once upon a time, something happened.
okay so a while ago, ama and i decided to dig up our old OTP (one of our OTPs anyway) from the game, airplane fantasy. this is mainly for jessi, cuz she won't stop hounding me. XD ilu jessi~ ♥


"If you laugh at me," Molly threatens, pausing in front of her family's front door. It's a quaint little house just outside the city, made of red brick with white trim and forest green shutters. The Weasley family home is truly the picture of working-class dreams. There's even a low little white picket fence surrounding the neatly-groomed garden that comes with the house. Molly hates it. It's too cute. She narrows her eyes at Lorcan. "If you laugh at me, I will never forgive you. Okay?"

Lorcan widens his eyes, the hand that isn't busy holding their bags rising up in faint surrender. "No laughing," he says, nodding once. "Got it." He wants to ask, though, what reason he could possibly have to laugh at her for. Sure, never judge a book and all that, but Molly's house certainly isn't anything out of the ordinary, or even too ordinary, so unless she's got a circus of clowns running around behind that door he doesn't think he'll be snickering anytime soon. Besides, he's been with her almost a year now-- he thinks he knows when he shouldn't push his luck.

Molly takes a deep breath, shutting her eyes, and then pushes the door open. She steps into the entryway of the home, a kitchy, cluttered little area filled with smiling family photos, floral print furniture, and the faint scent of cabbage. "Momma I'm home!" Molly shouts. "And I brought somebody. DADDY YOU HAVE TO WAIT IN THE KITCHEN." She twists her fingers together nervously,

The very fact that even Molly is nervous about Lorcan meeting her dad makes him even ten times more nervous than he really is. He swallows thickly, back straightening in response, which really only makes him that much more taller than Molly. He passes a hand over his hair once, twice, then puts that hand over Molly's shoulder. A second later he decides tha might be inappropriate so he hastily stuffs that hand into the pockets of his jeans. Then he finally takes that breath he'd been needing.

"Momma's really nice," Molly whispers to him, snuggling closer for just a moment. "When she's not being terrible, of course, oh my God. Um. Let's sit on the couches." She takes Lor's hand and leads him over onto one of the overstuffed loveseats, sinking into it. Molly sucks on her bottom lip and tries to look encouraging.

Her mother enters a moment later, drying her hands on a plaid dishtowel. "Oh!" Mrs. Weasley breathes out, her mouth opening a little in surprise. She looks at her daughter, bewildered, and then recovers remarkably, giving Lorcan a wide smile. "Hello there, I'm Penelope, Molly's mom. I...had no idea she was bringing a boy home!" Mrs. Weasley laughs.

Molly, on the seat cushion next to Lorcan, groans. "Moooooom stop iiiiiiit." Her ears are beginning to turn pink.

Lorcan musters up his most charming smile for Penelope, straightening a little the seat (which is a feat, considering how badly those cushions seem to want to swallow him whole). Somehow, he manages to stand, and drops a little kiss to Penelope's cheek. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Weasley," he says, trying hard not to look like a deer caught in the headlights. "I'm.. sorry I'm such a surprise."

As Molly continues to squeal her protest, Penelope simply smiles. "Oh don't be sorry, dear," she says. "Save that until dinner. You will be staying, won't you?"

Lorcan doesn't responde for a few moments, caught off guard by her.. threat? "Er-- yes," he says, struggling to recover. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble." He wants to glance over his shoulder and send Molly a helpless look, but he can't decide if that would be too rude.

"Of course not," Penelope says with a smile in his direction before turning a stern look on Molly. "You, Missy, need to chat with daddy, first. You know the rules."

Molly rolls her eyes. "Oh my God, Mom, I'm almost seventeen! It's such a stupid rule." She pouts.

"It's still a rule, darling," Penelope points out. "Talk to daddy. I'll put in a word for you two." She turns her attention back on Lorcan. "It's always nice to meet a friend of Molly's. I'm going to go back and finish up dinner, but it shouldn't be too long. Perhaps Molly can tell you about some of our family photos!" Penelope gives them both one last parting smile as she leaves the room. Molly scowls at her retreating back and reaches out to tip a picture frame on the end table face down. cindulena (12:35:23 PM):Lorcan waits until he's sure Penelope wouldn't turn back around before finally turning back to Molly. "Rule?" he asks. He can already start to feel himself break out into a light sweat. "What rule? You didn't mention a rule. Molly. Molly." He stoops down, gently gripping his shoulders. "I think I'm coming down with something."

"No, no, no, no," Molly says, looking up with him pleadingly. "It's just a little rule. Little little rule. Baby rule. It's nothing. We can fix it. You'll stay for dinner. My daddy's just insane and hates me, oh my God." She looks up at Lorcan sadly. "You're not really sick, are you?"

"Well-- no?" Lorcan's too useless against those sad puppy eyes. "But Molly-- Molly, what if he kills me? I think he can kill me, he fought in the war, he can definitely kill me and it wouldn't even take much too, Ly's the more athletic one and I'd just trip over my legs."

"He won't kill you!" Molly's almost certain. "My daddy just wants to talk to you. Just a little talk. It's this stupid rule, I don't even know why, ever since Lucy got old enough to like boys, Daddy says that he has to meet them before they can come to the house. He's so embarrassing, oh my God."

Just a little talk. Lorcan tries to imagine what they'd talk about, but he can't get past walking through the door and getting shot in the head. Wizards and wands be damned, Lorcan's almost sure he'll get shot in the head. "So.. I have to talk to him? Alone?" He pauses to run a hand down his throat. "No witnesses?"

Molly giggles softly and reaches her hands out for a hug. "Oh you," she murmurs. "You're so funny. It's just a little talk. And I'll totally be eavesdropping outside the door. You'll be fine, my daddy couldn't hurt a fly." Which means yes. No witnesses. Molly just doesn't have the heart to put it like that.

Lorcan gives her a quiet, pleading look. He seems about five years younger and two feet shorter when he shuffles forward to take the offered hug. He buries his face against her neck, trying to remember how to breathe. "Tell Lysander he can have my books."

"No because when you go home he won't give them back," Molly laughs quietly, squeezing him nicely. "We can wait a few minutes if you wanna, though. Oh my God, don't look so scared!"

Lorcan gives her tiny body a faint squeeze. "No," he says, taking in a deep breath. "No, we should get it over with. Drawing it out will only make it seem worse." Quick and painless, quick and painless, please be quick and painless. He draws away from her, though his hands linger around her waist. "What should I expect?"

"A frumpy old man in glasses," Molly says with a smile that slowly changes into something more sheepish. "But I don't actually know. I mean. I'm not. I never. Y'know. Brought anybody home before." She fidgets and looks shyly away.

Lorcan gapes at her, his jaw slackening. "...Never?" he echoes. A sudden chill runs down his spine at just the same instant something warm blossoms in his chest. "So.. I'm. Your first." He takes a moment to digest this. Okay, he may need two.

Molly's ears are fast approaching fire engine red. "Yeah, well. Don't tell anybody. Okay?"

Lorcon deflates a little. He'd been hoping he could tell everybody, from the top of a mountain and all. "Do you think he'll go easy on me, since I'm your first?" he asks.

"Don't tell my daddy you're my first," Molly says around a little bit of laughter. "He'd throttle you. I'm still his little girl, oh my God. But he might be a bit bewildered that you actually admitted to it, so you might be able to get a running start."

"Fi--" Lorcan makes a faint squawking noise in surprise. "I don't mean that way!" he insists, his own cheeks flushing red. "Oh God I just shouldn't talk at all. I should just node and mime out my answers."

Molly laughs properly, giving Lorcan a rather amused little snuggle before reaching up as best she could to cup his jaw gently. "You'll be fine. You love me, right? Well then you'll be fine!" She tiptoes and whispers, "Besides, Momma liked you, so she'll tell daddy to behave."

"Really?" Lorcan looks at her with wide blue eyes. "You really think she liked me?"

"Yes! She invited you to stay for dinner! She might even make a pie! Are you allergic to pecans? It's not important." Molly smiled softly. "Yes she liked you. Oh my God, Lor, don't worry so much."

All the same, Lorcan passes a hand down the front of his shirt, hoping it's not wrinkled because he suddenly forgot the anti-wrinkling spell, along with just about every other spell he'd just spent seven years learning. "Okay," he says, nodding. "Okay I think I'm ready. No wait! No. No yeah I'm ready."

"Well you have to be sure," Molly says, making a small face at him. "Ready? C'mon." She slipped her hand into his and lead Lorcan out of the living room and down a hallway, stopping in front of a closed door. "This is my daddy's office," Molly whispered to Lor before knocking. "Daddy are you in there?"

A man's voice responded, "Yes I am, snowflake."

Molly winced at the petname. "Daddy do you want to meet my Lorcan?"

"Yes, snowflake. Come in."

She squeezed Lor's hand and opened the door, leading the way into the room, where a slight, underfed looking man with an impecable comb-over and glasses sat behind a paperwork-ridden desk. Molly smiled sweetly at him. "Daddy, this is my Lorcan. Lorcan, this is my daddy."

Lorcan tries to muster up the bravest smile he can, but it winds up looking more like the lovechild of a grimace and a flinch. "Mr. Weasley, sir," says Lorcan in greeting, tipping his head towards the man. He would have stepped forward to offer his hand in a shake, but he's rather too busy gripping Molly's hand like a vice.

Molly squirms awkwardly. Her father doesn't notice, or if he does, he doesn't say anything about it. "Pleasure," Percy says with an absent smile before returning his gaze to the paperwork in front of him, filling out his signeture with a quill. "How did you meet my snowflake."

"Daddyyyy," Molly whines like an unamused cat, "Don't call me thaaaaaaat."

"Ah," Lorcan laughs a little awkwardly, "we, um. We're both in Gryffindor, sir." He wonders if he should mention he's a year older than her.

"That's a good house," Percy says. He pauses to push his glasses up his nose, glance flickering up to Lorcan briefly. "Good house. Yes." Percy clears his throat and continues filling out forms. "And how long have you been, ah, her Lorcan?"

Lorcan suddenly freezes. He.. doesn't quite remember the exact date. Sweat starts to break out over his brow again. "Ah.. since.. earlier last school year, sir," he says, darting a quick glance to Molly, as if for confirmation.

"A while," Molly says, nodding her head. That's vague enough to be true, because privately Molly has always considered Lorcan to be hers.

The answer seems to satisfy Percy, who nods a few times. "What do you plan on doing for a future, Mr. Lorcan?"

"Ah." He darts another look towards Molly. "W-Well I thought I might.. consider a career in transcribing runes, sir." A lie, considering the only real probably future for him at the moment is caring for his mother, but... he doubts he should be airing out his dirty laundry so quickly.

Percy snorts faintly. "Runes. Real money's in arithmancy, you know. But do what you love, that's what they say. Do what you love..." He trails off into a flurry of his quill again, then looks up. "You know Molly gets her red hair from my side of the family. Long, thriving clan of Weasleys, you know."

Lorcan blinks, wondering if there's actually some sort of threat beneath those words... He thinks there is. "Yes, sir," he nods, his hand flexing around Molly's. "I'm good friends with some of her cousins."

"Good, good. That's good," Percy says, looking back to his work. "They like to ask a lot of questions, those Weasleys," he says. "You should probably practice your answers. If I hypothetically said 'what are your intentions for my snowflake,' for example, what would you say?"

Lorcan whips his head around to stare at Molly. His eyes are wide, and obviously asking for help. He swallows thickly, fidgeting. "Ah." His heart's pounding a little too fast, and he suddenly wishes Molly were somewhere else. "I would say.. I wouldn't be able to promise her much... but I intend to try and keep her happy as long as she'd let me."

Molly can't help it, she squeals and wraps her arms around Lorcan, burying her face wordlessly into his chest.

Percy looks up again and laughs quietly. "That's good, that's a very good answer," he says. "Practice that one. Extremely overprotective, some Weasleys can be. You're a fortunate young man that I'm not among them. Will you be staying for dinner?"

Lorcan remains as stock-still as he had been since Molly threw her arms around him, certain that as soon as Percy sees them, he'd be dead meat. But no, no dead. Not even meat. "If- that's alright with you, Mr. Weasley," he replies, gradually relaxing.

"I believe my wife would have a fit if it wasn't," Percy says with a smile. "She's really the one in charge around here, I'm afraid. If you see her, do ask her for a pie for me." He gestures around him to the pieces of parchment. "I'm afraid I'm tangled up in work."

Molly can't stop smiling to save her life. "We will daddy. I want pecan." Neither can she let go of Lorcan right now. This is all working perfectly!

Lorcan hesitates, wondering if they walk out now or stay and have a chat around tea. "I.. thank you, Mr. Weasley," he says with a faint exhalation of breath. He licks at his lips, absently reaching up to rest his hands on Molly's shoulders. "We'll do that. And. Yes. Thank you." He looks down at Molly. Go now please?

Molly giggles and doesn't even try to stop it. He's so cute. "Bye daddy, see you at dinner," she says, pressing forward to usher Lorcan out without letting go of him. Once they're through the doorway, Molly just burrows into his chest again, grinning like no one's business. "You," she says though her smile. "You are so wonderful, Lor', oh my God."

Lorcan just takes in a breath, and then another. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack," he admits. But then a moment later he allows himself to smile, glancing down at Molly and giving her shoulders a little squeeze. "That went well, I think."

"My daddy likes you," Molly says, beginning to pepper kisses wherever they happen to land. And then she pauses, scowls, and looks up at Lorcan. "Except I don't care what he says because I hate this family oh my God." Her smile shows through the face she's making.

"Oh yeah, I can tell." He smirks down at her, feeling relieved enough to gently poke her nose with a finger. "I'm sure if he disapproved you wouldn't have cared, damned them all, then whisked me off away to elope, right?"

"No," Molly pouts. "Eloping isn't a real wedding. Plus Gram would kill me with a knitting needle. Her and momma have already planned out all the fights they're going to have over my real wedding." She smiles and tugs his hand. "So what else do you wanna do before Momma calls for dinner?"

Lorcan doesn't answer. His face is frozen in an expression of half-surprise, half-fear. Weddings. No, of course Molly would have thought about her wedding, all girls do. But. Weddings. Would the Weasleys be expecting him to marry her? Did he even want to? OH GOD DOES HE? "Uh," is all he can think of at the moment.

Molly pulls away and looks up at him strangely. "Alright there, Lor? Oh my God, I didn't think there were that many options." Weddings are already brushed from Molly's mind. "We could look around the garden or go back to the sitting room or bug my mommy or I could show you the rest of the house?"

Lorcan gives his head a good, firm shake. "Last one," he croaks out, and somehow manages to give her a weak smile. "Definitely the last one." Except he's already forgotten what that option was.

Molly smiles and takes his hand. "Alright then. C'mon you. You've seen all the downstairs already." The Weasleys have a tiny home, really. Molly guides Lorcan down the hallway towards a steep, narrow staircase which she climbs carefully. The stairs squeak behind them, and when the get to the top, the floral theme of the home is continued with green carpetting and rose-patterned walls. "This is the upstairs!" Molly announces pointlessly. She opens a door. "This is the upstairs linen closet!" Another door on the other side. "This is the upstairs sitting room!" Molly giggles at herself.

Lorcan shakes his head, smiling at her. "Oh look!" he pauses to point at the wall. "The upstairs wall!" He turns around and gasps again. "Oh look! The other upstairs wall!"

She laughs and covers her face. "Don't make fun or I won't show you the most interesting upstairs place."

"Don't tell me," Lorcan puts a hand on her arm, the other hand over his chest. "Don't tell me there's an upstairs bathroom."

Molly tries to make a face at him but her laughter makes it hard. She shoves his arm in punishment. "That's not the interesting place!" Molly walks a ways down the hallway and opens a new door. "My room is."

Lorcan's smile freezes on his face, along with the rest of his body. Hastily, he darts a look down the hallway to the stairs. "Why Miss Molly," he says very quietly, "how very forward of you."

"You're the one being forward!" Molly says over her shoulder as she enters her room. "I'm just saying my room is a very pretty place. You can see it if you want. God, what is it with boys and their girlfriend's rooms..."

"Do you really want to know?" Lorcan asks as he appears by the doorway. He looks around, smiling faintly at all the little knick-knacks. "I have a pop-up book that taught me everything."

Molly raises an eyebrow at him. "What kind of pop up book?" She sits down on her bed and pets a teddy bear fondly.

Lorcan raises a brow at her. "The really informative kind," he replies, before stepping further into the room. He stands just beside her bed, smiling down at the bear in her hands. He imagines her curling up around it at night and-- oh wait, no, bad road.

She looks back up at him with wide eyes. "This is Cuddles," Molly says, introducing him to the bear. "He's mine. Not that I still play with stuffed animals or anything." Molly gives Cuddles a loving pat and then sets him back against the pillows.

Lorcan tries not to smile too big lest he embarrass Molly. Instead he leans down, reaching out to take one of the bear's limbs and shakes it. "Nice to meet you, Cuddles."

"Do I get to see your room someday?" Molly asks, smiling up at Lorcan. "I mean. It's only fair."

Lorcan straightens, pretending to look thoughtful about it. "I don't know..," he replies slowly, looking her over. "It might be a little overwhelming for you." He tries to hide his grin but fails miserably. "I mean, the ceiling's pretty tall."

"Be nice to me!" Molly commands, pouting. "I let you see my room. It's like, a huge deal, oh my God. Boys are never supposed to see in a girl's room. Duh."

Lorcan laughs at her pouty expression, but hastens to make nice. "You're right, you're right, I'm sorry." He can't help but lean down and press a kiss to her cheek. "This is a very big deal. I'm honored."

He's immediately forgiven of course. Molly always brightens right up at his kisses. "You should be! This is another first for me. Never been a boy in my room before."

Lorcan puffs up at that, unable to keep that triumphant smile from his lips. "I guess I'm just that awesome," he says, sighing like it's a curse. He thinks to drop another kiss to her other cheek, but he draws away before he gets tempted to do more.

Molly sighs along with him. "How do we live with it, really." She giggles then, reaching for his hand. "Do I want to ask how many girls have seen your room?"

"Do you?" Lorcan raises a brow at her. "Oh c'mon, Molly, it was hard enough for me to ask you out, you honestly think I was bringing girls to my room before you?"

She gives him a wry look. "You didn't ask me out. I made you ask me out. There's a difference." Molly smirks, though, vindicated. "So when do I get to see it? I'm curious."

Lorcan's face immediately pulls into a faint scowl. "As soon as you stop broadcasting that, thank you very much." He crosses his arms over his chest, pouty.

Molly giggles and tugs his shirt, laughingly apologetic. "Oh, Lor don't pout." She crawls closer. "I still can't believe it actually worked, anyway."

"Are you kidding?" Lorcan laughs, despite himself. He shakes his head a little, raking a hand through it. "It's a foolish man to ever deny you. Merlin, Molly have you ever seen yourself mad? You're like some kind of goddess of war."

Molly preens a little. "Well good. Because I really really like you, Lorcan Scamander. So you better be nice to me or I'll never forgive you." She eskimo kisses his shoulder.

Lorcan turns his head to hide a smile against her hair, giving her his own little eskimo kiss. "I'll try my hardest Molly Weasley," he replies, reaching up to cover her in his arms.

Molly sighs happily and winds her own arms around his waist. "You're doing great already, oh my God," she murmurs into his chest, relaxed and secure and loved against him. She lets a moment pass comfortably like that, and then says, almost regretfully, "Guess we better go down for dinner."

Lorcan, as if only realizing that he's hugging her in her room, hastily jerks away, eyes wide in panic. "Shot gun," he says, as if Molly would have any idea what he's talking about.

"Bwuh?" Molly asks, confused and missing Lor's presence. She feels a bit bereft without him, her lips slightly opened. "Shot gun?"

Lorcan licks his lips, nodding. He shoots a few paranoid glances over his shoulder. "Shot gun," he says again, just picturing Percy standing outside her door, armed and ready. "We should go," he turns back to her, nodding like a crazed man.

Molly makes a puzzled little face at him and shuffles after him for another hug. "Okay, if you say so," she shrugs. "Can I have a kiss first?"

Lorcan darts another glance over his shoulder. He turns back to her after a moment, then quietly leans down to give her a soft, tender kiss. The touch alone was enough to soothe most of his worries, that he's smiling again by the time he draws away.

She smiles back immediately and reaches for his hand again. "Okay then you." Molly gives his fingers a squeeze. "Dinnertime."

Lorcan draws in a breath, nodding. Ready. "Dinnertime." He lets her lead him back down the stairs, and had just reached the bottom step when he remembers-- "Pie." He looks at Molly with wide eyes. "We didn't tell your mom about your dad's pie, and now he's going to think I'm irresponsible and kill me."

Molly just blinks at him for a moment, having completely forgotten about the pie. "Oh!" she says as realization dawns. "Well she'll probably make one anyway. It's no big deal." Molly laughs and shrugs. "We're eating in the garden, okay? We do that in summer."

Lorcan thinks of a nice, cozy little garden. With a lot of escape routes. He smiles. "We used to do that," he murmurs idly. "Before mom found a nest of nargles in the bushes nearby." He gives Molly a very Serious look that says not to talk about it.

She shuts her mouth with a grin. "I love your mum," Molly says, opening the back door to a little cobblestone porch surrounded by brick planters full of a mossy, creeping vine. Molly's mother is just setting out the plates as they enter, and her father is seated already, scribbling his name on the last few bits of paper. "Dinner now?" Molly asks.

Lorcan smiles at the two adults, though his eyes may have darted to Percy's hands more than necessary, just to make sure it's actually a quill that he's holding. He inhales the scents of dinner deeply, suddenly remembering how hungry he is. "It smells delicious, Mrs. Weasley," he says as they step up to the table.

Penelope smiles. "You're sweet. It's just a simple casserole, of course. I'd have cooked better if I'd know we'd been having company. Please, please, sit down." She waved Molly and Lorcan towards seats. "Sit where you will, dear, and we'll make room around you."

Lorcan feels like it's a fairly big decision, and actually takes a moment to contemplate it. Eventually he decides to take the seat to Percy's right, drawing the chair out with a nervous smile to them all.

Percy looks up as Lorcan sits, giving him a quick smile before delving back in to finish signing off on those expense reports. Molly takes the seat next on Lor's right as well, slipping in quietly.

"Okay," Penelope says, taking another chair. "Percy, leave the work for now. Lorcan, dear, you're the guest, why don't you start with the casserole." She nudges the dish towards him.

Lorcan smiles at her, feeling a little more comfortable the most he gets settled. She kind of reminds him of Luna, way back when. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," he says, "it looks great." He scoops himself a generous helping, his appetite greater now that impending doom isn't too likely to occur within the next hour. He offers to scoop some for the others.

Molly just smiles sweetly at him and takes the spoon for herself, adding food to her plate as her father continues to scribble away hurriedly before Penelope can notice. "This is gross, Mom," she says, making a face at the casserole. "Oh my God." She wrinkles her nose and passes the dish on.

Lorcan lets out a short, nervous laugh, hastily taking up his fork. He glances around at all of their faces before shoveling a forkful into his mouth.

Molly rolls her eyes in disgust. "You're too good, Lor', oh my God. If it's awful just tell her so she'll stop making it." Nonetheless, she takes a bite of her own casserole without complaining.

Penelope frowns at her daughter, and then nudges Percy, who looks up from his quill to mumble, "Molly don't say all the bad things about your mother's cooking while we have company..." before slipping back into it.

Lorcan tries to offer his small, uneasy smile all around the dinner table. "I think it's great, Mrs. Weasley," he says, trying to play peacekeeper. "My brother and I love casserole. He'll be sad he missed it."

Percy looks up from his signature once more, patting Lorcan's back amusedly. "Such a yes-man. I like that about you." Penelope gives him an unamused little glance as well.

"Well thank you, Lorcan," Penelope says airily. "My family always likes it more after I've been away for some time, you see."

Molly looks guilty with the fork in her mouth.

Lorcan's smile falters a little, the tension weighing it down. "My dad was the cook in the family," he says after a moment. "Mom was always kind of hopeless in the kitchen because she was convinced the oven housed nargles." He laughs quietly, as if remembering a memory.

Penelope smiles politely, blankly. "Yes that must have been terrifically interesting. What an adventure." It's clear she has no idea what a nargle is.

"Muuuuuuum," Molly groans. "Nargles are bad! God, you don't know anything!" Penelope ignores her daughter's complaining and looks quite surprised.

Lorcan stares back a little blankly, still not used to dealing with people who don't have any idea what a nargle is. It's become so common in his household, that he hardly realizes it isn't quite so common in other's. "Oh it's- um. Well they're bad," he smiles weakly. "At least, that's what Mum used to say. Never really occured to my brother and I to ask why, heh."

Penelope slides an afraid little glance towards Percy, who doesn't notice as he takes a sip from his water glass. "And are...are there nargles here?" she asks. "Now?"

Molly rolls her eyes. "Daddy make her stop," she begs. "Mum's being weird again."

Percy looks up on command. "Penelope, please stop making Molly whine."

Penelope looks a bit wryly amused as Molly explains, "Mum's muggleborn, so she doesn't know about the HORRORS that are NARGLES oh my GOD Mum you're so embarrassing."

"Oh," says Lorcan, looking very suddenly embarrassed. "Well, no, I don't think so. Um. It's my mum who's always been able to find out where they are, and I don't think either my brother or I got that from her."

"What a charming party trick that must be," Penelope says with a smile, recovering. "I like to think Molly and Lucy got some things from me, but it's always so hard to be sure."

"I got your hands, Mommy," Molly volunteers helpfully. "And daddy's nose. Gram says so." Which makes it law, really.

The mention of Grandma Weasley sets a chill down Lorcan's spine, and he shivers in reflex. He still can't determine how he managed to get through her test. If.. that had even her The Test, at all. Oh Merlin. He's starting to think he's still got to deal with her.

"Have you met her grandmother?" Percy asks quietly. Penelope begins to take his quill and parchments away while he is distracted. "Molly's the spitting image of her. It's quite uncanny."

Lorcan gives Percy a faint, weak smile. "I haven't met her exactly, no. We, erm. We wrote letters to each other, for a while. She.. had some questions."

Percy returns the smile. His hand gropes around the table for his quill, but Penelope simply takes it in her own, now that the paperwork has been set aside. "Well I imagine so. I warned you about the protective Weasleys."

Molly wrinkles her nose at her parent's entwined hands. She leans over to Lorcan and whispers, "Don't worry. Gram'll love you."

"I hope so," he whispers back, an amused smile playing on his lips, "I'd hate for the spitting image of you to hate me. That'd be awful."

"I don't hate you," Molly says, still whispering. She'd kiss him if her parents weren't right there. "I don't think it's possible."

"I'll hold you to that, Molly Weasley," Lorcan draws back with a look that can only be considered as challenging.

She makes a tough little face at him that is quickly ruined by a blindsight snuggle into his side quickly before her parents notice. "I'll win," Molly promises with a smirk.

"I hope so," Lorcan laughs, before movement in the corner of his eyes catches his attention, and he suddenly realizes, oh right, her parents are here. Awkward.

Penelope clears her throat. "Yes, well. This has been a pleasent dinner, hasn't it?" She smiles and waits for support. When none arrives, she gives Percy's hand a squeeze. "Hasn't it? Dear?"

"Y-yes," Percy says quickly, trying to make up for his mistake. "Very pleasent. Why don't...ah..."

"You and I start the dishes? What an excellent idea, dear," Penelope finishes for him.

Lorcan glances back at Molly, smiling a little bemusedly. He very suddenly just had a flash of the future, of himself with an impeccable combover, of Molly looking like her grandmother, holding his hand like a vice, smiling sweetly while threatening him in some way or other to wash the dishes with her. It had been lovely, and frightening. A bit like Molly.