Authors Note- Hi! Now, I'm neither JackieCullen nor Senom299, but I am a good friend of both of them and I decided to post my fic on their account. Before I even start this, Bill is 10, Charlie is 8, Percy is 4 and Fred and George are 2. This takes place starting December 31, 1979, so neither Ron nor Ginny are born yet. If you spot any discrepancy in the ages, please tell me! This is A Year with the Weasley's, so I will update one chapter a day until December 31, 2009. This fic will be roughly 365 chapters, then. Ron will be born during this story though, in March. Molly is seven months pregnant at the beginning of the story. If you like this and I write a sequel, Ginny will be born in the next fic. Also, I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER. That honor belongs to J.K. Rowling. Now that that's over with, let's get on with the show! I now present to you…Chapter One!!
Chapter One
December 31, 1979
"Mum, can I stay up late tonight?" Bill asked his mother hopefully. Molly Weasley smiled and nodded, provoking complaints and pleas from her younger children. Molly knew to expect this, though, and she knew how to handle the commotion as well.
"Now, settle down! You know that you're not allowed to stay up late until you're eight years old or older, like Bill and Charlie! And you know that even they're not allowed to stay up late except on special occasions! Now, get to bed Fred and George, it's seven already!" She said, and her two identical twin boys scowled and stomped off to one of the four bathrooms in the Weasley house. Arthur told them he'd be with them in a minute; they are only two, after all, and he left them to brush their teeth by themselves there would not be a good end result.
"I doubt Charlie will even make it to midnight," Arthur whispered to his wife and they shared a private laugh. "Bill might not either. He woke up early this morning. We might ring in the new year with all the kids sleeping." Bill and Charlie ignored their mother and father and continued taunting and laughing at an unhappy Percy. Soon Percy was crying, and Bill and Charlie had run away, not wanting to get in trouble. If they got in trouble, they would not get to stay up late. And they really wanted to stay up late.
"Oh, I doubt it," Molly said, smiling and going to comfort Percy. "Bill is a stubborn little bugger, isn't he?" Arthur nodded his head, also smiling. Oh, was Molly right! Bill had crawled before any of the other children, because he was determined to become mobile. He got into everything within his reach when he started crawling, and then even more so when he starting walking and running.
"Mummy, I want to stay up late too!" an upset Percy whined. Molly wiped his tears away and smiled comfortingly at him.
"No, honey. You need your sleep," She answered. Percy shook his head stubbornly.
"I wanna stay up late! I don't need to sleep, I'm not tired!" He wailed, burying his face into Molly's shirt. Molly smiled, trying not to laugh. Laughing would just make Percy angry at her.
"You're a growing boy, Percy. You need your sleep. When you're older you can stay up late, I promise," She comforted her crying child. Percy looked up at her, his face red and tear-streaked.
"When the new baby is born, will he get to stay late?" He asked, patting his mother's growing belly. Molly shook her head.
"No, not until he's 8," Molly answered, hoping this would be a comfort to Percy and that he would go to bed. Percy smiled, but frowned when he thought of another question.
"Will I have to go to bed before him?" He asked, disgusted at the thought of going to bed before a baby. Molly smiled at his wrinkled nose.
"No. Babies need more sleep than big boys, so he'll go to sleep before you," Molly replied. Percy smiled, kissed his mother goodnight, and when off to join his dad and twin brothers in the bathroom. Molly could hear Fred and George splashing and arguing about who would go first. She could hear Arthur scolding him, and then the door open and closed. Percy's voice joined them, saying that he should go first because he's oldest. Fred and George's protests we heard next, and then Arthur's voice trying to calm the three boys. Bill and Charlie were arguing quietly over a game of Wizard Chess, but the argument was soon resolved. Molly was finishing the dishes by magic. For a moment, there was peace in the Weasley home.
That is, of course, until Fred and George came bounding into the living room. They ran straight to Mrs. Weasley, identical mischievous grins plastered onto their faces.
"Mum," Fred began. "We stay up late wif Bill and Charwie?" Molly smiled at their expectant, hopeful faces. She shook her head, and their faces fell. "Why not?" Fred asked, incredulous. Molly didn't feel like having this argument again, but with two boys allowed to do something the other three were not, she knew to expect arguments.
"You're growing boys. You need your sleep. You can stay up late when you get older, though," She said, telling them what she had told Percy. The twins were not satisfied in the least, as Molly could tell from their faces. They shook their heads.
"We not tired!" George said, using the same argument that Percy had.
"Even if you're not tired, you still need your sleep. Now, up to bed. Go!" She said, shooing the twins out of the living room. She heard them clamoring up the stairs as fast as their little legs would allow, complaining loudly and calling for Arthur, telling him they're ready for their bedtime story. He'll probably read them The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, Molly thought. That's their favorite story, after all.
Arthur returned downstairs twenty minutes later, having finished reading The Wizard and the Hopping Pot to the twins and The Tale of the Three Brothers to Percy. He sighed and sat down next to Molly, who was getting an early start on next year's Christmas sweaters, and closed The Tales of Beetle the Bard. Bill and Charlie, having finished their game of Wizard Chess, came and sat next to their parents.
"Can we turn on the radio now, mum? There's a New Year's special on that I want to listen to, please?" Bill asked, eyeing the Weasley's ancient radio. They did not have a TV, even if Bill would have liked to watch some of the specials they had on the muggle channels, because Mrs. Weasley didn't want her children sitting in front of the television all day. Mr. Weasley leaned over and switched the radio on, and Bill and Charlie went and sat in front of it.
Four hours later, Charlie was asleep in front of the radio and Bill was getting drowsy. He perked up when he heard the traditional countdown to midnight, though.
"5…4…3…2…1! Happy New Year!" The radio announcer said. Bill smiled as he listened to the bells and whistles that were going off.
"Happy 1980, mum and dad!" He said, rubbing his eyes. And with that, he went to bed.
A/N- Oh, how I enjoyed writing this. :D It was a lot of fun. The other chapters probably won't be as long as this, just so you know. But, who knows? They might. I dunno yet. Also- Poll time! Do you think Harry, James, and Lily Potter should appear in this fic, yes or no? I've already written the second, third and fourth chapters, so they will not appear until at least the fifth chapter if the majority of the answers are yes. And of course, it will only be Lily and James at first, seeing as Harry will be born on July 31st, 1980. Vote now, in your review!
