A/N: I want to thank Melissa for giving me the idea for this chapter. I hope I didn't disappoint you with it.

Family Affairs Chapter 6

Two weeks after Ginny's wedding, Ron was at the Ministry and decided to drop by his father's office for a visit. He was glad that his father had come to his senses and came to the wedding. He felt very relieved that he wasn't angry at Ginny anymore and even seemed to accept Draco as Ginny's husband. Hermione had suggested that they invite Arthur over for dinner and tell him that they were getting married since they didn't have time to tell him at the wedding. Ron passed through the many corridors if the Ministry and had even bumped into Harry who was there to send a report. He finally arrived at the Ministry for Muggle Relations, where his dad was made Minister after Voldermort's downfall.

Seeing that the secretary wasn't at her desk, Ron just gave a cursory knock on the door an entered.

"Hi Dad! I was wondering if……."

His voice trailed off when he saw the mess in Arthur's office. There were clothes scattered on the floor, a sock was hanging limply on the back of a chair and an unrolled sleeping bag was lying at the corner of the office. He looked up at his father who was smiling sheepishly and trying to kick the clothes under the table.

"Dad what happened? How long have you been sleeping in your office?" Ron asked, still gaping at the mess.

"Close to two weeks now. I didn't have time to clean it up today," said Arthur, waving his wand to magically clear up the mess.

"Why?"

"Your mother sort of found out I attended your sister's wedding and she sort of threw me out of the house," his dad said quietly. Ron saw that his father looked a bit gaunt and tired. There eye bags and dark rings under his eyes and he wasn't as clean-shaven as he was, two weeks ago.

"What happened dad?"

"Well, I had just stepped out of the Floo network……"

~

Arthur was still smiling as he stepped out of the fireplace and dusted the soot of his clothes. He looked up and found a glowering Molly sitting at the sofa, wiping the smile away from his face. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was tapping her fingers very impatiently. He knew that look very well. It was the look she gave all their children when they've done something wrong. Arthur could feel the blood draining from his face and he started to stutter, "M-  Mo-  Molly. It's wonderful to see you dear." He walked over to her, kissed her cheek, and tried to make a quick exit before she exploded.

"Arthur Weasley! Where HAVE you been?" she yelled, halting his escape.

"Been? I've been at the office. I told you early that I had an emergency meeting and had to rush off."

"I flooed your office and they said that you had the day off and there wasn't any emergency meeting so where have you been all day?" By this time, Molly's face was red and he could almost see steam coming out of her ears.

"Well…..ummm…you see……"

Without warning, she cast a spell that tied him to a chair.  She propped up his feet, took off his shoes and socks, and folded her arms across her chest, still holding onto her wand.

"You can tell me where exactly you went right now or we could do this the hard way."

"Now wait Molly. Don't be harsh. I really had an important meeting I had to attend," he pleaded and tried to wiggle his way out of the rope. Unfortunately, they were very well tied and wiggling only made the rope scratch his skin raw.

"The hard way it is." Molly casted another spell and a feather appeared and started tickling his bare feet. "Now tell me where did you go?"

"P- P- Please…. Hahahahahaha… Mo- Molly....Hahahahah …. Make it stop! I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Hahahahaha!"

She stopped the tickling and looked at him expectantly. After gasping for breath and calming his racing heart beat, Arthur said quickly in a small voice, "IwenttoGinny'swedding."

"What. Did. You. SAY!"

"I went to Ginny's wedding," he repeated slower. He cautiously looked up and saw his angry wife, shaking with fury. He could feel the anger rolling off her like waves. He gulped audibly as he saw his wife going upstairs. Drawers and cupboard doors were heard slamming followed by thundering footsteps coming down the stairs. Arthur felt the ropes untied and he quickly got up to reason with his wife. His heart dropped when he saw that she had a bag of his clothes in her arms.

She threw the bag at his feet and said, "Don't come back here again! I want you to get out! Out!"

"But Molly…."

"OUT! Get out now before I hex you till next week," she said turning her back to him and walked out of the room.

Arthur sighed and picked up the bag. This is going to be a long week, he thought.

~

"That's bad," Ron said, shaking his head.

"Yes it is. Enough about my problem, so what have you come to see me about?"

"Hermione and I want to invite you over for dinner. We've got something to tell you."

"Sure, I'll come over. All I need to do is to sneak back home and get some clean clothes. What time do you want me to come over?"

"About 7.30. Dad, it would be nice if mum could come too."

"I'll try son but if she's still angry at me…..."

"I'm sure she won't be dad. I'll see you at dinner then."

~ * ~

At the Weasley family home, Molly Weasley was scrubbing the steps on the back porch furiously, for the third time that week. The rest of The Burrow was sparkling clean and shiny, having been cleaned three times a day since she told Arthur to get out of the house. She put the brush down and wiped her forehead with her arm. She sat on the steps and took a deep breath. The summer air always refreshed and relaxed her muscles after a hard day's work.

She looked around her garden to see if she can find anything else to do after scrubbing the steps. Her eyes caught sight of the old family swing moving in the breeze. All her children, especially Ginny and Ron, had loved playing on that old thing that Arthur had put up when Bill was three. So many memories were tied to it.

Molly got up from the steps, walked over to the old swing, and gingerly sat down. She pushed herself on the swing gently and let the memories wash over her.

~

Molly was in the kitchen preparing lunch while she kept an eye on Ron and Ginny who were playing in the garden. The Twins had been sent to their rooms for playing a prank on Percy. Percy had also gone to his room find solace away from his Twin younger brothers.

They look so cute together, she thought as she saw Ron took Ginny's hand and helped her up from the sand box.

Ron led Ginny to the family swing and helped her get onto the swing. Molly was a little worried that Ron might not be strong enough to carry his four-year-old sister onto the swing but she was proved wrong. After making sure that Ginny was sitting safely, Ron pushed the swing gently, causing Ginny to shriek with laughter.

"Push harder Ron. I want to go higher," Molly heard her daughter said.

"Only just a little higher ok? I don't want you to fall," Ron said.

There were more shrieks of laughter coming from the garden and Molly smiled. Ron had appointed himself as Ginny's playmate and protector ever since she was born. Ginny would always run to him if any of her brothers teased or bullied her. It warmed Molly's heart to see her two youngest children together.

After setting the table, Molly went out to the garden and called out, "Ron! Ginny! Come inside! It's lunch time!"

"Yes mum!" they said together.

Ron stopped the swing and helped his sister down before grabbing her hand. Both of them ran towards their mother and gave her a big hug each. Molly took their hands into hers and led them back into the house.

~

When Molly felt something wet drop onto her hand, she snap out of her reverie. She touched her cheeks and found them wet with tears. She hadn't realised that she had been crying. Molly got up and went back into the house.

She sat down in the kitchen and rested her head on her hands. No matter how hard she cleaned The Burrow, she couldn't erase the memories of her children fro them. Even the kitchen table had as many memories, if not more, than the swing. The kitchen was the epicentre of the family. It was where everyone gathered if they could sleep, if they had a problem or just to talk.

She missed her children so much. Ever since Ginny and Ron moved out, it's been so quiet around The Burrow. She felt so alone and unwanted. I miss them so much, she thought and broke down in tears once more.

~

Arthur flooed to The Burrow and stepped out of the fireplace as quietly as possible. He didn't want to be caught sneaking back into the house by Molly as he wasn't sure if she was still angry with him. He didn't want to end up in St. Mungo's will multiple hexes. He tiptoed past the kitchen and was about to go up the stairs when he heard sobbing coming from the kitchen. He turned around and headed to the kitchen where he found Molly crying into her arms.

"Molly? Are you ok?" he asked concerned.

"Arthur? Oh Arthur," she said. She got up from her seat and went over to Arthur, crying into his arms.

"What's wrong Molly?" Arthur led her to the living room couch and sat her down beside him. He rubbed her back gently and wiped away her tears.

"I miss them so much Arthur."

"So do I love but we can't expect them to stay here forever. They've all grown up now and will have a family of their own one day."

"I know you're right but I just can't help it. Especially with Ginny marrying that Malfoy boy."

"Molly, he makes her happy. That's what's important."

Molly remained silent for a few minutes, sniffing softly into a handkerchief. "Was she beautiful in the wedding?" she asked.

"She was stunning, love. Just like you were at our wedding." Arthur smiled at the memory of his wedding.

"I wish there were photos of the wedding," Molly said softly.

As if on cue, a large brown owl flew through the window and landed on the coffee table. It dropped a rather thick envelope and flew back out. It was addresses to Molly so she picked it up and tore open. A whole stack of photos and a note fell out of the envelope. Molly picked up the note and it read:

Dear Mum,

I hope that you are well. I know you're still angry with me and had declined the invitation to my wedding but that didn't stop me from wishing you were there. Since you didn't come to the wedding, I've sent you the photos so that you cab see what you missed. There are some photos of dad at the wedding and I hope that you wouldn't be too angry with him. I miss you terribly.

Love,

Ginny

Molly flipped through the photos slowly with tears brimming in her eyes. She turned to look at Arthur and said, "She's so beautiful. They look so happy together."

Arthur looked at the photos and smiled. "They are Molly. They are happy."

Molly settled herself against her husband and they flipped through the wedding photos together.