"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!

A/N: This chapter is written in honor of Harry Potter's 31st birthday: born July 31st, 1980!

Disclaimer: nothing is mine.

#10 Years

The Years He Never Thought He'd Have

It was the birthday he never thought he'd have. There they were, in the same garden in the same house, celebrating a birthday just as they had exactly one year ago. So much had happened since then.

Last year, Harry's birthday was the day before the beginning of everything. Only a day later saw Harry, Hermione, and Molly's dear son Ron, leave on their secret quest, not to be seen again until nearly a year later. They left so many behind to wonder when they'd—if they'd—see them ever again. Molly shook her head. One year ago, Bill and Fleur's wedding was interrupted by the death of the Minister, and the death eater attack. One year ago—the horrors, the panic, the terror. One year ago, it had all started.

And now it was over.

Molly gazed out the window at the boy sitting in the garden amongst his friends. His family. He seemed a bit lost. She remembered how she had found him on May 3rd, wandering aimlessly over the Hogwarts grounds, staring at things that weren't there anymore. Searching for some sort of meaning.

He was lost. No idea what to do next. No idea of where to go from there. Molly took him home with her; she took him in, as she had so many times before. So now he wandered around the house with no idea where he was going.

Not that he was entirely alone in that. So many had been walking around in a sort of daze since the war had ended that fateful morning. So many had set aside their plans, had set aside their futures, had set aside their own personal destinies to fight in the war and it was difficult to pick them back up again. Difficult, but not impossible. Slowly, life would continue for most of them.

But this boy, this wonderful boy that Molly had come to love as her own, had been given no future. This boy had been constantly told throughout his life that his sole purpose was to defeat the Dark Lord. That it was possible he would not survive. Told that neither could live while the other survives. And in the midst of the battle, told by those he trusted, that he must die. Harry had been given no future. Molly could not be certain, but as she looked at Harry, she saw that part of him had not expected to live long enough to have one.

But he had. He had this whole life ahead of him now, and no idea what to do with it.

Molly bustled around the kitchen, tending to the dishes left from dinner as the laughter of her children filtered through an open window. The laughter seemed a bit more guarded then it had in years past. Molly lost herself in thought as she stared at them out the window. Destiny sure was a strange, if fickle, force, she thought. She had gradually discovered her own destiny in the raising of her children, a feat that gave her great pride and happiness. Some people discovered their destinies early. Some didn't discover their destinies until later in life, and a few wouldn't discover it at all. Some fulfilled their destinies, and some did not. Molly shook her head, as she put a pot of water for tea on the stove.

"How great must be"—many had said—"for one such as Harry to fulfill one's destiny so early in life. What a wonderful feeling it must be" they would say, but Molly thought differently. Seeing Harry walk around her house every day, Molly couldn't help but think how troubling it could be, to have no idea what else to live for, to not have the slightest clue as to what to do next, to not expect to live beyond the fulfillment of one's destiny.

It wasn't that Harry seemed unhappy. On the contrary, it seemed as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders—as indeed it had. But despite that, he seemed aimless. He was restless, but he had no idea what to do about it. He's done many things since the end of the war, but his heart was not in any of it. Now he sat at his own birthday celebration, not quite believing that he was even there.

Perhaps he just needed a little guidance.

The crowd dispersed as night fell. Ron and Hermione had wandered off somewhere on their own, George had gone back to the shop, and Neville and Luna had gone back to their homes. Molly had moved into the sitting room, curling up on the sofa with a book and covering herself with her favorite afghan to ward against the cool breeze of the summer night. She had brought the tray of tea with her, and enjoyed some as she read.

The door opened a bit later. Molly looked over her shoulder to find Harry standing in the entrance to the sitting room.

"Hello Harry."

"Mrs. Weasley" replied Harry, looking slightly startled as he came into the room. "Erm…I didn't get a chance to thank you for the party…you know…before."

"That's quite alright Harry, it was my pleasure" said Molly. She smiled at him and put her book down. "Have a cup of tea?" She gestured toward the pot of tea she had on the coffee table. She conjured up a teacup for Harry and poured him a cup. "Sugar?"

"No thanks." Harry took a seat in the chair next to the sofa. It seemed to be his favorite chair in the house. "What are you reading?"

"Sights of Historical Sorcery. You know, famous Wizarding landmarks and such. Arthur and I are thinking of taking a trip now that the kids will all be of age." Molly smiled sweetly, handing Harry his cup, and refilling her own. "Did you enjoy the party?"

"It was nice," replied Harry politely, looking a bit awkwardly around the room. After a while he added, "It still all seems strange, doesn't it? Everything being over?"

Molly regarded him for a bit. She could see a lost look in his eyes underneath the polite veneer he wore so often these days. Finally she nodded a bit. "That happened a bit last time too. You get used to it."

Harry nodded slightly, unbelieving, and sipped his tea.

Molly sipped at her tea as well, and watched as Harry sat back in the chair.

"You remind me of my son Bill, a little sometimes." Said Molly into the silence. "Everyone expected so much of him, because he was so good at school." Molly stared down into her cup and laughed a little. "He took all the classes he could, took every NEWT he could get. Everyone thought it was because he was a genius, and they praised him up and down. They expected great things from him, with all the marks he got. He won't admit it to anybody, but he got even better marks than Percy, if you can believe that."

Harry laughed at this a bit, though he looked a bit confused, as if he didn't quite know why Molly was telling him all of this.

"Anyway, everyone thought he was quite ambitious to take all those classes, but a mother knows better. He took all those classes so that he'd have options when he graduated…so that he wouldn't have to decide right away. But when he graduated, he still had no idea what he wanted to do. He got many offers, and there were so many possibilities. Too many, I think. He walked around this house, sort of in a lost daze. School was finally over, and he didn't quite know what to do with himself after that."

"How'd he wind up in Egypt then?"

"I don't know if you know of it, but there's an ancient Wizarding tradition." That got Harry's attention. "When wizards finished their magical education and came of age, they gathered their friends and went on an adventure of sorts; a tour of the world, meeting other Wizarding cultures, learning from them."

"Yeah." Harry nodded, appearing to be remembering something. "I think I remember something like that. Elphias Doge and Dumbledore were supposed to go on one. When they were young."

Molly nodded. "That doesn't surprise me. People don't do it much anymore, but Bill decided to take one of those trips. He went all over, and learned how to break all sorts of curses, which is how he became a curse breaker I suppose, and then he fell in love with Egypt."

Harry looked interested but still a little confused. Molly sighed. "Bill just needed a bit of life experience to help him determine what he wanted to do with his life. More than he could get from school." She sipped slowly at her tea. "I guess I'm just trying to say that it's ok to not know where you're going from here. Maybe you just need some life experience, and I'm not saying that you don't have plenty already for someone as young as you are, but maybe you need different kinds of experiences."

Harry nodded, and set his teacup down. "Yeah. I guess I never really thought about what would happen after the war." He fixed Molly with a very sincere gaze. "I think I spent my whole life thinking about the war."

Molly nodded her encouragement, and Harry kept going. "I never imagined there would be a time after the war." Molly busied herself pouring Harry a second cup of tea. "I don't know. I was always Harry Potter. The boy who lived. The chosen one, and all that. Everyone has always had high expectations. I don't really know…I mean, what do you do after you fulfill your destiny? What are you supposed to do after that?"

Molly was a little relieved to hear him open up a little about this to her. Bottling it up inside never boded well for anybody. "Oh Harry. Listen to me. You're Harry Potter. You're not the boy who lived. You're not the chosen one. Not anymore. Those names, those obligations belong to your past Harry. That's over now. You can do whatever you like. And you know what? Everyone else and their expectations be damned." Harry laughed, and Molly smiled at him.

"As for destiny," continued Molly, "destiny is a strange force. Some people spend their lives chasing it. Others live for years without realizing that their destiny is right in front of them. Like Ron. I imagine he's only just now coming around to realizing that his destiny lies with Hermione. You're a strange case; not many people know their destiny as early as you did, nor do they have it written so concretely in stone as you did. But that's over. That's done. Now you're like the rest of us, you have to figure it out for yourself. But it's great, in a way, because you get the chance to choose a new destiny. One that's all yours, not the prophecy's or Voldemort's or anyone else's."

"You think so?" Harry looked deep in thought. Molly knew she had set the cogs in motion. It would take time, but he would come to realize that he was still Harry, and that he had a wonderful future ahead of him, whatever it turned out to be.

Molly drank the rest of her tea. "Hermione and Ron are going to find Hermione's parents?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded.

"Are you going with them?"

Harry thought for a second. "I was thinking about it. I really want to help them. Ron and Hermione have done so much for me."

Molly nodded. "Perhaps after you find them, the three of you should adopt the tradition. See where it takes you."

Harry smiled and nodded. "Perhaps."

Molly folded her afghan, and banished the teapot and cups to the kitchen. "Forgive my babbling Harry; a mother's prerogative." She bent to hug her surrogate son. "Just think about it." She handed Harry the book she had been reading. "Happy Birthday Harry. Goodnight."

Molly grinned as she climbed the stairs to bed, for as she left, she could see Harry looking through the book with a new sense of purpose.

Harry had years and years ahead of him. His whole life. And now, Molly hoped, he'd be able to find something wonderful to do with it.