30 October 1977 – Clock
"I like this one," said Gideon, bouncing Percy on his knee. The infant babbled serenely, his little tuft of red hair swaying, sticking straight up out of his head, as he gazed back at Gideon. "He's very calm, isn't he?"
"He's an angel, until I change something in his routine," Molly said, chuckling. "Then I need to watch out. He likes his schedules, Percy." She tipped back and forth in her rocking chair, patting her large belly. "He does like you, though."
"Well, what's not to like?" Gideon asked seriously. He glanced sideways at Molly. "Feel all right?"
"Upset stomach," she said, her eyes closed.
"A baby will do that," he replied sagely. She smirked.
"Tea and birthday cake," Arthur said happily, as he came striding into the room, followed by Fabian, who had Bill hanging from his arm and Charlie on his leg. "Happy birthday, Molly!"
"Happy birthday, Mumma!" said Charlie eagerly, scurrying forward and hugging her tightly. Molly beamed and squeezed him back, just as hard—then she grabbed Bill and gave him a big, wet kiss.
"Eurgh! Mum!" he cried, and Molly laughed.
"I'm your Mummy, I get to do that kind of thing every day if I want to, and there's nothing you can do about it," she informed him.
Bill wiped his cheek with the back of his hand, pulling a face, but giggled.
"Come here, kid," said Fabian, seizing Charlie round the middle and swinging him into his lap. Charlie squealed delightedly as Bill scrambled over to join him. Arthur was cutting the birthday cake and Percy leaned forward in Gideon's lap, reaching for Molly.
"All right, all right," she said, "You come to Mummy." She took Percy up in her arms, and he snuggled against her belly, babbling happily at her. "Oh, thank you, darling," she said, taking the cake Arthur passed her. He kissed her warmly before setting her mug of tea on the table beside her. She beamed, resettling Percy on her lap.
"Muh, muh," he said, pointing to the cake. "Ah!"
Molly shook her head and broke off a piece for him. He stuffed it in his mouth, humming contentedly.
"Definitely a kid after my own heart," said Gideon. Charlie was with him now, hanging upside down from his lap.
"No playing favorites, Gid," said Fabian; Bill was arm-wrestling him as he tried to eat cake left-handed.
"Ahem," said Arthur. He had finished passing out the cake, and now raised his own tea mug. "I'd just like to propose a birthday toast to my wonderful wife, and my boys' wonderful mother. Happy birthday, darling. I love you."
Molly smiled at him as Gideon and Fabian echoed, "Happy birthday, Molly."
Bill and Charlie quickly righted themselves and ran over to join Percy, squeezing him and Molly into a many-armed hug. "Happy birthday, Mumma!" they chorused again.
"Thank you," she said happily, as they pulled themselves away. She rocked Percy back and forth on her lap—and one of the babies kicked, startling her. "Thank you," she said, and Bill and Charlie laughed.
"The baby can't hear you, Mum!" Bill said, giggling. Then he looked around at Fabian, frowning. "Can it?"
"I dunno, mate," he replied. "Do you remember what I said to you before you were born?"
"I do!" Charlie cried, and Molly rolled her eyes, sipping her tea.
"What did I say?"
"You said…erm…er…Hi, Charlie," he replied meekly, turning a brilliant shade of pink as Fabian and Gideon both burst into laughter.
"Fibber," said Bill.
"Am not!" Charlie retorted, flaring up at once.
"Boys," Arthur said, cutting across them both. He sat on the hearth near Molly, smirking. "Where's your present for your mum?"
"Time for presents!" Bill yelled. He and Charlie charged upstairs to their shared bedroom, slamming the door behind them.
There were a few beats of silence, and then, very suddenly, Percy gave a shriek of mad laughter, clapping his hands eagerly in Molly's lap.
"Sorry we brought the Halloween treats, Molly," said Fabian with a chuckle.
"Guess that was a bad idea," Gideon agreed.
"That's all right," Molly replied, passing Percy to Arthur and settling back in her chair, her hands on her stomach. "You can put them to bed. It's my night off."
Arthur chuckled. "Can it be my night off, as well?"
"I think you're going to like our gift, Moll," Gideon told her. He got up and went over to the corner, where a large package had been sitting all evening long. "It's useful."
"Is it another Witch Weekly annual recipe book?" she answered as he brought it to her.
"I am shocked and appalled that you would even think our gift-giving skills so mundane," Fabian gasped, laying a hand on his chest.
"Ten years of Christmases and birthdays aren't reason enough?" Molly laughed. "I think you've gotten me one every year since you left Hogwarts."
"As if you don't keep them all on a shelf and think fondly of us when you see them," Gideon replied, placing the package in her hand.
"Do I have to separate you three as well?" Arthur asked sternly from where he now sat on the carpet with Percy, who was sucking on the head of his stuffed bear.
"Well, it is bigger than a recipe book," Molly said, admiring the Christmas paper that they had wrapped the gift in. "Let's see." She ripped it open and lifted the lid of the box—then gasped. "What on earth—?"
"That," said Gideon, "we found in Hogsmeade. In Gladrags, of all places. They were selling it secondhand—so we made some modifications of our own, and there you have it."
"Gideon," she breathed. "Fabian…" She lifted out of the box a large clock, which, instead of numbers, had a wide array of phrases written on it—Home—Work—School—Travelling—Garden—
"We added a few of our own," Fabian pointed out.
"'Mortal Peril'?" Molly read, laughing.
"For when Bill has Charlie dangling out of a tree in the orchard, that sort of thing," said Gideon.
"Wow," said Arthur, who had come over to see, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Will you look at that—what a great bit of magic…"
Gideon turned to Fabian. "I think that's the first time I've ever heard Arthur get excited about something other than a Muggle object in ten years."
"And the hands…oh, Arthur, look," sighed Molly, running her fingers over the names—Bill, Charlie, Percy, Molly, and Arthur—that were carved into the hands of the clock, all five of which pointed to Home. "It's beautiful, you two—thank you so much. Where are your hands?"
"Are you kidding? We're not letting our older sister spy on us!" Fabian cried. Molly laughed.
"I guess I'll just have to talk to Dorcas Meadowes, won't I?" she asked Gideon innocently. He blushed bright red beneath his orange hair as Fabian roared with laughter.
"Here," Gideon said, leaning forward and taking something out of the box, talking over Fabian's helpless giggles and very clearly trying to hide his blush. He held out a wooden stick to Molly—it was another hand for the clock, a bit shorter than Percy's. "This is the best part. When the new one gets here," said Gideon, pointing to Molly's belly, "You can add him—or her, I guess—right on. Pretty simple spell. I'll show you when you've got a name."
"Thank you, Giddy," said Molly gently, kissing his cheek. She looked over at Fabian, beaming. "This is the most wonderful gift you two have ever given me—really. It's never going to leave my sight."
They both smiled.
"Mum! Mum!"
"We found it! We almost lost it, but—but—but then—we didn't!"
"Oh, thank Merlin," said Molly, smiling and setting the clock safely on the hearth as Bill and Charlie came barreling down the stairs again. Percy, who was on the carpet by Arthur's feet, gave a squeal of happiness at their reappearance—Molly had lately observed that he was in a state of perpetual excitement whenever people entered or left a room.
"Dad helped us get it," Charlie explained, passing the wrapped gift to Bill.
"But it was mostly our money that went into it," Bill continued. "We saved and saved, and Dad only had to give a couple of Knuts to help buy it!"
"Oh, boys," Molly said, taking the present and making brief eye contact with Arthur, who was smiling in a way that made her suspect it was more than a few Knuts—but of course, he would let it be a gift from Bill and Charlie. "Thank you so much! What is it?"
"Open it," said Bill, scrambling onto the back of Fabian's chair to annoy him.
"Yeah, open it!" Charlie cried. He knelt down beside Molly's knee, watching her eagerly.
"All right," she said, pulling the paper off the rectangular box. She lifted the lid away to reveal a long, beautiful necklace made of multicolored glass beads. "Darling," she said, drawing it out and placing it immediately around her neck, "It's lovely! Oh, thank you, Charlie—thank you, Billy!"
"You're welcome," said Charlie, blushing again and hurrying over to Arthur and Percy, who were examining the clock with great interest. Bill merely gave her a thumbs-up—Gideon and Fabian were dangling him upside-down.
Molly shook her head. "Let him down before he passes out," she told them.
"Aw," Bill groaned regretfully as he was lowered onto the carpet. "I want to pass out!"
Molly chuckled and opened her arms; Charlie and Bill joined her at once. "Now it's my turn," she said. "I have a present for you two—and for Percy, and for Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian—and especially for Daddy." She caught Arthur's eye—he was helping little Percy stand up, leaning against the coffee table—and smiled.
"You're not supposed to give us presents, Mum," Charlie piped up honestly. Bill looked at him as though he had gone mad.
"She can if she wants to!"
Molly smiled. "Well, it's a present that all of us are going to share, all right?"
"Okay," said Charlie brightly, though Bill looked suddenly suspicious. Arthur frowned bemusedly at Molly, and Gideon and Fabian were looking at each other warily.
"Well," Molly said, looking first to her brothers, then to Arthur and Percy, and then at Bill and Charlie, whom she held in each arm, "I had some interesting talks with the Healers, not that long ago, and…I decided that it would be a really special gift for all of my favorite boys to hear together…so I wanted to make it a birthday surprise." She was saying this for Arthur's benefit, though she had a feeling he would not begrudge her a few weeks' secret. "It's news about our baby here." She patted her belly.
"Is it a boy?" Charlie asked excitedly.
"I don't know that part, yet," said Molly, smiling at him. She took a breath. "We'll have to find out when they get here."
"So what's the news?" Bill asked, frowning, just as Arthur, Gideon, and Fabian cried, in unison—
"They?"
"Wait," said Bill, looking around at them, "There's—not one baby?"
Molly beamed. "No, not one. There are two." She felt tears rise in her eyes as she met Arthur's stunned gaze. "Twins. Just like your uncles."
There was a long period of silence as Gideon and Fabian stared at her, their jaws hanging slack. Arthur, too, looked more than a little bit stunned. Then—
"Wow! I didn't know you could do that, Mum!" Charlie cried, utterly shocked. "That's so cool! Good job!" Gideon and Fabian jumped to their feet, laughing hysterically. Gideon swung Charlie up jubilantly, and Molly rose to hug Fabian tightly.
"I knew it!" he told her, without releasing her. "I knew you'd have a couple of us!"
"If you ever tell them to give me a Witch Weekly recipe book, I'll hex you," Molly laughed, wiping away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. Over his shoulder, she could see that Bill had picked up Percy and was celebrating ecstatically with him and Charlie. She pulled back from Fabian at last and turned. She gave Arthur a watery smile. "I hope you're not upset that I didn't tell you."
"Oh, Molly…don't be ridiculous," he replied, his voice breaking as he embraced her. She pulled away for a moment, reaching into her pocket, and produced a single bronze Knut, holding it between their faces. He stared at it for a moment before he gave a little sob, and Molly laughed gently, squeezing him tightly in her arms.
D'aww.