Friends First; Family Second

I do own neither Harry Potter nor its franchise. That belongs to its respective owners.

This is a response to the Best Friends Challenge over at HPFC. Not the greatest, but sweet and simple. The couple I received were Molly and Arthur Weasley and the quote 'A single rose can be my garden… a single friend my world'. I ended up not using any of the prompts given to me as this popped out all by itself.

Dear Molly;

Since our train ride to Hogwarts, you have been a great friend. You were there for me – telling me I would – when I didn't think I

would make it into Gryffindor. You comforted me when my Granddad passed away and when our exams came around. You helped me

study through them. You made sure I was ready for our O.W.L.S. and told me I would make a great Prefect. Both times. As our sixth year

comes to a close, I find myself thinking about the future and how I want to be a part of yours. I was once told as a child that "a single rose can

be my garden… a single friend my world". I never understood what those words meant until now. Molly, my entire Hogwarts career

revolves around you and our friendship. And now, I am ready for that friendship to be more. I think over the last six years, I have fallen in love

with my best friend. Please takes these words for what they are as giving this letter is my courage to ask you to love me back.

You've Stolen My Heart;

Arthur.

He knew that smile. It was the same smile she had given him that day when his best friend kissed him. It was the same smile she gave him when he asked for her hand in marriage. It was the same smile on their wedding day. And that smile was blessed upon each of their seven children not a minute after they were born. It was the smile that would reduce a strong and confident Arthur into an adolescent mess that melted into his wife's arms time and time again.

The smile he was seeing was the one Molly had given him when she read his letter to her. The letter that changed their lives forever. "Molly-Wobbles." He called to her. He was standing in one of the kid's old bedrooms as she looked down at the parchment. He called to her again, a nickname that had just come to stick for some reason. When she looked up at him, tears were in her eyes. "Molly, what's wrong, love?" Arthur wrapped his arms around the woman he'd married more than thirty years ago.

"I'm fine, Arthur. I love the letter still to this day." Molly admitted. It brought on a smile of his own. "You were my best friend, Arthur."

"I know." He whispered into her hair. "You were my best friend too."

"You still are my best friend, Arthur." Arthur looked down at Molly and smiled a greater smile. "After nearly forty years of friendship and thirty years as a family, you are still the one I go to when my days seem drawn out and down." Molly looked up with a mischievous grin that would out her twins to shame. "You know, a wise man once told me that 'a single rose can be my garden, but a single friend my world.'"

Arthur chuckled deep. "Did you, now? Must be some wise man."

"Oh, he is, Arthur. He is. And I can call him my best friend still." Molly and Arthur shared a sweet kiss before they heard the floo network opening to reveal their lot of grandchildren for the day.