Molly/Bill

Prompt: Crash


Crash

May 10, 1996

The cup fell to the floor with an extraordinary crash, shattering into dozens of china fragments and spilling tea all over the patterned tiles of the kitchen. Molly, hand poised as though she was still holding her cup of tea, stared wide eyed at her eldest son as though he had told her he was giving birth to a Giant Squid.

Bill watched his mother carefully, his hand awkwardly outstretched like he expected to faint.

"Mum…"

She blinked a few times before bending down to scoop the china pieces into her hand. Watching her strangely, Bill pulled out his wand and quickly cleared away the mess, before taking his mother under the arm and lifting her up.

"Mum. Are you okay?"

Molly nodded vaguely, and didn't protest as Bill led her over to the table and forced her to take a seat. With another flick of his wand, a new cup of tea prepared itself and appeared in front of Molly. She took it in both hands and sipped it tentatively, her brown eyes glazed over a little.

"Did you hear me, Mum?" Bill asked her again. "I'm getting married."

To be honest, it wasn't the reaction Bill was hoping for. He expected her to smile at him, hug him tight, even cry a little at the thought of her son settling down. A scolding about being married too young would've been better than this frozen, stunned silence. Bill didn't know what to do. So, he just continued to talk, hoping to rouse a reaction out of her.

"Look, I know this might seem a little spontaneous. But Fleur and I have been together for a little while now, and I love her. I love her, Mum, and she loves me, and we're getting married."

Nothing.

"I know you haven't met her, but I'm bringing her home with me to stay this summer, then the two of us will start looking for a house. I know you'll love her, Mum. She's beautiful and smart and so perfect. You're bound to love her."

Still nothing.

Bill sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was out of its ponytail and just touched his shoulders.

"Alright, well, I'll leave you to your thoughts then," he muttered, making no attempt to hide his disappointment.

As he left to go upstairs, a single tear slid down Molly's cheek.


A/N: I've always wanted to write about Molly's reaction when Bill told her he was engaged to Fleur. I've read many different takes on this, and this is merely my interpretation. I hope you enjoyed it.