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mini_festTitle: A Christmas Tree With A Thousand Lights
Author/Artist: ANON
Pairing(s): Molly/Arthur
Prompt: 8 (2014)
Word Count/Art Medium: 1400
Rating: G
Contains: None!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: This prompt was too cute to pass up! I immediately thought of Molly and Arthur because they'd be sure to have a wildly entertaining collection. Thanks to N for the beta!
Summary: Every year, Molly and Arthur make sure to get an ornament for their Christmas tree to remember the past year by and so every Christmas they get to relive the life they've built together.
Molly made her way out of kitchen as Arthur stood at the bottom of the stairs and casted boxes of decorations down from the attic. His attention was split between making sure the boxes didn’t bump into anything on the staircase and on their granddaughter sitting in a pile of toys by the tree.
“Are you sure you don’t want to have hot coco with us?” Molly asked her again, but Victoire just shook her head, much more interested in making her dolls dress change colors. Molly was seventy five percent sure the doll was charmed to do that and it wasn’t her three year old granddaughter doing it so she let her be. Victoire’s magic tended to manifest itself in more...explosive ways.
Molly placed Arthur’s cocoa on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Her favorite Celestina Warbeck Christmas album played softly around her and she allowed herself to shut her eyes and savor the moment. She had been through things no mother should ever have to go through but in this moment everything was quiet.
Arthur walked over and picked up his mug. Molly waited for him to say something but he didn't. She opened her eyes to see her husband smiling down at her, unbelievably fond. She pat the spot next to her and he sat down, wrapping an arm around her as he did so. Molly leaned into him and they just drank their cocoa in silence for several long moments.
Victoire’s dolls continued to change colors without smoking so they must be enchanted.
After she had her full of the quiet, Molly picked up her wand and opened a box of ornaments, she casted Accio the first one she saw and almost immediately cried at the sight of it. It was a large shell with a sketch of Victoire running on the beach, all bundled up on her second Christmas. Her little steps were more of a waddle wrapped up in sweaters and scarves.
Arthur smiled and looked to their granddaughter, “honey look at this. Do you know who this baby is?”
Victoire looked up, squinting. Her eyes lit up a moment later and she dropped the dolls, “me! That’s me!”
“Do you want to put the first ornament on the tree?” Molly smiled at her excitement and held out the ornament for her.
“Yes!” She cheered, clamoring to her feet and hurrying over she took the shell and hung it ever so gently on one of the bottom branches. It sagged and so Molly quickly hit it with a strengthening charm and Victoire stepped away, proud of herself.
“Very good, my dear.” Molly smiled, charming another ornament from the box.
This one was an older one, one that Percy had made when he was just starting Hogwarts. It was a drawing of Hogwarts, with a Gryffindor banner that fluttered in a nonexistent breeze (Percy had been so proud of the charm at the time he had written a letter boasting his accomplishment so cryptically that Molly had to be reassured by Charlie and Bill twice that their brother was okay). She knew the spell her twelve year old son cast would have faded by now on its own but she had never seen anyone giving it a boost. Beneath the banner was a drawing of their family that sometimes wavered like it wanted to be a photo. Gently, she directed it towards the top of the tree where it would be safe from small, inquisitive hands.
Arthur made a show of standing and stretching his back and he went over to the box. While Molly was content to use magic (she was rather fond of not pricking her fingers on the needles, thank you very much), her husband liked to hold the memories in his hands. He reached into the box as Victoire peered inside curiously and Molly made sure to keep an eye on her--they were pretty sure one of the ornaments Charlie had gotten them from Romania (either 1994 or 1992) was cursed. He pulled out a tiny porcelain Quidditch player and turned to her, “it’s your Harpy.”
Molly smiled, taking a sip of her cocoa, “I always knew I was going to be the mother of a Hollyhead Harpy.” Her father had bought it for her when she was just a little girl, it was one of the first ornaments she had ever gotten. The year etched on her outstretched arm was somewhere around 1962. She had been obsessed with Quidditch that year, even though she quickly found out she lacked the talent for anything more than backyard games.
Arthur smiled and carefully hung the ornament near the top of the tree. Victoire pulled out a glass ball that had a miniature Burrow in it, lights flickering. Snow drifted softly down and every once in a while, a garden gnome would scurry from bush to bush. 1998 was written out in the snow.
Their granddaughter laughed and immediately started looking for a prime spot for it, “Mama made this one! I know because Mama just put the one you made her up on our tree yesterday.”
“You already have your tree decorated?”
Victoire nodded proudly and Molly pulled another ornament over to her. It was a pinecone niffler that Hagrid had picked up god knows where a few days before Christmas, 1997. She had been so terrified that year, Harry and Hermione had vanished. Ginny had been inconsolable because Luna had just been kidnapped by Death Eaters. Percy was at the Death Eater-led Ministry. Ron had been with Bill and Fleur until Christmas morning and she had only found out after he was gone.
“Are you alright?” Arthur asked and Molly nodded, waving her arm and hanging the pinecone niffler on the tree. No matter how dark the world was, Ginny and Tonks still laughed as they decorated the tree, Hagrid still went out and found them something. Happiness still existed even as her heart was breaking; they had gotten through that year with the help of their friends.
“Have you found the one from Egypt yet?”
Arthur shook his head, “there’s no way you’ll miss it.” Their 1993 ornament was a perfectly normal portrait ornament of their entire family visiting Bill, the only thing wrong with it was that fireworks erupted from it whenever someone touched it. Molly had tried to figure out how it was charmed (especially after Remus once actually caught on fire when he brushed up against it) but she couldn’t figure it out. Bill swore it was just cursed so it was probably his way of entertaining the twins while he was away.
Arthur hung up one from the year Ron was born, tiny snow boots that stomped out 1980 in a snowbank and Molly pulled out a glass ball that contained a rocky shoreline and waves gently breaking.
Arthur caught her eye as she hung it somewhere Victoire could see, “we should go back this year.”
“We haven’t been back since the twins were born.”
“Exactly, it’s been too long.”
Molly smiled, they had to be careful with Arthur’s time off, they never knew when one of their children would need them (whether it be to cheer them on at a Quidditch match or to worry over them in St. Mungo’s) but a vacation back to where they honeymooned would be lovely.
Eventually Molly got up to stand next to Arthur as they hung the years on branches and squeezed ornament after ornament onto the tree. They had so many (in addition to the ones that marked the year, their children all gifted them ornaments and when you have seven children, half of whom are well on their way towards marriage it equaled a very stuffed tree), sometimes Molly thought about getting a second tree. She didn’t know where she would squeeze it, but she and Arthur had enough ornaments to decorate it.
As Celestina sang her way through two records Molly and Arthur continued to pass ornaments back and forth, laughing and getting teary-eyed in turn. She could remember when this had been a mad rush of tiny hands, all fighting to get their favorites in their favorite spot, but this peaceful evening was its own special kind of Christmas (and besides, the kids would be crowded back in here soon enough). She and Arthur had been through so much and she loved seeing it sparking in front of them in the midst of tinsel and twinkling lights.
Author/Artist: ANON
Pairing(s): Molly/Arthur
Prompt: 8 (2014)
Word Count/Art Medium: 1400
Rating: G
Contains: None!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: This prompt was too cute to pass up! I immediately thought of Molly and Arthur because they'd be sure to have a wildly entertaining collection. Thanks to N for the beta!
Summary: Every year, Molly and Arthur make sure to get an ornament for their Christmas tree to remember the past year by and so every Christmas they get to relive the life they've built together.
Molly made her way out of kitchen as Arthur stood at the bottom of the stairs and casted boxes of decorations down from the attic. His attention was split between making sure the boxes didn’t bump into anything on the staircase and on their granddaughter sitting in a pile of toys by the tree.
“Are you sure you don’t want to have hot coco with us?” Molly asked her again, but Victoire just shook her head, much more interested in making her dolls dress change colors. Molly was seventy five percent sure the doll was charmed to do that and it wasn’t her three year old granddaughter doing it so she let her be. Victoire’s magic tended to manifest itself in more...explosive ways.
Molly placed Arthur’s cocoa on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Her favorite Celestina Warbeck Christmas album played softly around her and she allowed herself to shut her eyes and savor the moment. She had been through things no mother should ever have to go through but in this moment everything was quiet.
Arthur walked over and picked up his mug. Molly waited for him to say something but he didn't. She opened her eyes to see her husband smiling down at her, unbelievably fond. She pat the spot next to her and he sat down, wrapping an arm around her as he did so. Molly leaned into him and they just drank their cocoa in silence for several long moments.
Victoire’s dolls continued to change colors without smoking so they must be enchanted.
After she had her full of the quiet, Molly picked up her wand and opened a box of ornaments, she casted Accio the first one she saw and almost immediately cried at the sight of it. It was a large shell with a sketch of Victoire running on the beach, all bundled up on her second Christmas. Her little steps were more of a waddle wrapped up in sweaters and scarves.
Arthur smiled and looked to their granddaughter, “honey look at this. Do you know who this baby is?”
Victoire looked up, squinting. Her eyes lit up a moment later and she dropped the dolls, “me! That’s me!”
“Do you want to put the first ornament on the tree?” Molly smiled at her excitement and held out the ornament for her.
“Yes!” She cheered, clamoring to her feet and hurrying over she took the shell and hung it ever so gently on one of the bottom branches. It sagged and so Molly quickly hit it with a strengthening charm and Victoire stepped away, proud of herself.
“Very good, my dear.” Molly smiled, charming another ornament from the box.
This one was an older one, one that Percy had made when he was just starting Hogwarts. It was a drawing of Hogwarts, with a Gryffindor banner that fluttered in a nonexistent breeze (Percy had been so proud of the charm at the time he had written a letter boasting his accomplishment so cryptically that Molly had to be reassured by Charlie and Bill twice that their brother was okay). She knew the spell her twelve year old son cast would have faded by now on its own but she had never seen anyone giving it a boost. Beneath the banner was a drawing of their family that sometimes wavered like it wanted to be a photo. Gently, she directed it towards the top of the tree where it would be safe from small, inquisitive hands.
Arthur made a show of standing and stretching his back and he went over to the box. While Molly was content to use magic (she was rather fond of not pricking her fingers on the needles, thank you very much), her husband liked to hold the memories in his hands. He reached into the box as Victoire peered inside curiously and Molly made sure to keep an eye on her--they were pretty sure one of the ornaments Charlie had gotten them from Romania (either 1994 or 1992) was cursed. He pulled out a tiny porcelain Quidditch player and turned to her, “it’s your Harpy.”
Molly smiled, taking a sip of her cocoa, “I always knew I was going to be the mother of a Hollyhead Harpy.” Her father had bought it for her when she was just a little girl, it was one of the first ornaments she had ever gotten. The year etched on her outstretched arm was somewhere around 1962. She had been obsessed with Quidditch that year, even though she quickly found out she lacked the talent for anything more than backyard games.
Arthur smiled and carefully hung the ornament near the top of the tree. Victoire pulled out a glass ball that had a miniature Burrow in it, lights flickering. Snow drifted softly down and every once in a while, a garden gnome would scurry from bush to bush. 1998 was written out in the snow.
Their granddaughter laughed and immediately started looking for a prime spot for it, “Mama made this one! I know because Mama just put the one you made her up on our tree yesterday.”
“You already have your tree decorated?”
Victoire nodded proudly and Molly pulled another ornament over to her. It was a pinecone niffler that Hagrid had picked up god knows where a few days before Christmas, 1997. She had been so terrified that year, Harry and Hermione had vanished. Ginny had been inconsolable because Luna had just been kidnapped by Death Eaters. Percy was at the Death Eater-led Ministry. Ron had been with Bill and Fleur until Christmas morning and she had only found out after he was gone.
“Are you alright?” Arthur asked and Molly nodded, waving her arm and hanging the pinecone niffler on the tree. No matter how dark the world was, Ginny and Tonks still laughed as they decorated the tree, Hagrid still went out and found them something. Happiness still existed even as her heart was breaking; they had gotten through that year with the help of their friends.
“Have you found the one from Egypt yet?”
Arthur shook his head, “there’s no way you’ll miss it.” Their 1993 ornament was a perfectly normal portrait ornament of their entire family visiting Bill, the only thing wrong with it was that fireworks erupted from it whenever someone touched it. Molly had tried to figure out how it was charmed (especially after Remus once actually caught on fire when he brushed up against it) but she couldn’t figure it out. Bill swore it was just cursed so it was probably his way of entertaining the twins while he was away.
Arthur hung up one from the year Ron was born, tiny snow boots that stomped out 1980 in a snowbank and Molly pulled out a glass ball that contained a rocky shoreline and waves gently breaking.
Arthur caught her eye as she hung it somewhere Victoire could see, “we should go back this year.”
“We haven’t been back since the twins were born.”
“Exactly, it’s been too long.”
Molly smiled, they had to be careful with Arthur’s time off, they never knew when one of their children would need them (whether it be to cheer them on at a Quidditch match or to worry over them in St. Mungo’s) but a vacation back to where they honeymooned would be lovely.
Eventually Molly got up to stand next to Arthur as they hung the years on branches and squeezed ornament after ornament onto the tree. They had so many (in addition to the ones that marked the year, their children all gifted them ornaments and when you have seven children, half of whom are well on their way towards marriage it equaled a very stuffed tree), sometimes Molly thought about getting a second tree. She didn’t know where she would squeeze it, but she and Arthur had enough ornaments to decorate it.
As Celestina sang her way through two records Molly and Arthur continued to pass ornaments back and forth, laughing and getting teary-eyed in turn. She could remember when this had been a mad rush of tiny hands, all fighting to get their favorites in their favorite spot, but this peaceful evening was its own special kind of Christmas (and besides, the kids would be crowded back in here soon enough). She and Arthur had been through so much and she loved seeing it sparking in front of them in the midst of tinsel and twinkling lights.
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no subject
Date: 2016-12-14 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-12-15 03:46 pm (UTC)And I love how they also want to remember the years that only held heartache and pain for them in store.
I love Molly and Arthur! <3
no subject
Date: 2017-01-17 05:13 am (UTC)What a sweet and gentle story.
I love how you told us so many stories about the Weasley children through each ornament.
The perfect holiday tale! Great job. :)