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"It was delicious, Molly, really." Tonks smiled as she opened the front door, Remus, Cedric and Lori behind her.
"Are you sure you won't stay?" Molly asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No, we should go." before whispering, "The first night of the cycle's always the worst."
The werewolf was staring out into the fields around the Burrow, unmoving as if he was closely studying the terrain.
"Remus?" Arthur attempted to shake him from his reverie.
Tonks placed a comforting hand on Lupin's arm, "Sweetheart?"
Silence shrouded the house, before a large fireball hit the grass, enclosing the Burrow in its fold, Bellatrix Lestrange materialising in front of them from black smoke.
Harry shoved past them, lunging at her as she smirked and carved through the flames, Remus and Tonks trying to hold him back but failing. Lori latched onto Ginny as she raced from the house, the two sisters jumping over the flames and cleaving through the fields of wheat like scythes.
Water dripped underfoot as they stopped, a low growling coming from behind them. Lori pushed Ginny behind her, wand poised, as the unmistakable figure of Fenrir Greyback emerged from the crops.
"Stupefy!" Harry bellowed as he barrelled into view, the werewolf morphing into a cloud of black smoke which shot into the air. The three of them were enclosed on all sides as they shot spells in all directions.
"Harry!" Arthur bellowed as he, Tonks and Remus joined them, all six pointing in different directions. The two Death Eaters disapparated, their dark forms crashing through their home, flames engulfing the precarious house.
"Molly..." Arthur muttered, racing back through the fields, the others hot on his heels as the flaming Burrow loomed into view, everyone, thankfully, out of danger.
Lori's face fell as she watched the smoke rise, Cedric wrapping his arm around her when he first saw her, pressing a solemn kiss to her temple.
"I can't... it... it's gone..." she stammered, her siblings looking up in disbelief in shock as their once safe home now lay as kindling in front of their very eyes.
*
With the exception of Tonks and Lupin, they all arrived at Cedric and Lori's cottage. It was still far from being permanently habitable, with half-painted walls and unfurnished rooms, but it had enough space for them all to take a patch of floor and a sleeping bag.
"I wouldn't have chosen those colours for the walls, dear." Molly chuckled sadly, trying to lift the tone.
Lori looked at the cream wash, then at her mother, "We haven't done got around to this room yet."
They both smiled, watching as Cedric conjured sleeping bags for them all, handing one to each Weasley. Molly turned to her daughter, "Merlin knows where you dug him up from him, Lori, but he's brilliant."
Cedric had moved into the semi-renovated kitchen and was now filling the kettle to make everyone cups of tea. Lori smiled at her mother, "He is, isn't he?"
"You know, he looks at you like you're his whole reason for living." Molly wrapped an arm around her daughter, "His smile is always biggest when he's looking at you."
The two women smiled as Cedric came back into the living room, carrying a tray laden with steaming mugs of tea, each of them thanking him as they took one. He came over to his girlfriend and her mother, "Do you want a cuppa, Mrs Weasley?"
She smiled, wrapping her fingers around one of the drinks, "How many times have I told you to call me Molly?"
Cedric laughed, talking the last two cups and handing one to Lori, "I'll get set on painting these walls when you're back at school."
Molly watched in adoration as her eldest daughter pressed a kiss to Cedric's cheek, before she moved to sit next to Arthur, "They remind me of us, back in the day."
Her husband's lips curled into a smile as he drank from his mug, "He's a good lad, seems almost perfect for her. Especially considering their Patronuses."
Molly leant against Arthur, and whispered to him excitedly, "Do you think they'll get married one day?"
"One day?" he paused for thought, "I'm thinking it's going to be sooner rather than later. Merry Christmas, Molly."
"Merry Christmas, Arthur." they gently clinked their mugs together, watching in delight as their expanding family slowly curled up on the carpeted floor, snores soon filling the living room.
