“This will make him notice me, won’t it?” Molly brushed a strand of bright red hair out of her eyes. “I’m tired of pining for him. It’s time to do something about it.”

He looked up quite suddenly and she started, blushing that he’d caught her staring. “It’s all right, Molly,” he said quietly, his eyes searching hers. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

She’d put a hand on his shoulder while she apologized to him sweetly, sitting on his chair, so close he could feel the heat of her body next to him. He could tell she really regretted her actions. He didn’t know what to think or feel about any of it.

He shot to his feet when he saw her and almost dropped his book. He fumbled with it for a moment and then said in what he hoped was a debonair voice, “Good evening, Molly.”

She was resolved never to get another detention, if only for how it interfered with her ability to get her homework done.

“My mum would’ve sent a Howler. Possibly two, per week, until she’d forgotten what I’d done, and my mum has an excellent memory. It’s the only reason I stay out of trouble at school.”

“I’m writing Mum that you have a boyfriend!” Gideon called after her. She scowled but didn’t respond.

“Oh, sure, you finally go out with Molly Prewett and you expect us to believe you didn’t throw yourself at her feet, begging to be allowed to feed her peeled grapes and fan her with ostrich feathers?”

Siobhan had learned how to get into the kitchens second year, and brought food for them to snack on every time, because Hattie maintained you couldn’t have a proper gathering without some form of chocolate.

“Oh, for the love!” Cecilia’s voice exclaimed loudly from behind them, and they both started in surprise. “You were supposed to just pop in and ask him if he’s coming to dinner, not snog him in the library!”

Roddy grinned. “She’d probably slap you if you did. You’re not really going to take advice on women from these two, are you?”

Reid looked up at Roddy, clearly annoyed. “Why not? I know a lot about women.”

“I wish I could believe that, firecracker boy,” Roddy said gravely.

Arthur wasn’t a good dancer, but he was willing to try. She wasn’t sure if that was his desire to dance with her or his obsession with all things Muggle. Maybe both.

“You really need to stop swearing, Siobhan, it isn’t ladylike,” Hattie said primly.

Siobhan gave her a look. “You know that saying that only makes me want to do it more.”

His smile slowly faded when Molly turned to him with a determined expression that clearly did not portend any snogging.

Petula turned her attention to Roddy, who had come over to join them with Reid. Siobhan was studiously ignoring him. She was now seeing Addae Owusu of Hufflepuff, or possibly Akwetee, Molly wasn’t entirely sure. It was possible that Siobhan wasn’t sure which twin she was seeing either.

Arthur scowled at them. “I’m not telling her because I want her to snog me, I’m telling her because I do love her.”

“Are you going to buy her some lingerie, then?” Dunstan asked.

“I don’t know why I talk to either of you,” Arthur said.

She started doodling on her paper instead of taking notes. Molly Prewett and Arthur Weasley. She drew a heart around their names, and then wrote, Mrs. Arthur Weasley. Molly Prewett Weasley. She stared at that for a few moments with a pleased smile, and then wrote again.

Molly Weasley.

Reid sat down next to him, slammed his bookbag onto the desk, and announced loudly, “Well, I’ve done it.”

“Set fire to Cecilia again?” Arthur asked.

“You just need to learn to deal with men,” Cecilia told her encouragingly. “They’re like dogs. They’re not very bright, so you have to give them firm commands, and you need to speak to them sharply when they’ve been bad.”

“What’s going on?” the man asked blearily. “Who’s there?”

“Erm,” Arthur said, feeling a little panicky. “I think I got the wrong window.”

Molly eyed her brothers. “I’ll give you both a Galleon if you go away and keep a lookout for Mum.”

“What, and leave you alone with a male? Unchaperoned?” Fabian gave her an exaggeratedly astonished look, affecting a very upper-class accent. “The impropriety! Never, dear sister, never!”

There was no one there, and she took a moment to examine the room. It looked rather like the girls’ dormitory, with five four-posters arranged in a circle, and the boys’ school trunks at the foot of their beds. It smelled strange though, a little like dirty socks.

“Don’t worry, Dunstan,” Siobhan said, giving him a consoling pat on the shoulder. “Pigs represent intelligence according to the book I’ve been reading.”

“Well then, you must be correct, Dunstan, it can’t be a pig,” Reid said.

“What makes you think something's going on?” Reid asked.

“You're in your pyjamas at three in the afternoon, probably have been all day, and you skipped all your classes,” Arthur said.

Arthur seriously considered taking a leaf out of Reid's book and skiving off the entire day of classes so that he could stay in bed all day in his pyjamas.

Molly sniffed and wiped her nose with her handkerchief when Siobhan’s voice trailed off. “That was... That was awful! That didn’t help at all. Gore-stained bosom and clay-cold corpse? Honestly, Siobhan!”

“We think Mum might Apparate into Hogsmeade and send the Howler from there, just to get them here quicker,” Fabian said.

“Technically,” Gideon said in innocent tones, “you were the one who duelled, not us. We were innocent victims. Bystanders, you might say.” Fabian was nodding agreement.

Molly flushed a brilliant shade of red, her eyes wide, as she appeared to register what she’d said. “Oh, bugger.”

Molly wrinkled her nose. Hattie was her closest friend, but Hattie's admiration of all things pink and frilly had never rubbed off on her. Molly thought stepping into Madam Puddifoot's was like being in one of the horrible tea cosies her Auntie Muriel favoured.

“I think it wants to eat me!” Gideon was dancing away from the badger as it snapped at his heels. “Are badgers carnivorous?”

“They're like a less interesting version of Reid and Cecilia, aren't they?” Siobhan remarked.

“Thanks,” Reid said around a piece of toast.

“Haven't you got a job yet?” Arthur asked his brother.

“It's a bad economy right now, all right?” Bilius shot a sidelong glance at their mother. “It's not like I'm not trying.” I'm really not trying, he mouthed at Arthur then.

“Have you ever brought a girlfriend home before?” Molly asked in a whisper as they started for the house.

Arthur paused with his hand on the doorknob. “No.”

“Give it another go,” Siobhan urged her. “You haven't tried it in weeks.”

“Oh, what's the point,” Cecilia muttered bitterly, but then she frowned thoughtfully and drew her wand. Her eyes slid out of focus for a moment, her face growing oddly flushed. She held out her wand. “Expecto Patronum!”

Fabian clapped a hand to his shoulder. “You're like the older brother we always wished Molly had been.”

“Merlin's beard,” Arthur said helplessly.

There was something different on the night air now, and Molly felt a thrill of fear run through her. “What time is it?”

“Going on four in the morning, I should think,” Arthur said, glancing out the narrow window.

“How often have you been checking his shoulders, Molly dear?” Siobhan asked slyly. “Been getting his shirt off for a good look?”

Molly could feel her cheeks turning red. “I was only looking at the marks.”

“Now, you're going to come see me this summer, aren't you?” she asked briskly.

He smiled down at her, holding her around the waist. “Every day, if I can.”

“Good.” She pulled him down to her, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him soundly. He returned the kiss, not caring who was watching them.