Summary: Follow Molly and Arthur, post The Boy Who Lived, as they try to deal with their empty nest syndrome, accept Fred and George's choice of wedding, and finally come to terms with what their family has become.
Don't read this until after you have read Chapter 24 of The Boy Who Lived, or you will be sorely disappointed!
Categories: General Fics Characters: None
Warnings: Alternate Universe
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 1
Completed: Yes
Word count: 2002
Read: 1705
Published: 08/24/06
Updated: 08/29/06
1. Reflections by Khrys
Author's Notes:
Author’s Note: J.K. Rowling created the world in which I work. Everything Harry is hers alone.
“You’re being absurd,” Arthur repeated for the third time, stroking her hair to calm her.
Molly, who was not calming down in the slightest, let the subject drop. She squirmed out of Arthur’s reach, moving to the far end of the sofa where she sat with her arms folded across her chest. She wasn’t mad at Arthur; she wasn’t even upset with him. Far from it, on the contrary. Molly felt useless.
It had been only a few weeks since they had returned from Romania where they had attended Charlie’s wedding. Upon their return, Molly and Arthur had both noticed how different the Burrow felt without any children present.
Arthur took this new atmosphere in stride, accepting that his children were happy on their own, promptly barricaded himself in his new shop and started tinkering with the new Ford Anglia that he had recently acquired. When he realized he had been spending entirely too much time with his precious Muggle car parts, Arthur would wander back into the main house.
Molly, on the other hand, simply felt inept. With out Ron, whose appetite was legendary, Molly had only to cook for her and Arthur “ when he remembered to leave the shop. Without Fred and George causing small explosions every five minutes, she had nothing to clean up “ save for the grease Arthur tracked in from the shop. With all of her sons married, or capable of doing their own laundry, Molly didn’t even have any dirty clothes to pick up.
Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes as she thought about her children. Each and every one of them had proved to be amazing in their own right. Arthur noticed a single tear slide down Molly’s cheek and decided that it was time to talk about their new life.
“Molly,” Arthur said quietly, reaching out for her. When she wouldn’t move closer, he slid across the sofa and took her into his arms. “Don’t cry, Mollywobbles. We’ll work it out.”
“What do you mean?” Molly asked between wiping her eyes with a kerchief and blowing her nose loudly.
“I think we need to have a good long talk,” Arthur began. “Then, we need to take a vacation.”
“A talk and a vacation?” Molly exclaimed. “You think that will cure everything?”
“No,” Arthur replied simply. “I think it will show you that there isn’t anything to be upset about.”
Molly sniffed loudly, as if daring Arthur to try and cure her sadness. “All of my children are gone.”
“All of them?” Arthur asked quizzically. “Really?”
“Yes,” Molly snapped, not meaning to take her feelings of frustration out on Arthur, but doing so none-the-less. “Really.”
“Gone?” Arthur clarified.
“Gone,” Molly retorted. “They’re not here, are they? Not one of them.”
“Let’s examine where they are. Shall I start with Bill?” Arthur suggested, and without waiting for a reply, he launched into his spiel. “He’s got a good job…”
“In Egypt,” Molly interrupted. “He’s so far from home.”
“…that he loves, and he’s only an Apparation point away,” Arthur finished, reminding Molly gently.
“He’s heartbroken,” Molly declared dramatically, sinking into the sofa. “He’s still not over Fleur.”
“I think you’re right,” Arthur agreed, surprising Molly and causing her to sit up and listen carefully. “He’s not over her. I don’t think he ever will be. She was a Veela, you know.” Arthur paused, trying to word his next statement carefully. “The important thing is that he’s back out in the world, trying to put it behind him.”
“I miss him,” Molly admitted. “I miss arguing with him over the length of his hair and that ridiculous fang earring.”
“Do you remember when he first came home with that earring?” Arthur reminisced. “You threw a fit, he held his ground, and it was a row unlike any that you two had had before it.”
“He finally gave in,” Molly sighed, shaking her head. “He took out the earring, but the next time he came home he had one that was twice as large.”
“The look on your face was priceless,” Arthur chuckled.
“What a silly thing to argue about,” Molly admitted. Then she turned to Arthur with sad eyes. “I do miss him so.”
“I’m sure he misses us too,” Arthur reflected. “He needs to do this for himself. He can’t stay here forever, with all the memories, and wallow in the past. He needs to get out and experience all that life has to offer him. Charlie, on the other hand, has already gone out and found himself what life has to offer.”
“That poor girl,” Molly interjected. “If anyone needs to be here right now and know what it feels like to be part of a family, it’s her. Her mother was the most atrocious woman I’ve ever met. I won’t even begin to put my feelings about her father into words. She needs to be-”
“Molly,” Arthur chided, sounding scandalized at her tone. “She needs to know what it’s like to be a wife for a while. Give her a few months before we induct her into the family properly. Remember all of the trouble she had with Fred and George?”
“Oh my,” Molly exclaimed. “That poor girl must have thought I’d lost it, what with the horrible things I whispered in her ear.” Molly giggled at the recollection. “It was all I could do not to banish them to Siberia in those ridiculous tutus.”
“She handled it rather well,” Arthur observed. “Don’t you think?”
“You mean, after you tried to banish the tutus and Fred and George were standing in our garden starkers singing Muggle show tunes? Yes, I think she handled it very well,” Molly quipped.
Arthur laughed openly at the memory. “It was quite a sight, wasn’t it?”
“One I will never forget,” Molly agreed, chuckling.
“The twins seem happy,” Arthur threw out casually. “With the business, I mean.”
“They do,” Molly agreed. “We’ll have one more wedding here soon, I should think.”
“Now, Molly,” Arthur warned. “Don’t pressure them. You know that Fred and George were planning on taking Angelina and Katie to Los Vages.”
“Las Vegas, dear,” Molly corrected, her face registering resigned disappointment.
“Las Vegas,” Arthur amended. “Right. They want to get married by that El vez bloke. George said something about a hunk of flaming love, I think. El vez must be some sort of Official in the US Ministry of Magic.”
“El vez? You mean Elvis? They’re getting married by an Elvis?” Molly cried. “Surely you’re not serious Arthur?”
“Who is this El vez character?” Arthur asked, thoroughly confused at Molly’s reaction.
“Elvis was a Muggle singer. Gideon, Fabian and I got to see him perform with the USO girls when he was here during the War.” Molly stopped talking and rubbed at her eyes with the kerchief again before continuing. “He was amazing and talented, but he died long ago. Fred and George are talking about having an impersonator perform the ceremony.”
“A what?” Arthur bellowed. “Surely not like those people who were selling those fake medallions? I don’t want Fred and George to have anything to do with someone like that.”
“An impersonator,” Molly explained, sounding slightly like Hermione, “is someone who pretends to be someone else to entertain a crowd.”
“Like using Polyjuice Potion?” Arthur asked.
“A little,” Molly conceded.
Arthur’s face flushed at the thought, but quickly realized that it meant a trip to the States and a chance to fly in a Muggle airplane, if he could convince Molly.
Molly watched the expression change on her husband’s face several times before settling on the fact that he had on his ‘Muggle Look’, as she called it. He often got a dreamy look when he was thinking about his Muggle contraptions.
“Of course we’ll take a Muggle airplane,” Molly announced reasonably.
“Well, of course,” Arthur agreed instantly, trying to hide his excitement and failing miserably. “It is entirely too far to Apparate at our age and we can’t afford an International Portkey.”
Too far to Apparate at our age? Who does he think he’s fooling? I know what he’s playing at. He wants to ride in an airplane. I’ll just string him along for a bit before I tell him I want to ride in an airplane too. I don’t want him to think he won too easily. “We can’t?” Molly scoffed. “I think we can. I think we can afford quite a few things we’ve been needing lately.”
“Oh.” Arthur deflated considerably. “An International Portkey.”
“I would like to take an airplane,” Molly divulged. “Wouldn’t you prefer to fly?”
Arthur looked like a young child with his enthusiastic nodding.
“Will Ron and Hermione be able to make the trip?” Molly wondered.
“Hermione’s due any day now,” Arthur reminded her. “She should be okay to travel with the baby next month. Did you hear Ron grousing about Hermione and her eating habits the last time they were here?”
“Molly nodded and smiled broadly. “I did. Who would have ever thought Ron would turn down food? Poor Hermione. I nearly smacked Ron myself when he made that gagging noise. It’s a good thing Ginny was sitting next to him.”
“Did Harry and Ginny mention whether or not they will make the trip?” Arthur asked.
“It will be close,” Molly fretted, “but Ginny insists on going.”
“What does Harry have to say about it?” Arthur asked, already knowing the answer.
“Does it matter?” Molly teased. “Actually, I think he encouraged her to go. The baby isn’t due for a few more months. Ginny said that she wouldn’t miss Fred and George’s double wedding for all of the chocolate in Honeydukes.”
Arthur raised his eyebrows. “That sounds serious. And, if I’m not mistaken, that’s everyone but Penelope and P.J.”
“Penelope won’t be able to make it,” Molly informed him. “She’ll be in the States, some place called Gnome. She has to go to a training seminar in order to become re-certified as a Healer. The seminar is mandatory, and if she doesn’t go to the one that is the week of Fred and George’s wedding, her certification will expire and she will lose her job at St. Mungos’.”
“What is she doing with P.J. while she’s in “Gnome, like the ones in the garden, right? - at the seminar?” Arthur wondered aloud.
“P.J. is coming with us. We’ll have him for two whole weeks,” Molly replied. “Won’t it be fun?”
“Fred and George are getting married,” Arthur chortled. “What other word could you possibly use to describe it?”
“Disastrous?” Molly offered worriedly.
“Could Fred and George sabotage their own wedding?” Arthur speculated. “I think that Angelina and Katie will have them make a promise of some sort. I’m sure that the threat of punishment from those two will keep them in line. I don’t think we need to worry.”
“It does seem that they have everything in order,” Molly admitted.
“No, everything is not in order,” Arthur argued. “We have one more thing to discuss.”
Molly, looking startled at Arthur’s directness, stammered for a moment before Arthur held up a hand to silence her.
“We’re going on a vacation, Molly. A real vacation. We’re going to stay in the finest inns, eat at the most expensive restaurants, watch each sunset in a different Country and sleep in every morning.”
Molly stared at Arthur as he finished his tirade. “A real vacation,” she whispered, “sounds wonderful.” Her eyes shone with a newly awakened respect. The man that she had married all those years ago had finally returned. Arthur; her knight in shabby robes.
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