"It's the Little Things" chronicles various moments in the lives of the Weasleys, from the perspective of Molly and Arthur. Some such moments include when Molly and Arthur first meet, how they fall in love, their wedding, and many other aspects of their day-to-day lives as they raise their family and watch their children grow up in a world that they constantly try to make better. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: nothing is mine.

#74: Dark

Finding Light in the Darkness

It was raining outside. The kind of cold, dark, dreary rain that leaves one gloomy and depressed all day. This was the kind of rain one would expect in November or late October. The problem was that it was June. Albus Dumbledore turned away from the window and gazed back at his work.

He had been looking over some old assignments from his former students, yet his mind wandered back to the gloom outside. That kind of rain occurring in June did not come naturally. Dark powers were rising, and Albus was working as quickly as he could to ready a defense when it arrived in force. He had to work with great care deciding whom to trust with the secret Order he was creating. Rubbing his forehead wearily, he continued to read the transfiguration essay in front of him. He'd read it before already, of course, when it had been originally written and turned in, but he really had no choice but to bring out all his old papers in attempt to decide which students could be trusted enough to bring into the fold. Dark times were coming, dark indeed and Albus needed as many people as he could get. Albus hated to do this. He hated the thought of having to ask young people, who had only graduated very recently, to drop their dreams and ask them to put their lives on the line for him. He hated to do this, but he had no choice. He regarded the essay in his hands. This particular essay he had kept because of its most interesting subject matter. On Transfiguration in the kitchen and the home. Young Molly Prewett had written the essay, demonstrating an innovative approach toward cooking and cleaning for a large crowd, creating a few of her own spells in the process. She was a gifted student with such things as domestic spells and minor healing potions. She could be useful. Albus set the essay aside.

Glancing toward the next paper on the desk, Albus noted a series of exquisitely detailed diagrams of various contraptions. Arthur Weasley always had a knack for figuring out muggle artifacts. These diagrams outlined the construction of an automobile and a television in great detail. Arthur's fascination drove him to apply for the ministry, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office, and Albus had even written him a recommendation.

Albus really didn't think that muggle artifacts could win the war against the coming threats, but dark wizards had been enchanting muggle artifacts to harm their owners, and Arthur could help deal with that. Albus recalled Arthur as a fiercely loyal and talented wizard. Had he not been so fascinated with Muggle Studies, he probably could have done well as an Auror, or pretty much anything he put his mind to. There would be multiple ways for him to contribute. Not to mention that his loyalty made him a very attractive addition to the Order. People who could be trusted completely were hard to come by.

Albus set to writing the letter. He'd written so many of these letters over the past few weeks, yet it was still a difficult process. He knew the two were now living together, as Molly and Arthur had been virtually inseparable during their entire education at Hogwarts.

Dear Mr. Weasley and Miss. Prewett,

I hope this letter finds you both well.

Unfortunately the nature of the times in which we live, I must ask more of you than is fair. I believe that you have already begun to suspect that Wizarding society as we know it is beginning to change. Strange, seemingly unexplainable events seem to occur with greater frequency these days and I believe I know why, and it is a grave subject matter indeed. I am writing because I have a favor to ask of each of you, and I must speak with each of you in person. Please come to my office next Monday at 3 PM, and we will discuss it.

My apologies.

Sincerely,

Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore


Now Albus waited. It was Monday at 2:58 pm when the fireplace roared to life and Arthur stepped out, followed quickly by Molly.

"Arthur, Molly. Thank you for coming."

Arthur looked a bit uncomfortable. "Good afternoon Professor Dumbledore."

Albus held up a hand. "Please, it's Albus. You are not students anymore, and I fear what I have to ask of you is a very adult matter indeed."

Molly spoke up. "Not that I don't mind the pleasantries, but why DID you ask us here?"

Albus sighed. "I'm sure you are both aware of the changing times?" Both of his former students nodded. "I fear that dark times are upon us, very dark indeed."

Arthur's brow furrowed. "The rumors are true then? This lord Voldemort person, is he behind it all?"

Albus nodded. "I fear it is true Arthur. Our society is not safe anymore. He has been amassing followers, infiltrating government offices, the press, many other institutions. I have asked you both here to recruit you. The ministry does what it can, but we cannot be absolutely certain that it has not been corrupted. We must band together to fight the evil that approaches. To that end, I have created the Order of the Phoenix. It's a group of us that can be trusted, and willing to fight. I ask you to consider joining us. We could use your talents."

Molly looked startled. "Prof…Albus, what can we do? We're young, we don't have experience. What do you want us for?"

"Molly, you underestimate yourself. Both of you can be quite valuable to me and to the Order. Arthur, these dark wizards…they're calling themselves death eaters…anyway, they're enchanting muggle artifacts to harm their owners. Your work has only begun, and your department at the ministry is almost criminally understaffed. That, plus I need as many sets of eyes as I can get at the ministry. We have to know who has been compromised, which departments are affected, things like that."

"You mean you want me to spy on the Ministry?"

Albus shook his head. "Just keep an eye out for suspicious behavior. Death Eaters have been using the Imperius curse on people, and we don't know the extent of the hold that they have at the Ministry. We just don't know enough to prevent the rise of this new Dark Lord. I fear that it is only a matter of time before we are all forced to chose sides." Albus turned to regard Molly. "And Molly, we've got handfuls of members who will need to use our new headquarters as their home while they're not doing under-cover work or fighting for the Order. They will need to eat, and I've read your work about cooking charms for large crowds. The charms you created would be quite useful for us. People will be coming and going from the headquarters, and we need the place kept in good running condition. Meetings will need to be planned and organized, medical care will need to be performed. I know you are gifted with those kinds of spells and potions. Your help would be extremely valuable."

Molly and Arthur simply looked dumbfounded. This was a lot of information to take in. Albus sighed. "Go home. Think about what I have said. I have approached you with this because I know both of you can be trusted absolutely. However if you choose not to help, I ask you not to divulge what we have spoken about here today. Do you understand?"

Both nodded. "Yes."


Arthur paced the living room of their tiny apartment. They both knew dark times were approaching, but nothing felt so concrete, so certain as the words Albus had spoken to them. Molly sat on the sofa watching him, concern etched across her face. "You can't possibly be thinking about this Arthur?"

Arthur turned to her. "What do you mean by that?" His words came out a bit more harshly than he would have liked.

Molly stood and took hold of his arm. "Arthur. You know we have to fight. You're a good man, and you know that we have to do this. Albus has asked us to serve, to fight for what we believe in. How could you possibly consider saying no?"

Arthur shook his head. "No, I'm not…I wasn't considering that."

"Then what? What's got your wand in a knot?"

Arthur looked at her. "These dark times. Nothing is certain anymore. I could be sent out on a raid and get killed. Someone could hurt you. I could be imperiused and turn on all of you. I do work at the ministry now. These dark times, they…goodness Molly, they scare me."

Molly touched his face gently. "I know. They scare all of us. But one thing is certain. We have love. We have each other. And no matter what happens, that will never change."

Arthur gazed at Molly with tenderness mixed with a certain hunger in his eyes. Slowly he leaned in and their lips met and for the next while, nothing else mattered. Arthur broke the kiss and stared at her, his eyes fierce. "Then marry me."

Molly blinked. Of all the things he could say, she had not been expecting that. It's not like he was proposing, he had done that two months ago. She was confused. "What?"

"You heard me. Let's get married. Right now."

"Arthur, I…."

"I mean it, lets get married. We love each other so much, I love you so much, and its not like we weren't going to get married before, and I don't want to wait until one of us gets killed. I want us to be husband and wife before we get into this. I want us to do this together. I mean it. Lets get married. Right now." Arthur looked pleadingly at Molly, almost willing her to say yes.

Molly however, did not need any further persuasion. She took his hand in hers and smiled. "Well, lets go then."


Molly stood facing Arthur in simple dress robes and held a small bouquet of wildflowers that she had picked on their way. Arthur wore old dress robes he had from school. He took her hands in his, feeling the metal of their new wedding bands on their fingers. They were simple bands, without frills or jewels, but to the new couple, they were perfect.

"Do you Arthur take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, so long as you both shall live?"

Arthur looked intently at Molly. "I do."

"And do you Molly take this man as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, so long as you both shall live?"

Molly smiled back at Arthur. "I do."

"Please place the tips of your wands together."

Molly and Arthur placed their wands together above their heads.

"Repeat after me: Ego vester sum, quia aeternitas"

They stared into each other's eyes and both uttered, "Ego vester sum, quia aeternitas."

A powerful force coursed through their wands down into each other, and the rings they had exchanged began to glow with a warm, bright light.

"By the power vested in me by the Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Arthur took his wife into his arms and kissed her.

They both knew that darkness lay ahead. They both knew their future was uncertain, but even in these dark times, as long as they had each other, a little bit of light would always shine through.