The Gryffindor Tower was utterly silent that night, more so than it had been in ages but Molly Prewett knew that she had to be careful that nobody was to see or hear her as she finished up the last bits of the love potion that she had been making per the request of Rita Skeeter, a fellow classmate that knew of her knack for making potions. She didn't really approve of such things, but the trade for it was good and that was all Molly needed to know, she wanted the money that had been offered in order to buy her mother something she had seen in Hogsmead as a surprise and hadn't wanted to ask her father or brothers for help, but she didn't want anyone to know what she was up to. Brushing her ginger locks back from her warm brown eyes, she slipped to the fireplace where the potion was finally finished brewing and was able to be bottled up, which she did with nimble fingers before sneaking out of the Tower to meet Rita and get her money. The exchange took less than ten minutes, there was some last minute haggling and Molly made sure to get the proper amount of money she was owed before leaving the Owlery and heading back to the Tower, though footsteps behind her gave her a fright as she ducked into a dark corner, wondering who it could possibly be, she didn't want to get caught and lose points for her house like so many of the others did.
It was a boy, no older than she that was a part of the Gryffindor House as well, one that she knew very well considering that they were in all the same classes and she had had a crush on him for years, but then in her mind every girl in their right mind should have a crush on Arthur Weasley. She knew that his mother had been disowned by her family for marrying what they had called a blood traitor, something that Molly didn't really care about when it came to love, she had an old fashioned notion that losing everything for love was truly worth it in the end, though she didn't know just how much she would believe that when she got to be older with children of her own. He stopped, having heard the smallest of sounds and was soon face to face with the hiding red head, his blue eyes meeting hers and earning him a blush from her cheeks as he smiled softly, he had noticed her many times as well and meeting her this evening was not by chance for he had followed her from the common room but had ended up losing her, he was grateful that he had found her. "I was hoping that I would run into you before you made it back to the common room Molly," he said, and her heart suddenly went for a flying leap as he offered her his hand and she took it gently in her own, letting him lead her out of the castle and away from the watchful eye of Apollyon Pringle.
Along the Black Lake they walked, talking of this and that, Molly's heart was soaring the more that he spoke and she found that she was captivated by Arthur Weasley, and it was to her great shock that he felt the same as her, moving close to her and bending to kiss her lips softly before something got his attention, noting that Apollyon Pringle was heading their way and cursing under his breath. "Run through the shadows and don't stop until you reach Gryffindor Tower," he hissed softly, and it took him three times before he got her to run off through the shadows before the caretaker descended upon him and took him for a severe punishment for being out of bed and outside of the castle, but still he was glad that it was him and not Molly, knowing that Pringle had a penchant for being merciless with punishments. She ran through the halls, not needing to be as careful since the Caretaker was outside with Arthur, though she paused at a window to see if she would find him, but it was too dark and it was no use as she made her way to the portrait where the Fat Lady proceeded to give her a horrid lecture for coming back to the Tower at four in the morning before letting her in, tears slipping down her cheeks as she flopped on the couch. Fearing the worst, she let her heavy eyelids drift shut, the kiss upon her lips still warm as she fell into a deep sleep, her dreams filled of visions of Arthur Weasley, it was that moment that she knew that she was deeply in love with him.
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams," were the whispered words that woke her not more than an hour later, Arthur sitting on the table by her head, his eyes heavy with sleep and pain, he had been caned and rather well but he would never tell her how badly it had hurt, for to him Molly Prewett and that kiss they had shared had been more than worth it. She sat up, her eyes filled with worry but he shook his head, no words needed to be spoken at that exact moment as he moved painfully to sit beside her on the couch and wrap an arm around her shoulders, his lips meeting hers once more, and she felt her eyelids flutter shut once more, snuggled in close to his side as the light came up and thanking her lucky stars that it was Saturday morning with no classes to attend, free to spend her time in his arms where she vowed to stay forevermore.