Mated Pair
Challenge Twenty-One: Winter Holidays Past
Title: Mated Pair
Author: harmony_bites
Wizard/Witch: Arthur/Molly
Rating/Warnings: G/PG
Genre: Romance
Prompt: 14. sword of Godric Gryffindor
Summary: Molly has always had the heart of a Gryffindor; Arthur loves her for it.
Arthur shook his head to clear it, wondering if he was hallucinating. Molly stood alone at a clearing by Hagrid's hut, holding a long sword that flashed silver in the sun, a ruby the size of an egg on the pommel. She swung the sword in a slow circle, close to her ear and sweeping in low as she lunged right, her coppery plait swinging in an arc.
“Molly?”
She turned to him, sheathing her sword in one sure movement.
“Is that what I think it is?”
Her face flushed. “Actually, it’s a transfigured copy.”
“I heard you wielded Godric’s sword. Against that dragon You-Know-Who sent.”
She nodded. “My brothers taught me. Dueling, swordplay. They would have been-”
“Proud.”
At his remark she met his gaze, eyes shining and for a moment they just smiled at each other. “I meant to say Aurors. Gran disapproved of them teaching me, said such arts were not for girls.”
“I thought you were magnificent. Like Boadicea.”
“Who?“
“Muggle warrior queen. When her daughters were raped by the Romans, she took up the sword.”
“Did she win?”
He shook his head sharply, his throat too tight to speak as he looked at her petite figure, and thought of the fate of the Celtic queen. He knew Molly was top of their Seventh Year Defence classes, but her brothers had been top, too, and that hadn’t saved them.
She shivered, then picked up her cloak from a tree branch and wrapped it around herself. Putting her arm through his, she led him back towards the castle.
“Don’t you worry what people will say?” He gestured toward the sword.
She grinned. “By the time we get back, it will have turned back to a stick. If you want me to protect you, I’ll have to use my wand. Not that this transfigured thing can hold an edge.”
“Molly… I-” He cradled her face in his; she was surprisingly warm despite the cold Yule day. “I can’t promise you rubies-”
She lifted her lips to his, a soft, quick brush. “Arthur Weasley, if you think I don't know what real treasure is….” She put her hand on the pommel of the sword. “And how to protect it for that matter. I know how to kill with knitting needles if need be.” She smiled up at him through thick lashes. “Would it scare you to know I don’t want to wait? For anything? I’ve seen so much dying. I want to… when the term ends. I want… life… with you… to be filled with it.”
“Dumbledore talked to me today. I’m going to join the Order. He told me you were joining too. It frightened me…”
“Hush. There’s nothing we can’t face together.”
He pressed his mouth over hers, pulling her into an embrace. Bilius thought Molly Prewett was a wild thing, but he tended to think of his girls as pets. Molly, rather, was Arthur’s mate. They’d build a safe nest to fly from.
Author’s Notes: Molly in the last book screamed the line from Aliens II “Get away from her, you bitch” and attacks and defeats Bellatrix, who was threatening her daughter Ginny. Bellatrix was a formidable fighter who killed Sirius. I refuse to believe that was luck or the power of motherhood, so my take is Molly was formidable to begin with. My thanks to my betas Djinn and bambu345 and my Britpicker, lifeasanamazon.
Betas: Djinn and Bambu