A Birthday Party for Molly's Family

They still celebrated her birthday every year.

They all gathered at the Burrow and made toasts and cut cake and gave speeches, and the little ones ran around the lawn or flew on broomsticks in the backyard while the older ones swapped stories and shared butterbeers.

"Do you remember the time Ginny snuck out into the broom shed after midnight?" George said one year, lounging in a pink plastic lawn chair Mr. Weasley had fished out of the garage.

"Yes!" Ginny was nestled on the porch swing next to Harry. "I was - what, six? Seven?"

"Must've been seven, because I was eight," Ron said.

"And you fell off," George continues, a grin spreading across his face. "You broke your ankle. And you - "

"And I didn't cry," Ginny said triumphantly. "I put the broom away and went back upstairs, and then in the morning I acted like Bill pushed me down the stairs."

Bill swore. "I do remember that. Mum took my bedroom door off its hinges for a year."

"Oh, hush," Ginny said. "You were at Hogwarts for most of it anyway."

A four-year-old barefoot Roxanne Weasley ran up to the adults, panting. "Have you seen Uncle Charlie?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"No, where's he run off to?" George asked, leaning forward to tousle his daughter's hair.

"He's hiding from us!" She stomped her foot. "We just wanted to play with him. He's the worst uncle I have."

"Hey, now!" Charlie's red head popped up from behind the table holding the butterbeer. "The worst uncle you have? What about Uncle Percy?"

Roxanne's face broke into a grin. "Found you," she said, and then she launched herself at him and took hold of his leg. "Hugo! Lily! I have him!" she shrieked, and two more children came running at the porch.

"Hugo," Hermione scolded when her son leaped onto Charlie's back. "Stop that right now!"

"Get him, Roxie!" George called, and Harry laughed and egged on his own daughter.

"You gits," Charlie said, but he was grinning. "Hey. Hey! Roxanne! Hugo! Did you two know that Uncle Harry is hiding some of Grandmum's birthday cake in his pockets?"

"Cake?" Roxanne let go of Charlie and fixed her eyes on Harry. "You have birthday cake in your pockets?"

Harry shook his head. "It's a trick," he said, but all three children were already running at him. "It's a - oomph!"

Ginny scooted out of the way just in time for the three children to attack Harry (and the porch swing).

On the other side of the lawn, Dominique was lying flat on her back and letting her Auntie Angelina weave daisies into her hair. "I love Uncle Charlie," she said, closing her eyes against the bright sunshine.

"Mmm." Auntie Angelina inspected a daisy carefully before adding it to the plait in her niece's hair. "He's quite charming."

"Why doesn't he have a wife, then?"

"Some people are too busy for wives."

Dominique propped herself up on her elbows. "Why?"

Angelina twirled a lock of Dominique's hair around her finger. "Their careers, I imagine. Uncle Charlie does a very dangerous job, working with those dragons. If he had a wife, she'd always be worried about him. Lie still, Dominique, I have to add a few more daisies."

Dominique resumed her position on the ground. "Uncle Charlie used to play Quidditch, didn't he?"

"Yes." Angelina patted a strand of hair into place. "He was the best Quidditch player at Hogwarts. Besides me, of course," she added with a smirk.

"You were a Quidditch player, too?"

"Yes. So was Uncle George. And Uncle Harry. And Aunt Ginny. And Uncle Ron, too. All done, Nicki."

Dominique sat up and touched her hair gently. "I don't ever want to play Quidditch."

"Oh, no?" Angelina glanced over her shoulder to check on the adults by the porch. Harry was juggling three kids, Bill was doubled over laughing, and her husband was getting ready to throw a handful of cake at the back of Ron's head. "Why not?"

"Because I want to stay girly." She pointed at the daisies in her hair. "Girls don't do sports. They don't do anything that makes them sweaty."

(The cake missed Ron and hit Percy, and Angelina had to fight to keep from laughing.)

"And they don't get messy, either," Dominique finished primly.

Angelina looked down at her niece with an odd smile on her face. "Trust me, Dominique. You can be girly and still get messy."

She looked skeptical. "Really?"

"Really. And do you want to know a secret?"

Dominique leaned in and nodded.

"Being messy is a lot more fun."

"As great as this party is," James whispered to Fred, "I know a way to make it a whole lot more interesting."

The boys were in the kitchen, where the enormous birthday cake was sitting on the counter. A tiny slice was missing from the top tier - Uncle George had cut a piece to throw at Uncle Ron outside - but that didn't matter, James was interested in the center of the cake.

"Hand me a spoon, Fred," he said, glancing out the window. Nobody appeared to have noticed that the two of them had slipped away from the throng of cousins, but someone could walk in at any second. It'd be alright if it was Uncle George or Uncle Charlie, but if Aunt Hermione - or, Merlin forbid, Uncle Percy - showed up, they'd be in miles of trouble.

"A small spoon, or a big spoon?" Fred asked, holding up two different sizes.

"The big one." James took the proper utensil and clambered up onto a stool. "Go keep watch," he said, and Fred took his position by the window.

As carefully as he could, James began to dig into the cake. It was light and spongey, and it came away easily; in no time he'd reached the platter at the bottom. "Fred?"

"Yeah?"

"Anyone coming?"

"No, the coast is clear."

"Okay. Do you have the firecrackers?"

"Right here." Fred patted his pocket.

"Bring them to me."

Fred did. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Trust me. Teddy charmed them himself." James lowered the firecrackers carefully into the hole. "They won't go off until they hear the words - well, you know which words." He carefully smoothed the icing over the top to cover the hole, and then hopped down from his stool.

Molly Weasley was watching the whole thing from Heaven.

She always watched her birthdays. She loved the spectacle, loved the way her family did whatever it took to reunite for just one day, and especially loved that she wasn't really getting any older. She loved the old memories they talked about and the new memories they created. She loved seeing her grandchildren grow up, one year at a time, on the hill where she raised her own family.

It always brought a tear to her eye when Arthur came outside with the cake.

"Ready to sing happy birthday?" he called, lowering the cake carefully onto the table they'd dragged outdoors.

The Weasleys - but they weren't Weasleys, they were Potters and Grangers and Delacours and Johnsons and Lupins and hers, all hers, she was so proud to be able to call them hers - gathered around the cake. The adults hoisted some of the younger ones onto their shoulders.

"Ready?" Arthur said, lifting his wand like a conductor's baton. "One, two, three!"

"Happy birthday to you," the Weasleys chorused. From the corner of her weepy eyes, Molly caught James nudging Fred.

"Happy birthday to you!" James mimed ducking for cover, and Fred nodded, and Molly wondered what on Earth those two boys were planning. (And she smiled in spite of herself, because it had been a long time since she'd been able to wonder something like that.)

"Happy birthday dear Grandmum - "

BOOM.

The cake exploded all over everyone. James and Fred, who had tucked themselves into tiny balls, escaped the blast, but everyone else was decked head to toe in frosting.

It was silent for three seconds before Percy, of all people, burst into laughter.

And then everyone was smiling again, and Roxanne was leading an army of cousins to play in the cake wreckage, and little Dominique was yelling about how much fun it was to be messy, and the adults were clinking their glasses and toasting to the birthday girl, and Molly was laughing and crying at the same time because she loved them all so damn much.

"What a prank," Fred said from her side. "Wish I'd been there to orchestrate that. It was flawless. The boy lives up to his namesake."

Molly pulled him into a hug.

[Collect A Collection Competition: George (Weasleys); Word Prompt: Party]

[Fiddler on the Roof Character Challenge: Rabbi - write about a revered figure in one's community]

[30 Harry Potter Prompts: Butterbeer]

[O.W.L. Challenge: Outstanding - Celebration; Next-Gen]

[Disney Character Competition: Mrs. Potts - write about Molly Weasley Sr. Prompt: life]

[Wizard Family Portrait: Molly Weasley]