House: Ravenclaw | Year: 1 | Category: Standard | Prompt: [Character] Molly Weasley | Word Count: 1074

Hogwarts School April Auction Challenge, Day 11 Auction 1, Prompt: [Childhood beliefs/beings] Unicorn

A/N: For the purposes of this story, Molly is older than Gideon and Fabian, and the boys are not twins. It seems unclear as to whether or not they were older/twins according to canon, but in any case, in this story they aren't.

o . o . o

"Come on, I want to show you something."

Molly pulled Gideon's hand as she tugged him from the Gryffindor table. Her little brother had been eating a late breakfast with his new friends, but Molly had been waiting five years to share this with him.

"Where are we going?" Gideon whined, pulling his hand from her grasp. He was eleven now, not a little kid anymore, and he didn't need to hold his sister's hand.

"It's a surprise," Molly grinned, tucking an errant curl behind her ear.

She walked straight out the great oak doors that formed the main entrance to the castle, her eyes closing for a brief moment as she felt the sun warm her skin. Molly set off across the grounds, Gideon trailing close behind her.

"My very first year at Hogwarts, many many moons ago," Molly teased, elbowing him lightly, "I found something pretty special. I never told anyone about it, but when I'm sad or need to think or just need something to cheer me up, I go to this place, and it never fails to make me feel better."

"What is it?" Gideon asked, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"You'll see," she said, enjoying dragging out the surprise as long as possible.

They walked through the grounds to the the Black Lake, and then skirted its shore until they were almost a third of the way around. There, hidden amongst the brush was a little dirt path, almost overgrown. Molly pushed her way through the branches and Gideon followed, looking back to find that the lake was almost completely barred from view by the foliage. They walked on, and Gideon told Molly about his first few weeks of classes and his friends and everything he hoped the year would hold. In return, Molly told him a few stories from her earlier years at Hogwarts that she had kept to herself, and he grinned happily at being privy to her secrets. It was chilly in the shade, the October air making the two of them draw their coats tighter around their bodies.

After a little while, when Gideon was beginning to drag his feet and wonder when they would reach their destination, the path opened up into a large clearing. The sun filtered through the trees, bathing the area in a magical yellow-green light. Flowers were budding on bushes around the outside of the clearing, and cherry blossom trees dotted the perimeter in full bloom.

"It's pretty," Gideon said, not entirely sure what he was supposed to be looking at.

"Just wait," Molly replied, her eyes drifting around the clearing, watching for something.

After a moment, it happened.

It began with a soft rustle, and then the bushes on the other side of the clearing began to part. From between the branches stepped the most majestic and beautiful creature Gideon had ever seen. Snow white and almost glowing with a soft light, with an immaculate golden horn, the unicorn emerged into the clearing. Gideon gasped quietly, his eyes meeting the unicorn's, and it felt as though some kind of greeting or acknowledgement passed between them. Molly smiled at the look of awe on her brother's face.

"Go on," she encouraged, nodding toward the unicorn. "Slowly."

Gideon moved forward, reaching out his hand with his palm open and outstretched. The unicorn stepped closer tentatively, it's nostrils flaring as it sniffed him. As it made its way farther into the clearing, Gideon could see a much smaller unicorn concealed behind it. The baby was a luminescent gold from head to toe, with amber eyes. It pranced out ahead of its parent, sidling up to Gideon with the confidence of a child and rubbing its nose against his palm.

"This is amazing," Gideon whispered.

"It's a safe place for them," Molly explained, moving to stand next to him. The white unicorn approached her, greeting her like an old friend. "There's some sort of magic here, so they can be more at ease - it's hard for anyone to hurt them here, even if they wanted to, although I don't know why anyone would."

"So you just come here and sit with them?" Gideon asked, stroking the baby unicorn's golden mane.

"It's peaceful," Molly answered, nodding. "And they're good companions. Sometimes they like to play, sometimes they'll just come sit with you and comfort you. They always seem to know what you need, even if you don't."

"Are there always unicorns here?" he asked, looking at her wide-eyed.

"I'm not sure," Molly admitted. "I don't think they stay here all the time, but one will always show up within a few minutes when I come here."

They stayed in the clearing for a while, Gideon running around the clearing with the baby unicorn while Molly sat on the edge with its parent, watching fondly. They could have spent hours there, but eventually their stomachs began to grumble, and they knew it was time to return to the castle. They bid farewell to the two unicorns, who turned and disappeared into the forest with happily swishing tails, and then set off on their own path back to the school.

"How many of them are there?" Gideon asked as they emerged onto the shore of the Black Lake once more.

"I don't know," Molly answered. "I'm not sure anyone does. But I don't think there can be many. Unicorns are supposed to be very rare. Hagrid's the only one I know who's seen them outside of Care of Magical Creatures class.

Gideon was quiet for a while as they walked, a pensive silence falling over them.

"Thank you for showing that to me," Gideon said after a while, looking at his sister with sincerity.

"Of course," Molly answered, smiling affectionately and giving her little brother a hug. "You're my brother, I'll share everything with you."

"What about Fabian?"

"Him too, when it's his turn," Molly laughed. Fabian would join them at Hogwarts next year, and then together, she hoped, they could show him the clearing and the unicorns, but for the moment, it was enough to share this secret with Gideon.