Killing Is No Solution

Arthur was walking into the kitchen of Hogwarts castle because he wanted to surprise his wife tonight. He had spent the whole day in The Burrow and at work and he knew that Molly would be a little peeved about him being away all day. She was not comfortable alone around man of the Order or students. The only men she allowed near her without keeping a tight grip on her wand were Arthur, their sons, Albus and strangely enough Severus. Coming to think of it, both women were surprisingly close to the potions master and trusted him explicitly.

Reaching the portrait with the pears, Arthur tickled the biggest one until it laughed and changed into the handle to the hidden door. As he stepped into the kitchen he was immediately surrounded by all the house-elves. Whenever someone went into the kitchen to get something for Professors McGonagall or Dumbledore, still recovering from his fight with Voldemort, or Molly, the elves instantly dropped everything and poured all their efforts into it. Now they were only too eager to serve him.

"Mister Weasley, how can we help you?" squeaked one of the elves enthusiastically. "How is the Missus?"

Dobby rushed forward eagerly and held up a bowl of fresh strawberries. He had remembered that Mr. Weasley had asked for strawberries earlier and that they held a special meaning for Mrs. Weasley.

"Here, Mister Weasley. We have strawberries!" Dobby exclaimed overexcited.

He skidded to a halt in front of Arthur and beamed up to him. Arthur bent down and took the bowl. His eyes sparked and he suddenly knew how he could appease his wife and make her forgive him.

"Thank you, Dobby. But maybe she likes to eat something proper first?" he suggested softly.

Dobby and several other house-elves shook their heads, making the ears flop around their heads. Dobby looked up into his eyes again and answered for the whole group.

"No, Mister Weasley. Mrs. Weasley already ate dinner with Professor McGonagall in her private chambers. Both ladies ate only a little though" explained Dobby, hanging his head as he admitted the last titbit.

Arthur frowned and wriggled his nose a bit. Molly should know better. She had to eat for two after all and Minerva was usually very concerned about her friend and made her obey the healer's orders. After the first month of her pregnancy Molly had quiet regained her appetite and was eating healthy helpings and had even started to have strange cravings occasionally. So what was wrong with her today?

"Thank you, Dobby, for that information", said Arthur, making sure no reprimand was heard in his voice. "I will see to her now and make sure she is fine. Mmmmm ... could you maybe make some Crêpes? I know she loves them since our honeymoon in France. I bet she would love to eat some."

Arthur beamed down at the house-elves and winked at Dobby. Immediately they scurried off and gathered all the ingredients for Crêpes. Arthur sat down on one of the long tables directly positioned under the Gryffindor table and observed the bustle around him. Out of nowhere a cup of tea was pushed onto the table next to him. A sugar bowl and milk and lemon followed soon after. One of the house-elves had considered Arthur's own wishes and provided quite nicely.

----

Finally, in reality only an hour later, Arthur walked up to the room he shared with his wife. Molly was still hesitant to move back to the Burrow but Arthur was confident that after what he had to tell her today she would look forward to go home.

When he entered their room he stood still for a moment. What he saw stopped his heart instantly. Molly lay crumpled in a heap on the floor. Shattered pieces of furniture littered the floor. The glass in the windows was broken and let in the cold winds of the Highlands and the snow that had began to fall earlier in the evening.

Arthur directed his gaze back to his wife and saw that her cheeks were tear-stained. Her face held such an anguished expression that it tore Arthur's heart out. Carefully he moved closer and saw blood pooling around Molly's wrist. It wasn't a deep cut and the blood had already begun to clog but Arthur became none the less panicked.

----

Lucius Malfoy remembered an old hideout he and some of the other death-eaters had used when the Aurors had been behind them in the first war. Now he couldn't figure out how he had forgotten that place. It would be perfect to camp out in until they had formulated a plan to get back into the Magical Community and take revenge on the Order. Quietly he drew Rudolphus' attention to him and indicated that he should round up the other death-eaters. Rudolphus nodded quietly and tapped his wife on the arm.

----

Arthur immediately gathered Molly in his arms and felt her pulse. It was strong and regular but Molly's breathing was laboured and Arthur got the distinct feeling that his wife needed help as quickly as possible. Standing up with Molly tightly clasped to his chest, he crossed the room and darted out the door. Rushing to the Hospital Wing, he prayed that Poppy was still awake. When he reached the door, he hammered against it.

"Poppy? Poppy! Wake up!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Molly is hurt! Wake up! You have to help me!"

It frightened him to no end that Molly wasn't responding, not even to his screaming near her ear. And then suddenly light flared throughout the room and Poppy staggered through the door to her office. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she came towards Arthur and waved him to one of the beds. She was not yet fully awake and hadn't caught on that no students stood in front of her. Arthur placed Molly gently on the bed and turned around to Poppy, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her slightly.

"Poppy, wake up. Molly needs your help", he exclaimed impatiently.

Poppy's eyes widened and finally realisation dawned in them. She shook of the last remains of sleep and instantly bent over Molly to examine her wrist. It wasn't a very deep cut and there were no glass splinters in it. With a quick movements of her own wrist she healed Molly's wrist and then moved her attention to the obvious unconscious state of her friend. She cast a diagnostic spell and found the residues of alcohol in her blood.

"Now that is weird. Molly knows better than to drink alcohol while pregnant", Poppy muttered under her breath and frowned down on the sleeping woman. "Something ... oh!!"

Suddenly Poppy looked down and away. She had a hard time to hide the blush on her cheeks. Arthur eyed her strangely and tried to figure out what the healer was hiding from him. More importantly what she was hiding from him about his wife.

"Poppy?"

The healer didn't turn around and ruffled through her cupboard for a vial of anti-hangover-potion and sobering-up-potion. She then turned back to Molly and opened Molly's mouth slightly. With one arm she heaved Molly into a sitting position and poured some of the liquids into her mouth.

"Poppy, what is the matter? Talk to me! Is there something I should know?" Arthur asked coldly, staring Poppy down.

"I can't really tell, Arthur. She will tell you in her own way, I'm sure", she whispered, avoiding looking at him.

Gently she laid Molly back down on the white sheets and tucked her in. Molly was stirring slightly already, finally waking up from her alcohol-induced slumber. She groaned and touched her hand to her forehead, eyes still closed tightly. Small wrinkles appeared on the plain of her forehead and the pinched the bridge of her nose, slowly coming around.

"Where am I?" she asked finally, cracking one eye open and looking at Poppy.

Her head was turned to the side and the only person she could see was Poppy. Arthur stayed out of the focus of her eyes, hoping she would confide into her friend when thinking they were alone. What he saw let him choke, feeling guilty for being angry at Molly and Poppy for keeping a secret. Molly had tears in her eyes and her lip was quivering.

"Molly?" Poppy leant forward and touched Molly's cheek softly with a finger. "Why did you get drunk? You have to know that it wouldn't help you solve your problems. And that it's certainly not good for the baby."

"I don't care anymore", whispered Molly miserably.

Her eyes were overflowing with tears and she turned her head the other way ... She jerked upright, eyes flying wide open and a mute scream on her lips. She stared at her husband in horror. Arthur hadn't seen a look on her face such as this since she had found out she was pregnant. His heart sank into his shoes.

Forcing a smile on his lips, he bent over and kissed his wife gently on the forehead despite her scared face. He decided he would first tell her about his day and then ask her about what was bothering. Arthur looked into Molly's eyes, ignored the anguish, and pressed on.

"Molly, I did so much today in our Burrow", he began, and she averted her gaze to his face as he spoke. Her eyes were still swimming with tears, so her deep brown orbs seemed to be drowning. "I made a crib, Molly! A real crib, Mollywobbles ... just like the muggles!"

He grabbed her hand tight, his eyes flashing. Sure he was overjoyed about making a real MUGGLE crib but he was at his wits end here. He was trying furiously to keep his wife's mind off things, and his attempts were obvious as he rambled on again.

"I painted the walls pink! I bought a comforter I found for cheap at the baby emporium down in Diagon Alley. Bill helped me paint flowers on the walls, I bought her her first ever teddy bear, and it even has a purple dress on it, and I bought her a fairy nightlight and I got diapers, and pacifiers, and hair bows ... and I got her some outfits, but bigger ones so that you can pick what she comes home in and ... and ... I did it all the muggle way, Molly! All for my little girl!"

"Arth-", she tried to interrupt, but he managed to cut through her barely audible attempt to intercede, and added:

"I even brought out Ginny's old blankie and ..."

"Arthur?..."

"And I brought out some of my rubber ducks and put them in her room. The pink ones of course! I put them right on her dresser ... which I also made for my little girl ..."

"She's not ..."

"And I bought matching sheets for the comforter, seeing as it was so cheap that she needed to have sheets in the crib and it didn't come with any. I can't have my daughter sleeping on a plain mattress ..."

"ARTHUR!" she screamed and stood furiously. "STOP SAYING YOUR DAUGHTER!!!" She looked deeply into his eyes, her face mirroring disgust and sadness. "She isn't yours ..."

"She ... what?" asked Arthur helplessly, staring down at his wife.

Molly's face contorted in pain again and she closed her eyes. Tears were never the less pressing through and flowing down her cheeks. Her hands gripped the sheets tightly, as if she was waiting for a blow. Arthur looked at her with pain and burning hatred. Suddenly he gripped Molly's shoulders and jerked her up into a sitting position and shook her. Molly only whimpered quietly, accepting his anger instead of fighting it. Poppy had gasped in shock and clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Arthur! No!" she whispered horrified, willing him to vent his anger on her instead of his pregnant wife who probably suffered more under the fact that Lucius had fathered her child.

"She is MY daughter!" roared Arthur, too much gone in his rage to have heard Poppy. "I will raise her! I will give her a home! She will never see this bastard! Do you hear me, Molly?!? SHE IS MY DAUGHTER!!!"

One final shake on his wife's shoulders and he suddenly let go of her as if burnt. He stared down on his hands in utter disbelief and shock. He couldn't believe what he had just done. For the second time he had violated his wife and endangered her life and the life of her unborn child. Backing away from her bed, he shook his head and mouthed 'sorry' over and over again.

Poppy leant over Molly as soon as Arthur had stopped his assault on her. She was very worried about the possibility of a miscarriage since Molly had been close to one before. Molly's eyes were as dead as Minerva's had been before Albus had forced her to come back to reality. Poppy was scared by the emptiness and indifference in Molly. Arthur's outburst normally would have provoked her to scream her own anger at him furiously. But now she just accepted his abuse.

"Arthur! Out! Now!" Poppy pressed out through gritted teeth and pointed her wand threateningly at his chest. She would make damned sure he never hurt his wife again.

Arthur backed further away.

----

Lucius felt anger building in him and had to vent it on someone. He was forced to do everything manually instead of magically. He was now watching Bellatrix putting wood on the fire in the fire place. It had taken them hours to ignite it and build it up.

Malfoy balled his hands into tight fists and kicked the wall against which he was standing. He would take his revenge on everyone who had put him in this miserable position. The image swimming to the surface of his thoughts was one of Molly laying helplessly beneath him, writhing in ecstasy.

He would make her his, body, soul and mind.

----

"I'm sorry, Molly ... I wasn't myself ... please ... forgive me ... I-I l-love you", he whispered, reaching out to her.

Molly shied away from him, nearly tumbling over the other side of her bed in her haste to get away from him. Arthur knew she needed time alone now to work through her grief ... he certainly needed time alone to ... to ... to curse someone, to scream his rage, to destroy something.

Turning around, he fled the scene of his shame.

----

Arthur apparated right in front of the old Riddle Manor. He needed to find Malfoy and rip his heart out, cause him as much pain as that man had caused his wife and him and their children. He would not rest until he knew that jerk dead and six feet under.

Searching the house thoroughly, Arthur soon realised that no living soul was in the house. Arthur was burning up with hatred and a murderous, all-consuming rage. He wanted to tear up this house, the place his wife had to suffer incredible humiliation, pain and devastation.

With sudden clarity, he realised that no one was here to stop him from fulfilling his dreams of revenge. Drawing his wand, he raised his arm and cast spell after spell, destroying systematically the place so full of grief and hatred.

"Reducto!"

The windows shattered and glass splinters flew everywhere, slashing through the fabric of the dusty curtains. They flew like daggers and struck the walls, not breaking but embedding themselves into the walls.

"Castraro!"

The curtains were severed and fell heavily onto the floor with faint rushing and thumping sounds. The fabric of the armchairs and sofas ripped open with such violence that the fillings spilled out and flew in every direction.

"Scopparia!"

The book cases exploded in a million pieces, sending books tumbling to the floor.

"Inflamare!"

The whole place caught fire, the flames consuming everything. They cleansed the place from the evil that had happened in those rooms. Destroying every trace of Voldemort and his death-eaters. Mirroring the hatred raging in Arthur's heart. Wiping out any traces of human existence in this place and banning those terrible deeds to oblivion.

Arthur walked out of Riddle Manor with a sense of mission accomplished but no peace of mind. His heart was still full of pain and hatred. What he wanted most was to find Malfoy, wrap his hands around his neck and press down until Lucius wheezed for air, eyes bulging out and turning blue and slowly being drained of his life force.

Again he apparated, reappearing on the groomed front lawn of Malfoy Manor. Quickly he entered and searched every room for Lucius. Every corner he turned reinforced the wish to come suddenly face to face with his foe. But every room proved to be empty, devoid of any signs that someone might life here.

As he re-entered the entrance hall, Arthur noticed a hooded figure standing there. The back was turned to him and silently Arthur snuck forward, a diabolical grin on his lips. He lunged forward and pinned the figure against the wall, quickly disarming it before spinning it around to face him. He ripped off the hood and ...

"Narcissa! What are you doing here?" he asked incredible.

"This is my h-house", the witch stammered, still recovering from her shock, one hand pressing against her chest. "What are you doing here, Arthur?" she asked sharply.

Nothing in her posture reminded Arthur of the intimidated woman she had been when he had first met her. Now she stood tall and commanding, glaring him down. She waited impatiently for an answer.

"I was hoping I would find your husband here", muttered Arthur defiantly.

"Oh ... I see. Molly told you then", she whispered sympathetically.

Arthur stared at her in astonishment, not believing his ears. Narcissa knew about Molly? Oh God, was he the last to find out?

Narcissa placed a small, pale hand on his arm and smiled into his eyes.

"Do you love Molly?" she asked quietly.

Arthur's head jerked up and he stared at the witch with wide eyes.

"OF COURSE! What do you mean 'Do you love Molly'?" he asked witheringly.

Narcissa seemed unfazed and replied calmly.

"Enough to help her raise her child and accept it as yours?" she asked softly.

Arthur was speechless for a moment. He wanted to answer yes. He wanted to so desperately. But he couldn't. On the other hand he couldn't say no either. His eyes drifted down to the floor and his cheeks turned red.

Suddenly images rose in front of his eyes. He saw Molly walking down the steps of the girls' dormitory. She was wearing a blue dress, emphasizing her eyes magnificently. She was shy and couldn't meet his eyes. It was the day they had gone on their first date.

He saw Molly with her hair standing on end, fire in her eyes and an angry sneer on her face. He had fought for the first time and suddenly he had stopped talking only to wrap his arms around her waist and whisper how much he loved her. She had looked up to him for a long time before she had said 'I love you' for the first time as well.

He saw Molly lying on the soft bed of strawberries and grass. Her eyes were closed and her breathing still laboured from their first love-making.

He saw Molly coming towards him dressed in white. It was their wedding day. 'For better or for worse.' He had meant it then. With a pang he realised he still meant it from the bottom of his heart.

He saw Molly lying on a soft bed. Her hair was matted with sweat and clung to her face but a radiant and triumphant smile was spread over her lips. It was the first time she had had an orgasm.

He saw Molly standing before him, shy and elusive. She was hiding something from him. She had taken his hand in hers and gently placed it on her stomach, smiling up at him with tears in her eyes. That had been the day she had told him she was pregnant with Bill.

He saw her in their marriage bed, sweaty and exhausted. A small bundle lay in her arms as she looked up at Arthur, beckoning him closer to admire his first born.

Arthur's eyes filled with tears. No matter what happened to him or to his Molly, it could never change his love.

"Yes", he whispered, almost inaudibly.

Narcissa nodded. She had not expected another answer. Everyone could see the deep love that connected Arthur with Molly. She gently forced Arthur to look into her eyes.

"Killing Lucius is no solution to your problem", she said earnestly, "... even though I can understand the notion."