FicWad

Lunch was delightful, and Zelda found Arthur Weasley to be completely charming. They did not speak of Order business at all. Zelda left it to Molly to update him when they were alone in the evening. Instead, she chattered happily with him about Muggle life, and tried whenever she could to correct his more glaring misconceptions about matters of technology. The young people all sat by watching and laughing frequently. After he left, Harry and the others went upstairs to talk. Zelda went into the garden with Molly, and they sat in the warm sunshine.

"It was lovely to forget about it for a little while, wasn't it?" Zelda said. "You're a very lucky woman, Molly. I like Arthur so much, and I'm serious, when this is all over, you must come with Arthur and visit my house. He can rummage through the innards of my appliances to his heart's content, and you can have a much needed holiday."

"We'd love that, Zelda." Molly said. "I've spent so much of my life with the children that I think I've almost forgotten how to be myself."

"As a teacher I often see things from a child's perspective, and I have two kids of my own, so I know what you mean," Zelda replied. "I hate to get back to reality, but how do you still feel about running the Order? Any doubts?"

Molly sighed. "Many doubts, Zelda," she said, "However, you and Minerva are right - there is no one else. When I think of those three out chasing after... you know, I cannot bear it. Trying to activate the Order seems like the best thing we can do."

"I dread having anyone know that I'm involved, Molly," Zelda said, "If I thought more wizards shared your husband's essential decency I wouldn't be so worried." She added, "I tend to be blunt at times, and I'll undoubtedly forget that everybody but me has a wand."

"Stay close to Minerva or me, and you'll be fine," Molly said with a wry smile. "My son seems to be your stalwart supporter too, along with his friends."

"I hate that they're doing this, Molly. I really hate it that Harry's just out there, alone," Zelda replied bitterly. "The Chosen One... Goddess! How can people live with themselves, laying such a burden on a boy? I know Severus said he's very powerful, magically... but he's so young."

Molly tilted her head and smiled inquiringly. "Speaking of Severus, Zelda... may I ask?"

Zelda blushed slightly and said, "Well, you could as easily ask the kids, you know. Harry found him at my house, and er... saw his professor behaving rather differently to what he's been used to."

Molly giggled slightly. "Severus Snape has taught all of my children, Zelda - and been a member of the Order. I've never felt I knew him, and I wouldn't have believed he'd ever really open himself for any person."

"He had no choice, Molly," Zelda said. "He would likely have died if he hadn't asked for my help. He was also absolutely committed to returning here and finishing the job he started for Dumbledore."

"He's really gone back to... Voldemort, then?" Molly said. "I wish we could communicate with him. Having no idea what's happening on the other side is unnerving."

"I'd settle for knowing he survived going back, Molly." She inhaled slowly and said, "If I'd only come across Harry and learned what he's up against, I'd want to help him. But I'm here because of Severus. Because I don't think anyone but me will care much if he dies helping to defeat Voldemort," she said quietly, "...and because I love him."

Molly looked closely at her, seeing the sorrow that Zelda had concealed until that moment. "I think he's very lucky."

"Molly, I'm lucky too," Zelda said. "What I have with Severus is wonderful, and when I found him I had no intention of trusting a man again. I'm on his side and I want him to survive this, if it's possible."

"He's kept faith with us, and with Professor Dumbledore when most of us gave up," Molly said thoughtfully, wondering at what would make him so steadfast, with no recognition from anyone for his suffering.

They sat in the sunshine, letting the peace of the summer day soak into them, for a long time. There was much to discuss, but they needed to digest the information they had acquired, so they sat quietly - neither of them needing to fill the silence with small talk. Eventually Zelda stirred.

"Molly, I should go back to Hogwarts. I hate to do it, the place is so huge, and there are so many people I haven't met... and I'm nervous about how they'll react to having a Muggle under their noses," Zelda confessed.

"I remember the first time I went there, my first sight of it as a student." Molly said. "It terrified me, but I got used to it - and you will too. It's really a marvelous place."

"But I can't do magic," Zelda said. "It's funny, when I went to breakfast with Minerva, only two people were there; Professors Flitwick and Slughorn. We never actually mentioned my Muggle status. But at some point, everyone will know - and I know that some wizards despise Muggles."

"Don't underestimate us all," Molly scolded gently, "Stay close to Minerva, and enjoy Hogwarts. I'll come back when I can, and we'll figure out what to do next. However, before I take you back, come inside. I know Ron and the others will want to say goodbye."

Molly led Zelda up flight after flight of stairs, until they were at the door of Ron's bedroom, where she knocked.

"Come in," Ron's startled voice said.

Ginny was sitting with the others, and obviously had been brought up to speed about Professor Snape's love life. She stared unabashedly at Zelda, who met her gaze straight on with a slight smile on her lips.

"I have to go back to Hogwarts now," she said, turning to Harry, "and Molly's going to take me. I hope you'll come and see me there, Harry."

"I will," he promised. "Once you get used to it, you'll love it there, Zelda."

"Bye, everyone," Zelda said, smiling. "It's good to have met you, Ginny. I've heard lots about you and one day I want to see that famous Bat-Bogey Hex of yours."

Ginny blushed and smiled. Her suspicions had been disarmed by whatever she'd heard from the other teens, and she now looked much more positively at Zelda.

"I hope you'll come back again soon," she said, a hint of a question in her voice.

"Ginny, since you have all this help, please finish de-gnoming the garden. I won't be gone long," Molly said with a slight smile. Have fun, all of you."

Zelda caught Harry's eye and, in his mind, she said to him, "Tomorrow."

He nodded slightly, and she was reassured.

Molly led her back downstairs, and they Apparated back to the road outside of Hogwarts. As they approached the gates, Zelda said, "When you talk to Arthur tonight, please tell him not to mention the Horcruxes to any other Order members. He's Ron's dad, and has a right to know about it. However, Severus believes there's at least one spy in the Order. He also said that Dumbledore never shared everything he knew with everyone."

"That's true," Molly said shrewdly. "I think tomorrow morning I'll contact Alastor Moody, and see if he's been watching the Death Eaters. I think he's the most likely one to have kept up with things. He's completely obsessed with capturing dark wizards, as you know. I have often been a central contact person for the Order in the past, so I think he will not question it. Perhaps I'll wait until the following day to come to Hogwarts."

"I think that's fine, Molly. Do you know how to communicate with Minerva in an emergency?" Zelda asked.

Molly smiled reassuringly. "Of course," she said. "I'll tell Moody that Minerva is not available, so she asked me to make contact with him. I believe he'll accept that."

"So tiresome the way some people need to see a title before they'll cooperate, isn't it?" Zelda said with a grin. "Men probably think your kids raised themselves, and you sat around with your feet up all these years."

"Eating bonbons and reading Witch Weekly," Molly said, her eyes twinkling as she opened the gates and watched Zelda slip through. "I'll tell Minerva you are coming," she said, raising her wand and sending a silvery blur rushing up to the castle. "Just follow the road and have a good evening, Zelda."

"Thanks, Molly," Zelda said with a wave. She began the walk to the castle, sunk deep into her own thoughts, and had no idea that hidden eyes were watching her progress hungrily.

The doors of Hogwarts opened and Minerva stepped out. As she drew close to Zelda on the road, she asked, "Did you have a good afternoon, Zelda?"

"I met Arthur Weasley, and we had a lovely time at lunch," Zelda replied, "I like the Weasleys so much, and I'm reassured that all wizards don't hate Muggles. Harry and his friends showed up for lunch and Harry's coming here tomorrow to see us. I didn't ask him whether they've made progress today, since I wanted to be able to speak freely, and have you here."

Minerva chuckled, "If Albus had known of you, Zelda, he would have begged you to join us. Do you have military experience, by any chance?"

Zelda laughed, a joyful sound, and said, "Not the slightest bit, I have something even better... classroom experience. I realized early on in teaching that people are often terrified of teachers. All I have to do is put on a nasty frown and even adults grovel. Also," she added, "nothing beats teaching for organizational skills. Unless it's being a mother," she noted. "Molly's going to be great at this, you know."

"I think you may be quite right," Minerva replied as they climbed the stairs to the huge doors. These opened suddenly as the two arrived, and Minerva said, "Excellent, here's Mr. Filch."

An old man, skinny and morose, had opened the doors for them. His prominent eyes were fixed intently on Zelda, and he said truculently, "Who's this then, Headmistress?"

Zelda met his gaze in a friendly way - a manner that seemed to cause him to squirm uncomfortably.

"This is Mrs. Zelda Larsson, who is my guest here, Argus. She's working on some changes and updates to our Muggle Studies curriculum for me," Minerva said firmly. "Zelda, this is Argus Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts School. If you become lost - or in need of assistance, he knows everything about Hogwarts - and will be able to assist you."

The man studied her closely. He seemed taken aback when Zelda offered her hand, saying; "I'm very happy to meet you, Mr. Filch. Yours is an awesome responsibility, as caretaker of this immense place. I'm quite certain that I'll end up lost at some point, and hope you'll be able to track me down if that happens."

He took her hand and shook it gingerly, as though he were afraid he would break it, and grunted something in response. Just then Zelda noticed something grey and fluffy down near their feet, and bent over to investigate.

"Is this your cat?" she asked pleasantly, offering a hand to be sniffed. "What a clever looking animal. What's her name? It's a female, right?"

"That's Mrs. Norris," Mr. Filch replied, thawing slightly. Not many people reacted positively to his beloved pet, and he thought perhaps this woman might not be as detestable as most people he encountered.

"Like Aunt Norris, in /Mansfield Park/? What a marvelous name for her," Zelda replied, smiling at him. "It's lovely to see her. I have three cats back at home, and I miss them very much, so I look forward to seeing Mrs. Norris around Hogwarts."

"It's time for dinner, Headmistress," Filch said nervously, having exceeded his normal human interaction for the month in this brief exchange, "You'd best be going in." He nodded hastily and headed down a corridor to their left.

"Thank you, Argus," Minerva replied to his retreating back. "You seem to have made him nervous, Zelda. I think you've given him something to think of this evening besides devising new forms of torture for the students - which I will not permit him to use."

Zelda chuckled. "I'm happy to be of service, Minerva."

Dinner rushed by in a blur of hearty food and more faces to attach to names. She was seated next to Professor Slughorn again, who tried feverishly to discover any acquaintance they might have in common, and was undeterred by the fact that she was far younger than he was and originated from a different continent, one that he had never visited, at that.

On her other side was Professor Rubeus Hagrid - an immense man who needed a special chair to accommodate him, as he busily consumed huge portions of food. He had wild black hair, a massive beard and lovely black eyes that twinkled when he spoke of his passion, magical creatures. She knew from Harry that he was a friend, and that they trusted him. She wished Professor Slughorn had talked less, so she could have talked more to Hagrid. He had described some creatures that lived in the Forbidden Forest and she desperately wanted to go there. She was able to get a promise from Hagrid to see the Hippogriffs, and she hoped deep down that she'd be able to stay long enough to really see them.

There were also Professor Pomona Sprout, seated farther away from her - the Head of Hufflepuff House - as well as a scrawny, cranky-looking woman with huge glasses called Sibyll Trelawney, whom she learnt was a divination teacher... and reputedly a Seer. Zelda promised herself to stay far away from her, in case she Saw through Zelda's feeble disguise.

When dinner was over, Zelda asked Minerva to show her around the school a little - for all the good it would do if the staircases decided to move - and she agreed. Zelda was sure she could find her guest room, since it was only on the first floor, down a narrow corridor - and not far from Minerva's old office, across from Minerva's personal rooms. However, Minerva took her first to the Owlery, and showed her the few post owls in residence during the summer. Among them was a splendid snowy owl, and when Zelda asked about it, Minerva said; "That's Harry Potter's owl. She comes here at times - just to visit, I think."

"Really, so that's Hedwig. Harry told me about her. She's gorgeous," Zelda said admiringly, "and noticeable, since the snowy owl's not native to this continent."

They left the Owlery and Minerva took Zelda to the fourth floor to see the library - which was closed, of course. It was a vast room, resembling a smallish cathedral, filled with shelves of ancient looking, leather bound books. There were tables and chairs spaced around, and it was gloriously inviting to Zelda. She said so to Minerva.

"We are very fortunate to have amassed such a fine collection," Minerva said complacently. "Centuries ago, when the magical and the mundane worlds diverged, wizards made an effort to collect every possible book that pertained to magic. Muggles made every effort in those times, to destroy all books containing any information about magic."

"I feel privileged to know that such a library exists, Minerva," Zelda said. "Everything I see of Hogwarts makes it more wonderful to me, but this... oh Minerva, this is the best." She became pensive, saying, "You know, today there are Muggles who'd give anything to get their hands on these books."

"Without magical power, though, they could do nothing with them however," said Minerva comfortably.

"Er... Minerva, weren't you one of those people who said a Muggle can't be a Legilimens?" Zelda said gently. "The more I consider Voldemort and his band of psychos, the more I wonder what would happen, if he were practical enough to find common cause with evil Muggles. Muggles can be monsters too, you know."

Minerva felt ill at what Zelda's words implied. To he honest, she had never really considered such an outlandish thing, but now the very idea chilled her to the bone.

"Never mind," Zelda said, sensing her unease, "I think the separation between our worlds may have been a very good thing, though."

They turned, in unspoken agreement, and left the library. Zelda attempted, successfully, to navigate her way back to her room, while Minerva followed... Zelda had given her much to think about. They parted at the door to Zelda's room, and Zelda promised, "Finally, I'll try to get a look at those books tonight. I'd hate to have your Muggle Studies course remain so poor. My own Muggle pride's at stake here."

"I wonder sometimes if you are a slight bit mad, Zelda," Minerva said, chuckling.

"Of course I am, Minerva," Zelda replied with a grin. "Good night."