Molly Weasley POV

Molly bit back a sigh as she sank into a chair, tea in hand. She hadn't been able to sleep, hadn't been able to shake the images out of her mind. Flashes of light, bodies falling, the pale and still faces of the deceased - NO! Molly wouldn't let her thoughts stray there, wouldn't think of the empty bed in the twins room where Fred would never sleep again.

Instead, she thought of her youngest son, and the two others sharing his room. It had been one week, one excruciatingly painful week, since the Final Battle had taken place, and Ron, Harry and Hermione hardly let each other out of their sight. Sometimes Molly wished that she knew what had happened to make the three look as they did - like if they turned, for just one second, another would disappear while they weren't watching. But often, she would be glad that she didn't know and accept that the previously practically-inseperable trio had become glued at the hip.

Molly smiled a bit to herself at the thought of the three young friends. They had certainly grown a lot since they were eleven and boarding the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Her baby boy, her Ronnie, had finally found himself. Hermione had lost the insecure air that she sometimes radiated. And Harry... Harry looked as though the weight of the world had dropped off his shoulders. They all had a self-confidence that they hadn't had before.

A small chuckle broke from Molly's lips as she remembered the name Ginny had said the Hogwarts students had given the three. The 'Golden Trio'... It suited them, Molly decided. She didn't think she'd ever seen a friendship so strong. She knew that they would die willingly for each other (which she sincerely hoped and prayed would never be necessary) and they knew each other inside out. She saw how the two boys would arrange themselves with Hermione in the middle so as to protect her at a moments notice. She saw how Hermione would slip her hand inside of Harry's and Ron would hold his shoulder whenever Harry went silent and his pain would show clearly on his face. She saw how Harry and Hermione were subtly boosting Ron's self-esteem every chance they got. And every night, when Molly checked on her babies under her roof, she saw the three best friends curled up together on Ron's magically enlarged bed. The sight never failed to make her smile.

Although, Molly thought, that wasn't just her. Anybody who saw those three together had a hard time not smiling. Anybody who didn't agree with Death Eater ideals anyway. The love and protectiveness that they had for each other shone through whenever they talked, or sat outside, or when Harry was watching Ron and Hermione argue. It made Molly's heart warm to think that her baby boy had Harry and Hermione as well as his siblings, to lean on. That he had others to look out for him when she wasn't around. Molly knew she couldn't protect her children forever. But she would protect them until her final breath, and trust in the people she loved to look after each other. Bill had Fleur. Charlie had his dragons. Percy and George had each other now, as well as their work. Ron had Hermione. And Ginny had Harry. Arthur - Molly was sure that he would be strong, for the kids.

Her family would be fine without her. They would mourn, yes, but they were strong. They were all grown up now, even Ginny. Oddly, it was Ron that Molly could see holding up the best, helping the rest of the family. The little boy who was never sure of where he fit, would be the backbone of the Weasley family once Molly had gone. But not alone. Never, ever alone. The other two parts of the Golden Trio would not desert the last. They had been there for each other for the last seven years, and they would be there for the rest of their lives. The kind of friendship they had would not allow anything less.

This was why Molly was okay with the thought of dying. Now that the war was over, she could die a natural death - but not before she had a chance to have some grandbabies! It was okay, because Ron would hold the family up. And the Golden Trio would hold each other up.