Weasley Family Fallout

Chapter 37: Together Again

"Come home," Molly whispered.

Those two words meant more to Arthur than anything had in a long time, but he was still afraid of getting hurt. What if Molly ended up regretting asking him to move back in? What if she told him she had made a mistake and told him to leave again? Or what if he did something else to hurt her?

He swallowed hard before asking, "Shouldn't you think about it more?"

"I've thought about it plenty." And she had. She had been mulling it over every spare second she had for the past week. She had wanted her husband back for months before that, and now that he seemed to have his act together, she was certain she was making the right decision.

Arthur sat up and kissed her, giving her his answer and, thus, starting another round of love-making.

When they finally wore themselves out completely, they settled into their usual sleeping position – Arthur on his back holding Molly with her curled up against his side, their legs entangled. She fell fast asleep, but he remained awake. While most recent sleepless nights had been irrational, this one was not. He had forgotten what the date was until then. It was December the eighteenth. Three years ago, he had been attacked in the Department of Mysteries. On the first anniversary of the attack, he'd had a nightmare that shook him to the core. After that, he swore never to sleep on the anniversary of the attack again. With the most recent nightmare and finding out they were linked with the curse, he was going to make sure he didn't fall asleep tonight.

Arthur was able to stay in bed for a while, but eventually had to get up when he noticed he was beginning to doze off. He got dressed and made his way downstairs. For the next couple hours, he sat up drinking the strongest coffee he could make. At some point, a ginger cat startled him when it jumped into his lap. Molly hadn't said anything about a cat, but for the first time, he spotted a small bed in the corner of the sitting room. The young cat curled up in his lap and fell fast asleep. Arthur didn't have anything against cats, but he did not like this one at all. He wasn't sure why, though.

Around five o'clock, Arthur figured it would be okay to go back to his grandparents' house. Surely, Molly wouldn't be up for at least another two hours.

Once at his grandparents' house, he told them Molly had asked him to move back in. They were overjoyed at the news, but a little sad that he wouldn't be living with them anymore. Arthur quickly packed his things before going out to help Gramps with the morning chores.

About the time Arthur thought Molly would be waking up, he headed back to the Burrow and began making breakfast for the two of them.

"Oh, good, you're still here," Molly said breathlessly as she entered the kitchen in her bathrobe. "I was afraid you'd changed your mind."

Arthur turned from the stove to face her. "I'm sorry." He grabbed her shoulders and softly planted a kiss on her forehead. "I just couldn't – I tried staying in bed, but I would have fallen asleep."

After a few seconds of bewilderment, understanding came to Molly. "Oh...yesterday was the eighteenth, wasn't it? I am so sorry. It completely slipped my mind."

"That's okay. It's not your burden to carry."

As they ate breakfast, Molly kept glancing over at Arthur with increasing worry. Suddenly, she grabbed his face and felt his forehead with the back of her hand.

With a confused, crooked grin, Arthur asked, "W-What are you doing?"

Without responding, Molly proceeded to check his pulse while peering inside his shirt.

Arthur's grin instantly turned into a frown. "What?" he asked much more seriously this time.

"You've lost all your color. How are you feeling?"