Before the Beginning

The sun shown gently on the grounds of Hogwarts, and while the air was still a bit chilly with the coming winter months, most students found themselves outside doing any homework they might have allowed to pile up over the weekend. Roaming about the castle was not a difficult task for most students, even at night. Life in the wizarding community was fairly peaceful and only a few free-lance wizards were openly supporting the dark arts.

One group of students that often found themselves roaming the grounds had converged beneath a small, yet still abundant, willow tree where they were hidden from sight by the bowing branches. This was often the sight of their scheming and they were pleased by the fact that, for the most part, it had been a secret to most students ever since they had begun meeting beneath it when they were only first years. Of course, over time a few of their cohorts had learned of the meeting place and they were not always left alone.

The group consisted of only four boys, yet just their presence could make the Great Hall feel as though it had been completely filled. The most outspoken of them liked to make sure every student in the school knew that small fact.

Caphis Collier, or Cap as most called him, was often the leader of any misadventure they embarked on and was proud to say so. He had reached the mark of manhood only a few months before and he showed no signs of ever living up to maturity. However, his friends loved him for this because he always had them in stitches.

For whatever silliness Cap displayed, Elijah Hall made up for it in maturity ten-fold. Lij had told them the first night of their arrival to Hogwarts that he had never been a child and was born at the ripe age of twenty-eight. It hadn't taken the other three boys long to understand what he had meant by that. While Lij was probably the most child-like in appearance because of his stunted height and baby-like features, he always had a book in hand and hardly cracked a smile. Cap seemed to be the only one that could bring the child out of Lij, and the others were grateful for that.

Edmund Falkland could easily be called the hillbilly of the group and he hardly would deny it if you told him to his face. His family was all Irish farmers and when he wasn't in his second-hand robes for classes, he was gallivanting around the halls of Hogwarts in a flannel shirt and overalls. However, no one ever dared to make fun of him no matter how eccentric he was from time to time. As much as you could call him a hillbilly, Eddie could also be called a hulk. He stood taller than anyone in their class and could probably beat up anyone on the grounds other than the game-keeper, Hagrid who looked like he might have giants blood in him.

Lastly was the gangling Arthur Weasley who was almost as tall as Edmund, but definitely not as burly. His mother had often teased that someone must have pulled too hard on his arms while another pulled at his legs. While he wasn't the most handsome of the group like Elijah, nor the most cunning like Caphis, or even the strongest like Edmund, Arthur was special in a way that most people don't witness mankind, even on its best of days. Arthur was genuine and believed the best in people. He hardly ever was rude, unless provoked and he was a gentleman through and through. Had it not been for his tainted bloodline that had dubbed him a blood traitor, he probably would have had most of the females in the school swarming at his feet just to experience his pure, unadulterated devotion.

"I can't believe Dumbledore would assign so much homework over such a beautiful weekend," Cap groaned as he sat up in the grass. He stared at the transfiguration assignment before him which was just as blank as his stare.

"My dear Cap," Lij said from next to Arthur, "Professor Dumbledore gave us half of those assignments a week ago, and the rest of us finished them the Saturday before." Unlike the rest, Lij had nothing to do other than read a novel for his own pleasure. And they were even surprised it was just a novel. Usually he was indulging himself in an advanced textbook from the library.

"Perhaps you should mind your own business, Lij," Cap snapped.

"Perhaps you should grown up and learn to manage your time," Elijah countered. "Or will this be yet another Christmas where I must buy you a day planner?"

"Lij, Cap, do you always have to bicker? You're like an ol' married couple," Eddie said in his heavy Irish accent, turning onto his stomach to face his other two friends.

"It wouldn't be a normal day if they didn't," Arthur replied with a grin.

"And it wouldn't be a normal day if you weren't fancying Miss Molly Prewett," Cap said with a sly chuckle and began making a puckered face at Arthur.

"Please," Arthur scoffed as he threw his book at the wittiest boy of their group. Cap was known to be the comedian of their class and he lapped up every moment of attention he received. Of course, there were times when he could be just plain annoying. And this, Arthur decided, was one of them.

"Come now, Arthur, you know that you could not go a day without seeking her out, even if it just means a moments glance," Lij added. Arthur glared at him, but said nothing. The truth was he had feelings for Molly Prewett since their fourth year. He blushed like crazy whenever she was nearby and he suddenly would find it difficult to speak. She seemed to think it was cute in a way and would just beam at him. He knew she knew of his feelings, and he knew she had some feelings for him as well, but for the most part neither of them had made a move toward a relationship. Being his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, Arthur hoped he could find the nerve to ask her out before it was too late.

"Oh, the match made in 'eaven, Art and Molly Weasley. How precious," Edmund proclaimed with a hand outstretched to the sky. Cap snickered and Arthur just turned a faint shade of pink.

"Would you guys stop it?! Someone's coming!" Arthur hissed while Cap and Eddie were making puckered faces in his direction.

"Is that you, Arthur?" a female voice came from behind the leaves of the willow tree. Arthur's face turned from pink to red at the sound of it.

"'Ello, Molly! Aemilia, Mariana, how are you ladies today?" Edmund asked as the three girls pushed the branches out of their way to enter the small circular clearing around the trunk.

"Oh, we're fine. The girls and I were just off for a stroll and thought we heard you talking. So we decided to stop and say hello," Molly said with a smile. Arthur found that Molly was a vision of loveliness at the age of sixteen, soon to be one year older. She was petite with red hair similar to his own, but not as prominent. Her eyes shown like the moon (or at least in Arthur's mind) and she always wore a smile on her face. She came from a well-to-do family of purebloods and Arthur always found it hard to talk to her being that he came from a fairly mundane and poor line of ancestors, even if they were purebloods as well.

"I see you're still working on the transfiguration homework from last week, Cap. What were you doing last weekend? It was too rainy to be enjoyable," Aemilia said looking over the fair-haired boy's shoulder.

"None of your business, Aemilia Boyd. Nosey Scot," Cap scowled. It was common knowledge that Aemilia had a crush on him, but he liked to ignore that fact. Arthur had been surprised from the first moment he became friends with Cap at his disregard for romance. Cap had told him he had more pressing things to deal with than women, but Arthur always assumed it was something else. He never asked, however, knowing it wasn't his place to pry.

Mariana sat down next to Elijah. "What in the world are you reading, Elijah?"

"Some muggle book called 'War and Peace.' It's quite fascinating, actually."

"Um, Arthur, I was wondering if I could talk to you alone for a moment," Molly asked quietly while her two friends were occupied with the other three boys. Edmund had begun to act out a scene from his childhood on the farm which would prove to keep them busy for a bit.

"Uh, sure, that would be fine," he almost gasped out. He wished he didn't always sound like an idiot when he spoke to her. He pulled a branch of the willow tree out of the way for her and they both made their way out into the sunlight, away from their friends.

"I was wondering if perhaps you'd like to go with me to Hogsmede tomorrow," Molly asked him with a blush creeping across her cheeks. "I usually would go with Aemilia and Mariana, but I thought it would be a nice change of pace to go with you."

Arthur was completely dumbstruck for a moment. Was Molly asking him out on a date? He could have kicked himself. He was hoping he would ask her before she got to it first.

"Tomorrow? Oh, um, that would be wonderful, Molly. I'd love to. Where do you want to meet?" Arthur's blush began to match Molly's in color.

"How about at the staircase near noon?"

"Sounds good."

"I'll see you then," Molly said, shyly.

Arthur watched her make her way back toward the castle. He felt as though he had just leapt from the tallest tier of the castle and was free falling to the ground like a feather. He made his way back under the tree completely dumbstruck.

"Where'd Molly go?" Mariana asked looking up from the book Elijah was showing her.

"Castle," was all Arthur could muster. He was still very much in shock.

"She left without us? Of all the nerve... Come on Mariana," Aemilia said in her heavy Scottish accent. Arthur watched Cap roll his eyes in annoyance. He would have smiled if Aemilia hadn't still been right in front of him. After the two girls left, all four boys relaxed considerably.

"So!" Cap exclaimed with a grin. "How'd it go?"

Arthur gave them a grin that spanned the entirety of his face. "She wants me to go to Hogsmede with her tomorrow."

"Well done, Arthur!" Elijah said with a smile. "This calls for a celebration!"

"Let's head back to the common room! I've got some firewhiskey with our names on it!" Cap cried out in excitement. He'd obviously been waiting for a good moment to share in his wealth of alcohol. They didn't drink it often, so it was kind of a treat when they did.

"To Arthur and Molly! Soon to be... how you say? Lovers?" Cap said with his best French accent.

"Oh baby, oh baby!" Edmund exclaimed with a laugh as he did his best pelvic thrust.

"Who have you been practicing that one with, Eddie? It's damn good, boy! Mariana perhaps?" Arthur asked with a snort.

"No, I believe that's Lij's area of expertise, right, Lij?" Cap asked.

"Funny, my friend, but I prefer a mature woman," Elijah said as dignified as he could.

"So you're getting the lovin' from a teacher? I bet it's that new teacher, McGonagall. That's just wrong, Lij..." Arthur barely managed to get it out without cracking up.

Elijah threw a pillow at Arthur, but then began to laugh.

"Do you wanna know the worst part of all this?" Edmund asked.

"What?" Cap asked.

"We aren't even drunk yet!"

The next morning Arthur woke up with a bit of a headache from the party he and his friends had created the night before. "So much for homework," he groaned as he sat up in bed. He looked at the time and almost wet himself. "11:45!" he cried out, waking his friends.

"What are you shouting about you arse! It's too early for that," Cap snapped from the bed next to him.

"I've got 15 minutes to get ready!" Arthur said jumping up and pulling on a pair of slacks.

"Oh yeah, your date. Forgot about that," Edmund said with a sigh as he rolled over.

"How could you forget his date, Eddie!? That was the whole reason we have hangovers this morning!" Cap cried out as he flopped backward onto his pillow.

"Well, maybe if you knew how to stagger your drinking you wouldn't feel like that," Lij said sitting up. Cap threw him a dirty look, obviously jealous that his friend felt absolutely fine. "Good luck, Arthur. We expect details when you return," Elijah called after the running redhead.

"Sorry I'm late, Molly! I overslept," Arthur exclaimed, very much out of breath when he found her at the stairs.

She giggled and gave him a warm smile. "That's alright, Arthur."

"Well, I guess we should get going. It seems like most of the others have already gone."

"I take it the other boys are sleeping in today?" Molly asked as they began their walk to the village.

"Yeah, they, er, weren't feeling that great."

"Oh dear, I hope it isn't anything contagious."

"Oh, it's definitely not."

When they got to Hogsmede, they stopped in The Three Broomsticks for a bit of butterbeer.

"I'm really glad you decided to come, Arthur," Molly said, fiddling with her drink. She seemed nervous about something.

"How come?" Arthur pried.

"Well, I..." She didn't get to finish, however, seeing as she was interrupted by a rather unwelcome voice.

"Oh how cute. Two red-headed lovebirds."

"Go away, Amherst," Arthur snarled.

"Now where are your manners, Weasley?" Curan said with an evil grin. Curan Amherst was a member of the Slytherin house and as nasty as they came. Arthur loathed him with every fiber in his body which was a rare feeling for Arthur. Behind him stood two of his cronies, Egeus Whitney and Antonin Dolohov. Egeus was an idiot, while Antonin was as quiet as he was cruel.

"He can't have manners, Curan," Antonin said quietly. "He's too poor to buy any."

"Shove off you jerk. No one asked your opinion," Arthur said with a glare that could have killed. He couldn't decide who he hated more. At the moment it was Curan, but Antonin had always made him uneasy with the way he looked at Molly. It was no secret that her family was vastly wealthy and she was obviously a good catch for any pure-blood wizard.

"You can't afford my opinion, Weasley," Curan retorted, causing Arthur to snap out of his thoughts about the bothersome Dolohov.

"If you don't mind, Arsehearse, you weren't invited," Molly retorted.

"Look at that, Curan! We got ourselves a comedienne," Egeus said as he cracked his knuckles. Egeus reminded Arthur of an oversized toad. However, he would never say that to the boy's face for fear of being killed with a single blow. Edmund was probably the only one that could ever stand up to him. Outwitting him was another matter, however. Arthur couldn't imagine how he managed to get any O.W.L's.

"You'd only be so lucky, Prewett," Curan hissed at her, his long bangs falling in his face. Curan was the complete opposite of toad-like Egeus. He was good looking, an average height and cunning. But it didn't matter if Curan had invented magic; Arthur still considered him the biggest jack ass in the universe. "And speaking of arses, you have enough for two grown people."

Molly reddened at that comment being slightly conscientious about her weight. Arthur, however, could feel his blood boiling.

"Get... out." Arthur found himself standing a mere inches from Curan's face with his wand raised between them.

"Is that a challenge, Weasley?"

"Maybe it is, Amherst."

Curan raised his wand in response.

"Hey! You two! No fightin' in here, ya hear?" the bartender yelled, looking up from the glass he had been washing out.

Both boys lowered their wands, but continued to sneer at each other.

"I'm not one to forget, Weasley. Watch your back," Curan whispered fiercely.

"Same here," Arthur replied with pursed lips. He and Molly watched as Curan and Egeus left, laughing. However, Dolohov hung behind.

"I really would be careful, Weasley. You may be a pureblood, but that doesn't make you, your girlfriend, or either of your families safe. When the war comes, you'll know which side you should have taken."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Molly asked.

"You should stick with me, Babycakes. That's what I'm saying," he said with a toothy grin and took a step in her direction. Arthur decided he didn't like the way Antonin was looking at Molly and took a quick side step to put himself in front of her.

"Go follow your ring leader, Dolohov."

Dolohov's eyes snapped toward Arthur's, unblinking and cold.

"I don't take orders from anyone. Not you, not Curan, not nobody. Don't forget that." With that, Dolohov left, slamming the door behind him.

"I'm sorry about that, Molly," Arthur said, turning to her apologetically.

"It's alright, Arthur. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt," she said, biting at her lip.

"What was it you were going to tell me before those gits interrupted?" he asked.

"Er, it's not important. I'll tell you later," she said quickly. Arthur noted that she was blushing again. But instead of questioning it further, he just shrugged and offered his arm to her. She took it graciously and they headed off to the other shops.

"Well look who it is! The lover boy has finally returned!" Cap said from his chair in the Gryffindor common room when he saw Arthur enter in from the portrait hole.

Arthur glowed red. "Shut up, Cap! She'll be up any minute!"

"Oh, come now, Art. You shouldn't be ashamed of love! Why didn't you walk her in?"

"She stopped to speak with Aemilia."

Just then Molly came in through the entrance. "I had a lovely time, Arthur. We must do it again sometime."

He nodded, unable to come up with anything to say.

"Goodnight," she said with a smile.

"G'night!" Arthur managed. He and Cap watched her disappear up the girl's dormitory stairs.

"Boy, you need to work on your charm," Cap said shaking his head. "Really though, how did it go?"

"It was wonderful!" Arthur finally exclaimed when he was positive Molly was out of earshot. "She's amazing, Cap! I really do think I'm in love!"

"I'm happy for you, Art," Cap said with a genuine smile.

"I had a run in with Curan, though, at The Three Broomsticks."

"What, he was sick of slithering around the Slytherin common room and had to start trouble on your date?"

"Yeah, I guess," Arthur said with a sigh. "Dolohov said some real weird stuff too. The guy really creeps me out. And the way he looks at Molly like she's a piece of meat makes my blood boil."

"He strikes me as the type that actually keeps a hit list under his pillow or something," Cap said with a shiver. "I don't even like him looking in my general direction. He's like the Grim."

"Yeah. The worst part of it all was that Molly was just about to tell me something when they interrupted. I think it was important, but she wouldn't say what it was after they left."

"Maybe she was going to profess her undying love for you," Cap said with a snort.

"You are such a pinhead," Arthur said, throwing a throw pillow at him from another chair.