Rating back down to T for this one. Although it could even probably go lower because there isn't much in way of explicit content here.

Year Six: Winter Break 1966

Driven by a desire to spend as much of his winter holiday as possible with her, Arthur asked Molly over to his parents for Christmas. His mother was thoroughly delighted by including Molly into the fold. When his father found out his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "Finally!" The pair of them had never met, but he often wondered what made this young lady special enough for his youngest son to spend every day away from Hogwarts with his face practically pressed into the kitchen window glass, waiting for his owl, Ringo to return.

Of course, when Bilius caught wind of Molly joining them for the holiday, he couldn't help but cause sprigs of mistletoe to appear in the archway of every room when Arthur entered it. It was only made worse whenever Percy joined them on Christmas Eve, and they brought out everything Molly ever knitted him and hung it lovingly across the fireplace mantle. The boys nearly came to blows before Sefa threatened Percy with sleeping on the front stoop in the snow. This single act in turn kept Bilius in line.

Sefa, who was a staunch defender of Arthur's pride, was looking forward to having some female company aside from Cedrella, who often seemed more fixated on her grandsons than anyone else when they all got together. Karl was a bit put out that someone would be coming to steal away his "Uncle Artur's attentions from him. But he was quickly reminded by Bilius that they could play together instead, and that he was more fun than "Uncle Artur," anyway.

On Christmas morning, the Weasley House teemed with excitement. Everyone appeared to be on their toes awaiting Molly Prewett's arrival. Arthur paced in front of the fireplace in the sitting room, doing this best to ignore Percy and Bilius' heckling from the kitchen. It was Bilius' idea to charm the kitchen door so that it remained propped open and the pair of them could continue on with their taunts through morning breakfast.

"Artie, if you don't come in here soon, all the bacon's going to be gone!" Bilius crooned.

Percy chimed in good naturedly, "Yeah, we're eating all your eggy bread!"

But food was the furthest thing from Arthur's mind right now. His stomach clenched with anxiety at the joining of these two parts of his life together. He hoped Molly wouldn't run for the hills after meeting Bilius and Percy and seeing how they were when together. With this thought he went on pacing, waiting for the green flames to ignite and for her to suddenly appear. She wasn't late per se, so much as they were all eating breakfast a bit early. And he hoped she didn't take this as a sign that she was unwelcome in their home. As a result, he purposefully refrained from eating until she arrived.

"Look at him!" Percy hissed with an edge of laughter invading his words, "Looks like he's going to be sick!"

"Thank goodness she didn't knit him a maroon jumper this year!" Bilius joined in similarly.

"Yeah that blue really brings out your eyes, Artie!" Percy jeered noisily, earning him a smack to the back of the head from his wife, Sefa.

"Now boys remember the first time you brought girls over," Cedrella reprimanded, her bright blue eyes turning icy as she offered up a stern reminder to her grown children.

"Best to leave him alone," Septimus agreed in between big bites of eggy bread. His muddy green eyes then met Arthur's from between rooms, and his father then winked at him with an unspoken understanding. He brandished his wand with a single flick of his wrist, and the door shut swiftly.

Arthur was grateful for the momentary quiet. Although he wasn't quite sure of what to do with himself. He sat for several seconds on the settee, crossed his legs, uncrossed them. He leaned forward until his elbows rested on top of his knees, then he leaned back and casually draped an arm over the back portion of the settee. Then he stood again, paced until he came in front of the fireplace, fixing his gaze in the mirror above the mantle. He tugged on the bottom of the royal blue jumper that had white, shimmering lumps that were intended to be snowflakes. Had he grown since she finished this and gifted it to him? He couldn't possibly have, could he?

He started to flex his arms, feeling the weave of the fabric grow taunt beneath his slight muscles. And then the fire roared green and he practically leapt back when he spotted Molly tottering forward, her arms full of half a dozen parcels that concealed the majority of her face.

"Hi." They both said simultaneously before their nervous laughter sounded together.

"Gracious Molly!" Arthur let out a low whistle, catching two of the packages that slid off the top of the pile, revealing her round and smiling face. "What'd you bring?"

"Presents," She answered brightly.

"Presents?" He echoed incredulously, "For whom?"

Arching a brow, she returned with a rather isn't it obvious edge to her tone, "Your family."

"Molls," He exhaled, clearly touched by this gesture, "you didn't have to…"

"…I know but I wanted to." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Relieving her of the rest of the parcels, he dropped them off beneath the three trees hovering in the corner nearby. When he went back to meet her, she was pulling off an emerald beret swatting at the flyaway hairs that clung to it before smoothing them down on her head. She then dusted the soot from the shoulders of her matching cloak and allowed Arthur to help her unfasten it before he moved to the hall stand where all the others hung.

When he returned to the sitting room, he found her back to him as she stared at the photographs his mother kept had on the mantel. They were various scenes from his childhood, frames he always made his mother put away anytime he had friends over for the usual New Years Eve to do. Molly's hands clasped behind her and he took in the full red plaid skirt that hung just below her knees and the black, lacy sleeved top that tucked neatly into it. Her hair was softly curled, just gracing her shoulders.

As he rounded the settee to stand by her side, he asked lightly, "You cut your hair?" His fingers touched the ends, rustling it.

She rotated on the spot to face him, an air of slight self-consciousness crossing her expression, "Do you hate it?"

"No," Arthur informed her with a sincere smile. Unable to stop himself, his forefinger stroked the side of her face, and he went on gently, "It looks nice on you."

"Arthurr…" She purred, her shoulders lifting at this. A bashful smile creased her lips as she glanced downward. Then her eyes caught something in the distance, and she gasped.

Arthur turned to see that the door to the kitchen had silently swung open again, and he saw five faces leaning forward at varying angles all around the kitchen table, each of them grinning over at Molly and him. His mother and Sefa waved excitedly at her.

"It appears we have an audience," She giggled up at him, wrapping her arm around his before returning the slight wave.

"I am going to kill each and everyone of them," He mumbled under his breath so only she could hear.

"On Christmas? Now that's not very festive," She nudged him in the rubs, trying to provoke a smile from him.

The corners of his mouth twitched up in response. How he loved her for trying to bolster his mood. He found himself quipping, "Still not too late to back out now, you know?"

"Ohh…" Molly moaned as a rejoinder before smacking his arm lightly, "…they can't be that bad."

He grumbled something unintelligible, unable to meet the full height of her optimism.

"Come on you," She urged, feigning a heavy sigh.

There was something rather reassuring about how comfortable she seemed in this moment. Even if she didn't have a clue as to what she was getting into with his family, he felt the anxiety in his stomach recede momentarily.

He brought her into the kitchen where singsong cheers of "Happy Christmas Molly!" rang out at varying octaves and tempos so that everyone finished calling it out at different times. Followed up by a high pitched, "Happy Christmas Ma-wee!" from Arthur's four year told nephew, Karl.

The nerves bouncing round inside of her settled as she couldn't help but laugh at the bright-eyed little boy with sandy blonde hair and a crooked, little grin. She returned more quietly than the rest of them with a halfhearted wave, "Happy Christmas All!"

"Here Molly," Cedrella, seated in the chair closest to the doorway, stood swiftly and gestured for her to take her seat. "I'm finished. Septimus will gather you a plate."

As she released Arthur's arm and they passed one another, Cedrella brought her into a firm embrace, kissing either side of her face.

"Hope you like eggy bread and bacon," His father announced, already conducting several slices of everything to drop on an empty plate with his wand. He set the plate at the place setting in front of her as she slid onto the chair.

"Smells delicious," She complimented, smoothing a napkin over her lap. "Thank you."

Molly caught sight of Septimus Weasley's face and found herself met with a smile remarkably similar to Arthur's. He had light brown eyes flecked with green and greyish blonde hair that receded in the same jagged fashion as Arthur's had begun to.

He told her eagerly, "I'm glad we're finally able to meet."

"Me too," She cut into her bread, and then thought to add, "Arthur talks about you a great deal. All of you actually." She cast her attention around the table, taking in the rest of his family.

"What?" Came a droll sort of chuckle from the other side of Septimus. "You mean to tell us he isn't ashamed of his big brothers?"

Molly deduced that this was likely Percy, Arthur's oldest brother. They shared the same shaped face and nose, but the resemblance ended there as Percy's light brown hair and honey eyes made him look like the spitting image of Septimus Weasley, but only several years younger. Whereas Bilius and Arthur were a combination of both parents, slightly favoring Cedrella over Septimus.

Still, Molly managed to return a kind smile, and then she shook her head ever so slightly, "I never got that impression, no."

"Either that or she's just being nice," Bilius remarked, winking over at her as her eyes met his from directly across her.

She rolled her eyes at him and took a bite of the moist bread.

"Well someone has to be nice," Came a confident tone from a blonde woman who sat between Percy, little Karl. It had to be Sefa with her long flowing hair and bright, blue green eyes. She smiled softly over at Molly before adding with a teasing edge, "Lords knows you two certainly aren't."

Molly couldn't help but snort at this, and blurt out, "Well I wonder where Arthur gets his manners from, if they don't come from his brothers."

An immediate hush fell over the table. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Molly immediately felt her cheeks blossom with a mortified shade of red. Eyes widening, she looked to Arthur for support, but he merely looked as though he swallowed a Hungarian Horntail.

She was about to utter a profuse apology whenever Bilius snorted loudly, a noise which soon descended into low belly laughter. His laugh then set off a chain reaction as the rest of the family soon joined in. Molly looked down at her plate, smiling to herself at the successful quip.

Septimus Weasley chortled before lifting his cup of tea in her direction, "You might as well be a Weasley already."

Chancing a sideways glance at Arthur, he covered her hand with his and stared at her rather proudly. It was almost like in that moment, he was silently agreeing with his father's words. At this realization she felt something flutter in the pit of her stomach.

Following breakfast, presents were exchanged in the sitting room and everyone was taking care to examine their fares. Molly watched as Jack tried crawling after the enchanted cars Arthur bought for him, Sefa quick to redirect his path anytime he was about to bump into a piece of furniture. Cedrella and Septimus had their heads bent together while the sipped eggnog laced with firewhiskey in front of the trees. Bilius and Percy were attempting a game of Wizard's Chess in front of the fireplace but kept facing interruptions as Karl kept trying to steal their attention with his new self-coloring crayons and coloring book.

Molly felt Arthur take her hand as they sat side by side on the smaller settee situated in the far corner of the room, watching the scene unfold before them. Their faces turned to one another and easy smiles danced across them. Breakfast had gone well and now she was growing more comfortable around everyone and with her place among them.

She knew Bilius for his weird humor from their shared Hogwarts days, so it didn't come as too much of a shock to her. But she didn't expect the mischievous streak in him that Percy seemed to incite. She thought Sefa was lovely but felt a bit sorry for her as she tried to wrangle two kids with little help from her husband. And her opinion of Cedrella Weasley hadn't changed from their initial meeting in Diagon Alley three years ago. Although it made her insides warm to see her alongside her husband, who clearly softened those sharp, intimidating edges to her personality. And of course, Karl and baby Jack were nothing short of adorable.

"I can't believe you made everyone a scarf," Arthur marveled for the hundredth time, drawing her mind away from her thoughts.

She shrugged, her eyes falling down between them. "Scarves are easier than jumpers."

"But even so, you didn't have to do that," He tilted his head to one side, his eyes illuminating with gratitude.

"So you keep saying," She pointed out teasingly, gazing up at him yet again. Arthur recently could labor a point if he wanted to. So Molly kept on with her insistence of, "But seeing as your family got me presents, I couldn't likely show up empty handed."

His mouth drooped, lips twitching anxiously, "I didn't get anything for yours."

"It's alright," Molly assured, taking his other hand in hers and squeezing it. "They won't be any wiser."

"But still…they probably think I'm some wanker."

His dejected tone pierced her heart momentarily and she gripped both of his hands tighter. Cocking her head to one side, she forced his eye to meet hers, "Will you stop? They do not. My mother loves you. My brothers are quite chummy with you. Rose is one of your best mates. And my dad well…" Words failed her as she tried to come up with an adequate descriptor for their newly established relationship.

"…he wants to kill me?" Arthur finished with a smirk.

"Oh, come on," She urged, shifting on the sofa until she was facing him.

"He would if he knew what we…"

Molly pressed a finger to his lips, reminding him sweetly, "Well he doesn't, so you're in luck."

Once she removed her finger he kept on meandering with worry, "But if he did…"

Leaning forward and lowering her voice in a tone that only he could hear, she grinned deviously while musing, "Are you going to think of my dad every time we do that now?"

"No!" He exclaimed hotly, his face blushing red.

Molly jumped away from him, eyes darting about the room at everyone who was shooting them quizzical looks. Molly felt her cheeks rush with an embarrassed heat.

Chuckling lightly, she turned back to Arthur adding slyly, "Good. I would hate for anything to lower your opinion of that."

He regarded her a bit warily, a promising lilt to his words, "You say it like there might be a next time."

"You sound surprised."

"Oh I dunno I just thought…" His words faltered and he paused before starting up again, "…I mean…girls don't always…enjoy that."

She found him utterly endearing as he worked to express the sentiment. But then a darker thought seized hold of her heart, and she found her hands starting to slip away.

Arching a brow, she crowed, "Speaking from loads of experience, are you?"

"It's just…" He looked away from her, his voice lowering, "…what I heard."

Deciding the remark was nothing short of innocent, Molly let out a sigh, "Well do you want to hear what I have to say on the matter?"

"Yes, please," He replied clearly enthused.

She leaned forward to whisper throatily in his ear, "I quite enjoyed it. Particularly that last bit." She finished by running her teeth across his earlobe before attempting to disguise it with a kiss.

"Molly," He whined softly, pressing a hand at the front of her shoulder and pushing her away so that they sat at a modest distance.

Suddenly they could hear Karl complaining loudly, "I want Uncle Artur to help."

"Oh well…" Percy answered, his eyes settling over on the pair of them seated with their hands clasped together, "Uncle Arthur's a little busy with Molly at the moment."

Karl's lip downturned and his blue eyes began welling up with tears. "Oh Arthur," Molly bemoaned, feeling the depths of the little boy's disappointment. "You should…" She jerked her head in the direction of Karl who was beginning to blubber.

"You don't mind?"

She shook her head and released his hands.

Arthur shifted to the edge of the sofa, and waved his nephew over, "Karl…what'd want me to help with now?"

Percy, who had began opening up the magical colouring book, poked his son in the arm and pointed in Arthur's direction. "Go take it to him," He instructed with a slight shove in his back.

Karl brought the book over, carrying it by the front half while the rest of it dangled open. His box of enchanted crayons shoved beneath his armpit.

"A colouring book!" Arthur chimed in enthusiastically, sliding down onto the floor and patting the floor beside him. "Alright so…which drawing do we want to colour?"

After flipping through several moving pictures, Karl finally settled on one. It was a witch and a wizard in a kitchen. The witch stirred the mixture in the cauldron, which bubbled over the brim and onto the floor below. The wizard was directing ingredients into it with his hand. The flames of the fire danced beneath the cauldron, and the curtains on the kitchen window fluttered as if a breeze was coming into the room.

"This one!" He announced, fishing out a purple crayon from the worn out box. He pointed it at the page, and a stream of color began to flow from the tip and onto the bubbling concoction in the cauldron.

"Excellent choice," Arthur remarked before picking up a dark brown crayon.

Molly watched as he set to colouring the wizard's hair. After several seconds of colouring in silence, Karl suddenly piped up, "No…not that colour!"

"No?" Arthur tilted his head to one side, clearly puzzled by this outburst.

"No…that's you." He insisted before fishing out an orange red colour, "This one."

"Oh ok," Arthur chuckled, moving to colour over it with the reddish colour.

Molly felt herself soften as she watched the pair of them colour on the floor together. To see Arthur so excited, so patient with his nephew was to see a whole other side to him that she didn't know existed. While he was generally kind and thoughtful towards her, to see how well he got along with Karl made her love him more somehow in a way she never quite thought possible.

Suddenly Karl started to color in the witch's hair, choosing a burnt red from the package of crayons. Arthur stopped placing the finishing touches on the wizard's cloak and probed curiously. "The witch has red hair too?"

Karl bobbed his head and went on waving the crayon so the color flooded the page in uneven strokes. His eyes flickered up to meet Molly's every few seconds and she merely smiled at him in response.

Then it dawned on her whenever he picked up a brown to color in the eyes. The skirt was scribbled with red, black, and white, and the top was black as well. She nudged Arthur's lower back with her stocking clad toe and when he peered up at her, she nodded at the drawing and smiled.

Sensing the unspoken question in the air, Arthur decided to ask it out loud, "Karl, who is that supposed to be?"

His blue eyes met her brown ones, and then he looked back at his uncle before muttering rather quietly, "Ma-wee."

Arthur placed a hand atop her knee, squeezing it gently. In that moment, she knew she could spend a hundred Christmases like this one.

So there wasn't a whole lot of plot involved in this one. Just a bit of Christmas fluff and Molly spending time with The Weasley's because why not? It's also hard to believe that this is twenty chapters long! I honestly can't believe I have written as much as I have with this! I hope everyone is staying safe and ok during these uncertain times. Much love & light to you all!