Theme 12: Brothers
September 1, 1966
"Prewett, Fabian," called Professor Dumbledore of the Transfiguration department. From her spot besides Arthur, Molly watched her brother approach the Sorting Hat. Giving it a wary look, he sat upon the stool and Dumbledore lowered the hat down onto his head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat called a few moments later. The Gryffindors cheered, Molly, Arthur, and Bilius jumping up. Fabian grinned and ran over to the table, sitting across from Molly.
"Prewett, Gideon."
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat was barely touching his head when it proclaimed that Gideon would join the same house as his twin.
When the Sorting Ceremony was over, the twins clinked their goblets together. "Cheers," they said, then drained the pumpkin juice out of them. They had been abnormally quiet during the train ride, and Molly knew that they had been worried about being in separate houses.
Bilius leaned around Arthur. "So these are your brothers Molly? Gryffindors, eh? I guess they're not going to be afraid to cause trouble." Molly smiled at him.
"They're not interested in joining your new Gryffindor Prank Club, Bilius," she said sweetly.
"Oi, we're sitting right here," Gideon said.
"And that club sounds like something we'd love," Fabian added.
"No, you wouldn't," Molly told them. "It's not worth the detentions you'd get."
Gideon and Fabian muttered under their breaths, and returned to their meals.
After Professor Dippet ended the feast, a Gryffindor prefect stood up and began herding the first years out of the Great Hall. Molly looked at her brothers, who, despite twin yawns, each took one last biscuit off of a platter.
"Go on up to Gryffindor Tower," Molly suggested. "You both look knackered."
The twins shared a look that Molly couldn't read, then jumped up and joined the other first years. Molly watched them go, puzzled by the way that they had reacted to her.
Arthur stood and helped Molly up. Hand-in-hand, they walked leisurely out of the Great Hall.
"What was with the boys?" Molly wondered aloud. They were standing on one of the moving staircases, waiting for it to slowly crawl into place. At her question, Arthur winced quietly. Molly noticed. "What? Is it me?" Arthur rubbed the back of his neck.
"I think- well, I think you're trying too hard," he said quickly, eyes fixed on a painting of a short wizard and a giraffe.
"What do you mean?" Molly asked.
"Well, the boys don't need you to baby them anymore," Arthur said tactfully.
"Was I really that bad?" Molly asked. Arthur nodded. "I didn't even realize I was doing it." With a groan, the staircase settled into its landing. Arthur squeezed her hand, and they started walking again.
"I think that you need to give your brothers some space so that they can learn to be students," he said. "After all, no one else at Hogwarts has a mother."
"You're right," Molly said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"It happens from time to time," Arthur said. She could hear the smile in his voice.
"Will you help me, Arhtur? Let me know if I'm mothering them?" she asked.
"Of course," he said as they approached the Fat Lady. "We'll have to think of a signal that I can give you, so that you'll know to back off."
"Why don't you just say a word, like... puffskein, or something," she said. They had stopped beside the portrait that marked the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. They were facing each other, still holding hands in the mostly-empty corridor.
"I think I thought of a better signal," Arthur whispered. Before she knew what was happening, Molly found herself being thoroughly kissed. She leaned into Arthur's embrace, instantly forgetting all about her brothers.
A few minutes later, the Fat Lady's portrait swung forward, and two small figures crawled out of the hole. Molly and Arthur ignored them, intent on continuing their snogging session until a prefect sent them to bed. Unfortunately, the new arrivals did not approve of their plans.
"Oi! What are you doing?" Gideon said.
"Get your lips off our sister," Fabian added. Molly felt her face growing red as both of her brothers stared at her and her boyfriend. No one wanted to be the first to break the silence. They boys stood shoulder-to-shoulder, arms crossed over their chests, and identical glares on their faces.
"How do you tell them apart?" Arthur whispered loudly. Molly giggled. She couldn't help herself. She was a bit giddy from their kiss, and she found it highly amusing that Arthur was unabashed.
He cleared his throat. "Pretend you didn't see that," he told them, throwing an arm around each of their shoulders and leading them back into the common room. "So, I think your sister needs Sister Lessons."
Molly followed them, shaking her head. She hadn't thought about how the twins would effect her new relationship with Arthur. Maybe she wasn't glad to have her brothers at Hogwarts after all.
