ear close to the door, Molly heard a soft sobbing. Molly grabbed the handle of the door and found the flat to be unlocked. Remus was obviously very confident in his ability to get her to rush around.

The flat was dark, and Molly unable to work with muggle appliances reached for her wand. Muttering "lumos" the lounge filled with light. Any annoyance at her late night trip vanished quickly when she found Tonks, curled up next to the couch, sobbing her heart out into her knees.

"Oh, dear," Molly said, moving towards the poor girl. She got down on the ground, and pulled her into a big hug.

Tonks kept on sobbing, and Molly found herself hushing in Tonks' ears like she would do one of her own children when they were upset.

Molly Weasley knew loss. She felt it every time one of her children left for school, every time she came across a picture of Percy, every time she received a letter from Charlie, every time she saw Bill with Fleur.

Every time she thought back to her childhood, summers and afternoons spent in the garden playing 'Grindelwald' with her little brothers. It had all seemed so innocent back then.

Molly had been about Tonks' age when the first homes fell under the dark mark. She thought back to the first war, staying up late at night when her young children were asleep, she had spent so long fearing for her brothers and fearing for Arthur. Not much had changed.

Through all this, Molly always had Arthur. He was there for her no matter what, willing to hold her while she cried, willing to stand next to her when she yelled. Tonks had Remus, but for no longer.

They both sat there for a while, neither saying a word until Tonks seemed to have cried so much she was not capable of it anymore, all she could do was sob but no more tears accompanied them.

"Okay, now lets get you to bed," Molly said. She felt a movement; Molly assumed that Tonks had nodded.

Molly got up, and managed to pull Tonks up with her. Molly began walking Tonks to the bedroom, finally catching a glimpse of the young woman. Messy black hair, red rimmed grey eyes. She looked just like Sirius.

Discovering the bed, like its owner in a messy state of disarray, Molly went about making it up for Tonks, who was standing stoically in the doorway. She was thinner then before the fight at the Ministry. Molly decided would have to do something about that.

"I'm sure you can take it from here," Molly said once the bed was made.

"You didn't have too," she whispered with a horse voice as she passed by Molly.

"Yes I did," Molly replied.

Molly closed the door behind herself. She thought about going home for a while, but decided against it. Tonks' couch seemed comfortable enough.

~*~*~*~

The next morning, Molly awoke to the sound of Tonks drifting from the bedroom to the kitchen.

"Better this morning?" Molly asked.

Tonks nodded, her hair now a mousy colour of brown. Remus' was the same colour when you noticed it hidden among all the grey.

"You didn't have to stay," Tonks said quietly, misery present in the way she stood, or rather slumped.

"I wanted to see how you were before I left," Molly replied, getting up off the couch. She started moving towards Tonks to see how she was coping. As it was to be expected she looked incredibly depressed.

"I'll be all right," Tonks said trying to reassure Molly. There was nothing else to be done. Heartbreak didn't have an easy cure.

"I spend a lot of time by myself these days. I don't want to go to sleep before Arthur comes home. Feel free to visit if you feel lonely or want to talk," Molly said, hoping that Tonks wouldn't be so stubborn as to try and deal with this alone.

Tonks nodded. "Thank you Molly," she added quietly. Molly swept the small woman up into a hug before she left.

She arrived back at the burrow. Knocking on the door, Arthur proceeded to go though the humiliating procedure of asking questions before letting her back into her own home. He kissed her on the cheek as she walked in.

Remus was gone. Replaced in his sentinel post by Arthur who had just made breakfast for the four of them. Ginny and Ron were still not up, probably hadn't noticed that she had been gone at all, lost in their own teenage worlds. One day somebody would break their hearts, just like poor Tonks. Molly knew that, it was a certainty in this life. All she could hope for was that she would be there for them when it happened.

Molly glanced at Arthur sitting across the table, discussing something he felt passionate about that happened the day before at work, the cup of tea in his hand was being waved around and coming precariously close to spilling. She knew she would not work without him. She had been so cruelly reminded of that fact last Christmas.

Molly Weasley gave her husband an extra long hug that morning as he left for work that morning. "I love you. You are to never ever, ever leave me," she whispered in his ear.

He looked at her puzzled for a second. "Now why on earth would I go and do a silly thing like that? You know I couldn't go on without you."