Teresa's Fanfic
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Teresa's Fanfic
Arthur Weasley May 13th 2011, 5:33 am
Here's a fanfic I wrote a few weeks ago. It's not any particular pairing, though it has strong Molly/Arthur tones. Lily, the Marauders & Co., all the Weasley children minus Ron and Ginny, the Prewett brothers, and a few others also make appearances. It's a bit on the longish side though.
Molly Prewett leaned her head on Arthur Weasley’s shoulder, his arm around her waist, as she blathered on about her latest letter from her brother.
“Do you have any brothers and sisters yourself?”Molly asked thoughtfully.
“There are three of us. I'm the middle child. Bilius – we call him Billy – is about four years older than me, while Ronald – Ron – is younger than me by around 2 years. We've been close, though I'm closer to Ron.”
“So he’s only a few years older than Gid and Fab. What does he do?”
“He works at some pub in Diagon Alley managing finances and bartending when the barman’s out. It’s a good fit for him – it’s a flamboyant place and Billy certainly isn’t quiet.”
Molly laughed. “A bit like Fabian in that respect. What about Ron?”
“Ron and I are best friends,” Arthur said. “We can tell each other anything. He wants to be an Auror someday, join this mysterious Order that everyone keeps talking about but no one’s actually seen. I’m really proud of him, but then there’s a part of me that can’t help but be scared out of wits about the idea.”
“Gideon and Fabian kept mentioning this Order; I think they’re part of it but they’ll never directly admit it to me. And Ron will be fine,” Molly said reassuring, rubbing Arthur’s shoulders.
“I hope so.”
***
Molly Weasley had never seen her youngest sons this quiet before. Normally, Fred and George were finding some way to cause trouble, from pulling their brothers’ hair to hiding people shoes behind the toilet. Currently, the one-year-old twins were standing next to their mother, not even fidgeting with new dress robes and looking solemnly at the quickly assembling crowd.
“Where is Uncle Ronnie?” Percy asked, tugging at his mother robes.
Molly swallowed back a sob. “He’s gone to heaven, Percy.”
While Molly and Arthur had never planned on raising their children under a particular religion – most wizards didn’t – they had agreed the idea of Christian heaven would help the younger boys understand what happened to their uncle. Hell, it even comforted Molly at times, knowing that Arthur’s little brother was in a better place, far away from pain.
Molly quickly surveyed the room – her three youngest stood beside her in the receiving line. Bill and Charlie had volunteered to hang everyone’s coats up, and Arthur was standing near the front of the line with his older brother Bilius. Molly wished that she could be next to Arthur, giving him all the love he needed right now. But both of them had agreed that they didn’t want the children so close to the casket, and Arthur was worried about Molly’s health with the baby on the way. He was such a worrywart sometimes, but it was adorable.
Molly watched as everyone began to Apparate outside the Burrow. The casket was set up outside in the garden, and the kitchen was full of the food Molly had been preparing for the past weeks. Molly watched as half the Ministry – all of Ron’s colleagues in the Auror office, Amelia’s coworkers from Magical Law Enforcement. Molly saw Amelia, Ron’s fiancée, in the spot nearest to the casket, a determined look on her face.
Ted Tonk, Arthur’s best friend from Hogwarts was talking to Arthur as his wife Andromeda stood nervously by as several Aurors stared curiously at. Charlie quickly tapped Molly on the leg before running over to play little Dora, who pulled nervously at her dress.
Several Aurors who knew Arthur came up and spoke with Molly briefly, patting the twins and Percy on the head. Percy enjoyed the attention, while Fred and George seemed uncomfortable around the stiff, unfeeling men. Molly couldn’t blame them; she didn’t really care much for their insincere sympathy.
Molly watched as a red haired woman walked toward her, a hand holding her back and her stomach protruding a little.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” the woman said, smiling sadly at Molly. The poor girl looked so young, and being pregnant at a time like this. Molly hugged her, remembering how she felt in the months before Bill was before.
“Thank you, sweetheart. How are you feeling? When’s the baby due?” Molly asked frankly.
“I’m doing okay,” the woman replied, shocked at Molly’s frankness. After all, most people skirted around the issue of pregnancy as if it was some terrible disease instead of one of the most life giving processes in the world. “I’m in my second month. How far along are you?”
“Around five months. This little one is going to be my sixth. He’s due in March or April, right at the start of spring.”
“Six?” the woman replied, her eyes widening. “I could never do this six times.”
“Technically only five,” Molly said with a smile. “Fred and George are twins.”
“They look so well-behaved,” she replied, glancing down at the twins. In their blue dress robes, they almost looked angelic.
Molly laughed. “Fred and George know that something’s wrong. Normally, they would be running around, tying people’s shoelaces together and causing all kinds of mischief. And I never asked your name. I’m so sorry, dear, I never formally introduced myself. I’m Molly, Ron’s sister-in-law.”
“It’s fine. I’m Lily Potter. I knew Ron from his work with the Order. I’m here with my husband, James. He’s somewhere, gossiping with his friends.”
“My husband Arthur should be running around somewhere – he can’t stay still, he’s practically an overgrown child sometimes.”
“Reminds me of James. Between him and his friends, I’m surprised my kitchen is still in one piece.”
Fred and George moved cautiously toward Lily. They smiled expectantly up at her.
“You –”
“Baby –”
“Too.”
“Yeah, I’m having a baby too,” Lily replied nervously. “Just like your mummy, I suppose.”
Fred and George pointed at her stomach; in response, Lily looked silently nauseous. Poor girl must have never been around babies before in her life.
“Don’t be frightened, dearie,” Molly said. “They’re just used to me and the baby. They like to listen to him and talk to him every night, right Freddie?”
“Me like baby,” Fred replied.
“Me too,” George added, an innocent smile spreading across his face.
“You don’t have to let them, Lily,” Molly said. “You can tell them no.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m just not used to the whole children thing.”
“Do you have any sisters? Or maybe you can talk to your mum about it?”
“My sister and I haven’t spoken in years. And my mum passed away a few months ago,” Lily replied, holding back a sob.
Fred and George toddled over to Lily, each hugging one of her legs.
“You poor dear,” Molly said, stroking her hair. “If you need anything, please feel free to Floo me at the Burrow anytime. Or just ask my brothers Fabian and Gideon to contact me – they’re part of the Order too. Or my cousin, Alice, her and Frank are Order members too.”
“Thank you,” Lily replied. “I’ve been talking with Alice – we’re due within days of each other, actually. And are you a member of the Order? I’ve never seen you at the meetings, but then again not everyone comes to those.”
“Arthur and I…Well, we eloped the day after we left Hogwarts, me three months pregnant at the time. It’s something we’ve always said we’d do, but then with the kids it’s difficult.”
A shorter man with messy black hair and glasses walked next to Lily, grabbing her hand.
“James,” Lily said, “this is Fabian and Gideon’s sister, Molly.”
“The baby machine?” James asked bluntly, staring curiously at Molly and her brood.
“If that’s the terminology they are using for motherhood these days, then yes,” Molly replied curtly, glaring at James. James quickly appeared humbled.
“Forgive my husband. He just doesn’t know how to deal with women all that well,” Lily said, also glaring at her husband.
“Well, if James would like some advice, I would recommend massaging your wife’s shoulders – they carry a lot of stress. Also, massage her legs before bed because they are most likely sore after a long day’s work.”
James’s eyes widened in surprise. “No wonder your brothers are scared shitless of you.”
“Language around the children,” Molly said. “Now go get your wife a seat and a glass of water. She’s probably dehydrated right now.”
James nodded like a scolded child and led her over to one of the rows of chairs Arthur and Bilius had set up in the yard.
Molly felt a warm presence behind her, massaging her shoulders and handing her a glass of water.
“How are you feeling, Mollywobbles?” Arthur whispered into her ear. “We can take a seat now, if you want.”
“I’m fine, Arthur. Just giving another hopeless husband advice. Not every woman is luckily enough to have a man like you.”
Molly could hear Arthur’s quiet chuckle. “I’m well trained, that’s all. Come on. I’ll get you and the boys seated in the front.”
Arthur held Molly’s arm as he escorted her to the front of the yard. Fred sat Arthur’s lap, while George grabbed onto Molly’s neck. Percy held Molly’s hand on her left, while Bill and Charlie sat with perfect posture next to their father. Arthur had his free hand wrapped in Molly’s.
After a few minutes, Bilius sat down next to Charlie, giving Molly a quick hug and his brother a solemn nod before beginning a game of rock, paper, scissors with Bill and Charlie – the boys loved the Muggle game Arthur had found in the back of a children’ book. Gideon and Fabian snuck behind Molly, giving their sister a kiss on the forehead.
“Baby machine?” she said, rolling her eyes. “Is that what you refer to your baby sister nowadays?”
“We mean domestic goddess,” Gideon said as Fabian gave Bilius a kiss. Molly smiled as Charlie and Bill quickly put their hands over their eyes.
“It’s not you,” Molly added at the looks of surprise in her brother’s eyes. “They do that every time Arthur and I share a moment together.”
“Molls, even we still do that,” Gideon said.
“Can’t blame them,” Fabian added. “Considering you and Arthur can’t go three days without –”
“There are children here, Fabian. Watch your tongue,” Molly scolded. Gideon giggled, punching his brother in the shoulder. Molly rolled her eyes. “I swear, I’m surrounded by children.”
Arthur squeezed his wife’s hand as the casket began to float down the aisle. Using her free hand, Molly pointed her wand at it, helping it to levitate; she saw her husband and brothers doing the same. Fred and George were pointing at it, while Percy was using a stick he found on the ground as a wand. Bill and Charlie smiled at the antics of their younger siblings, but were too old to do anything as foolish as that, though Charlie kept glancing at a small twig next to him.
The casket lightly dropped to the ground in the front of the yard. Bill and Charlie nodded at each other before standing up and walking toward the front with their uncle Bilius. Bilius placed his wand under Bill’s throat and whispered, “Sonorus!.”
“Uncle Ronnie hated frilly, smelly things,” Bill began, his voice echoing because of his uncle’s spell.
“But he liked to play Quidditch with us. So me and my brothers had the idea of putting broomsticks as decorations for his…box,” Charlie said.
“So we would like to bring up our gifts now,” Bill finished as he and Charlie walked to a table on the side of the yard, Percy, Fred and George trailing behind them.
Fred and George went up first, holding each other’s hands as they brought the brooms they had made with grass and sticks from the backyard.
“Mama help with goo,” Fred said.
“So tank you,” George finished.
Molly began to wipe the tears that were falling from her eyes. Arthur scooted closer to her, tears in his own eyes, and put his arms around her in a hug.
Percy walked up solemnly, his own broom made from stick surrounded by old quill feathers.
“I’ll miss you, Uncle Ronnie,” Percy said quietly before quickly walking over to where his younger brothers were standing.
Charlie’s easily had the most complex creation – he had used the handle of an old umbrella for the main stick of the broom, and old pieces of newspaper for the tail.
“Uncle Ron used to read the funnies to me every Sunday, and he loved umbrellas, especially pretty colored ones,” Charlie said before walking over to his brothers.
Bill was the last brother and he brought up an old Muggle broom that he had decorated with different words and phrases.
“I wrote a letter to Uncle Ronnie,” Bill whispered. “I hope he reads it.”
Molly felt like her hearts was breaking open as her five sons all bowed together in front of the casket before running back over to their family. She and Arthur gathered their babies together, pulling them into one giant hug.
“I’m so proud of you all,” Molly said between sobs.
“That was beautiful. Thank you,” Arthur said quietly. Molly hugged her husband closer to her, wiping away his tears with a handkerchief as he did the same for her.
Molly didn’t hear the officiant’s speech; she instead focusing on playing with Percy’s hair and rubbing Charlie’s shoulders. Next to her, Arthur was bouncing the restless twins on his legs, while Bill had his arm around his father. Fabian and Gideon made funny faces at the twins, who giggled quietly in delight, while Bilius just stared straight ahead at the officiant.
Molly saw Ted and Andromeda sitting with Dora between them. A few rows behind Lily, her husband, and three other young men, whom Molly assumed to be James’ friends, sat down next to Albus Dumbledore. Amelia sat next to Billy in the front with her legs crossed, silently wiping away her tears. Bill walked over to his aunt and hugged her before sitting down solemnly next to her. Molly smiled proudly at her son who blushed modestly in response.
“We now invite up the brother of the deceased, Arthur Weasley,” the officiant said loudly, glaring in the direction of their family. Arthur handed the twins to his brother before walking toward the front. Molly promptly took the squirming pair from Bilius, for they looked ready to start screaming and Bilius appeared ready to drop them at any moment. She began bouncing them on her knees and they quickly quieted down.
Arthur pulled out a piece of crumpled parchment from his pocket. He glanced over at Molly, who smiled comfortingly back. She desperately wished that she could be up there with Arthur, standing next to him and holding his hand. Instead, Arthur looked at her and children throughout the entire speech.
“Ronald Edward Frederick Weasley was my younger brother; he was also one of my best friends, next to my brother Bilius and my wife Molly. We grew up together, the three of us sharing a bedroom. It was hectic at times, with fights and broken broomsticks and arms, but we still loved each other.
“Out of my brothers, Ron was the only one we would trust alone with our children. He’s the one who drove Molly and me to the hospital the day Bill was born, because I was too jumpy to properly operate the automovile” – Molly laughed at the memory; Arthur was too afraid to leave Molly’s side and sat in the backseat with her, sponging her forehead to remove the sweat.
“Ron was a loving uncle. He spoiled my boys rotten, buying them all the toys and games that Molly and I couldn’t afford to get them. Most importantly, he spoiled them with his time. Every other week, he’d find his way to the Burrow, where he’d play Quidditch with Bill and Charlie, read with Percy, even teaching the twins how to tie people’s shoelaces together. I wish hadn’t done that, though.
“Ron was a loving boyfriend and fiancé and he would have made a brilliant husband. I remember when he decided that he wanted to marry Amelia Bones. He Apparated suddenly into the Burrow, one Saturday morning, where he announced to Bill and Charlie in the crudest way possible that he was in love and would they please wake up their father so he could figure out exactly what he should do about it since their father had yet to completely muck things up with their mother.
“While Ron is gone, our love for him isn’t. His courage, kindness, and love will live on through memory, as we continue to fight for justice in his name.”
Arthur wiped his eyes and began to walk back towards his family. Molly stood up and walked toward him, meeting him in front of the coffin. She enclosed him in a hug, kissing him lightly on the forehead while the boys all crowded around the two of them, hugging whatever free limbs they could find.
“If it’s a boy, I want to him name him Ron,” Arthur whispered silently.
“I couldn’t imagine a better name,” Molly said as she led Arthur back toward their seat. The officiant said his last words, and Arthur joined Bilius, Gideon, Fabian, Edgar and Isaac Bones in the center. Together, they lifted the coffin and brought it toward the front of the house. Because it was December, the ground was too cold to bury the body; therefore, the Auror office agreed to store the coffin until it could be buried in Godric Hollow with the Bones family graves.
Molly stood up from her seat and turned to face the rest of the mourners.
“I’ve prepared a light breakfast for everyone – just some pastries, eggs, sausage, bacon, and the like – for everyone here who would like to stay,” she said loudly in the same voice she used to corral the boys when they were misbehaving.
She smiled before running back to the house, her children in tow, in the order to warm up the hot food and set up the buffet before the crowd descended on it.
***
“So when I die…”
“Ron, shut it. You’re seventeen and drunk,” Arthur said, taking another swig of firewhiskey. “You are not dying anytime soon.”
“I know,” Ron said. “But still. If I die, I don’t everyone sobbing at my funeral. Okay, maybe at the ceremony part, but I want the little shindig afterward to be a party.”
“I agree with ickle Ronniekins,” Bilius said as he clinked his glass with his younger brothers. “My funeral will be a party.”
“I suppose you have the right idea,” Arthur relented finally. Bilius gave his brother a pat on the back as they promptly took another drink.
“We should agree to make each other’s funerals the biggest Weasley family bashes ever.”
All three nodded, none of them realizing that at some point, there would only be one Weasley brother living, that one brother having sat through his brother’s funerals and having none of his brothers to sit through his. Drunkenness tended to obscure these harsh realities, making it possible for all three brothers to attend the funerals of the other two.
“I’ll pull streamers out of my dick,” Bilius said. “Multi-colored ones.”
“Molly would kill you,” Arthur said, laughing.
“But little Billy would think I’m the coolest uncle in the world.”
“True,” Arthur agreed. “But you might scar the kid for life.”
“I don’t want streamers,” Ron said. “That’s too easy. I want something bigger…like this.”
Ron pulled out a large, pink umbrella from under the neighboring stool.
“That’s mine,” a gruff voice said, snatching it away.
“Sorry about that, Hagrid,” Ron said. “Thanks for bringing me out here tonight, again.”
Hagrid nodded, taking another swig of his drink. “It’s yer seventeenth. Of course yeh should celebrate with yer brothers.”
“I’ll pull a pink umbrella out especially for you, Ron,” Bilius said cheekily.
“Sounds fair. Let’s see, for you Arthur, I’ll dance naked in front of Molly. And for you, Billy, I’ll dance naked in front of her brother Fabian.”
“Please, don’t try to blind my wife for life,” Arthur said. “And what would your precious Amelia think?”
“I’d tell Amy it’s a brother’s duty.”
Bilius laughed. “I’ll take that, just to see Gideon’s reaction.”
Arthur sighed. “Fine, but keep your trousers on. For everyone’s sake.”
The three brothers laughed.
“What are you going to do, Arthur?” Bilius asked.
“Please don’t tell us the married life has made you too proper for this kind of thing,” Ron said. “Molly’s converted you, hasn’t she?”
“Wait till Amelia gets to you,” Arthur said.
“We plan on waiting – we both want to start a career before settling down. And don’t change the subject, Arthur Charles Septimus Weasley.”
“I’ll…” Arthur considered his options for a moment. “I’ll stand next to Bilius while he’s streamer pulling and next to you while you’re dancing naked, playing the kazoo.”
“Dancing around with Bilius’s pink umbrella,” Ron said.
“While wearing a pink hat,” Bilius added.
“Sounds fair,” Arthur said. “Shall we drink on that?”
The other two brothers nodded, and the three took large swigs of their drinks.
***
Arthur nodded at Billy, Gideon, Fabian, Edgar, and Isaac before walking back toward the Burrow. He entered the kitchen to see Molly standing over the stove, organizing the children. Arthur put his arms around her, planting a kiss on her cheek.
“How are you doing, Mollywobbles?” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper on the last word.
“I would be better, Arthur,” Molly said, pushing Arthur away, “if you would stop your eldest son from trying to carry in that hot bowl of eggs. He’s going to burn himself.”
Arthur nodded obediently before moving over to Bill. With a smile, Arthur waved his wand, levitating all the hot plates and bringing them out to the yard.
“Be careful, Arthur!” Molly yelled. The boys laughed, following Arthur out of the kitchen as he successfully brought the dishes to the buffet table. With the exception of one piece of bacon and a few sausages, everything made it there in one piece. All his boys applauded for him, and Arthur gave them a little bow.
He then quickly organized the boys. He sent Fred and George to greet the guests; he knew that the troublesome twins would love the attention and Molly would appreciate the peace and quiet in the kitchen. Percy, Charlie, and Bill began to set the table, the older brothers taking turns at lifting Percy up so he could see the top of the table. Arthur, meanwhile, joined his brother Bilius where he was talking with Cornelius Fudge, a portly bloke who Arthur knew had political ambitions even larger than his waistband.
“Artie, how are the children doing?” Fudge said, clapping his hand around Arthur’s shoulder. Bilius and Arthur exchanged a sideways glance; no one had ever called Arthur Artie, not even their dotty grandmother.
“Wonderful,” Arthur replied stiffly.
Fudge looked ready to offer some inflated form of condolences when Molly’s voice echoed through the yard.
“Arthur, would you please grab the extra table from the shed?” Molly yelled. “And the chairs too.”
Arthur nodded to Bilius and Fudge before he raced over to the shed. Bilius shot him a deadly glare, but it softened at the sight of Fabian.
“Save your boyfriend; he’s getting pitiful,” Arthur whispered in Fabian’s ears, getting a laugh out of his brother-in-law.
“Hello, Corny Fudgy,” Fabian shouted loudly. “It’s such a treat that you could finally meet my boyfriend.”
Arthur laughed as he imagined Fudge stuttering at the sight of the openly flamboyant couple. He entered the shed, shutting the door behind him. He began searching for the table when he heard a soft knocking on the door.
“I’ll have the table out soon, honey, just give me a minute to find it,” Arthur said.
“I believe you might have mistaken my identity,” said a soft voice as the door creaked opened. Arthur was shocked to find Albus Dumbledore standing in his shed, examining a battery carefully.
“Good morning, Professor,” Arthur said, banging his head on the workbench as he tried to stand up quickly. “It’s nice to see you.”
“You have quite the collection of things here,” Dumbledore said, looking around the room. “This clock, it reminds me of the one you have in your kitchen – Molly was showing it to me earlier.”
Dumbledore gestured toward a gold, old-fashioned mantel clock. Instead of number, it displayed various locations – Home, Office, Mission, and Court, among others. It was clearly unfinished – the gold plating that Arthur was planning to use to conceal the inner mechanics of the clock was sitting beside it on the table and the clock was missing its hands.
“It was a wedding present for Ron and Amelia,” Arthur said quietly. “It’s my own design – you place the hair of the couple in a small area in the back. The original hands form from there, and the hair allows the clock to keep track of location. More hands form as the couple has children – if you look in the kitchen, there’s a little hand sprouting from Molly’s to show that she’s expecting. Our hair – our essence, basically – is in all our children, so it keeps track of their locations through that.”
“It’s brilliant, Arthur. You were always mechanically gifted.” Arthur blushed as Dumbledore continued. “Essentially it is run by love – beautifully symbolic.”
“Thank you, Professor,” Arthur said. “Do you need anything? We have a toilet in the house if you were looking for that.”
Dumbledore laughed, his eyes twinkling. “I just wanted to tell you that your speech was meaningful. Your brother would have been proud.”
“Thank you.”
“I also wanted to ask if you would be willing to play a greater role in the war effort. I presume that you have heard of the Order of the Phoenix, from your extended family.”
“Of course. I thought it was just a legend until Fabian and Gideon, and later Ron, joined after Hogwarts.”
“Your skills – both yours and Molly’s – are immense, and I believe that the two of you would make a wonderful addition to our little group.”
Arthur’s face was filled with disbelief, his jaw slackening. “I can’t believe this, Professor. It’s quite an honor.”
“I suppose it would be.”
There was silence for several minutes as Arthur considered Dumbledore’s words. He had always thought about doing something more, had always wanted to. But then he and Molly had eloped, Molly three months pregnant with Bill. After Bill came Charlie, for they wanted another child, and the cycle seemed to repeat itself, their little family continuing to grow.
“But I can’t do this, Professor. Not now,” Arthur said finally. “The kids are still young – they need their father. If something happened to me, I could never forgive myself. Molly…she needs me as much as I need her. Maybe when the kids are at Hogwarts and they don’t need us as much.”
“I understand,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “If things are not resolved in the distant future, I presume that I can call on you and Molly again.”
“Yes. We want to help, just not now. I don’t want to speak for Molly, but the kids are our first priority.”
Dumbledore patted Arthur on his shoulder before opening the door to the shed.
“It looks like your lovely wife is looking for that table you promised,” Dumbledore said, his twinkling. Molly walked into the shed, glancing at Arthur and Dumbledore. With a wave, Dumbledore shut the door, leaving the two alone.
“I guess you heard everything,” Arthur said quietly, looking nervously at his feet.
“Most of it. Everything from the love clock and on.”
“If you don’t agree with me…sorry about speaking for you...you look lovely, by the way,” Arthur muttered, babbling nervously. He felt the same way he did the first time they met, too awkward to say anything but the word “pretty” and “wobbles”.
“Oh, Arthur,” Molly said, throwing her arms around him. “I love you, you know.”
Arthur blushed as his wife grabbed his hair with one hand, the other sliding around his neck, pulling him downward. He could smell the lingering scent of breakfast in her hair, could taste the sweet stickiness of orange juice on her lips. He lifted his pregnant wife up, placing her on the table, sending several batteries falling to the ground. Arthur just kicked them out of the way.
His kisses moved gradually down her neck, towards her belly. Molly unbuttoned several of his buttons on his robes, moving her hand downward. Arthur blushed slightly, but continuing in his pursuit, shifting her long skirt upward. It was almost perfect, except for the deafening crash of the door, and the sound of glass shattering.
Arthur and Molly broke apart suddenly, both vividly red. Molly pulled down her skirt, while Arthur buttoned his robes, fussing with his hair nervously.
“Fabian, I didn’t know our sister was a rabbit. That must make us part rabbit,” Gideon said, grinning mischievously at his sister and brother-in-law.
“You’re right, Gideon, though I’ll never be able to think of this place in the same way again,” Fabian said, sighing dramatically. “You weren’t too noisy, much better than that time in the kitchen of Mum’s house.”
“They have been learning. But now you and Bilius have the perfect place to seek off to. And you two should really have a system. Put a sock on the door or throw Molly’s bra out the door or something.”
“You’re lucky we like you, Arthur, or you would have been dead by now.”
“Don’t try to produce number seven before number six comes out.”
“And don’t hurt Molly.”
“Or we will kill you.”
Gideon and Fabian smiled at each other, while Molly and Arthur stared at them silently.
“We’ll let you two lovebirds carry on. Let us know, Molly, when you really need help bringing out the table.”
And with a high-five, Gideon and Fabian exited the shed, laughing loudly.
“It’s nothing,” Gideon yelled from outside. “Molly and Arthur are just looking for buried treasure in hidden corners.”
Arthur turned to face his wife.
“Let’s just grab the table before your brothers massacre all of my dignity,” Arthur said, pulling out his wand. In his attempt to summon the table, he sent a large stack of plugs flying toward them. Arthur quickly shielded Molly, who already had produced a Shield Charm. She sighed as she kissed Arthur on the cheek.
“We can continue this later,” she whispered seductively as she grabbed a folding chair and exited the shed. Arthur blushed even brighter as he followed her out with the table. Four young men went up to Arthur.
“We’ll take the table for you,” said one of the men. He had black hair that stuck up in twenty directions, his glasses sliding down his nose. He and his other black haired friend grabbed the table and set it up. Their one friend, who was wearing shabby brown robes, had already taken the chair from Molly and was attempting to get her to sit down. The fourth friend, a shorter man, was in the shed grabbing additional chairs from Gideon and Fabian.
“Thank you,” Arthur said.
“I will be just fine,” Molly said to the young man who had helped her with the chair. “I have done this four times before and lifting up a little chair is not going to hurt anyone.”
“Please excuse my wife,” Arthur said, coming up behind Molly. “She really does appreciate your help.”
“Of course,” Molly replied, glaring at her husband.
“Arthur Weasley,” he said, extending his hand to the young man.
“Remus Lupin,” he replied, shaking Arthur’s hand. “You must be Ron’s brother. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Molly said kindly. “We really appreciate you being here. I’m Molly, Arthur’s wife. Our five boys should be running around somewhere.”
Arthur turned around to see the two black haired men talking to Fred and George.
“What are your names?” one of them asked.
“Fwed.”
“George.”
“Well, I’m Sirius, and next to me is my friend James. James is going to be a daddy soon, did you know?”
“Congwats,” Fred replied.
“Daddies good,” George added, pointing toward to his father. Arthur beamed brightly at Molly.
“Well, I hope I am,” James said. “So, what you do you two like to do? Play games? Or read, maybe?”
“Pull pwanks,” George said with a smirk.
“And cause twouble.”
“Well, guess who always used to pull pranks when they were younger,” James said.
“You mean, still do,” Sirius said, grabbing Lupin and the other friend. “The four of us caused a lot of trouble at Hogwarts.”
Lupin laughed. “Yes and we haven’t stopped since.”
“No one could ever prank us,” Sirius said cockily.
“We pwank you,” Fred said, his hands on his hips.
“We vewy good.”
“Of course you are,” James said, patting them on the head.
“Here’s the deal,” Sirius said, bending down in front of them. “If you two can manage to prank the four of us, I’ll give you… a whoopee cushion.”
“Two,” Fred said.
“Sounds fair. I’m not too worried about losing anyway.”
“You should be,” a pregnant red-haired woman said, walking next to James. “According to their mummy, they are very clever.”
Fred and George toddled over to the woman, hugging her legs.
Molly smiled, grabbing Arthur’s arm. “How are you feeling, Lily?” Molly asked the woman.
“Decent,” Lily replied, smiling. “This must be your husband.”
“Yes,” Arthur said. “I’m Arthur. Pleasure to meet you. Molly, do you need any help in the kitchen?”
“The food’s all set, just need to get people up and eating.”
“I’ll do that,” Arthur said. “Why don’t you sit down with the kids? I’ll help the younger ones makes their plates and I’ll grab some food for you.”
Molly kissed Arthur on the cheek as she went to find a seat in the middle of the long table, not before winking at Lily and James. James suddenly straightened up.
“Sit down, Lily. I’ll get you food,” James said quickly.
Arthur laughed, patting James on the shoulder.
“She’ll have you trained soon enough. It’ll be instinctual before you know it.”
Arthur found Percy first; he was predictably sitting in the corner of the yard with a picture book, reading. He helped Percy find a safe place to store Johnny’s First Broomstick and gave him a small plate with eggs and a muffin, for Percy was always fussy about eating meat. Bill and Charlie were old enough to serve themselves for the most part, though at six, Charlie still needed a hand with some of the heavier items.
It took Arthur the longest to find the twins. After searching in all their favorite areas in the yard, he finally found the pair down by where James Potter and his friends with sitting. They crawled out from under the table, laughing silently amongst themselves.
“Are you two causing trouble again?” Arthur asked, picking up one twin in each arm.
“Stand,” Fred said, pointing at the four friends.
“Pwank,” George added, he and Fred slapping each other’s hands.
Arthur sighed before turning to James. “Do you and Lily want any more food? Everyone’s already gotten their first helpings.”
“That sounds great,” Sirius said, stretching his arms out. He pulled out his seat and attempted to stand up. At that moment, all four friends fell to the ground.
“What was that?” Peter asked, massaging his head.
Lily was laughing loudly. “Your shoelaces are tied together. I believe you owe two boys some whoopee cushions.”
Fred and George were beaming, their hands outstretched.
“Oh alright,” Sirius said, sighing dramatically as he untied himself from James and Remus. With a flick of his wand, he produced two identical, multicolored whoopee cushions. He walked over to Arthur and handed one to each of the boys.
“You got us,” Sirius said. “Congrats you two. I’m sure you’ll be giving Minerva McGonagall quite the headache. Arthur, I hope you don’t mind the dozens of school letter you’ll be getting because of these two.”
“Dozens?” Arthur said. “I was predicting hundreds, to be honest.”
Fred and George nodded in agreement.
“Good luck with those two,” Sirius said as Arthur brought the twins over to where Molly and the older boys were sitting. Fred and George quickly began showing their prizes to Bill and Charlie. Arthur sat down next to Molly, wrapping his arm around her chair. Molly leaned her head on his left arm while Arthur ate his eggs and sausage voraciously.
“Hey Dolly Molly,” Bilius said, sitting down across from Arthur, placing Percy on his lap. Percy beamed, hugging his uncle around the neck.
“Hello Bilius,” Molly said.
“Hey Billy,” Arthur said between bites of sausage.
“Just came to tell your husband that he needs to finish eating soon,” Bilius said. “We have a few things to do. Remember your hat and instrument.”
“What are you talking about, Bilius?” Molly asked, glancing at Arthur in confusion.
“Yeah, Billy. What are you talking about?”
“Ronnie’s seventeenth birthday. Your promise.”
Molly’s lips tightened. “You mean that night of pointless, belligerent drinking. I’ve never seen Arthur so hung over; he spent the next day in the bathroom.”
Arthur wracked his brain, trying to getting past the fuzzy, alcohol-tinged memories.
“You mean, those stupid things,” Arthur said, laughing. “You’re not serious.”
“I am,” Bilius said. “It’ll be fun. And we need some fun.”
Arthur nodded as he began to scarf down his eggs more rapidly that before. Molly just sighed, rolling her eyes at her husband and glaring at her brother-in-law. Bilius just smiled back at Molly, blowing her a kiss and hugging Percy before getting up.
“I’ll be preparing my act,” Bilius said. “You’ll be able to find me.”
“What is this all about?” Molly said, extracting herself from Arthur’s arm and turning to glare at him, hands on her hips.
“It’s a brother’s duty,” Arthur said quietly. “Ron didn’t want a boring after party.”
“Just no public nudity in the front of the children,” Molly said.
“There won’t be any from me, but I can’t say anything for Billy.”
Molly just sighed as her husband stood up to join his older brother. Arthur winked back before running to the shed to see where his kazoo had went – it was on the table, but then it might have been misplaced from his little adventure with Molly.
***
“So I finally get the opportunity to meet the woman that managed to turn my big brother lovesick.”
“Yes, Ronald Weasley,” Molly said, sighing as Ron slid next to her on one of the couches in the Gryffindor common room.
“So, as per brother’s duty, it is my job to make sure that you are suitable for Arthur. He’s delicate yet whimsical, and needs a woman who can both control him yet comfort him.” Ron winked at Molly, placing his arm around her.
“Can’t Arthur figure this all for himself? And what the hell does brother’s duty have to do with anything?” Molly pushed Ron’s arm away and turned to glare at him. “You can trust me, Ron.”
“Arthur is more than my brother, Molly – he’s my best friend,” Ron said seriously. “It’s my job to make sure he’s happy. I don’t want him to get hurt. If I don’t, who will?”
“Do you honestly think I would ever do anything to hurt Arthur? I love him more than anything in the world. I want to marry him someday, have his children. I can watch out for him, take care of him.”
“Good. If you care for him enough, you’ll let me interrogate you for the next few hours. This isn’t just for my benefit – it’s for Arthur’s and Bilius’s, who can’t be here himself to do this. I have to tell him how great you are, to convince him to do what he’s wanted to do for the past few months.”
“He’s going to propose?” Molly asked excitedly, touching her ring finger nervously.
“Possibly, if this goes well. But I doubt foresee any problems. Just have to check.”
“Brother’s duty,” Molly replied.
“Precisely. So when did you and Arthur meet? And please omit the dirty bits; my brain can’t handle it.”
***
Molly Weasley could barely hide her frustration with Bilius Weasley – he was honestly a terrible influence on all her boys, especially Arthur.
When Bilius first began to unzip his fly, Molly thought he must have had a little too much to drink and forgot where the proper receptacles for bodily actions were. When the streamers first started coming out, Bill and Charlie immediately ran over to their uncle, quickly followed by Percy and twins. After pulling a horrid pink hat, which Arthur quickly put on his head, he began to pull out umbrella after umbrella in various colors.
That wasn’t the worst of it. Arthur had brought out that stupid kazoo of his and started playing a discordant mishmash of notes. Her young boys just laughed and began dancing around with their umbrellas. Arthur, meanwhile, had just pulled an umbrella from his brother’s nether regions and was doing an Irish jig of his own.
“You know, Ron would be eating this up right now. He hated funerals,” a gruff voice said. Molly turned to her side to see a middle-aged man with graying hair sitting next to her, tapping his foot to the uneven rhythm of Arthur’s playing.
At Molly’s confusion, the man continued talking. “Alastor Moody – I trained Ron when he first started with us and he was my partner for the past two years. He hated seeing his family upset, so seeing his brothers enjoying themselves would have made him happy.”
Molly nodded, a weak smile appearing on her face. “Nice to meet you, Alastor. And I know Ron would agree with you. Brother’s duty, after all.”
Moody nodded in agreement before getting up and walking toward the Potters. Molly stood up shortly afterward, going to join her husband and children in their dance. She grabbed Arthur and began waltzing with him.
“Molly?” Arthur asked incredulously.
“Who else?” she said.
“You’re not mad?” Arthur’s eyebrows were raised, his face filled with shock.
“No. Ron would want this,” Molly said as she leaned in to kiss him gently on the lips. ”Just tell Bilius to pull his fly up; I don’t want my children to go blind.”
Arthur laughed, his voice echoing through the yard and sweeping gently over Ron’s coffin.
Molly Prewett leaned her head on Arthur Weasley’s shoulder, his arm around her waist, as she blathered on about her latest letter from her brother.
“Do you have any brothers and sisters yourself?”Molly asked thoughtfully.
“There are three of us. I'm the middle child. Bilius – we call him Billy – is about four years older than me, while Ronald – Ron – is younger than me by around 2 years. We've been close, though I'm closer to Ron.”
“So he’s only a few years older than Gid and Fab. What does he do?”
“He works at some pub in Diagon Alley managing finances and bartending when the barman’s out. It’s a good fit for him – it’s a flamboyant place and Billy certainly isn’t quiet.”
Molly laughed. “A bit like Fabian in that respect. What about Ron?”
“Ron and I are best friends,” Arthur said. “We can tell each other anything. He wants to be an Auror someday, join this mysterious Order that everyone keeps talking about but no one’s actually seen. I’m really proud of him, but then there’s a part of me that can’t help but be scared out of wits about the idea.”
“Gideon and Fabian kept mentioning this Order; I think they’re part of it but they’ll never directly admit it to me. And Ron will be fine,” Molly said reassuring, rubbing Arthur’s shoulders.
“I hope so.”
***
Molly Weasley had never seen her youngest sons this quiet before. Normally, Fred and George were finding some way to cause trouble, from pulling their brothers’ hair to hiding people shoes behind the toilet. Currently, the one-year-old twins were standing next to their mother, not even fidgeting with new dress robes and looking solemnly at the quickly assembling crowd.
“Where is Uncle Ronnie?” Percy asked, tugging at his mother robes.
Molly swallowed back a sob. “He’s gone to heaven, Percy.”
While Molly and Arthur had never planned on raising their children under a particular religion – most wizards didn’t – they had agreed the idea of Christian heaven would help the younger boys understand what happened to their uncle. Hell, it even comforted Molly at times, knowing that Arthur’s little brother was in a better place, far away from pain.
Molly quickly surveyed the room – her three youngest stood beside her in the receiving line. Bill and Charlie had volunteered to hang everyone’s coats up, and Arthur was standing near the front of the line with his older brother Bilius. Molly wished that she could be next to Arthur, giving him all the love he needed right now. But both of them had agreed that they didn’t want the children so close to the casket, and Arthur was worried about Molly’s health with the baby on the way. He was such a worrywart sometimes, but it was adorable.
Molly watched as everyone began to Apparate outside the Burrow. The casket was set up outside in the garden, and the kitchen was full of the food Molly had been preparing for the past weeks. Molly watched as half the Ministry – all of Ron’s colleagues in the Auror office, Amelia’s coworkers from Magical Law Enforcement. Molly saw Amelia, Ron’s fiancée, in the spot nearest to the casket, a determined look on her face.
Ted Tonk, Arthur’s best friend from Hogwarts was talking to Arthur as his wife Andromeda stood nervously by as several Aurors stared curiously at. Charlie quickly tapped Molly on the leg before running over to play little Dora, who pulled nervously at her dress.
Several Aurors who knew Arthur came up and spoke with Molly briefly, patting the twins and Percy on the head. Percy enjoyed the attention, while Fred and George seemed uncomfortable around the stiff, unfeeling men. Molly couldn’t blame them; she didn’t really care much for their insincere sympathy.
Molly watched as a red haired woman walked toward her, a hand holding her back and her stomach protruding a little.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” the woman said, smiling sadly at Molly. The poor girl looked so young, and being pregnant at a time like this. Molly hugged her, remembering how she felt in the months before Bill was before.
“Thank you, sweetheart. How are you feeling? When’s the baby due?” Molly asked frankly.
“I’m doing okay,” the woman replied, shocked at Molly’s frankness. After all, most people skirted around the issue of pregnancy as if it was some terrible disease instead of one of the most life giving processes in the world. “I’m in my second month. How far along are you?”
“Around five months. This little one is going to be my sixth. He’s due in March or April, right at the start of spring.”
“Six?” the woman replied, her eyes widening. “I could never do this six times.”
“Technically only five,” Molly said with a smile. “Fred and George are twins.”
“They look so well-behaved,” she replied, glancing down at the twins. In their blue dress robes, they almost looked angelic.
Molly laughed. “Fred and George know that something’s wrong. Normally, they would be running around, tying people’s shoelaces together and causing all kinds of mischief. And I never asked your name. I’m so sorry, dear, I never formally introduced myself. I’m Molly, Ron’s sister-in-law.”
“It’s fine. I’m Lily Potter. I knew Ron from his work with the Order. I’m here with my husband, James. He’s somewhere, gossiping with his friends.”
“My husband Arthur should be running around somewhere – he can’t stay still, he’s practically an overgrown child sometimes.”
“Reminds me of James. Between him and his friends, I’m surprised my kitchen is still in one piece.”
Fred and George moved cautiously toward Lily. They smiled expectantly up at her.
“You –”
“Baby –”
“Too.”
“Yeah, I’m having a baby too,” Lily replied nervously. “Just like your mummy, I suppose.”
Fred and George pointed at her stomach; in response, Lily looked silently nauseous. Poor girl must have never been around babies before in her life.
“Don’t be frightened, dearie,” Molly said. “They’re just used to me and the baby. They like to listen to him and talk to him every night, right Freddie?”
“Me like baby,” Fred replied.
“Me too,” George added, an innocent smile spreading across his face.
“You don’t have to let them, Lily,” Molly said. “You can tell them no.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m just not used to the whole children thing.”
“Do you have any sisters? Or maybe you can talk to your mum about it?”
“My sister and I haven’t spoken in years. And my mum passed away a few months ago,” Lily replied, holding back a sob.
Fred and George toddled over to Lily, each hugging one of her legs.
“You poor dear,” Molly said, stroking her hair. “If you need anything, please feel free to Floo me at the Burrow anytime. Or just ask my brothers Fabian and Gideon to contact me – they’re part of the Order too. Or my cousin, Alice, her and Frank are Order members too.”
“Thank you,” Lily replied. “I’ve been talking with Alice – we’re due within days of each other, actually. And are you a member of the Order? I’ve never seen you at the meetings, but then again not everyone comes to those.”
“Arthur and I…Well, we eloped the day after we left Hogwarts, me three months pregnant at the time. It’s something we’ve always said we’d do, but then with the kids it’s difficult.”
A shorter man with messy black hair and glasses walked next to Lily, grabbing her hand.
“James,” Lily said, “this is Fabian and Gideon’s sister, Molly.”
“The baby machine?” James asked bluntly, staring curiously at Molly and her brood.
“If that’s the terminology they are using for motherhood these days, then yes,” Molly replied curtly, glaring at James. James quickly appeared humbled.
“Forgive my husband. He just doesn’t know how to deal with women all that well,” Lily said, also glaring at her husband.
“Well, if James would like some advice, I would recommend massaging your wife’s shoulders – they carry a lot of stress. Also, massage her legs before bed because they are most likely sore after a long day’s work.”
James’s eyes widened in surprise. “No wonder your brothers are scared shitless of you.”
“Language around the children,” Molly said. “Now go get your wife a seat and a glass of water. She’s probably dehydrated right now.”
James nodded like a scolded child and led her over to one of the rows of chairs Arthur and Bilius had set up in the yard.
Molly felt a warm presence behind her, massaging her shoulders and handing her a glass of water.
“How are you feeling, Mollywobbles?” Arthur whispered into her ear. “We can take a seat now, if you want.”
“I’m fine, Arthur. Just giving another hopeless husband advice. Not every woman is luckily enough to have a man like you.”
Molly could hear Arthur’s quiet chuckle. “I’m well trained, that’s all. Come on. I’ll get you and the boys seated in the front.”
Arthur held Molly’s arm as he escorted her to the front of the yard. Fred sat Arthur’s lap, while George grabbed onto Molly’s neck. Percy held Molly’s hand on her left, while Bill and Charlie sat with perfect posture next to their father. Arthur had his free hand wrapped in Molly’s.
After a few minutes, Bilius sat down next to Charlie, giving Molly a quick hug and his brother a solemn nod before beginning a game of rock, paper, scissors with Bill and Charlie – the boys loved the Muggle game Arthur had found in the back of a children’ book. Gideon and Fabian snuck behind Molly, giving their sister a kiss on the forehead.
“Baby machine?” she said, rolling her eyes. “Is that what you refer to your baby sister nowadays?”
“We mean domestic goddess,” Gideon said as Fabian gave Bilius a kiss. Molly smiled as Charlie and Bill quickly put their hands over their eyes.
“It’s not you,” Molly added at the looks of surprise in her brother’s eyes. “They do that every time Arthur and I share a moment together.”
“Molls, even we still do that,” Gideon said.
“Can’t blame them,” Fabian added. “Considering you and Arthur can’t go three days without –”
“There are children here, Fabian. Watch your tongue,” Molly scolded. Gideon giggled, punching his brother in the shoulder. Molly rolled her eyes. “I swear, I’m surrounded by children.”
Arthur squeezed his wife’s hand as the casket began to float down the aisle. Using her free hand, Molly pointed her wand at it, helping it to levitate; she saw her husband and brothers doing the same. Fred and George were pointing at it, while Percy was using a stick he found on the ground as a wand. Bill and Charlie smiled at the antics of their younger siblings, but were too old to do anything as foolish as that, though Charlie kept glancing at a small twig next to him.
The casket lightly dropped to the ground in the front of the yard. Bill and Charlie nodded at each other before standing up and walking toward the front with their uncle Bilius. Bilius placed his wand under Bill’s throat and whispered, “Sonorus!.”
“Uncle Ronnie hated frilly, smelly things,” Bill began, his voice echoing because of his uncle’s spell.
“But he liked to play Quidditch with us. So me and my brothers had the idea of putting broomsticks as decorations for his…box,” Charlie said.
“So we would like to bring up our gifts now,” Bill finished as he and Charlie walked to a table on the side of the yard, Percy, Fred and George trailing behind them.
Fred and George went up first, holding each other’s hands as they brought the brooms they had made with grass and sticks from the backyard.
“Mama help with goo,” Fred said.
“So tank you,” George finished.
Molly began to wipe the tears that were falling from her eyes. Arthur scooted closer to her, tears in his own eyes, and put his arms around her in a hug.
Percy walked up solemnly, his own broom made from stick surrounded by old quill feathers.
“I’ll miss you, Uncle Ronnie,” Percy said quietly before quickly walking over to where his younger brothers were standing.
Charlie’s easily had the most complex creation – he had used the handle of an old umbrella for the main stick of the broom, and old pieces of newspaper for the tail.
“Uncle Ron used to read the funnies to me every Sunday, and he loved umbrellas, especially pretty colored ones,” Charlie said before walking over to his brothers.
Bill was the last brother and he brought up an old Muggle broom that he had decorated with different words and phrases.
“I wrote a letter to Uncle Ronnie,” Bill whispered. “I hope he reads it.”
Molly felt like her hearts was breaking open as her five sons all bowed together in front of the casket before running back over to their family. She and Arthur gathered their babies together, pulling them into one giant hug.
“I’m so proud of you all,” Molly said between sobs.
“That was beautiful. Thank you,” Arthur said quietly. Molly hugged her husband closer to her, wiping away his tears with a handkerchief as he did the same for her.
Molly didn’t hear the officiant’s speech; she instead focusing on playing with Percy’s hair and rubbing Charlie’s shoulders. Next to her, Arthur was bouncing the restless twins on his legs, while Bill had his arm around his father. Fabian and Gideon made funny faces at the twins, who giggled quietly in delight, while Bilius just stared straight ahead at the officiant.
Molly saw Ted and Andromeda sitting with Dora between them. A few rows behind Lily, her husband, and three other young men, whom Molly assumed to be James’ friends, sat down next to Albus Dumbledore. Amelia sat next to Billy in the front with her legs crossed, silently wiping away her tears. Bill walked over to his aunt and hugged her before sitting down solemnly next to her. Molly smiled proudly at her son who blushed modestly in response.
“We now invite up the brother of the deceased, Arthur Weasley,” the officiant said loudly, glaring in the direction of their family. Arthur handed the twins to his brother before walking toward the front. Molly promptly took the squirming pair from Bilius, for they looked ready to start screaming and Bilius appeared ready to drop them at any moment. She began bouncing them on her knees and they quickly quieted down.
Arthur pulled out a piece of crumpled parchment from his pocket. He glanced over at Molly, who smiled comfortingly back. She desperately wished that she could be up there with Arthur, standing next to him and holding his hand. Instead, Arthur looked at her and children throughout the entire speech.
“Ronald Edward Frederick Weasley was my younger brother; he was also one of my best friends, next to my brother Bilius and my wife Molly. We grew up together, the three of us sharing a bedroom. It was hectic at times, with fights and broken broomsticks and arms, but we still loved each other.
“Out of my brothers, Ron was the only one we would trust alone with our children. He’s the one who drove Molly and me to the hospital the day Bill was born, because I was too jumpy to properly operate the automovile” – Molly laughed at the memory; Arthur was too afraid to leave Molly’s side and sat in the backseat with her, sponging her forehead to remove the sweat.
“Ron was a loving uncle. He spoiled my boys rotten, buying them all the toys and games that Molly and I couldn’t afford to get them. Most importantly, he spoiled them with his time. Every other week, he’d find his way to the Burrow, where he’d play Quidditch with Bill and Charlie, read with Percy, even teaching the twins how to tie people’s shoelaces together. I wish hadn’t done that, though.
“Ron was a loving boyfriend and fiancé and he would have made a brilliant husband. I remember when he decided that he wanted to marry Amelia Bones. He Apparated suddenly into the Burrow, one Saturday morning, where he announced to Bill and Charlie in the crudest way possible that he was in love and would they please wake up their father so he could figure out exactly what he should do about it since their father had yet to completely muck things up with their mother.
“While Ron is gone, our love for him isn’t. His courage, kindness, and love will live on through memory, as we continue to fight for justice in his name.”
Arthur wiped his eyes and began to walk back towards his family. Molly stood up and walked toward him, meeting him in front of the coffin. She enclosed him in a hug, kissing him lightly on the forehead while the boys all crowded around the two of them, hugging whatever free limbs they could find.
“If it’s a boy, I want to him name him Ron,” Arthur whispered silently.
“I couldn’t imagine a better name,” Molly said as she led Arthur back toward their seat. The officiant said his last words, and Arthur joined Bilius, Gideon, Fabian, Edgar and Isaac Bones in the center. Together, they lifted the coffin and brought it toward the front of the house. Because it was December, the ground was too cold to bury the body; therefore, the Auror office agreed to store the coffin until it could be buried in Godric Hollow with the Bones family graves.
Molly stood up from her seat and turned to face the rest of the mourners.
“I’ve prepared a light breakfast for everyone – just some pastries, eggs, sausage, bacon, and the like – for everyone here who would like to stay,” she said loudly in the same voice she used to corral the boys when they were misbehaving.
She smiled before running back to the house, her children in tow, in the order to warm up the hot food and set up the buffet before the crowd descended on it.
***
“So when I die…”
“Ron, shut it. You’re seventeen and drunk,” Arthur said, taking another swig of firewhiskey. “You are not dying anytime soon.”
“I know,” Ron said. “But still. If I die, I don’t everyone sobbing at my funeral. Okay, maybe at the ceremony part, but I want the little shindig afterward to be a party.”
“I agree with ickle Ronniekins,” Bilius said as he clinked his glass with his younger brothers. “My funeral will be a party.”
“I suppose you have the right idea,” Arthur relented finally. Bilius gave his brother a pat on the back as they promptly took another drink.
“We should agree to make each other’s funerals the biggest Weasley family bashes ever.”
All three nodded, none of them realizing that at some point, there would only be one Weasley brother living, that one brother having sat through his brother’s funerals and having none of his brothers to sit through his. Drunkenness tended to obscure these harsh realities, making it possible for all three brothers to attend the funerals of the other two.
“I’ll pull streamers out of my dick,” Bilius said. “Multi-colored ones.”
“Molly would kill you,” Arthur said, laughing.
“But little Billy would think I’m the coolest uncle in the world.”
“True,” Arthur agreed. “But you might scar the kid for life.”
“I don’t want streamers,” Ron said. “That’s too easy. I want something bigger…like this.”
Ron pulled out a large, pink umbrella from under the neighboring stool.
“That’s mine,” a gruff voice said, snatching it away.
“Sorry about that, Hagrid,” Ron said. “Thanks for bringing me out here tonight, again.”
Hagrid nodded, taking another swig of his drink. “It’s yer seventeenth. Of course yeh should celebrate with yer brothers.”
“I’ll pull a pink umbrella out especially for you, Ron,” Bilius said cheekily.
“Sounds fair. Let’s see, for you Arthur, I’ll dance naked in front of Molly. And for you, Billy, I’ll dance naked in front of her brother Fabian.”
“Please, don’t try to blind my wife for life,” Arthur said. “And what would your precious Amelia think?”
“I’d tell Amy it’s a brother’s duty.”
Bilius laughed. “I’ll take that, just to see Gideon’s reaction.”
Arthur sighed. “Fine, but keep your trousers on. For everyone’s sake.”
The three brothers laughed.
“What are you going to do, Arthur?” Bilius asked.
“Please don’t tell us the married life has made you too proper for this kind of thing,” Ron said. “Molly’s converted you, hasn’t she?”
“Wait till Amelia gets to you,” Arthur said.
“We plan on waiting – we both want to start a career before settling down. And don’t change the subject, Arthur Charles Septimus Weasley.”
“I’ll…” Arthur considered his options for a moment. “I’ll stand next to Bilius while he’s streamer pulling and next to you while you’re dancing naked, playing the kazoo.”
“Dancing around with Bilius’s pink umbrella,” Ron said.
“While wearing a pink hat,” Bilius added.
“Sounds fair,” Arthur said. “Shall we drink on that?”
The other two brothers nodded, and the three took large swigs of their drinks.
***
Arthur nodded at Billy, Gideon, Fabian, Edgar, and Isaac before walking back toward the Burrow. He entered the kitchen to see Molly standing over the stove, organizing the children. Arthur put his arms around her, planting a kiss on her cheek.
“How are you doing, Mollywobbles?” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper on the last word.
“I would be better, Arthur,” Molly said, pushing Arthur away, “if you would stop your eldest son from trying to carry in that hot bowl of eggs. He’s going to burn himself.”
Arthur nodded obediently before moving over to Bill. With a smile, Arthur waved his wand, levitating all the hot plates and bringing them out to the yard.
“Be careful, Arthur!” Molly yelled. The boys laughed, following Arthur out of the kitchen as he successfully brought the dishes to the buffet table. With the exception of one piece of bacon and a few sausages, everything made it there in one piece. All his boys applauded for him, and Arthur gave them a little bow.
He then quickly organized the boys. He sent Fred and George to greet the guests; he knew that the troublesome twins would love the attention and Molly would appreciate the peace and quiet in the kitchen. Percy, Charlie, and Bill began to set the table, the older brothers taking turns at lifting Percy up so he could see the top of the table. Arthur, meanwhile, joined his brother Bilius where he was talking with Cornelius Fudge, a portly bloke who Arthur knew had political ambitions even larger than his waistband.
“Artie, how are the children doing?” Fudge said, clapping his hand around Arthur’s shoulder. Bilius and Arthur exchanged a sideways glance; no one had ever called Arthur Artie, not even their dotty grandmother.
“Wonderful,” Arthur replied stiffly.
Fudge looked ready to offer some inflated form of condolences when Molly’s voice echoed through the yard.
“Arthur, would you please grab the extra table from the shed?” Molly yelled. “And the chairs too.”
Arthur nodded to Bilius and Fudge before he raced over to the shed. Bilius shot him a deadly glare, but it softened at the sight of Fabian.
“Save your boyfriend; he’s getting pitiful,” Arthur whispered in Fabian’s ears, getting a laugh out of his brother-in-law.
“Hello, Corny Fudgy,” Fabian shouted loudly. “It’s such a treat that you could finally meet my boyfriend.”
Arthur laughed as he imagined Fudge stuttering at the sight of the openly flamboyant couple. He entered the shed, shutting the door behind him. He began searching for the table when he heard a soft knocking on the door.
“I’ll have the table out soon, honey, just give me a minute to find it,” Arthur said.
“I believe you might have mistaken my identity,” said a soft voice as the door creaked opened. Arthur was shocked to find Albus Dumbledore standing in his shed, examining a battery carefully.
“Good morning, Professor,” Arthur said, banging his head on the workbench as he tried to stand up quickly. “It’s nice to see you.”
“You have quite the collection of things here,” Dumbledore said, looking around the room. “This clock, it reminds me of the one you have in your kitchen – Molly was showing it to me earlier.”
Dumbledore gestured toward a gold, old-fashioned mantel clock. Instead of number, it displayed various locations – Home, Office, Mission, and Court, among others. It was clearly unfinished – the gold plating that Arthur was planning to use to conceal the inner mechanics of the clock was sitting beside it on the table and the clock was missing its hands.
“It was a wedding present for Ron and Amelia,” Arthur said quietly. “It’s my own design – you place the hair of the couple in a small area in the back. The original hands form from there, and the hair allows the clock to keep track of location. More hands form as the couple has children – if you look in the kitchen, there’s a little hand sprouting from Molly’s to show that she’s expecting. Our hair – our essence, basically – is in all our children, so it keeps track of their locations through that.”
“It’s brilliant, Arthur. You were always mechanically gifted.” Arthur blushed as Dumbledore continued. “Essentially it is run by love – beautifully symbolic.”
“Thank you, Professor,” Arthur said. “Do you need anything? We have a toilet in the house if you were looking for that.”
Dumbledore laughed, his eyes twinkling. “I just wanted to tell you that your speech was meaningful. Your brother would have been proud.”
“Thank you.”
“I also wanted to ask if you would be willing to play a greater role in the war effort. I presume that you have heard of the Order of the Phoenix, from your extended family.”
“Of course. I thought it was just a legend until Fabian and Gideon, and later Ron, joined after Hogwarts.”
“Your skills – both yours and Molly’s – are immense, and I believe that the two of you would make a wonderful addition to our little group.”
Arthur’s face was filled with disbelief, his jaw slackening. “I can’t believe this, Professor. It’s quite an honor.”
“I suppose it would be.”
There was silence for several minutes as Arthur considered Dumbledore’s words. He had always thought about doing something more, had always wanted to. But then he and Molly had eloped, Molly three months pregnant with Bill. After Bill came Charlie, for they wanted another child, and the cycle seemed to repeat itself, their little family continuing to grow.
“But I can’t do this, Professor. Not now,” Arthur said finally. “The kids are still young – they need their father. If something happened to me, I could never forgive myself. Molly…she needs me as much as I need her. Maybe when the kids are at Hogwarts and they don’t need us as much.”
“I understand,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “If things are not resolved in the distant future, I presume that I can call on you and Molly again.”
“Yes. We want to help, just not now. I don’t want to speak for Molly, but the kids are our first priority.”
Dumbledore patted Arthur on his shoulder before opening the door to the shed.
“It looks like your lovely wife is looking for that table you promised,” Dumbledore said, his twinkling. Molly walked into the shed, glancing at Arthur and Dumbledore. With a wave, Dumbledore shut the door, leaving the two alone.
“I guess you heard everything,” Arthur said quietly, looking nervously at his feet.
“Most of it. Everything from the love clock and on.”
“If you don’t agree with me…sorry about speaking for you...you look lovely, by the way,” Arthur muttered, babbling nervously. He felt the same way he did the first time they met, too awkward to say anything but the word “pretty” and “wobbles”.
“Oh, Arthur,” Molly said, throwing her arms around him. “I love you, you know.”
Arthur blushed as his wife grabbed his hair with one hand, the other sliding around his neck, pulling him downward. He could smell the lingering scent of breakfast in her hair, could taste the sweet stickiness of orange juice on her lips. He lifted his pregnant wife up, placing her on the table, sending several batteries falling to the ground. Arthur just kicked them out of the way.
His kisses moved gradually down her neck, towards her belly. Molly unbuttoned several of his buttons on his robes, moving her hand downward. Arthur blushed slightly, but continuing in his pursuit, shifting her long skirt upward. It was almost perfect, except for the deafening crash of the door, and the sound of glass shattering.
Arthur and Molly broke apart suddenly, both vividly red. Molly pulled down her skirt, while Arthur buttoned his robes, fussing with his hair nervously.
“Fabian, I didn’t know our sister was a rabbit. That must make us part rabbit,” Gideon said, grinning mischievously at his sister and brother-in-law.
“You’re right, Gideon, though I’ll never be able to think of this place in the same way again,” Fabian said, sighing dramatically. “You weren’t too noisy, much better than that time in the kitchen of Mum’s house.”
“They have been learning. But now you and Bilius have the perfect place to seek off to. And you two should really have a system. Put a sock on the door or throw Molly’s bra out the door or something.”
“You’re lucky we like you, Arthur, or you would have been dead by now.”
“Don’t try to produce number seven before number six comes out.”
“And don’t hurt Molly.”
“Or we will kill you.”
Gideon and Fabian smiled at each other, while Molly and Arthur stared at them silently.
“We’ll let you two lovebirds carry on. Let us know, Molly, when you really need help bringing out the table.”
And with a high-five, Gideon and Fabian exited the shed, laughing loudly.
“It’s nothing,” Gideon yelled from outside. “Molly and Arthur are just looking for buried treasure in hidden corners.”
Arthur turned to face his wife.
“Let’s just grab the table before your brothers massacre all of my dignity,” Arthur said, pulling out his wand. In his attempt to summon the table, he sent a large stack of plugs flying toward them. Arthur quickly shielded Molly, who already had produced a Shield Charm. She sighed as she kissed Arthur on the cheek.
“We can continue this later,” she whispered seductively as she grabbed a folding chair and exited the shed. Arthur blushed even brighter as he followed her out with the table. Four young men went up to Arthur.
“We’ll take the table for you,” said one of the men. He had black hair that stuck up in twenty directions, his glasses sliding down his nose. He and his other black haired friend grabbed the table and set it up. Their one friend, who was wearing shabby brown robes, had already taken the chair from Molly and was attempting to get her to sit down. The fourth friend, a shorter man, was in the shed grabbing additional chairs from Gideon and Fabian.
“Thank you,” Arthur said.
“I will be just fine,” Molly said to the young man who had helped her with the chair. “I have done this four times before and lifting up a little chair is not going to hurt anyone.”
“Please excuse my wife,” Arthur said, coming up behind Molly. “She really does appreciate your help.”
“Of course,” Molly replied, glaring at her husband.
“Arthur Weasley,” he said, extending his hand to the young man.
“Remus Lupin,” he replied, shaking Arthur’s hand. “You must be Ron’s brother. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Molly said kindly. “We really appreciate you being here. I’m Molly, Arthur’s wife. Our five boys should be running around somewhere.”
Arthur turned around to see the two black haired men talking to Fred and George.
“What are your names?” one of them asked.
“Fwed.”
“George.”
“Well, I’m Sirius, and next to me is my friend James. James is going to be a daddy soon, did you know?”
“Congwats,” Fred replied.
“Daddies good,” George added, pointing toward to his father. Arthur beamed brightly at Molly.
“Well, I hope I am,” James said. “So, what you do you two like to do? Play games? Or read, maybe?”
“Pull pwanks,” George said with a smirk.
“And cause twouble.”
“Well, guess who always used to pull pranks when they were younger,” James said.
“You mean, still do,” Sirius said, grabbing Lupin and the other friend. “The four of us caused a lot of trouble at Hogwarts.”
Lupin laughed. “Yes and we haven’t stopped since.”
“No one could ever prank us,” Sirius said cockily.
“We pwank you,” Fred said, his hands on his hips.
“We vewy good.”
“Of course you are,” James said, patting them on the head.
“Here’s the deal,” Sirius said, bending down in front of them. “If you two can manage to prank the four of us, I’ll give you… a whoopee cushion.”
“Two,” Fred said.
“Sounds fair. I’m not too worried about losing anyway.”
“You should be,” a pregnant red-haired woman said, walking next to James. “According to their mummy, they are very clever.”
Fred and George toddled over to the woman, hugging her legs.
Molly smiled, grabbing Arthur’s arm. “How are you feeling, Lily?” Molly asked the woman.
“Decent,” Lily replied, smiling. “This must be your husband.”
“Yes,” Arthur said. “I’m Arthur. Pleasure to meet you. Molly, do you need any help in the kitchen?”
“The food’s all set, just need to get people up and eating.”
“I’ll do that,” Arthur said. “Why don’t you sit down with the kids? I’ll help the younger ones makes their plates and I’ll grab some food for you.”
Molly kissed Arthur on the cheek as she went to find a seat in the middle of the long table, not before winking at Lily and James. James suddenly straightened up.
“Sit down, Lily. I’ll get you food,” James said quickly.
Arthur laughed, patting James on the shoulder.
“She’ll have you trained soon enough. It’ll be instinctual before you know it.”
Arthur found Percy first; he was predictably sitting in the corner of the yard with a picture book, reading. He helped Percy find a safe place to store Johnny’s First Broomstick and gave him a small plate with eggs and a muffin, for Percy was always fussy about eating meat. Bill and Charlie were old enough to serve themselves for the most part, though at six, Charlie still needed a hand with some of the heavier items.
It took Arthur the longest to find the twins. After searching in all their favorite areas in the yard, he finally found the pair down by where James Potter and his friends with sitting. They crawled out from under the table, laughing silently amongst themselves.
“Are you two causing trouble again?” Arthur asked, picking up one twin in each arm.
“Stand,” Fred said, pointing at the four friends.
“Pwank,” George added, he and Fred slapping each other’s hands.
Arthur sighed before turning to James. “Do you and Lily want any more food? Everyone’s already gotten their first helpings.”
“That sounds great,” Sirius said, stretching his arms out. He pulled out his seat and attempted to stand up. At that moment, all four friends fell to the ground.
“What was that?” Peter asked, massaging his head.
Lily was laughing loudly. “Your shoelaces are tied together. I believe you owe two boys some whoopee cushions.”
Fred and George were beaming, their hands outstretched.
“Oh alright,” Sirius said, sighing dramatically as he untied himself from James and Remus. With a flick of his wand, he produced two identical, multicolored whoopee cushions. He walked over to Arthur and handed one to each of the boys.
“You got us,” Sirius said. “Congrats you two. I’m sure you’ll be giving Minerva McGonagall quite the headache. Arthur, I hope you don’t mind the dozens of school letter you’ll be getting because of these two.”
“Dozens?” Arthur said. “I was predicting hundreds, to be honest.”
Fred and George nodded in agreement.
“Good luck with those two,” Sirius said as Arthur brought the twins over to where Molly and the older boys were sitting. Fred and George quickly began showing their prizes to Bill and Charlie. Arthur sat down next to Molly, wrapping his arm around her chair. Molly leaned her head on his left arm while Arthur ate his eggs and sausage voraciously.
“Hey Dolly Molly,” Bilius said, sitting down across from Arthur, placing Percy on his lap. Percy beamed, hugging his uncle around the neck.
“Hello Bilius,” Molly said.
“Hey Billy,” Arthur said between bites of sausage.
“Just came to tell your husband that he needs to finish eating soon,” Bilius said. “We have a few things to do. Remember your hat and instrument.”
“What are you talking about, Bilius?” Molly asked, glancing at Arthur in confusion.
“Yeah, Billy. What are you talking about?”
“Ronnie’s seventeenth birthday. Your promise.”
Molly’s lips tightened. “You mean that night of pointless, belligerent drinking. I’ve never seen Arthur so hung over; he spent the next day in the bathroom.”
Arthur wracked his brain, trying to getting past the fuzzy, alcohol-tinged memories.
“You mean, those stupid things,” Arthur said, laughing. “You’re not serious.”
“I am,” Bilius said. “It’ll be fun. And we need some fun.”
Arthur nodded as he began to scarf down his eggs more rapidly that before. Molly just sighed, rolling her eyes at her husband and glaring at her brother-in-law. Bilius just smiled back at Molly, blowing her a kiss and hugging Percy before getting up.
“I’ll be preparing my act,” Bilius said. “You’ll be able to find me.”
“What is this all about?” Molly said, extracting herself from Arthur’s arm and turning to glare at him, hands on her hips.
“It’s a brother’s duty,” Arthur said quietly. “Ron didn’t want a boring after party.”
“Just no public nudity in the front of the children,” Molly said.
“There won’t be any from me, but I can’t say anything for Billy.”
Molly just sighed as her husband stood up to join his older brother. Arthur winked back before running to the shed to see where his kazoo had went – it was on the table, but then it might have been misplaced from his little adventure with Molly.
***
“So I finally get the opportunity to meet the woman that managed to turn my big brother lovesick.”
“Yes, Ronald Weasley,” Molly said, sighing as Ron slid next to her on one of the couches in the Gryffindor common room.
“So, as per brother’s duty, it is my job to make sure that you are suitable for Arthur. He’s delicate yet whimsical, and needs a woman who can both control him yet comfort him.” Ron winked at Molly, placing his arm around her.
“Can’t Arthur figure this all for himself? And what the hell does brother’s duty have to do with anything?” Molly pushed Ron’s arm away and turned to glare at him. “You can trust me, Ron.”
“Arthur is more than my brother, Molly – he’s my best friend,” Ron said seriously. “It’s my job to make sure he’s happy. I don’t want him to get hurt. If I don’t, who will?”
“Do you honestly think I would ever do anything to hurt Arthur? I love him more than anything in the world. I want to marry him someday, have his children. I can watch out for him, take care of him.”
“Good. If you care for him enough, you’ll let me interrogate you for the next few hours. This isn’t just for my benefit – it’s for Arthur’s and Bilius’s, who can’t be here himself to do this. I have to tell him how great you are, to convince him to do what he’s wanted to do for the past few months.”
“He’s going to propose?” Molly asked excitedly, touching her ring finger nervously.
“Possibly, if this goes well. But I doubt foresee any problems. Just have to check.”
“Brother’s duty,” Molly replied.
“Precisely. So when did you and Arthur meet? And please omit the dirty bits; my brain can’t handle it.”
***
Molly Weasley could barely hide her frustration with Bilius Weasley – he was honestly a terrible influence on all her boys, especially Arthur.
When Bilius first began to unzip his fly, Molly thought he must have had a little too much to drink and forgot where the proper receptacles for bodily actions were. When the streamers first started coming out, Bill and Charlie immediately ran over to their uncle, quickly followed by Percy and twins. After pulling a horrid pink hat, which Arthur quickly put on his head, he began to pull out umbrella after umbrella in various colors.
That wasn’t the worst of it. Arthur had brought out that stupid kazoo of his and started playing a discordant mishmash of notes. Her young boys just laughed and began dancing around with their umbrellas. Arthur, meanwhile, had just pulled an umbrella from his brother’s nether regions and was doing an Irish jig of his own.
“You know, Ron would be eating this up right now. He hated funerals,” a gruff voice said. Molly turned to her side to see a middle-aged man with graying hair sitting next to her, tapping his foot to the uneven rhythm of Arthur’s playing.
At Molly’s confusion, the man continued talking. “Alastor Moody – I trained Ron when he first started with us and he was my partner for the past two years. He hated seeing his family upset, so seeing his brothers enjoying themselves would have made him happy.”
Molly nodded, a weak smile appearing on her face. “Nice to meet you, Alastor. And I know Ron would agree with you. Brother’s duty, after all.”
Moody nodded in agreement before getting up and walking toward the Potters. Molly stood up shortly afterward, going to join her husband and children in their dance. She grabbed Arthur and began waltzing with him.
“Molly?” Arthur asked incredulously.
“Who else?” she said.
“You’re not mad?” Arthur’s eyebrows were raised, his face filled with shock.
“No. Ron would want this,” Molly said as she leaned in to kiss him gently on the lips. ”Just tell Bilius to pull his fly up; I don’t want my children to go blind.”
Arthur laughed, his voice echoing through the yard and sweeping gently over Ron’s coffin.
Arthur Weasley- Posts : 1931
Join date : 2011-01-17
Location : Smiling happily about something related to Molly
Re: Teresa's Fanfic
Molly Prewett May 13th 2011, 6:08 am
That was so sweet and well done!
Even though it's such a sad premise I couldn't help but laugh at most of it because it was so humorous and cute!
*loved*
Even though it's such a sad premise I couldn't help but laugh at most of it because it was so humorous and cute!
*loved*
Molly Prewett- Ringmaster
- Posts : 22061
Join date : 2010-03-06
Age : 40
Location : Like, wherever
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