Dancing Sunlight
By Sometimesyoufeellikeaknut (aka molly)
Disclaimer: Jo owns it all, I don't, yada, yada. This story can also be found in All I Want for Christmas, a joint effort by authors at the Reviews Lounge.
Arthur Weasley shuffled into the kitchen at the Burrow, clad in his slippers and pajamas. It was Christmas morning and the kids and grandkids would be arriving in a few hours. He couldn't believe that his grandchildren were at the age where they were talking of marriage. He chuckled as he thought of Ron's reaction to Rose being engaged to Scorpius Malfoy. There had once been a time where he would've reacted in the same manner. Now, though, he just found it ironic and amusing.
Molly would be over the moon. She would be making notes on things to discuss with Rose about the wedding right now. At some point, she would've taken an embarrassed Rose aside for talk of the wedding night and what to expect while he would talk to Scorpius and threaten his life if he ever hurt her. He still planned to do that part, of course, though he imagined Scorpius had already gotten plenty of threats on his life from Ron.
Arthur rose from his seat at the table and placed his teacup in the sink. It was a very mundane action, but it brought on a wealth of emotion. He braced his arms on the sides of the sink, squinting his eyes in a failed attempt hold back tears, which broke through the barricade and dripped into the empty teacup, soaking the grinds. He couldn't believe that she was gone. She had simply gone to sleep and never woken up.
Arthur stretched his arms over his head as the sunlight peeked between the curtains and danced across his eyelids. He shielded them with his hand as he opened his eyes and turned to look at his wife. "Wake up, Mollywobbles," he whispered in her ear. She didn't stir, which was unusual. In fact, it was unusual for him to be awake before she was.
"Molly? Sweetie?" he asked, thinking she was playing a game they had played once. He decided to play along because the prize for that game had been nothing short of amazing.
In the spirit of the game, he leaned down and kissed her lips. They were cold.
The game was over as quickly as it had began.
"Molly!" Arthur cried as he got on his knees, leaning over her, stroking her face and hair. "Molly?" he whispered as he shook her gently, his tears landing on her face making her appear to be crying as well.
He laid her back on the bed gently and lay his head on her chest. "No, no, no" he said helplessly. "You can't do this, Molly. I can't tell the children! How do I tell them? You have to tell me!" He closed his eyes, willing his mind to believe it was just a nightmare. "You have to wake me up Molly. Say something!" he exclaimed, knowing he made no sense. Then he was silent. He had no idea how long he had laid there. Eventually, he got up, went down to the family room, and floo'd all the children.
He wanted them all gathered in the kitchen before he would answer the question they all had asked "Where's mum?" Ginny, the first to arrive, had seemed to have figured it out already and worried her lip between her teeth while looking around the table at her brothers.
He had just put his teacup in the sink when Ginny said, "She's gone, isn't she?" He turned to them and, as his face crumpled into tears and Ginny rushed to hold him, he nodded.
Arthur shook his head and wiped his face with his sleeve. He had to be strong today. He was the dad and the granddad; it was his job to be strong. So, he went upstairs, showered, got dressed, and sat down on the sofa in the living room to wait. He waved his wand and put it on a station that Molly had loved because it played Celestina Warbeck all Christmas day.
Within the hour, the house was filled with talk, wonderful smells wafted in from the kitchen, and Arthur could have sworn he saw Molly in the corner, dancing and smiling at him.
A/N: Originally I was going to write a humorous story about how he had a crush on her at Hogwarts, but this little plot bunny wouldn't leave my head. I lost my dad this year, so having an empty space at Christmas is something I understand all too well. I guess you could say this was a bit of therapy for me.