Chapter Twenty-One – The Burrow, Peacetime
"Ginny! Hurry up or we'll be late!" Molly bellowed to her daughter upstairs. The day Molly never thought would arrive was here. Her youngest child was about to make her last trip on the Hogwarts Express. Molly couldn't help but be tearful. Arthur kept joking they only had to wait eleven years. Then they could start going with their grandchildren.
Molly briefly thought about Fred and Angelina, about to become parents any day now. In a thousand years, Molly never would have guessed that Fred would be the first one to have a child out of her children.
"George, you'll be okay while we're gone, right?" Molly asked her son, who was lying down on the couch in the living room. George's burns were healing, but it was apparent that he would have heavy scarring on his face. Like she knew he would, George laughed about it, saying that everyone must be glad they could now always tell the twins apart. But Molly knew that deep inside, he felt like he lost part of himself, not being identical to Fred anymore.
"Mum, I'm fine!" George said. "I can apparate again, so if the Burrow burns down while you're gone, I can get out safely," he joked. Even though the battle was four months ago, George had difficulty walking more than a couple of feet without aid.
"Ginny!" Molly called again. Molly heard Ginny slowly coming down the stairs. Ginny hadn't spoken much this summer. Most of her summer was spent on a broom. She started practicing the moment she got out of bed, and wouldn't stop until Molly told her to come to dinner.
"Here I am, Mum," Ginny said softly.
Molly smiled at her daughter. Ginny had put on some make-up and brushed her hair, which Molly took as a good sign. At least she was making an effort.
Later, at King's Cross Station, Ginny held Molly's hand, something she hadn't done in years.
"Mum?" she asked.
"Yes, dear?"
"If you hear from him…if he sends an owl to the Burrow, you'll let me know, right?" Ginny asked quietly.
"You'll be the first to know, Ginny dear," Molly reassured her daughter. Molly hadn't gotten the full story from Ginny, but she and Harry had been together since just before Christmas.
They hadn't seen or heard from Harry since the night of the Memorial Services. Molly wished that he had thought to send an owl, just to let them know he was okay.
"And I want a picture of the baby the second it pops out," Ginny smiled. How Molly missed that smile!
Together, they walked through the barrier. Ginny gave Molly a brief hug and then went straight to Luna Lovegood. Luna had been at the Riddle House during the battle, but not in the basement. Since the Lovegoods lived near the Burrow, Luna came over to visit with Ginny at least once a week during the summer. Molly was grateful that Ginny had someone her year to be friends with.
Molly walked back through the barrier, giving Ginny one last wave. Molly felt a sense of loss she couldn't explain. She had plenty to occupy her time. Her first grandchild would be born soon and Percy was to be married on New Year's Eve.
Percy was going to have a huge wedding. Since Penelope is the only girl in the Clearwater family, her parents were going all out. Molly was a bit disappointed that she wasn't able to help plan the wedding at all. Penelope's mother wanted to do everything herself.
Quickly, Molly apparated back to the Burrow. George was standing up, talking to Fred. They saw Molly and Fred started jumping up and down.
"Angie's in labor!" Fred cried. Molly's heart skipped a beat.
"She was at work. I know she said she wanted to work until the baby was born, but this is crazy!" Fred joked.
"I'll get your father, and we'll meet you there," Molly said, giving Fred a hug. Fred looked like it was Christmas morning.
An hour later, Molly, Arthur, George and Debra and Alex Johnson were pacing the maternity ward. Molly just wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl. Fred and Angelina didn't want to know until the baby was born.
Around dinnertime, the door suddenly burst open and Fred bounded out. "We have a daughter!" Fred cried. "She's absolutely amazing."
Molly and Arthur's hands found each other at the same time. Together, they walked into the room and saw Angelina sitting up, holding a small bundle. Angelina looked right at Molly.
"How in the world did you do this seven times, Molly?" she laughed.
Molly smiled, and looked at her granddaughter. She was sleeping, or at least her eyes were closed. She had lighter skin than Angelina; the color of coffee and cream. Already, she had a full head of curly black hair.
Suddenly, the little girl opened her eyes and Molly found herself looking at the most beautiful pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. She had Fred's eyes.
"What's her name?" Angelina's mother whispered.
"If she had been a boy, his name would've been Albus," Fred said softly. "But as I'm sure you all observed, she's a girl."
"I say you call her Albus anyway," George joked.
"We didn't plan this out very well, love," Fred told Angelina.
"We were convinced we were going to have a boy," Angelina told the group.
Everyone in the room paused to think about this. "Albusina?" Angelina's father asked.
"How about Wulfrina?" Molly asked, "One of Professor Dumbledore's middle names was Wulfric."
Fred and Angelina looked at each other. "We could call her Rina," Angelina said.
And so it was decided. Arthur took out the old second hand camera they had taken pictures of their own babies with and snapped Wulfrina Dorothy Weasley.
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Molly couldn't believe the size of the ballroom. Percy was going to be married in style. The ceremony was in less than an hour, the New Year, less than six hours away.
Molly felt a tad out of place. She had bought herself a new dress robe for the occasion, but it didn't seem smart enough now. Molly had spent so many years in poverty, that even though Arthur made plenty of money now, she still couldn't bring herself to spend it. The irony wasn't lost on Molly that as soon all of the children were almost grown, only then did the money they need start coming in.
Molly still was very careful with the money. She planned on starting a trust fund for each of her grandchildren. She couldn't believe another one was on it's way already. At Christmas dinner, Bill and Fleur announced that they were expecting a baby in June. And according to Percy, Penelope wanted a honeymoon baby.
Molly heard a baby cry behind her. "Where's my granddaughter?" Molly cried.
Fred and Angelina had just walked into the ballroom. "Molly would love to hold Rina, wouldn't you, Molly?" Angelina smiled, handing the baby to her.
"She is getting more beautiful everyday," Molly gushed. Rina indeed was an absolutely gorgeous baby. She seemed to have taken the best features from both her parents and left out the rest.
Just then, Percy came up to them. "I can't believe my wedding day is here," he said.
Fred looked around. "Not quite as nice as the hospital room I married in, but it'll do," he joked.
"Penelope and her mum went a bit crazy, if you ask me," Percy said seriously, "But you didn't hear that from me."
"Stop the family conference till I get there!" Molly heard George yell. She turned and saw George and Alicia walking slowly towards them. George was holding onto Alicia's arm for support. George was doing much better with distances now. He still never said no to a bit of help though.
Just then Bill and Fleur also entered the room. Fleur, normally so slender, had developed a roundness in the stomach, even though she was only three months pregnant. Bill was walking with his cane, his limp still there. Ron and Hermione followed them in.
"Who are we missing?" Arthur asked, counting heads.
"Ginny's in back, with the other bridesmaids," Percy said.
"Where's Charlie?" Molly asked. Her question was answered moments later. Charlie and Danya walked into the ballroom, speaking very fast. Molly reminded herself to ask what language Danya spoke. Molly never seemed to remember.
The family spoke for fifteen minutes until Percy was called away by Penelope's mother. "That's our cue too," Bill said. Penelope had five bridesmaids, so Percy was able to have all five of his brothers as groomsmen. The brothers were all wearing matching suits from the Victorian Era. Molly couldn't believe how handsome her sons looked.
The ceremony started before Molly knew. She sat on the aisle, next to Arthur. Ginny was the first bridesmaid to walk down the aisle. She wore a spectacular navy blue Victorian style dress. Her hair was in loose curls around her shoulders. Molly almost gasped; she had never seen Ginny look more beautiful. If only Ginny would let the smile reach her eyes, Molly thought sadly. She knew Ginny was still trying to get over Harry.
And then her third son was married.
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Molly looked at George. "What are you trying to say?" she asked him.
"Mum, this is going to be the biggest quidditch game of Ginny's life. Five scouts are going to be there. Five!" George said excitedly.
"George, I've never gone to a single game at Hogwarts," Molly said. "Why should I go to this one?"
"Ginny's going to need our support," George said. "I'm going, Fred and Angelina, heck, even the baby's going to the game. And Ginny's own mother won't go!"
"Alright, I'll go!" Molly said. "What are scouts?"
George just groaned.
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Molly had never actually seen Ginny play a game of quidditch before. Ginny was easily the smallest player on the field. Fred and George were trying to explain to Molly why being small was an advantage.
"There are the scouts!" Fred yelled.
"Oh where, Fred?" Molly asked worriedly. Molly had realized, after help from Fred and George that the scouts could make or break Ginny's career even before it started.
"What teams?" George asked. Fred took a look through his Omnioculars.
"Looks like a team from Canada, the Moose Jaw Meteorites," Fred started.
"Canada?" Molly interrupted. "I don't want her going to Canada."
"Well, if the money's good enough…" George said.
"How about Portugal, Mum? Would that be better?"
"Portugal?" Molly asked, amazed. To think her daughter had been heard of all over the world, if all these teams were interested in her.
"Braga Broomfleet. They're one of the best teams in the world," Fred said with awe.
"Who else?" George asked impatiently.
"Holyhead Harpies!" Fred said happily. "That would be a great team for Ginny. They're the only all-witch team in Britain. Then…no way! The Montrose Magpies! They're the best team in Britain! No way!"
"And…" George asked.
"Ha! Ron'll be thrilled. The Chudley Canons," Fred laughed.
Finally, a team Molly had heard of. "Oh, I hope Ginny goes there," she clasped her hands. The Canons were located in Chudleigh, not too far from the Burrow.
Just then the whistle blew and the match started. Ginny was easily the best player on the field. She scored seven goals within the first ten minutes. The match went quickly. Ginny certainly played aggressively. She was fouled for cobbing, which Fred said was excessive use of elbows, twice. The fouls didn't matter though, the game was over after a half an hour. The Gryffindor seeker looked like she caught the snitch almost by accident. Gryffindor crushed Hufflepuff 310-40. Twelve of the goals were Ginny's.
After the game, Ginny had lengthy discussions with all the scouts. Molly couldn't wait to hear what she had to say. Rina wouldn't stop crying, so Angelina took her home after a half an hour of waiting. Fred, George and Molly waited for more than two hours before Ginny came out of the locker room. She had a huge smile on her face, the first real smile Molly had seen since the battle at the Ministry.
Ginny started doing a little dance. Fred and George joined right in, even though they didn't yet know why Ginny was so happy.
"I'm going to be a Canon!" Ginny cried.
Fred and George stopped. "A Canon?" they asked at the time.
Ginny shook her head. "I don't want to leave Britain," she said. "The Magpies said I'm not ready for them yet, which is fine. And the Harpies want me to go to their farm team first. The Canons said I have a spot on their team as soon as I graduate."
"But the Canon's are rubbish!" Fred said.
"The Harpies are an amazing team," George added.
Ginny looked at the ground. "I'd like to be close to home, too," she said softly.
Fred and George looked at each other. "In that case, you do realize orange looks horrible on you, right?" Fred joked.
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"So he's a quarter veela?" Molly asked, holding her newest grandchild in her arms. Jean-Luc Arthur Weasley was born two days ago. They named him after Fleur's father, who passed away just two months ago.
"Yes," Fleur said. Molly looked down at her grandson. He already had a full head of hair, like Rina did when she was born. His hair though was almost exactly Fleur's color. Molly decided he was going to be a heartbreaker when he grew up.
"He's perfect," Molly sighed.
"We're going to call him Johnny for now," Bill said.
"Johnny suites him," Molly decided.
"I think Rina's jealous," Fred laughed. Rina was nine months old already. They already knew she had magic; she grabbed Molly's wand out of her apron once and set the kitchen curtains on fire. Molly had sighed at the time, realizing that Fred managed to produce a Fred Jr.
Molly had two grandchildren already, with one more on the way. Penelope didn't quite get her wish of a honeymoon baby, but was close. She was already four months pregnant.
Charlie had the next chance. He and Danya were going to get married over the summer. They were going to have two ceremonies. One in Bulgaria and one at the Burrow.
Molly was sure that Alicia and George would get married. They were probably waiting for George to heal completely. At that time, it had been more than a year since the Final Battle, as the Daily Prophet now called it.
Ron and Hermione were still together. Ron was still a little lost. He had been Harry Potter's sidekick for so long, that when Harry up and left, Ron didn't know what to do with himself. Right now he worked full time at Fred and George's shop. Fred and George wanted to open up another store in Hogsmeade, and there was talk that Ron might be named the manager there.
Hermione decided that she had to keep working with S.P.E.W. Now that she could dedicate herself full time, she managed to make S.P.E.W. into quite a respectable non-profit organization.
Arthur sat next to Molly, and patted his grandson on the head. "We're going to be fifty next year, Molly," he said quietly.
Molly stroked his hand. "As long as the next fifty are as good as the last fifty, I'll be happy."