Part IV:
Chapter 2: Till Death Do Us Part (Timeless)
Arthur watched as Molly scolded Fred and George for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. The boys had attempted to turn Percy's pet rat, Scabbers, yellow. Percy was not happy about it, pouting in the corner and stroking the rat's patchy hair.
Remember when
Fred and George took their punishment in stride and when Molly finally released them from her stern reprimands they bounded off together, not looking the least bit remorseful. Arthur had to laugh. He knew they were going to find themselves in more trouble before their mother served lunch, which would be within the hour.
Molly turned to face him and smile wearily. Her hair had been pulled into a haphazard bun earlier that day but now the red hair was frizzed out and she looked utterly adorable.
She came to him and hugged him close. "What have we done to be so blessed with our children Arthur?"
Remember when the sound of little feet
Was the music
We danced to week to week
Molly yanked on Ron's tiny arm, trying to get him to stay put but it wasn't working. "Ronald Weasley, you are just like your father! Headstrong and such…bet you find a woman at Hogwarts who you fight with all the time!" she said, pulling a brush through his thick hair.
Ron's lip curled up and his nose wrinkled. "Is you a woman, Momma?"
Molly laughed. "Yes, Ronald, but I'm also a mother," she answered, trying to bite back a laugh.
His blue eyes watched her carefully in the mirror. He was assessing each move, each stroke of the brush and Molly knew that he was making sure she didn't do anything harmful to him. Ever since the hairbrush incident last week…well, he hadn't wanted to go anywhere near one after Fred and George's little prank.
Molly was hemming and hawing, just thinking about the twins' latest prank. Why they thought it was so funny to charm the brush into squirting multi-colored dye whenever someone attempted to use it was beyond her, but she did have to give them credit (although not even Arthur would know she felt this way), for they were clever little wizards. Pains-in-the-butt sometimes, but they were clever.
She smiled as Arthur came in, followed by their son Charlie who was yammering away about some dragon or another. Arthur met her gaze with a smile and they shook their heads in synch with one another.
Brought back the love, we found trust
Vowed we'd never give up
Remember when
Molly came home to find Arthur sitting on their ratty old sofa. She smiled as he patted his knee. "Come. Sit on my lap, Molly Weasley."
She obliged and kissed him when she did. "Our babies are all grown up now, aren't they Arthur?" she asked quietly.
He smiled and kissed her cheek and nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid they are." He laughed suddenly, thinking back on all they'd been through together. "I'm so glad to be here with you now, Molly. Here. In the Burrow. It somehow all makes sense."
She thought on what her husband said for a moment before nodding. "Yes, yes it does, doesn't it?" She leaned her forehead against his. "And you thought I wouldn't want you for all these years because you were poor." She giggled. "Well, I'll tell you what Arthur, you may be poor but we are never bored!"
They laughed together and then she kissed him.
Remember when thirty something seemed old
Now lookin' back, it's just a steppin' stone
Arthur put his arm around his wife as they watched Harry walk away from Platform 9 and 3/4. Mad Eye Moody, Remus and their own children, Ron and Ginny as well as Hermione watched somberly.
Molly leaned into her husband and sighed. It had been another year; another terrible, awful year for Harry and still he managed to turn and smile and wave his hand. She hoped he would be able to do the same next year.
Remus was the first to turn away and Arthur knew why. Sirius had been his last friend from his Hogwarts days.
He was about to say something but was interrupted by Molly's poking finger and rather loud whispers, telling him to look at their son.
Ron's face was scarlet red (Arthur felt horrible for him, knowing he had acquired that trait through him) as he stayed talking with Hermione. Hermione, he thought, didn't look any more comfortable, seeing as her face was quite red too.
But he also recognized those nervous gazes and reddened skin. His son was taken with his best friend and from the looks of it, she was too. Silently, Arthur rooted for Ron, thinking that it would be lovely to have Hermione Granger in the family someday, if only so that she could teach him more fascinating Muggle facts.
His glance moved over to his daughter she hugged and sort of half-kissed Dean Thomas on the cheek. He started to move over toward her, feeling slightly protective but stopped when Molly kept a tight grip on his shirt. "You never mind that Arthur, don't you remember what it was like?" she asked fondly.
His mouth dropped open like a gaping fish.
She smiled and then laughed. "See? Of course you do! Now, don't interrupt Ginevra. Let her say goodbye to Dean any way she wishes too."
Who was Arthur to argue with that reasoning?
There was a comfortable silence between them at that moment, only interrupted when Mad Eye Moody said his goodbyes, telling them that he and Remus would meet up with them tomorrow evening at Grimmauld Place.
Arthur watched the wind tug her red hair…her face was more round, her body too, then it had been when they'd first started dating but laugh lines softened her eyes and her mouth, making her seem mature and beautiful and still so young.
"What are you thinking dear?" she asked quietly. Her eyes lowered a bit and a pink tinged her cheeks and Arthur was reminded of the school girl she was once. She had never been shy but had somehow always hated personal attention. She was a piece of work; that was for sure.
"I'm thinking that I wouldn't change a thing. Not even You-Know-Who…Anything that had a part to do with who we are now, I wouldn't change," he answered briefly, although it was a heartfelt answer.
To where we are,
Where we've been
Said we'd do it all again
Remember when
Molly sat in her chair, rocking back and forth while knitting cute socks. Blue socks. Pink socks. Green socks. Maroon socks. Socks of every color were filling the living room. They adorned the chairs, the sofa, the floor even. But she didn't mind. She had grandchildren that needed socks.
Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
Arthur had long ago given up trying to avoid stepping on the socks, now he only tried to avoid stepping on them while she was looking. There were far too many, he thought. At least she's done with the bonnets. Before the socks, it had been bonnets. She wasn't much good at bonnets. And the loud noises that came from the living room as she sewed the bonnets kept him awake at night. He didn't think he'd heard so many curse words thrown under one roof and now knew where Ron and Ginny got their language from.
"I'm going to get all these socks finished before we leave for Ron and Hermione's tomorrow, Arthur," she told him idly.
Arthur wasn't so sure. She was good at multitasking but something about brand-new socks for the newest edition to the Weasley clan, their first granddaughter, told him they'd have to be beyond perfect.
"Dear little Christine needs new socks," she said. Arthur didn't know if she was talking to him or herself. "Don't you think these pink ones will look just adorable on her?" She didn't even hold up the pink socks.
He nodded anyway. "Of course, Molly. But then who are the blue ones for?"
She sighed, looked at him with an arched eyebrow, shook her head, and then went back to her knitting. "For Nathan, of course. Who else would you think they are for?" Nathan belonged to Fred and Angelina.
She pointed to the pile of maroon socks. "And those are for Ron."
Arthur pretended to listen as she continued to rattle off the future owner's of every pair of socks. That was truly a long time of pretending.
"Arthur," she finally said, setting down the finally completed socks, "Arthur are you listening to me at all?"
We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
Molly kissed Christine on the forehead before rolling the sock onto her foot. "Now you be a good girl and keep them on this time!" she exclaimed affectionately. Arthur continued to rock the bassinet.
Their eyes met and they smiled at the same time. I love you.
And we'll remember when
He watched her quietly, sitting in the corner of the Gryffindor common room. She was sitting cross legged on the sofa, reading a book. She was smiling, even laughing a little as she read and he was curious to know what in that book was so entertaining.
Remember when
She kissed his head again; comforted by the shallow breaths he was taking, by his breath lingering on her skin.
Remember when
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know I really enjoyed writing it! Please review! Thank you so much!