Carrying on

Hi, I've not done a FanFiction for a very long time so I wanted to do a nice little fiction between Hermione and Mrs Weasley. This is set after the end of the second war and I always saw Molly providing some emotional support for Hermione.

Disclaimer- I wish these people belonged to me, I am just eternally grateful to J.K. Rowling for allowing us to play in her sand pit.

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Molly Weasley bustled about the kitchen idly. She was simply keeping herself busy as the family was in asleep. She tried not to think of all the horrors of the previous two weeks, defeating Voldermort, losing her son. She marvelled at how they had all come together, she was eternally grateful for the children.

And Arthur.

She didn't think she would be able to hold it together without him.

With a quick swish of her wand the plates stacked themselves into cupboards. She looked around the gleaming kitchen and with a sigh realised she should get some rest. Flicking out the lights as she left she heard a small sob as she started up the stairs. A singular candle flickered in the darkness of the living room. A figure with a mess of curls was bundled on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, despite the warmth of the evening, shaking as she cried quietly to herself.

"Hermione? " Hermione spun around, startled by Molly's appearance. She turned away ashamed, continuing to stare at the flickering flames. "Hermione, dear what's the matter?" Molly asked moving onto the sofa next to her.

"It, it's nothing Mrs Weasley" she said hoarsely

Molly frowned, "Then why are you crying?" she asked softly

She sniffed, opening her mouth to start. A look of shame crossed her face "He keeps crying, I try and help but he pushes me away. I thought I could help him" A sob escapes her lips "I don't know if I can be strong enough for both of us"

Molly was stunned by this young girls confession. She was devastating herself over her youngest son. "Oh, my poor girl. You shouldn't worry about such things. He'll come around."

"But I care about him so much and it hurts to see him like this" Molly was not in the least bit shocked by this admission. She had watched the two dance around their feelings for several years. She was ecstatic at how close they had become, the looks they shared in the Room of Requirement were those shared by soul mates. Hermione buried her face in her hands as tears poured down her cheeks. "How do you manage? Fred was buried three days ago and here you are listening to a silly little girls moan and..."

"No, don't you dare talk like that. You are a member of this family and you are allowed to grieve like a member of this family." Molly said sternly

"But he won't let me in" she cried "I want him to shout, scream do something to let me know he cares. All he does is bottle it up and hides himself away."

Molly sighed "Give him time dear, he can't hold it in forever, I wanted to after," she paused briefly gathering herself, " after Gideon and Fabien were killed. But Arthur was there for me. He let me cry. He would be there for me in the night when I woke up crying. He would hold me when I was so sure I would lose Ginny and the boys too. He was always there for me when I needed to yell, and scream that it wasn't fair. He would try and make me smile by joking with the babies." A small smile played at Hermione's lips, "and now he's there again, now Fred's...Fred's gone. I don't know where I would be without him"

A solemn silence fell over them "We have hardly begun trying to be together" Hermione said, very quietly, almost as a whisper.

"And you're scared that all of this will stop him trying?"

Hermione nodded quickly

"You have a good heart Hermione, follow it. And give him time. The pain won't go away completely. You have to try and fill in the space around it with some happiness. Otherwise you will be a very lonely bitter person"

"Thank you Mrs Weasley, and I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you"

"Oh, it was nothing," she said humbly, "Now let's get you calmed down and tidied up and then back to bed shall we" It was a statement of intent, not a question. Molly picked up the young girl leading her back towards the kitchen. After a cocoa and several tissues Hermione finally calmed down enough to go back upstairs.

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley"

"Goodnight Hermione," Molly with a smile as Hermione slipped back into Ginny's bedroom, the door clicking lightly behind her. The floor board creaked as she moved across the landing and into her own room.

"You're up late" Arthur muttered sleepily from underneath the covers.

"Just offering a few words of wisdom" she explained as she climbed under the bed covers.

"Aren't they getting a bit old to be mothered?" He yawned, wrapping an arm around his wife.

"You can never stop mothering them, even when you don't mean too. Sometimes they notice, sometimes they don't. No matter what, you need to make sure you will always be there for them."

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So let me know what you think and please review, let me know what I can improve and what you liked.

Tauri888