Separation
"God, Arthur! How could you be so stupid!" Molly Weasley shouted at her husband. Arthur just sat staring at the floor, his face red in anger but he held his tongue. "I mean, honestly. I thought I knew you better than this. Why in the world would you go out and buy that old pile of rubbish when you know we can barely scrape by with the bills as it is."
"Well, Molly. I guess you just don't know me very well do you." Molly froze. Of course she knew her husband. They had known each other since they were eleven years old. They had been best friends and it had slowly progressed into more as they got older. By the time they had turned seventeen, they had both known that there was no one else they'd rather spend their lives with. They had eloped, rebelling against Molly's parents, twelve years ago and had created the most beautiful family Molly thought she'd ever seen.
"Of course I know you Arthur. I love you." Molly sat down next to him on their bed and reached for his hand but he pulled it away and stood up away from her.
"Maybe we should take some time apart. We've been together for so long that I'm afraid you're starting to get sick of me and it's the only logical thing to do. We can't keep fighting like this, especially in front of the children. You know it upsets them." Arthur sighed and kept his eyes away from his wife's beautiful face. "I'll take some of the children with me so that you aren't too overwhelmed." Molly opened her mouth to protest but couldn't bring herself to say anything. Tears were running freely down her cheeks and Arthur took her silence as a thought that he was right and left the room to get the children ready.
---
Two months later, Arthur sat at his parent's house on his day off. Fred, George, and Ron were sitting in the floor around him listening to him tell a story about The Three Brothers. Two year old Ron stood up and moved himself into Arthur's lap and snuggled close to him as he fell asleep. Arthur finished his story and carried his little boy upstairs and tucked him in and came back downstairs. The four year old twins were sitting and quietly playing. "What's wrong, boys?"
Fred and George shared a look and remained silent. Arthur told them to come to him and the two boys stood up and walked over to where he sat on the couch and stood in front of him. Arthur wrapped an arm around each boy and rested his hands on their backs. Fred finally rested his head on his beloved father's shoulder and mumbled, " We miss mummy." George nodded miserably.
Arthur kissed their heads. "So do I boys. How about when Ron wakes up from his nap we can floo and ask your mum if it's ok that you boys come visit for a while this evening." The twins nodded enthusiastically and went back to their game. An hour later Ron came toddling down the stairs and Arthur let Fred and George stick their heads in the fire place to ask Molly if it was ok if they come visit.
---
Molly sat rocking Ginny sadly. Bill and Percy were at school, Charlie most likely had too but she hadn't had a chance to see him since he left with Arthur, the twins and Ronnie were with their father as well and that left her and Ginny alone in the burrow. She'd never realized how big their house was until it was empty except for her and the ten month old little girl. She missed her children and she missed her husband terribly but hadn't got the courage to speak with Arthur since he'd left, and therefore hadn't gotten to see her children either. She was sure they'd gotten ten times bigger since she last saw them.
Molly went and laid Ginny down in her crib and froze on the bottom stair when she heard voices coming from her kitchen. She came in and looked around, not seeing anyone but still hearing the slightly familiar voices. She was about to think she just needed a nap herself when she heard Fred and George both scream, "MUMMY!" Molly spun around and looked down at the fireplace and grinned.
"Hey, loves. What are you boys doing in there?"
"Daddy wants to know if we can come visit cause Ronnie woke up from his nap." George stated and Fred nodded in agreement.
"Of course! Come on over." Molly backed away eagerly and watched as her boys appeared. Fred and George pounced on her instantly and she hugged them back with equal force. "Oh I've missed you boys soo much." Molly whispered as she lifted Ron up and hugged him. Ron patted her back with his tiny hand as he hugged her and Molly wanted to cry at the sweetness of her baby boy. She ran her fingers through his red hair and kissed his head before letting him down. She stood up straight and gazed at Arthur. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the twins pulling her into the living room to play with them.
Arthur watched them go and snuck up the stairs to his daughter's room. He grinned when he saw her lying down asleep and walked over to the crib and stroked her cheek lovingly. The little girl blinked her eyes open slowly and grinned when she saw him. Arthur lifted her up and held her close as they stared at each other. Their blue eyes met and Ginny grinned at him.
Arthur hugged her and stroked her back. Ginny wriggled out of his grasp and he sat her down gently and she held his hand as she walked him to her toy box and pulled out some toys and patted the spot on the floor next to where she had plopped herself down and looked at Arthur expectantly. Arthur sat down as his daughter had instructed and played with her until he felt eyes on the back of his head. "Mumma." Ginny grinned at someone behind him and Arthur turned slowly to look at his wife. She smiled at him slightly and he returned it hesitantly as he stood up and lifted Ginny back up and sat her back in her crib.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake her." Arthur muttered but didn't feel sorry in the slightest as he ran his fingers through the baby's copper colored hair.
Molly shook her head and smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. It's fine." Arthur nodded slightly. "Can we talk, Arthur?" Arthur nodded slowly and followed her to their bedroom which, he noticed with a pang of guilt hit his chest, that his side of the bed seemed to be the one that Molly had chosen to sleep on the night before. The second they had walked in and she'd shut the door she'd lost her self control and had kissed him deeply. Arthur kissed back instinctively and ran his hands through her hair as she clutched his back tightly to her. They pulled away when they needed to breathe and Molly rested her head above his heart, still clutching him tightly. Arthur hesitantly wrapped his arms around her.
"We shouldn't have done that." He whispered pulling away from her as far as Molly's death grip on him would allow.
"What are you talking about?" she questioned looking up at him.
"Molly, we're separated. It's only going to confuse the both of us more if…" She had kissed him again.
"I'm not confused about anything. You're my husband and I love you more than anything. I want you and our children back and I'll do anything you want me to just please come back to me." Molly begged.
Arthur pulled away from her completely. "Molly, I know you say that now but I just don't want you thinking back on this in a few years and wishing that you'd never asked me to come back. " Arthur stepped around her and went downstairs to collect the boys.
Molly followed him hastily and tried to talk to him again but was interrupted by Ron clutching at her neck tightly when Arthur had picked him up. Molly took the little boy away from his father and rubbed hi s back soothingly. "Ronnie, love, listen. Maybe if you listen to your father and go with him kindly right now, he'll bring you back to see me soon." Ron calmed down slightly but still didn't want to let Molly go. "It's ok baby. Mummy won't let anything bad happen to you. If going with your daddy would be a bad thing mummy wouldn't let you go."
"So you just don't want us here." Fred chimed in.
"Excuse me?"
"Is that why some of us went with daddy and some of us stayed with you? You kept the ones you wanted and the ones you didn't want daddy got?" Molly bent down in front of her son and made him look at her.
"I want all of you here with me all the time, love. You went with your daddy because he needs you to take care of him." Molly had stood Ron in between her and Fred and had an arm wrapped tightly around his waist while her other hand was holding Fred's tiny one making sure he paid attention to her. "You see, Fred, your daddy is very much like you. He's very loving like you are and if he doesn't have someone around him to love he wouldn't be himself and we wouldn't want daddy to change, would we?"
Fred shook his head. "He's a good daddy. He plays with us."
Molly grinned. "I know he is, love. That's why you have to take care of him for me, ok? Can you boys do that?" All three of them nodded and Molly kissed them all on the cheek before standing back up and handing Ron back to Arthur and kissing Arthur on the cheek bravely. Arthur led the boys to the fireplace again and flooed away. Molly sat at the dining room table and let her tears flow freely.
---
Arthur sat at his desk in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office and ran his hand over his face. Ron had kept him up sick all night last night and he'd gladly been there for his son but now he had trouble doing his work. His mother was sending him owls every hour to tell him of Ron's illness and the last one he'd gotten had said that the toddler seemed to be feeling worse and not better. As it was almost lunch time, Arthur was going to take Ron to the pediatric healer during his lunch break and hope that his son got better soon. He hated seeing any of his children under the weather.
When Ron and Arthur showed up at the healers they sat in the waiting room for a few moments. Ron snuggled against Arthur's chest and not making a sound. Arthur rubbed his back and kissed his head. When the receptionist came out and called Ron's name Arthur stood up and carried Ron into the room and sat him down on the bed. The healer came in and examined Ron and told Arthur that Ron needed to be taken to St. Mungo's pediatric ward immediately.
Once Ron was situated in a room Arthur owled work and told them he was taking some time off because of a family issue and that he wouldn't be returning the remainder of the day. Then, after making sure Cedrella was sitting in with Ron, Arthur flooed to the burrow. "Molly?" he questioned.
Molly got up from her seat in the living room and came in to find Arthur looking for her. "Arthur, what's wrong?" she questioned seeing the distressed look on his face.
Arthur hugged her tightly, shaking slightly. Molly stood in shock for a moment before rubbing Arthur's back comfortingly and whispering comforting words in his ear. Arthur shook his head. "Ron's sick."
Molly felt the fear instantly grab at her heart. "What? What's wrong with him?"
Arthur shook his head. "I took him to the healer and they just had me take him straight to St. Mungo's. My mum's with him now but I don't want to leave him long." He said taking a deep breath and pulling away from her. "I just thought you would want to know."
"Where are Fred and George?" Molly questioned, leading Arthur upstairs with her to get Ginny ready.
"With my dad." Arthur answered and gladly took Ginny in his arms when Molly held her out to him. They flooed Ginny to Septimus and Molly held his hand as he lead the way to Ron's room.
Once inside Molly told Cedrella she could go help her husband with their grandchildren and took her seat at Ron's side. Ron was asleep in the crib like bed and Molly almost gasped at how pale he was. She reached out and held his tiny hand in her own, running her thumb back and forth against the back of his hand. Arthur paced around them and Molly reached out her hand to grab his hand and stop his pacing. "Arthur, love. Please just sit with me. All your going to do by pacing that way is waist your energy that you'll need later when you take Ron home."
"When you take him home." Molly froze.
"What?"
"I can't do this anymore. I've tried for months to pretend that you aren't the reason I get up in the morning or that I can do anything with them without you and I can't pretend anymore. They need to be home, in the house they've always known, with their mother. So I want you to take them all home. Today if you wish. I just want to get to see them sometimes."
"Arthur, slow down. What are you saying?"
"I want them to go back with you. Fred and George and Ron all need you a hell of a lot more than they need me. I'm bad for them. None of our children have ever been seriously ill and in the few months that Ron has lived with me he's now in the hospital. I'm not good enough for them, Molly. They should have a better father."
Molly stood up and gripped his shoulders and made him look at her. "You are the best father any child could ask for. You are here for them, you love them, you play with them, you comfort them. Its not your fault Ron got sick. He most likely would have gotten sick no matter where he was living at the time. They know you love them and you'd fight tooth and nail to protect them and that's all I could ask for in the father of my children. I will not stand back and let you talk about yourself this way, Arthur."
Arthur swallowed. "You deserve so much better than a man who walked out on you, Molly. You all do."
Molly shook her head. "You had a reason you believed to be good in your heart. The thought that I could find someone better than you for myself or the children was the most stupid thing I've ever heard in my life but I'm sure your heart was in the right place." Arthur kissed her as hard and as passionately as he could. Molly pulled away when his hands moved to rest on her hips and her hands had planted themselves firmly in his hair. She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Let's not get carried away, Arthur. Whenever we know that Ron is fine and he's back home with us then we'll find time for that."
Arthur nodded.
---
Ron grinned as he snuggled close to Molly while his mother rocked him to sleep. Earlier that day they had got to bring Ron home from the hospital and he hadn't left Molly's side since. She ran her fingers through her son's hair as he slowly fell asleep in her arms. Arthur took the rest of the kids upstairs and had them tucked in while Molly continued to gaze at Ron lovingly. Arthur came and bent to kiss his son's forehead. "We could have lost him, Arthur." Molly whispered.
Arthur shook his head as he turned to look at her. "Don't talk like that Molly. He's right here and he's fine. You promised him you wouldn't let anything happen to him and he believes it. That's why he's here with you. You wouldn't allow him to leave us even if they'd given us that answer from the beginning." Molly nodded and stood up. She carried Ron upstairs and laid him down in his bed before returning to Arthur.
"I guess I should get going." He whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind Molly's ear.
"What are you talking about, darling? I'm not letting you leave me again." Molly smiled slightly and tugged him up the stairs to their bedroom. Arthur stood against the door silently as Molly went to change for bed. "Do you need some help putting on your night clothes or did you just want me to do it for you?" Molly questioned smirking.
She walked up to him and slowly unbuttoned his shirt before pushing it off of his shoulders. She then undid his belt and pulled his pants down to his ankles. Arthur stepped out of them while continuing to stare at Molly's beautiful face. Molly pulled his undershirt off over his head and kissed his jaw as she played with the elastic of his boxers. Arthur shivered. Molly smirked and gave Arthur the perfect chance. Her husband had her shirt pulled off before she knew what was happening and she grinned as she stepped out of the skirt that was already around her ankles. Arthur kissed her hungrily as he moved them backwards to their bed and laid her down on it. He leaned over her, resting on his elbows to not squish her, and stared at her.
"What?" Molly questioned, a blush forming on her cheeks.
Arthur shook his head and kissed her deeply again while he unhooked her bra and threw it away. He leaned his head down and took one of her nipples into his mouth as she moaned and shivered against him, placing her hand on the back of his head to keep him right where she wanted him. Arthur moved up to rest his head over her heart and just lay there. His shoulders started to shake, causing her to shake and she instantly wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I'm so sorry." Arthur sniffed, not letting her see his face.
"For what, love?" Molly questioned holding him tighter.
"You don't know what I've done." He gulped, "You wouldn't want me back if you knew."
Molly tensed. "What is it you've done, Arthur?"
"When we had been fighting so much before I left I used to stay over at the office just to try to avoid it and one day one of my coworkers came to visit me in my office. Said she just wanted to keep me company and I couldn't find a polite way to tell her I didn't want her company so I let her stay." Arthur buried his face closer into Molly's neck so that he wouldn't look at her face as he told her this. "She had been coming by to visit me during the day while Perkins was there too so I didn't really think much of it until she stood up from her seat and came to stand in front of my chair. She said that she couldn't hold it back anymore and that she had to have me. She kissed me and leaned over so that she had me pinned into my chair as she did so. I tried to pull away but she just wouldn't let me."
Molly had pulled away from him instantly and sat up after hearing her husband say that some other woman had laid her lips on her husband's. "Who is she?"
"Now Molly don't get carried away. It didn't mean anything." Arthur tried to calm her down.
"Apparently it meant something to her. And it must be worthy of my reaction if you waited this long to tell me about it. You almost let this end our marriage, Arthur. I won't let that bitch do this to us. Who is she?" Molly hissed. Arthur swallowed seeing the anger and tears in his wife's eyes and rested his forehead against hers.
"Dolores Umbridge. She works with the Minister. Molly, I just felt so bad that I let another woman touch me that…"
"Wait, how far did she get with you?" Molly questioned not liking that he was adding the word touch into it. Kissing was horrible enough without finding out that she was no longer the only woman who had shagged Arthur Weasley.
"She… she almost got my robes off before I was able to push her off." Arthur muttered. Molly had the opposite effect of what he thought she would. Molly pulled him into a kiss so passionate that he couldn't think straight and leaned over him to straddle him. He moaned when she ground her hips into his erection.
"Did she make you feel this good?" Molly whispered huskily into his ear as she nibbled on it slightly. Arthur groaned.
"She didn't make me feel good at all. She couldn't even make me hard, Mollywobbles. And feel how hard I am for you." He whispered thrusting his hips up so that his erection hit her right where she needed him. Molly moaned and tugged on his boxers impatiently. Arthur chuckled as he raised his hips to let her take them off of him. Since Arthur had closed his eyes and leaned his head back at the feeling of his manhood being released from its final constraint he didn't see Molly lean over his hips and take him into her mouth. Arthur moaned and ran his fingers through her hair as Molly sucked him off just the way only she knew that he loved it.
Molly knew exactly how her husband loved everything. She knew everything about her husband and knew that he would never do something like that willingly. She had no doubt that Arthur sat the entire time that bitch had been touching him trying to think of ways to politely and gently push her away, because that's how Arthur is. Polite and gentle. Just the way she loved him. They had been each other's first loves and Molly would do whatever she could to make sure that no one stood in the way of her marriage.
Arthur knew what Molly was trying to do and he would lay back and willingly let her as long as she didn't hate him for being an adulterer. Molly was trying everything she could think of to make him hers again. By cleansing his body and his mind she was insuring that she was truly the only one who would ever and had ever touched him this way. Arthur felt his release coming and tugged gently on his wife's curls, bringing her up to kiss her lips passionately. He rolled them over and tugged so hard on her panties to get them off that he accidently ripped them. "Sorry." He whispered in her ear, not feeling a bit sorry as he sat back on his knees and spread her legs wide to look at her. Only he had seen this of her. Him. And it still to this day amazed him that she was his and his alone. There were so many people out there who would be so much better for her but she still chose him and he was eternally grateful for it. He slowly inserted a finger into her opening and was surprised at how wet she was. Seeing that she was already almost finished, he took his finger out and made Molly lay there and stare at him expectantly for a few moments before he gently entered her.
Molly moaned and ran her hands up and down his sides as she moved her hips in rhythm with him. Arthur felt his release very close and reached a hand in between them to play with her nub. Soon enough, they were both climaxing together. Kissing passionately to try not to wake their sleeping children and Molly held Arthur on top of her as they tried to catch their breath. Arthur rolled off of her and she instantly cuddled up to him.
"I love you, Arthur. Nothing could ever change that." Arthur just nodded and Molly could tell that he didn't really believe her. Molly kissed his chest. "Even after what you just told me I still wanted you so bad it hurt, Arthur. No matter what you tell me or what you do I still want to be with you. I want to murder that bitch Umbridge for touching my husband but I would never want you to leave."
---
Right after Ginny's birthday the ministry was throwing a party for the fall of Voldemort and every ministry employee was invited. Arthur and Molly got Arthur's parents to keep the kids while they went to it. Arthur was nervous because he knew that putting Molly and Dolores in a room together was probably not the best idea but Arthur had been told that all Ministry employees were to attend so there he stood, at the bottom of the stairs of the house, ready in his dress robes waiting for his wife. He'd already taken the kids to his parents house and had come back to get ready.
Molly came walking down the stairs wearing one of the very few dressy dresses she had with her hair all fixed up and wearing make-up. Arthur thought he felt his heart skip a beat at seeing her. "Your beautiful, love."
Molly smiled shyly. "Thank you, Arthur." She kissed him but pulled back before either one of them could get too into it. Arthur smiled and lead the way outside to apparate to the ministry.
Once inside, with Molly on his arm, he immediately found the table that they were supposed to sit at through dinner and held Molly's chair out for her. Molly smiled and kissed his cheek before sitting down. Arthur's coworker, Perkins, and his wife were sitting next to them and they sat chatting for a while before they heard a slight giggle and Perkins's face seemed to glow beet red. Molly looked over at her husband and saw the same blush on his cheeks and turned to see what the reason was behind it.
Dolores Umbridge stood behind Arthur with her hand on his shoulder. "Hello, Arthur. How are you?"
Arthur's face deepened in color and he mumbled something to the table. Molly smiled menacingly and held out her hand. "Hello, you must be Miss Umbridge. I'm Molly Weasley. Arthur's wife."
Dolores giggled slightly again but Molly could tell it wasn't out of amusement. "Well hello. It's so nice to meet you. Arthur talks about you all the time. Pictures of you and your children are all over his office. Seven of them, I believe?"
Molly smiled and nodded. She raised her hand to run her fingers through her husband's hair, smiling wider as she felt him shiver. Dolores must have seen it too because she practically glared at all of them and excused herself to go talk to someone else. Molly gracefully sat back down and rested her hand on Arthur's leg. Her breath caught in her chest at the way he was looking at her. Perkins and his wife embarrassedly excused themselves to dance. "What?" Molly questioned as her husband gazed at her in… awe?
Arthur shook his head and kissed her gently. "Nothing, Molly. Just promise me something."
Molly nodded, "Anything, love."
"Promise me you will always do whatever makes you happy, whether that means I'm in your life or not."
Molly kissed him. "Why can't you just believe that I want you to be with me forever?"
Arthur shrugged. "Just promise me."
"I promised that the day I married you, Arthur."
Arthur smiled and kissed her gently again, feeling confident in the fact that Molly was his. Forever. He knew that she would never let anything happen to separate them again. Molly smiled at him beautifully and Arthur couldn't help the feeling of his heart swelling in his chest with love for this beautiful woman.
---
Years later, after the final battle against Voldemort, Arthur sat with his love in their living room. Watching their now grown children open their Christmas presents. Ginny said something apparently funny that he'd missed and everyone had laughed, George had even managed a smile. He knew this would take some used to for everyone but they were all willing to try.
They had lost so much in the years they had been together. Molly's parents had disowned her after their wedding, her brothers had been killed, his parents had died, their son had lost his life fighting for his own future, and they'd almost lost each other.
Ever since the time that they were separated Molly and Arthur had taken the time to sit down and talk to each other about everything. Arthur had been the one to break it to Molly that Dolores Umbridge would be teaching their youngest children at Hogwarts and it took almost an entire night to talk her out of bringing them home from school. Other than their occasional fights they were extremely happy with each other and they planned to keep it that way. Separation just wasn't good for Arthur and Molly. They didn't like it and they didn't plan on ever letting it happen again. No matter who either one of them ever kissed. Though Arthur was still slightly more comfortable with Lockhart being locked in the psychiatric ward since Molly's little crush on him.