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Chapter 35: The Ministry Ball – Confronting the parents

Molly, shaking and incoherent, had been put in the Minister's office with Minerva, who insisted on trying to bathe her face with a damp towel, in spite of Molly's resistance. Arthur sat at the foot of the love seat and massaged her feet. Molly sat bold upright.

"Where am I? What happened?" she asked horrified.

"You fainted …"

"What? Did I … is the baby … face first …" Molly stuttered, clutching her abdomen convulsively.

Arthur came to her side and embraced her carefully and made her lie down again.

"Shhh, darling. You're fine. Albus had his arms still around you and you didn't fall", he said reassuringly before turning around to his former teacher, "Minerva, would you mind taking care of her? I will see where Albus disappeared to and if Prewett is still alive."

Minerva nodded and Arthur left after pecking Molly's cheek quickly.

"It's fine, Molly. We won't let your parents do anything to you", Minerva said, for the fifth time. "They won't try anything funny in public anyway."

"They won't?" Molly finally pulled herself together enough to talk to her. "But they won't be thrilled either. What was I thinking agreeing to this madness?"

Minerva stared at her, wide-eyed with horror.

"You don't mean this!"

"I'm 17, married, knocked up and supposedly dead!"

Molly felt as though someone had been beating her with a club. Everything ached as though the worries of the world were pressing her down. She sat slumped on a small velvet love seat, aimlessly twirling a glass of firewhiskey between her hands, unable to drink it.

She couldn't decide what she ought to feel , let alone sort out the conflicting events and emotions of the evening. Her mind kept jumping between the joy of seeing her small, pieced-together family and the horror of seeing her father again.

She sat looking at the Minister's big desk. She could still see his round eyes when she had introduced Arthur as her husband, as though they had been painted on the wall before her. His reaction had shown her clearly what most people would think of her.

"I just don't believe it", she said out loud and felt slightly better for the saying.

"Neither do I", said Minerva. She was pacing the floor, her footsteps changing from the click of heels on parquet to a muffled thump as she hit the flowered carpet. "William being here and ready to make a scene. I ken he is a ruffian, but I've bin to school wi' the man! I know him!"

'Does she? Do I know my father? I would have sworn I did, and yet … But if I were wrong?'

"I'm not wrong!" Molly muttered, clutching her glass fiercely. "I'm not!"

"What?" asked Minerva, looking at her in surprise.

"I don't know; don't mind me." She brushed a hand across her face, trying to wipe away confusion and weariness. "I want to get home, Mina. Will you come with me?"

Minerva hurried over to Molly and wrapped her arms around her younger friend consolingly. Gently she began rocking her back and forth, humming a made-up tune and stroking her hair. She could understand Molly's panic. She had been in school with William Prewett … briefly. He had been a seventh year when she had come to Hogwarts for her first year. Even then he had had an uncontrollable temper and had terrified the younger students. She certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of his anger … 'What am I thinking? Molly is my friend and this man should rather take care of her than scare the living daylights out of her. I won't let that … miserably bad father do anything to her, even if it means throwing myself between him and her!'

Molly trembled in Minerva's arms. Her short encounter with her father had shaken her up more than she would admit. And the look Arthur and send her father had been enough to freeze the fire's of hell! If those two men clashed together, there would be no guaranty for the outcome!

She felt panic constrict her throat and her heart doing a weird somersaulting motion. She was really anxious to get home in one piece.

After a few moments when she felt Molly had calmed down enough, Minerva rose to her feet and helped Molly up. One arm wrapped around the waist of the younger woman and the other hand supporting her elbow, she guided Molly to the door and down the long corridor. Molly became faintly aware of the commotion in the ballroom.

"I'm afraid we have to go through there but we keep to the walls and no one will notice us", said Minerva softly.

She didn't want to scare Molly more than she already was. Her friend only nodded numbly and padded on. Minerva was really worried. This really hadn't been such a great idea. How could they think Molly's parents would forgive her for the betrayal and besmirching of the family name?

The doors came into view and Molly stopped dead. Both sides were closed and in front of the doors stood her father nose to nose with Arthur, wands drawn and in a hissing fight. Her mother stood to the side with a stony face while Albus, looking furious himself, tried to get between the fighting men and calm them down.

Minerva's arm around her waist contracted and her eyes narrowed. Regretfully she looked down into Molly's upturned face.

"I'm sorry, love. We have to go through these doors because you can't apparate in the Ministry. You can do that", she said sympathetically.

Molly swallowed hard but after a moment she squared her shoulders and disentangled herself from her former teacher. With her head held high she stalked stiffly ahead, focusing on her husband's form and ignoring her parents.

"Arthur, darling, please let us go home", she said and Arthur turned away from his foe immediately, "I don't feel too well."

His eyes focused solely on her and he smiled a little tense. Forgotten was his fight with her father. Forgotten was his anger for the man's accusations. What mattered was his wife and their unborn child. Slowly he walked the few steps to her side and wrapped her in his arms. Molly had felt protected and loved in Minerva's arms already but it was nothing compared to what she felt now. Her head met his shoulder and she leaned against him. Arthur's lips formed a loving smile and he tightened his grasp a little, always careful not to squash the baby, before he leaned over a little and placed a feather-light kiss on the top of her head. After a few moments they broke apart reluctantly and Molly looped her arm through Arthur's while he placed a hand over her stomach subconsciously and fanned his long fingers out. Molly smiled sweetly down on her belly and placed a smaller hand over that of her husband.

"Let's go then, get the two of you into bed", joked Arthur lightly, completely forgetting Molly's parents as well as Albus and Minerva.

But before they could get far, Mr. Prewett stepped forward and punched Arthur hard in the face.

"Get your filthy hands of my daughter!!! How dare you!!!" bellowed Mr. Prewett at the top of her lungs.

Arthur stumbled back but caught himself quickly before he could pull Molly with him. He curled his hand into a tight fist and swung at Mr. Prewett. He hit the older man on the cheek bone and knocked him over.

"Never touch my wife or me again! She is my wife now and there is nothing you can do about it!!" yelled Arthur equally loud and infuriated.

"I'm her father, I can have the marriage ANNULED!! And you will go straight to AZKABAN!! My daughter will never see you again!!" screamed Mr. Prewett, a red vein popping out at the side of his neck.

"I knew you would try this", said Molly quietly. Suddenly she had the attention of everyone in the corridor. Her eyes blazed with an inner fire her parents had never seen in her before. "You cannot annul my marriage because I won't give my consent to it and ...", she took a deep breath before stroking her dress tightly over her swelling midriff, "... because I carry Arthur's child."

Molly just stood there, daring her father to say something or even try to hit her. Concealed by her purse, she had grabbed her wand. She would NOT go down without a fight. It was time to stand up to her parents and take her life in her own hands.

Mr. and Mrs. Prewett starred at their daughter for what seemed an eternity; neither of them was able to speak or even think straight. Albus stepped into the breach smoothly and smiled at the two fighting parties with a merry twinkle back in his eyes.

"Shall we go back to the party then?" he asked jovially, mock-bowing to his wife and offering her his arm.

Minerva looked worriedly from Molly to her parents to Arthur and back. She was waiting for the explosion. Stealthily her hand crept to her wand in the pocket of her dress and her long fingers wound around the handle. She wouldn't put it past William to hex his daughter here and yet with an abortion charm and Cruciatus Arthur before the lad was able to raise his own wand.

Albus sensed the rising tension as well as William sucking the magic from the air around them. Something big was coming but he would put himself in harm's way before either Molly or Arthur could get hurt.

"You are pregnant?" asked Ginevra almost inaudibly.

Her eyes were as round as saucers and her lips were ghostly white. Her little girl was joking surely. It was all a big trick. As if dictated by a strange force, she raised her wand.

"Accio pillow", she said, directing her wand at her daughter.

There was a muffled sound of a pillow hitting the other side of the door but her daughter stood there the same way as before. Molly looked confused for a minute or two before she started to laugh grimly.

"You really thought I made that up? Oh, mother, I always hoped you understood me better than that. I love Arthur and I would stop at nothing to be with him", she spoke softly, meaning every word of it but feeling her heart break none the less because her mother seemed more and more like a stranger.

"How could you? Why have you shamed yourself like that? How could you throw yourself away for ... that ... blood-traitor?" her father's confused voice reached Molly's ears.

William looked deflated, almost defeated, and obviously couldn't understand his daughter. What girl was stupid enough to throw away a chance to live in wealth for love? He had thought he had raised his daughter to be proud of the fact that she was a pure-blood witch of one of the richest and oldest wizarding families.

"I haven't 'thrown myself away', father! You wanted to sell me to the highest bidder and I refused to play along your silly game!" replied Molly heatedly.

Anger rose in her and she couldn't suppress it anymore. She had hoped that her parents would come around eventually, had hoped their unborn grandchild would turn the tables. Why had she been naive enough to believe that? Nothing would change her parents. They were too set in their ideologies. With heavy heart Molly turned to Albus.

"I'm sorry if we ruined this evening for you and Mina. Arthur and I better go home now. My desire to dance the night away was quailed", she said weakly.

Turning away from her parents, she walked towards the doors. Arthur shot his in-laws another nasty look before he followed his wife. Molly placed a hand on the door handle when she heard her father's voice again.

"Not so fast, missy! We're not done yet!"

Molly turned to answer her father but was cut off before she had a chance. A blinding curse hit Molly in her abdominal region and she felt the heartbeat of her child stop before she crumpled to the floor in a dead faint.