Weasley Family Fallout

Chapter 1: The Fight

"Don't. touch. me." The tone of Arthur's voice was soft, but it didn't hide the bitterness..

"Ar-"

"Molly, please," he warned.

She left her hand on his shoulder and said sternly, "Not until you look at me."

"Moll-"

"- Look at me, Arthur," she demanded.

Arthur sighed and reluctantly looked up at his wife who was now standing beside him. She had never seen so much anguish in his eyes. That wasn't the only thing she saw though; she saw anger, though she wasn't sure what he was angry at – her interruption, himself, or something completely different. It was a bit frightening; whenever she had looked into her husband's eyes they had always been warm, soft, and loving.

Molly had seen the anger and sadness in his eyes over the past few weeks, but they were never like this. The only other time she had seen his eyes this anguished and angry was right after Fred died.

"Arthur, you're not fine," Molly whispered, tears springing into her eyes. She hated seeing him in so much pain.

Arthur took another swig from the bottle and looked back at Molly. "Yes, I am."

Molly watched as he stood up and walked to the window that framed the house. He placed his hands on either side of the window frame and bowed his head while letting out a shaky breath.

"Arthur, if you were fine, you wouldn't be out here drinking every day!" Molly's temper was rising and she was becoming impatient with him.

"How do you -" Arthur had raised his head and was looking out the window now.

"- I know because we've been married for thirty years and every time you're upset or need a break you come out here and grab the firewhiskey." What Molly said was true, but that was rare and Arthur never did that several days in a row. It was never this bad. "Besides, it's clear in the way you act and you reek of alcohol when you come in the house, and I'm sick of it!"

"Well, what do you expect me to do, Molly?" Arthur yelled as he turned to face her, his temper rising too.

"I've tried getting you to talk about it, but, apparently, you like sitting out here pouting too much!" Molly shouted back.

"Pouting?! Pouting?!" Arthur gave a mocking laugh. "That's what you think I've been doing? Excuse me if I want to escape and forget how things are!"

Hearing the ruckus, Bill, Fleur, Ron, and Hermione came out of the house, and Harry and Ginny came out of the garden, meeting the others on the back steps. They saw Arthur through the window and Molly through the open door. It seemed they were glued to where they were standing. They'd never seen their parents fight like that. Sure they'd seen them argue, but not fight. All they could do was watch, shocked and a bit scared. Their father had never been this angry.

Molly and Arthur didn't notice their audience, too engrossed in their fight.

"Well, while you've been out here being selfish and forgetting," venom dripped from the word, "you should have been in the house helping your FAMILY because we're going through the same damn thing you are! We lost Fred too."

"I know, and I have tried helping, but there's only so much I can do!" Arthur turned around, took a deep breath while running his fingers through his hair, and turned back to Molly. He said, more calmly now, "This isn't much of a family anymore, now is it." It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Molly asked breathlessly, a hint of hurt in her voice.

Arthur scoffed. "Like you haven't noticed?"