Why Arthur & Molly were not in the Order the first time around

[abigailnus]

No: HPFGUIDX 83622

I think you all may be missing a point.  The question isn't why Arthur 
and Molly weren't in the OOP last time around.  The question is, why 
would they be?  We're talking about a young couple of absolutely no 
distinction that we're aware of.  Unlike the Potters and the other 
Marauders, they were not recent Hogwarts graduates.  There's no 
reason to believe that they were in contact with Dumbledore.  The 
wizarding world must be filled with good people who would have been 
willing to fight Voldemort, and yet the picture that Moody shows Harry 
contains maybe 30 people.  Why should the Weasleys have been in it?

So what we should be asking is what changed between then and now?  
Jen wrote:

> But it *is* interesting how Dumbledore trusts the Weasley's to help 
> in GOF, as if they were already involved in the Order. My theory is 
> DD recruited them to help safe-guard Harry once Harry and Ron became 
> friends. Then when Voldemort returned, DD feels safe including the 
> Weasley's because of trust established and the Weasley's commitment 
> and love for Harry.

I agree that Harry's friendship with Ron and the Weasley's adoption of 
him brought them to Dumbledore's attention, although I think it might be 
more accurate to say that the Weasleys recruited themselves as Harry's 
protectors without Dumbledore's interference.  It might also be worth 
noting that in the years between Voldemort's fall, Arthur Weasley 
distinguished himself as a lover of Muggles, so much so that he drafted a 
law for their protection that drew upon him the ire of Lucius Malfoy, one of 
Voldemort's chief supporters.  This might also have helped bring to 
Weasleys to Dumbledore's attention, but I suspect the main reason is that, 
having adopted Harry, they simply wouldn't accept being left out.

Of course, we Trimaran folk know that during the first LV war, Arthur 
Weasley was a little too busy being under the Imperius curse to be a member 
of the order.  For that matter, he was already fighting Voldemort in his own 
way, because as we all know, Arthur Weasley used to be an Auror, right? :-)

Abigail