This is a story overflowing with charm, and it's all Molly's. I don't completely warm to her in canon, so a story like this, which showcases her energy and aspirations and sense of humor, bring her more fully to life for me. You do a wonderful job of imbuing her with liveliness and imagination, and with an integrity that helps explain her slow-building attraction to Arthur and her defiance of her pureblood parents' (and society's) demands.
I like how you balance her on the edge of changing social values, able to fly in the face of traditional strictures yet still forced to pay a price for them. The section in which her father hexes her is shocking because it's so extreme, the tragedy of a parent trying to break a daughter's will "for her own good." Molly's resilience in bouncing back, no longer so innocent of the ways of the world, is appealing and realistically played out, with no running back into her parents' loving arms. It persuasively foreshadows the character we'll come to know. Ah, the irrepressible Miss Prewett!
Fabian and Gideon are amusing and affectionate precursors to Molly's own twins; it's sad to think how short their lives will be and how their loss will affect Molly. I also liked Scrimgeour's cameo enormously. He's perceptive and scrupulous, and the dry wit of "A prudent man, Miss Prewett, should know for his own peace of mind where Gideon and Fabian are at all times" cracked me up.
Actually, the style and exuberance of much of this fic is a constant pleasure. Molly's frankness ("Any more cousin-marriage in this family and my children [will] be born with ears on their elbows."/Aunt Lucy’s tea goes out her nose at that) delighted me.
I also love the way the fic comes full circle, with Molly confirming what she hopes and suspects, that she and Arthur are two of a kind, secret adventurers in their private hearts who shared a childhood dream.
The characterizations, the social commentary and incidental details (her name is on the same cup as Minerva McGonagall’s! or They can do that without elves?) add up to a memorable portrait of a time and a girl well worth getting to know, whose story is eminently re-readable. A marvelous feat, dear author!