For Princi. I hope you will like it.

Word count:612

Betaed by Sam. Thank you.

Molly sighed. Tomorrow was Christmas and for the first time in years, she hadn't cooked the dinner or knitted jumpers for it since it was the first Christmas after the Battle of Hogwarts, the first Christmas since Fred... But perhaps it was better this way. She was sure she would have forgotten to not make one for him as well and when one would have remained..

"Hey, how are you feeling?" her husband's voice came from the doorway.

"I haven't knitted a jumper this Christmas. I hadn't cooked one meal in months. Or made a salad at least. So tell me Arthur, how do you think I feel? How do you think I feel when I have to be helped at everything I do, that I depend on others? How?" she asked him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Arthur rushed to his wife's side and hugged her, wish ing to stop the path her thoughts had taken.

"Molly, please, you are not useless. Please, don't think this. You are loved. Very much. I know you would like to be as you were before, but that is not possible."

Molly looked at him and smiled sadly. "I know. There are some things even magic can't fix. But I can't help it. I just…" She traded off.

"I understand. Trust me, I understand," Arthur soothed. And he did.

For a person as active as Molly had been to be confined to bed...not doing anything… was pure torture.

And all because of that Death Eater. Arthur had never learnt his name, Kingsley had refused to tell him, afraid that he would kill the man himself. And Kingsley was right. Arthur would have killed him for what he had done to Molly.

The monster, because such a person couldn't be called any other thing, had somehow escaped alive from the battle and he had cornered Molly and cursed her; and she had been caught by surprise. She had lost her legs and hurt her right arm.

And it since it was Dark Magic, they couldn't have anything fixed. Nothing worked. They had tried everything.

And now his wife depended on them. She needed permanent help. She couldn't do much on her own.

Arthur knew she felt useless, but she wasn't. She helped keep their family together. If it hadn't been for Molly, they would have fallen apart a long time ago. Especially George.

He hadn't been the same ever since the night of the battle. Ever since Fred had died. Nobody had been the same. That was why the Death Eater had gained the upper hand. Molly was mourning Fred, and she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. All she could see was Fred.

And just like that, their lives had been changed forever. All because of the man's infatuation with Bellatrix Lestrange. A monster in love with another monster. They deserved each other, though he doubted the latter had had any feelings towards him or that she even knew the man existed.

"Perhaps, it's better this way," she heard herself say.

He snapped back to really. "What?"

"I would have forgot that he is gone. I would have made him a jumper, too. And I would have made his favorite food…"

Arthur smiled sadly. Once in awhile, they had this conversation. He didn't know who was comforting who in these moments.

"And you would shout at both of them…"

"Yeah, I would, wouldn't I?"

Arthur kissed her softly. "Stop thinking about it. He wouldn't want us to suffer. He is Fred."

"He would probably make a joke out if this," she murmured sleepily.

"Right," Arthur murmured, pulling the covers over her body.