The Burrow
When Bill woke up, he was surprised to feel a small body on his chest, though the finger poking his cheek wasn’t that much of a surprise, once the twins poked him until he grabbed the both of them and dragged them under the covers for a sleepover. But the twins hadn’t been that small in a long while, and both Ron and Ginny slept in their parents’ room still. Thinking about his parents he remembered the event of the previous day, he wasn’t in his bed, crowded as it often was, he was in Gringotts, his father had to come and visit people after a letter appeared in front of him while they were talking about muggles.
Bill didn’t know what it was about, but Dad had been angry when he gathered the brothers and didn’t even argue when Mom said Ron and Ginny couldn’t go.
“Bi’’!” A little voice whined as he was poked again, and Bill opened his eyes.
The little boy sitting on him certainly was not one of his brothers, he had jewel green eyes, messy hair, black messy hair, and a small cut on the forehead.
“Harry?”
The little boy nodded. Of course, it was Harry, he remembered the man from last night saying they needed to help Harry, but he didn’t know he meant Harry Potter, as he was certain he heard the headmaster say he was going to give him to muggles, not that Bill knew why the headmaster was allowed to decide where Harry should go, the poor baby just lost his parents, he should be with someone he knew, like Sirius, or Remus, who Bill only met when the order was meeting at the Burrow. Well, before yesterday, they had been there yesterday.
Oh, they took Harry! Good for them. Bill thought.
“Bi’’!” Harry whined again, and Bill noticed tears running down Harry’s cheeks.
“Oh, did you have a bad dream?” Bill said as he brushed the tears away and cuddled Harry close to him, as he would do for his brothers. “It’s okay no one can hurt you here.”
“You, You?” Harry asked sounding surprised, but having four little brothers Bill was fluent in toddler talk.
“As far as I know, I am Bill, yes,” He answered and tickled Harry taking care of not doing it too long so his shriek of laughter wouldn’t wake the others. Which he noticed now meant his brothers, and Luna Lovegood, for some reason.
“You ‘itt’e,” Harry said between giggles.
“You’re one to talk,” Bill retorted patting Harry on the head.
“Pe’sy, n F’e’, n Go’g, … Geo’,” Harry was getting frustrated, so he interrupted him.
“Yes, they are here too,” Bill said, “You know them?” he was surprised to know this, while he and Charlie had been down waiting for their dad to come back home when the Headmaster came in and were introduced the twins had only been spying and no one knew they saw Harry, while Percy had been in his bedroom sleeping.
Harry nodded. “‘itt’ two.”
“Yes, we are all little, I guess,” Bill said, though he wondered why it was so important to Harry.
Bill thought about it and decided he would ask, though he heard the Order says the Potters were in hiding, maybe Harry never saw other children, and in that case, they would seem positively little that’s sure.
“We are children,” Bill added, “all children are small.”
Bill waited to see if Harry had more questions but Harry was still looking at him with awe, snuggling deeper into his arms.
“Do you want to get up?” Bill asked him. “I feel a little hungry, you must be too.”
Harry seemed to think about it, but ultimately he nodded.
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Arthur woke up early after little to no sleep, he still wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with Molly. Was he going to confront her? Ironclaw offered for Gringotts to throw her out of the Burrow, but wasn’t it too cowardly? And, what about Ron and Ginny? Could he raise them?
The others refused to help him decide, they didn’t tell him what happened to his children in the future, they refused to tell him what was on Ginny’s contract that had Lady Magic agree to punish Molly and Albus. The equally refused to let him ask Bill and Charlie what they thought he should do. He tried to explain, the children spent more time with them than he did since he had to work, and they should have their opinion heard, but Remus was right. If Bill and Charlie said ‘no’ and he followed their request then it was it, no one would remember Ron and Ginny being members of their family, but if they said ‘yes’ and later on something happened either to them or because of them, then Bill and Charlie would feel guilty and it was a guilt they didn’t deserve.
The door to the kids' room opened and Arthur smiled when Bill stepped out careful both of the noise he was making as to not wake the others up, and of the little one in his arms. Though Arthur had never seen the little boy, he could take an easy guess as to who was babbling a mile a minute to an attentive Bill. Bill had always been such a good big brother, taking responsibility for Charlie’s happiness as soon as he first saw him, and then the others as they got added into the family. Though Arthur couldn’t remember even one time when Molly would let the eldest kids, including Bill, hold Ron or Ginny.
“Bill?” Arthur called his son. “Good Morning.”
Harry looked at him curiously until Bill answered “Morning Dad,” then Harry started to panic, his eyes blown wide and squirming in Bill’s arm to get away.
“Harry?” Bill and Arthur asked simultaneously.
But instead of answering Harry started to scream his head off for Severus, Padfoot, and Moony who he assumed were Sirius and Remus as they came running from their room.
Sirius grabbed him, and they went to the corner of the room to talk, the others following.
“I…” Bill started but stopped himself, clearly not knowing what to say.
“I was not your fault Bill,” Arthur told him as he hugged him. “I think it was me, though I don’t know why.”
“There is something going on,” Bill said. “Harry’s magic is different, and this morning he was crying because we were little.”
“Ah… Yes… Well,” Arthur didn’t know what to answer to this, the others had told him he needed to decide what to do about Molly, Ron, and Ginny before they let him in on more, but only if he wanted to, they were not forcing him to join in on the adventure.
“Ar’ur?” A voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Yes?” Arthur turned.
“Ar’ur!” Harry cried out again and made grabbing hands to be cuddled so Sirius passed him over. “Ar’ur,” Harry sighed happily as he snuggled against him.
“Hum… What is going on?” Arthur asked though he didn’t mind the hug.
“The Arthur Weasley he remembers is older and looked quite different,” Sirius told him.
“He doesn’t meet you until his second year,” Severus said rubbing his temple. “That’s 11 years from now.”
“He got scared, thought you were not you,” Remus finished.
“He asked if I was I too,” Bill told them, startling them. “Are you saying Harry knows the future?”
“It’s complicated,” Sirius started.
“I am smart,” Bill told him offended.
“Harry can’t see the future, he lived the future,” Severus told him.
“He came back from the future?” Bill asked his eyes bulging.
“Exactly,” Remus said, “Now, no one can know, can you keep it a secret?”
Bill squirmed, he could keep a secret just fine, just not from the Twins and Charlie, they would ask until he told them everything, and the only reason Percy wasn’t on the list was because he wasn’t interested, if someone asked to keep a secret he figured they had a reason, and he didn’t need to know.
“Your brothers will be told too,” Remus assured him, making Bill smile and agree to keep the secret.
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After a quick breakfast, once all the children had been woken up and fed, Arthur made his first decision of the day, leaving the boys with Sirius, Severus, Remus, and their friends, though he was uneasy not knowing where they were. For Harry’s protection, but also for his own and his children's, he would need to come back to Gringotts and get tested once more before he could join his children again. It was the responsible thing to do, he didn’t want Molly or Dumbledore to have access to anyone.
As he stood outside of the wards at the Burrow, he was determined to get Molly out of the house, this was his house, his father gave it to him when Bill was born because no matter how opposed to the bonding they had been he still loved him and his grandchildren, and paid for the additions to the original house with each birth. Anyway, while Molly would whine and complain, he knew she didn’t like the house, found it too small, she should be happy to move out.
“Molly, I am home,” Arthur said as he walked through the door, he knew it was late enough for Ron and Ginny to be back upstairs to sleep after their lunch.
“Arthur!” She cried out, coming out of the kitchen. “Out all night, with the boys? You didn’t even floo, or send an owl, do you know how worried I have been?”
Arthur wanted to roll his eyes, he knew Gringotts sent her his letter saying he was going to visit his mother and would probably stay the night, he even got an answer late in the evening berating him for leaving her alone with the babies, not even asking about the boys. It wasn’t as if she would let him handle the youngest ones anyway, they were usually asleep when he was home from work, he barely had anything to do with them since Ron’s birth and somehow she managed to keep him even further away since Ginny’s birth, not that he realized it before the purge.
“Well, where are they?” Molly asked.
“Who?”
“My sons!” She cried out, “Where are my sons?”
“They staid with my mother,” Arthur told her.
“Well, you will be bringing them back immediately,” she ordered and Arthur couldn’t help but laugh at her.
“I DON’T SEE WHAT YOU ARE LAUGHING ABOUT, YOU ASKED LADY MAGIC TO DISMISS OUR BONDING. YOU CAN’T SERIOUSLY THINK I WAS GOING TO LEAVE THE CHILDREN WITH YOU!” she yelled at him. “YOU WOULDN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEM ANYWAY, I’LL TAKE THIS TO COURT. I’LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS.”
“First, it is laughable that you think the Wizenmagot will give you guardianship of the children if we take this to court,” Arthur told her with a smirk. “You have never worked, I pay for everything, and while I would keep paying for the boys, you would need to find a job to pay rent, and for your own keep.”
“I will do no such thing,” Molly said indignantly but Arthur didn’t let her finish.
“I said first, meaning I have more to say,” He said and turn around as he felt a spell hit his back, he was thankful for Ironclaw’s amulet when he saw Albus Dumbledore step out of the floo, “Albus, you might as well, join your wife, or is it, future wife?” He said and gestured for them to take a seat. “As I was saying, Lady Magic gave me guardianship over our children, spend all your money on a custody battle if you want no one will ever vote against Her.”
“You can’t have Ron and Ginny they aren’t even yours,” Molly said smugly.
“Did you even read the proclamation? I can do as I wish,” Arthur told her and was glad to see her worry for once as she stood up and went to grab the letter.
“You can’t take them, you can’t,” she insisted.
“Arthur, my boy surely you can…” Albus started but for the first time, Arthur didn’t feel like listening to him.
“Exactly, I can,” Arthur said and was glad to see the anger in Albus’ eyes.
“Arthur,” Albus tried a chastising tone next.
“Unless it is to do with your son and daughter, or the accommodation you readied for Molly, I don’t want to hear it,” Arthur told him, “this has nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with him?” Molly giggled ready to gloat, “Who do you think helped me convince you to conceive Bill?”
“MOLLY!” Albus bellowed.
“Thank you, Molly, I will add this to the list,” Arthur told her with a smirk.
“You can’t annul our wedding, the boys would be laughed at. You will be the laughingstock at the ministry, if they even let you keep your job, you know how much they value their employee’s reputation,” Molly told him.
“Again, while I asked Lady Magic to judge our bonding, it is Her decision, no one will deny or go against Her ruling,” Arthur explained as if talking to a child throwing a tantrum, which was what Molly was.
“Very well, you can leave then,” Molly finally told him, looking at him expectantly.
“I will not,” Arthur told her and could see hope flaring in both Molly’s and Albus’ eyes. “The Burrow is a Weasley House, as you are not, and have never been a member of the Weasley family, you have no right to it.”
“You can’t throw me out,” Molly said, panicking for the first time. “My babies, they need somewhere to live.”
“Ask their father,” Arthur said and turned to Albus. “Well, I think your fiancée would like to know where she is going to live from now on.”
Oh, Arthur was enjoying this greatly, while he hadn’t known about Albus and Molly having an affair, and he had followed orders while in the Order because the war needed to come to an end, he despised how involved Albus was in everyone’s life, not just pushing them to vote and support his ideas, but also telling them if and when they could have more children, if and when it was a good idea to go to Diagon Alley, telling them the other alley were not for them, even telling him Bill should go to Hogwarts a year early, so they would have one less child around to take care off and feed.
“You can’t expect me to…”
“I am not expecting anything,” Arthur interrupted him once more. “I am telling you, to take her, and your children and get out of my house.”
“I can’t have children, Arthur you need to…”
“Should have thought about that before you went and slept with Molly, don’t you think?” Arthur asked him, trying to adopt the same tone of voice Albus used on him when he came to ask if there was anything he could do about Molly claiming to be pregnant with Bill when he didn’t rightfully remember sleeping with her.
“YOU CAN’T TALK TO THE HEADMASTER LIKE THAT.”
“I haven’t been a schoolboy in 11 years, Molly, I can talk to him however I please, and as he is in my house, if he doesn’t like it, he can leave,” Arthur told her staying perfectly calm, used as he was to Molly yelling. “Actually, I seem to recall asking him to do so.”
“Surely we can…”
“You cannot talk your way out of it, Lady Magic’s proclamation will be published in the Prophet tomorrow, or today, and you know it, the only luck you two have is with You-Know-Who’s death, it won’t make the first page and most people might overlook it,” Arthur told them. “As Ginny and Ron…”
“I can’t raise them,” Albus managed to get out. “I am the headmaster, I live at Hogwarts no child under 11 is allowed there.”
“Molly will raise them, as she was doing while I was at work,” Arthur countered, “I don’t see the problem here, but I guess I can accommodate you, I had an idea, in case you were being difficult.”
“If you adopt them, we can stay married,” Molly said hopefully.
“This Snitch has left the crate, give up Molly, we are not married anymore,” Arthur snapped at her. “Don’t start saying how much you love me either if you did you wouldn’t have potioned me or slept with Dumbledore.”
“I wanted a little girl,” Molly started to sob, “Weasleys don’t have girls.”
“You knew that before you conceived Bill,” Arthur reminded her.
“I thought …”
“You thought you were a better bearer than ten generations of Weasleys and you could get a girl from me?” Arthur asked rhetorically. “So full of yourself.”
“Well,” Molly snapped angrily, all traces of shame and sadness gone, “what is this plan of yours then? You can’t seriously think you can raise seven children by yourself.”
“I don’t,” Arthur told them and Molly perked up, “I went to Gringott to get a family tree made, as it appears your Aunt won’t be an option either…”
“Yes, they could stay with Aberforth, good idea my boy, they would be in Hogsmeade…” Albus interrupted but not for long as Molly started on him.
“I WILL NOT GIVE MY BABIES TO THAT GOAT…” Her voice was so high-pitched by the end of her rant that Arthur didn’t know what else she said.
“Your cousin,” He said looking at Molly.
“YOU CAN’T HE IS A SQUIB, HE WON’T RAISE THEM RIGHT?”
“He has a little girl a couple of months older than Ginny, and the Goblin said she is a witch. I already talk to them, they agreed to take them on, and Lady Magic will provide the necessary memory charms for everyone,” Arthur announced.
When he first arrived, he still wasn’t sure about what to do with Ron and Ginny, but Albus saying he didn’t want them settled it, while his sons were sometimes little demons, if Ron and Ginny grew up like theirs parents he didn’t want to impose them on Bill, Charlie, Percy, and the twins, they would demand too much of his time. He also had a distinct feeling the others wouldn’t allow him near Harry again if they were there, or if he kept in contact with Molly and Albus, they didn’t say anything outright, but it was the only logical explanation to them refusing to influence his decision. He felt more attached to Harry after a couple of hours, then he had been to Ron or Ginny since their birth, though he didn’t know why and it had depressed him before the Gringott’s letter.
“And how is he supposed to take care of three babies?” Molly asked with a sneer, though Albus, Arthur noticed, seemed to consider the possibility and was staying silent.
“Better than you would with seven children,” Arthur retorted, “They are doing extremely well for themselves in the muggle world.”
“Very well, Molly will live with them while we talk to the Wizenmagot about this misunderstanding,” Albus said.
Arthur went to object, he wanted to remind them it wasn’t what he said, but he could already see Molly happily chatting about everything she needed to pack. He looked toward the stairs and saw Nox, Sirius’ Elf, nodding to him, the children and their effects were out of the house. Ironclaw assured him, the Goblins would keep an eye on them to make sure nothing happened to them, and though Enrik wasn’t to be made aware, he would send them money monthly, for the kids.
Lady Magic will take care of it, Arthur told himself.
“Lady Magic hear my plea,” he said and Albus and Molly immediately turned to him, and though Albus had his wand out, Arthur knew he was safe, not even Albus Dumbledore would be stupid enough to interrupt a plea to Lady Magic, not unless he wanted to be stripped of his personal power. “In accordance with your ruling, I have made my choice, as your humble son, I have trust in your judgment and yours alone. So mote it be.”
“So mote it be,” Arthur heard, but he knew the high pitch voices were not those of Albus and Molly but of Nox and Dewey.
The judgment appeared before them, but neither Albus nor Molly seemed to care, they both shook their head opened their mouth before closing them, finally they stood up and went to leave.
“As I told you, Albus,” he said taking a chance at it, “I will talk to my mother, but I don’t think she would approve of your request to use her Winter Garden for your bonding. You would be better off asking the board to let you host it at Hogwarts.”
Albus looked confused, turn toward Molly who seemed ready to whine and pinched the top of his nose, just above his glasses.
“Of course my boy, I understand. It is just you see…”
“Yes, you told me, Molly likes the garden very much, but it is not my decision to make,” which was a lie, as the Lord Weasley the house was his, though he had no plan to take it from his mother.
He stepped out of the house to watch them walk away and felt as if cold water had been poured on his whole body, he shook his head and walked back in. Winter was a little early this year.
Let’s hope, the boys are somewhere hot. Arthur thought with a smile.
Though he remembered somehow Molly being their mother and betraying him, it seemed like a long-forgotten dream, and he had no memories of any children other than his five wonderful little boys, though he knew he promised to help Molly’s cousin raise his three little ones, after all, he had some money, and Enrik had always been Gideon and Fabian’s favorite person in their family, they would go on long rant about their family abandoning him because he was a squib.
He looked around and smiled to himself, he knew Sirius offered to house them while something was done to the house, though he didn’t quite remember what, but he was wondering if maybe it wasn’t time to move, something on the back of his brain told him it was time, and he would find love and happiness if he let himself take this step, though he would need to see if it was possible to move the house with them, he didn’t want to abandon the Burrow, it was home.
Arthur grabbed Lady Magic’s judgment and after telling Nox and Dewey he would see them soon, he flooed to Gringotts.
My sons are waiting.