Chapter 18

G4 - The Counsel of Weasleys (cont.)

---------------------------------------------

As Molly walked up the cobblestone walkway leading up the hill towards the pitch, she had to admit that she wasn't too worried about Ron. Granted, his letters were a bit disturbing; according to them Harry had gone insane, Ginny was obsessed with her classmate's dating habits, and Hermione... well, Molly didn't know what to think about the parts of the letters that talked about her. Every time he wrote her name, he seemed to lose a bit of focus on whatever he was writing about.

For instance, the last time he mentioned her even offhandedly, he had been ranting about how unfair the NEWT standards were. Once her name came out, though, the paragraph derailed into a discussion of their date from the night before. Even more amusingly, her son couldn't seem to remember what the original topic was, and ended the paragraph with some of his thoughts about Quidditch. So, when Molly arrived at the hilltop where the pitch was and found Harry instead, she had no problem abandoning the thought of continuing to search out Ron.

"Hello, Harry," Molly said in a sweet voice, and sat down on the pitch next to him.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied.

"You can call me Molly, Harry," she said, but was a bit worried at the tone in his voice. Ordinarily, when he talked to her, it was with a warm and open voice; now, though, it was completely neutral and deadened. "Are you ok?"

Harry opened his mouth to explain, but thought better of it. After all, what parent wouldn't want to hear 'Yes, your daughter is freaking me out by massaging my thighs, throwing herself on me, and asking if it feels good.'? "I'm alright," he answered.

Molly smiled, seeing through it effortlessly. "What's going on?"

She watched as he composed his thoughts, letting him take his time. "It's about Ginny," he finally replied.

"What happened?"

"Do you know about... what we decided last year?"

"Of course," Molly replied kindly. "But it wasn't 'we' - it was you that decided that you two shouldn't be together so she'd be safe."

Harry apparently missed what Molly was saying, and continued, "Well, I don't think she agrees with me anymore. She's been trying to... er, trying to get me to change my mind."

Molly was extremely tempted to ask just how Ginny was trying to change the boy's mind. Instead, she asked, "Why is she doing that?"

"I don't know," Harry replied. A few seconds of silence passed before Harry finally vented. "I don't get it, Molly! I can't go out with her because it'd be too dangerous - Voldemort might decide to go after her. I know this, and she knows it too! It's bad enough that I can't spend time with her, but it's a hundred times worse with her taunting me! I hated saying 'no' once, but having to say it each day is torture!"

Molly watched as Harry looked back at the ground grumpily and played with a few blades of grass. After a bit of silence, Molly asked, "Do you remember Ginny's first year?"

She could see his slight confusion at the apparent subject change. "Yeah - that was when she was given Riddle's Diary."

"And do you remember," Molly continued softly, "What happened to her father two years ago?"

Molly didn't let the silence stretch very long - she knew that Harry remembered the snake's bite wound Arthur suffered. "Ginny knows what You-Know-Who is capable of."

"That's my point!" Harry said indignantly. "She should know better!"

Molly smiled sadly. "Harry, what I mean is, maybe she decided to be with you anyway?"

"What?"

Molly sighed, leaning back a bit. "Arthur did the same thing to me."

"What?" Harry asked, clearly more confused. "Voldemort was after Arthur, and he wanted to keep you safe?"

Molly laughed. "No, Harry. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was after me, in a loose sense. The Weasley family wasn't an enemy, at least not a big one. The Prewetts, though... well, you know what happened to them." She waited, but it didn't look like Harry was going to say anything. "I was worried for Arthur. Being with me, Miss Molly Prewett, and marrying me - one of the few of my family left on You-Know-Who's list - it wasn't the safest decision in the world. But one day, he set me down and flat out told me to stop it. He wasn't stupid, he knew it was dangerous. But it was what he wanted anyway."

"So... so Ginny..." Harry said, trying to figure it all out. "So Ginny is making the same decision?"

"I don't know," Molly replied honestly. "I think that's something the two of you will have to figure out on your own."

"But... but she'll think I was just... just 'giving in'." Harry didn't even recall that those words weren't his own, but placed there by George.

Molly smiled. "Giving in? Harry, how often do I 'give in'? Let alone to Arthur? Is that what you think I did?"

Molly could see the cogs turning in Harry's head, and smiled at him. "You're a good kid, Harry," Molly said, patting him affectionately on the shoulder. She watched as he puffed up a bit at being called 'kid', which if anything, reminded her of her own sons. She gave him one last look before heading back to the castle.

---------------------------------------------

Sorry about the burst posting (Chapter 16-19) – Thanksgiving and moving make it hard to post regularly. Anyway, please review, and if you have the time, do it more than just once for four chapters. Thanks!