[Summary: Everyone always thought Molly and Arthur would stay together; forever. But what if they didn't? How would the youngest Weasley feel? And more importantly, what would drive these two characters to such extremes? In this series, we'll explore why such a loving family could be torn apart; falling unstable and if they'll every regain their once idolised strength. Starts the summer after GoF.]
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, as much as I'd like to, I fully acknowledge that JK Rowling came up with them using her vivid imagination and sense of creativity and I'm only "borrowing" them for the time being.
A/N: Sorry this has taken so long, it was done Thursday, but I was waiting for my Beta readers to return them. Only one did, and I got tired of waiting, so cheers!
"A happy family is but an earlier heaven."
- John Bowring
An Ideal Family
By: FireSprite
The Flight Of the Owl: III
Life passed quickly at the Burrow. Percy left, a job in the Ministry drawing him away; fights sprung up, making life tense in the household; and no one heard from Arthur Weasley. July swept into August like a gush of wind, frigid, fast; torrid. Although it passed quickly, not everything was the heaven it looked like from outside.
A passer-by might note the lovely quaint house, where magical pets and pests ran free, the sun smiling, and the lone girl sitting on the steps- telling stories to herself, no doubt.
Yet, in all honesty, they didn't see the paint peeling, the weeds overflowing the lawn, the sun burning the young girl's neck as she bowed her head, so no one would see the tears that fell.
She was drawing stick people in the dirt with a small branch, trying to ignore the shouts that came from inside. She kept drawing smiling people, happy children, a complete family. A dog. Two smiling adults who hugged each other. Even the 2.4 children. The sun shone in the back ground, as the house stood silently; proud.
Ginny was blocking out the screaming, the shouts, the outbursts. No one would have seen the walls shake slightly as a vase hit it, the dim echo bouncing around the yard.
'It's not like you can stop us!!' A voice cried. Ginny heard the screen door slam shut behind her and two pairs of feet trample onto the porch.
'You get back here, Gred and Forge. Dammit! George and Fred, or I'll personally see to it that you never see the light of day until school starts again! She has no business knowing!' The voice of Ginny's mother carried out into the yard, following the raging twins, as they walked away from the house. Ginny vaguely wondered what the argument was about, but seeing as she had been trying to block it out, she had nothing to go on.
'Fred? George?' She called timidly, from where she sat, hugging her legs for added warmth. They turned around and looked at the girl, who felt and looked much younger than fourteen. Their brown eyes both softened.
'Hey' Fred said, giving a her small, sad smile 'Don't worry there, tidbit' George nodded, shooting his twin a glance
'We'll be back soon, we just need to give the old bat time to calm down' George continued 'If you need us, for anything, anything at all We'll be at Lee's. Just Floo on over, we'll always be there for you'
'All right' Ginny said, quietly, looking down. She didn't want to see them walk away, just like their father had, almost a month ago. Slowly, but surely, she was watching her family fall apart, like her herself.
She hazily registered that she was alone in the yard again. Sighing, she stood up and brushed off any loose dirt she had managed to get on her legs. Climbing the steps, she entered the kitchen, only to find her Mother in tears, her head in her arms.
'Oh Ginny!' Her mother wailed, as Ginny rushed over, not quite sure what to do. She settled for kneeling next to her seated Mother 'I don't know how this all happened!! I'm tearing apart the family with my own hands!' She said, raising her face and looking at her hands, an almost horrified expression on her face. 'Look at myself!' She spat 'I'm no mother! I'm a failure!' With that she dissolved into more tears 'I can't even control my children any more, no one loves me Arthur Arthur-' She started, but gave herself what must have been a small mental shake as she looked over at Ginny. She continued on, after a moment 'What can I do?' She looked at Ginny, obviously waiting for an answer.
'Mum!' Ginny said 'I love you! Ron loves you! Fred and George, they love you, I know they do! You have Bill and Charlie who love you! And Dad I am positive that he loves you! What do you mean, no one loves you?!' She asked, hugging her mother 'You have a whole family who cares deeply about you and only wants this whole thing to smooth itself out'
Her mother sniffed. Once. Twice. Then nodded. She sighed, as she closed her eyes, leaning her head on Ginny's available shoulder 'I suppose you're right. Can't go to pieces now, can I?' She gave a derived laugh 'Yes No good can come of that, indeed'
Ginny sighed in relief and smiled slightly. She no longer felt so alone. Even if this whole family, hell, even if the whole world fell apart, she would always have her Mum, just like Molly would always have her.
'Now,' Molly said, standing up and tying on an apron, which had pictures of flowers on them. 'Should I whip us up some lunch?' She gave Ginny a smile, which Ginny had trouble deciphering as a real, honest to goodness smile or one put on for a front. Whatever it was, Ginny felt herself smiling back.
'Yes, please' She said, plunking herself down in one of the cushioned chairs. 'What are we having?' She wondered out loud as she absentmindedly picked at a piece of parchment on the table.
Her mother turned around, a smile fixed on.
'What ever you wan-' She said, but her smiled disappeared for a moment. Ginny looked up.
'What?' She queried, as she put down the parchment 'Did you burn yourself or something?' The girl looked at her Mum's hands, but seeing no burn or anything, looked back up.
The smile was back. 'Oh nothing, Ginny darling. I was just thinking, maybe we should invite Harry and Hermione over. It would give Ron something to do. Maybe he'll feel better with his friends around.'
'That's a good idea' Ginny said, nodding 'Can I go tell him?' She asked, brushing at her shirt, to which some of the paper was stuck. They slowly floated to the floor, like it was snowing; so lazy.
'Oh yes, Ginny, would you please?' Her mother answered, getting out a pan and turning on the stove.
'OK!' She said, bounding up the stairs, a bit happier than earlier. After all, Harry was coming for the rest of the summer
~
'Ron?' She asked, as she knocked on his door, 'Oh Ronald!' She sing-sang. She stood there for a moment, before she heard the distinct 'WHAT?!' emerging from the confines.
'Mum said you could invite Harry and your lovah for the rest of the summer' She said, holding a hand to her mouth, trying to stop the giggles.
The door was quickly yanked open. Ron appeared, it looked as if he had been crying. He glared at the giggling girl.
'What did you say?' He demanded to the now silent girl. 'Hermione is not my "lovah" as you so nicely put it, we're just friends!' He glowered.
'Well, sorr-ee' Ginny said, 'How would I know? You've only talked about her oh say, 95% of the time!'
'Is that all you had to tell me?' He sighed, giving up on the smiling girl. Honestly!
'No' Ginny said, 'Lunch will be ready soon' With that she turned around and went back to the kitchen.
Sitting down at the cleared table, her mother gave her a pile of grilled cheese sandwiches which oozed of melted cheddar cheese.
'Thanks!' She cried, digging in. Her mother sat down heavily and watched Ginny eat. 'Aren't you gonna have some?' She asked, as she finished her lunch.
'No, I'm not hungry' Her mother said, eyeing the pile. Ron came in, and sat down, shooting a glance at his mother. Satisfied that she wasn't about to burst into tears, he grabbed at the sandwiches and began to eat too.
Silence.
No one said a thing, the only sound was that of Ron's loud smacking.
Finally, 'I sent an owl to Hermione. I'll send one to Harry when Pig gets back'
'That's nice, Dear' Molly said, folding her napkin, which had been in her lap, onto the table. 'I think I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day'
Both Ron and Ginny nodded, not bothering to mention that it was only one in the afternoon. Their mother left after a quick peck on the cheek to both of them, and disappeared up the stairs.
The plate was now empty, as were her glass of milk. Ginny leaned back in the chair and watched Ron drain his. She giggled slightly as she realised he had a milk moustache when he lowered his glass. He glared at her immaturity and wiped at it with his napkin.
'Why aren't Bill and Charlie here yet?' Ginny asked, after a few tense moments of silence.
'Well' Ron started slowly, 'Bill said he'd be coming sometime this week, you know, as soon as he could get off work' Ginny nodded and frowned 'We still haven't heard back from Charlie yet'
'We haven't?' Ginny said, puzzled 'But it's been weeks!'
'Yeah' Said Ron, a grimace on his face 'But you know how he gets when he's found something good. Won't eat. Won't sleep. Won't check the owl post' He added as an afterthought 'Just a few more days, I'm sure he'll turn up some where on his own'
'All right' Ginny said, pushing herself away from the table with her chair and standing up. 'If you'll excuse me' She said, walking out of the room, leaving Ron to his own devices.
~
Ginny needed to be alone, once again. She found herself spending many hours, thinking, reviewing the weeks; months; years past. Deciding she wanted to be closer to her father, she headed to her Dad's study, all the way down the hall.
Entering, she noticed it was changed slightly. Papers were moved around, and things left unopened or unused on the table. It seemed Molly had had the same idea as Ginny. This must be where she's spending all those hours alone, Ginny mused, silently.
Sitting down on the coach, she took the papers off from the coffee table and looked through them.
Bills. Blank pieces of paper. Boring ministry forms. Nothing interesting. Ginny leaned over and pushed the papers onto the table, where they slid across the surface, fanning themselves open like a peacock.
She saw one letter she hadn't seen before. It was the paper she had been picking at in the kitchen. Her mother must have moved it here. She saw the corner of the paper where she had ripped it a bit.
Picking it up, she stared at it curiously. And her eyes widened as she read:
Dear Mrs. Arthur Weasley,
It is with my greatest sorrow to tell you that we have received bad news from the defence team known as Team Spectral, led by your husband, Arthur Weasley. The team returned to our bases in disarray. There had been a supsrise attack on their team as they staked out the next position of the Death Eaters. It was found that there was a leak in our security, a spy, if you will.
Many good wizard are now missing and/or dead, and I'm afraid you're husband was one of those who were not counted upon final inspection when the group return.
We have full hope that he is still living, as we are positive that the Death Eaters wouldn't kill him right away, as they perhaps assume that he has valuable information. We are doing everything in out power to find him, and rest assured, we have men searching for him right now. It shouldn't be long until we find him or we hear word from him or the Death Eaters that are holding his captive.
We will notify you upon any changes and/or developments that moment we receive word.
Sincerely,
Bill Allen,
Chief of Security,
Ministry of Magic
'What?' Ginny gasped. 'This can't be true!!' She cried 'They wouldn't have kept this from me' She said, denying that the paper even existed. She refused to look at as, she crumpled it up and ran out of the room, into the kitchen, searching in vain for Ron.
Where in God's name is he? Ginny screeched inwardly, looking about the barren kitchen.
'Ron!! Ron!!' She called, running around the room. As she ran past the window, she saw him. She stopped at the table, and with shaky fingers, smoothed out the paper.
Running outside, she stopped short of him, avoiding tripping over him.
'Ron!' She said, gasping for breath. She was so scared, she wasn't sure if she was even saying this out loud. It was like someone had put her in a tunnel and all she saw was Ron looking up at her like she was crazy.
'Yes?' He asked, squinting his eyes as the sun shone into his eyes as he looked at her.
'Is this true?' She asked, her lip trembling, as she pushed the letter in his hands. He looked down, and for a second didn't move.
'Yes' He finally answered 'Mum told us earlier today. We didn't want to upset you though, you seemed to be having an especially hard time with everything' He said, handing the crumpled parchment back to her 'I'm sorry, Gin'
A/N: I'm sorry guys, no Charlie and Bill today!! I decided to rewrite the whole chapter as I didn't like what I already had. So I've been sitting her for two hours straight! Any ways, I promise Charlie and Bill next chapter! More to come soon, sorry this took so long! Enjoy and please R/R! Until then!
Shout outs:
CassidyRai (What can I say, Cassidy? Apart from you thinking that I was someone else and had me review for them saying you are a blonde, you're still the coolest blonde I know round here!) BoyFlea (Thank you ever so much for all your support and reviews!) Carrie (Don't worry, you never bore me, and I really do think your English is improving!) Snowbear (Thank you so much, I will!) Debbi (Thank you so much for the beta! I appreciate it so much!) Ella (OMG! Thanks you so much for the wonderful review you left- you made my day I swear!) Slyvia (No suicide, I promise, although you probably think I'm cutting this close, right?) w&m_law (His girl is Jessie [Yes, NortylaK! She asked so I said yes. Sorry she's not in here!] And thanks you so much!)
