A/N: I'm aware that "X times Y did Z" is an overdone concept but I've wanted to write something like this for a while. This is also my first post for Schermionie's "5, 10, 20, 50, 70, 100 Fandom" challenge on the HPFC. Expect nine more posts for that challenge from me in the future.
1.) "Molly!" Lysander called one sunny, summer afternoon. His mother and father just so happened to be in the neighborhood after a pseudo-vacation in Portugal, and decided on a whim to visit the ever-large Potter Weasley family at the Burrow. Just like a lot of what his parents did was seemingly planned on a whim, really. With such oddball parents, nothing really surprised Lysander anymore, so he didn't dwell on the thought all that much. It would cause him some kind of headache and he wasn't willing to deal with that.
"Yes, Lysander?" Molly looked at him with a serene smile, her whole face lighting up with this glow that accentuated the best of her soft features.
"Your love is my drug. Wanna go out?" A dead silence ensued. Lysander waited with baited breath, hoping and praying for the best result. He was head over heels in love with molly and if she said yes to his question…well, he couldn't imagine what would happen if she did say yes. But Lysander wanted her to say yes anyway.
"How is that supposed to be at all romantic?" Molly couldn't help but giggle a little. Lysander's face fell.
"It isn't. You're supposed to feel so horrible for me and my pathetic pick up line that you'd say yes to a date."
"...Wouldn't you rather have me date you because I genuinely care about you and not because I pity you?"
"Damn it, you've pierced my logic!"
Molly sighed and rubbed her temples in exasperation.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lysander whined, genuinely confused as to why Molly was reacting this way.
"Because I can tell you've been listening to my dumb cousins' advice on romance."
"I'll go now..."
"And don't come back until your pickup lines aren't quite so cheesy!"
2.) Lysander wore a determined look on his face, proud of his new plan in order to go out with Molly and make her his girlfriend. He had it all planned out now. Or at least, better than he did the last time he tried to ask Molly out on a date. He'd succeed this time, Lysander felt sure of it. This time, he'd learn about Molly a little more to make it easier to approach her about dating.
So the best source of unbiased information would be from Molly's hoard of cousins. That's why so many of them existed, right? To help out a poor boy like himself win the girl of his dreams, right?
Lysander did the impossible and knocked on the door loudly. He heard the sound of scrambling footsteps and vague chatter coming closer to the door.
"Who's outside?" asked a voice he recognized as belonging to Dominique.
"Lysander! I'd like to talk with you about Molly!" The door opened quicker than he expected. To his confusion, Roxanne, Rose and Victoire also appeared at the door behind Dominique.
"What would you like to know about Molly?" Dominique asked Lysander as he hesitantly walked into the Burrow.
"Anything you can give me would be nice," Lysander said, and Victoire seemed pleased.
"The first thing you should know is that she likes baking and Muggle poems and…" Victoire started. Lysander expected rambling, but Roxanne seemed as if something was on her mind.
"You should realize that Molly likes talking about what she likes but hates being the center of attention. Don't be afraid to take the focus off of her sometimes, if you need to." Lysander noted Roxanne's helpful note. He was expecting Rose and Dominique to chime in with other information about Molly, which didn't seem to come. Instead, they became inhumanely quiet.
"She's here," Rose said in a too-calm deadpan.
"Who's here?" Lysander asked. It was Molly, standing at the top of the stairs in her favorite nightgown.
"…What's going on down here? Are you having fun without me?" She asked as she walked down the stairs at a quick pace. Lysander's heart started pounding with nerves he never knew he had.
"Lysander came in and he wanted to ask you something!" Rose said, her voice enthusiastic and bright. Lysander wanted to know where she had all that energy come from when, just a few seconds ago, she seemed quieter than a mouse. Lysander gulped as Molly took a seat next to him. It was now or never!
"Want to go on a picnic with me?"
"Sure! Let's do it this coming Thursday at the duck pond by my house."
"Sounds wonderful. I can't wait!" Lysander wondered if anyone could hear the sound of his heart swelling in pure elation at the sound of approval.
3.) Lysander found himself yet again knocking at the front door of the Burrow. Instead of fearfully trying to snoop about Molly, he was taking her out on a date. Not just any date, but something actually genuinely romantic. He couldn't believe his luck. Maybe Lorcan spiked his orange juice with some sort of illegal luck potion that would wear out today. Regardless of what would happen, Lysander couldn't wait for the picnic.
The door opened to reveal a smiling Molly, wearing a cute pink and blue sundress and Lysander thought, for a brief yet terrifying moment, that his heart stopped beating.
"You ready to go?"
"Of course! I'd always be ready for you," he extended a hand to Molly's and kissed it. A risky move, he realized, but any sort of affection was good affection. So why not risk it for Molly. She seemed completely fine with this small act of kindness.
He'd remember that for another time. For now, he'd be content with being with Molly, silently contemplating all of the wonderful things they'd do together during the picnic.
"Do you see something, Lysander?" Molly asked, clearly staring at something in the distance over her shoulder.
"No, I don't. Should I?"
"Molly, Lysander! What are you guys doing?" That voice was too familiar. It belonged to Hugo, who seemed to not change from the last time Lysander saw him at school. Hugo was still the lanky brunette without a sense of boundaries because before Lysander knew it, the younger Weasley engulfed him in a bone-crunchingly tight hug.
"Hugo? What are you doing here?" Molly asked, hugging Hugo.
"I was planning to go on a mini-adventure with Louis, but I think he's lost again. What an idiot, he could probably get lost anywhere." Lysander's plans for a romantic picnic ended right then and there because Molly wouldn't stop talking to Hugo.
4.) Molly couldn't help but feel horrible for interrupting plans with Lysander, so she took it upon herself to bake him something. Despite still being a little upset about the picnic, Lysander couldn't refuse Molly's famous baked goods
"I can't believe you're baking me cookies and cupcakes!" Lysander exclaimed as he waited for everything to stop cooking.
"You better believe it because I made you your favorite: red velvet cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies," Molly said.
"I swear your cookies and cupcakes can't be hand made. They're way too good to not have some kind of magic in them." When Lysander enjoyed something, he had a habit of furiously swearing that they were the best in all of the Wizarding World. Thankfully, his habit was considered endearing by most.
"I also swear that things can be handmade, so stop trying to make me sound like some sort of professional," Molly said, blushing. The room went comfortably silent.
"My heart beats boundless as the sea, and my love as deep; the more I think of you, the more I feel elation because words are infinite," Lysander blurted out.
"Excuse me?"
"That's Shakespeare! Don't you like him?"
"Of course, but when he's quoted right. Brush up on your Romeo and Juliet and then come back to me." The oven made a loud dinging noise, which startled Lysander.
"The cookies and cupcakes are done! Let's forget about poems for a moment and get eating." Molly squealed as she pulled out what Lysander wanted all afternoon.
5.) "Lorcan?" Lysander asked. His twin brother looked up at him with steely blue-grey eyes.
"This better be really damned important because I'm reading a fascinating book about the importance of nature in the Wizarding World." Lorcan took his books incredibly seriously, and Lysander completely understood Lorcan's thought process.
"So there's this girl I like, and I need your help," Lysander started, hoping to Merlin that the desperation in his voice was minimal.
"I'd love to help, brother, but I'm afraid I can't do such a thing," he said, and immediately kept reading as if Lysander never spoke.
"Why won't you help me?" Lysander asked. This time, he knew that his voice cracked.
"Because I know you can win this girl without my help. Confess your feelings before you feel the need to start groveling at my feet," Lorcan said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Lysander did as his brother suggested and practically sprinted to Molly's house for what felt like the millionth time in too short of a time. He didn't feel nervous as he knocked on the door and waited for Molly to open the door in all of her glory.
He thanked Merlin profusely as Molly opened the door.
"I just wanted to say that I love you so much it hurts. I would be incredibly happy if you would be my girlfriend!" He said, and before he heard her answer, he kissed her square on the mouth in hopes of securing a yes out of her for dating purposes.
"Took you long enough to admit it!" Molly kissed him on the cheek in excitement. Everything, as cliché at it sounded, felt perfect at the moment. Lysander hoped it would last forever or at least a while.
A/N: The line Lysander misquotes is from Romeo and Juliet, act two, scene two!