And once again, I am back! Welcome to my next story, for the Houses Competition, round two. This is for Slytherin, and I remain the Astronomy student. We were given various pairings, and I picked [Negative Pairing] Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett/Weasley]. I know, you all are thinking this is crazy, but you'll like what I've got planned!Word Count:1176Betas: shy-n-great, CupCakeyyy, VanillaAshes

Molly hated Arthur Weasley. That was the be-all and end-all of the situation as far as she was concerned. When anyone asked her why, she refused to answer. Did there have to be a reason for everything? Couldn't someone dislike someone just because of what they did?

Well, hate was a strong word. Dislike, sure. Avoid spending time with, if at all possible, definitely. Of course, there was a reason, but most of the time she couldn't rationalize it. He just rubbed her the wrong way. Where she was outspoken and outgoing, Arthur would rather read Muggle auto magazines in the corner than hang out with any of his housemates. They seemed to have so little in common, he always liked to have little digs at her, too. It seemed natural to avoid each other.

Arthur had proven to her that he was too good for their activities and didn't like their ideas. He never hung out with them and never asked to, either. Therefore it's completely clear to her that he doesn't like her, so why would she even think about liking him?

It didn't matter to her what others thought, - including Arthur - but something about him just came as strange and annoying. She couldn't explain it. That just made her dislike his presence even more.

However, in their fourth year, things started to change.

"Molly, are you going down to the pitch later?" Justine asked her one day at lunch. They'd been friends since second year.

"Absolutely!" Molly grinned. "Have you heard anything else from Bryan and Kathy? Last I knew, they were trying to get Apollyon Pringle to get them some Firewhiskey."

"Yeah, he refused," Justine said, making a disappointed face. "I think they were going to try and sneak into Hogsmeade and get some from Madame Rosmerta. They recruited Arthur to help them."

This brought Molly up short. "Arthur? Why did they get him to help?" And why did he agree?

"That boy has ways and means." Justine shrugged. "Apparently, he overheard you guys talking and thought he would help."

This made Molly upset. "He eavesdropped, then?"

Justine sighed. "Molly, he hasn't done anything wrong, you know. Why do you dislike him so much?"

Molly began to give her standard answer, but then, the Great Hall doors burst open, and who should come running down the pathway towards them but Arthur himself. He barely managed to stop when he reached them, he was going so fast.

"What's wrong?" Justine asked, her brows knitted in concern.

"Kathy and Bryan, they've disappeared!" he gasped out. "They were with me while we went through the secret passages, but then I looked back and they were gone!"

"What happened?" Molly was worried. There had been plenty of news from the outside world about people disappearing, but students didn't just disappear from the castle grounds. "You don't think it was You-Know-Who, do you?"

"I don't know," Arthur managed. "I can't see how it could be anything else, but how could Death Eaters have gotten into the school?"

Justine shook her head. "Can't be."

Molly wanted to say, maybe they ditched you? but restrained herself. "Let's go look for them, then. Maybe they took a different route?"

"Alright," Arthur said. "There were a couple of branches we passed, we can go check those."

"I'll search the castle, just in case," Justine spoke up. "You two go and see what you find in the passage."

Molly gave her friend a look, but Justine's expression said, be nice. Molly rolled her eyes as she stood. She would need to put aside her feelings about Arthur so they could find their friends. "Let's go, then."

Arthur led Molly through the corridors until eventually they came to a portrait. "It's a secret passage that leads down into the Hog's Head Inn," Arthur explained.

"The Hog's Head?" Molly wondered. "Isn't that…?"

Arthur sighed. "No, it's not illegal or anything. It's just out of the way."

Neither of them cared that it was not a Hogsmeade day, and so they would most definitely be in trouble if they were caught. No longer was this about getting things together for a post-game party on the pitch, but about finding where their friends had gone.

Arthur pulled his wand out and pointed at the portrait. "Dissendium." The portrait quickly dissolved, leaving a gaping hole that sloped quickly down into the depths.

"How did you even manage to lose them?" Molly wondered, peering anxiously down. "I mean, you didn't hear anything?"

Arthur appraised her. "I didn't hear anything." He looked at her. "You're not afraid, are you? I didn't think that Molly Prewett was afraid of anything?"

Molly narrowed her eyes. "Everyone's afraid of something, Weasley."

Arthur continued to needle. "Yeah, sure, but you always like to put on an act about being fearless, so…"

Molly pulled her wand and pointed it at him. "I'd stop talking if I were you, Weasley. Just because we have to find Kathy and Bryan doesn't mean I won't hex you if need be."

Arthur gulped. He'd heard rumors about Molly's spellwork, and wasn't eager to see it used on him.

"Alright," he said. Then, quieter, he muttered, "Don't know why you hate me so much."

Molly raised her eyebrows as she put her wand away. "Speak up if you have something to say, why don't you? And I don't hate you, alright?"

Arthur was taken aback. "You don't? But-"

Molly sighed as she said, "I don't. You're just annoying, is all. You always make little jibes at me and you never seem to want to join in things we do."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "I never joined in because you all never seemed to want me to. Figured I'd keep out of your way as much as I could, not bother you more than I needed to."

"Then why did you come to me and Justine for help to find Kathy and Bryan?"

Arthur considered what to say for a moment. Finally, he said, "Because I knew that if anyone could, it would be you. You're so good at magic. Also, I knew you'd dislike me even more if I kept it from you."

Molly rolled her eyes. "Didn't we just establish that I don't hate you, Weasley?" They were quiet for a moment before she said, "Okay, I'm sorry. I know I can be a bit abrasive sometimes. Why don't we just start over? Maybe we can be friends?"

Arthur's smile was quite genuine as he responded, "Absolutely. I think I'd like that… Molly."

Molly's answering smile was just as genuine as his. They didn't speak for several moments. She wondered how she'd never seen this side of him before.

After what felt like a minute or so, she pulled herself together. They needed to get back to the matter at hand. "Let's find our friends, yes?"

Arthur nodded. "Agreed. Let's go."

And they started down the dark passage, not knowing what they would find, but knowing that they would face it together. There could be no other way.