The Long Road Home, Outtake: The Reaction
Rated:R
Summary: Sequel to Ginny's Gift. Read that story first. Harry must deal with the aftermath of Voldemort's defeat.
A/N: This outtake was written by Maid Marian.
Arthur busied himself in the kitchen helping Molly with the dinner preparations for Ginny’s so-called birthday celebration that night. There was one minor change to the plans: Ginny would not be in attendance for it, and neither would Harry. That afternoon Molly had told them, in no uncertain terms, that they were to leave. She told the bewildered-looking couple, she’d better not see neither hide nor hair of them, as she showed them to the door.
She had then fire-called all her sons and instructed them to come to The Burrow earlier than she had originally told them. It was now half three and they were expecting the troops at four o’clock. Arthur had continued to help as she cooked, and he couldn’t help but notice the gleam in her eye. If he wasn’t mistaken, it reminded him oddly of one of the twins’ facial expressions; he decided it was better not to dwell on that.
By quarter past four The Burrow was filled to the brim with several red-heads and an assortment of other colours. Arthur waited with the group in the living room until Molly came out of the kitchen.
"We’ve had a slight change of plans for this evening," Molly said, an intense look on her face.
The boys seemed to notice it right away, and looked intently at their mother, as Arthur slowly made his way to the back of the crowd.
"Yesterday your sister and her ‘boyfriend’ went out. They told me they were going out to dinner. But I started to suspect something else was happening when, at one o’clock this morning, they had not returned," she said calmly.
Several things were heard from the boys after this statement. Ranging from, "I’ll kill him" from Ron to, "Woo hoo, way to go Harry" from one of the twins.
Molly looked sternly at all her sons. "Then at eight o’clock this morning when they still hadn’t turned up…"
"Eight o’clock? That isn’t like Ginny. Mother, did you check St Mungo’s?" Percy said, concerned.
"I’ll kill him," Ron offered.
"Woo ho…" was all Fred could get out before Bill, who had Apparated in just for Ginny’s birthday, smacked him in the back of the head and told him to be quiet.
It seemed the girls of the group were extremely quiet and decided it was best not to say anything.
Molly continued, but her voice seemed more hurt than angry. "Of course I called St. Mungo’s and they had no injury victims in last night. Your father and I went to see Sirius, thinking that he might know if they had planned to stay out, or if they had been taken by someone, as I thought." She stopped when she saw the boys’ faces drop. "I had thought they were hurt, after all, and they can’t protect themselves. Sirius didn’t seem too co-operative at first, but then he did give us some information. It wasn’t much, but it was all he knew: that Harry had left with an overnight bag."
"I’ll kill him," called out Ron. Bill quickly went towards him and placed a controlling hand on his arm.
"Some time later we came home. I realised they were home, and I was relived until… Well, needless to say I found them. They…they were…together…in Ginny’s room…on her be..." She didn’t need to finish the word bed, she had already got a strong reaction.
"I’ll…" started Ron.
"Oh no, you won’t," Fred lashed out. "I’m going to kill him first."
"Take a number," George said as he smashed his fist against his palm.
"You lot can have what’s left of him," Bill said, toying with his wand. "Wait until I get a hold of her. Scaring poor Mum to death and then…then…" He seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Frolicking," Percy offered.
"Yes!" Bill continued. "Frolicking on her BED!"
Percy didn’t offer another word; the shocked look on his face spoke volumes.
Arthur couldn’t help but see how bright Molly’s eyes were.
"Now boys," Molly said gently. "None of that. I need you to do something else for me, and I’d like it done tonight before you all leave."
"Mum, where are they now?" Bill asked.
"She kicked them out," Arthur deadpanned.
All eyes were on Arthur after that statement, and that was a good thing. Molly turned around, but Arthur could see her shoulders shaking, it took her a bit of time for her to get control of herself. Once she did, all eyes were back on her.
"Bill, please go upstairs to Ginny…" she faltered. "To Ginny’s old room and disassemble the bed and bring it out to the shed." She bit her lip and looked down.
Bill stood there dumbfounded; he couldn’t seem to move.
"Fred, George, please take all the other furniture in the room and move it up to the attic. If the ghoul gives you any trouble, tell him he’ll have me to deal with. Bill will help you with the wardrobe if you need it."
The twins just stood there. They both looked to Arthur who heaved a heavy sigh and looked to the floor.
"Percy, Ron, I’d like you to make sure that all of ‘her’ belongings are put in her hope chest, and if you need it, there is another trunk in the attic you can use. Just put those in my room and I’ll deal with them later."
"Mum…" Bill began.
"No, Bill, I need this done, and I need it done now. It should take no more than two hours. When I come up there I want the entire room empty." Each boy looked as if he was about to burst into tears. The girls already had, but they kept their mouths shut and their heads down.
The boys stood there, not knowing what to do or how to make sense of what their mother had just said. Arthur walked over towards Molly and put his arm around her shoulder. As he surveyed the boys’ faces he thought back to eighteen hours ago. Was it even possible that all of this had happened less than one day ago?
~o~
"Molly, rearranging that hall cupboard will not get her home any sooner. Come to bed. She’ll not appreciate you waiting up for her, as if she were a little girl out on her first date."
"Arthur Weasley, sometimes I wonder if you’re the man I married. It is past one in the morning and they’re not home yet. They left at tea time, what on earth could they be doing all this time?" Molly huffed.
Arthur tried to hide a smirk, he had a feeling he knew exactly what Harry and Ginny were getting up to. It’s not that he whole-heartedly approved of what they were doing, but after these last few months he wasn’t going to begrudge them a thing.
"Arthur! Do you know where they are? Did Harry tell you anything? So help me Arthur if I…"
"MOLLY! Come to bed! Now!" Then he went on in a softer tone, "I don’t know where they are. But I trust that wherever they are, they’re not doing anything they shouldn’t be doing." Arthur knew that statement to be true. Harry and Ginny loved each other deeply; they were willing to die for one another. Nothing they could get up to, in Arthur’s mind, would be wrong.
Molly came back into the bedroom, leaving the contents of the hall cupboard lying on the floor. She changed into her night dress and made huffing noises a few more moments before settling into bed.
Arthur turned over and laid a hand on Molly’s shoulder. "They’ll be home soon. And…"
"What?" Molly asked.
"Nothing."
Molly turned around and faced Arthur. "And what Arthur? Please finish that statement."
"And if they’re not. There’s not much we can do about it. They love each other Molly. She almost died. You saw the way he reacted; I don’t doubt that he would have done something drastic if he had lost her. Let them live their lives. It’s not the way we lived, or would choose for them to live. But…"
"I’m listening, please continue," she said calmly.
"But I think it’s right for them. If two people deserve to be happy and in love, it’s those two. Don’t spoil it for them. Don’t make her think she did something wrong." Arthur looked lovingly into her eyes, hoping she’d understand.
"I know all of that Arthur. I just wish she’d left a note. What if they’re hurt? What if someone… What if someone hurt them? I know they belong together. I’m not blind. I was surprised to learn they had waited. I was sure at Christmas time, they had…" She sighed and then looked straight at him. "I’d just like to know that they’re safe. No matter where they are or what they’re doing. She could have left a note."
"I know, but I’m sure we’ll hear from them." He rubbed her shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing manner.
"She could have left a note," she said again. "What did she think I’d do? Hunt them down and lock her away?" she said indignantly.
"Molly love, your reputation precedes you. I’d be surprised if they were still in the same country," he laughed.
"Oh, Arthur, you’re terrible. And I’m not that bad," she pouted.
"Yes you are." He leaned over and kissed her gently. "And I love you all the more for it."
Molly looked tenderly into Arthur’s eyes and leaned in to give him a loving kiss, which he deepened quickly. Then he turned briefly and took his wand from the night table and pointed it towards the bedroom door. With one word the door closed and locked. He then cast his wand around the room and spoke the silencing charm. He placed his wand back on his night table and turned towards Molly.
"What are you doing?" she asked almost unable to keep the chuckle out of her voice.
He kissed her softly. "I’m getting ready to make love to my wife, that’s what I’m doing." Leaning down again and enveloping her with in his arms, he began kissing her as if his life depended on it.
~o~
Arthur woke the next morning to the sound of banging pots, muttered words, and as he looked around him, a completely spotless room. He laughed to himself. Whenever Molly was in a fit over something, she cleaned. He looked through the open bedroom door towards the clean and tidy hall: she had finished with the contents of the cupboard.
After a few moments he decided to join her in the kitchen. He could smell the bacon cooking as he gingerly walked down the staircase. He stood at the bottom of the stairs -- in Molly’s fury she hadn’t noticed he’d come down -- and he smiled as she tore around the kitchen.
"When I get those two…" her voice drifted over to him, and Arthur couldn’t tell if she was speaking to the bacon or just herself.
"Out ‘til all hours of the night… No consideration… Thinks I’m an idiot… They haven’t seen work… show them. Worry me into my grave..."
Arthur watched her closely as she took the pan off the fire and then she surprised him as she sat down at the table and put her hands to her face.
She was crying.
As quickly as he could, he walked towards her and sat down next to her, his arms going around her shoulders. This only made her lose control as she turned to him and wailed into his shoulder. Arthur was at a loss; it wasn’t often that Molly cried, and he had no idea what he should do. He continued to rub her shoulder, waiting for her to tell him why she was so disturbed.
"They’re not home," was all she said after several long minutes.
"Molly, I’m sure they’re fine,"
"I fire-called St. Mungo's. No one was brought in last night."
"Molly!" He didn’t know whether to laugh or be shocked. "They’ve stayed out all night. They probably lost track of the time, or most likely fell asleep. Really, St Mungo's," he chuckled.
"There are still attacks Arthur," she said without expression, her eyes dull. "He’s still in danger. She’s in danger, not only by being with him, but because of us. I know there are Death Eaters out there still, waiting to make a name from themselves."
"Molly, stop talking…"
"What! Nonsense, is that what you were going to say? I’m not a fool Arthur. Even the first time they didn’t get them all. They were still out there. You-Know-Who might be gone but his scum is still here. You know that. I know you know that."
"I know they’re still around, but I’m just saying…"
She interrupted him as if he hadn’t said a word. "They can’t protect themselves. When it comes to magic they’re completely defenceless. What if someone saw them yesterday? What if they followed them? What if…" She burst into tears again and Arthur pulled her close to him.
He was such a cad. This whole time he had thought she was worried about her daughter’s reputation, when instead she had been concerned for her life, both their lives. Harry was as much theirs as Ginny was, and Molly thought they were lying somewhere, hurt. Something told him that they were safe, but convincing Molly of that was going to be difficult. Maybe Sirius knew where they went. He’d take Molly there once she'd calmed down. He continued to hold on to her, hoping that he could offer her some comfort, some hope.
~o~
They Apparated to the front of Remus’ home, and Arthur hoped that they wouldn’t be waking the two men. After all it was barely eight o’clock in the morning. Their knock was answered quickly by a dishevelled Sirius, who looked as if he had just woken up after very little sleep. Arthur cringed, after all it was Saturday, and he really should have fire-called first, but his concern at that time was only for Molly.
"Arthur, Molly? Is anything all right? Come in, come in," Sirius said, rushed, as he showed them into the living room.
"I’m sorry about the time, but Mo… I mean we were concerned about Harry and Ginny. Did they… I mean… Is Harry here?" Arthur was more embarrassed than worried; he hoped his face didn’t give away too much.
"Harry?" Sirius seemed as uncomfortable as Arthur, but it was clear that he had some information. He looked down abruptly as he realised that he had opened the door clad in nothing but his boxers. His face turned a bright red and he rushed away mumbling an incoherent, "Let me get dressed, I’ll just be a moment." As Sirius walked down the corridor, he passed a bedroom, which Arthur could see still had the bed made. It was quite tidy; that must be Remus’ room. Only then did he remember last night was the full moon and Remus was not home. He heard Sirius continue down the hall to what must have been his own room and then heard a door open and close.
A few moments later Sirius reappeared dressed in Muggle jeans and the navy jumper Molly had knitted for him last Christmas. Arthur had to wonder if Sirius had done that on purpose, maybe he thought he’d need all the help he could with Molly.
"Would you like some tea?" Sirius asked shyly.
"Yes, thank you," Molly said standing. "I’m sorry Sirius, it’s too early for us to call, but I’ve been frantic."
"No, no, come into the kitchen," Sirius said as he led the way.
Across from the living room and next to the kitchen Arthur noticed another bedroom. This must have been Harry’s, the one Remus and Sirius had converted from the original dining room. This room was also tidy, bed made: obviously it had not been slept in either.
"Please sit," Sirius said as he busied himself with preparing tea.
"Sirius," Arthur started, rubbing his forehead. "Did Harry come home last night?’
"Um… actually I haven’t… I mean I didn’t take…" Sirius looked completely at a loss for words. "Remus isn’t here," he said, clearly changing the subject.
"Oh, yes, the full moon, I didn’t remember," Arthur said trying to ease Sirius’ discomfort.
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Molly burst out. "Did Harry come home or not, Sirius? This is important. Ginny didn’t make it home either."
"I didn’t hear him come in." Sirius kept his eyes to the floor.
"Do you know where they might have gone last night?" Arthur asked as gently as he could, knowing that Sirius was not comfortable with this conversation.
"I know that he was planning on taking Ginny out for dinner." His eyes now travelled to the ceiling. "I don’t know which restaurant. I don’t know…um…where they went after..." He shuffled his feet looking exactly like a boy who had just got caught with his hands in the cookie jar.
"Honestly, between the two of you, I don’t know who's worse!" Molly roared. "It’s a simple question, Sirius; either you know where the two of them are or you don’t. Did you know for sure that they didn’t plan on coming home, or are you surprised as we are?"
"I…um…Harry didn’t…I mean I wasn’t…"
"Sirius! Did Harry tell you he wasn’t coming home last night?" Molly roared again.
"No, he didn’t actually tell me he wasn’t coming home." His tone was that of someone who knew more than he really wanted to say.
"Oh no, Arthur. See? See? He doesn’t know where they are either. Oh my God! What if they’re hurt? What if they’ve been taken? I can’t…I can’t go through this again. I can’t lose them."
Arthur moved towards her and held her tightly. He gave Sirius a compassionate look and took in Sirius’ totally bewildered expression.
Sirius busied himself with the tea once more and placed three cups on the table. He went to the counter and picked up a bottle of Ogden’s Fire Whiskey. Realising it was empty, he placed it in the sink and opened the cupboard and reached for a new bottle. He motioned to Arthur, who nodded, he then poured a small amount into Molly’s tea cup, then Arthur’s and his own as well.
"I think I’m a bit confused here," Sirius said.
"Molly is concerned about Harry and Ginny. She thinks that for some reason they…they are hurt and can’t get home."
"Why? I mean…why would you think that?" Sirius, blushing furiously, directed his question to Molly.
"Oh for land's sake. The two of you are stepping over this subject as if I’ll jump up and throw myself from a cliff. I know exactly what those two were getting up to last night. I’m not blind and I’m not that caught up in myself that I can’t see how much in love they are. That is not my problem. After all I’m sure they were totally prepared," she grumbled. "Lord knows they had plenty of advice from Mr Protection." She pointed at Arthur. "And I don’t even want to think about the technical advice you must have offered." She looked pointedly at Sirius whose face paled.
"I’m worried because I haven’t heard from them. After everything that’s happened these past few months, I find it hard to believe that neither of them would leave a note, send an owl. Something. Anything. That would be totally cruel; they know what they’ve done to me. Both of them leaving without a word. I was completely beside myself, and they know that. They wouldn’t do that again, I know they wouldn’t."
"Molly, dear. Perhaps they were caught in the moment, and…" He stopped when he saw Sirius shift in his chair. He looked to him to explain himself.
"I…I saw Harry, um… he had an overnight bag, um…yesterday. And…and we had a chat." He looked as if he was working on keeping from going red in the face.
"They…they planned this?" Molly stuttered. "They planned it and they didn’t leave word?"
"I’m sorry, Molly. They should have sent you an owl. I’ll have a chat with Harry…"
"No, Sirius, no. If those two don’t know any better, no amount of talking will get through to them." She seemed heartbroken. Arthur knew it wasn’t from what they were doing, but for not considering what their absence would do to Molly. He put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder.
"Let’s go Arthur." Her voice was firm but dejected. "Sirius, I’m sorry for bothering you so early. Please give Remus our regards." Then she looked straight at him. "I still expect you for dinner tonight, for Ginny’s birthday celebration, even if…" She faltered for a moment. "Even if those two runabouts haven’t decided to grace of with their presence. Six o’clock; don’t be late." And she walked out of the kitchen heading for the front door.
"Arthur…" Sirius began.
"No, don’t worry, Sirius. I had a pretty good idea where they went. But Molly was sure they would have left word. She was positive they had been taken or hurt," he said.
"Taken by whom?"
"Death Eaters," Arthur said sorrowfully.
"Oh my God, when I get my hands on him, he’ll wish it had been Death Eaters that kept him from sending word!" He shook his head. "I owe her an apology too," he looked in the direction Molly had left in. "I thought that she was upset about what they were…well, what they were doing. I forgot how much they've put her through." Then he looked straight at Arthur. "Argh, the both of them! I’m going to give them a good talking-to."
"You and me both," he laughed. "Don’t forget about dinner, Molly and I are expecting you. I hope Remus is feeling up to joining us too." He took Sirius’ hand and shook it. "Thank you, Sirius," he smiled and walked towards Molly where she was waiting by the front door.
"Molly, Arthur. Try and have a good day. I’ll be by later," he said sheepishly.
With that, Molly and Arthur walked out the door, Arthur turned and saw Sirius watching them as they walked down the path towards the road. He knew Molly needed to walk, she needed the fresh air. He would stay beside her until she was ready to go home; his heart broke as he saw a small tear escape from her eye.
~o~
Arthur and Molly appeared in the Burrow some time later. They had walked for quite a while, before Molly said she’d like to go home. As they walked into to the small scrubbed kitchen Arthur stopped short of ploughing into Molly’s back. Lying over two chairs in the kitchen was a familiar-looking black dress cloak and an equally familiar emerald green cloak with a silver fox collar. Arthur was relieved that they were home, but then he decided it might be better to start worrying.
The breakfast, bacon and sausages that had been left on the cooker had apparently been eaten as were the fresh muffins that had been on the table. It also looked as though eggs and toast had been made and eaten as well. The evidence was quite clear, as were the dirty dishes that had been left abandoned on the table, dirty pans on the cooker and the spilled juice on the counter.
Arthur had seen Molly angry many times in their marriage. Many of those times her wrath had been directed at him or, bless their hearts, the twins. But in all those times he had never seen her with the look of pure murder that she now had on her face. He rushed to her to grab her arm before she made for the stairs. He wasn’t fast enough.
As he gingerly climbed the stairs he heard Molly begin to rant. She wasn’t rushing; she was slowly climbing each step talking to herself, and it frightened him. "If they think they can cavort about and then come back here and have me wait on them hand and foot, they’ve got another think coming. I’ll show them. I’ll keep them so busy that they’ll be too tired to frolic about like two foot-loose and fancy free hooligans."
This was not going to be pretty. Please let them be decent, he thought. Please let Molly calm down before she reaches the room, he prayed. He thought, too late, about pretending to fall down the stairs: that would surely get her to stop. But then all conscious thought became impossible as he heard her first bellow.
"What on earth do you two think you are doing?!"
Oh lord, this was not good.
"How dare you?! What do you think I’m running here?!"
Arthur reached Ginny’s door just in time to see what Molly was screaming about. Harry was lying on Ginny’s bed, his shirt completely undone, a love bite standing out clearly against the white skin of his neck. Ginny was lying practically on top of Harry; her buttons were done up but Harry’s hands were located under her shirt. They both looked as if they had been Petrified: neither one was moving.
"Well, answer me! Do you two think you can come and go as you please? Do you think you can leave here in the afternoon, and then not bother to come home all night? Do you think you can eat our breakfast and then leave an utter mess in the kitchen? Do you have a total lack of respect for the others in this house that you can come up here and do as you please without even to bothering to close the door?" She was standing at Ginny’s door glaring at the two, her hands on her hips.
She moved into the room and both Harry and Ginny’s eyes went wide. "Do you think you can disappear and not leave a note? Don’t you two think I’ve worried about you enough; do you really think I need to worry more? Do you have any idea what it’s like to sit beside a hospital bed waiting for your daughter or son to wake up? Do you have any idea what it’s like to find out that your daughter or son has disappeared and you have no idea where they could be?"
At this moment both teenagers straightened up but did not leave each other's side. "Do you have any idea what it’s like to say goodnight to your two children who can’t even protect themselves in this world, only to have them not come home?"
The steam seemed to have gone out of Molly. She shook her head and looked at the two on the bed. When she spoke again, her voice was much calmer. "Am I such a horrible mother that both of you were afraid to tell me you weren’t coming home? I’m not as heartless as you think I am. I know you love each other. I know you want to express that love. But that doesn’t mean you can act irresponsibly."
She looked at them both, and a small tear left her eye. With a shaky voice she said, "I thought you were hurt. I thought someone had taken you. I thought I’d never see you again. And I’m sorry that you didn’t realise that I would react this way."
Shaking, Molly walked out of Ginny’s room and walked past Arthur. He heard her walk down the steps; she must have gone to their bedroom. He heard the door close, and then total silence reigned.
~o~
After almost an hour of talking with Harry and Ginny, all three felt it was time to go see Molly. They walked down to her bedroom; Arthur knocked and then went in while Harry and Ginny went to wait down in the living room.
"Molly?" he waited for her to turn around from her position on their bed.
"Yes, Arthur."
"Harry and Ginny are downstairs; they'd like to talk to you. I think you should hear what they have to say," he said calmly but with authority in his voice.
"Give me a minute; I’d like to freshen up a bit. Tell them I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes."
Arthur walked over to Molly and gave her a loving kiss. She might be hurt, but she’d never, in turn, hurt any of her children back; and Harry was just like one of her own, now more than ever. He knew she’d talk to them. He left her and headed down to the living room to wait with Harry and Ginny for Molly to join them.
As Arthur came into the kitchen he noticed the two had started to straighten out the mess they had left. He was surprised to see how far they had got before he came down. He offered to help, but they both insisted on doing it themselves. In no time the two sat on the sofa together, hands entwined, Ginny’s head resting on Harry's shoulder. Every so often Harry placed a small kiss on her forehead. Arthur could tell how nervous they were, but he could also tell how content they were. It pleased him to see them that way, and he knew it would brighten Molly’s heart to see it too.
They didn’t have to wait long for Molly to come down. Arthur noticed she had changed her dress, and she must have done something to her face. All the tears of the day seemed to have been covered, and she had a glow to her cheeks.
Before she was able to sit down, Ginny flung herself at her mother.
"Mum," she cried. "I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. I should have, but I didn’t. I seem to do that a lot lately. I’m sorry I scared you. Please Mum, I need you so much right now. Please forgive me…" Anything else she might have said dissolved into tears.
The efforts Molly had made to repair her face seemed to have been a waste of time, since she burst into tears again. She held Ginny and hushed her; she told her everything was all right and she wasn’t angry. She kissed Ginny's cheek and looked up to find Harry standing right behind Ginny. Molly took one look at him, and she burst into tears again. He came forward and enfolded her in his own embrace, and repeatedly told her he was sorry too. After a few minutes Molly was seated next to Arthur on the settee with Ginny and Harry on the sofa facing them.
"I know you two will want some privacy now, and I’m more than willing to give that to you. All I ask is that you let us know if you’re going to stay out late, or not come home at all," Molly said.
"Molly dear, I don’t think we’ll be able to enforce that rule any longer," Arthur said as gently as he could.
"Arthur, really, I don’t think that’s a lot to ask." She then turned to the teenagers sitting on the sofa and asked them, "Do you think that I’m asking too much? It’s just a matter of common courtesy."
"Well, Mum…" Ginny tried to conceal a laugh. "If you and Dad abide by the same rule, I reckon Harry and I can too."
"Ginny Laurestine Weasley!"
"Potter," said Harry with a smile on his face.
Molly continued without missing a beat, "This is our house, and your father and I are married. I don’t think we have to follow the same rules. Do you?"
"Well, if we have to follow them, surely you and Dad should follow them too," Ginny beamed.
"Laurestine?" Harry sniggered.
"Shut up Harry!" she laughed, but gave him stern look.
"Ginny Weasley!" her mother shouted.
"Potter," Harry smirked.
"What? What did you say?" She directed her question to Harry; she seemed annoyed at his attitude.
"Well Mrs…Mum, you keep calling her Ginny Weasley and quite frankly, that’s not her name anymore." Harry was now beaming too.
Molly looked to Arthur for some assistance. He knew he was smiling like an idiot, but he couldn’t help himself. He wondered how long it would take Molly to understand what Harry had said, or realise that he had called her ‘Mum’’.
"Ginny?" Molly said her voice breaking.
"Yes, Mum." She was fairly glowing.
"Why didn’t you and Harry come home last night?" Her voice was shaking, but in a good way this time.
Harry and Ginny both blushed, and then she replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, we were on our honeymoon."
Several things happened at once. Molly let out a squeal, followed by Ginny. Molly ran towards both Ginny and Harry and seized the both of them in a bone-crushing hug. There didn’t seem to be a dry eye in the room. Arthur soon joined in and swept Ginny into another hug, while Molly latched onto Harry.
A little while later the seating arrangements had changed, with the women on the settee and the men on the sofa. Molly has now holding Ginny’s hand and waiting to hear all the details of the wedding.
"You’re not upset, Mum, are you? I mean…that we eloped," Ginny asked, looking at her mother and father.
"Well, I won’t say I wouldn’t have liked to have been there. But I can’t say I’m mad. After all, your father and I eloped too."
"You did!" Harry was shocked.
"Yes," Arthur answered, "actually that was the only way we could get married."
"Mum!"
"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. My mother didn’t approve of your father and me dating…"
"Actually," Arthur clarified, "she quite loathed me. She tried to keep your mother away from me. We ran off the moment we could."
"I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you ever tell me, Mum?"
"I’m sure you’ve guessed I don’t like to talk about my mother… But Ginny," Molly asked apprehensively, "you and Harry…I mean…you didn't just get married so you could be together. Or to get away from me, please say you didn't."
"No, Mum, of course we didn't. We got married because we love each other."
"But why so suddenly?" Molly asked. "Or have you been planning this for a while?"
Ginny blushed as Harry shifted nervously in his seat.
"Well actually," he said. "I, er, sort of asked Ginny at Christmas if she'd marry me some day. But we never intended it to be this soon at the time."
"Then how exactly did this come about?" Arthur asked. Harry and Ginny had given him the main story, but no real details or background.
"It's just when everything else happened..." Harry began
"Harry asked me what I wanted for my birthday while I was still in St Mungo's and I told him then, I wanted to marry him," said Ginny.
Harry continued, "And it was like... well, we've almost lost each other already. With everything we've been through what sense was there in waiting?"
"And we don’t want to take the chance of it happening again," Ginny carried on.
"We knew we wanted to be together. No one knows how long they’ll have, and I didn't want to waste time waiting to be a family. Life is too short for that. I know we're young, but only in age, not in experience."
"Mum, Dad, we've both been through things some adults never go through and whatever else we have to face in life we want to face together. We know it's going to be hard, but together we can survive anything, because we already have dealt with some of the most horrible things anyone could face."
"So we got married because we love each other very much." Harry smiled at his mother-in-law. "And there didn't seem anything left for us to do than to start our new lives, and we wanted to start them together."
"Good, I’m glad." Molly grinned in obvious relief. "Oh Ginny, your ring, it’s beautiful. What are these symbols?"
Ginny looked lovingly at her ring. Arthur had noticed it before, when they'd first told him they were married in Ginny’s room. He had seen that the gold was cut was into a delicate filigree, but he didn’t know what to make of the design. Now, he looked to Harry’s hand and noticed his ring was heavier and more masculine, lacking the cut-outs, but it also seemed to have the same symbols carved into it.
"They’re ancient runic symbols, Mum," Ginny said shyly. "This one is for ‘faith’, this for ‘true love’…" She pointed to the next. "This is for ‘happiness’…" she added with a smile. She then twisted her ring around and pointed to the next symbol. "This one is for ‘loyalty’, and this is for ‘togetherness’." She looked from the last symbol to Harry and said, "And this last one is for ‘family’."
Arthur looked at Harry, and he noticed the boy was smiling. It was a different smile from any other he'd seen on the boy's face in the past. It seemed free of the uncertainty and fear, which had seemed to plague the boy for so long. This was a smile of pure contentment. Sitting next to him was Harry, his son-in-law, and the boy was happy. He was at peace, and for the first time in his life Arthur believed he was truly content. Arthur couldn’t help but be happy for Harry, and for his daughter too.
The morning passed quickly as Ginny and Harry told them about their "first date" and the ceremony.
"Ginny, there’s something I don’t understand?’
"What, Mum?"
"I have all your papers in the vault at Gringotts. How did you to get them? You would have needed them to get married."
"Oh," Ginny said, blushing, "you see, my husband has connections. I’ll let him explain."
Now it was Harry’s turn to blush. "Well, um… you see…" He looked at Arthur shyly. "We decided to do this a few weeks back, and I had no idea what we needed. So I had to ask someone for help, and I couldn’t ask anyone in the family." His blush was deepening. "So I asked someone at my old office."
"Dolores Mutt," Arthur said with a smile, and then laughed at Harry’s astonished look. "Actually she was the perfect person to ask. Not only does she know all the laws, and I mean ALL, the woman can keep a secret."
"Yes, she can," smiled Harry. "She told me everything I needed and then she helped me get all the copies of documents too. She even got all my Muggle records, I didn’t ask how; I don’t think I want to know."
"Dad?"
"Yes, Ginny?" Arthur looked fondly at his daughter.
"Harry and I will need your help with something else," she began hesitantly. "Eventually we’ll need a Muggle marriage license, but we don’t want to get re-married." She reddened in her turn. "Our vows meant too much to us to do them again just for a piece of paper. Do you think you could talk to someone and just ask them to issue us one, based on our wizarding marriage license?"
"Oh, of course. I’ll talk to Simmons in the Muggle Relations Division when I get back to work. I don’t see a problem with that," Arthur said.
"Ginny…" Molly looked curious. "Why would you and Harry need a Muggle license?"
Harry decided to answer this question. "Well, eventually Ginny and I are going to have to settle in the Muggle world. We’ll need all the proper papers, including Muggle birth certificates." He then looked at Arthur. "I’ll need your help with a few more things than I thought," he smiled. "We’ll need to set up Muggle bank accounts, and we’ll be looking for a home soon. I think I’ll need references, but I don’t have any, not any that the Muggles will understand. So I’m not really sure how Ginny and I will establish ourselves out there."
"What do you mean look for a home?" Molly sounded frantic. "Aren’t you going to stay here? You don’t have to leave just because you’ve got married. Arthur, please tell them they can stay."
"Mum," Ginny interrupted. "It’s not that. Harry and I know we can stay here. I think part of us would like to, but we can’t. We need to learn to live on our own, as Muggles."
Ginny went into Molly’s open arms.
"You do understand why we need to leave?" Harry asked, his eyes begging Arthur to understand.
"Of course I do," Arthur said, putting a reassuring hand on Harry’s arm. "But there’s no rush. You and Ginny should stay here until we get everything settled. Then when that’s all taken care of, you two can really start your life together."
Harry smiled at Arthur and Ginny jumped from her seat and went into her father’s arms.
They stayed in the living room for a while longer, discussing what had to be done in the upcoming weeks. When it came time for lunch Molly suggested that Harry go fetch Sirius and Remus and bring them back for a family luncheon. Ginny asked Arthur to accompany Harry because she needed to discuss some ‘girl’ things with Molly. Just before Harry activated his Portkey, Arthur said he’d meet him there after a few minutes.
"Arthur, why didn’t you go with the boy?"
"Molly, dear, didn’t you have your say with them before?" he chuckled. "Don’t you think Sirius deserves equal time?"
"Arthur," she laughed. "You’re terrible; I just wish I had thought of it."
Arthur kissed Molly and hugged her close to him, "I’ll be out in my shed for a while. I think fifteen minutes should be enough for Sirius. Have a nice chat with our married daughter."
He kissed her again and then Ginny as he passed her out the back door on his way to his shed, thinking how differently things had turned out today than anything he could have expected, and thanking whoever was responsible for it all happening.
~o~
Arthur shook his head and looked at the scene before him. Molly must have decided that she had played with them long enough.
"Sirius should be back by then," she said.
"Sirius? Mother, why is Sirius coming here?" asked Percy, a confused look on his face.
"He went for the paint, of course, and the new area rug. Hopefully he’ll be able to bring back some material for the curtains, but you know how men are. I don’t know if he'll be up to that. If not, then, if you girls don’t mind, maybe you could go into town and get that." All this was said with her familiar happy ‘let’s get busy’ tone.
The boys simply stood there, not knowing what to do or how to make sense of what their mother had just said. Arthur walked over towards Molly and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Come on, boys, you heard your mother. Get busy and get that room cleaned out. After all we want it done by the time they get back from their honeymoon." A smiled exploded onto his face. "When your mother kicked Ginny out, she only gave us a week to get that room in order. Ginny and Harry will be back here for dinner next Saturday night."
The reaction wasn’t what they expected. The girls burst out squealing and jumping on one another and then into a group hug. Each boy steadied himself on the nearest piece of furniture, or in Bill’s case, the floor. They all seemed to be between relief and delight: relieved that they wouldn’t have to kill Harry and delighted that they still had a sister. Not one of them said a word for quiet some time; that is, until Ron spoke.
"I am going to kill him."
Outtake: Sirius Trouble
Summary: Sequel to Ginny's Gift. Read that story first. Harry must deal with the aftermath of Voldemort's defeat.
A/N: This outtake was written by Maid Marian.
Arthur busied himself in the kitchen helping Molly with the dinner preparations for Ginny’s so-called birthday celebration that night. There was one minor change to the plans: Ginny would not be in attendance for it, and neither would Harry. That afternoon Molly had told them, in no uncertain terms, that they were to leave. She told the bewildered-looking couple, she’d better not see neither hide nor hair of them, as she showed them to the door.
She had then fire-called all her sons and instructed them to come to The Burrow earlier than she had originally told them. It was now half three and they were expecting the troops at four o’clock. Arthur had continued to help as she cooked, and he couldn’t help but notice the gleam in her eye. If he wasn’t mistaken, it reminded him oddly of one of the twins’ facial expressions; he decided it was better not to dwell on that.
By quarter past four The Burrow was filled to the brim with several red-heads and an assortment of other colours. Arthur waited with the group in the living room until Molly came out of the kitchen.
"We’ve had a slight change of plans for this evening," Molly said, an intense look on her face.
The boys seemed to notice it right away, and looked intently at their mother, as Arthur slowly made his way to the back of the crowd.
"Yesterday your sister and her ‘boyfriend’ went out. They told me they were going out to dinner. But I started to suspect something else was happening when, at one o’clock this morning, they had not returned," she said calmly.
Several things were heard from the boys after this statement. Ranging from, "I’ll kill him" from Ron to, "Woo hoo, way to go Harry" from one of the twins.
Molly looked sternly at all her sons. "Then at eight o’clock this morning when they still hadn’t turned up…"
"Eight o’clock? That isn’t like Ginny. Mother, did you check St Mungo’s?" Percy said, concerned.
"I’ll kill him," Ron offered.
"Woo ho…" was all Fred could get out before Bill, who had Apparated in just for Ginny’s birthday, smacked him in the back of the head and told him to be quiet.
It seemed the girls of the group were extremely quiet and decided it was best not to say anything.
Molly continued, but her voice seemed more hurt than angry. "Of course I called St. Mungo’s and they had no injury victims in last night. Your father and I went to see Sirius, thinking that he might know if they had planned to stay out, or if they had been taken by someone, as I thought." She stopped when she saw the boys’ faces drop. "I had thought they were hurt, after all, and they can’t protect themselves. Sirius didn’t seem too co-operative at first, but then he did give us some information. It wasn’t much, but it was all he knew: that Harry had left with an overnight bag."
"I’ll kill him," called out Ron. Bill quickly went towards him and placed a controlling hand on his arm.
"Some time later we came home. I realised they were home, and I was relived until… Well, needless to say I found them. They…they were…together…in Ginny’s room…on her be..." She didn’t need to finish the word bed, she had already got a strong reaction.
"I’ll…" started Ron.
"Oh no, you won’t," Fred lashed out. "I’m going to kill him first."
"Take a number," George said as he smashed his fist against his palm.
"You lot can have what’s left of him," Bill said, toying with his wand. "Wait until I get a hold of her. Scaring poor Mum to death and then…then…" He seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Frolicking," Percy offered.
"Yes!" Bill continued. "Frolicking on her BED!"
Percy didn’t offer another word; the shocked look on his face spoke volumes.
Arthur couldn’t help but see how bright Molly’s eyes were.
"Now boys," Molly said gently. "None of that. I need you to do something else for me, and I’d like it done tonight before you all leave."
"Mum, where are they now?" Bill asked.
"She kicked them out," Arthur deadpanned.
All eyes were on Arthur after that statement, and that was a good thing. Molly turned around, but Arthur could see her shoulders shaking, it took her a bit of time for her to get control of herself. Once she did, all eyes were back on her.
"Bill, please go upstairs to Ginny…" she faltered. "To Ginny’s old room and disassemble the bed and bring it out to the shed." She bit her lip and looked down.
Bill stood there dumbfounded; he couldn’t seem to move.
"Fred, George, please take all the other furniture in the room and move it up to the attic. If the ghoul gives you any trouble, tell him he’ll have me to deal with. Bill will help you with the wardrobe if you need it."
The twins just stood there. They both looked to Arthur who heaved a heavy sigh and looked to the floor.
"Percy, Ron, I’d like you to make sure that all of ‘her’ belongings are put in her hope chest, and if you need it, there is another trunk in the attic you can use. Just put those in my room and I’ll deal with them later."
"Mum…" Bill began.
"No, Bill, I need this done, and I need it done now. It should take no more than two hours. When I come up there I want the entire room empty." Each boy looked as if he was about to burst into tears. The girls already had, but they kept their mouths shut and their heads down.
The boys stood there, not knowing what to do or how to make sense of what their mother had just said. Arthur walked over towards Molly and put his arm around her shoulder. As he surveyed the boys’ faces he thought back to eighteen hours ago. Was it even possible that all of this had happened less than one day ago?
~o~
"Molly, rearranging that hall cupboard will not get her home any sooner. Come to bed. She’ll not appreciate you waiting up for her, as if she were a little girl out on her first date."
"Arthur Weasley, sometimes I wonder if you’re the man I married. It is past one in the morning and they’re not home yet. They left at tea time, what on earth could they be doing all this time?" Molly huffed.
Arthur tried to hide a smirk, he had a feeling he knew exactly what Harry and Ginny were getting up to. It’s not that he whole-heartedly approved of what they were doing, but after these last few months he wasn’t going to begrudge them a thing.
"Arthur! Do you know where they are? Did Harry tell you anything? So help me Arthur if I…"
"MOLLY! Come to bed! Now!" Then he went on in a softer tone, "I don’t know where they are. But I trust that wherever they are, they’re not doing anything they shouldn’t be doing." Arthur knew that statement to be true. Harry and Ginny loved each other deeply; they were willing to die for one another. Nothing they could get up to, in Arthur’s mind, would be wrong.
Molly came back into the bedroom, leaving the contents of the hall cupboard lying on the floor. She changed into her night dress and made huffing noises a few more moments before settling into bed.
Arthur turned over and laid a hand on Molly’s shoulder. "They’ll be home soon. And…"
"What?" Molly asked.
"Nothing."
Molly turned around and faced Arthur. "And what Arthur? Please finish that statement."
"And if they’re not. There’s not much we can do about it. They love each other Molly. She almost died. You saw the way he reacted; I don’t doubt that he would have done something drastic if he had lost her. Let them live their lives. It’s not the way we lived, or would choose for them to live. But…"
"I’m listening, please continue," she said calmly.
"But I think it’s right for them. If two people deserve to be happy and in love, it’s those two. Don’t spoil it for them. Don’t make her think she did something wrong." Arthur looked lovingly into her eyes, hoping she’d understand.
"I know all of that Arthur. I just wish she’d left a note. What if they’re hurt? What if someone… What if someone hurt them? I know they belong together. I’m not blind. I was surprised to learn they had waited. I was sure at Christmas time, they had…" She sighed and then looked straight at him. "I’d just like to know that they’re safe. No matter where they are or what they’re doing. She could have left a note."
"I know, but I’m sure we’ll hear from them." He rubbed her shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing manner.
"She could have left a note," she said again. "What did she think I’d do? Hunt them down and lock her away?" she said indignantly.
"Molly love, your reputation precedes you. I’d be surprised if they were still in the same country," he laughed.
"Oh, Arthur, you’re terrible. And I’m not that bad," she pouted.
"Yes you are." He leaned over and kissed her gently. "And I love you all the more for it."
Molly looked tenderly into Arthur’s eyes and leaned in to give him a loving kiss, which he deepened quickly. Then he turned briefly and took his wand from the night table and pointed it towards the bedroom door. With one word the door closed and locked. He then cast his wand around the room and spoke the silencing charm. He placed his wand back on his night table and turned towards Molly.
"What are you doing?" she asked almost unable to keep the chuckle out of her voice.
He kissed her softly. "I’m getting ready to make love to my wife, that’s what I’m doing." Leaning down again and enveloping her with in his arms, he began kissing her as if his life depended on it.
~o~
Arthur woke the next morning to the sound of banging pots, muttered words, and as he looked around him, a completely spotless room. He laughed to himself. Whenever Molly was in a fit over something, she cleaned. He looked through the open bedroom door towards the clean and tidy hall: she had finished with the contents of the cupboard.
After a few moments he decided to join her in the kitchen. He could smell the bacon cooking as he gingerly walked down the staircase. He stood at the bottom of the stairs -- in Molly’s fury she hadn’t noticed he’d come down -- and he smiled as she tore around the kitchen.
"When I get those two…" her voice drifted over to him, and Arthur couldn’t tell if she was speaking to the bacon or just herself.
"Out ‘til all hours of the night… No consideration… Thinks I’m an idiot… They haven’t seen work… show them. Worry me into my grave..."
Arthur watched her closely as she took the pan off the fire and then she surprised him as she sat down at the table and put her hands to her face.
She was crying.
As quickly as he could, he walked towards her and sat down next to her, his arms going around her shoulders. This only made her lose control as she turned to him and wailed into his shoulder. Arthur was at a loss; it wasn’t often that Molly cried, and he had no idea what he should do. He continued to rub her shoulder, waiting for her to tell him why she was so disturbed.
"They’re not home," was all she said after several long minutes.
"Molly, I’m sure they’re fine,"
"I fire-called St. Mungo's. No one was brought in last night."
"Molly!" He didn’t know whether to laugh or be shocked. "They’ve stayed out all night. They probably lost track of the time, or most likely fell asleep. Really, St Mungo's," he chuckled.
"There are still attacks Arthur," she said without expression, her eyes dull. "He’s still in danger. She’s in danger, not only by being with him, but because of us. I know there are Death Eaters out there still, waiting to make a name from themselves."
"Molly, stop talking…"
"What! Nonsense, is that what you were going to say? I’m not a fool Arthur. Even the first time they didn’t get them all. They were still out there. You-Know-Who might be gone but his scum is still here. You know that. I know you know that."
"I know they’re still around, but I’m just saying…"
She interrupted him as if he hadn’t said a word. "They can’t protect themselves. When it comes to magic they’re completely defenceless. What if someone saw them yesterday? What if they followed them? What if…" She burst into tears again and Arthur pulled her close to him.
He was such a cad. This whole time he had thought she was worried about her daughter’s reputation, when instead she had been concerned for her life, both their lives. Harry was as much theirs as Ginny was, and Molly thought they were lying somewhere, hurt. Something told him that they were safe, but convincing Molly of that was going to be difficult. Maybe Sirius knew where they went. He’d take Molly there once she'd calmed down. He continued to hold on to her, hoping that he could offer her some comfort, some hope.
~o~
They Apparated to the front of Remus’ home, and Arthur hoped that they wouldn’t be waking the two men. After all it was barely eight o’clock in the morning. Their knock was answered quickly by a dishevelled Sirius, who looked as if he had just woken up after very little sleep. Arthur cringed, after all it was Saturday, and he really should have fire-called first, but his concern at that time was only for Molly.
"Arthur, Molly? Is anything all right? Come in, come in," Sirius said, rushed, as he showed them into the living room.
"I’m sorry about the time, but Mo… I mean we were concerned about Harry and Ginny. Did they… I mean… Is Harry here?" Arthur was more embarrassed than worried; he hoped his face didn’t give away too much.
"Harry?" Sirius seemed as uncomfortable as Arthur, but it was clear that he had some information. He looked down abruptly as he realised that he had opened the door clad in nothing but his boxers. His face turned a bright red and he rushed away mumbling an incoherent, "Let me get dressed, I’ll just be a moment." As Sirius walked down the corridor, he passed a bedroom, which Arthur could see still had the bed made. It was quite tidy; that must be Remus’ room. Only then did he remember last night was the full moon and Remus was not home. He heard Sirius continue down the hall to what must have been his own room and then heard a door open and close.
A few moments later Sirius reappeared dressed in Muggle jeans and the navy jumper Molly had knitted for him last Christmas. Arthur had to wonder if Sirius had done that on purpose, maybe he thought he’d need all the help he could with Molly.
"Would you like some tea?" Sirius asked shyly.
"Yes, thank you," Molly said standing. "I’m sorry Sirius, it’s too early for us to call, but I’ve been frantic."
"No, no, come into the kitchen," Sirius said as he led the way.
Across from the living room and next to the kitchen Arthur noticed another bedroom. This must have been Harry’s, the one Remus and Sirius had converted from the original dining room. This room was also tidy, bed made: obviously it had not been slept in either.
"Please sit," Sirius said as he busied himself with preparing tea.
"Sirius," Arthur started, rubbing his forehead. "Did Harry come home last night?’
"Um… actually I haven’t… I mean I didn’t take…" Sirius looked completely at a loss for words. "Remus isn’t here," he said, clearly changing the subject.
"Oh, yes, the full moon, I didn’t remember," Arthur said trying to ease Sirius’ discomfort.
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Molly burst out. "Did Harry come home or not, Sirius? This is important. Ginny didn’t make it home either."
"I didn’t hear him come in." Sirius kept his eyes to the floor.
"Do you know where they might have gone last night?" Arthur asked as gently as he could, knowing that Sirius was not comfortable with this conversation.
"I know that he was planning on taking Ginny out for dinner." His eyes now travelled to the ceiling. "I don’t know which restaurant. I don’t know…um…where they went after..." He shuffled his feet looking exactly like a boy who had just got caught with his hands in the cookie jar.
"Honestly, between the two of you, I don’t know who's worse!" Molly roared. "It’s a simple question, Sirius; either you know where the two of them are or you don’t. Did you know for sure that they didn’t plan on coming home, or are you surprised as we are?"
"I…um…Harry didn’t…I mean I wasn’t…"
"Sirius! Did Harry tell you he wasn’t coming home last night?" Molly roared again.
"No, he didn’t actually tell me he wasn’t coming home." His tone was that of someone who knew more than he really wanted to say.
"Oh no, Arthur. See? See? He doesn’t know where they are either. Oh my God! What if they’re hurt? What if they’ve been taken? I can’t…I can’t go through this again. I can’t lose them."
Arthur moved towards her and held her tightly. He gave Sirius a compassionate look and took in Sirius’ totally bewildered expression.
Sirius busied himself with the tea once more and placed three cups on the table. He went to the counter and picked up a bottle of Ogden’s Fire Whiskey. Realising it was empty, he placed it in the sink and opened the cupboard and reached for a new bottle. He motioned to Arthur, who nodded, he then poured a small amount into Molly’s tea cup, then Arthur’s and his own as well.
"I think I’m a bit confused here," Sirius said.
"Molly is concerned about Harry and Ginny. She thinks that for some reason they…they are hurt and can’t get home."
"Why? I mean…why would you think that?" Sirius, blushing furiously, directed his question to Molly.
"Oh for land's sake. The two of you are stepping over this subject as if I’ll jump up and throw myself from a cliff. I know exactly what those two were getting up to last night. I’m not blind and I’m not that caught up in myself that I can’t see how much in love they are. That is not my problem. After all I’m sure they were totally prepared," she grumbled. "Lord knows they had plenty of advice from Mr Protection." She pointed at Arthur. "And I don’t even want to think about the technical advice you must have offered." She looked pointedly at Sirius whose face paled.
"I’m worried because I haven’t heard from them. After everything that’s happened these past few months, I find it hard to believe that neither of them would leave a note, send an owl. Something. Anything. That would be totally cruel; they know what they’ve done to me. Both of them leaving without a word. I was completely beside myself, and they know that. They wouldn’t do that again, I know they wouldn’t."
"Molly, dear. Perhaps they were caught in the moment, and…" He stopped when he saw Sirius shift in his chair. He looked to him to explain himself.
"I…I saw Harry, um… he had an overnight bag, um…yesterday. And…and we had a chat." He looked as if he was working on keeping from going red in the face.
"They…they planned this?" Molly stuttered. "They planned it and they didn’t leave word?"
"I’m sorry, Molly. They should have sent you an owl. I’ll have a chat with Harry…"
"No, Sirius, no. If those two don’t know any better, no amount of talking will get through to them." She seemed heartbroken. Arthur knew it wasn’t from what they were doing, but for not considering what their absence would do to Molly. He put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder.
"Let’s go Arthur." Her voice was firm but dejected. "Sirius, I’m sorry for bothering you so early. Please give Remus our regards." Then she looked straight at him. "I still expect you for dinner tonight, for Ginny’s birthday celebration, even if…" She faltered for a moment. "Even if those two runabouts haven’t decided to grace of with their presence. Six o’clock; don’t be late." And she walked out of the kitchen heading for the front door.
"Arthur…" Sirius began.
"No, don’t worry, Sirius. I had a pretty good idea where they went. But Molly was sure they would have left word. She was positive they had been taken or hurt," he said.
"Taken by whom?"
"Death Eaters," Arthur said sorrowfully.
"Oh my God, when I get my hands on him, he’ll wish it had been Death Eaters that kept him from sending word!" He shook his head. "I owe her an apology too," he looked in the direction Molly had left in. "I thought that she was upset about what they were…well, what they were doing. I forgot how much they've put her through." Then he looked straight at Arthur. "Argh, the both of them! I’m going to give them a good talking-to."
"You and me both," he laughed. "Don’t forget about dinner, Molly and I are expecting you. I hope Remus is feeling up to joining us too." He took Sirius’ hand and shook it. "Thank you, Sirius," he smiled and walked towards Molly where she was waiting by the front door.
"Molly, Arthur. Try and have a good day. I’ll be by later," he said sheepishly.
With that, Molly and Arthur walked out the door, Arthur turned and saw Sirius watching them as they walked down the path towards the road. He knew Molly needed to walk, she needed the fresh air. He would stay beside her until she was ready to go home; his heart broke as he saw a small tear escape from her eye.
~o~
Arthur and Molly appeared in the Burrow some time later. They had walked for quite a while, before Molly said she’d like to go home. As they walked into to the small scrubbed kitchen Arthur stopped short of ploughing into Molly’s back. Lying over two chairs in the kitchen was a familiar-looking black dress cloak and an equally familiar emerald green cloak with a silver fox collar. Arthur was relieved that they were home, but then he decided it might be better to start worrying.
The breakfast, bacon and sausages that had been left on the cooker had apparently been eaten as were the fresh muffins that had been on the table. It also looked as though eggs and toast had been made and eaten as well. The evidence was quite clear, as were the dirty dishes that had been left abandoned on the table, dirty pans on the cooker and the spilled juice on the counter.
Arthur had seen Molly angry many times in their marriage. Many of those times her wrath had been directed at him or, bless their hearts, the twins. But in all those times he had never seen her with the look of pure murder that she now had on her face. He rushed to her to grab her arm before she made for the stairs. He wasn’t fast enough.
As he gingerly climbed the stairs he heard Molly begin to rant. She wasn’t rushing; she was slowly climbing each step talking to herself, and it frightened him. "If they think they can cavort about and then come back here and have me wait on them hand and foot, they’ve got another think coming. I’ll show them. I’ll keep them so busy that they’ll be too tired to frolic about like two foot-loose and fancy free hooligans."
This was not going to be pretty. Please let them be decent, he thought. Please let Molly calm down before she reaches the room, he prayed. He thought, too late, about pretending to fall down the stairs: that would surely get her to stop. But then all conscious thought became impossible as he heard her first bellow.
"What on earth do you two think you are doing?!"
Oh lord, this was not good.
"How dare you?! What do you think I’m running here?!"
Arthur reached Ginny’s door just in time to see what Molly was screaming about. Harry was lying on Ginny’s bed, his shirt completely undone, a love bite standing out clearly against the white skin of his neck. Ginny was lying practically on top of Harry; her buttons were done up but Harry’s hands were located under her shirt. They both looked as if they had been Petrified: neither one was moving.
"Well, answer me! Do you two think you can come and go as you please? Do you think you can leave here in the afternoon, and then not bother to come home all night? Do you think you can eat our breakfast and then leave an utter mess in the kitchen? Do you have a total lack of respect for the others in this house that you can come up here and do as you please without even to bothering to close the door?" She was standing at Ginny’s door glaring at the two, her hands on her hips.
She moved into the room and both Harry and Ginny’s eyes went wide. "Do you think you can disappear and not leave a note? Don’t you two think I’ve worried about you enough; do you really think I need to worry more? Do you have any idea what it’s like to sit beside a hospital bed waiting for your daughter or son to wake up? Do you have any idea what it’s like to find out that your daughter or son has disappeared and you have no idea where they could be?"
At this moment both teenagers straightened up but did not leave each other's side. "Do you have any idea what it’s like to say goodnight to your two children who can’t even protect themselves in this world, only to have them not come home?"
The steam seemed to have gone out of Molly. She shook her head and looked at the two on the bed. When she spoke again, her voice was much calmer. "Am I such a horrible mother that both of you were afraid to tell me you weren’t coming home? I’m not as heartless as you think I am. I know you love each other. I know you want to express that love. But that doesn’t mean you can act irresponsibly."
She looked at them both, and a small tear left her eye. With a shaky voice she said, "I thought you were hurt. I thought someone had taken you. I thought I’d never see you again. And I’m sorry that you didn’t realise that I would react this way."
Shaking, Molly walked out of Ginny’s room and walked past Arthur. He heard her walk down the steps; she must have gone to their bedroom. He heard the door close, and then total silence reigned.
~o~
After almost an hour of talking with Harry and Ginny, all three felt it was time to go see Molly. They walked down to her bedroom; Arthur knocked and then went in while Harry and Ginny went to wait down in the living room.
"Molly?" he waited for her to turn around from her position on their bed.
"Yes, Arthur."
"Harry and Ginny are downstairs; they'd like to talk to you. I think you should hear what they have to say," he said calmly but with authority in his voice.
"Give me a minute; I’d like to freshen up a bit. Tell them I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes."
Arthur walked over to Molly and gave her a loving kiss. She might be hurt, but she’d never, in turn, hurt any of her children back; and Harry was just like one of her own, now more than ever. He knew she’d talk to them. He left her and headed down to the living room to wait with Harry and Ginny for Molly to join them.
As Arthur came into the kitchen he noticed the two had started to straighten out the mess they had left. He was surprised to see how far they had got before he came down. He offered to help, but they both insisted on doing it themselves. In no time the two sat on the sofa together, hands entwined, Ginny’s head resting on Harry's shoulder. Every so often Harry placed a small kiss on her forehead. Arthur could tell how nervous they were, but he could also tell how content they were. It pleased him to see them that way, and he knew it would brighten Molly’s heart to see it too.
They didn’t have to wait long for Molly to come down. Arthur noticed she had changed her dress, and she must have done something to her face. All the tears of the day seemed to have been covered, and she had a glow to her cheeks.
Before she was able to sit down, Ginny flung herself at her mother.
"Mum," she cried. "I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. I should have, but I didn’t. I seem to do that a lot lately. I’m sorry I scared you. Please Mum, I need you so much right now. Please forgive me…" Anything else she might have said dissolved into tears.
The efforts Molly had made to repair her face seemed to have been a waste of time, since she burst into tears again. She held Ginny and hushed her; she told her everything was all right and she wasn’t angry. She kissed Ginny's cheek and looked up to find Harry standing right behind Ginny. Molly took one look at him, and she burst into tears again. He came forward and enfolded her in his own embrace, and repeatedly told her he was sorry too. After a few minutes Molly was seated next to Arthur on the settee with Ginny and Harry on the sofa facing them.
"I know you two will want some privacy now, and I’m more than willing to give that to you. All I ask is that you let us know if you’re going to stay out late, or not come home at all," Molly said.
"Molly dear, I don’t think we’ll be able to enforce that rule any longer," Arthur said as gently as he could.
"Arthur, really, I don’t think that’s a lot to ask." She then turned to the teenagers sitting on the sofa and asked them, "Do you think that I’m asking too much? It’s just a matter of common courtesy."
"Well, Mum…" Ginny tried to conceal a laugh. "If you and Dad abide by the same rule, I reckon Harry and I can too."
"Ginny Laurestine Weasley!"
"Potter," said Harry with a smile on his face.
Molly continued without missing a beat, "This is our house, and your father and I are married. I don’t think we have to follow the same rules. Do you?"
"Well, if we have to follow them, surely you and Dad should follow them too," Ginny beamed.
"Laurestine?" Harry sniggered.
"Shut up Harry!" she laughed, but gave him stern look.
"Ginny Weasley!" her mother shouted.
"Potter," Harry smirked.
"What? What did you say?" She directed her question to Harry; she seemed annoyed at his attitude.
"Well Mrs…Mum, you keep calling her Ginny Weasley and quite frankly, that’s not her name anymore." Harry was now beaming too.
Molly looked to Arthur for some assistance. He knew he was smiling like an idiot, but he couldn’t help himself. He wondered how long it would take Molly to understand what Harry had said, or realise that he had called her ‘Mum’’.
"Ginny?" Molly said her voice breaking.
"Yes, Mum." She was fairly glowing.
"Why didn’t you and Harry come home last night?" Her voice was shaking, but in a good way this time.
Harry and Ginny both blushed, and then she replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, we were on our honeymoon."
Several things happened at once. Molly let out a squeal, followed by Ginny. Molly ran towards both Ginny and Harry and seized the both of them in a bone-crushing hug. There didn’t seem to be a dry eye in the room. Arthur soon joined in and swept Ginny into another hug, while Molly latched onto Harry.
A little while later the seating arrangements had changed, with the women on the settee and the men on the sofa. Molly has now holding Ginny’s hand and waiting to hear all the details of the wedding.
"You’re not upset, Mum, are you? I mean…that we eloped," Ginny asked, looking at her mother and father.
"Well, I won’t say I wouldn’t have liked to have been there. But I can’t say I’m mad. After all, your father and I eloped too."
"You did!" Harry was shocked.
"Yes," Arthur answered, "actually that was the only way we could get married."
"Mum!"
"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. My mother didn’t approve of your father and me dating…"
"Actually," Arthur clarified, "she quite loathed me. She tried to keep your mother away from me. We ran off the moment we could."
"I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you ever tell me, Mum?"
"I’m sure you’ve guessed I don’t like to talk about my mother… But Ginny," Molly asked apprehensively, "you and Harry…I mean…you didn't just get married so you could be together. Or to get away from me, please say you didn't."
"No, Mum, of course we didn't. We got married because we love each other."
"But why so suddenly?" Molly asked. "Or have you been planning this for a while?"
Ginny blushed as Harry shifted nervously in his seat.
"Well actually," he said. "I, er, sort of asked Ginny at Christmas if she'd marry me some day. But we never intended it to be this soon at the time."
"Then how exactly did this come about?" Arthur asked. Harry and Ginny had given him the main story, but no real details or background.
"It's just when everything else happened..." Harry began
"Harry asked me what I wanted for my birthday while I was still in St Mungo's and I told him then, I wanted to marry him," said Ginny.
Harry continued, "And it was like... well, we've almost lost each other already. With everything we've been through what sense was there in waiting?"
"And we don’t want to take the chance of it happening again," Ginny carried on.
"We knew we wanted to be together. No one knows how long they’ll have, and I didn't want to waste time waiting to be a family. Life is too short for that. I know we're young, but only in age, not in experience."
"Mum, Dad, we've both been through things some adults never go through and whatever else we have to face in life we want to face together. We know it's going to be hard, but together we can survive anything, because we already have dealt with some of the most horrible things anyone could face."
"So we got married because we love each other very much." Harry smiled at his mother-in-law. "And there didn't seem anything left for us to do than to start our new lives, and we wanted to start them together."
"Good, I’m glad." Molly grinned in obvious relief. "Oh Ginny, your ring, it’s beautiful. What are these symbols?"
Ginny looked lovingly at her ring. Arthur had noticed it before, when they'd first told him they were married in Ginny’s room. He had seen that the gold was cut was into a delicate filigree, but he didn’t know what to make of the design. Now, he looked to Harry’s hand and noticed his ring was heavier and more masculine, lacking the cut-outs, but it also seemed to have the same symbols carved into it.
"They’re ancient runic symbols, Mum," Ginny said shyly. "This one is for ‘faith’, this for ‘true love’…" She pointed to the next. "This is for ‘happiness’…" she added with a smile. She then twisted her ring around and pointed to the next symbol. "This one is for ‘loyalty’, and this is for ‘togetherness’." She looked from the last symbol to Harry and said, "And this last one is for ‘family’."
Arthur looked at Harry, and he noticed the boy was smiling. It was a different smile from any other he'd seen on the boy's face in the past. It seemed free of the uncertainty and fear, which had seemed to plague the boy for so long. This was a smile of pure contentment. Sitting next to him was Harry, his son-in-law, and the boy was happy. He was at peace, and for the first time in his life Arthur believed he was truly content. Arthur couldn’t help but be happy for Harry, and for his daughter too.
The morning passed quickly as Ginny and Harry told them about their "first date" and the ceremony.
"Ginny, there’s something I don’t understand?’
"What, Mum?"
"I have all your papers in the vault at Gringotts. How did you to get them? You would have needed them to get married."
"Oh," Ginny said, blushing, "you see, my husband has connections. I’ll let him explain."
Now it was Harry’s turn to blush. "Well, um… you see…" He looked at Arthur shyly. "We decided to do this a few weeks back, and I had no idea what we needed. So I had to ask someone for help, and I couldn’t ask anyone in the family." His blush was deepening. "So I asked someone at my old office."
"Dolores Mutt," Arthur said with a smile, and then laughed at Harry’s astonished look. "Actually she was the perfect person to ask. Not only does she know all the laws, and I mean ALL, the woman can keep a secret."
"Yes, she can," smiled Harry. "She told me everything I needed and then she helped me get all the copies of documents too. She even got all my Muggle records, I didn’t ask how; I don’t think I want to know."
"Dad?"
"Yes, Ginny?" Arthur looked fondly at his daughter.
"Harry and I will need your help with something else," she began hesitantly. "Eventually we’ll need a Muggle marriage license, but we don’t want to get re-married." She reddened in her turn. "Our vows meant too much to us to do them again just for a piece of paper. Do you think you could talk to someone and just ask them to issue us one, based on our wizarding marriage license?"
"Oh, of course. I’ll talk to Simmons in the Muggle Relations Division when I get back to work. I don’t see a problem with that," Arthur said.
"Ginny…" Molly looked curious. "Why would you and Harry need a Muggle license?"
Harry decided to answer this question. "Well, eventually Ginny and I are going to have to settle in the Muggle world. We’ll need all the proper papers, including Muggle birth certificates." He then looked at Arthur. "I’ll need your help with a few more things than I thought," he smiled. "We’ll need to set up Muggle bank accounts, and we’ll be looking for a home soon. I think I’ll need references, but I don’t have any, not any that the Muggles will understand. So I’m not really sure how Ginny and I will establish ourselves out there."
"What do you mean look for a home?" Molly sounded frantic. "Aren’t you going to stay here? You don’t have to leave just because you’ve got married. Arthur, please tell them they can stay."
"Mum," Ginny interrupted. "It’s not that. Harry and I know we can stay here. I think part of us would like to, but we can’t. We need to learn to live on our own, as Muggles."
Ginny went into Molly’s open arms.
"You do understand why we need to leave?" Harry asked, his eyes begging Arthur to understand.
"Of course I do," Arthur said, putting a reassuring hand on Harry’s arm. "But there’s no rush. You and Ginny should stay here until we get everything settled. Then when that’s all taken care of, you two can really start your life together."
Harry smiled at Arthur and Ginny jumped from her seat and went into her father’s arms.
They stayed in the living room for a while longer, discussing what had to be done in the upcoming weeks. When it came time for lunch Molly suggested that Harry go fetch Sirius and Remus and bring them back for a family luncheon. Ginny asked Arthur to accompany Harry because she needed to discuss some ‘girl’ things with Molly. Just before Harry activated his Portkey, Arthur said he’d meet him there after a few minutes.
"Arthur, why didn’t you go with the boy?"
"Molly, dear, didn’t you have your say with them before?" he chuckled. "Don’t you think Sirius deserves equal time?"
"Arthur," she laughed. "You’re terrible; I just wish I had thought of it."
Arthur kissed Molly and hugged her close to him, "I’ll be out in my shed for a while. I think fifteen minutes should be enough for Sirius. Have a nice chat with our married daughter."
He kissed her again and then Ginny as he passed her out the back door on his way to his shed, thinking how differently things had turned out today than anything he could have expected, and thanking whoever was responsible for it all happening.
~o~
Arthur shook his head and looked at the scene before him. Molly must have decided that she had played with them long enough.
"Sirius should be back by then," she said.
"Sirius? Mother, why is Sirius coming here?" asked Percy, a confused look on his face.
"He went for the paint, of course, and the new area rug. Hopefully he’ll be able to bring back some material for the curtains, but you know how men are. I don’t know if he'll be up to that. If not, then, if you girls don’t mind, maybe you could go into town and get that." All this was said with her familiar happy ‘let’s get busy’ tone.
The boys simply stood there, not knowing what to do or how to make sense of what their mother had just said. Arthur walked over towards Molly and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Come on, boys, you heard your mother. Get busy and get that room cleaned out. After all we want it done by the time they get back from their honeymoon." A smiled exploded onto his face. "When your mother kicked Ginny out, she only gave us a week to get that room in order. Ginny and Harry will be back here for dinner next Saturday night."
The reaction wasn’t what they expected. The girls burst out squealing and jumping on one another and then into a group hug. Each boy steadied himself on the nearest piece of furniture, or in Bill’s case, the floor. They all seemed to be between relief and delight: relieved that they wouldn’t have to kill Harry and delighted that they still had a sister. Not one of them said a word for quiet some time; that is, until Ron spoke.
"I am going to kill him."
Outtake: Sirius Trouble