Spend Another Night

Spend Another Night

Molly sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. She was exhausted from her dinner with Arthur. They had been half way through with their meals when he had to leave for a small emergency at the office. A Muggle had grabbed a portkey (not knowing what it was, of course) and ended up in the middle of Diagon Alley. Molly was left in Hogsmeade and did a little shopping before returning home.

It was their thirtieth anniversary! Couldn't someone else have filled in for him? Oh no! Arthur Weasley was fascinated with Muggles and couldn't spare time for his wife on a very important day. She yawned and looked around the cozy room. Her eyes fell upon a glass case sitting against one of the walls. Inside were pictures of her family. There was a picture for each of her children and then a picture of them together. Near the bottom of the case was a picture of her and Arthur. It was one of their wedding pictures.

Flashback

"Oh, Rose! I just don't know if I can do it! Am I making the right decision?"

"Of course you are!"

"What if Arthur's not the right man? I could be marrying the wrong person!"

"There's no 'wrong person'. You love him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then you'll do fine. You just have wedding jitters. Why my cousin had them twice as bad as you and she's still married to the same man. They even have five kids now. So you have nothing to worry about."

"Really?"

"Really. You're going to make a wonderful wife, Molly. Believe me, it'll turn out better than you think."

Molly smiled and hugged her friend. She stared at her reflection in the mirror while she pulled the veil down to cover her face.

End Flashback

"I instantly knew when I saw you

You and I would be forever

Hearts never apart, true from the start

To each other and together

There's nothing we can't do

And until the end of time

If you tell you'll be mine..."

Molly glanced up at her watch. It was 10:27 and he still wasn't home. She walked over and picked up a shoebox on the bottom shelf of the glass case. She opened it and there were tons of pictures from the past thirty years. Wedding pictures. Baby pictures. Vacation pictures. And they hadn't been looked at in a while.... They were covered in dust.

She picked up the first picture in the box. A picture of Charlie in Romania. Tears threatened to overflow onto her cheeks. Time flew too quick. She couldn't grasp it. It just ran through her fingers. It seemed like just yesterday Charlie was going to Hogwarts for the first time. Now he was grown up. Chasing dragons. Living miles and miles away. They only saw him ever so often.

She picked up another picture. A five-year old Percy was smiling and waving back at her. Percy. Dear Percy. He had gotten in a row with his father. They weren't talking now. Her tours poured out and onto the picture. Five-year old Percy dodged the large drops that were threatening to drown him. Poor Percy. He had taken after her. His mother. The only one who had taken after her. He was sensible. He had a good job. Though it was the cause of the argument with his father. Dear Percy.

She put the picture back and pulled out yet another. Ginny. Sweet Ginny. Her only company. Her only daughter. She, like the others, had taken after their father quite nicely. A sense of humor. She was becoming more and more like the twins every day. They were her heroes. And she was getting older. A young woman now. What had happened to the girl she had known? She could think for and take care of herself now. She was growing up.

Another picture was pulled out. Her and Arthur again. This time she was pregnant with Bill. Her stomach showed and Arthur had his arms wrapped around her. Smiling.

"I'm never gonna spend another night

Without you in my dreams

For the rest of my life

I'm gonna reach out to you honestly and try

To give you what you need

With all of my might

'Cause nothing has ever felt

So real and so right

So I'm never gonna spend another night

Without you in my dreams."

The tears just poured won her cheeks. Her and Arthur had been so happy. So in love. Not that they weren't now, but now... now everything was routine. The kisses were routine. The "I love you" just before heading out somewhere. Routine. She still loved him. But did he know that?

Flashback

They were at the altar. Saying their vows. Lighting candles. Placing a ring on the other's hand.

"You may now kiss the bride," the Reverend said.

A young Arthur and Molly kissed and the ceremony was final.

"And now, may I present to you... Mr. And Mrs. Arthur Weasley."

They smiled at their loved ones and walked happily down the aisle.

End Flashback

Tears. Stupid hot tears. Stop falling. Stop it, I said! He knows I love him. He has to. He's my husband. For thirty years he's been my husband. A great husband. A great father too.

She picked up another picture. Ron. He had made her proud. Prefect. That's something she hadn't expected from him. And yet he made her proud. And now he was a great Quidditch player. Off playing for the Chudley Cannons now. He was her walking pride. She glanced down at her watch again. 10:44. Where was he? He used to never come home this late. Arthur... Arthur...

Flashback

They were dancing. Newlyweds at their reception. Molly in her flowing gown and Arthur in his black dress robes. They were dancing without a care in the world. the song finished and they headed back to their table.

Rose walked up and smiled. "May I borrow her for a moment, Arthur?"

"Of course. Just have her back in good condition."

Rose thanked him and pulled Molly away by the arm. "So... how's it going?"

"Wonderful. I don't know what I was thinking earlier."

Rose smiled at her giddy friend who was now babbling.

"I've never felt so alive! It's like I'm overwhelmed by this... this... energy!"

"I think it's called 'joy'."

The girls laughed and headed over to the punch table.

End Flashback

What had happened to their joy? Had it disappeared? Surely it was still there...

"You are so in my heart

Even alone in the dark

I can feel the light of our love shining

We are so meant to be

That we are definitely destiny

And there's no denying

That I love you

Though it's so cliché

There's nothing else to say..."

Another picture. Bill. He was 14 and had his arms wrapped around his broomstick. That was all he used to do. Play Quidditch. Now he's working at Gringott's... in Egypt. Why couldn't he have worked here in England and not so far away from home? He knows she didn't like that. But then again... he did a lot of things she didn't like. His silly fang piercing. His long hair. She didn't like those things, but she could handle it. He was her first born. Why it seems like just the other day she was in labor...

And the twins. Now that was labor! But at least she got two in one shot. They turned out good. She hadn't wanted them to, but they had opened a joke shop. That had always been like them. Pranking. They, too, had taken after their father with their sense of humor. But they were good. At least she had fun raising them. She could always dress them alike when they were little. Even now they sometimes did.

Crack. Arthur was home. She hastily wiped the tears of her face. He entered from the parlor and saw he sitting there at the kitchen table with her eyes pink and her cheek still wet. The picture box was still sitting open and he figured that she had taken a trip down memory lane. He picked up the box and put it back in the bottom of the glass case. He turned around and she was looking at him. Her eyes were still wet, and glistened in the dark.

"Arthur?" she said meekly.

"Yes?"

"You know I love you... right?"

He looked confused. "Of course I do." He studied her face for a moment. "Look, if this is about our date, I'm really sorry..."

"No. It's not that. It's just... we're still in love, aren't we?"

He took her hands. "Yes! Of course we are! Why do I come home from work? Why did we have seven kids?" he still wasn't convincing her. "Look. I still love you. I love everything about you. And even if I just met you today, I would still want you to be my wife."

She leaned over and hugged him. "I love you too."

When they were through, he got up and went back to the parlor. He turned on some soft music and returned to the kitchen. "Would you care for a dance?"

He kissed her hand and she smiled. "I'd love to."

He led her back into the parlor and they danced in the darkness.

'But I'm never gonna spend another night

Without you in my dreams

For the rest of my life

I'm gonna reach out honestly and try

To give you what you need

With all of my might

'Cause I'm never gonna spend another night."