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It was a very windy day and every fifth year was in their common rooms studying for their O.W.L’S. The next test up for Molly was Herbology, she wasn’t very good at this, but she liked the class anyway because she got to partner up with Lucius.
Molly and Lucius had been going out with each other for nearly 3 months now; she was surprised when he asked her out. Molly had always thought he was good looking but didn’t really think it was a good idea to talk to Slytherins, but she realised it must have taken a lot of guts to ask her, and had said yes.
Lucius wasn’t being very nice lately, but Molly kept telling herself that he was only acting like that because of the stress of the O.W.L’s. They hadn’t been to Madame Puddifoot’s since Valentine’s Day, and that was almost 2 months ago now.
Molly was shaken out of her reverie by Arthur Weasley, one of her closest friends.
"Come on, Mollywobbles. You're going to be late for your test," he said in his quiet voice. Molly's responding laugh was shaky with nerves, and stood up as Arthur disappeared through the portrait.
Stepping out into the corridor, she looked around for Lucius. He had promised to meet her and walk her to the test, but was nowhere to be seen. Slightly dejected, she trudged through the castle to the Great Hall. The sight that greeted her as she stepped through the massive doors made her heart tighten in her chest.
Lucius was lounging against one of the desks set out for the test, talking to Narcissa Black, but that wasn't it. It was the way he was talking to her. He was smiling, his eyes skimming up and down Narcissa's form. Molly stormed up to him, weaving through the desks. She reached them just in time to smack away Lucius' hand as it went up to stroke Narcissa's face. Lucius' head snapped around to face Molly, his eyes wide.
"Molly, it's not what it looks like, I swear!" Lucius said, stepping closer to her. Not wanting to believe what her heart was telling her, she nodded, and let Lucius take her hand and lead her to her desk. He kissed her on the forehead before making his way to his own desk. She sighed and fiddled with the quills on her desk.
Maybe I'm just making mountains out of molehills, she thought. She was lost in her own thoughts and didn't see the wink Lucius threw Narcissa. Someone in front of her cleared their throat, making her jump. Looking up from the twirling quills, she saw Arthur standing there, holding a small, dark blue box.
"H-hi Molly," he said, his normally calm voice shaking, "I got you a good luck present. You know, for the test."
And before Molly could say anything, he had put the box on her desk and practically run away to his desk at the other side of the hall.
She picked the box up and gently lifted off the lid. She pulled out a locket and wound the fine chain through her fingers, the gold glinting at her. Her first thought was to Zonko's in Hogsmeade. She was pretty sure that they sold lockets that, when opened, showered you with some sort of dust that would either make you sneeze or put a spell on you, depending which sort you bought, but the engraving on this was too delicate and intricate for a cheap Zonko's trick.
Flicking the catch, she opened the locket cautiously, and was slightly surprised when a folded slip of parchment fell out and drifted down into her lap. Setting the locket aside, she picked it up and unfolded it, revealing a letter written by a hand she knew as Arthurs. It read:
I see you
Filled with light,
I see you slowly fading
If you were mine, I'd fight
The horrid douche you're dating.
I'd take you in my arms
Pick flowers, climb high trees
I'd whisper you sweet nothings
To keep your soul at ease
But you're not mine to hold,
Not mine and not my own,
You'll take a test and pass,
And I'll end up alone.
Molly couldn't move. She just read the poem again, and would have read it a third time if Professor Sprout hadn't clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. Molly slipped the locket, its box and the letter into her pocket as the test papers flew around, one landing on each desk. She shook her head to clear her mind with little effect, and absorbed herself in the test as soon as their time started.
What is another name for a Mandrake?
They had learnt this, and luckily she had actually payed attention, as Lucius had been in the hospital wing from the result of a dodgy Zonko's trick. Writing in mandragora, she moved onto the next question.
Which plant should you make sure not to give too much dragon dung manure, lest it start squeaking and wriggling?
She knew this. Arthur had told her once. He was always really nice to her, and always helped her if Lucius wasn't around. Damn it, Molly! Stop thinking about Arthur she scolded herself. Shaking her head, she tried to immerse herself into the test once again.
***
As Molly finally put her quill down at the end of the test, she let out a sigh, relieved to have completed her final O.W.L. But then her mind went back to the locket and the relief was short-lived. She could feel the corners of its box digging into her side, and itched to get the poem out and read it again.
She restrained herself until the test papers flew to the front of the room when the time was up, and was pushed along in the wave of fifth years eager to relax in the sun. As she passed through the Great Hall's doors, she slipped her hand into her pocket to feel the parchment that the poem was written upon, but didn't pull it out until she was in the Gryffindor girl's dormitory, by which time it was a little worse for wear. Smoothing it out on her bed, she read it again. The thought that someone other than her parents actually loved her made her smile. She knew Lucius didn't love her, it was obvious by the way he treated her when other girls were nearby.
When it was time to return to the Great Hall for dinner, she folded the poem back up and put it in the locket, which she fastened around her neck and hid under her school robes. Lucius was waiting for her on the other side of the portrait, and took her hand in his. As they made the way through the castle, he started talking.
"The next trip to Hogsmeade is this weekend, and, because we've finished our tests, I was thinking, maybe we could go to Madame Puddifoot's? I have Quidditch practice first, but I can meet you there at ten-ish," he said, looking at Molly. She nodded and smiled eagerly, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.
Thankfully, the weekend seemed to come around quite quickly. Molly just wanted to spend a nice few hours with Lucius, as her mind had been oddly preoccupied with thoughts of Arthur, the poem and the locket which she had only taken off for showers and baths since the Herbology test. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Arthur since the test either, apart from the occasional end of his long robes as he flitted around a corner, like he was avoiding her.
Molly thought of the weird ways of men as she walked into Hogsmeade alone. The small tea shop came into view as she turned into a side road off the High Street. As she stepped into the shop, a bell above the door tinkled a merry tune, and she felt rather awkward standing in this place alone, where many of the chairs and tables were taken by couples kissing and holding hands over steaming cups of tea or coffee. She walked to one of the few empty tables in the far corner, trying to ignore the frilly and tacky decorations that covered the round tables and hung on the walls and from the roof. A quick glance at a pink wall clock told her it was almost ten. He won't be here dead on time, especially since he had Quidditch practice Molly thought.
Five past ten.
'He'll be here any moment now.'
Quarter past ten.
'Well, he did say ten-ish.'
Half past ten.
'He's probably having a shower or bath. Yes, that's it.'
"Would you like a coffee, my dear?" Madame Puddifoot asked Molly. Molly shook her head, saying her date will be here soon.
It took another half-an-hour for her to realise Lucius wasn't coming, that she had been stood up. Then it took her another five minutes for the anger to hit her, and that was when she stormed out of Madame Puddifoot's tea shop, hot tears threatening to fall. In her fury, she didn't see Arthur leaning against a building on the corner, a sad look on his face as he watched her pass.
***
Molly found Lucius still on the Quidditch field. He was talking to her again. Narcissa Black.
“That’s it,” she yelled, grabbing Lucius’ arm and turning him around to face her, “we are so over! How could you? No, I know why. You’re a coward! You couldn’t say it to my face that you want to break up, so you just don’t turn up? Outrageous!”
And with that, she walked off, leaving Lucius speechless.
When Molly was out of sight, Arthur walked up to Lucius, who was now laughing about the incident to Narcissa. Lucius saw him coming and inclined his head toward him, an eyebrow raised.
“Yes, Weasley?” he said, his voice smooth and uncaring. Arthur opened his mouth, ready to give him a piece of his mind. And nothing came out. Arthur clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to find the courage that had made him walk up to Lucius in the first place, but he couldn’t find it. Suddenly, Lucius had his wand in his hand, pointing it towards Arthur’s chest.
“Everte statum!”
The spell threw Arthur backwards to the entertainment of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He hit the ground hard, winded. By the time he had regained his breath, Lucius and his friends had moved on.
Arthur made his way up to the castle, dejected. Molly came rushing out of the front doors.
“Are you okay? I saw Lucius and his cronies come in laughing and saying your name. What did they do? Did they hurt you?” Molly asked, fussing over him. He let her lead him inside before answering, enjoying her company.
“I’m fine, Molly. Honestly. I’m stronger than I look,” he said, gently pushing her hands away.
“Sorry,” she said, suddenly shy. Her hands fell to her sides and she looked at her shoes.
“What is it?” Arthur asked, worried he had said or done something. Not raising her eyes from her shoes, she pulled the gold locket out from under her shirt. Undoing the catch, she pooled the chain in the palm of her hand.
“Did you mean it?” she asked. Both of them looked down at the locket. Slowly, Arthur took Molly’s hand and curled her fingers over the locket. With his other hand, he tipped her chin up, making her look at him.
“Every word,” he said, and he kissed her.
***
From then on, Molly and Arthur started dating. They graduated from Hogwarts together, married, and bought a house in Devon together. Molly became pregnant, and their first son Bill was born. After him came Charlie, Percy, twins Fred and George, Ron, and finally, their first daughter and last child, Ginny.
There were times of struggle, family conflict, and the death of Fred, but they scraped through, sticking together the whole way.
And, for the most part, they were happy.