Here we have the (in)famous story of a mischievous young Molly and Arthur... XD

"What were you doing out of your dormitory at four in the morning?"

"Your father and I had been for a nighttime stroll..."

22 June 1968 – Moonlight

Molly yawned widely and stretched, waking up blearily. Then she sat up, startled, and looked all around. The Gryffindor common room was dark and empty, and only a few embers still flickered in the fireplace. She looked at her watch. It was nearly two o'clock in the morning, and she and Arthur had fallen asleep, still in their day clothing, on the rug before the fire. Perhaps they had celebrated a little too hard with their classmates.

But it was the end of exams, and what else could they do, honestly? The common room was strewn with empty butterbeer bottles, Gryffindor flags, streamers, and torn-up exam papers. She reached over and poked her boyfriend's shoulder. "Arthur. Arthur. Oh, honestly, do you always sleep like this? Arthur!"

His face was pressed into the Oriental carpet, his glasses askew. He jerked awake, looking around confusedly. "Where's everybody gone?" he mumbled.

"It's two in the morning," Molly told him, rubbing her neck tiredly. "Up you get, time to go to your dormitory…"

Arthur yawned, pulling himself up and leaning against the armchair behind him. He smiled sleepily and held his arms out for Molly. "Come here," he said.

"What if someone comes down?" she asked. "Come on, I want to go to sleep…"

"Just a quick kiss, and then I swear I'll let you go," he replied.

"Liar," Molly muttered, but she came close and wrapped her arms around him anyway. She sighed, resting her head on his chest. "I can't believe we're finished with Hogwarts."

Arthur hummed his agreement. "It doesn't seem like it's been that long since we were first years."

"It'll be strange, not coming back in September," Molly murmured. She felt a lump rise in her throat, and her eyes smarted. "I've been so happy here…"

"Me too," said Arthur.

"You'll have to come by this summer," she said. She couldn't sound happy about it, but she knew that Arthur understood. "We have to make them see that they—they have to accept us. My parents…well, they think—they think that I'm going to outgrow you, like a jumper or something—" She sat up and looked at him. "They're wrong."

Arthur smiled halfheartedly. "My family has no money. That's why they don't like me."

"And what a stupid reason," Molly said vehemently. Arthur's smile became a little more genuine. He picked up the end of one of her long red curls, playing with it.

"Well, it's a good reason, in some ways," he said quietly.

Molly stared at him. "Arthur?"

He seemed to shake himself. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"What?"

"Why don't we see if Pringle's left the doors unlocked? I'll bet he has," Arthur wheedled, lighting up suddenly.

"Are you mad? It's the middle of the night, we'll get caught for sure!" she laughed.

"Come on, Molly—just this once? This is probably our last chance." He widened his eyes.

She shoved his shoulder. "Fine. Come on, then." She stood and held out her hand, which he took, grinning.

Mercifully, the Fat Lady was sleeping—though this could be problematic when they finally came back—and they met no one as they crept down seven flights to the entrance hall. Molly hardly dared to believe it when, after very little effort and no fuss whatsoever, she and Arthur were outside, gazing up at a clear summer sky full of stars and a beautiful crescent moon dangling over the castle.

"Oh," she sighed.

Arthur was leading her towards the lake, their favorite spot. "Glad I made you sneak out?"

Molly smirked at him, linking their fingers together. "It's beautiful."

"See over there?" he asked, pointing to a spot on the edge of the lake. "That's where you told me, in second year, that you'd never speak to me again."

Molly blushed. "I was being silly."

"I was being a nasty little berk," Arthur corrected her. He smiled. "And you were being silly." She laughed.

"I was jealous, you know," she said. "That's why I got so angry at you. I thought…I thought you liked Emmeline."

"And it still took two years for you to agree to go out with me!" he laughed. They were walking along the banks of the lake, now, shimmering and rippling in the moonlight under the gentle breeze that blew over the grounds.

"Well, that was before I met Ricky," Molly replied, batting her eyelashes. Arthur rolled his eyes and pulled her hair gently. "Ouch," she pouted. This produced the desired effect: Arthur stopped walking beneath their favorite tree, and sat down. He held his arms up for Molly, who joined him, curling close.

For a long time, the only sounds on the grounds were the occasional croaks of the toads down in the reeds, the whoosh of the gentle wind over the lawn, and a few solitary crickets chirping slowly. Molly closed her eyes for a moment and took a slow, silent breath, holding it. One…two…three…

"Molly?" Arthur whispered in her ear. She looked at him. His face was very close to hers, and her stomach fluttered a little. "Did you mean it…when you told your parents you wouldn't outgrow me?"

Molly stared right into his eyes, so that he would know she was serious. "Yes."

For some reason, this seemed to make him rather nervous. "Then…can I ask you something?"

He might as well have shouted it at the top of his lungs, to believe the way it rang in Molly's ears. Her heart began pounding. It wasn't as though she was stupid. She had thought of this. She had thought of a lot of things, including this conversation and everything that could possibly stem from it, but she was a hippogriff if she had any real answers. "All right," she whispered.

"Next week," he said slowly, "When we get off the train…do you…do you want to go to—to the Ministry, and…"

"Arthur," she blurted out, squeezing her eyes shut. She took his hand. "Arthur, I—well, first—first, I want you to know that…that there is nothing—nothing—that I would rather do more than—that." The look on Arthur's face was akin to one who had just had his worst nightmare come to life in front of him, so Molly hurried on. "And for that reason…I want to—I want to stop being dependent on my parents before we do it. They're never, never going to approve," she said. "I know it. But I want to start off well, with you—I want us both to have jobs, and money, and—"

"And we can't do that on our first day out of Hogwarts," he muttered, looking more dejected than Molly thought anyone could possibly be. "I get it."

"Arthur Weasley," she said sharply. "I don't know what your plans are, but I know that I'm going to get a job, save up my money, and marry you, whether or not my parents say I can. Now, are you going sit and mope about how we can't be together right away, or are you going to do something to make our wedding day get here faster?" she demanded.

He stared at her, looking cowed. Then he laughed, in a very frightened sort of way. "Er…the second one, I guess…Merlin's pants, Molly…"

She grinned. "That's what I thought." And she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Does that mean I have to actually propose?" he asked, breaking away for a moment.

"Whilst riding a unicorn, please," Molly told him. And she kissed him again.

They ended up staying out by the lake, talking happily, until about four, when the sky started turning gray in the pre-dawn hour. They had made it almost all the way back to Gryffindor Tower, confident that their sneaking out had been a success, when—

"WEASLEY!"

"Have I ever told you about my astoundingly brave boyfriend, whom I sat up worrying about all night long?" Molly asked, as Arthur eased himself onto the bench at the Gryffindor table the next morning.

"Hope you're going to marry him," he winced. Molly gave him a look, and he put on a face of exaggerated surprise. "Oh, you meant me."

Molly smiled and kissed his cheek.