She hangs back with her sister, not comfortable amongst the older children. She picks a lonely blackberry from its branch and wonders if it will one day ripen, finally good enough. She has four such blackberries in her pot, in the hope that they will no longer be left all alone. She is kind like that.
She does not consider that her sister may not want her company. She wants to play and fight with their younger cousins, and not be marched along the hedgerow in the autumn air. They do not want leaves clinging to their Wellingtons nor blackberry juice clinging to their fingers. Molly is not sure she wants that either, but she does not want to be left behind. She wants to be with her cousin but she is having too much fun with her best friend to afford her any time. The two of them have pots overflowing with ripe and juicy blackberries, the kind her Auntie Fleur will want for her jam.
Their laughter carries on the brisk wind, and she wishes she could join them and make them laugh too. But Teddy does not laugh for her and she wonders if she lacks the right kind of humour. He is older than she, by a couple of years and so she puts it down to her immaturity. When she is older, she will make him laugh. When Victoire is older, she will be the one who envies her cousin, not the other way round. Molly does not like jealousy, but she wishes to be in her cousin’s Wellingtons. All her cousins love him, he is older and charms them with the same laugh that entrances her. It is for him that she collects her lonely blackberries. Perhaps they will make him smile.
She strides on, boots squelching slightly in the soft mud. The sky is overcast and threatens to shower, which will cut short their expedition. She wishes it will rain, she wants to be back at The Burrow where she can be herself again. She does not like the outdoors, she especially hates the rain. But for this occasion, she wants to be closer to her cousin and her enchanting friend, hoping to hear his strange and exciting stories. He dares do the things she will never have the courage to do. She wants a slice of his confidence, his ability to entertain those around him .
He brings smiles to her face and she dreads the day he will leave for school. If only he will put her in his blackberry pot and take her in his pocket; she will not be lonely then. She will smile and laugh all day, with the boy she admires and wishes to know better. One day he will give her some confidence and she will find the words to make him smile. She will no longer be the quiet girl in the corner, watching rather than taking part. She will step into the spotlight and he will admire her.
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