Prompt: Prisoner
XXX
As the evening wore on, Ginny felt like a prisoner in her parents' home. She was antsy, distracted, wondered what Draco was doing. (Answer: wandering the aisles of a muggle bookstore.) The entire family had moved into the living room, sipping tea or firewhiskey, chatting and lounging together. It was only Ginny that was ready to jump out of her skin, bound by obligation, counting down the seconds of her weekly sentence.
As the flames in the fireplace began to die down, Arthur nudged Molly, and then stood and cleared his throat. All eyes turned to the patriarch of the family, and they quieted quickly. Arthur had never been a man of great speeches or pronouncements, so the family knew this was something important.
Clearing his throat a second time, he began, "Your mother and I have an announcement to make. As you know, now that I've retired, mum and I have some extra time on our hands. We've decided to do some traveling." He smiled around the room at the anxious faces of his family, "So this may, sadly, be the last weekly family dinner for a bit."
Percy gasped, as only Percy could, and George and Ginny both stifled snickers at his reaction. Molly shot them both glares, while Arthur kept talking. "We're going to start out in Romania with Charlie, but he'll quickly grow tired of us, so we'll move on to see Bill and Fleur. We'll stay until the baby arrives and they're settled in, then if I can tear your mother away from her first grandchild, we'll move on to help Hermione with her parents' memories."
Molly rose to join her beloved husband, "You're all adults now, I'm certain you will be able to feed yourselves." Percy groaned loudly, and it was his turn for a glare from Molly. "I expect you to take care of each other while we're gone though. Don't act like strangers."
Ginny rose to hug her parents, "Go, go and enjoy yourselves. You deserve this. And we all know that part of your plan is to lure them all back home, one by one. Angelina and I will hold down the fort. Don't you worry." "
Molly was overcome, easily, by her daughter's words, and wiped away a quick tear. Ginny hugged her again, relieved, feeling the freedom of her prison doors swing wide open. She had been pardoned.
XXX
A/N: 399 words
Thank you for reading, and for any reviews you may choose to leave. Have a great day!
