IX
I Remember
It is their first night out together since Billy arrived, and Molly is pregnant again. She feels fat, tired and frumpy.
"I love you," Arthur murmurs.
"I remember," she smiles.
Cuts
"Mu-u-um! Charlie fell out of the apple tree!"
"Mummy, I fell down!"
"Mummy, Fred pushed me over!"
Molly is only too used to dealing with cuts and scrapes.
Fresh
Molly smiles at Percy in his highchair, and wonders where the older boys are.
Two minutes later, they run in, clutching bunches of ragged daisies
"They're fresh!" Bill says earnestly.
Train of Thought
Molly is wondering if Charlie's relationship with Andromeda's girl will last. Arthur is talking.
"Well, Moll?"
She looks at him vaguely. "Sorry, dear, I lost my train of thought."
The Truth
"He has to come back now he knows it was true all the time, doesn't he?" Molly asks tearfully.
Arthur shakes his head sadly. "I hope so, dear."
Pain
Every time, every single time, she forgets how much labour hurts.
"This is definitely the last one, Arthur," she gasps between contractions. "Six is enough."
Recovery
Molly finds herself singing as she watches the boys playing, and cradles her baby girl.
Her brothers have been dead eight months. Is it wrong to feel happy?
Beauty
She frowns at herself in the mirror. Tomorrow, she will be forty, and she feels very old.
Arthur comes up behind, and kisses her neck. "Hello, beautiful" he whispers.
Grief
Grief creeps up on her when she doesn't expect it. A word, the look in Ginny's eyes, George's smile that is never quite what it used to be...
Oh, Fred.
Background
Auntie Muriel is talking to her mother, and Molly is getting crosser and crosser.
"Who is this Arthur Weasley, anyway?" Muriel demands. "What's his background?"