So this is going to be a collection of drabbles, 500 words or less. This chapter is Molly with all her children.

Please review :) I hope you'll like these!

Crash

Dear Mum,

How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't written at all after that Floo call (and that was three weeks ago!) but my first month here has just been so busy.

Being a curse-breaker is every bit as exciting as I thought! The first two weeks were mostly training and I learnt some new spells, specific to the job. They sent us out into the desert to teach us survival skills for three days. I had to live on rations of spinach and palm water. We got lucky though. Another team didn't handle their rations properly and nearly had to eat bugs. It's insanely hot in Egypt. I'm so tanned, even you wouldn't recognise me. I didn't know it was better to wear full-sleeved shirts and ended up peeling half my skin off thanks to sunburn in the first week.

The desert's dangerous with its snakes and scorpions and stuff but the tombs are downright scary. I went into three pyramids this week (this letter's probably reaching you a couple of weeks after today though) and ran into an actual, walking mummy! I've made a new friend, Jason West. He's from Australia. He managed to Stun the mummy and we ran out of there as fast as we could. Mummies should be the worst of our worries, apparently. Those old Egyptian wizards rigged the pyramids up with all kinds of booby traps. There are old skeletons in some of the safe tombs that are definitely not human. But like Jason says, more the danger, more the gold. He's a great guy.

We just finished our first successful treasure hunt today. We got a good amount of gold from a minor prince's tomb and we only suffered a couple of cuts and bruises and a minor bite from a poisonous asp. We're okay though. Our trainer's really pleased; we're the first new team to find any treasure. I've enclosed a picture for you.

CRASH!

Molly's chair fell back loudly as she stood up suddenly, her eyes wide. She stared at the picture Bill had sent, clutching her heart. She gasped, not at the large pile of gold Bill was pointing and grinning at, but at the ripped jeans, muddy shirt and long ponytail that he – her perfect, Prefect, Head Boy, responsible little Bill – was sporting. And – she peered closely at the photo – was that a fang dangling from his ear?

Bill had always given her the least trouble of all her children. It looked like he was trying to make up for eighteen years' lack of it.

Soft

Charlie had always been the roughest and toughest of all her kids. Molly thought he did it on purpose. He agreed to the scariest dares, he picked fights with the meanest kids and took to caring for dragons just to cover up his softer side. He didn't like people knowing that he loved to draw or that could bake wonderful chocolate biscuits.

But years of frequent family visits and the charms of his young nieces and nephews had chipped away at his hard outer layers. He knew longer threw fellow shoppers dirty looks when he was out buying toys for the kids and he never missed a single birthday.

But then, there were days like today when Charlie rebuilt every single hard, impenetrable wall he could to protect his softer side in an instant. He had spent the whole war heroes' remembrance ceremony with his fists tightly clenched and his mouth set in a straight line. He didn't smile, he didn't cry, he didn't exchange a single pleasantry or condolence; he just stood there, stony faced.

It was on days like these that Molly would find him on the sofa at two in the morning. She'd make him a cup of tea and he'd snuggle into her, letting her stroke his hair. He didn't care that he was thirty-six. He knew he'd never be too old or embarrassed to cry and be soft in front of his mum.

Last dance

"May I have this last dance?"

Molly smiled and took Percy's outstretched hand, allowing him to lead her out onto the dance floor. They moved slowly back and forth for a while before Molly broke the comfortable silence. "I think this will really be my last dance for the evening," she said ruefully, shifting slightly on her feet.

Percy looked at her concerned. "Are you alright, Mum? You do look very tired. Is your back hurting again? Do you need to go back to the house?"

"No, no my back's fine. I am a little tired though and my feet are killing me but…" She glanced fondly over to where Ron and Hermione were standing, seeing off leaving guests. "I couldn't bring myself to leave early and worry the happy couple. This wedding was just a bit strenuous."

"You should have let us help with Ron's birthday last week. You're not young enough to handle two big events so close together anymore," Percy told her sternly.

Molly patted his cheek affectionately. "You always were the first to offer help dear. You never liked taking help though," she reminisced. "I remember – you were around six - waltzing around the living room with you standing on my feet trying to learn how to dance so you could impress that little brunette down at the village. Emily, I think her name was. I can still remember that disgruntled, determined look on your face at having to take help from someone else." She looked sadly at Percy and he could see the years show in her face, far more pronounced since the war. "Look at you now. Taller than me and leading me around the dance floor and completely independent."

Percy cleared his throat and blushed slightly as he spoke. "I'm actually going to need your help a lot very soon, Mum. And for a long time too."

Molly stared at him curiously. "Whatever with?"

He cleared his throat again. "Audrey's pregnant," he said. "We're having a little girl this October."

Molly could feel her face stretching in a foolish grin to match the one that had appeared on Percy's face. As she hugged him and squealed her congratulations, the image of Percy dancing around a room with a little girl on his toes popped into her mind.

It was enough to make her feel lively enough for a hundred more dances that evening.

Fight

Molly raced down the corridor and into the Entrance Hall. Harry was still alive, the battle had broken out again but she could sense that the odds were in their favour now. She glanced around, taking note of her family. She spotted Bill and Arthur bringing down someone. Charlie was running just ahead of her. Percy had the upper hand in the duel he was engaged in. Fred – she forced the image of his lifeless face, smiling even in death out of her mind – George was there behind her, supporting an injured student. Ron was running ahead, calling for Harry and Hermione. Ginny – Molly paused, looking around frantically for her daughter. She turned, distracted momentarily by Bellatrix Lestrange's maniacal cackle and froze.

Rage of a kind she had never felt before rose in her, threatening to consume her. Her blood burned as she rushed to Ginny. She'd let Fred slip through her fingers, she hadn't been able to fight for him, but she'd be damned if she didn't fight for the rest of her children.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!"

Born

Molly jumped up when George emerged through the double doors at the end of the corridor. He was carefully holding a bundle of blankets, unable to take his eyes off it. She hurried up to him, smiling at the awestruck look on his face.

"It's a boy," he told her, looking surprised, as though he couldn't believe that he was holding a baby.

Molly peered over at the scrunched up face peeking out from the blankets at her and smiled and cooed at it. "He's a lovely boy," she said, looking at George's awed expression. "He looks like Angelina but he's got your eyes. I can almost see the mischief in them already."

"He is amazing," George agreed. "Angie's fine, she's resting. She's enamoured with him too." He looked at her earnestly. "Can you believe we had a baby?"

She patted his back fondly. "You're going to be good parents."

"I hope he'll be more like Angelina though," George said, handing her the baby. "We're going to call him Fred," he added, his voice slightly choked as he reached out to stroke his new son's face with a single finger.

Baby Fred frowned and pushed a tiny hand out of his blankets, swatting at George's finger. Molly burst into laughter as she rocked the baby. "Oh I think he's going to be just like you. Trouble from the moment he's born."

Breakable

Ron had always been a curious child, drawn to the smooth, shiny prettiness of her china. Unfortunately for Molly, he was also a clumsy one. She couldn't count the number of vases and plates she'd had to sweep away or repair while Ron watched her with those big apologetic eyes. In his early years, when he was too young to be punished and she was afraid he'd hurt himself on the shards of whatever he'd managed break, she'd put Unbreakable Charms on all her fragile items. He could throw them from the roof and they wouldn't break.

Molly watched Ron push his barely touched food around on his plate. Everything he'd seen in the war, losing Fred…it felt like Ron was no longer whole. She'd heard him screaming in the night, seen the purple bags under his eyes in the morning, and observed how he jumped at the slightest loud sound and the way his hand moved to his pocket when the doors creaked.

She wished she could have put an Unbreakable Charm on him too.

I know

"Have you got all your things? Clothes? Spare quills? All your books?" Molly asked anxiously.

"Yes, everything's in my trunk, Mum," Ginny replied, looking distractedly at the scarlet steam engine and the students rushing all around her.

Molly watched the way Ginny was bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and her eyes darted from person to person, almost as if she was afraid of looking at someone for too long. Percy walked by with Penelope Clearwater and Ginny let out a small cry, inaudible to everyone but Molly. She hated seeing Ginny like this, all twitchy and nervous. She had always been excited about going to Hogwarts. She should have been ecstatic about returning for her second year.

"It's going to be okay, Ginny," she said softly, stroking the top of Ginny's head. "You'll have a great year."

And suddenly Ginny had buried her face in her mother's dress, her arms clinging tightly to Molly. "I'm scared Mum," she whispered. "What if I hurt someone again?"

"I know. I know it's scary, darling. But you're not the one who hurt all those people. Tom Riddle did. You'll be okay, trust me. Ron and Harry will keep you safe too," Molly assured her.

Ginny gave her a small, watery smile and hopped aboard the train. Molly stood up and waved at her, wondering where Arthur and Harry were briefly. She looked at Ginny again and found her talking to a couple of friends, giving them tentative smiles as they chattered happily away to her.

She would be okay.

Please do review! I'd love to know what you thought of these!

So this collection is going to be for the Connect the Weasleys challenge by Morning Lilies on HPFC. It really is a fun challenge to write for so just head on over to the forum if you're interested.

The next set will be Arthur's prompts. Also, if you're interested, do check out chapter 15 (Being Strong) of my story Forever. It's a oneshot I'd written earlier but it fits Molly and Ginny's prompt "I know" so much better than this little drabble.