Dinner at midnight

Chapter 3

Disclaimer : I don't own Harry Potter and I don't make money with this story.

Molly was still thinking of a way into the kitchens without being busted by the Hufflepuff ghost when said ghost started moving in her direction. She stood rooted on the spot and unable to move. Molly thought that her wonderful evening was over before it even started. Now the Fat Frar hovered before her and looked down on her. But how could it be? He was smiling. "Ah", he said, "the awaited lady love finally arrives. You should get in there before your friend passes out of fear that you might have changed your mind." He winked at her and floated away. Molly took a deep breath and lightly blushed. Arthur probably had had an encounter with the ghost himself and told him what was going on. She swiftly went to the portrait and tickled the pear to open the door.

Molly entered the kitchens and was greeted by a very anxious Arthur which she found adorable. He had gone through so much trouble only for her to have a nice evening dinner. She smiled widely at him and took his offered hand. "Good evening Arthur." He smiled back. "Good evening my lady love", he said with a light blush on his cheeks. But what was far more telling were his reddened ears. So typically Weasley. They could never hide any embarrassment. She looked at the elves that surrounded them. "And a good evening to you too.I hear we have very gracious hosts tonight." She winked at the elves who almost fainted in delight.

With a light hand Arthur guided Molly to the prepared table under a window. It sat there engulfed by moonlight. Molly smiled at the sight. It was beautiful and so thoughtful of him. Which she told him and got the joy of seeing his blush deepen. He helped her to sit down and took the seat on the other side of the table so he could look at her. Molly looked down on the table and gasped. She had remarked the little bottle with the tiny rose in it. She lifted her eyes to Arthur but was speechless of this wonderful thing. Arthur took a deep breath. "I hope you like it. I made it for you as a gift." He was unsure if it had been the right move but the wide smile that appeared on Mollys face was answer enough. She seemed to like it very much. She leened forward and pressed a very sweet kiss on his lips. He was delighted but surprised. Was thar gift worthy such a sweet kiss from the woman he loved so dearly? It was after all only one flower in a bottle. "I love it. It is so beautiful." He took a deep breath and turned to give the elves a little sign that they were ready.

The house soon brought their first course, a light chicken salad. Molly smiled. It was simple. Nothing flashy like most other pureblood boys would have had prepared. But looking at it from that angle, nonenof the other pureblood boys would have taken her to dinner in the Hogwarts kitchens. They would have taken her out on a weekend or a holiday to a fancy expensive restaurant. She liked this far better. Arthur sported a sheepish smile wehn he said "I hope you like it. I'm not a fan of those fancy dishes. I find a good home cooked meal far more enjoyable." At this Molly smiled wildly. "Me too. It's homey and usually nobody would have to eat something they are not familiar with." Arthur smile widened. He hadn't made a big mistake at keeping things simple. But he just didn't know most of the fancier foods since his family didn't have the money to take the whole family out to treat them at some stylish restaurant. Now he realised even though Molly knew those foods, she liked to keep things simple. Just like him.

After they had finished their salads the elves took the plates like perfect little waiters. Another elve came to refresh their drinks of butter beer. He had had to plead a bit beforehand with the elves to get the beverage but in the end had won the argument. It was a special night afterall and the first Hogsmeade weekend was still a few weeks away.

When everything was settled and they were eating their main course Arthur slowly started to relax and lose a bit of his tension. He wanted everything to be perfect and now that all of his planning was working out he didn't need to be on alert anymore. Molly smiled as she watched him slowly lose his tension. She found it sweet of him to be so worries if everything would work out. She didn't need or want perfection. She wanted honesty. And Arthur was very honest to himself. So when the meal was well underway they finally started to have a conversation with them both now able to relax and enjoy their meal.

"I hope the year started well with you?", Arthur asked her. She smiled. Of course he was concerned. "Yes. Everything went fine so far. But the twins are making quite a fuss at home. I dread what they will think of this year. They have been sticking their heads together all summer. I think it is some great prank and I hope I don't have a role in it." He laughed gently. Yes. Gideon and Fabian Prewett were well known for causing trouble. But it was usually fun to see what they had thought of. Unless you were their target. Then it was mostly very humiliating. Luckily he hadn't been a target as of yet. But if they found out he had intentions towards their sister that may very well change. Possibly very quickly too.

"Well I look forward to see they wreak havoc on the school once more. Professor McGonagall is rather creative with their punishments, too." He snickered. Molly sighed and grinned. "Yeah. Well I think it is rather funny too. Especially since their punishments usually have something to do with whatever rule they broke." Arthur grinned at that. Last Year they had it out for Madam Pince, the stern librarian. Most students were too scared to do anything to her or in her library because if the threw them out, they wouldn't have access to the books they needed for their homework assignments. But Gideon and Fabian Prewett didn't care for such things. But they were popular enough that they would find someone who would check out the books they needed for them effortlessly.

"I still can't believe that they managed to sort all the books in backwards. I went there and searched for something from Bathilda Bagshot but at B was suddenly Y." Arthur snickered at that. "Yes. But I think the best was that Professor McGonagall made them sort everything back by hand. And Madam Pince towering over them with that charm that showed if they had it wrong." She laughed. "Yes, it was good. I'm just glad that they did it shortly before Christmas holidays and not before summer was over. The fifth and seventh years would have murdered them if they did something like that just before the start of O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s." He grinned at that. She was indeed right. Before the end of fifth and seventh year those exams were written and those years usually went a bit bonkers during that time. He knew he was not any better in his fifth year and he shuddered thinking of how his mindframe would be at the end of this year. He would be preparing for his N.E.W.T.s and thinking of a proper way to propose to Molly. He would be a mess.

At this point they had finished eating and the elves cleared the table. Arthur looked surprised. Time had flown with their conversation. He looked at Molly and took a deep breath. "We probably should start our journey back to the tower. It may be the weekend, but that doesn't mean that the teachers will not be on patrols. I just hope we make it to the tower without being caught." Molly smiled at him. He was so thoughtful. She simply nodded and stood from her chair when he did the same. They turned to the house elves and bid their thanks and their goodbyes before leaving through the door back into the corridor.