Mother's Love Chapter 4: Molly's Folly, a harry potter fanfic

And it is done, finally chapter 4 of 4. This is both longer and shorter than I had planned. Enjoy…

The day was gorgeous; a truly beautiful summer day at the Burrow. The thought of this day in particular being anything but perfect was simply inconceivable; with all the work Molly Weasley put into this wedding even the weather didn't dare cross her. Roses of ever color and description covered each available inch of the back garden. The wedding of the century was about to happen and no one wanted to miss it. The Burrow had to be warded more strongly than Hogwarts itself to keep the reporters away. Remus Lupin, who gone through the necessary steps to be able to perform the ceremony, asked that fateful question about a reason that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley shouldn't be wed; famous last words.

Heads swiveled when a loud breathless voice called out "wait…please wait." Dean Thomas, looking slightly worse for wear and frankly like he hadn't showered in a few day staggered into the garden. The guests looked at the exhausted looking black man.

"Dean?" Ginny asked incredulously taking a step forward then stopping when she realized where she was. The ragged man's eyes softened when they looked at her.

"Ginny" he breathed, "you can't marry him. You love me, you know you do."

Ginny sighed, "Dean…We broke up six years ago I've been dating Harry the last five" she was distinctly ignoring the time when Harry was being stupidly noble.

"You've been given a love potion and you're memory has been modified. That's why you think you love him but you don't. Deep down you know its true." The guests' murmured ominously at the pronouncement. Molly Weasley began to look infuriated but it was Ron who turned red and shouted.

"Harry would never have done that to Ginny; he loves her." He glared at Dean.

"It wasn't Harry, I know that. At first I thought so but he was so happy in his own relationship. I couldn't see him doing something like that. I know he's under it too."

"Dean, you're not making any sense mate" Harry spoke up.

Dean shook his head, "I know…I know. Just…Just give me a chance. Let prove it to you. If I can't make you understand then I'll walk away. I'll commit myself, whatever you want just…please."

The bride and groom looked considering. Seeing this Molly pushed her opinion forward, "listen young man just because you aren't happy who my daughter chose to be with doesn't mean you can come in and ruin this wedding. I have work far too hard on this for that. Now leave…" She brought her wand up when he didn't move only to be stopped by Ginny.

"Wait, Mum, what if he's right?"

"Ginny?" Harry turned to her questioningly.

"Harry, you know that now that it's been said we'll both wonder until we hear him out."

Molly turned to them, "Ginny, Harry you two are so in love. You don't need to prove a thing."

"If we're that in love, Molly, this will be over quickly." Harry responded after a moment. "You have fifteen minutes, Dean."

The man in question looked so grateful that it made several of the people around him shift nervously.

"Ginny, do you remember when we started dating?" He asked quietly, softly

"Yeah" she responded cautiously "During my fourth year, why?"

But Dean was already shaking his head, "We started dating around Christmas of your second year. We shared a love of art." He swallowed and a wistful smile overcame his face, "I have several pieces of ours dating from that Christmas until just before Christmas of my sixth year. After Christmas it was like you couldn't remember us being together. Like you didn't remember I had asked you to marry me. I couldn't figure out why at first" He smiled a wry grin, "Then Dumbledore died and nobody had any time to think about that kind of stuff"

"Mate…"Harry interjected awkwardly.

"I know speed it up right. I blamed you for a while Harry; thought you had done something to my Ginny" the black boy shrugged apologetically, "I met a shaman in Australia who helped set me to rights. He let me search my memories and realized Ginny wasn't the only one that changed after that Christmas." He eyed the now impatient looking Molly Weasley. "Ginny, when did we break up?"

"Right before Christmas, like you said" Her answer was automatic followed by a semi confused pause. The audience shifted as several people shook their heads in denial. "No that's not right, we fought and broke up but it was warmer. I remember us breaking up just before Christmas, though." She shook her head to clear it.

"And Harry, what do you remember of that time?" Dean asked almost gently.

The hero shrugged, "Not much" he said defensively "What!?" he snapped, "I barely remember most of that year."

"I didn't expect you to. I have one more point to make. You two, if you are so in love, would have told each other everything, right? You're hopes, you're dreams, and you're fears…" The couple nodded warily, the boy had already planted the doubt that their memories were their own. "One last question then Ginny, what does Harry fear most and why? Harry same question"

Ginny answered first confidently, "He fears Dementors because of he hears his mothers screaming." Inwardly Dean smiled when Harry, Hermione, and Ron shot Ginny an incredulous look.

"Uh…the Diary because of what happened in her first year." Harry answered much less confidently.

"Ginny fears Love Potions because her mother told her stories of getting her father's attention using Love Potions; she was afraid it meant her dad didn't really love her." Many of the guest looked shocked and saddened when the redhead looked at Dean with shock but slowly nodded her assent. Molly in particular looked horrified.

"I don't know what Harry's true greatest fear is…"

"His Uncle" Hermione supplied after a glance at the black haired boy

"Because he was never quite sure how far the man would go when faced with magic." Ron finished without missing a beat.

Knowing he held the rapt attention of the entire audience Dean asked one more question, "Harry, what are Ron and Hermione most afraid of?"

One of the twins snorted, "Everyone knows Ronnie's. Spiders" Several of the guest fought smiles when the groomsman in question jumped.

Harry, followed closely by Hermione, both rounded on the twin that had spoken even as they shielded Ron from view. "And just why is that" he snapped. "Because his brothers thought it would be funny if the turned his teddy bear into a Black Lace Weaver. It bit him four times before it turned back"

The joking look slipped off both the twins faces. "It turned into what?" One whispered, horrified

Every adult magic user in hearing turned pale at the mention of the highly venomous spider. A Black Lace Weaver was a common spider that to Muggles didn't rate more than a bit of swelling and some nausea it was much more destructive to a witch or wizard. The venom could kill an adult wizard with one bite as the arachnid digested their magic. Of the truly powerful it merely drained them to an almost squib like existence for several years. To be bitten four times and survive… that spoke of power beyond what many thought was even possible.

Dean shook himself. He knew he would need to intercede before whatever rant Hermione was working on surfaced. "Do you see now?" He asked the bride and groom quietly. "You're memories are fuzzy at best and outright wrong at worst. You don't know each other as well as you should, certainly not as well as you know others or they know you. Surely you can see that I'm right, that something is very wrong here."

Seeing that the duo was considering Dean's words far more carefully than they should; and feeling years of work falling down around her, Molly burst out with a single "No, you can't do this I worked too hard."

Ginny, and the guest, turned toward the distraught mother. "Mum?"

Molly didn't seem to hear her shaking her head and pleading, "I promised, I promised"

Ginny took a step forward, "Mum, what's going on"

Tears leaked from the older woman's eyes, "I promised myself I would make sure you were happy, Ginny…my only daughter. I knew…I knew you wouldn't be as happy with Dean as you would with Harry. But you didn't see that, talking about marrying him without even thinking about your hero." She babbled unaware of who was there."I had to save them too you see…All three together, it was unseemly. Society would break them without slowing. No the best way to protect them, to make you all happy. I had to, you see. I had to do it" she pleaded with her daughter, with her son, with the two young people she looked at as children.

There is a place in the female mind where even demons fear treading. This place is motherhood and it is from this place the greatest most heinous crimes and the truest purest love forms. What would you do for your child…?