A Million Possibilities
Author's Note: Originally published on September 5, 2021
"So, is today the big day?" Rodney sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, clapping his friend on the back before grabbing a slice of bread.
Arthur Weasley stared down at his porridge, a sickly look on his thin face. He glanced slyly down the table at her, before returning to his breakfast with a sigh. "I suppose so."
"That's the spirit. The first Hogsmeade trip is at the end of the week. You don't want to miss the opportunity again, do you?"
"No, I don't." He'd badly wanted to ask her last year, but couldn't summon up the courage, fearful of the rejection. Over the summer, he'd resolved he would do it this year, but it was far easier to make those promises to himself when she wasn't so close, like she was now.
Rodney grinned. "Everyone knows you fancy her anyway, so you might as well get it over with and stop moping."
Arthur looked up at his classmate and frowned. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"What's the worst that could happen, eh? If she says no, you move on." He puffed out his chest. "We're Fifth Years now, we're practically adults. You've got to have some confidence."
Arthur shook his head and gulped. "I think it would be far worse if she said yes."
Just then, a boisterous laugh rang out from the end of the table, causing Arthur's head to shoot up and take her in.
"You've got it bad," Rodney remarked. "When do you think you'll do it?"
"After classes today. I hope I can catch her alone. That way when she rejects me, at least it won't be in front of her friends." The thought of it caused him to push the bowl away. "I'm suddenly not hungry."
"You'll be fine."
"I hope so." He suddenly stood up, needing a breath of air. "I'll see you in Potions."
Had he looked back, he would have spotted two pairs of eyes watching him with great interest.
"I can't believe how many assignments we've got. When are we supposed to study for OWLs with all of this extra work?"
"Mmm," was Arthur's reply, his mind clearly elsewhere.
"Did you even hear a word in any of our classes this morning?" Rodney asked, a smirk on his face. "Or were all your thoughts on one Miss Prewett?"
"Shut it," Arthur replied through tightly pressed lips. "Someone might hear."
"Too late for that."
The two boys spun around, only to find the identical grinning visages of Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Arthur gulped; the two Seventh Years were known for their magical prowess.
Fabian motioned to Rodney. "You go for lunch; we want to have a quick chat with Mr. Weasley here."
Rodney wished him good luck, and hurried off.
Gideon threw an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, even though they were about the same height. "We understand that you fancy our little sister."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with us, we know you want to ask her to Hogsmeade. You really shouldn't talk about such sensitive things in the Great Hall—you never know who might be listening."
Arthur knew his charade was pointless, his shoulders slumping. "I was planning on asking her. But you don't have to worry, I don't think she'll say yes."
"That may be, but we were coming to warn you about her."
Arthur pulled out of Gideon's grasp, affronted. "What?"
"Don't misunderstand us, we love our sister and would do anything for her, but she has a very… strong personality. We came to warn you not to get bullied by her. She can be rather overpowering, downright scary even."
"But you're two of the most powerful wizards in the school."
Fabian smiled. "Yeah, but we can't exactly duel our little sister every time we get into a sibling argument. There's actually very little we can do when she's made her mind up about something."
"That's one of the things I like about her, that she is very strong-minded, not to mention caring, and beautiful." Arthur was smiling but was broken out his thoughts by the gagging sounds the twins were making.
"Look," Gideon said. "You seem like a nice enough bloke, so we'll leave you to it. I will say this though—if we do hear anything about you being less than respectful to our sister, then you will have to deal with us. Do you understand?"
Arthur nodded quickly.
"Oh, and don't tell her we said anything. It wouldn't be good for any of us. Now, hurry along."
They watched as the lanky redhead turned the corner.
"Poor bloke," Fabian remarked. "He has no idea what he's getting himself into, does he?"
"He certainly doesn't."
"What was that about?" Rodney asked as Arthur flopped down and let out a groan.
"If the asking wasn't bad enough, now I have to worry about those two."
"Well, you can't be surprised, they are her older brothers. I hope it's worth it."
Arthur happened to look up, and that moment, caught Molly's eye. She flashed him a quick smile, but all he could do was grimace awkwardly before looking away. He missed seeing the flash of disappointment on her face.
"She's definitely worth it. From all the time we've spent together in class, or studying, or even just chatting in the Common Room, I really like her company. I just don't know if I can ask her out without losing my lunch."
Arthur exited their last class of the day with great reluctance, knowing that his time was up. As he walked to the Great Hall for dinner, he spotted the object of his affections walking in front of him with a group of her friends.
He felt a nudge against his shoulder from Rodney. "Now's your chance."
"Here goes nothing." Arthur took a deep breath. "Molly?"
She stopped and turned, giving him a smile before signalling to her friends to go on without her. Rodney sped past them as well, nodding at Molly before disappearing down a nearby stairway.
She patted her hair before addressing him. "Yes, Arthur?"
He surreptitiously wiped his hands on the back of his robes, before running a hand through his ginger hair. "H-how are you?"
"I'm well, thank you. How are you?"
"I-I'm fine."
There was a long pause, but Molly's encouraging expression was enough to spur him on. "As you know, there is a Hogsmeade trip coming up. Sometimes, that is, some people like to go to Hogsmeade with other people, not their friends."
He knew he was babbling now but couldn't stop himself from getting flustered. "I thought maybe that could be something you might be interested in."
She let out a small laugh, her cheeks rosy as she placed her hands on her hips. "Arthur Weasley, are you asking me on a date?"
"Yes, I am. Molly, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"
"I would be delighted to. In fact, I've been hoping you would ask for some time."
Arthur was incredulous, his eyebrows flying up. "You have?"
"Yes, I have." She reached out and squeezed his forearm, letting her hand linger. "I thought I had been rather obvious in my attempts to flirt."
"Oh," Arthur blushed. "I assumed you were just being friendly. I did almost ask you last year, but I didn't think you'd say yes. Blimey, I didn't think you'd say yes now!"
"You had nothing to be worried about. You've always been sweet to me, and I've noticed."
He grinned at her, relieved to hear her say so. "So shall I meet you in the Common Room on Saturday morning?"
Her joyous expression mirrored his. "That sounds lovely."
He let out a breath. "Great! I'll see you then." He didn't know what possessed him to do so, but he stooped down and kissed her gently on the cheek, before walking away and smacking himself on the forehead.
The red in Molly's cheeks deepened, and she lifted a hand to her face, letting out a sigh of her own. Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.
He watched in awe as she descended the stairs into the Common Room, her flaming red hair pulled elegantly over her shoulder. A thin coat and a nice jumper were perfect for the fall weather, and she wore a long, loose skirt to complete the outfit.
"You look wonderful," Arthur complimented her as she reached him.
She beamed. "You don't look so bad yourself," she replied, sliding her arm through his. "Shall we?"
He nodded, dumbstruck that he was going out on an actual date with Molly Prewett. From the corner of his eye, he saw Fabian and Gideon watching the two of them, and he quickly looked away.
He was nervous but found making idle chit chat with her as they walked into the village to be rather easy. As the minutes ticked away, he felt himself getting more and more comfortable. It certainly didn't hurt that every few minutes she gave him a cute smile or laughed at one of his jokes. He felt drawn to her.
"Would you mind if we stopped at Scrivenshaft's?" Molly asked, breaking him out of his reverie.
"No, of course not. Running low on quills already?"
"No, nothing like that. I wanted to get some yarn. I took up knitting over the summer and want to continue practicing. I made this jumper, in fact."
"You did? That's incredible! I was admiring it earlier."
"You were admiring it, were you?" She winked at him, causing him to flush. "I'll just be a moment."
Arthur wrung his hands as paced outside of the shop, taking some deep breaths. Everything was going pretty well in his estimation, and he still couldn't believe that she seemed to like him as much as he liked her.
"Miss me?"
He nodded, reaching out a hand to take the bag from her. She grabbed his other hand and their fingers locked. He looked down, and then looked at her.
"Is this alright?" She asked.
He nodded again, and smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze which she returned. It seemed like a big step, to be holding hands so that everyone could see, and yet it felt right.
Molly's cheeks were glowing, and her eyes were sparkling. "Where to next?"
"I thought we might sit down somewhere. How about Madam Puddifoot's? It'll be quiet there. If that's fine with you, of course?"
"That sounds perfectly fine to me, Arthur."
The two walked through the village, enveloped in a bubble of giddiness. Arthur kept looking down at their joined hands. He already knew he was smitten with the red-headed witch.
The décor of the establishment was far simpler in the fall than at other times of the year, like Christmas and Valentine's Day. They were quickly ushered to a booth in the back and took their seats, facing each other. Once they settled in, Arthur took her hand in his again, resting them on the tabletop.
"This is nice, isn't it? Just the two of us?"
"No meddling family is a nice change, though it wouldn't surprise me if my brothers were in the next booth, listening in."
Arthur peeked at the next booth over and saw a couple snogging. "Don't worry, we seem to be safe here."
"You know about my brothers. Tell me about your family, what are they like?"
Arthur launched into a few tales about his family, which seemed to enthrall her before they were interrupted for their order.
"We don't have much, but we get on quite well."
"That's nice to hear. Some of my more distant relations on the Black side are quite… eccentric in their views of certain things."
"Oh, me too. I have some relations in the Black family, but we're not involved with them. I've heard their ideas on Muggles are rather disturbing."
"You're quite interested in Muggles, aren't you?"
"Oh yes," Arthur replied. "I find them absolutely fascinating, the way they come up with creative ideas and make things to make their lives easier without magic. They seem to come up with a million possibilities to solve a problem. Did you know American and Russian Muggles are trying to fly to the moon? Imagine that! I don't think wizards and witches would ever contemplate such a thing."
"It's rather cute to see you get so excited about it. Most wizards wouldn't."
"I know most people in our world would find it silly, but it is really interesting to me. I wouldn't mind working in Muggle Relations one day. I'm aiming for an Outstanding in my Muggle Studies OWL."
"Oh, don't remind me. I'm not looking forward to sitting those. It's going to be a difficult year, isn't it?"
He squeezed her hand. "Well, the year has started out brilliantly."
She waved him away but couldn't hide her pleasure. "I never took you for such a romantic."
"It's the truth. I've been hoping for this for awhile now. I've known you for four years, and I've fancied you for at least half that time."
She looked at him curiously. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you about that. I know I'm not the prettiest girl in our year, and I know I have a reputation of being somewhat bossy and strong-willed. Those don't seem like typical qualities one would be looking for."
Arthur grabbed her other hand in his.
"I happen to like the fact that you speak your mind and have your opinions. I've also seen you helping the younger students, and you're so generous and caring. I think those are especially important qualities in a person. I don't know what it is, but I feel so comfortable around you, like I can be myself."
"That's very nice to hear."
He leaned forward. "I also happen to think that you're quite fetching."
"You're a charmer, if I've ever met one."
"I'm serious. You are the prettiest girl in our year. At least to me you are."
She scoffed and shook her head. "I'll take your word for it."
At that moment, their server arrived with their tea and snacks, forcing them to let go of their hands and end their conversation. After a few bites, Molly continued.
"What did you get up to in the summer?"
"Well, we can't really afford to go on any fancy trips, but my family has a plot of land out in the country, near Devon. It's nothing special, but it's ours. We spent a lot of time there, cleaning things up. There's a small house on the property, so we fixed that up as well. I think my parents mean for me to have it when I'm older."
"Oh, isn't that nice! It sounds like a wonderful place. It must be beautiful out there."
"It's very peaceful. It seems like a nice place to raise a family. Not that I'm insinuating—" He dropped his fork with a clatter at that moment, causing her to giggle.
"You are a surprising one, Arthur. In a good way, though. I don't know of many sixteen-year-old boys who are thinking about such things."
"Oh, well, I guess I am a little bit odd then. I think it would be nice to have a big family one day, lots of little red-headed children running around."
"Who said they would have red hair?"
"Well, we both—" His eyes popped open, and he choked slightly on the scone he was eating, before gulping down his tea.
"Do you usually plan your entire future on your first dates? Is there a proposal coming?"
He shook his head, mortified. She let out a laugh and grabbed his hand again, entwining their fingers. "I'm only teasing."
After he recovered his wits, he couldn't help but respond. "I guess your brothers aren't the only troublemakers in the family."
"Certainly not," she replied, eyeing him mischievously while taking another sip of her tea.
They bantered on, talking about school, gossiping about their friends, and complaining about their teachers. The conversation flowed naturally until Arthur noticed other couples drifting out of the teashop.
"I think it's getting late; I suppose we should head back to the castle."
"Yes, we wouldn't want to get detention. Though I wouldn't mind it if I got to spend it with you."
As Molly finished up her tea, Arthur signalled to the server that they were done. After proudly paying their bill, he clasped Molly's hand again and led her out of the shop.
He peered around for a moment before setting off through the village, swiveling his head every few seconds.
"Arthur, is everything alright? We still have plenty of time."
"Y-Yes, of course."
"Then why do keep looking over your shoulder?"
"Oh… I don't want to say."
"I'd really rather you did."
Arthur stopped and sighed. "Your brothers threatened me if I did anything disrespectful toward you."
She frowned. "Those brothers of mine are going to get a piece of my mind. I'll have you know that I've had a lovely time, and you've been a complete gentleman."
"That's the problem, you see." He smiled down at her. "I would really like to kiss you right now… and not on the cheek this time."
"Don't concern yourself about Fabian and Gideon, I'll take care of them—and I'll decide what is disrespectful. Now, are you going to kiss me or not?"
He pulled her to a secluded area, away from the prying eyes of the other students. Cupping her face with his hands gently, he pressed his lips to hers. She responded and deepened their kiss, her arms wrapping around his narrow waist. It was bliss.
After they broke apart, they shared a smile and resumed walking back to the castle, hand-in-hand.
"Molly," he stated suddenly. "Will you go steady with me?"
"Go where?"
"Oh, it's a Muggle term. Would you like to be my girlfriend?"
"Yes, I would like that very much, my boyfriend."
His laughed bubbled up, unable to hide his happiness at the prospect. He was walking on a cloud as they made their way through the castle and up to the Common Room.
He realized his mistake too late, forgetting to drop her hand as they entered through the portrait hole. The were immediately set upon by Molly's twin brothers.
"What do we have here?"
"Well, you see—" Arthur began, only to be cut off by Molly.
"Arthur is my boyfriend now, no thanks to you two. Any attempts to threaten him in the future will be met with… a response. Do I make myself clear?"
Arthur was amazed at her gall and was even more amazed that they cowered at her words. If he wasn't already completely taken by her, that would have done it.
The two looked thoroughly chastened and agreed.
"Right then." Molly reached up and deliberately kissed him on the cheek in front of her siblings. "Thank you, Arthur, dear. I had a wonderful time. Shall we go study in the library? I'll go get my books."
He nodded, giving her hand a quick squeeze before they separated.
"Arthur, dear?" Gideon said after she left, his face screwing up in disgust. "I hope you're looking forward to a lifetime of that, Weasley."
That didn't sound so bad to him. He suddenly felt like the Muggles he was talking about earlier; it was like he had a million possibilities—now that he had Molly in his life.