Then an idea struck her. Down by the lake, that rogue dog that had been hanging around...
"Accio canine," she whispered, pointing her wand at the dog. And it went whoooooosh towards her.
Molly held her breath. The dog was in the opposite direction from the groundskeeper, but...
He turned, but didn't see.
Molly sighed with relief.
The newly accio-ed dog looked at her reproachfully. Molly patted it on the head, smiling apologetically. Then she shooed it forward through the bushes towards Ogg.
"Oo," he said, "Bloddy hell, not you damn mutt again. Off ya go." He too shooed the dug off.
Poor thing looked absolutely confused, Molly though. Oh well. At least Ogg had gone back to bed...
Molly turned back to her uncollapsed collapsible cauldron. Five more minutes, and it would be ready.
Molly looked left. Molly looked right. Molly tipped a whole vial of love potion into Amos Diggory's pumpkin juice, and scampered off, her heart pounding like a log knocking down a door.
She'd done it! She'd actually done it! Amos Diggory would be in love with her! Her, not some fifth year skank with blond hair and big breasts!
"Molly Diggory," she whispered to herself, as she reached her table. Arthur looked up at her, frowning.
"You're not still on about Diggory, are you?" he demanded.
Molly laughed like a jackal would, but with more malice.
Arthur grumbled and blushed, his face going almost as red as his, and Molly's, hair.
Even though Molly sat down next to Arthur, she ignored him the rest of breakfast.
"Molly!" Amos said, slapping her on the back. Molly looked up, horrified.
"Oh, sorry dearie, did I hit so hard? I am sorry. So, Molly dearest, how'd you like to visit Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"
"Um, ah..." Molly flushed, "Sure!"
"Cool. Talk to you later, sweetie," said Amos, and disappeared towards his own table, but only after kissing Molly on the cheek.
Molly felt like fainting.
It was only later that Molly thought there had been something wrong with the situation earlier.
She thought back on what the potion's instructions said. "As the moon grows, so will this person's love for you...."
But she'd given him the potion only yesterday. Surely the book had meant it would take until the full moon for the potion to fully come into effect?
Oh well, Molly thought, that didn't really matter. Amos Diggory liked her! Her! Molly!
"Take that, blonde bitches," she said, smugly.
"Molly," Arthur said nervously, as she sat reading that evening.
"What Arthur, I'm busy," she said, waving the book in front of his face. The Once and Future King. Arthur blushed.
"Molly, I don't think that you should meet Amos."
Molly stood up, red with fury.
"And why not!" she demanded. Who was Arthur to tell her who or who not she could go out with? She'd worked to get this date, and she wasn't going to let it be spoilt by guilt over Arthur.
"I - I don't think he really wants to go out with you. I think it's just a joke."
"Oh really," Molly asked, voice calculatedly cold. "You think it's just a joke? So, what, you think that no one could want to go out with me?"
"What! No, I didn't..."
"You think that nobody could ever want to ask ME somewhere, no one could possibly have a crush on me!"
"Molly..."
"Well, you're wrong, Arthur Weasley! Not every male is as close minded as you are!" Molly screamed, picking up her books and stomping upstairs.
Behind her, every Gryffindor female turned to glare at Arthur.
Well. Today was the day. Molly took a deep breath as she slipped out of bed. She felt all jangley!
She was supposed to be meeting Amos at The Three Broomsticks for lunch, and god, she was excited! Oh, what should she wear, what should she wear...
"Molly?" a voice said, from behind red and gold curtains.
"What, Patrice?"
"Molly, go back to bed," Patrice sighed. "It's 4 in the morning."
Oh.
...Oh.
Molly sat back down on her bed.
"Well, now I feel stupid," she muttered.
She slipped back underneath the covers, and pretended to sleep for the next two hours.
When she finally was allowed to get up, Molly wasted no time in raiding her friend's make up collections. They sat on their beds, rubbing their eyes and glaring at her. She'd already put on her best robes, pale green and soft, and her hair had been brushed with one hundred brush strokes. They knew. Molly had been counting aloud.
"Sheesh, Molly, it's not like you're getting married or anything."
"Patrice, how can you say such a thing. It's Amos Diggory!" Molly said, only briefly feeling guilty about potioning the boy. It didn't matter, she told himself. She was only making what would have happened anyway come a little sooner. Just helping destiny along a bit, that's all it was!
"Molly, please!" Arthur begged.
"I...." Molly said, startled.
"Please, please Molly? I'm Arthur - you can be my Queen Guinevere! Pleasssssssse Molly, don't go out with Amos, what's so wrong with me?"
The last sentence went unnoticed. Molly was staring at Arthur, and odd look on her face.
"Arthur," she said. "Do you actually know the story of King Arthur?"
Arthur blinked.
"Ummmmm," he said. "No?"
"I didn't think so," Molly said. "Or you'd know Guinevere betrayed Arthur with Lancelot."
Molly spun on her heels, and left poor Arthur gaped open-mouthedly behind her.
Stupid Molly, stupid Molly! That had nothing to do with it!
But it was an excuse.
Before, however, Molly reached the stairs, she turned back to look at Arthur.
"And don't think I've forgotten what you said about me yesterday, hypocrite! Some friend...." she said, wondering what sort of friend she was.
Alone, Arthur slumped down on one of the large couches that adorned the Gryffindor common room. He glared at all the staring faces.
Why did he always have to leave himself open to such public humiliation?
Well. This was it, Molly thought, smiling to herself, all thoughts of Arthur and his stupidity temporarily forgotten. She was going on a date with Amos Diggory!
She practically skipped down Hogsmeade Road to The Three Broomsticks. She peered in the window first though, eager to see Amos. Oh, this was exciting! Where was he - oh, there, there he was!
Suddenly Molly's thoughts stopped in her tracks. There Amos was, but he wasn't alone. Her first instinct was to storm in there and demand to know what he was doing, but there was another thought niggling at her.
The potion hadn't worked. She had been right; it was too soon, unless it was some twisted joke of a love potion.
Molly knew it wasn't. It was her who was the joke here.
Looking back through the window, glaring at the skinny blonde girl he was kissing, it struck her. She understood.
He hadn't taken the potion at all. That must be it! There was no other explanation...
Molly ran almost all the way back to Hogwarts.
"Molly!" Arthur said, when Molly stormed into the common room. "What happened to your date?"
"Don't you get smug now, but you were right. I'm a fool! I never should've tried-"
"Tried what?"
"Nothing," Molly said, grinning falsely. "S'pose you've been here moping the whole time."
Arthur frowned.
"You could say that."
Molly sighed. Another thing to feel guilty about.
"I'm sorry, Arthur," she said, before heading up to her dorm room.
Molly poured herself a pitcher full of water. She poured in the rest of potion that she'd made up, a few vials full.
The drink turned bright purple.
Molly moaned.
She should have known.
She should have at least trusted Arthur.
Oh well.
Too late now.
Molly thought at first, that she wouldn't go to dinner. It would be too embarrassing...
Then she realised something.
She'd stood Amos Diggory up.
Wow.
How many other girls could say that?
Molly grinned to herself as she skipped down to dinner.
"Molly!" Amos said, storming over to the Gryffindor table. "Where were you?"
Molly looked up at him, smiling innocently.
"I'm sorry. I'd forgotten, I had a prior engagement."
Amos looked incredibly confused.
"What - what do you mean you had a prior engagement?"
"With Arthur," Molly said, with a smile. "I'm sorry, I should have said something."
Amos looked like he was about to say something, but was fighting it very, very hard.
Finally he broke.
"You set a love potion on me, and go and stand me up? How screwed up is that, you-"
"Love potion? What love potion?" Molly smiled.
"The love potion you tipped in my juice! It turned purple! I did tests! That was a love potion!"
"Amos, calm down, I never poured anything in your drink."
"Oh, of course you did," Amos said. "You're the only one smart enough to make such a thing - and the only one lovesick enough."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Amos. I'm sure there are plenty of girls - and boys - capable of making rudimentary love potions. But I can tell you, it wasn't me."
Amos looked dumbstruck.
"Now, Amos," Molly continued, "If you don't mind? Arthur and I were talking."
Amos stormed off, fuming.
Arthur stared at her.
"What was that?" he asked.
Molly beamed.
"Amos getting ideas above his station."
"Oh. Did you really..."
"Yes. Anyway. So, what was that you were saying this morning about us going out?" Molly said nonchalantly.
Arthur's freckled face broke into a grin, and as Molly saw it, she couldn't help but grin too.