Quidditch League | Season 9 | Holyhead Harpies | Round Six | Chaser One
Word Count: 1181
A/N: This story takes place sometime in 1979.
Prompt: Charlie Weasley/Molly Weasley
Additional Prompts: Glowstick; Oliver Wood; Blanket
Molly's Boy
It was a Friday night – Molly's favorite night of the week. On Fridays she could spend the evenings outside with her family, laughing as they ate and watched the sun set. Arthur came home early on Fridays, too. Which meant he was there to help out with the twins, and to play with Bill, Percy, and Charlie.
Though she'd never voiced it aloud, Charlie had always been Molly's favorite child. Charlie was the kindest – and most manageable – of her five children. Every day when she woke up he'd be in the living room, waiting to kiss her cheek and wish her a good morning. And every night he'd do the same, but with a "Goodnight, Mummy." The other four, although sweet, didn't always take the time to do things like that.
Molly turned her attention back to the boys. Oliver Wood, a friend of her eldest three boys, was running alongside them in a game of Glowstick Tag – a new Muggle game which Arthur read about in his studies. It involved tapping the other players with a light-up, neon, plastic straw, thus making them "It." Molly didn't quite get it, but she liked watching her boys have so much fun.
"You know, boys," said Arthur, rising to his feet from his spot next to Molly and heading in Bill and Oliver's direction. "If you don't want to be It anymore, the Muggles say, 'I quit, I quit, I leave you It.'"
"Really?" asked Oliver in disbelief. As one of the youngest at four years old, everything and anything amazed him – even if the "thing" in question was a well-known fact. For example, he'd gasped earlier when told that one had to charge through a stone wall to get to Platform 9 ¾.
"But wouldn't that be cheating?" Percy, always a stickler for rules, spoke up in the high-pitched, tattletale voice Molly knew his brothers hated.
"No, not really." Arthur bent down to be about eye level with his son. "It's sort of a joke, to quit like that. It's all good fun."
Molly watched the scene unfold with amusement. After a few minutes, Charlie walked over to where she was sitting and grabbed a nearby blanket. He wrapped it around her shoulders, explaining, "It's cold, Mummy." She smiled and thanked him for his thoughtfulness, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself.
"Goodness, I don't remember it being this cold last summer," she said cheerfully.
"I don't remember Percy being so annoying." Bill, who'd seen his brother leave, came to join them.
"Percy just wants to play the game right," Charlie defended his brother. "I don't see the problem."
Molly smiled. "Thank you, Charlie. Percy is only playing as he thinks he should according to the rules."
Percy, at that moment, came barreling towards them angrily. He stomped right past her through the front door and into the house. The door slammed behind him.
"Percy, come back! I didn't mean it like that!" came Oliver's cry. Arthur, walking back towards the group, shook his head in disappointment.
"Perce has got a nasty temper, honestly." With one last look towards Molly, he followed his son into the house.
"Well," Molly huffed. "I think the game's over. Oliver!" The boy ran across the backyard to reach her. "You hungry?"
"Yeah!"
"And Charlie? Bill? What about you two?"
"Yep."
"Uh-huh. Can we get takeout?"
Molly laughed. "Is that some sort of Muggle thing, Charlie?" Her precious boy was sprouting all sorts of Muggle things nowadays, what with Arthur's promotion and all.
From inside the house she could hear Arthur trying to console a crying Fred – or was it George? It was awfully hard to tell. The twins were identical in every way, making it impossible to decide who was who, they took great joy in telling her when she guessed the wrong twin.
"Takeout" was ordered and everyone (save for the twins, who'd been put to bed) sat down at the outdoor picnic table to eat. With a tap of her wand, Molly filled everyone's glasses, smiling extra at Charlie when he remembered his manners and said, "Thank you, Mum." Nobody, not even Arthur, had remembered to do that.
Percy continued to sulk throughout the meal, and rarely ate or spoke. Eventually, Arthur got fed up with Percy's attitude and sent him inside with his food, and that was the end of that.
As daylight began to fade, the glowsticks were brought out again and used to light up the backyard, illuminating the group's faces in neon pink, yellow, and green light. Arthur wrapped an arm around Molly's middle, and in response, she reached out her free arm to grasp Charlie by the shoulders. Bill ran around to the back of the Burrow to light some fireworks accompanied by Percy, who wanted to make sure his older brother was "safe and responsible," when setting them off.
"Mummy?"
Molly looked down at her boy. "Mm?"
"Can I have a pet dragon?"
Molly desperately wanted to say yes, knowing Charlie not only deserved something incredible but was responsible enough for a pet – even a fire-breathing dragon. Instead, having better judgement, she said, "Why don't we wait until you go to Hogwarts? Then you can practice with baby dragons and see if you still want one."
"I'll always want one. But all right."
Molly kissed the top of his head, releasing herself from Arthur, who then went to go check on Percy and Charlie. Oliver – who had been finishing up his food, being a slow eater – ran after Arthur, wanting to see how the fireworks worked.
"You'll get your dragon, Charlie," Molly murmured, squeezing his shoulders, "I promise."
"M'kay…"
19 years later
Molly sat outside, on the now-falling-apart porch she and Arthur had spent so many evenings on. He wasn't beside her. He was at Hogwarts with Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, being a source of support and helping the teachers rebuild.
Fred was gone.
The shock of it all came so quickly. The Battle of Hogwarts had left them all scarred, she supposed, but would anything ever really be the same? And Charlie, Charlie whom she wanted so badly to be sitting beside her, was nowhere to be found.
Or so she thought.
Molly felt a blanket draped around her, and unconsciously she took the neon pink glowstick she was handed.
"It's getting cold, Mum."
Charlie sat down on the porch next to her. Even when he was sitting, she could tell he was taller than when she'd last seen him.
"I miss him so much," she choked, holding her tears in so he didn't have to see her cry.
Charlie said nothing. He just sat there, quietly, calmly. Then, slowly, he said, "I've opened a dragon sanctuary. I was hoping you and Dad could come see it."
Molly patted his knee in reply. He took that to mean they would.
The two of them sat shoulder-to-shoulder for hours, and only stood up when the last bit of daylight had faded completely.
Molly's boy was home at last.