Authors note; this is my first published Harry Potter fanfic. I have so many more that are stuck up in my brain that just never make it to the keyboard. If you want Remus Lupin fanfic in the future, please leave a comment letting me know, so that I have something to motivate me. Please give honest feedback.
I DO NOT OWN THE HARRY POTTER SERIES OR ANY OF THE AFFILIATED CHARACTERS
Enjoy!
Molly sat upstairs in the Owlery, crying. Each tear released years of worrying, as well as a happiness that seemed almost not allowed. There was so much to be happy for, the entire wizarding world would be celebrating, but Molly had so much to be sad for.
Fred, her beautiful boy was gone. No more of his jokes, or his sarcastic remarks. No more of his letters, every word filled with hope. Even in his school days when he was always in detention, he would write home about the best things that had happened, and he would always make her smile. When the joke shop opened and he was too busy to come home, he wrote about his success of bringing happiness to the sad world.
His success. Molly thought, as a new wave of tears soaked her red cheeks. He had always been smart, even if his grades didn't show it completely. He had had so many plans that would never be finished now. But what he had already done at the remarkable young age of 20 was extraordinary. He had been a bright flame that had been extinguished too early.
In her mind's eye she played a mental slideshow of her beautiful family, which would now always be broken. There would always be a broken link, something missing. Not something, but someone.
She remembered their first family picture, taken the day that Ginny had been born in St. Mungo's. She had held her in her arms, while Arthur held up baby Ron. Ten year old Bill had been holding up George, and eight year old Charlie clutched a squirming Fred. Five year old Percy stood between them, grinning at the camera.
She remembered the day that she sent Fred off to Hogwarts for the first time. The entire family had stood on platform 9 ¾, saying their goodbyes to the five boys who were heading off. Bill was standing proudly, his shiny headboy badge on display pinned to his robes. Charlie stood beside him, his prefect badge in its usual spot. There was a look of wonder in Percy's eyes as he stared at his two role models. Molly recalled the words that she had said to her twins as she bestowed a kiss on each of their deep red heads. " I don't want any foolery while you two are at school, understand?"
The twins had exchanged one of their notorious grins. ( Molly's body was racked with more sobs as she realized that she would never see that exchange again) "Mum," said George with a grin-
"We'll be nothing short of angelic." finished Fred with a hint of a smirk.
Before Molly had time to say anything more, the boys had pecked a kiss on each of her cheeks, given their father a hug, rustled Ron's hair, embraced Ginny, and ran onto the train with their rucksacks.
He had so much stamina she thought. She recalled the lengthy arguments that they had had over the last three years. The only reason that it had lasted for that long was because both the twins and Molly were stubborn, and none of them were willing to back down.
When she had first found out, or rather, discovered, that her twins wanted to own a joke shop, she was livid. It wasn't even as much as the fact that they wanted to waste away selling pranks to children, but that they had such naive dreams about it. To open a store in diagon Alley is not cheap, and she still had no idea where they had managed to get the money from.
First she had gotten rid of their stock, giving them their last year at school to make themselves a better future. Somehow, they had bested her, and continued on with their shenanigans.
Sitting on the cold, stone floor of the Owlery, covered with feathers while tears streamed down her face, Molly became aware of how stupid she had been. She had spent so much time yelling at them, that she had forgotten to tell Fred just how much she loved him. She hoped with everything left in her broken heart that Fred, her beautiful, smart, funny, witty Fred, knew that she loved him.
When the boys were younger the never got to spend much time alone with her. By the time they were three, there were five kids in the Burrow at all times. Molly had taught them how to read and write when they were five, and she recalled how late at night she could hear Percy reading them a story, something that they later did to Ron, who later did to Ginny.
The warm July day when Charlie had shown them how to ride a broom seemed impossibly long ago, and reminded Molly like a harsh slap to the face just how much had changed. Bill's beautiful face was now scarred forever, and her oldest baby was married. Charlie, who had always been so outgoing, was now never home, always far away dealing with dragons. His once- lean, strong arms were adorned with burns and bulging with muscle. Percy, who had always been the most obedient child had disappeared for three years, betraying them all when they needed him the most. George was half deaf, with a clean hole in the side of his head. But nothing could fill the gap where his twin brother should stand, where Fred should be beside him. Ron wore the heavy emotional scars that came with war. She had only just seen him for the first time in eight months, and Molly could not even begin to speculate what he had been through. Ginny, her only daughter, had been damaged for longer than Molly cared to think about. It didn't matter how hard she tried to hide it, Molly could still hear her mumbling in her sleep, twisting as though she was bound by rope.
And then there was Harry, her adopted son. So much of the joy in her life had been because of him, and he had been forced to carry as a burden more than any seventeen year old should have to. She loved her like one of her own children, and cared for him as such. So much that she had to be thankful for was because of the small boy who had befriended Ron. October 31st, a day of great joy for her had been because of what had been stolen from him. Her only daughter Ginny had been born nine months after the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She had felt justice knowing that the demon who ordered for the deaths of her brothers was gone. And the night not even three years previous, when she had received an urgent call from Dumbledore that Harry had looked death in the face and survived, had set a downwards spiral. This was where it ended. With Fred's eyes closed for eternity as he lay on a cot in the Great Hall.
"Mum?" came a voice from outside. Ginny. "Mum, are you in here?" A sheet of fire appeared, Ginny's long hair cascading down her back as she entered the cold room.
Molly looked up and saw that Ginny's face was splotchy and red, similar to how she imagined her own face looked in that moment. Molly looked into Ginny's eyes and saw that the wall that typically stood behind them was gone, and her eyes looked like a muddy pond. They were clear, inviting you to fall into them, but at the bottom was something messy and sticky.
In that moment Molly knew that she was not the only one hurting, and with the war now finished for good, she had to be there to support her family, or else they would all crumble.
Getting to her feet, Molly gripped Ginny's hand and prepared to walk downstairs, where she would have to face her damaged, broken family. They would never be whole again, but perhaps they could be healed.