❛ i am the one thing in life i can control. ❜
It was a cool Spring day in the Burrow, the type when the boys would usually be playing outside, or trying to teach their baby brothers to play exploding snap– something Molly was completely against– when Arabella came over with a basket full of her newest litter of tiny tabby kittens. The mother cat, still ponderously big from her recent pregnancy, looked with lazy eyes up at Molly and her sons, and blinked drowsily. Taking this as permission, Charlie reached a hand in and scooped up the tiniest of the lot, a striking orange runt he immediately named Brutus.
While the elder two boys played with the kittens, and Percy and the twins watched from the sofa, eyes wide with fascination, Molly set to brewing a pot of tea for herself and her friend. “We weren’t expecting you to come by today! I thought you were far too busy. It’s lovely to have you all the same.” As the two sat and exchanged pleasant small talk– about the kittens and the babies and the weather – it became apparent to Molly that Arabella had not simply come for tea and cakes. “Arabella, love… has something happened? Please, you know you’re safe with me. Just tell me.”
Then Arabella choked out the story of her encounter with Orion, her eyes threatening tears as she recalled it. She did not offer every detail, nor did Molly press her to; the horror on her face was all Molly needed to know. She reaches across the table and, with a nod of assent, grasped her friend’s hand. “Arabella, listen to me. Those wretched people, and their wretched curses, and their wretched lives, may be dedicated to making you miserable, but you do not have to let them. I cannot apologize enough for what happened to you, and I will always be here for you, whenever you need me. But please, don’t let them break you. Don’t give them that control. Don’t give this war power over you, and for heaven’s sake don’t blame yourself. You are the one thing in life you can control. Don’t let them take that from you.”
With that, she wrapped the girl in her arms, holding her tightly, and once more swore to end this war, and to seek vengeance on the evil people who caused it, for her family – and Arabella was certainly included in that score.
