Molly pushed the kitchen door open with her hip and went out to the backyard to spread out the laundry on the clothesline. She was in too much of a hurry to dry them herself; the wind would do the job. The basket she was carrying landed on the ground with a light thud as she got her wand out from the pocket of her robes. She made a swift gesture, and the clothes started to align themselves on the line. She stayed still for a moment, watching them without really seeing them. Her eyes darted to her beautiful garden. It would soon come to life once more. Each spring was a delight to her gardener’s heart. She couldn’t wait for the tulips to grow again, then the begonias and the rosebuds…. The variety of scents filling the house always helped her get through the days more easily. She wondered, a bit wistfully, if she would ever feel the same feeling again where she was going.
The wind picked up suddenly and wrapped her in his powerful gust. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply to let in the fresh air brought by the end of the winter. Maybe it would give her the necessary strength to leave this place. She had made a tough decision earlier, something she had never thought she would ever do. She was leaving her family and her Arthur for another man. For their protection. She would never be able to tolerate their pain and disappointment when they would eventually come across that horrible article. But mostly, Molly didn’t want to see the reflection of her own mistakes - worse, her failure. She had failed to be a good mother and a faithful spouse.
Even though it was Gilderoy who had placed them in this situation, she couldn’t hold it against him. He had been hurt, and this Skeeter woman had tricked him. If running away with him could heal his bruises, then at least she would have done something good while trying to fix what was broken. He was in love, and she was...definitely attracted. The slightest memory of their burning passion at the foot of the tree would put her in such a state of instability she had never experienced before. Never in her wildest fantasies had she imagined herself doing such a thing. She had been incredibly easy – almost faking her resistance to his caresses – by exposing her adultery for the world to see. For a moment, all notions of right and wrong had totally escaped her. Gilderoy had started a fire inside of her that could only to be extinguished by the blending of their two bodies. She didn’t even know why she had wanted him so badly. And she didn’t know she had been capable of that kind of behavior – of such selfishness.
He swore he would take good care of her and give her everything her heart desired. As for her, she wasn’t sure what she would be able to do for him, or how their life would turn out. Her only hope was to find a bit of happiness in his arms, far away from the sweet comfort of her home. But Gilderoy would never be Arthur.
She shivered slightly, realizing how cold the wind felt on her skin. As cold as my heart, she thought bitterly. She opened her eyes to pick up the basket at her feet and went back inside. She rubbed her arms with her hands, welcoming the warmth of her kitchen. Her gaze fell upon the letter on the table she had written to Arthur this morning, explaining why she was leaving the Burrow. After Gilderoy’s departure, she had sent Ron and Ginny to Auntie Muriel’s place for the day so she could pack up everything she needed for her escape. All of her stuff was ready, shrunken and in her purse. She glanced at the clock on the wall to make sure everyone was safe where they were.
She wondered where the hand bearing her name would point when she left.
Molly took a deep breath once more, trying desperately to avoid a nervous breakdown. As she held out her hand to grab her purse, she noticed something was missing. Where was her cloak?
“Where did I put it?” she asked aloud, exasperated. “How in Merlin’s name could I forget my cloak in such an important moment?”
She rushed upstairs to the master bedroom and brusquely opened her cupboard door. “Now, where is it?” she muttered. She searched through her clothes without finding it, but then she saw a crumpled black fabric on the shelf at the top of the cupboard.
She furrowed her brows. She had no idea how it had ended up there. She extended her arm to pull it down, only to get hit on the head by a heavy object a second later. Losing her balance, she fell down on her buttocks.
“Stupid cloak,” she moaned while rubbing her head.
As she tried to get up, her hand touched what seemed to be a piece of waxed paper. She held out the item in front of her eyes and met the ones of her two older sons. They were smiling widely, Bill showing off a big hole in his mouth where he had lost his baby teeth. Emotion overtook her; she tried to swallow, but her throat felt tight and dry. She touched Charlie’s cheek with the tip of her finger and caressed it delicately. She hadn’t seen this picture in years. She was so proud to show off her two little boys at the time, carrying them around with her everywhere she went. They weren’t so little anymore.
She broke her gaze away from the picture to take a look at her assailant, which was in fact a big cardboard box. Its content had fallen on the floor at the same time she had. She spent the next fifteen minutes looking at the many pictures inside the carton, all of her children and her family life. As she pulled her hand once more from it, she found herself looking not at her kids, as expected, but at a younger version of Arthur and herself. He had his arm around her shoulders and was offering his best grin to the camera. Molly, on his side, had sparkling eyes and pink cheeks, like a little girl up to some mischief. They looked incredibly happy, unaware of the ordeals waiting for them several years later. They had been in love then.
“And we still are,” she managed to say in a hoarse voice. How could she have forgotten those moments of simple bliss? How could she have desired something more, when everything she had ever needed was right in front of her, in her possession?
She wiped a lonely tear from her cheek and stood with newfound confidence. She wasn’t running away anymore. She was staying right where she was, whatever happened. If she was ready to face the storm, she knew Arthur would stand by her side no matter what. Her betrayal would certainly tear him apart, but she was prepared to do anything to make things right. But for now, Molly had one important thing to deal with: the heart of Gilderoy Lockhart.
So down the stairs she went and back to the kitchen, where she threw her letter in the fireplace. She practically ran into the living room and opened the drawer of her desk. She pulled out two pieces of parchment. Laying them down on the work surface, she took her wand and concentrated on the charm she was about to perform. It was a tricky one; she didn’t want it to go wrong. She pronounced the spell and waved her wand twice above the parchment. A white light illuminated them for a few seconds, then faded. Molly dropped her wand on the desk and picked up her quill, dipped it in a bottle of black ink, and let a drop fall on the parchment on her right. The blotch disappeared almost as it touched the paper, as if it had been sucked up by it, but reappeared immediately on the second parchment. She grinned proudly.
She rolled up one of the parchments and went to get her old brown owl in the backyard. “Now, Errol, you must go see Gilderoy Lockhart right now,” she told the bird as she attached the parchment to his leg. “It’s really important. I’m counting on you.” He looked at Molly with tired eyes but took off as soon as she let go of his leg.
She waited for what seemed like forever, sitting straight in her chair and facing a wide window. She would write from time to time on the parchment she had kept to check if Gilderoy had received it, but she didn’t get an answer. After another hour of watching a gnome that was trying to destroy the entrance fence, she dipped her quill into the ink again and wrote, Gilderoy? Are you there?
Molly almost jumped on her chair when words finally formed themselves on the paper.
My love? Is that you?
Yes, she wrote back. I'm sorry to do this to you this way. I tried to explain before, but you were so...persistent.
She didn’t wait for his answer before going on with the matter. Gilderoy, this thing between us can’t continue. I know it might seem like I’m playing with your feelings, but it’s really not intentional. I can’t run away with you.
She held her breath for a few seconds, hoping he wouldn’t panic and try to make her change her mind again. The next sentence to appear on the parchment shattered her illusions.
Molly, don’t do this to me ! the words pleaded.
Who was I kidding? she thought, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. After everything that’s happened, he wouldn’t just drop this like that.
And, just to prove her right once more, Gilderoy wrote, I’m coming to see you, my love. It can’t end this way.
Molly opened her mouth in disbelief. “No, no, no! Don’t!” she exclaimed in shock. She wrote feverishly on the parchment to try to stop him, but her end stayed blank. It could only mean he wasn’t looking at the paper anymore. She glanced out the window. The sun was beginning to fade already; her husband would be back from work soon. She pushed herself from her chair and went straight to the kitchen so she could spot Gilderoy as soon as he Apparated into her garden. She couldn’t let him stay here and ruin everything. There was enough damage done already.
She was already peeking out the window when the fireplace burst into emerald flames to reveal the tall blonde man. He didn’t let her talk or move; he walked up straight to her and took her in his arms. She tried to push him away, but he held onto her.
“My love,” he whispered in a low voice, “I won’t let you leave me again. To stay away from you for one more minute will break my heart.” He stroked her scarlet hair with his hand as he spoke.
“Gilderoy, let me go!” she ordered him, struggling to get away from his grip. “You can’t stay in the house, my husband will be home soon, and he’ll go mad if he catches you here!”
He finally released her, and she roughly grabbed his arm to drag him outside. He didn’t even try to resist. She stopped in the middle of the backyard, avoiding the infamous tree. She didn’t want to be cornered this time. She looked him straight in the eye and said with determination, “This has to stop, Gilderoy. Are you aware of what you’re asking me to do? You’re asking me to break my marriage and throw away everything I’ve built up with Arthur over the years. It’s nonsense!”
“But I love you...” He tried to take her hand, but she waved him away with anger.
“Stop manipulating me! You can’t say you love me every time you want me to lean on your side.”
“But it’s the humble truth! I don’t know what else to do to show you how precious you are to me,” he answered abruptly. “I would never manipulate you.” He gave her a wounded look.
“Gilderoy...I...” She sighed heavily. What more could she say to make him realize that none of this was making sense?
She decided to go with what she was feeling deep down inside. “I’m sorry, but I can’t go on anymore. Even though I have feelings for you, I can’t leave my family. This is where I belong, where I want to be. You said it would break your heart to stay away from me; well, it’ll break mine if I abandon what I cherish so much. Please, Gilderoy, I need you to understand.” She paused before giving her last argument. “If you really love me, then stop chasing me.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Molly knew, at that precise moment, that he finally understood. He nodded in silence, and then held up his hand to touch her face. She let him do it, for the sake of what they had shared. She looked up at him reluctantly, afraid of what she might see in his gaze, but the blue abyss of his eyes only showed her an infinite source of love and devotion. They stood there for a moment, completely still, knowing that this would probably be the last time they would see each other.
Then, everything happened too fast for Molly to even comprehend what was going on. Arthur appeared from nowhere and jumped on Gilderoy, propelling both of them to the ground. As they started to fight, Molly yelled her husband’s name, but he didn’t seem to hear her. Panicked, she bent down to try to separate the two men, and, next thing she knew, her vision blurred.
Dizziness overtook her, and she lost contact with reality.
