Early June 1981, The Burrow
"How. Dare. You." The red-headed woman placed her hands on her hips which accentuated her swollen belly further as she glared at Gideon and Fabian.
"Now, Molly," Gideon said placatingly, carefully inching away from the fuming woman.
Ah, Bryn thought, so this is Molly.
The flaming red hair and stubborn chins were honestly a dead giveaway of familial relations although Molly's hair was slightly brighter. She was much shorter than the twins, her head barely reaching their collarbones but it did not deter her one bit from intimidating her older brothers.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Molly snarled, stepping out of the front door towards the twins. Fabian and Gideon simultaneously took a step back, watching their sister cautiously.
"Molly, you need to calm down," Fabian tried to pacify her, his hands raised in front of him. "All this anger cannot be good for the baby."
It seemed to be the wrong thing to say, however, because Molly immediately exploded in fury, screaming at her brothers.
"IF YOU CARED ABOUT MY WELL-BEING AT ALL, YOU WOULD HAVE REACHED OUT RIGHT AWAY!"
Fabian and Gideon flinched back, huddling together in the face of Molly's wrath.
"DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS WHEN YOU DIDN'T COME TO THE BURROW LAST NIGHT FOR DINNER?! AND DO YOU KNOW HOW TERRIFIED I WAS WHEN I SAW YOUR HANDS ON THE CLOCK POINT TO 'MORTAL PERIL'?! NO ONE IN THE ORDER KNEW WHERE THE TWO OF YOU WERE AND THIS MORNING DID YOU FINALLY DECIDE TO SEND ME PATRONUS, ONLY TO TELL ME YOU WERE FINE?!"
Bryn and her family stood from the sidelines, completely dumbstruck. It was almost comical to watch these two formidable men, who battled valiantly against Death Eaters mere moments ago, cowering at the sight of their petite younger sister.
"We didn't want to worry you, Molly," Fabian spoke hesitantly (whether out of stupidity or bravery still needed to be determined).
Molly glared witheringly at him, causing Fabian to recoil back in fear. "Fat load of good that did, don't you think?!"
She jabbed her finger in their direction, scowling. "You strolled in here, all fine and dandy, bringing along guests without even telling - wait what?"
Molly wheeled towards Bryn and her family, her anger immediately extinguished when she finally realised their presence.
"Um, hi." Bryn greeted with an awkward wave. Molly just stood there in muted shock, gaping at them. She knew they must be quite a sight, still in their pyjamas with faces covered in soot and sweat.
"Molly, these are our friends," said Gideon, relieved that she wasn't shouting anymore. "We will explain everything to you, I promise, but could we go inside first? They've had a pretty rough morning."
Wasn't that the understatement of a century?
Molly snapped out of her shock at his words and hurriedly opened the front door wide, beckoning them to come in. "Oh, of course. Please come in. All of you look positively dreadful."
Bryn and her family hesitated but at Gideon's encouraging nod, they entered the house and followed Molly into the small kitchen. Molly waved her hand to the wooden table, telling them to take a seat as she puttered around the kitchen, making tea. Bryn made herself comfortable on the hard wooden chair and took a moment to scan her surroundings.
It was rather cramped, the table taking up a lot of space. Bryn squinted at the mantlepiece, making out books with some very interesting titles. There was an unrecognisable song playing in the background, coming from the blue radio sitting on the sink.
"Where's Arthur and the kids?" Fabian inquired, glancing around the house.
"He brought them to the paddock once we knew you were safe," Molly gave the twins a rather nasty look and flicked her wand. Mugs, in all shapes and sizes, soared through the air and landed on the table. There were murmurings of thanks as everyone reached out to grab the warm cup of tea. Bryn took a sip, the mild sweetness of the chamomile tea permeating her taste buds, settling her frazzled nerves.
"Are you all feeling better now?" Molly peered at them kindly, while taking a seat at the table.
"Yes, thank you," Chris assured her. "I'm sorry that we barged into your house like this."
"No, please don't apologise. I'm sure it's the fault of these two prats anyway." Molly eyed Fabian and Gideon who immediately busied themselves with their cups.
Molly focused her sights on Bryn and her family once more, eyes narrowed with concern. "What happened that got all of you so shaken?"
"We were attacked by Death Eaters," Bryn admitted, her hands clutching the warm mug tightly. Molly let out a frightened gasp and turned to look at Gideon and Fabian.
"What? How did this happen?"
Fabian slowly began to explain everything from the beginning, not missing a single detail. By the end of it, Molly was deathly pale, her lips parted in horror.
"Y-you could have died in that alley. Merlin, you could have died and I just screamed at the both of you," Molly croaked weakly.
Fabian got off his chair to envelop Molly in a tight hug. "It's okay, Molly. We're alright, I promise."
Gideon hugged the both of them, his hands gently stroking Molly's hair. "We're alive, Molly, and we're here. We're okay." He repeated these words soothingly until Molly stopped shaking.
Bryn averted her eyes respectfully, giving them a moment. Molly released a shuddering breath before pulling away from her brothers embrace as she patted her tearing eyes with her apron. Her eyes landed on Bryn and before anyone could react, Molly strode over to where she was seated and wrapped her in an embrace so tight, Bryn could have sworn she heard her ribs creaking under the pressure.
"You saved them. You went back and saved them. Thank you, thank you, thank you," Molly sobbed gratefully.
Bryn patted her back in an attempt to comfort the crying woman. "It was the least I could do. They saved me and my sister. I wasn't going to leave them there to fend for themselves."
"But it was so dangerous for you!" Molly wailed, her arms tightening further. Bryn was finding it more difficult to breathe. "You must have been so scared and confused, especially since you're a Muggle, and you still came back to help them from the Death Eaters! How could I ever repay you?"
"It's fine, Molly Really, " Bryn insisted weakly as she looked up at Gideon and Fabian helplessly, signalling to them her need to breathe.
"Molly, let the poor girl go. You'll suffocate her before you actually get the chance to thank her properly," Gideon chastised gently, his eyes glinting with amusement as he tugged Molly away. She released her iron hold and at long last, Bryn felt like she could finally breathe.
Molly wiped her eyes dry and gave Bryn a blinding smile. "I'm sorry, I'm just so grateful to you." She reached out to grip Bryn's hands, her face showing sincere gratitude. "Thank you for saving my family. We're in your debt."
"Oh no, please don't - " Bryn began hastily but Molly wasn't hearing one word of it.
"Nope, you risked your life to save my brothers. If you ever need anything, anything at all, just ask," Molly declared so firmly that Bryn found herself nodding along before she realised it.
"Alright, thank you, Molly," Bryn accepted hesitantly.
"I'm guessing that you've brought them here since they have no place to stay when the Death Eaters attacked their house," Molly's tone became business-like when she turned to Fabian and Gideon.
"Yes," Fabian confirmed, "This was the safest place we could think of ever since we reinforced the wards around the Burrow. We were hoping you let them stay here for now until we find something else."
"But of course!" Molly agreed easily, smiling wide as she looked at the Harper family. "My home is your home now."
"Thank you for accepting us into your home, Molly," Diana thanked Molly, a grateful smile playing on her lips.
Molly dismissed her thanks with a wave of her hand. "No thanks necessary. After all, you've done and everything you've been through, it's the least I could do."
The front door slammed open, startling the current occupants of the house. It was immediately followed by the tiny pattering of feet.
"Uncle Fabian! Uncle Gideon!" A chorus of small voices exclaimed excitedly before a handful of red-headed boys launched themselves onto Fabian and Gideon.
"Hey, kiddos!" Gideon grabbed two of the children into his arms and spun around. The two boys in his arms squealed happily as they clung to his neck.
Fabian kneeled down to envelope the rest of the children in a tight hug, giving each one a good ruffle of their hair.
"Hello, Fabian and Gideon. I'm glad you're alright. And they've brought guests, Molly dear?" A slightly balding ginger-haired man strolled into the kitchen, cradling a toddler who was busy sucking on his thumb. He gave his wife a small peck on her cheek and glanced at Bryn's family with curiosity.
"Yes, they are Muggles, Arthur and - "
"Muggles?!" Arthur peered at them with renewed interest.
"Oh pleasure to meet you! Arthur Weasley," He introduced himself enthusiastically. "I have so many things to ask! How does electricity work? It is true that you have these things known as fellytones where you can hear someone from miles away? Is the - "
"Arthur!" Molly interrupted his barrage of questions, her tone admonishing. "Not the time."
Arthur caught himself and smiled apologetically at his annoyed wife.
"Wait, why do we have Muggles in our kitchen?" Arthur inquired, as though it finally dawned on him that non-magical people were sitting in his magical house. He turned to Molly, wide-eyed. "And they know who we are?"
Molly patted his hand reassuringly. "Yes, they do, darling. We'll fill you in later. As I was saying, they are Muggles and they will be living with us for now."
"Why?" Arthur's eyes darted between Bryn's family, Molly and the twins, very much confused.
"Yeah mum, why?" The eldest of the children repeated curiously.
"They saved your uncles, sweetheart, and now they are in a spot of trouble from the Death Eaters," she explained carefully. "They can't return to their house so they need a place to stay."
"You saved Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon?" The bespectacled boy stared at Chris, his eyes wide with wonder.
Chris gave the boy a wry smile. "Not me, kid. My sister, Bryn, was the one who did all the saving," he stated, jerking his head towards Bryn.
Instantly, all of the children were staring at her with a mixture of surprise and awe. Bryn could feel her cheeks burning under all the attention while Mia, Chris and her mother just smirked over the rim of their mugs.
"Wow, you saved Uncle Fabian and Gideon from Death Eaters and you're Muggle," another one of the boys gawked. "That's so cool!"
"Yeah!" An identical-looking boy standing beside him agreed, nodding his head furiously. "How did you do it?"
"Oh well, I - "
"Did you punch them in the face?" The first twin asked, inching closer towards Bryn.
"Or did you kick them in the nuts?" The second twin added eagerly.
"Oh, oh maybe you tricked them to shoot spells at each other?"
"No, maybe you bash them in the head with a brick!"
"Fred! George! Leave her alone!" Molly admonished, tugging the young twins back.
"Yes mum," the twins chorused sheepishly, moving back but not before one of them (Fred?) whispered into her ear, "Don't forget to tell us later."
"I apologise for my kids. They can be quite the handful," Molly gazed at her children disapprovingly. "Let me introduce you to them. This is Bill. He's the eldest."
Bill smiled confidently at them.
"That's my second eldest, Charlie." The boy waved shyly before hiding behind Gideon.
"This is Percy, my third child."
Percy uttered a soft hello, clinging onto his mother's apron.
"Those are my twins, Fred and George," Molly pointed to the boys respectively but she frowned shortly after. "Wait no, he's Fred and he's George. Seriously you two?" Fred and George grinned cheekily at their mother, giving each other a high-five at pulling another successful switch.
"And finally, my youngest, Ron," Molly tickled Ron's stomach and he gurgled happily.
"Don't forget the one in your belly, Molly," Fabian teased, "he or she might take offence."
"How far along are you, Molly?" Mia asked.
"About 7 months now. We want the gender to be a surprise but I'm thinking it's a girl," Molly gushed, stroking her belly lovingly.
"That's what you said for your last pregnancy and you got little Ronald," Gideon commented, "Face it, sis. You're just destined to have boys."
Molly made a face. "I love my boys, I really do but I don't think I can take another one. I'm only 30 but half my head is white from stress."
Fabian ruffled his sister's hair fondly. "Not to worry, sister dear. Gideon and I will be here to reign these little monsters."
"HEY!" Indignant shouts erupted from the children although Fred and George nodded somberly.
"That's fair," they said solemnly, causing adults to chuckle.
"You've already told us all of your names but we've yet to introduce ourselves," Chris realised, an apologetic expression on his face.
"I'm Chris Harper. This is my mother, Diana. You know Bryn. She's my younger sister. And this is my youngest sister, Mia."
Molly clapped her hands together, beaming. "Wonderful to know all of you. I think we'll get you situated right away. Bill, could you bunk in with Charlie so that they can use your room?"
"Sure, mum," Bill nodded.
"As for you Chris - "
"If it's alright with you Molly, I can take the couch in the sitting room. I wouldn't want to push the boys out of their rooms," Chris offered.
"Oh, but you're our guest! It wouldn't be right for us to let you sleep in the living room," Molly told him reproachfully.
"I insist, Molly. You're already accommodating the four of us. I wouldn't want to impose any further on you and your family," Chris insisted firmly.
Molly seemed like she wanted to argue further but seeing the stubborn glint in Chris' eyes and the pleading faces of her children, she relented. "Alright then, I'll get Arthur to transfigure - er, change - the couch into a bed so that it would be more comfortable for you."
"Great! Let me show you to your room!" George volunteered brightly, grabbing Bryn's hands to pull her towards the stairs.
"Yeah, then you can tell us all about how you saved Uncle Fabian and Gideon!" Fred reminded her, tugging on her other hand.
"Fred, George - "
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" The twins cried in unison and Bryn couldn't help but laugh, letting them lead her towards the room she'd be staying in.
"Might as well," Bryn heard Molly's exasperated voice behind her, "Kids, show them around the house. I need to talk to your uncles for a while. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all. You need some time to catch," Chris answered and she heard the scuffling of chairs.
Mia, Chris and her mother trailed behind her, their eyes surveying the house curiously while the Weasley children surrounded them, giving them a tour of the Burrow.
"Don't be alarmed if you hear some clanging of the pipes, by the way. That's just the ghoul in the attic," Bill mentioned off-handedly but Mia spun around in amazement.
"You have an actual ghoul in your house?"
༻⸻⸻⸻⸻༺
Fabian watched them retreat to the stairs, the excited chattering of the children bouncing off the walls. Once the voices moved away from the kitchen, Arthur turned to him and Gideon.
"You need to tell me how in Merlin's name did a Muggle manage to save you from Death Eaters," he pried, sitting on the chair vacated by Chris.
And so, Fabian retold the story once again to Arthur as Molly rocked Ron to sleep. Arthur was duly impressed when he was done.
"Wow," he gaped, his eyes flickering to the staircase which Bryn climbed up a few minutes ago, "I can't believe she went up against five Death Eaters without any magic at all. They must not have taken that very well."
"Oh, they didn't," Gideon quipped, "that's why the Death Eaters tracked them to their house. They wanted to finish the job. Or reclaim their pride."
Arthur shuddered in horror. "A bit of both, I would wager. They tracked them to their house using an item of theirs?"
"Yes, it had Bryn's blood on it so they could perform a blood tracking ritual. Good thing it can only be done once but just in case, we're going to have to place anti-tracking wards on them," Fabian informed as he finished off his tea.
"I can get right on that, not too worry," Arthur said. "You two have more important things to do."
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know," Molly muttered dryly, "Like telling the Order that you're actually alive. Everyone was incredibly worried when we heard nothing from you last night, especially Alice and Frank. We all assumed the worst."
Fabian and Gideon winced. Alice and Frank Longbottom were dear friends of theirs. They all started Auror training together and, not that Alice would ever admit it, the Prewett twins were the ones who brought the both of them together in the first place. If the two of them didn't die at Molly's wrath, Alice just might finish the job.
"Yeah, we'll get right on that. There's a meeting tonight, right?" Gideon clarified.
Arthur nodded. "Same time, same place. Don't worry about the Muggles, we'll make sure they feel right at home."
"By making them feel right at home, you don't mean constantly badgering them about their Muggle lifestyle and devices they use, do you dear?" Molly raised her eyebrow at her husband.
"Of course not, Molly," Arthur mumbled, his ears red from being called out.
Molly shook her head, the ends of lips quirked in an exasperated smile. She knew her husband too well to believe those words. His curiosity and love for all things Muggle would be too much for him to stay silent.
"Speaking of the Muggles, how much do they really know about us? About the Wizarding World right now?" Molly asked the question that had been nagging in her head for a while.
"Not much, really," Fabian admitted, "They don't know about the war that's happening right now."
Molly sighed, the wrinkles around her eyes and mouths becoming more pronounced. Fabian wished he could say it was due to raising six children but that was not the case these days.
"We should tell them about it," Molly decided. "They are already tangled up in all of this. The least we can do is let them know the situation as it stands."
Ron squirmed in her arms and Molly stared down at her son, cooing and comforting him till he fell back to sleep. "I will tell them tonight when all of you are gone to the meeting. The sooner they know about it, the better."
Gideon nodded his head tiredly. "Alright, Molly. We better get going to the Ministry. We have many messages to send and many people to appease. Come one, Fabian."
Fabian rose to plant a small kiss on Molly's brow and clapped Arthur's shoulder. He stroked Ron's cheek gently, silently bidding him goodbye before following Gideon out of the house. He cast one last lingering look at the Burrow before he Apparated away to the Ministry.
༻⸻⸻⸻⸻༺
" - and this will be your room!" Fred declared with a flourish, bounding into the final room of their impromptu house tour.
Bryn peered inside as the kids flooded in, immediately taking residence at any spot they could find. It was the biggest bedroom, compared to the others they've seen so far. Perks of being the oldest she guessed. Bill's room was roomy, a single bed pushed against the wall and bookshelves covering the other.
"Mum will probably expand the bed but I think one of you would have to sleep on the floor," Bill said apologetically.
"No worries!" Bryn assured cheerfully. "It's more than enough that your family is taking us in. I should be apologising to you since we are taking over your room."
Bill grinned, his eyes gleaming cheekily. "Well, if you tell us how you saved Uncle Fabian and Gideon, I'll consider it as an apology."
Mia chortled, settling next to Percy on the floor. "Oh, cheeky little thing aren't you?"
Bryn smiled, shaking her head as she sat next to Bill on his bed. Chris was perched on the desk while Diana took the chair. All 5 Weasley children were gazing at her, eyes wide with anticipation.
"Fine, I'll tell you," Bryn relented, amused as the boys cheered and moved closer to her.
She took a deep breath and started retelling that fateful day. "Okay, so Mia and I were going to a party when we were cornered by Death Eaters in an alley. We didn't know who they were at the time so we were pretty scared."
"I bet," Percy piped up, adjusting his spectacles. "Mama says they are very scary."
She nodded sagely. "Your mama is right. We didn't know what to do and just as they were about to cast some kind of spell, your uncles swooped in."
"Wait, they saved you first?" Charlie asked, clutching a pillow tightly in his arms.
"Yes, they were the ones who distracted the Death Eaters to allow us to escape but I went back to help them."
"Why?" The twins chorused, their blue orbs practically the size of golf balls.
"Because it didn't feel right to leave them there. Your uncles were fighting against five people which didn't seem like very good odds."
"But, weren't you terrified to go back?" Bill probed. 'I mean, this was before you had any idea of magic. You must've known it would have been dangerous to go back."
"Yeah, I was downright terrified but I could have never forgiven myself if something happened to your uncles just because they came in to save me and Mia. I knew I had to do something."
"So I picked up a wooden plank I saw on the floor and ran back to the alley," Bryn continued. "While those men were distracted, I took them out from behind using the plank. The last one almost got the drop on me but your Uncle Fabian managed to freeze him, I think."
Every single mouth was wide open in fascination, the children hanging onto her every word. "Your Uncle Fabian and Gideon were hurt so I brought them to my house to tend to their wounds. But the Death Eaters found us at our home so here we are, at the Burrow."
"Woah," the kids uttered in unison.
"You're so brave, Miss Bryn," Charlie blurted.
"More like reckless," Chris grunted.
Bryn ruffled Charlie's hair and the boy turned bashful. "Just call me Bryn, Charlie. And no, I wouldn't call myself brave. I just did what anyone would have done," She countered modestly.
"I think most Muggles would have taken the chance to escape and not run towards creepy people who happened to be using magic," Bill pointed out.
The children voiced their agreement, heads nodding vigorously. Flustered, Bryn glanced at Mia for help but simply grinned and shrugged. "It is the truth, sis. You were pretty brave that day."
Bryn spluttered, trying to come up with a response but was saved by the appearance of Arthur popping his head through the open door.
"Boys, you have chores to do. Leave our guests alone. They've had a rough morning and need some rest," he chided gently.
The Weasley children grumbled but marched out obediently to perform their tasks. Once the children had left, Arthur gave them a friendly smile. "You can use the toilet to wash up. I'm sure the kids have shown you where it is?"
Everyone nodded firmly and Arthur continued, "You can also use the toilet in the master bedroom as well. It's just up on the fourth floor. Oh and here - "
Arthur pointed his wand to the bed and Bryn jumped up in surprise when she felt the bed stretching out from a single to a Queen sized. He flicked his wand and two sleeping bags appeared out of nowhere, landing neatly at the foot of the bed. He gave his wand one final wave and the bags they left in the kitchen popped up next to them.
"Wow," Mia breathed out, highly impressed. "That is very cool."
Arthur grinned at Mia's comment. "Thank you. Take your time and get some rest. You've had a long day after all."
Arthur shut the door behind them firmly and Mia yawned loudly. "I don't know about all of you but I am beat. I'm gonna go grab a shower first and try to get the burning house smell off my skin."
Bryn shared the same sentiments. She felt extremely filthy, clothes smelling like soot and parts of it singed from being so close to the fire.
She grabbed her bag and headed to the toilet at the master bedroom while Mia went to the toilet at the third landing. She paused at the window above the steps, taking a moment to watch Bill, Percy and Charlie down at the lawn, grabbing some kind of small creature running amok and flinging it over the hedge.
Bryn laughed quietly at how she's not even remotely surprised anymore, after everything she's seen. She's more fascinated if anything and made a mental note to ask Bill about it later on. She continued to walk up the stairs, barely startled when the ghoul in the attic started banging on the pipes or when the mirror hanging on the wall started critiquing her soot-covered face.
Welcome to the Burrow, I guess, Bryn smiled wryly.