Sorry… I know it's been a while and I did promise monthly updates… in my defence I've had exams and stuff but I'm back now so… enjoy!
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Three weeks later Molly would have liked to say that things were settling down. True enough Dudley no longer screamed at the sight of magic, and you could say that Harry was speaking more, but she didn't honestly feel like much progress had been made.
As she scrubbed the breakfast dishes on a morning in early august she had a strange sense of deja vu. Just less than a month ago a tall bearded man had swept across their threshold with news that would change their lives, and change their lives it most certainly had.
She didn't think she'd had a single full night of sleep since that morning. Each night, often less than a hour after she had got to sleep, she would hear the padding footsteps of a small round boy as he made his slow way up the creaking stairs.
It was just as much of a shock to her as to everyone else how attached Dudley had gotten to her. Once he had understood that his mother was not about to come and fetch him, he had glued himself to her, and had not yet become unstuck. Even how he sat behind her, at the huge kitchen table, and fiddled nervously with a bit of string he had found somewhere.
Looking out through the patchwork of glass that was the kitchen window she could see the other children playing under the large apple tree in the yard.
Bill was swinging Ron around and around, while the younger boy squealed with delight, his bare feet brushed the tips of the long parched grass. Charlie, as expected, seemed to have got his hands on yet another creature of some kind.
She had had to give in about the rabbit eventually. Arthur had built a hutch, Charlie had sworn his collection wouldn't extend past 3 colour changing snails, two newts, a beetle and now one pure white rabbit, and in a moment of madness Molly had agreed to look after said rabbit in the term time.
Ginny was sitting beside Charlie and even from a distance Molly could tell she was begging to be allowed to hold whatever animal Charlie had got his hands on. He seemed to be stoutly refusing, shaking his head again and again.
Harry was sitting with his back pressed against the gnarled old tree trunk and his legs pulled into his body. He wasn't saying anything just sitting watching with cauldron big eyes. He seemed comfortable with the others though, happy to sit quietly in their company, unlike Dudley.
With a start Molly realised who was missing; the twins were conspicuous only by their absence.
Silence from the twins was always a warning sign. She might not like their exploits, but if she could hear smashes and cries she could usually pinpoint their location and make a guess at any damage done.
Dropping the bacon pan into the soapy water, she briskly dried her hands on the greying tea towel which had been slung over the back of one of the kitchen chairs.
'Dudley dear, would you like to go outside with the others for a bit?'
He shook his head silently without looking up at her.
Sighing she scooped him into her arms as she hurried from the kitchen.
They weren't in the sitting room, nor in the shadows of the cramped little pantry. With a sigh she mounted the stairs, her arms stretching from Dudley's weight. The stairs creaked loudly as she made her slow progress up onto the first floor.
They weren't in either her and Arthur or Bill and Charlie's rooms; she had even checked under the beds, due to a previous incident involving vast quantities of chocolate, freshly washed sheets and two guilty faced small boys.
Before ascending another flight she stuck her head into the bathroom. There was no need for her to actually enter the room; it wouldn't have been possible to swing a pixie between the pealing whitewashed walls, and there was certainly not a knut of space where two scheming six year olds could hide.
Her arms protested even more as she climbed another flight with now increasing speed, such a long silence from the twins was exceptionally troubling.
She flung open the second floor doors, Dudley still balanced on her hips. Ginny's room, nothing. The twins own room, still nothing.
She nearly ran up the last rickety flight of stairs. When she reached the landing and saw the door Ron and Percy's room ajar; she started to slowly tiptoe towards the gap between the door frame and door. Dudley seemed to instinctively grasp that now was not a time for noise. He moved in closer to her, sucking his thumb furiously.
After several painful seconds of silent creeping, Molly at last reached and was able to peer through the gap.
Two messing redheads were standing by Percy's open chest of drawers pulling out various objects; a tin box, a toy wand, a quill and several books had joined the growing pile next to them.
'Where we putting them Gred?' Came the soft voice of one or other of the twins. She had yet to figure out which was gred and which forge.
'In Ron's stuff, Perce could blame 'im.'
She had heard enough. Which a loud bang which had the pair leaping a foot into the air she strode into the room.
'No you will not be hiding and brother's possessions and trying to get Ronnie in trouble.'
She lowered Dudley to floor as she loomed over the two gleeful slash guilty faces.
'Can't stop us!' Said one who she was almost positive was Fred.
He and George quickly scoped the stash in their arms. Molly was just about to reach out and grab the pair by the scruff of their necks when George turned back.
'You wanna come help Dud?'
Both Molly and Dudley froze, surprised at the invitation to be included. Neither of the twins seemed to realise that anything was off. They just assumed that any other small boy would be equally thrilled to wind up their mother and brothers as much as possible.
After a split second pause Dudley gave a silent nod, and with out a look back at Molly he ran out with the cackling twins.
She didn't make a move to stop them. Having Dudley interacting with the others was well worth the later trouble of tracking down various belongings and admonishing the twins.
For the first night in almost a month Molly was able to sleep without any interruptions. No small boy came hurrying up the stairs to be comforted. Said small boy was peacefully asleep after a long days worth of pranking.
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