The morning was pale and misty. The sun shone weakly through the gray dull skies. Absent-minded Mrs. Weasley gazed out a window as she rocked gently in the chair that she had rocked all her babies in. She woke before the light dawned nearly an hour ago. She quietly made her way to the lounge where she pulled out a tore box filled of worn photos of the Weasley family throughout the years. There were photos of her and Arthur holding Bill for the first time: Arthur smiling nervously at the camera while she stared intently into her newborn son's eyes. She smiled at the photos where the boys were making faces or were teasing one another one. She then came upon a photo she had not seen in years. The photo was of an exhausted couple attending to their newborn twins. Molly smiled as the memory came back to her.
She and Arthur never planned on having a large family. She supposed it just happened. After Percy was born, she and Arthur discussed their family's future. They both wanted a daughter. Arthur could imagine a little precious girl with Molly's eyes and hair. So, they decided they would have one more child and they prayed for their perfect baby girl. Nearly nine months later, though, the Weasley family expanded by two. Fred Gideon and George Fabian were born on April 1st at exactly two o'clock in the morning. Both boys were healthy and eager to test their new little lungs. Arthur bobbed throughout the room holding a screaming George, while Molly tried in vain to soothe an equally angry Fred. She began to hum softly. Soon a red-faced Fred stopped his crying and looked into his mother's eyes. It was in that moment that she was thankful she did not have a new baby girl in her arms, but rather the little boy. A moment captured forever in a photo.
"Molly?" Mr. Weasley said softly. He stood in the door frame of the lounge. His expression was anxious as he watched his wife rocking back and forth with the box of family photos resting in her lap. "Molly?" Mrs. Weasley heard her name and was swiftly pulled from her memory. "Dear, why are you up so early?"
"Arthur," she said bewildered. "What are you doing down here?"
"I woke and you weren't in bed," her husband replied as he took a seat on an old cushion near his wife. "Are you alright, Molly? You were staring off."
"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, the dreaminess in her voice and eyes quickly fading. She sat up right. "Oh, yes. I am quite well. I was just looking through these old photos."
"Yes, I can see that," Mr. Weasley said smiling. "The children have grown a bit."
"More than a bit, dear," she said. "Bill was married nearly a year ago and Ginny will begin her last year at Hogwarts in September."
"Indeed. But their lives are only just beginning."
Mrs. Weasley's face suddenly fell. It was true. Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, and Ron were just beginning to start their lives. Ginny would be, too, soon. But not Fred. Molly thought. No, Fred's life had ended before it could begin. My Fred is gone. "My little boy," Mrs. Weasley sputtered as she choked on the tears. "My Fred is gone. Oh, Arthur!" Mr. Weasley caught his wife as she fell against him. He cradled her head as it rested against his shoulder. Molly Weasley cried on her husband's shoulder until footsteps were heard above them.
"I better go get breakfast started," Mrs. Weasley said as she straightened herself up and wiped away the tears.
"I can attend to breakfast, dear," Mr. Weasley offered.
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "In nearly thirty years of marriage, you never cooked breakfast! You will not start now, Arthur Weasley!"
"Yes, my dear," Mr. Weasley said softly as he allowed his wife to get up and waddle off to the kitchen.
The photo, which pulled slightly at Mrs. Weasley's heart every time she saw it, was remove from its place in the box, and instead, was frame and proudly displayed on the mantle above the fireplace, where it would stay for many years to come.