Chapter Twenty – The Order, The Final Battle
The one drawback of a position with so much responsibility was the hours. Arthur was working twelve to fourteen hour days. Molly barely saw him during the day. As Molly thought would happen, everyone in the Order had been thrilled by Arthur's announcement.
Then sooner than Molly had expected it, the day everyone knew was coming arrived.
Molly and Arthur were relaxing in the study of Headquarters. A great number of Order Members started spending their free time here. Bill, Fleur, Percy, Fred and George were all in the study when the time came. Tonks and Remus were there too.
Severus Snape suddenly flooed into the study fireplace. At once, everyone was up and had their wands out instantly. "Potter's taken his gang to the Riddle House," he said frantically.
There was an uproar. Molly ran to the kitchen and started alerting anyone who was in the house. The Order had a plan in case something like this happened. They all had been told were the Riddle House was, so that they could apparate there. Molly's job was to help alert the members of the Order who were not at Headquarters when this happened. Then during the battle, she would be helping the wounded. The rest of the Weasleys would be fighting.
After a half hour of constant flooing and apparating, she had alerted everyone she could. Molly apparated herself to the Riddle House, silently hoping that her family was still alive.
The first thing Molly noticed was the stench of death. It was everywhere. She ran to the first Order member she could find and opened her first aid kit.
After an hour of constant searching for wounded, she was exhausted. But Molly refused to let up. She ran to a man that had terrible burns all over his body. Molly took out some burn salve and noticed with a shock that the man had red hair. Molly put her hands over her mouth to stop her scream. This was one of her sons, and he was so badly burned she couldn't tell which one.
Molly went straight to work. She gave her son a small sip of potion that Professor Snape had assured her would take away most pain. She looked at the build of the son in her arms. He was short and stocky. Only Charlie, Fred and George had that build. The rest were tall. Charlie was in Romania, so he was either Fred or George.
"Mum," the twin whispered. He seemed to realize she didn't know who he was and said, "George."
"Stay awake George! Don't you dare fall asleep on me!" Molly cried.
"Tired…" George said softly.
Molly decided to change tactics. "You love disobeying me, George. I want you to fall asleep right now," she said as she rubbed the cool salve over his face.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" she demanded.
George looked up at her and gave her a small grin. "Can't…sleep…now…" he whispered.
Molly knew she should go check on other Order members, to see if anyone else needed help. She refused to leave George alone. She kept rubbing the salve over his body.
"Feels…good…" George said. Molly could tell he was trying as hard as he could not to fall asleep.
Molly looked up and saw a Death Eater coming towards her. Without a moment's hesitation she took out her wand and yelled, "Stupefy!" Molly put all of her anger and frustration into that spell and the Death Eater crumbled to the ground instantly.
Molly didn't know how long she sat there with George. Every so often she would see a Death Eater and stun him before he could get close. She made George relive his childhood with her. She just made sure he kept talking.
Finally, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "It's over," she heard Arthur said. Molly looked up desperately at her husband. She closed her eyes briefly, grateful that he was still alive. Arthur looked at the son in her arms and she saw tears falling down his cheeks.
She didn't want to ask this question, but Molly needed to know now. "Did we win?" she asked, crying. "Is Harry still alive?"
Arthur knelt down to her and held her close. "Harry's alive. Voldemort is gone."
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It took hours to find the rest of the family. Bill was on one of the upper floors of the Riddle house. One of his legs had been crushed. He was transferred to St. Mungos. Fleur had been knocked unconscious during the battle and was found in the gardens.
Percy had been hit with Cadonoceo, a nasty spell that hurts the internal organs. He too would have a stay in St. Mungos.
Fred had been relatively unscathed during the battle. Molly heard him talking cheerfully to Remus Lupin that all he was hit with was a few Crucios. Molly saw Fred's face as he registered who was in her arms. She had never saw her son cry before. But she watched him curl up at George's side and howl.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had been found huddled together in the basement of the Riddle House, along with the bodies of Professor Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort. The vacant expression wouldn't leave Harry's eyes for weeks.
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Once George had been transferred to St. Mungos, Fred wouldn't leave his twin's side. No matter what anyone said, Fred told them that he would not go home until George woke up. Molly was thankful that Aelecia had agreed to be his Healer. She told them that his burns were extensive. If George could live through the next week, he would most likely survive. But with horrible scaring.
Molly was distraught. It was bad enough that one of her children might die, but one of the twins? She couldn't imagine one without the other. She knew if George died, that Fred would be an empty shell.
After awhile, Angelina gave up trying to get him home and started bringing Fred warm meals. Molly was grateful that Angelina was there for him. She was still in the midst of her Healer training, so she checked on Fred before, after and during her shifts. Angelina even brought in a small cot, so that Fred didn't have to sleep on the floor.
Alicia was a constant visitor too. Like clockwork, she was there everyday after work. Molly had been worried that George's burns would repulse her, but Alicia would hold George's hand for hours at a time.
After three days, Bill had been released. It was quite certain that he would have a limp for the rest of his life. Percy had a stay of almost ten days. Penelope visited him every single day, begging the Healers if she could stay past visitor hours.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were being treated at Hogwarts, away from all the fanfare. Molly realized she might never get a complete picture of what happened down in the basement. Memorial services for all the dead were going to be held in a few weeks. The Ministry thought it was best if everyone had a chance to recover first.
One day, not long after Percy had been released, Molly was heading up to the tearoom, when she ran into Angelina. There was a glow in her cheeks that Molly hadn't seen before. Her breasts were swollen, and Molly knew right then that she was going to be a grandmother soon.
"You're pregnant, aren't you?" she asked Angelina, who blushed.
She nodded. "I haven't told Fred yet…with so much going on…" she started.
Molly squeezed Angelina's hand, "Your secret is safe with me," she said.
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Molly walked into George's private room the next day to find Angelina sitting on Fred's lap. Fred's face lit up when he saw him mother. "Mum!" he cried. "My darling Angelina has just informed me that we're going to be having a child out of wedlock!"
Angelina hit him on the arm, "Nice way to tell your mum," she laughed.
Molly ran over to the pair and held them tightly in her arms. "You're both going to make wonderful parents," she whispered.
Molly broke away and looked at George. His scars were getting lighter. He would wake up now too, for minutes at a time.
"Don't worry, Mum. We won't be out of wedlock for long," Fred said seriously.
Angelina arched one eyebrow. "Oh we won't be?"
Fred nodded. "As soon as George can be my best man, we're getting married."
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"Do you, Angelina Johnson, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Professor McGonagall said sternly.
Angelina smiled at Fred, "I do," she said shyly.
"And do you, Fredrick Weasley, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
Fred patted Angelina's bump teasingly, and said, "I do."
"You may exchange rings."
Fred and Angelina placed thin gold bands on each other fingers.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," Professor McGonagall concluded.
Fred took Angelina in his arms and gave her a passionate kiss. The room erupted into cheers. Molly saw Fred whisper something to Angelina and she started laughing. Her second son married. She sat down next to George's hospital bed. George was sitting up, smiling at the pair. Alicia was sitting next to him, also on the bed.
When Fred said they'd get married as soon as George was able, he meant it. Just three weeks after Molly found out that she was to be a grandmother, Fred and Angelina got a license, and were ready to get married.
George was still in the hospital, but he was healing fast. Aelecia told Molly that he would probably be here for another four weeks. Fred didn't want to wait any longer, so they decided to have the ceremony in George's hospital room.
The entire family was there for the wedding. Bill and Fleur, Charlie finally brought his girlfriend, Dayna, to meet them. She didn't speak much English, but she seemed very fond of Charlie, which was the important thing. Percy and Penelope, who was now wearing an engagement ring. Alicia was sitting next to George, holding his hand happily. Ron and Hermione had their arms around each other. Ginny, still single, as far as Molly knew stood next to Harry, who looked slightly detached from everything. Angelina's parents were there, along with her little sister, a second year at Hogwarts. Molly was pleased to see that she was not the only one crying. Mrs. Johnson kept dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief.
Molly had heard from Professor McGonagall, who was now Headmistress, that Harry wasn't speaking much. He had given a brief statement to the Ministry of what happened that night, but refused to talk to anyone else.
Molly watched Harry go into the hallway, and she decided to follow him. Her heart broke looking at the young man who might as well have come from her own womb. "Harry…" she started.
"Please go away," he said flatly.
"You can't live the rest of your life like this," Molly said tenderly.
"Look at all I've done. This is all my fault. Half of your kids have been hurt because of me," Harry said, looking at the ground.
Molly marched up to Harry and wrapped her arms around him. Harry struggled for a moment, but Molly would not let go. "It's not your fault," she told him.
Harry flung his arms around her, "Yes it is! I should never have been born!" he cried.
"It's not your fault," Molly repeated. "You didn't cause this. A crazy old man by the name of Voldemort did."
Harry took a deep breath. "You said his name."
Molly held him tighter. "I can say it now. None of this is your fault."
Harry started sobbing into her shoulder. Molly just stroked his hair, while he let all the tears that had been built up, out. "I'm sorry!" he cried, "I'm so sorry!"
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Molly told him. She just hoped that some day, he would believe her.
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Ron, Harry and Hermione graduated Hogwarts without ceremony. It was almost as if their class decided making too much of a fuss would be unwise.
Molly insisted that Harry stay at the Burrow until he decided what he wanted to do with his life. She couldn't stand the thought of him having to go back to his horrible relatives, not after what happened.
Four days after their graduation, there was a memorial service for those who died to stop Voldemort. George begged and pleaded, and was allowed out of the hospital the same day. He was still too weak to walk, so Fred pushed him in a wheelchair.
Molly knew George was going to be fine when she caught them trying to bewitch the wheelchair to fly.
The service was held at The Ministry of Magic. The Weasleys, along with Harry, walked in together, as a family. As they sat down, Molly realized how lucky she was. Her family had survived, and gotten through the war intact. Far too many families didn't have that.
In the attacks leading up to the final battle, one hundred and ninety three people had been killed. During the final battle, another seventeen had died. Nine Enforcers, six Aurors and two from the Order of the Phoenix.
Molly tried not to cry. She thought she had used up all her tears. However, the tears came down again when a special tribute to Albus Dumbledore was announced. Molly tried to think of all the wonderful things he had accomplished. He had been the transfiguration teacher when she was at Hogwarts. She smiled, remembering her career counseling session with him.
He had made her believe that she had control over her own destiny. And in a way, she did. Looking back, she knew she would not have broken the curse if she had the choice. Not if it meant that one of her children wouldn't exist.
Molly looked over at her children. With a shock, she saw that Ginny and Harry were holding hands, and Ginny was crying on Harry's shoulder. Harry, however, looked resolute, as if he was determined not to cry.
After the ceremony, Tonks and Remus insisted that the Order come back to Headquarters for one last night. Everyone in the family wanted to go, except for Fred and George. George needed rest, and Fred was willing to go back to the Burrow with him. Angelina and Alicia went with them. Molly went to, just to see them there safely. After she knew George was comfortable, she apparated back to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
She had just left the first floor bathroom when she heard Ginny and Harry talking intensely. She started to go to them, but stopped when she heard the tone of their voices.
"Harry, please don't so this," Ginny pleaded.
"I have to Ginny. I can't stay here," Harry said flatly.
"Harry…" Molly heard them embrace.
"I have no purpose anymore, Ginny. I have to figure out what to do with my life," Harry said.
"We could figure that out together, Harry!" she sobbed. "Please! I thought you loved me."
"I do love you Ginny, I do. But I can't say here with you," Harry said softly. Molly peeked around the corner and saw with dismay that Harry was carrying a duffle bag.
Ginny kissed him passionately on the lips. "Ginny…" Harry started.
"Go!" Ginny cried, "If you're leaving anyway, just go!"
Harry turned and walked out the front door.
Molly took a few steps towards her daughter. Ginny was hugging herself, not bothering to wipe the tears that were freely falling down her face.
"Ginny?" Molly questioned.
Ginny looked at Molly, startled. "I couldn't save him, Mum. I thought I could get him through this," she said shaking her head.
Molly walked up to her daughter. They were the same height. Ginny flung herself into Molly's arms, and together they cried for the boy who lived.