For-
As Strong as We are United (twovians! 707 words)
Decisions, Decisions (round 2, Hermione&Molly ii family fic using the prompts hesitate, inappropriate, and "I just need some air.")
"Aunt Hermione?"
Hermione jumps slightly, dropping her book at the sudden soft voice behind her. She turns her head, hand over her heart, a small smile on her lips. "Molly, you really shouldn't sneak up on people like that."
The ten year old blushes, sheepishly shuffling her feet against the carpet. "Sorry," she mumbles. "I just wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"
Molly hesitates, staring at her hands. Hermione waits patiently. Her niece has always been so much like Percy. Quiet, reserved, happier not being the center of attention.
"Why does Daddy make that face whenever someone mentions the war?"
"What face?"
"You know, that face. Like he just swallowed a buncha nails or something," Molly explains, pulling her own face into a pained expression. "Like that."
It's Hermione's turn to hesitate. She feels that she is an inappropriate choice to ask. "Perhaps you should ask your father."
"But if I do, it might make him sad," Molly says, shaking her head. "It sounds like something that would hurt him. But I wanna know."
Hermione bites the inside of her cheek. How can she turn down a search for knowledge and understanding when those very things have always brought her peace of mind? It feels too hypocritical. Secretly, she wonders if this is the very reason Molly has chosen her out of all her other family members to come to.
She shifts over, patting the cushion beside her. Molly rushes closer, obediently taking a seat and looking up at her aunt with wide eyes, like a child eagerly awaiting a bedtime story. Hermione wishes she had some grand fairy tale to tell her.
With a sigh, Hermione pinches the bridge of her nose. "Before the war, your father... You see, there was a lot-" She stops herself. How can she explain this to a ten year old? A young girl who looks at her father like he's a saint? "He did something he wasn't proud of."
She hopes she can leave it at that, but no such luck. "What'd he do?"
"I really don't think I should be the one who-"
"Please, Aunt Hermione! You're the only one who doesn't treat me like some silly kid! Please? Please? Pleeeease?"
"Okay, okay. He left the family. There was a big fight, and he was facing pressure at his job, and he walked out," Hermione says quickly, as though saying it in one breath will make it easier.
"He..." Molly shakes her head in denial. "But he wouldn't do that! He loves Gran and Grandad!"
"He does. But he was scared because the people at his job didn't like what your grandparents believed in."
Guilt sours her stomach. In only a few sentences, she's torn apart Molly's idol.
The girl climbs to her feet, nearly stumbling as her feet hit the floor. She sniffs. "I just need some air," she says quietly.
Hermione grabs her gently by the arm, lifting her back onto the couch. "Hey, your father made a mistake. We've all done that. But it doesn't matter. He came back in the end, and that's what's important, okay? He loves his family, and he came back."
"But-"
"When I was sixteen, I made birds attack your Uncle Ron."
Molly peers up at her through dewy eyes, blinking rapidly in confusion.
"I was selfish and jealous, and I just sort of snapped," Hermione explains, cringing at the memory of how stupid and petty it had been. "I made a mistake. What matters, though, is that I came around. I still loved him. Do you think he should hold it against me?"
"No, I s'pose not."
"Then you shouldn't hold this against your father. He came back, and your family forgave him. It's in the past."
"So that's why Daddy looks so sad?"
Hermione opens her mouth to tell her that there's more to the story, that Percy still blames himself for his brother's death. But she can't bring herself to do it. "You'll have to ask your father, love. He knows more about it than I do."
Molly nods and hops up again, starting for the door before stopping, hand on the knob. "Did Uncle Ron hold it against you?"
Hermione laughs. "Not for very long."