Thank you xizzy92x for your beautiful review :)
Thank you PerfectlyObscure for adding my story to your favorites
And angel2u – I have someone in mind – for Jade – in the future but I'm not telling…but I'm open to suggestions as I'm not 100% sure , or you can try to guess…
.. and thanks to all of you who are reading.
Here's another chapter…
Next morning was busy, all the kids had to stay in kitchen after breakfast and listen to their mother's monolog about responsibility and safety and about all the means she could use to find out who broke the rules and make them pay. It was slightly scary speech but Molly wasn't going to risk anything, she was tired of getting her mood ruined after coming home from her fantastic date night and year after year find her children either covered in candy or burnt-off eyebrows (one of Fred's and one of George's) or sleeping in the biggest cauldron she had in her kitchen (Ron – but somehow it was twins' fault, she was sure about it but no one ever proved it).
After the lecture everyone was given little job from peeling the potatoes for lunch to picking up all the dirty laundry scattered around the house.
Molly cooked lunch and prepared a plate full of sandwiches, which she placed on the top shelf of the fridge, trying to save them for kids' dinner.
Arthur was going to pick her up at four and she wanted to be ready. It was rare occasion, two of them going out alone and Molly planned to fully enjoy it .
After quick lunch on the porch, she did the laundry and asked kids to hang it outside on the lines while she went upstairs. It wasn't a fancy preparation, no long hot bath with bubbles, candles and Witch weekly, no quiet music in the background and no cleaning mask for her face while she would chill in a fluffy bathrobe, relaxing before the big night. No. Molly took quick (mostly cold – because hot water was used for the laundry) shower, scrubbed her face with new bar of soap and curled her hair. She put on her old bathrobe from school times, it was everything but white and fluffy, and run to her room. It was half past three and no time for nonsense. She put on her pretty floral dress with blue flats (Molly was never one for high heels) and the last touch of her lipstick just when she heard a bell from downstairs.
It was Arthur, he always made fuss around their dates and today was no exception.
He was standing downstairs by the front door, rarely used, ringing the bell which only chimed once every year – always when he came to pick her up for their night out. He had his best robes on, holding beautiful red roses, and smiling wiely when he saw her coming down the stairs.
Kids were hiding behind the corner of the house, silently giggling on the way he tried to flatten his hair on the sides.
Molly ran across the hall, closing the last few feet of distance between them and kissed her husband fully on lips. There was a choir of "eeews" and "yucks!" heard from their little ones but neither of them cared.
Arthur carried her overnight bag to the car he borrowed from ministry, sometimes it was great to have friends on the top posts.
He opened the passenger's side door and waited for his lady.
"Well, be good and try not to blow up the house. Charlie, there's address on the fridge in case of emergency just floo…Ginny, Ron, Jade, bedtime's at 9:30, Fred, George, Percy 10 p.m. sharp. Charlie…" but Charlie interrupted her by turning her around and pushing her by her shoulders to the waiting car.
"Don't worry mom, we'll be all here tomorrow morning, safe and sound, and Burrow will be standing as still as it is now." He winked at dad "You don't have to hurry back home tomorrow, I'm sure I can manage some breakfast for everyone, or we'll just have cereal and milk."
He kissed his mom on her cheek and closed the door behind her.
"There's plate of sandwiches in the fridge for dinner, and …" the end of the sentence was never heard by Weasleys' children because the car took the turn to the left and disappeared with their mother still sticking out of the window.
As much as Molly tried to enjoy the day and only think about her beloved Arthur and herself, she couldn't help but worry.
…
Twins enjoyed non-supervised afternoon by taking their firecrackers outside still experimenting with additional ingredients to cover the awful smell.
It was nice change to have enough fresh air after another smelly explosion instead of hiding in their tiny bedroom surrounded by green smoke.
Percy looked at them disapprovingly but said nothing. He might strictly follow the rules all the time, with a broom stuck up his but – as twins would say, but he would never tell on his brothers.
Jade tried to help them, suggesting a couple random things, but finally giving up and taking the book with one roll of parchment ink and quill to the pick nick table to copy the spells Molly gave her as homework.
Ron and Ginny played in their mud-pie kitchen by the porch, not really wanting to have that stinky smoke in their noses. Charlie was writing a letter to Bill and Percy was reading as usual.
Time flew by and when Charlie announced it's time for dinner, they sat down on the porch hard-wood floor and waited for him to bring the huge plate out.
He set it down to the middle of the circle they formed and took one sandwich for himself.
This was the kind of moments Jade liked the most. No worries, nothing, just her family sitting outside watching the sun set down, while trillion of flies buzzed over the pond and garden gnomes cursed quietly in the bushes. It was one of the unsolved mysteries how they could pick up the curse words but never learn to talk properly or understand anything at all.
It was calm, warm summer night.
"Let's take the laundry inside in case it rains tonight." Suggested Fred – in sudden flash of responsibility, that didn't occur too often, but that's just because he tried to control himself, for being too responsible could cause them to lose their reputation.
When all the socks and underwear were inside, waiting in the large laundry basket to be sorted tomorrow, Charlie took down the photo album from top shelf in the living room and sitting on the couch, opened it on the first page.
Everyone else piled around him, waiting for their favorite part of parent's date night. They always got to see the wedding photos. This was the first time for Jade and she looked on every image with great concentration, wanting to remember every detail, see every face and every flower captured on the black and white moving photos.
At 9:30 Charlie closed the album and put it back to the place.
"Everyone go up to bed. Brush your teeth and put on PJs I'll come check on you in a minute."
"O-K Mom!" said George sarcastically, "will you kiss us good- night?" added Fred and run upstairs as Charlie pretended to chase after them.
"Percy, put down the book, you heard mom, 10 p.m. sharp. Do you need me to came check on you too? You know I'll do it." Pressed Charlie looking at his brother from underneath his eyebrows.
"fine, fine, I'm going" sighed Percy and folded his glasses.
…
"Good night Jade." Said Charlie as he opened her window for the night. "it looks like we'll have some heavy rain tonight. It should cool down the air." He smiled and waved at Jade who was already falling asleep although she was fighting it. "Go to sleep Jade." Charlie whispered as he closed the door behind himself and went upstairs to check on Ron and Ginny.
Jade tried to keep her eyes open but she couldn't. Tonight was the night when she was supposed to stay awake to keep the nightmares away tomorrow when she'll fall asleep and stay knocked out for the night. She had to stay awake, but maybe she could just close her eyes for a while, no she won't fall asleep, she'll just….
...
Charlie woke up in the middle of the night. Storm was raging behind his window and there were flashes of bright light illuminating their yard, while heavy streams of rain water whipped the overgrown grass on the hills.
But it wasn't thunder that woke him up. It was that high pitched cry coming from downstairs.
He has never heard anything this scary and sad at the same time.
It was cry of small frightened child mixed with sad heavy sobs of very old soul who has seen terrors no human should ever face. He has once heard banshee cry, it was at Hogwarts, long time ago, yet he could remember it like it was yesterday. And this sound, coming from downstairs was million times worse.
He jumped out of bed, snatched his wand from the bedside table and run down, bare feet, white tank top, blue striped undershorts and all.
As he neared Jade's room the cries became louder and he hesitated for tiny fraction of second outside her closed door. Afraid to look in, fearing what he might find, but at the same time anxious to get in and help his little sister he pushed the door open and send a steady ray of light in the direction of Jade's bed.
And there she was, screaming and trashing, fighting with tangled covers, her cheeks covered in tears.
"What's happening?" came tired voice from behind Charlie's back.
"Stay here." Ordered Charlie in Percy's direction, trusting him to keep all the little ones who might come down out of Jade's room.
He flicked his wand and soft yellow light filled the room.
"Jade?" he tried cautiously, although he wasn't sure she could hear him through the cries.
"Jade wake up." He said more firmly, sitting on the side of her bed.
"Jade." He shook her by her shoulder and kept calling her name until she woke up suddenly, sitting up and almost hitting her head to the side of the roof.
"Jade it's ok, it was just a dream." Charlie tried to calm her down but as soon as she overcame the shock, new tears appeared in her eyes and spilled over her wet eyelashes.
"It was them, They will come and take me away! And Mom and dad are dead!" she cried and shook violently, the look of pure terror in her eyes.