She knows that Harry needs three things - A kick in the pants, a lot of cuddles and tea. She's willing to give him all three of them, too, and she's willing to take the fallout of Harry's rage, because she knows Ron doesn't deserve that kind of pressure, right now.
The anger had to come. Dodging the anger in this story would have been such a copout. I knew I had to play it right, though, and having Molly step in to take the brunt of it really worked. She's raised seven kids, and she's worked as a Healer. She knows that Harry's a bit like a wounded animal right now, and he's going to say some pretty awful things, some of which he'll mean and some he won't. But she can take it, and distance herself from it, whereas if Ron had been on the receiving end of that stream of vitriol he would likely take it all to heart. It would likely end their relationship, send Harry deeper still into his depression, and wouldn't fix anything.
She's protecting both her sons this way - Ron and Harry. She's keeping Ron from copping the force of Harry's misplaced fury, and she's showing Harry, in a very subtle way, that he is family. One of the things with family, is that you do have blowups, say horrible things, but that can't erase the kinship ties. Think about Percy, who disagreed with his family's stance for years, but was still a Weasley.
Harry's never had that security. All he had, for most of his life, was the only biological family he had telling him he was worthless, should never have been born, and so on. And when he does get Sirius, he only spends a handful of weeks actually in his presence before he, too, is taken away. Harry, deep down, doesn't trust this situation with the Weasleys to not blow up in his face. In fact, he's provoking it to happen, just to prove his paranoia right, so that he can reassure himself that yes, he's right not to trust anyone but himself.
Instead, Molly takes everything he can throw at her, calmly tells him that she can see his pain,
( ... )
She takes the brunt of it for a lot of reasons. Protecting Ron is the one on the surface, but there are far deeper things at work, here, too, as I said above to knic26. What she's done is very important, and in many ways, is a pivotal, life-changing thing for Harry, in particular, and for Harry and Ron's future happiness.
poor ronnie. he is doing so well, helping his boy through this. poor harry. it must have been so nice to have that buffer around him the last week. and now he has to cope with reality again - even if in a gradual way.
At her nod, I come close, touch him gently, and he turns into my embrace. His blunt nails bite into my arms as he clings to me, as though he’s afraid to let go.
i'm so glad he is able to turn to ron. now that molly has absorbed the worst of the explosion.
“I’ll make us a pot of tea,” Mum says, and she leaves to do just that.
*nods* see? she really does know how to deal with an emotional crisis.
Ron's doing his best, even if he does feel lost, confused and frightened.
The buffer, yes. Well, I think most people who get addicted to drugs or drinking don't do it initially because they want to get high, so much as they want to escape from reality. There's a big difference. While someone whose life is okay might experiment to see what it's like, someone who has something they need to run away from might see it as the answer. mad_martha really highlighted that well in her Coming Home series, when Ron and Harry talk about smoking pot together, years beforehand when they were teenagers, and what the experience meant for each of them.
He's let out that fear, and that anger, and Ron is a familiar, reassuring, steady presence. While he cares for Molly, he's nowhere near as close to her. He's been through so much with Ron.
Tea cures all manner of ills. And it's a tactful way of leaving the two of them alone.
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The anger had to come. Dodging the anger in this story would have been such a copout. I knew I had to play it right, though, and having Molly step in to take the brunt of it really worked. She's raised seven kids, and she's worked as a Healer. She knows that Harry's a bit like a wounded animal right now, and he's going to say some pretty awful things, some of which he'll mean and some he won't. But she can take it, and distance herself from it, whereas if Ron had been on the receiving end of that stream of vitriol he would likely take it all to heart. It would likely end their relationship, send Harry deeper still into his depression, and wouldn't fix anything.
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Harry's never had that security. All he had, for most of his life, was the only biological family he had telling him he was worthless, should never have been born, and so on. And when he does get Sirius, he only spends a handful of weeks actually in his presence before he, too, is taken away. Harry, deep down, doesn't trust this situation with the Weasleys to not blow up in his face. In fact, he's provoking it to happen, just to prove his paranoia right, so that he can reassure himself that yes, he's right not to trust anyone but himself.
Instead, Molly takes everything he can throw at her, calmly tells him that she can see his pain, ( ... )
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she manages that so well.
poor ronnie. he is doing so well, helping his boy through this. poor harry. it must have been so nice to have that buffer around him the last week. and now he has to cope with reality again - even if in a gradual way.
At her nod, I come close, touch him gently, and he turns into my embrace. His blunt nails bite into my arms as he clings to me, as though he’s afraid to let go.
i'm so glad he is able to turn to ron. now that molly has absorbed the worst of the explosion.
“I’ll make us a pot of tea,” Mum says, and she leaves to do just that.
*nods* see? she really does know how to deal with an emotional crisis.
Reply
Ron's doing his best, even if he does feel lost, confused and frightened.
The buffer, yes. Well, I think most people who get addicted to drugs or drinking don't do it initially because they want to get high, so much as they want to escape from reality. There's a big difference. While someone whose life is okay might experiment to see what it's like, someone who has something they need to run away from might see it as the answer. mad_martha really highlighted that well in her Coming Home series, when Ron and Harry talk about smoking pot together, years beforehand when they were teenagers, and what the experience meant for each of them.
He's let out that fear, and that anger, and Ron is a familiar, reassuring, steady presence. While he cares for Molly, he's nowhere near as close to her. He's been through so much with Ron.
Tea cures all manner of ills. And it's a tactful way of leaving the two of them alone.
Reply
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