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Molly woke up to a loud bang and sat bolt upright, instinctively reaching for the wand on her bedside table.
There was a time when she would have immediately suspected one of Fred and George's inventions, or in darker times, a Death Eater somehow entering the Burrow. But now? She had no idea what could be causing such a racket in the middle of the night.
"Arthur! Did you hear that?" she whispered urgently, lighting her wand.
Beside her, Arthur stirred and blinked sleepily. "What is it, dear?"
"Someone's downstairs!"
Arthur pushed himself up on one elbow, listening.
"It's probably that blasted ghoul, Molly."
"It's not the ghoul." She frowned. "Listen."
As if on cue, another crash echoed through the house, followed by a heavy thump and several muffled voices.
Then came what sounded like singing.
Molly and Arthur exchanged a look.
"Do I hear Ron and Harry?" Arthur asked.
"I think so."
There was another thud.
A voice yelled, "I meant to do that!" A chorus of laughter followed.
Molly's grip tightened on her wand. Now she wasn't sure whether to be worried, annoyed, or both.
"I'm going downstairs to see what this racket is about."
"I'll come with you."
Together they stepped out onto the landing.
"Shhhhh! Someone's coming!" what sounded like Ginny's voice drifted up the stairs.
Molly and Arthur exchanged another look, this one considerably more relieved.
"It's only the kids, Molly," Arthur said, chuckling.
"Kids? Fine kids they are! What do you think they're doing here at this hour?"
"They were celebrating Hermione's birthday today, weren't they?" Arthur yawned. "I'm sure they're harmless. Well, good luck, darling."
Before Molly could protest, he disappeared back into their bedroom.
"Arthur Weasley!" she hissed after him, but the only answer was the sound of the bedroom door closing.
Muttering under her breath, Molly continued downstairs alone. The sight that greeted her in the hallway made her stop short.
Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione were all huddled together in the hallway, swaying slightly and leaning on one another for support. Every single one of them was wearing a crooked birthday hat, and Hermione was carrying what looked like half a birthday cake, though it had clearly suffered during the journey.
"Well, great," Harry mumbled when he spotted her. "Now Mum's here. Are you happy?"
Molly bit the inside of her cheek. Her heart gave a little squeeze at hearing him call her Mum, but that only confirmed how thoroughly intoxicated he was. He never called her that and she never dared to ask him, though of course she'd love that.
She was supposed to be annoyed, but instead, she found herself fighting a smile.
"Honestly," she said, putting her wand away. "Look at the lot of you." Molly immediately slipped into full motherhood mode, planting her hands firmly on her hips and fixing them with the trademark look she had perfected over decades of raising seven children. In recent years, she had also found plenty of opportunities to use it on her grandchildren
"Sorry, Molly," Hermione said earnestly. "We brought you cake."
She promptly handed over the remains of the birthday cake and Molly accepted it quickly before it could land on her carpet.
"Mum!" Ginny exclaimed. "We were at the Leaky Cauldron and thought we'd drop by!"
"Yeah," Ron added. "We're having a family party for Hermione tomorrow anyway."
"Tomorrow is today, actually," Harry corrected him.
"That was, actually, a very clever observation," Hermione informed him.
"Thank you." Harry looked very pleased with his own cleverness.
Molly shook her head. "The family party is on Sunday actually. That’s in two days! Well since yesterday is today, that means that the party is tomorrow…”
Honestly, Molly was not so sure anymore.
"We're sorry, Mum," Ginny said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "But we were in the area."
Molly wondered how being in central London constituted being "in the area" of the Burrow, but decided there was little point questioning their logic. After all, logic had clearly abandoned the four of them hours ago.
She had been looking forward to hosting her favourite daughter-in-law's fortieth birthday celebration. The grandchildren were all at Hogwarts, which meant the adults could enjoy a rare weekend together without worrying about anything.
Still, she had expected her guests on Sunday.
"Right," she said firmly. "Kitchen. All of you."
Four heads lifted.
"Now."
Without argument, all four shuffled obediently after her, weaving from side to side as they walked. A moment later they were seated around the kitchen table.
Ron missed his chair the first time and Molly had to pull it underneath him. Hermione managed to sit down successfully and looked very proud of the achievement. Harry and Ginny somehow ended up sharing a single chair despite several empty ones being available.
Molly filled four large glasses with cold water and set them down firmly in front of them.
"Drink."
They obeyed immediately. Hermione began gulping hers so enthusiastically that Molly had to stop her from reaching for Harry's as well.
"Now," Molly said. "Explain, please."
She wasn't entirely convinced that asking questions in the current circumstances would produce sensible answers, but it was worth trying.
"Well," Ron began, throwing an arm around Hermione, "Neville and Hannah organised a party for my beautiful wife." He beamed proudly at Hermione.
"We thought you'd be pleased to see us, Mum," Ginny said, pouting.
"I am pleased to see you," Molly replied, amused. "I just didn't expect you."
"We Apparated perfectly," Harry said proudly, but Molly stared at him in horror.
"You Apparated? In that state? Have you completely lost your minds? You could have splinched yourselves!"
The four of them looked at each other.
"Did we splinch ourselves?" Ron asked.
"I don't think so," said Hermione, counting her fingers. "Everything seems to be attached."
Harry looked down at his arms as if checking.
"Well, how else were we supposed to get here?" Ginny asked matter-of-factly.
Molly opened her mouth. There was no point arguing, she would save the lecture for breakfast.
"Right then," she said firmly. "Bed."
"But Muuuum..." Ron whined.
Molly fixed him with the look and Ron immediately stood up.
"Yes, Mum."
The others scrambled to their feet as well, helping each other up. One by one, Molly shepherded them upstairs.
When they reached the first floor, she ushered Harry and Ginny toward Ginny's old bedroom.
"You two wait here," she instructed. "I'll make the bed."
Harry followed her inside.
"I can help."
"I doubt it, dear." Molly pointed toward the door.
Harry obediently turned around and left. By the time Molly had changed the sheets and fluffed the pillows, the room was ready.
She turned around, but the room was empty.
"Oh, for heaven's sake."
From upstairs Molly heard shouting. She pinched the bridge of her nose and headed for the top floor. As she climbed the stairs, the argument became clearer.
"Get out, mate!"
"But I'm sleeping here!"
"No, you're not!"
"Uh, yes I am! My bed's in there!"
"Harry," Ron said with exaggerated patience, "are you an idiot?"
"Maybe," Harry admitted. "Why?"
"My wife sleeps with me now."
"That's unfair!"
"So you don't want to sleep with me, Harry?" Ginny asked, sounding deeply offended.
"I do, Ginny! Very much!"
“Let's have a slumber party!” Hermione clapped her hands.
Molly arrived at the doorway to find all four of them crowded outside Ron's old bedroom. Ron had one arm wrapped around Hermione, who looked highly entertained by the whole situation.
"What is going on?" Molly demanded.
"Mum!" Ron said. "Harry wants to sleep in my room."
"I do not," Harry protested.
"You literally just said your bed was in there."
"Well, it used to be."
“It's my birthday. I'm the oldest. I'm the Minister of Magic and I declare a slumber party.” Hermione said, disentangling herself from Ron.
"We could always put the boys together and Ginny and Hermione together," Molly suggested.
"Nooooo!" All four of them shouted at once and Molly had had enough.
"You two," she said, pointing at Ron and Hermione, "stay here."
"See? Mum understands." Ron beamed.
Taking Hermione's hand, he immediately pulled her into the bedroom and shut the door behind them. A second later the door opened again.
"Night, Mum!" The door closed once more.
"And you two, come with me." Molly turned to Harry and Ginny.
She took them firmly by the elbows and steered them down the stairs before either could come up with another sleeping arrangement.
"Can we put my camp bed in Ginny's room?" Harry asked hopefully.
Molly tried very hard not to burst out laughing.
"No, darling. You've already got a perfectly comfortable bed in there."
"Oh." Harry considered this. "All right then."
By the time they reached Ginny's old bedroom, both of them were yawning. Molly opened the door and ushered them inside.
"There you are. Bed. Sleep."
"You're very bossy, Mum," Ginny informed her.
When she was finally satisfied that both of them were safely installed in bed and unlikely to wander off again, Molly headed for the door.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Mum," Harry mumbled sleepily, now evidently very happy that he got to sleep with Ginny anyway.
Molly's heart warmed and she switched off the light.
Just as she was about to close the door, Ginny's voice floated out of the darkness.
"Happy birthday!"
"Goodnight, you two."
She closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall for a moment, sighing with relief. She shook her head fondly.
She had spent the entire time pretending to be annoyed, but honestly, it had been a pleasure looking after the four of them.
Merlin knew they deserved a chance to relax.
Most of the time they were busy being parents, professionals, and responsible adults. Their youngest children had only recently left for Hogwarts, and for the first time in a long time they had a little more freedom to enjoy themselves. Not that Molly and Arthur hadn't always been happy to help with the grandchildren whenever needed—they had, and with great pleasure. But Molly knew better than anyone that raising children was a full-time job, no matter how much help you had.
Tonight, however, they had been able to set all of that aside. She was happy knowing that for a few hours they hadn't been Aurors, Ministry officials, business owners, or parents.
And for one night, Molly had been able to do what she loved most. Take care of her children.
No matter how drunk they were…
Molly woke up the next morning with every intention of delivering the perfect scolding to the four partygoers.
She had rehearsed several versions while getting dressed. Some stern, some disappointed, and one particularly impressive speech about the dangers of Apparating while intoxicated.
However, the moment she walked into the kitchen and found Ron and Hermione already sitting at the table with their heads in their hands, she decided life had beaten her to it.
They looked miserable.
"Good morning!" Molly chirped brightly.
Both of them mumbled something that resembled a greeting without lifting their eyes.
Looking at them in that state gave Molly an entirely inappropriate amount of satisfaction.
“It’s still very early.”
"Oh, you know..." Hermione said, rubbing her temples. "Habits. Can't have a lie-in even after not sleeping most of the night."
Ron grunted in agreement without lifting his head from the table.
"Oh, and happy birthday, Hermione dear!" Molly said as she set a coffee pot on the stove.
"Thank you." Hermione managed a polite smile.
“I can only guess that it was very happy yesterday.” Molly chuckled.
Hermione blushed and exchanged weak smirks with Ron.
In the same moments Ginny walked in. Her hair messy, make up from last night smudged. She was wearing a T-shirt from the Weird Sisters World Tour 1990.
Molly smiled at the sight. She remembered that the T-shirt once belonged to Bill and then Ginny wore it solemnly almost all summers. Merlin only knows where she dug up that from. The rest of them were wearing the clothes from last night.
“Hi!” She said yawning and grabbing the coffee cup instantly. “Hermione, I must tell you that not even a whole Harpies team can throw a party like that.”
"You'll have to thank Neville and Hannah," Hermione said with a laugh. "I had a brilliant time." A second later she winced and pressed her fingers to her temples.
“Can you please talk a little quieter?” Said Ron who had his head put on his arms on the table and only lifted his head a bit to look at his sister with squinted eyes. “Or not talk at all?”
“Sorry!” She said in a hushed voice. “Oh look who’s here!”
Harry stumbled into the kitchen with his shirt inside out and his glasses crooked. He avoided Molly’s gaze too.
“Hullo.” He smiled and kissed Ginny’s head which made Molly’s heart melt a little.
Ron and Hermione silently waved at him.
“Coffee?” Ginny handed him a cup.
“Thanks.”
She handed him a mug. Harry took a grateful sip before squinting as a ray of sunlight streamed through the window. He immediately turned his chair away from it.
"That was some party, Hermione," he said. "I'm asking Neville and Hannah to organise my fortieth."
"No," Ron moaned.
"Why not?"
"Because I am never drinking with the whole gang again."
"You've never had that problem before." Ginny snorted.
"Well, I was younger then, wasn't I?" Ron squinted suspiciously at his sister. "And why are you in such good shape this morning?"
"I'm not as old as you."
"Oi!"
Ginny ignored him. "So, Hermione, how does it feel to be the oldest—and therefore wisest—of all of us?"
"As if she wasn't already the wisest," Harry muttered into his coffee.
"I feel absolutely full of life, as you can clearly see."
"Yes," Ron said dryly, still resting his head on the table. "We can see sweetie."
"Oh, and Molly..." she said after a moment, looking slightly embarrassed. "We're really sorry for the inconvenience."
"Not a problem at all!" Molly replied. "We were just surprised. You could have told us you wanted to stay over after the party."
Hermione laughed.
"We were planning to stay at the Leaky Cauldron. I honestly don't know whose idea it was to come here."
"Actually," Harry said, grinning over the rim of his mug, "from what I remember, it was your idea."
Hermione looked horrified. "It was not."
"It was," Ron confirmed.
“How do you remember that Ron?”
“You kept saying that we have to share a cake with Mum.”
"I remember that you were very determined," Harry added.
"You kept saying, 'Molly will be so disappointed if the cake doesn't come.'"
"Please stop talking."
At that moment Molly opened the fridge and pulled out the slightly squashed remains of the birthday cake.
"There now," she said, setting it on the table. "Thank you, Hermione. We can have it with our coffee."
Hermione dropped her forehead onto the table with a soft thud and Ron patted her shoulder sympathetically.
"Don't worry. It could be worse."
"How?"
"You could remember more."
The entire table burst out laughing. Even Hermione eventually lifted her head and joined in.
Molly smiled as she cut slices of cake. She was secretly rather grateful for Hermione's drunken idea. The kitchen felt wonderfully alive that morning.
A few minutes later, Arthur wandered in, still looking sleepy, and helped himself to a cup of coffee. Breakfast stretched on longer than usual as everyone exchanged increasingly ridiculous stories from the previous night. Molly and Arthur laughed so hard at some of them that tears came to their eyes.
"I hope nobody from the Daily Prophet sneaked into that party," Arthur said, wiping his eyes.
"They'd have enough material for the next few years," Ginny replied. “The Minister of Magic, Hogwarts Herbology teacher and The Chosen One dancing on the pub table.” I’d love to read something like this.
“Oh my God!” Hermione laughed and got red on her face.
"Will you stay for dinner?" Molly asked casually as she began clearing away the breakfast dishes. In reality, there was nothing casual about it. She tried very hard to sound indifferent.
"Yes!" all four of them answered at once.
Molly felt an immediate rush of happiness. Her children were all grown up. They had homes and families of their own and yet the thought of having them around for an ordinary family dinner filled her with excitement.
During the summer holidays, grandchildren filled every room. There were always some Quidditch arguments and requests for snacks, but now most of them were at Hogwarts, the house often felt too quiet. Especially when Arthur was at work.
"Oh, we're definitely not Apparating home in this state," Hermione declared.
Molly raised an eyebrow and said a little accusingly. "You didn't seem to have any problem Apparating last night."
"I still don't know how we managed that."
"We were always good at teamwork," Harry said solemnly.
After breakfast everyone helped tidy the kitchen.
"Ginny, do you have any clothes I could borrow?" Hermione asked. She was still wearing her party dress.
"I don't think so." Ginny looked down at herself. "This T-shirt and Harry's old shorts are pretty much the only things I found."
She tugged at the faded Weird Sisters shirt.
"I actually found this in my old wardrobe. I think I'll give it to Lily. She'll love it. It's retro now."
In the end, Ron dug through his old room and managed to provide Harry and Hermione with spare clothes. Soon the four of them wandered out into the garden to enjoy the sunshine.
Molly continued washing dishes while listening through the open kitchen window.
"It's so quiet here without the kids, isn't it?" Hermione asked.
Molly glanced outside and the sight made her smile.
Hermione was lying on the grass with her head in Ron's lap and Ginny was leaning comfortably against Harry's shoulder.
All four looked exhausted, but there was a lightness about them.
"If they were here," Harry said, "they'd already be organising a Quidditch match."
"Honestly," Hermione said, closing her eyes, "I miss them."
"Me too."
"Me too."
"Yeah."
A brief silence followed.
"Having an empty house for a few days is fun," Ron admitted. "But only for a few days."
Harry and Ginny nodded.
Molly found herself smiling as she watched them. They understood now.
When they were children, they'd always wondered why she fussed over them so much, why she worried. Now they had children of their own.
"You know," Ginny said suddenly, a mischievous smile appearing on her face, "we could always play some Quidditch."
"Oh no," Hermione said immediately. "Absolutely not."
"Me neither," Ron added.
"What?" Ginny sat upright. "Come on! You used to love playing!"
"That was before you became a professional player." Ron snorted.
"The kids aren't afraid to play with me."
"That's because you go easy on them."
"I do not." Ginny looked offended. “Well, yeah I do because they are kids.”
“You didn’t go easy on us when we were kids.”
Ginny frowned and the other three burst out laughing.
"Remember the Great Orchard Cup of 2017?" Ron asked.
“How can I forget when you always remind me?” Ginny groaned.
"You yelled at all of us."
"I did not!"
"You did." Hermione opened one eye and said very seriously.
"You made Hermione cry!!"
"She did not cry."
"I absolutely did." Hermione said offended. “You know, I went through so much in life, but still that’s one of the most traumatic experiences.”
Harry and Ron nodded in agreement.
Ginny immediately turned to Harry. "Harry?"
"Er… I think you might have yelled a little bit." Harry looked trapped. “Actually you even mentioned a divorce.”
Hermione and Ron laughed and Molly nearly dropped a plate. Ginny looked horrified.
"You said—and I quote—'I refuse to be married to a man who passes like that.' I’m a Seeker Gin!"
“You were a Captain once, you should’ve known better.”
Arthur, listening beside Molly, started laughing so hard he had to lean against the counter.
Outside, Ginny buried her face in her hands while the others howled with laughter.
Molly watched them fondly and laughed along. As she looked at them sprawled beneath the old willow tree, teasing and arguing just as they always had, she was suddenly reminded of another summer. The last summer before the war had swept through their lives and left none of them untouched.
Back then, they had sat beneath that very same tree for hours. Their hands had been sticky with melted ice cream and their pockets full of sweets. Their conversations full of laughter and bickering. Every sunny afternoon always ended with a Quidditch match in the orchard.
They had been so young and they had to grow up so quickly.
As she listened to Ron and Ginny arguing over a Quidditch match from nearly twenty years ago while Harry and Hermione laughed at them, Molly could almost see those younger versions of them sitting there again.
Of course, they had changed and yet, some things remained wonderfully the same.
They were still very much in love with each other. The way Harry looked at Ginny when she made him laugh and the way Hermione always reached absent-mindedly for Ron's hand...
The way the four of them slipped so easily into old jokes and familiar arguments.
Her children. Not all by blood, but hers all the same.
And as their laughter drifted across the garden, Molly felt grateful that, after everything life had thrown at them, they could still come home to the Burrow and find this.
Later, Molly could hear laughter and the occasional yell drifting in through the open kitchen window from the direction of the orchard, which could only mean one thing:
Somehow, Ginny had managed to convince them all to play.