Molly looked at her son sleeping on the couch in the living room, not a care in the world.

He deserves it, Molly thought as she was washing the dishes. He's been through a lot. I'm going to do it, now, though.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione had gotten back from the battle of Hogwarts, Harry found Mrs. Weasley and decided to tell her what he had seen when Ron was destroying the Horcrux. She was appalled to think her youngest son thought she didn't love him as much as his siblings.

Even now, a week later, it made her stomach clench and tears brim her eyes.

How could he think that? She thought.

Without another word, she walked up to the couch and gently tapped his shoulder, bringing him out of his sleep. She sat down on the couch, facing Ron.

"Do you need anything? Am I in trouble?" Ron asked his mother, as he was sitting up.

"No, don't need anything, and you're not in trouble. Why?" Molly asked.

"Because it always seems you call me when you need something or I've done something that I need to be punished for."

Hermione came down the stairs for a cup of tea while the rest of the boys, Fleur and Ginny were all outside playing Quidditch. She was just about to put the kettle on when she heard Ron and Mrs. Weasley.

"I love you, you know that?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I guess." Ron shrugged. "Why does it matter?"

"Because Harry told me about what he saw when you were killing that thing."

Ron cursed his best friend under his breath, and started to get up, not wanting to have this conversation with his mother. He knew how it was going to end. Her saying she wanted Harry instead of him, and he didn't want to be around to hear it.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter," Ron said.

Molly pulled his arm and brought him back down onto the couch.

"Yes, it does!" Molly shouted.

The group that was coming in from Quidditch walked through the door, making a small amount of noise. Hermione quickly shushed them, wanting to hear the conversation, and they all took steps out of the sight of the doorway, wanting to hear what was going on.

"Why does it matter?" Ron asked.

"Because it's not true! I would never trade you for Harry, not in a million years. Why would you think that I don't love you?" Molly asked.

Hermione clapped hands over her mouth to keep her sobs from coming out. The whole group looked at Harry. He couldn't feel guiltier in his life than right then. He was glad Molly and Ron were talking about it, but that didn't make him feel any less guilty for having to hear and see what Ron's fear was when he was destroying the Horcrux.

"Because I'm nothing special," Ron answered. "I stole the car in second year. I barely got through Hogwarts. I left Harry and Hermione—"

"Ron." Molly was now crying, and she saw tears threatening to fall in Ron's eyes as well. "Yes, the car was your fault. Yes, you weren't always the best student. You left them but you came back. That's all that matters. You pulled Harry out of the lake. You helped defeat Voldemort, there are a ton of different reasons why I love you."

"I didn't help defeat him. That was all Harry. Whenever us three walk by, it's always, "The Boy Who Lived" and "The smartest witch of her age". Nobody cares about the sidekick."

Ginny held Hermione back when she was about to walk out and scream to Ron that he was important, that they couldn't have done it without him.

"Look, I know I act like I don't love you sometimes. That things can get a little complicated here, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. I love you and your brothers and Ginny equally," Molly said, holding her son. "When did this all start?"

"When I brought Harry home, and you were raving about him, and yelling at me. From then on it always seemed like Harry was the one you wanted as a son. You seemed to love Bill and Charlie and Percy and Fred and George because they were all perfect and funny, and Ginny's the first girl in how many generations? Harry came in and it seemed that he was going to take my place," Ron said, throat tight, and tears coming down his face.

Ron's brothers looked at each other, feeling terrible. They were part of the reason that Ron felt like he had no love from Molly and Arthur? They were all too busy getting everything, that it seemed that Ron was left out, barely getting any attention from his parents except to be yelled at.

"I want to believe you, Mum, but there's a gut feeling that if the Grim Reaper showed up right now and offered a trade that you could get Fred back if you gave him me, something tells me that you'd make that trade," Ron admitted.

"I would never. You're just as important as your other siblings. I miss Fred. I miss him so much, but that doesn't mean I'm going to trade you for him or for Harry. Harry grew up with a wretched family, and I just wanted to take him in. I'm sorry if you felt alone. I'm sorry that you feel that way. I never meant to hurt you."

Ron shrugged like it was no big deal. But, honestly, it was. Because for the first time in a long time, it felt like she actually loved him. She wasn't yelling at him, or telling him to do something, or even telling him how glad he and Harry are best friends. It was just them.

Molly brought her son into a bone-crushing hug, and held him tight, whispering how much she loved him, and how she was so proud of him.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you too, Mum," Ron replied.

At dinner, four hours later, everyone took their usual place. Except Ron. Mrs. Weasley had asked Arthur to switch with Ron for that night. Just for that one night.

Mr. Weasley, confused as to what had been going on that day, didn't question it, but moved over next to where Hermione was sitting. Molly and Ron just smiled at each other the whole night, much to the content of the Weasley family, Harry and Hermione.

After dinner, Ron caught up to Harry.

"Uh, thanks…mate," Ron said awkwardly. "Without you…"

"Don't mention it," Harry said. "I'm glad your mum talked to you. Don't ever think she doesn't love you as much as she loves Bill or Charlie or Percy or George or Ginny or me. Because that's a lie."

"It just seemed sometimes that she wanted you more than a son. And I didn't know that Horcrux would do that. I didn't want you to be there after you saw the, "Least loved by a mother who craved a daughter" part."

"Yeah, well, I'm glad I did. Because she does love you. She's proven that over and over again. Her boggart was actually her children dead. I walked in on you on the ground dead once and really confused. But, she does love you."

"Just, thanks, Harry," Ron said.

"Anybody want to tell me what that was about?" Arthur asked, very confused.

"You had to be there today," Bill said, clapping his father on the shoulder and floo-ing back to his house with Fleur.

"Nothing you need to worry about," George said, going upstairs to his room.

Mrs. Weasley gave her husband a kiss on the cheek.

"It was nothing. Ron and I just had a talk," Molly said.

"Hermione and I are actually gonna head back to the flat," Ron said, kissing his mother on the cheek and hugging her. "I love you."

"I love you too. Don't ever think otherwise," Molly whispered into her youngest son's hair. Ron just hugged her tighter, and Molly patted his back.

"I love you, Mum, very much."

"I know," she said. "I know. I'm glad you're my son. I couldn't be prouder."

Molly and Ron pulled away and he gave her another kiss on the cheek as he and Hermione floo-ed away, leaving Arthur, Molly, Harry, Ginny, Percy and Charlie in the living room.

"I love you all, never think I don't," Molly said, turning to everybody.

She went upstairs to her bedroom and looked at the enchanted picture she had of her six sons, daughter, husband and herself next to her side of the bed. She kissed Ron's picture, and whispered a good-night to him, glad she had the talk, and that he knew how much she loved him.