A Cup of Tea (Molly)

[Anelisa Taelyn Lafayette]

Lisa was spending more and more time at the Burrow on her days off. Fred claimed that Molly wanted her to come over, but Lisa suspected that he asked his mother to invite her. He'd spoken to her about leaving Diagon Alley and hiding, but she wouldn't hear of it. It wasn't that she thought that nothing would happen; she just didn't want to leave her new family. So, instead, she went to the Burrow to have tea with Molly on her days off.

She winced and put a hand on her stomach when she felt Lisette kick. Her due-date was in March, and she suspected that the baby knew it. As it approached, Lisette became more and more active. The doctors had been wrong, though; Lisette had never broken any of Lisa's ribs.

Lisa glanced over to where Molly stood. She had offered to help make tea, but the offer was rejected. Though she was very fond of her future mother-in-law, she always walked on eggshells around Molly. Lisa didn't want to make a bad impression on Fred's mother, after Molly had ignored the six-year age gap between her son and his fianceé. She was starting to get concerned, though. Molly had been very silent, thus far. Hopefully, nothing was wrong.

[Molly Marie Weasley]

Ever since the revelation she'd had about the future during the Order's Christmas party, Molly couldn't think of anything else other than how she could protect her family against what was coming. She wouldn't just stand there and let those things happen. She wouldn't let anyone kill any of her children or their chosen ones. Anelisa Lafayette or Lisa was within that second category for some time now, ever since she started to go out with her Freddie and now she was pregnant. That was another subject. Molly didn't like the fact that a baby would be born before their marriage. She made sure they knew she wasn't happy about it, but then she just got in love with the idea of being a grandmother.

If Molly had a bit more white hair than she should, those twins of hers were the reason they were there. Always getting themselves in trouble. Never taking anything seriously enough. That's why Fred's reaction and shown responsibility towards Lisa's pregnancy took her by surprise in a good way. The Weasley matriarch though had to confess she wasn't very keen on Lisa at the beginning of their relationship. It wasn't because of her age, though Lisa probably thought that to be the reason, or the fact she was a muggleborn as the Weasleys didn't mind such a thing. Her resistance to Lisa came from the very same place her resistance to Fleur and Pyre also came from. She was a foreigner with customs different than theirs.

Though all of that was behind them now. Molly was able to see that she was being foolishly prejudiced against actually very nice girls who loved her boys truly. Bill and Fleur had just married. Lisa and Fred were the next in line to tie the knot in the Weasley family. If they managed to live long enough. 'NO!' Molly scolded herself for the thought as she boiled the water for their tea. They would live to be married and raise their baby and have more children if they wanted to. She'd make sure that Lisa would understand the need for them to leave. She was a mother too and knew what the younger woman was passing through. The strong emotions, the insecurity and the need for support Lisa had. Yet, she needed to convince her to go away with Fred, to save their lives. That wasn't an easy task.

Molly came from the kitchen with her typical smile shinning and bringing the tea, which she placed over the table with some homemade cookies. "See? I didn't take so long, Lisa." Molly said to brake the ice. Now how to start saying what truly needed to be said? While still trying to find the right way to introduce the subject, Molly asked a very motherly thing. "So, is she kicking a lot lately? I remember George and Fred trying to burst my belly open in the last months. Hyperactive even before they were born, those boys… Percy was a quiet baby though." She shared a little of her vast experience with being pregnant as she had passed through it six times.

[Anelisa Taelyn Lafayette]

Lisa glanced out the window on instinct. She didn't think any Death Eaters would show up there, but better safe than sorry. She'd learned that the hard way years before, as a young child. As an adult, Lisa tended towards cautious in nature. With a sister like Jaq and a fianceé like Fred, that was probably an advantage.

She was glad that Molly had decided against disliking her; she'd been worried about that. Granted, Lisa tended to worry about many things. It had just really seemed that Molly didn't like her for a while. Angelina said that she'd had the same feeling. Maybe it was the foreigner thing...she wondered how Molly would react to Angelina's family. She wasn't sure, but she thought that Marisol della'Rosa, Angelina's mother, had attended Hogwarts at the same time as Molly, in a lower year. She wasn't a maternal person, Marisol; as far as Lisa remembered, her relationship with Pyre and Jared had been one of strained professionalism.

When Lisette kicked again, Lisa began humming an old French lullaby that she'd sung to Jaq. She'd raised her little sister, so she was sure that she could raise Lisette, but she was still anxious. Raising one's sibling was not the same as raising one's own child, she decided. There was a higher degree of nervousness associated with one's own child.

Lisa smiled back up at Molly when the Weasley matriarch entered the room, banishing her usual fretful musings from her mind. She kept those things to herself; she didn't like to weigh others down with things that she could deal with herself. There was enough to worry about.

"Ah, oui," she confirmed in response to Molly's question. "She didn't kick much at first; I think she knows the due date is approaching."

[Molly Marie Weasley]

"That's actually a good sign, Anelisa. A quiet baby generally becomes a quiet person and the opposite is true too…" Molly said, sharing her experiences with her daughter-in-law. "I've heard what seemed to be a lullaby as I was coming. Beautiful song." She added with a smile. She also had noticed that it was sung in French. Molly just had to get used with many of her grandchildren speaking either French or Italian as a second language in the near future as at least three of her boys had chosen foreigners for wives or steady girlfriends, which she could see turning into a marriage as well.

Molly served a cup of tea to Lisa and placed the cookies closer to her as well. "You need to eat for the little one's sake. You're a bit too thin for a pregnant woman who is nearly giving birth. It's not good for the baby." Molly said in a motherly way. It was understandable why Lisa hadn't gained as much weight as she should have during pregnancy. It wasn't due to any lack of care with herself or the baby. Molly was sure Lisa would be a very good mother once the child was born. It was the whole stress of living nowadays. Going out and not knowing what will happen as you're outside. The same as it had been before the first time Voldemort rose to power and there was a war.

"I don't mean to intrude, but…" Molly knew she had to introduce the subject that made her call Lisa to her home for tea today, but after what she had just said she thought it might not be taken the right way. Lisa knew though that she only said those things to her because she cared and because she wanted both her and the baby to be fine by the end of their journey. "I just want to know what you think about something that Fred has been talking about lately. Actually since Christmas." Molly continued to introduce the subject slowly.

"What do you think about his idea of you two moving to France or anywhere else in Europe once little Lisette is born?" Molly's voice was sad as she asked the question. She didn't want the three of them to leave. She wanted to be there for them, to help take care of Lisette, but she wanted them to live more than that and it was a solution for the problem that was posed to them. A little bit of hurt and a missing sensation are better than a tragedy. Way much better.