Molly Weasley looked around the room and saw dozens of people all surrounding her rocking chair. The sight of her family brought tears to her eyes, after all the war and carnage that these people have seen, she felt truly blessed that her children had been able to move on and create a life for themselves that showed only minimal traces of the terror they had witnessed. She looked around at each person and smiled as they all listened to stories, reminiscing about the past, the people they had lost and the family they have created.
First there was Bill, her oldest son had more than survived that attack by Fenrir Greyback so many year ago and while the scars still remained on his face, he was still a handsome boy. Man, Molly corrected herself, he hadn't been her little boy for many years. He was still happily married to his beautiful wife. Despite Molly's initial apprehension of the french woman, she had grown to love her daughter in law. But then again, how could you not love a woman who had stuck by her son and his family when the smart thing would have been to flee back to her home country? Fleur was currently working in the kitchen, Molly had taught her how to cook for these large gatherings and Molly really didn't have the strength left to stand long enough to cook herself. They had blessed Molly with her first of many grandchildren.
Then there was Charlie, he had finally moved back to England and was working for a magical creatures preservation that was finally close to home. He never married or had children. He always said the family was big enough as it is, but Molly had always suspected that he had lost someone close to him during the war, someone he hadn't ever had the strength to tell them about.
Next was Percy, Molly was constantly thankful that he had finally come to his senses and rejoined their family. That he had been able to make amends with all of his brothers before one of them had been taken from them. He had grown up and gotten married, had a couple of kids of his own. He came by the house more than any of her sons. She always had a feeling that it was out of guilt for not coming back in time for them all to be one proper family one last time.
On that note, her mind drifted towards her twins. Even in her worst nightmares, the ones that plagued her every day of the war, Molly had never considered the possibility of George having to live without Fred by his side. But she had been so very wrong, it had taken years for George to regain the ability to maintain himself without his other half. After the initial shock of losing a child, Molly was sure that she was more sad for the son she still had living, because he had to get up each and every day and continue on. He had moved on though, he had gotten married and had children, Fred and Roxanne. Molly often thought it was sad the choices that he made. That's not to say she didn't love Angelina and her grandchildren. But Angelina had been Fred's date to the Yule Ball, not Georges. There was always this terrible feeling in her gut that they only got married to fill some of the void Fred had left in the both of them. But it didn't matter because they were healthy and happy and in love.
Ron had married Hermione, finally finding peace after so many years struggling to help save the world. It had been difficult for the two to return to a normal life after spending their 7th year at Hogwarts outside of the classroom and in the world hunting for evil. But they had recovered and created a family of their own that was happy and healthy. Ron, the son that had almost given her a heart attack more than any of her other children. Funny how he had always thought of himself as the neglected child, and true those weren't unfunded beliefs as much as it killed her to admit, but he had become the child that she always thought about. He and his friends always getting themselves into trouble, practically starting a war all by themselves. But when she looked at everything those three had accomplished, she couldn't be more proud of him.
At this moment, Ginny, her dear sweet little girl came into the room and offered her a cup of tea. Molly had worried that because she was so young she was the most likely to be affected by the war, all the carnage that destroyed so many lives and ripped families apart, including her own. Not to mention the disaster that was her first year at Hogwarts. But she had recovered and grown even stronger. She had married the boy she always promised she would. She had a successful career, first playing Quidditch and then reporting it for the Daily Prophet. She had been able to deal with the constant pressure that had come along with the fame her husband possessed. She had all but adopted Teddy Lupin at the young age of seventeen and then raised three beautiful children. Ginny, who had snuck out of the house to fight that awful night in May, had come out of the war stronger than ever.
That only left dear sweet Harry. While he did finally get the courage to ask Molly and Arthur's permission to marry their daughter, he was already part of the family. He had saved this them all, if only because he had given them a reason to fight. In an interview years ago, she and Arthur had been asked if they regretted their family's connection to Harry Potter. The reporter had wanted them to say that their son would still be alive if Ron had never sat next to the boy with the lightning bolt scar on the train to Hogwarts so many years ago. But the mere thought of that had been an insult to their son's memory. Harry Potter had needed a family and the Weasleys needed a reason to show that money met nothing in the face of injustice.
Harry Potter had given the Weasley family a reason to fight back against the oppression they had been subjected to based on their beliefs. Harry Potter was part of their family and they would never have left that poor boy on his own in the world to fight a world. Harry had entered their lives for a reason, in fact he had been a figure in their house long before they had ever met him. Molly had met young Lily Evans Potter just after the child had been born. She had that new mother smile on her face as she had shopped for groceries. They held polite conversation while picking out fresh fruit and had parted not long after they had met. In fact, Lily had suggested a play date between Harry and Ron. This was something that had never happened as a few days later Molly received an owl informing her that the playdate wouldn't be able to happen due to the growing danger of the war raging on. 6 months later Lily was dead leaving behind her only son, alone in the world. Harry had become a myth in their house, in every wizarding house. The story of a baby defeating a monster, something that gave hope to the world because he had done the impossible and didn't even know it.
From the moment she had meet Harry at the train station, she recognized a child that needed a mother and needed a family. And when you have a family as big as she did, adding one more child, especially one as helpful and generous as he, it was really no problem. Harry Potter was a Weasley in every sense of the word and they wouldn't change that for the world. Fred would have come back only to shame them as a family for saying that they would rather have turned their back on the poor orphaned child than lose a child who died fighting for what he believed in.
The family gathering lasted all night with plenty of food and laughter and stories. The grandchildren all did their part in cleaning the dishes and Molly's children cleaned up the extra chairs and tables. And before each and every person left they all stopped in front of Molly and Arthur's chairs to give them a kiss goodbye and an "I love you". The house was quiet when the couple finally climbed the stairs to their bedroom. They moved slowly as they changed into night-wear and turned out the lights with a flick of their wand.
Molly felt her breath slow as she smiled over how blessed she had been not just in this night, but in her life. She had a wonderful family and while they hadn't always had enough money they had more than flourished. This was a good way to end a life. Happy and healthy and surrounded by your family. As her breathing continued to slow, Molly knew what was happening. She didn't have anything left to do. She had served her purpose in this world, she had raised her family and taken in two stray children that would become just as much her son and daughter as her own seven children were. She was done in this world and as she took her final breaths she was happy that she could finally see her brothers again.
When she woke up, she knew she wasn't in the same place as she had been when she fell asleep. This place was too clean and bright for it to be the home she had just left. But she knew where she was and felt at peace. She didn't know what to expect of this new world but the first thing she saw as she was finally able to make out her surroundings was a tall redheaded woman running towards her. The red-head wrapped her arms around Molly in a tight hug, her body trembling like she was holding back tears. Molly returned the hug and smoothed the woman's hair as she whispered into Molly's shoulder, "Thank you for taking care of Harry".
Hello All,
This is a quick one shot because, well I don't really know what happened to cause me to write this. But I know that the time that Molly finally did pass, she was content that the people she was leaving behind were happy and healthy and she had done everything she had been set out to do. And I know deep in my heart, that Lily was waiting for her for the moment that she could thank the older woman for everything she had done for her boy.
Farewell