Wednesday December 16th
Weasley house, front room
1: 37 pm
- - -
"Mu-um?"
A little voice sounded in the door causing Audrey Weasley to look up from her book. "Lucy?" she asked in alarm, setting her book on the sofa next to her as she observed her young daughter standing the doorway, a very sad look on her face. "Sweetie what's wrong?"
Her daughter continued to watch her silently and Audrey grew even more alarmed. "Lucy?" she asked again.
Suddenly, Lucy bolted across the room and threw herself into her mother's lap. Audrey leapt back against the sofa in surprise as Lucy burrowed herself snuggly into Audrey's warmth mumbling against her mother's jumper, "Molly is coming home on Friday."
Audrey raised her eyebrows in shock at the mention of her oldest daughter. Raising one of her hands, she drew it through Lucy's tangled brown hair softly and said, "Yes. Molly is coming home on Friday."
Lucy turned her head and two big eyes regarded her mother somberly as she said, "But I don't want her to."
"What?" Instantly Audrey's senses were on alert. Despite her daughter eight year age difference, they shared a close bond. Even with Molly being at Hogwarts for the past two years she still managed to find time to write many letters to her little sister, letters that never failed to bring a smile to Lucy's heart shaped face. So Audrey was perplexed on to what had brought upon this sudden change in Lucy's demeanor. Tipping Lucy's chin up with her hand she questioned her, "Why?"
"Because," here Lucy sniffed and wiped her nose with her sleeve, "that means that she's just going to go back to school. Again. She always leaves me," finished Lucy with a pout.
"Oh Lucy-girl." Audrey took a deep breath and pulled her daughter closer, tightening her hold on her. "She doesn't mean to."
"I hate Hogwarts," whimpered Lucy against her mother's shoulder. "I miss my Molly."
Audrey felt tears well up in her eyes as well, after two years she still wasn't used to her oldest being gone. Smoothing Lucy's hair, Audrey gave her a kiss and leaned down to pressed her cheek against Lucy's small head as she replied. "I know you do dear. And your sister misses you as well. In fact," Audrey dropped her voice to a whisper, "Molly wrote and told me she got you a special something for Christmas."
"Really?" Lucy's head popped up. "She did?" she asked in surprise.
"Yep," replied Audrey with small grin. "She picked it out especially for you."
"Is it big?"
Audrey had to hold back a chuckle. "I don't know sweetie. You will just have to wait to find out."
Lucy sighed in disappointment. "If I have to," she said as she leaned back into her mother's embrace.
The pair sat like that in silence as Audrey treasured this quiet, and rare, moment with her daughter. She didn't know what she was going to do when Lucy went off to Hogwarts in seven years. As Lucy began to snore and Audrey felt her own eyes grow heavy with sleep, she thought briefly of talking to Percy about having another baby. She was still needed her boy after all.
Author's Note: Not very Christmasy I know, but I always thought that the years away at Hogwarts would be hard for both the siblings and parents. And I just wanted to show that.