Well Then, That's That

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    They appear in front of the Burrow with George and Lee arriving shortly after with boxes in their hands. Fred releases her and they walk together into the house. The stifling heat of summer has found its way into the house, making it only slightly cooler than outside. A familiar redheaded woman bustles into the kitchen muttering something about a ghoul in the attic making noise. She looks up and jumps in surprise as she notes the four new arrivals. She grins broadly before hugging them all in turn. Molly ushers them into the living room while calling for the others to come downstairs to visit. As Lucy goes to sit down next to Fred and Lee, Molly stops her by lightly taking her arms. The older woman looks her over, lifting her chin and arms as if she's looking for something.
"You look much better than last time I saw you Dearie. Don't think I didn't notice all those markings on you. You're skin and bones though, have my boys been starving you?"
"No ma'am. I've actually saved them from starving. Their cooking skills seem to be lacking." She mutters the last part.
"They're sadly gifted with their inventions and pranks, but not with any life skills. How long will you be staying with them and where are you sleeping?"
Fred looks up at the last question and his ears turn bright red.
"I'm staying until school returns if all goes well. Fred and George have been bunking together and I've taken over Fred's bedroom. No funny business, I promise."
She smiles and lets Lucy sit down as Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all come downstairs. The boys all group together to discuss the new inventory, leaving the Molly and the girls to chat. Ginny acknowledges Lucy since she hadn't been involved with most of the issues during the last term. Hermione gives a strained smile in her direction and Lucy returns it. Silence ensues until Molly breaks it by asking what happened to her over the summer before she arrived at the shop. Lucy looks down at her gloved hand and tells her that she'd been at home while her parents were on a business trip.
"What brought you to Diagon Alley?"
"There was a disagreement."
"She's lying. Her fiancé was beating her. I saw the bruises at school. That's why she disappeared over the break." Harry blurts, causing an abrupt silence to overtake the room.
Lucy stares at the dark haired boy in shock while scrambling for words.
"Well then. That's that..." She finally mutters before standing and walking out of the house.
Lucy sits on the front steps and stares out across the yard, silently fuming. The door opens a few minutes later and someone sits next to her.
"I'm not sorry Lucy. You let Malfoy almost put you in the dirt. You let yourself in that situation. Fred and George, even Lee was worried for you and you put them through so much before leaving again. Now you're suddenly back and everything is okay? I don't buy it."
She turns toward Harry in shock.
"Listen Harry. You may think you know everything in the world and that whatever you say is automatically correct, but you're wrong. Yes, all of that stuff did happen, but you don't know the circumstances surrounding it. You just saw what you wanted to see. You even accused me of being a Death Eater if you don't recall. The boys all know the current situation and are aware of what may happen involving it. It was not my choice for any of this to happen, trust me on that fact. It wasn't your place to blurt that out to Molly either, so thank you for that I suppose."
"I still don't trust you."
"Shouldn't you be more concerned with Voldy running around out there giving you headaches? People are dying out there and you seem to want to play the role of a super hero, yet you spend your time worrying about a girl you don't like."
He huffs in annoyance before returning inside. Lucy rolls her eyes and walks back inside a moment later.
Molly is waiting patiently in the kitchen when Lucy steps in. Molly quietly asks the girl to sit at the table with her to talk. Lucy nods and takes a seat, feeling a pit of unease settle in her stomach. They sit in silence for a moment before Molly asks a question.
"Is what Harry said true?"
"In essence, it is. It's a long story Ma'am."
"Who is this fiancé and what happened?" Molly asks, wringing her hands slightly.
"His name is Draco Malfoy." The woman scowls at the name. "To make it simple I suppose, it was arranged by my adoptive family and his..." She continues on with her story, highlighting the significant pieces.
As she finishes, she looks up to find Molly no longer in her chair. A pair of arms wraps around her tightly, pulling her into what Lucy can only describe as a motherly hug. She'd never gotten hugged like that before.
"I will do whatever I can to help you as needed. You are welcome at any time day or night of course. Stay strong Dearie and you'll get through this. I think you and Fred look quite nice together. Oh! Before I forget, I wasn't sure what to do for your birthday, so I made cookies. The twins told me that you liked sweets. I hope you enjoy them."
Lucy's smile brightens further at the word cookies. "I love cookies. Thank you so much Ma'Am."
"Call me Molly."
"It's a habit. I'll work on it."
Molly hands her a small basket full of assorted cookies and they move toward the living room but Molly stops them again.
"May I ask why you're wearing one glove?"
"Detention with Umbridge... I got a month's worth of writing lines for leaving Hogwarts."
"May I see it?"
Lucy pulls the glove off to reveal the ugly raised scars. Molly frowns at it before lifting the hand closer toward her face.
"I know a spell that can remove it. It would have to be redone every few weeks though."
"I'll be alright Ma-Molly. Thank you anyway. Can you not mention this to Fred yet? I haven't had the chance to show him and he seems to have not noticed."
Lucy pulls the glove back on as Molly agrees not to tell.
They return to the living room to find only Fred, Lee and George remaining. The twins speak to their mother for a few minutes, mainly about their business and getting slightly scolded for dropping out during their final year. Lee gets praised for choosing to graduate, causing Lucy to lightly giggle. The boys look up at the hanging clock on the wall and tell Molly that they have to go. Lucy raises an eyebrow but stands as they say their goodbyes. Molly follows them to the front door and stands in the doorway to wave to them as they reach a spot to disapparate from. Fred takes Lucy's arm and they leave with a loud pop.

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