The Thing Molly Knows

Nymphadora was starting to miss coffee, but the hot chocolate Molly had presented her with was still doing its job of warming her down to the bone. 'Stupid precautions.' she thought, tapping her fingers on her swollen stomach, where she could feel her son flipping over and over in her womb. Molly smiled across the table in a tender, motherly sort of way, slightly amused at Tonks' annoyance.

"It's not so much longer now, dear. Then you'll be able to sleep again. We'll- for a few hours at a time." She chuckled. Tonks did not seem amused.

"The baby is not the problem with my sleep." She said with a bitter bite. Molly had figured as much, but did not want to assume. She wanted the best for Nymphadora and Remus, and she had hoped when he came home to her that things would be better for the newlyweds, even with the war raging around them.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Molly ask, worry taking her over. These two may as well be her own, and she loved them both dearly. Tonks shrugged and slumped down slightly in her seat. "Dora?" Molly pressed again, calling Tonks' attention away from the blank space she had been angrily starring into.

"I know that there is a war. I know that Remus is key in it, both on the Potter Watch and with the werewolves. I know that." She said, still tensed. Molly felt a bit confused at the young woman's point.

"I don't think I unders-" Molly started to question further.

"I don't think Remus has spoken to me in three days." She said suddenly, a tear escaping down her cheek. "He's there, but he isn't... There. I can't get him to talk to me about anything. Baby names- the weather- Nothing!" She shook her head violently and her once purple bob fell into stringy, mousy brown strands around her face.

Molly sat quietly for a moment, and deep down, she felt guilty.

"He won't talk to you, about even the baby?" Molly ask. Tonks shook her head. "And you have no idea why?" To this one, Tonks shrugged largely.

"I'm a mistake. We are." She gently laid a hand on her stomach, and at this statement, Molly flinched.

"I really don't think Remus feels that-" Molly tried to argue.

"He has said it before. So, so many times! You have h-heard him!" She hiccuped as she cried.

"Dora, he loves you. You know that." She insisted. "He only wanted to protect you. He came home, after all. I mean, when you think about; That's more than Je -" Molly stopped herself and picked up her cup, sipping at her own hot chocolate to break the silence. But Tonks' was smarter than that. One of the best and brightest Aurors to be recruited in the Ministry in years. Hardly anything ever got past her. The tears dripped onto her shirt, but she sat forward with a grunt.

"Molly." She said, wiping the remaining tears off her face.

"Yes dear?" She said, standing from the table where she and Tonks had been visiting. "Can I make you a sandwich?" She turned her back to the young metamorphmagus and cursed herself.

"Molly, finish what you were about to say, please." She said sternly.

"Nothing dear. Just talking, you know. I do that- Side effect of seven children on your nerves." She tried to chuckle but it came out choked and she knew it was suspicious.

"Molly?" She pleaded. Molly closed her eyes and faced the floor.

"I suppose it is the right thing to do." She said, moving around the table to sit beside of Tonks rather than across from her. She took a deep breath and laid a hand on Tonks' in support before going into her story.