This fic portrays the aftermath of a canon character death.
i lit a fire with the love you left behind
Arthur falls to his knees next to Fred's lifeless body, sobbing quietly. His son — his handsome, clever, fun-loving son — is gone.
He should have been ready for this outcome. After that close shave with George...he should have been more prepared.
But he wasn't. He wasn't prepared for the grief to hit him like a tsunami, leaving him scrambling for purchase in a world that already feels a little less bright.
Beside him, Molly wails, the tears pouring down her cheeks just as quickly as they pour down his. He pulls her to him and she presses her face against his chest. It doesn't do much to muffle her cries, however, and within minutes, his robes are soaked through.
"Did we do the right thing, Molly?" he whispers brokenly. His lips brush hair that is already greying and will likely grey even more now. "Letting our children fight?"
Molly's sobs cease for a moment as she considers his question. "I don't know, Arthur," she whimpers. "I don't know."
Arthur doesn't need to look around to know that the two of them are the recipients of pitying stares. He can practically feel the commiseration rolling off of them.
It doesn't make him feel any better.
Molly lets out an especially loud keen and he begins to rub tiny circles into her back the way he watched her do to their children. He tries not to think about how she'll never get to do it for Fred again.
Someone sniffs and Arthur turns his head to find George standing there. George's face is pale and his eyes glisten with unshed tears. He looks as though his whole world has come crashing down around him.
With a pang, Arthur realizes that, in a way, it has.
He extends an arm towards George and pulls him into a hug, too. His son is trembling, and Arthur knows it has nothing to do with being cold and everything to do with trying to hold it together.
"It's all right, son," he says, his throat tight. "You can cry for him, too."
His words open up the floodgates, and soon George has joined his and Molly's public display of grief. A short while later, Ginny becomes a part of it, too. Then Bill and Fleur. Then Charlie. And finally, Ron, Harry, and Hermione — though Harry doesn't stay.
The war isn't over yet, but Arthur doesn't want to dwell on how many more might die before it's all over. Instead, he focuses on letting his family's love bolster him. It's not going to be easy continuing on without Fred, but he's going to make sure that his son's death was not in vain.
Word count: 449