Weasley Genes

Molly Weasley was tired. Every day was the same as the last; little Ginny would wake up first and sneak across the hall to wake Fred and George. Together, the three of them would come up with some heinous way to get either Percy or Ron out of bed. The last three days Ron was the victim to their rude awakenings. First it was discretely pouring warm water around his legs; they were still teasing him about "wetting the bed." The next morning they had mixed together a concoction of pepper and toothpaste and smeared it on his face and arms before making a quick get-away. Poor Ronald had awoken soon after to the unpleasant burning irritation the paste had caused his skin. Despite her warnings the three struck again, they stuck spiders in his bed. Much to Molly's dismay she had spent the morning calming a hiccupping weepy Ron into a nap on the sofa. Was it bad of her to be relieved her two eldest were away at Hogwarts?

Molly was quickly tidying up the remains of breakfast before she started on lunch. Oh lunch, Molly did take pride in her cooking but maybe she could keep it simple today, sandwiches maybe? Just as she reached for a loaf of bread she had made yesterday a horrible cacophony from the living room met her ears. Ron was crying, Ginny was screaming and the twins were shouting. Molly made her way quickly to see what problems her devious children had caused now.

As she entered the room she stood in shock for a moment. Frustration bubbled up as she took in the state of Fred and George. There they stood covered in soot with their hair blown straight up, a smouldering bucket lay at their feet. The four children froze when they saw her enter, eyes wide. Molly just wanted a day of peace, just one day, was that too much to ask? Of course it was. It was ridiculous, she had warned and scolded and threatened with punishment but this was the last straw. Just as Molly's face turned an interesting shade of red Percy burst in, his father's reading glasses askew on his nose.

"Mother! Can you please stop Fred and George from making so much noise? I'm trying to study! I leave for Hogwarts next year and I'm only half-way through Bill's old textbooks," Percy complained loudly. "Can't we just lock them outside or something? Look at-"

"Room Percy." Molly interrupted him.

"But Mother-" Percy whined only to be cut off again by an angrier by the minute Mrs Weasley.

"Go to your room Percy. I need to talk with your brothers and sister."

Recognizing her tone of voice Percy made a quick exit before the yelling started, there was no way he wanted around for that. Even though he did get a lot of satisfaction from seeing his younger siblings get in trouble, he would rather stay away so he didn't accidently irritate his mother and bring her wrath upon him. Plus, he really did need to study; there were only nine months until he left for Hogwarts.

It had been a long day for Arthur Weasley and he was very much looking forward to having some of his wife's, no doubt delicious, supper. Gathering his jacket he left for the apparition point where he could transport himself home to the Burrow. Personally, Arthur would prefer using the Floo system, but the resulting ashy mess it made in his living room just wasn't worth it. It was a little way he could help out Molly in keeping things clean. It was a short walk to the designated apparition point, one of the perks of working in MOMA - Misuse of Muggle Artefacts that is.

With a quick turn and a snap, Arthur appeared just outside the gates of his home. Whistling a jolly tune, he ambled up towards his irregular house and the warm welcoming light spilling through the windows. As he drew near though, an unsettling feeling dropped into his gut- it was quiet. An ordinary wizard may not find anything odd about a silent house, but Arthur's family? Oh no, they were anything but quiet. The feeling of unease grew as he reached the door, his happy tune puttering out. With great care, Arthur gripped his wand and raised it shakily before moving to open the door. Yes, You-Know-Who had been defeated by little Harry Potter. The thing is, You-Know-Who wasn't his only enemy. Deatheaters and self-righteous purebloods (they were the same people more often than not) had always looked down on his family and their defence of muggles. Taking a deep breath, Arthur opened the door. The creaking of the floorboards under his feet was almost deafening within the silence. Spotting no indication of trouble, Arthur crept into the living room where he finally got a glimpse of his family. Well, one of them at least.

"Molly?"

A sniffle was her only reply. There she sat, huddled on the corner of the sofa, knees pulled up to her chest. Arthur couldn't help but think she looked like a lost a child. That wasn't right though, Molly was strong – she always had been. Arthur quickly closed the gap between them and settled himself gently next to his wife.

"Molly… What is it? What's wrong?" Arthur questioned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to rest against his chest.

Molly huffed out a sob, "Its-" she cut herself off with a sniffle. "It's Ron. He… I think he has it Arthur. Oh Merlin, my poor baby."

Arthur's brow crinkled in confusion as his wife continued to cry softly. What did Ron have? Dragon Pox maybe? That wouldn't explain Molly's reaction. His wife was truly upset, it must be something big. For the life of him Arthur couldn't think of what… but yes… he could. There it was, sitting at the back of his mind. It was absurd, it couldn't be what he thought; it hadn't affected the Weasley line for decades.

"Please Molly, you have to explain," Arthur pleaded, moving his hand to raise her face to look at him.

"It Arthur! He has it. The twins and Ginny were trying to play another prank on Ronnie- something about pond water and chicken droppings. The bucket was melted Arthur. Melted and burnt and it was still hot," Molly's voice wavered out from her anxious rambling.

Arthur almost sighed with relief, Molly had worried about this with Bill and Charlie too. "That doesn't mean he has it, dear. It could easily have been accidental mag-"

"I couldn't fix it" she broke in.

"What?"

"The bucket Arthur, I tried to fix it but it wouldn't… it just- I couldn't. No matter what I tried. We both know what that means." She finished with conviction.

So both husband and wife sat in silence, letting this revelation sink in. It was true then, their youngest son had inherited the rare gift that belonged to the Weasley bloodline. Red hair wasn't the only thing that ran in Arthur's family. That didn't make it any less of a surprise.

Arthur really did sigh then, a weight settling on his shoulders, "Ron will be okay, Molly. We can teach him to control it."

"That's exactly it! He has to learn, he'll have to keep this secret his whole life. If the Ministry ever found out that there was a wizard who had control over one of the elements… who knows what they would do to him. There hasn't been a known witch or wizard with that kind of power for centuries." Molly was getting worked up again. "People are greedy in our world, especially those who work at the ministry."

Arthur ran a hand though his hair, he didn't need Molly to tell him how much danger his family was in. What happened to Arthur's Great Great Uncle was proof of what the consequences would be: death, destruction, and endless amounts of pain for everyone involved.

Arthur began slowly, "It'll be alright. Our son was given a gift-"

Molly scoffed but held her tongue, listening to what her husband had to say,

"We will get through this, we are a family. We are strong. We can't get rid of Ron's ability, but that doesn't mean we are going to give up. We're going to fight for our family, Molly. And we're going to win."

Arthur held her gaze and watched as the fire returned to his wife's eyes. Molly gave a strong nod.

"You're right, of course you're right," she muttered as she shared a tight embrace with Arthur Weasley; the amazing, hard-working father of her children.

Molly pulled back slightly so she could speak, "Should we go talk to him? All of the kids are in their rooms, we could explain everything now."

"No darling, it's been a long day. We can tell him in the morning, I think we all need a little rest. Shall we?" Arthur asked, holding out a hand.

Molly gave him a chaste kiss before gripping his hand, gaining comfort from the contact. Arthur smiled tiredly and together Mr and Mrs Weasley traveled the stairs and halls of the Burrow to their bedroom. Soon after they slid under the covers they drifted off into a deep sleep. Tomorrow and the days ahead would bring new troubles, but for tonight; everything was going to be just fine.