flintlocking (flintlocking) wrote in reduxpitch, @ 2016-08-13 22:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | !thread, character: lucas flint |
WHO: Lucas Flint and Molly Weassley
WHEN: afternoon, 13 August, 2002
WHERE: Burrow
WHAT: Molly tracks down Lucas to have a chat.
RATING: S for sad
STATUS: Completed in Docs
Lucas was doing his best to stay in the background, to not take the attention away from either the birthday celebrants/engaged couple. He did not begrudge their obvious happiness, but maybe he was a bit dimmer than he normally was. It helped that Prim was there, though for the moment she was chatting with one of her cousins. He was gratified to see Professors McGonagall and Hagrid, spending far too much time catching up with both. He even promised to give Professor Hagrid a tour of the Reserve whenever he wanted. After all, it would be useful knowledge for any Care of Magical Creatures professor to have.
Now, however, Lucas had tucked himself in a quiet corner of the lawn, content to sit back and watch. He wasn't here to make a fuss, but to give his support. Which he would do, in a second. As soon as he had built up his reserves.
--
Molly was a hostess to put all other hostesses to shame. Or, rather, she was told she was. In all honesty, she just liked seeing her children and their friends having fun. And she enjoyed catching up with the old Order and classmates from school, and her children's friends' parents. Molly Weasley was a veritable social butterfly, though she was not one to host such grand parties on a regular basis.
She didn't have much to do by ways of maintaining the food; the catering company handled that, and drinks were covered. She felt a small pang of guilt over the fact that Ginny and Marcus had used their own money to throw this party. It was the parents' job to do so. Well, the groom's parents were supposed to handle the engagement party and rehearsal dinner. The bride's parents paid for the wedding. Unless they eloped as Molly and Arthur had.
Not wanting to think that, Molly looked around for anyone who might need something. Everyone seemed to be doing well, but she spotted a young man tucked away by himself. She could tell he needed to be alone, but she didn't like the idea of not knowing if someone was upset or ill at her home. Molly picked up a bottle of butterbeer for him and a brandy for herself and made her way to the young man. She sat by him quietly, setting the bottle in front of him. "You must be Lucas. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Ginny's mum, Molly."
--
The first thing Lucas saw was the butterbeer placed in front of him. It took him a moment to realize that it was for him and he looked up to see who might have brought it. He thought it might have been Prim, or maybe even Charlie. Professor Hagrid could have been a possibility too, but they had just talked. So when he saw it was Ginny’s (and Charlie’s!) mum, he gave a slightly wide-eyed and startled look.
“Yes, ma’am.” He bobbed his head and made a move to stand, but she was already sitting and it would have made him look awkward. Or at least more awkward than it already was. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley.” Should he hold out his hand? Did one do that to your brother’s future mother-in-law? Lucas didn’t know the proper protocols. Where was Prim? She probably knew.
Instead of focusing on that breach of etiquette, Lucas’ eyes fell back on the bottle of butterbeer. “Thank you for the drink. You didn’t have to go out of your way.”
--
Molly smiled at Lucas. "Pish tosh. This old body of mine needed a break. My knees, you see? They aren't what they used to be." There wasn't anything wrong with her, but it seemed to Molly that this young man needed there to be a reason, other than wanting to talk to him, for her coming over. "I love my children, I really do, but with so many of them, and so many close friends, it can get a little overwhelming."
She sipped her brandy and looked with a fond eye over the gathering. "I think my twins are planning something," she said in a conspiratorial tone. "They usually are, but I heard of the food fight their sister caused for their birthday. They'll need to get their own back for that." She hoped it wouldn't be a food fight in her garden. The mess would attract more gnomes, and she already had such a hard time keeping them away from her vegetables as it was.
"You work with Charlie, correct? Do you enjoy the dragons?"
--
Lucas didn't mind rowdy, boisterous gatherings. Other times he might have been in the thick of it, but not today. “Can I get you anything?” He asked, curious as to why none of her multiple children were seeing about her comfort. Unless she didn't want them to know? “And yeah, I guess it takes some getting used to.” Lucas scratched the back of his head. Flint gatherings just tended to be the three of them with Higgs and Gemma.
As the conversation slid to dragons, a topic much more comfortable and far less personal, Lucas relaxed some. “Yeah. The dragons are amazing and while I wouldn't mind seeing some more animals on the preserve, I get why they aren't.” Except, of course dragons weren't the only ones in need of sanctuaries, but try telling that to the average witch or wizard. “Charlie’s brillian, by the way.
--
Molly waved away his offer. "I'm quite well, love," she said gently. "I just need to sit a spell and rest my bones." She smiled kindly at the young man. She watched him without seeming to watch him. She noticed him relax. Mothers, especially ones with so many children, would make excellent interrogators. They knew how to read small changes in demeanor.
"Perhaps you can begin other reserves one day," she said kindly. Molly smiled. "That he is, but I had very little to do with it beyond his manners, love. My children are their own people, and I am proud they have taken my and their father's lessons and grown as they have."
--
If Lucas could hear Mrs. Weasley’s thoughts he would have aborted. His mother has three children and wouldn't know the first thing about reading him. Of course, when Lucas has been with his mother he had always had one goal in mind. With Molly Weasley…. He wasn't sure. He wouldn't treat her the same way he’d treat his mother, nor could he treat her the way he'd treat his friends’ mothers, mostly because he didn't know any of them. What if mothers just didn't like him? And then the anxiety was back.
“Maybe.” Lucas tried not to hunch up in his chair. That would have been rude. “But that wouldn't be for a long time yet.” And he'd need a lot of land and money to do that, neither of which he had a lot of.
--
"You're young. You have plenty of time, love. Learn as much as you can from the reserve, and how it's run, and use it when the time is right." She smiled warmly at Lucas. "As I told your sister earlier, find your happiness. That's most important."
Molly looked at Lucas, her head tilted, smiling. "Are you doing okay? Do you need anything, love? Did you get enough to eat?"
--
Lucas hadn’t really been feeling all that hungry so he’d only picked here and there, surprised that some of his favorite foods were laid out. Since he hadn’t informed Ginny about what he liked, Lucas could only assumed that Marcus had a hand in choosing the food. “I’ve had plenty to eat, thank you, Mrs. Weasley.” He met her smile with one of his own, though his was admittedly weaker.
He wondered what Mrs. Weasley and Pippa had to talk about, but didn’t press further. His sister was entitled to chat with whomever she wanted, his curiosity be dammed. “I imagine I will, but that’s a long time yet. As Marcus constantly points out.”
--
"Alright, love. I'll send you home with containers. I'm sure you get plenty to eat. Ginny said that your brother makes sure you don't starve, but we'll have so much left over, I would hate for it to go to waste." She was trying to put Lucas at ease. He seemed tense, and she wanted to give him a hug. Marcus had said his brother was more open to such things than his sister.
"That is an older brother or sister's job. My brothers were born just before I left for Hogwarts. I never let them forget they were my babies." Molly smiled around the rim of her brandy glass, which was emptied with that last sip. "May I hug you, love? I have a strong need to do so."
--
What else had Ginny said? Lucas was almost suspicious, but Ginny didn’t seem like the type to gossip. And he didn’t like the idea of food going to waste. “That is very kind of you, Mrs. Weasley.” Lucas bobbed his head. “There are probably others on the reserve that wouldn’t mind a precooked meal if there’s a lot left over.” He shrugged. “After long shifts sometimes the last thing you want to do is cook.” That’s why sandwiches were such wonderful inventions.
“A hug?” Lucas blinked. That wasn’t the oddest request he’d ever received, but he hadn’t been hugged by too many people. His siblings. The Higgs. Prim. That was practically everyone and that fit on one hand. “Yeah, sure. I guess. I mean, that would be alright with me, if you would like.”
--
She smiled. "That's a lovely thought. Around the holidays, I try to do something similar for the less fortunate, but I had not thought about Charlie's coworkers." She considered her pantries and who else she would be able to feed. Her home often felt too empty. If she had a cause such as providing home-cooked meals for others, she would feel less at loose ends.
Molly stood and pulled Lucas to his feet, enveloping him with her arms. She didn't know his full history, but she knew enough that she would not let go until he relaxed. She gently rubbed his back, rocking back and forth gently and humming under her breath.
--
Lucas didn’t know what to do. Well, theoretically he knew what to do when one was hugged. Namely it was to hug back, but at that moment, he stood there sort of frozen and not unlike an animal caught in the spotlight. Later, he would feel badly. Really, Mrs. Weasley was a wonderful hugger, but it was too much, too soon, by someone he had just met. So he stood there awkwardly, not wanting to hurt the woman’s feelings when she had been so kind to him
--
Her heart broke a little when Lucas remained stiff and uncertain. It wasn't because he didn't return her hug, but because she had a good idea why he didn't. "You're going to be family," she told him gently as she pulled back. She kept her hands on his face, making him look at her. "Your brother is marrying my girl, and she--well, it's for her to tell you, but you will be my family through her." Molly patted Lucas' cheeks softly, once, before letting him go. "We'll work up to the hugs."
Over Lucas' shoulder, she spotted a young woman watching them closely, worry written on her face. Molly smiled and picked up her glass, retreating a step. "I see you have someone who loves you enough to worry already, so I'll let you get back to her."
--
He didn't know what to say. Family had a very specific meaning to Lucas, not all of it good. He had been happy with his small group and to suddenly have it widening wildly out of control left him flailing slightly, like a man about to drown after treading water for far too long. Unable to say anything, Lucas simply bobbed his head before turning around to see Prim looking at him and Mrs. Weasley.
Unbidden a smile came across Lucas’ face, letting Prim know that he was okay. Just seeing her allowed Lucas to relax marginally so that he didn’t quite hear what Mrs. Weasley had to tell him. Yes, they had traded ‘I love yous’ but maybe they hadn’t quite realized how deep that caring went.
“Thank you for sitting with me, Mrs. Weasley.”