Molly Weasley

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"

- Molly Weasley when Bellatrix Lestrange almost killed Ginny Weasley

Molly Weasley (née Prewett) is a pure-blood witch and the matriarch of the Weasley family, married to Arthur Weasley. She was born into the Prewett family and is distantly related to Sirius Black (and thus to Lucius Malfoy) by marriage. She and Arthur had seven children: Bill, Charlie, Percy, twins Fred and George, Ron and Ginny.

Early Life
Molly was born in 1949 and had two younger brothers, Gideon and Fabian Prewett. She began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1961, and was sorted into Gryffindor. It was here that she met Arthur Weasley, and at an unspecified point they began dating. One night they went out for a night-time stroll. While Arthur got caught by Apollyon Pringle, Molly managed to get back to Gryffindor Tower at four in the morning, and was told off by The Fat Lady.

Molly graduated from Hogwarts in 1968, and at some point she and Arthur got married. Their first child, Bill, was born in 1970. Six more children followed: Charlie, Percy, twins Fred and George, Ron, and Ginny.

During the First Wizarding War, Molly was not mentioned as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but this is likely because she was having and taking care of many young children at the time. Her brothers, however, were members of the Order, and were killed during the war by five Death Eaters, including Antonin Dolohov, who was imprisoned in Azkaban for the crime.

1991


By 1991, everyone from Bill to Fred and George had been accepted to Hogwarts and Sorted into Gryffindor, and Ron's first year at Hogwarts was to begin. Molly accompanied Percy, Fred, George, and Ron to King's Cross Station; Ginny also came along, although she was too young to begin school herself. After Percy, Fred, and George got onto Platform 9 3/4, another young boy approached her and politely asked how to get onto the Platform. She kindly gave him instructions, and told him to go ahead before Ron.

After getting onto the platform with Ginny, she learned that the boy she had just talked to was Harry Potter. When Fred and George wondered if he remembered what Lord Voldemort looked like, Molly became stern and forbade them from asking him. When last calls from the train came, she ushered her children onto the train and called for them to have a good term.

Having become friends with Harry, Ron contacted Molly shortly before Christmas vacation to tell her that Harry was not expecting any presents. Molly came to the rescue and knit him an emerald green Weasley sweater and made him a box of homemade fudge. For the Christmas vacation, she and Arthur also went to Romania to visit their son Charlie.

When Harry and the others returned from Hogwarts for the summer, he thanked her for the sweater and fudge, to which she insisted was no trouble. When Harry's Uncle Vernon barked at him to get moving, Molly tried to engage him in conversation, which ended up going nowhere.

1992
Over the summer, Molly's daughter Ginny talked non-stop about having met Harry.

One night, Molly was scared to death when she found Fred, George, and Ron's beds empty and the family car gone. When the trio returned with Harry the next morning, having flown to Surrey and back, her anger exploded and she yelled at them for what, to Harry, seemed like hours. She didn't blame Harry, but threw her sons nasty looks the whole time she made breakfast. To punish them, Molly made them de-gnome the back garden. When Molly looked up the process in Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests, Fred implied that Molly had a crush on Lockhart; while Molly said the thought was ridiculous, her body language told another story - she beamed at his picture and blushed slightly.

About a week after Harry arrived at The Burrow, Molly and Arthur took the family and Harry to Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies. Before leaving, she and Arthur learned that Harry had never traveled through the Floo Network before. After Harry got lost in Knockturn Alley, Molly was relieved to find him safe with Hagrid, and was grateful to the half-giant for finding him. After getting their money from Gringotts, Molly departed with Ginny to a second-hand robe shop, to meet the others an hour later at Flourish and Blotts. After Arthur got into a fist fight with Lucius Malfoy, Molly was livid, claiming that his actions were not a good example to set for his children.

After dropping the children off at King's Cross Station on September 1, Molly and Arthur were outraged when they found their car gone. That night, she received a note from Headmaster Albus Dumbledore explaining what Harry and Ron had done. The next day, Molly sent a Howler to Ron, expressing her "absolute" disgust at his reckless behavior, and the fact that Arthur was now facing an inquiry at work.

1993
In the spring of 1993, Molly and Arthur arrived at Hogwarts, worried, after learning that the Monster of Slytherin had taken Ginny into the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry and Ron brought her back safely, Molly was grateful to Harry, and was curious as to how he managed it. After Harry explained everything, Molly accompanied Ginny to the hospital wing.

That summer, Arthur won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw. He and Molly decided to spend the gold on a trip to Egypt to visit Bill. While Bill took them on tours of the pyramids, Molly refused to let Ginny come into the last one, which was full of "mutant skeletons" of Muggles who had broken in and "grown extra heads." After returning about a week before the new school year, Molly learned from Arthur that Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban Prison.

After meeting Harry in Diagon Alley on August 31, Molly discussed Black's connection to Harry with Arthur. Arthur wanted to tell Harry the truth about why Black was supposed to be after him, but Molly didn't want to send him to school with that hanging over his head; she was convinced that since Dumbledore was stationed at Hogwarts, Harry would be perfectly safe from harm. Arthur then countered that if Black could break out of Azkaban, then he was capable of breaking in to Hogwarts. The next day, she and Arthur saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the others off to school.

1994
The following June, she arrived at King's Cross to pick her family up.

In August, Molly sent a letter to the Dursleys by the Muggle postman, "asking" permission to take Harry to the Quidditch World Cup (the Weasleys were planning to collect Harry whether the Dursleys said yes or not). Unsure of how much postage to include, Molly completely covered the envelope with stamps, leaving only a square inch on the front in which she managed to squeeze the Dursleys' address.

When Molly entered the family's kitchen, she caught Arthur in the middle of scolding Fred and George for something. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny disappeared upstairs while Arthur was forced to tell her about the prank Fred and George had pulled on Harry's cousin Dudley.

After she stopped yelling at them, she began preparing dinner, during which she huffed about Fred and George's trouble-making.

On the morning of the World Cup, Molly caught Fred and George trying to smuggle Ton-Tongue Toffees out of the house, in unusual places like the lining of George's jacket and the turn-ups of Fred's jeans. When Molly read of the Death Eaters' attack on the World Cup grounds, she became worried for her family. When the family arrived safely back home, she hugged Fred and George (to everyone's surprise), crying over the thought of, if they had died, yelling at them for not having earned more O.W.L.s.

On September 1, Molly, Bill, and Charlie accompanied the others to King's Cross Station for the return to Hogwarts. The three of them all implied that something special was happening at the school, but wouldn't elaborate.

When Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire as a surprise fourth champion, as told by Charlie, Molly was against letting him compete, believing that Harry was too young. And again according to Charlie, Molly was "in floods" after reading an "interview" with Rita Skeeter in which Skeeter claimed Harry still cried about his parents. Considering Molly's already fragile state, Charlie didn't have the heart to tell her what Harry had to do for the First Task.

1995
In June, Molly arrived at Hogwarts with Bill to watch Harry in the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament. While whittling down the hours until the task started, Harry gave her and Bill a tour around the grounds, showing them the Beauxbatons carriage and the Durmstrang ship; Molly was also intrigued by the Whomping Willow, which had been planted after she left school. She also reminisced about Ogg, the gamekeeper before Hagrid.

When the trio returned to the castle for lunch, Ron was surprised to see Molly and Bill there. Fred, George and Ginny came over to join them, and Harry enjoyed their company. When Hermione appeared at the table, having come from the library, Molly greeted her more stiffly than usual, as Rita Skeeter had been writing articles about Hermione supposedly toying with Harry and Viktor Krum's affections. After Harry explained that the stories were false and that he and Hermione had never been romantically involved, Molly warmed up to her once again.

After Harry returned from Little Hangleton with Cedric Diggory's dead body, Molly, the other Weasleys, and Hermione stayed with him in the hospital wing. When Dumbledore acted to reactive the Order of the Phoenix, Molly was shocked to learn Sirius was in the room; she, like most of the wizarding world, still believed Sirius to be a mass murderer. Ron was able to convince her otherwise.

A week into the summer vacation, Molly had her heart broken when Percy broke contact with the family after a row with his father. Percy insulted his parents, believing them to be "idiots" for following Dumbledore, and moved out to a flat in London.

After this incident, Molly and Arthur moved their family to 12 Grimmauld Place in London, the headquarters of the Order. Under Dumbledore's orders, the Weasleys kept Harry in the dark about the Order's goings-on. When the Advance Guard delivered Harry to Grimmauld Place, Molly was pleased to see him, but quickly ushered him upstairs so he wouldn't interrupt the Order's meeting. When the meeting ended, Molly brought the children downstairs for dinner. Against Molly's wishes, Sirius and Lupin gave Harry the general picture of what the Order was doing in the fight against Voldemort.

For the following weeks, Molly lead the charge in making the house suitable for living in. When Harry had to go to the Ministry for a hearing regarding his illegal use of underage magic, Molly was among those who worried about the result. Like the rest of the family, she was relieved when Harry was cleared of all charges.

When Ron was made a Gryffindor prefect, Molly was overjoyed and offered to get Ron a reward. Ron asked for a new broom, but upon seeing his mother's face fall, quickly added that it didn't need to be a good broom; just a new one. Molly returned later that night with the children's school supplies, and prepared a party to celebrate Ron and Hermione's appointments. When Mad-Eye Moody arrived, Molly asked him to look at what was in the writing desk in the drawing room; using his "mad" eye, Moody confirmed it was a boggart, and offered to get rid of it, but Molly declined, commenting she would do it after dinner. After Harry witnessed her inability to vanquish it, Molly tearfully expressed her concern over her family's safety. Lupin comforted her, explaining that the Order had a better understanding of Voldemort than they did the first time, and that while he couldn't promise no one would get hurt, the Order would do their best to protect her family.

On the morning of September 1, Fred and George again got on Molly's nerves when they bewitched their trunks to zoom down the stairs, to save the trouble of carrying them. The trunks managed to knock Ginny down two flights of stairs, and Molly screamed at the pair that they could have seriously injured her. When Sirius came bounding downstairs in his dog form, to see Harry off, Molly reiterated that it was a bad idea, but felt that it was up to him if he wanted to risk his safety.

When Molly got wind of the secret group Harry, Ron, and Hermione were planning to form to teach practical defensive magic, she was firmly against the idea; she believed that they would all have time to learn to defend themselves after they left school. She asked Sirius to pass on a message to Ron, which was that he was in no way to continue the group. She also wanted the message passed on to Harry and Hermione; while accepting that she had no control over the pair's actions, she had their best interests at heart.

During the Christmas vacation, Molly was contacted by Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes to warn her that Arthur had been attacked by Nagini during guard duty for the Order. While the Weasley children, staying with Sirius in Grimmauld Place, wanted to set off for St. Mungo's at once, Sirius had to convince them they couldn't until Molly had been notified; it would look too suspicious otherwise. Before setting off for St. Mungo's, Molly sent a note to Grimmauld Place that Arthur was still alive, and warned them to stay put. At 5:10 a.m., Molly arrived at Grimmauld Place to tell them Arthur would be all right and that they could all visit him later; George and Ginny were so relieved, they got up and hugged her. When Sirius began making breakfast, Molly hugged Harry and expressed her gratitude that if not for him, Arthur might have died.

When the Weasleys and Harry visited Arthur in St. Mungo's, Molly became alarmed when Arthur mentioned one of his roommates was a werewolf; Arthur calmed her by pointing out the full moon wasn't for another fortnight. When Fred and George tried to get information from Arthur about what he had been doing, Molly got angry and told them that the topic was not up for discussion.

On Christmas Day, Molly's concern about Percy reached a breaking point when he returned his Christmas jumper unopened. Fred and George "attempted" to console her, but soon afterwards Lupin took over.

When the family and Harry returned to visit Arthur again, Molly exploded after learning that for his wound, Arthur had tried using stitches, a Muggle remedy for similar Muggle wounds.

1996
In June, Molly and Arthur arrived at King's Cross Station to pick their children up. Molly and Arthur also made plans with Dumbledore to take Harry to the Burrow two weeks into the summer vacation. When Harry arrived, Molly revealed that Arthur had been promoted to head a new department for Rufus Scrimgeour; from her tone, Harry deduced she had been "bursting" to tell someone. When Arthur arrived home from work, Arthur made her ask him their security questions before allowing himself in, revealing that Arthur's private nickname for her was "Mollywobbles."

The next morning, Molly expressed her disdain at Bill's engagement to Fleur Delacour, who was staying at the house; Bill had brought her so she could get to know his family. According to Ginny, Molly kept trying to break up the engagement by inviting Nymphadora Tonks to dinner, hoping that Bill would fall for her instead.

When Hermione got a black eye from one of Fred and George's punching telescopes, she went to Molly to try and get rid of it, to no avail; even with The Healer's Helpmate, Molly was unable to remove the bruise. When Ron's O.W.L. results arrived, Molly was pleased to learn he had earned seven "pass" grades, commenting that it was more than Fred and George both earned. When the school book lists arrived, Molly refused to go to Diagon Alley without Arthur; when Ron made a joke about Voldemort possibly hiding in Flourish and Blotts, Molly threatened not only to leave him behind and get his things herself, but hold him back from returning to Hogwarts, as well; Ron quickly recanted, wanting to see Fred and George's shop.

When the family and Hagrid arrived in Diagon Alley, Molly expressed her concern to stay together, while at the same time battling the desire to finish the shopping quickly. Hagrid assured her that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be fine with him, so she, Arthur, and Ginny headed off towards Flourish and Blotts. When the group reunited, they headed off towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Approaching the store, Molly stared in horror at the advertisement for "U-No-Poo," an item they sell to cause constipation. Once inside the store, Ginny asked Molly if she could buy a Pygmy Puff.

On September 1, Molly and Arthur ushered the children onto the train back to Hogwarts.

1997
"You've seen what [Mum]'s like. She won't accept we're going till we've gone."

- Ron Weasley to Harry and Hermione, about their Horcrux search

In March, Molly and Arthur were called to the school when Ron accidentally drank some poisoned mead. When the pair arrived in the hospital wing, she hugged Harry very tightly, pointing out how many of the family members he had saved.

Molly and Arthur returned to Hogwarts again in June after learning Bill had been injured in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. While Arthur was interested in how Dumbledore had died, Molly only had her eyes on Bill. Molly commented that Bill had always been handsome, and that he was "going" to be married. Fleur took offense to this, and shouted that she didn't care what Bill looked like, and that her love for him ran deeper than physical appearance. Accepting that the pair truly did love each other, Molly offered Fleur her Aunt Muriel's goblin-made tiara to wear at the wedding. In June, Molly and Arthur attended Dumbledore's funeral along with Bill and Fleur.

At some point, Molly learned that Ron and Hermione were planning to drop out of Hogwarts. When she approached them about why, they refused to divulge any information. While Arthur and Remus Lupin approached the issue, and dropped it when they were told it was a secret, Molly was determined to learn the truth.

When Harry and Hagrid arrived at The Burrow after the Battle over Little Whinging, Molly was relieved he was there safe. Hagrid then asked if she had any brandy, for "medicinal purposes." Instead of summoning it by magic, she went into the house to collect it herself; Harry knew that this was because she wanted to hide her blotchy face.

A few moments later, Ginny alerted Molly to the arrival of Lupin and George. With something obviously wrong with the latter, Molly soon learned that he was missing his right ear. Molly managed to staunch the bleeding, but was unable to to repair the damage; she was simply relieved that he was alive. When Arthur and Fred returned safe, Molly cried harder than ever when George turned the injury into a punchline. George then commented that at least from then on, Molly would be able to differentiate the pair.

A few minutes later, Ron and Bill both returned safely. Hugging his mother, Bill told the group that Mad-Eye Moody had been killed.

Within a few days, Molly approached Harry, under the pretense of determining the owner of a man's sock, about why he, Ron, and Hermione were planning to leave Hogwarts. Harry refused to say explicitly, but dropped snippets that it was because something Dumbledore wanted him to do. Molly argued that she and Arthur deserved to know, and was sure Mr. and Mrs. Granger would agree. She continued that if Dumbledore wanted something done, he had the whole Order at his command, and the three of them were hardly of age; Harry countered that there had been no misunderstanding: the mission Dumbledore left for him was for him alone, and Ron and Hermione were coming along by choice.

Seeing she was fighting a losing battle, she the changed the subject by asking if he would help prepare the house for Bill and Fleur's wedding. He agreed, but Molly made sure to give the trio jobs that kept them away from each other; as Ginny commented to Harry, she believed that if Molly could prevent them from getting together and planning, she could delay their departure.

When the Delacours arrived the following morning, Molly was somewhat flustered, but pleased to have them there. She and Arthur fervently insisted that Monsieur and Madame Delacour take their bedroom, while she and Arthur slept in the sitting room. The following day, Harry's birthday, Molly gave him a watch belonging to her brother Fabian. In the middle of explaining the watch-giving tradition, Molly's speech was interrupted by a hug from Harry. When Charlie arrived that evening, Molly forced him into a chair and gave him a haircut. Molly then made a scrumptious dinner and made Harry's birthday cake into the shape of a Golden Snitch. Just before the cutting of the cake, Molly learned that Rufus Scrimgeour was accompanying Arthur home. After the pair arrived, Scrimgeour revealed the reason for his visit: he required a private word with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

The next day was Bill's wedding to Fleur. During the ceremony, Molly sat with Apolline Delacour, and the pair cried into their tissues. At the reception that followed, Molly danced with Monsiuer Delacour. Soon afterwards, Molly learned with everyone else that the Ministry of Magic had fallen to the Death Eaters' control and that Scrimgeour was dead. After the Death Eaters left, Molly and Arthur sent word to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that the rest of the family was safe.

1998 and beyond
In March, the Death Eaters identified Ron as travelling with Harry Potter. Molly's eldest son Bill was able to get word to his family, and Molly and the rest of the Weasley family vacated the Burrow. They lived with Molly's Aunt Muriel during this time.

On May 2, Molly and Arthur arrived at the school to take part in the Battle of Hogwarts. As the combination of the Order and Dumbledore's Army left to gather in the Great Hall, Molly was adamant about Ginny going home; since she was underage, Molly refused to let her stay. Ginny insisted she should be there; in addition to the rest of her family being there, she was a member of Dumbledore's Army.

During this argument, Percy entered the room, having learned of the pending battle from Aberforth Dumbledore. Percy made peace with his family, much to Molly's relief. When the family left to join the others, Molly caught Ginny trying to sneak out with them. Lupin then proposed that Ginny remain in the Room of Requirement; that way she could remain close to her family while simultaneously staying out of harm's way.

During a break in the battle, as ordered by Voldemort, Molly grieved Fred's death in the Great Hall. She laid across his chest and wept, while Arthur stroked her hair.

When the battle resumed, Molly eventually took on Bellatrix Lestrange, who had been fighting Ginny, Hermione and Luna Lovegood, and very nearly hit Ginny with a Killing Curse. Bellatrix laughed at Molly, not taking her seriously, and mocked her over the recent death of her son. Moments later, Molly struck a deadly blow. The death of his "last, best lieutenant" made Voldemort turn on Molly, but Harry shielded her and revealed himself to be alive. Molly then watched, with everyone else, the interaction between Harry and Voldemort, which ended with Voldemort's final defeat. Molly joined the other Weasleys in congratulating Harry.

In the years following Voldemort's death, Molly's family grew with the marriages of her children and births of numerous grandchildren. Molly also served as the namesake of Percy's daughter.

Physical description
Molly is frequently described as a short plump woman and Harry is shocked to see how much a kindly woman like Mrs. Weasley could so easily look "like a sabre-tooth tiger" when she is angry at Fred, George and Ron for taking Mr. Weasley's flying car. Various synonyms that have appeared include "porky" and "dumpy."

Like the rest of her immediate family, Molly has flaming red hair, and her eyes are the same shade of brown as her daughter Ginny's, as well as her grandson James and her grandaughter Lily, who was said to have the same eye color as Ginny, who has the same eye color as her mother.

Personality
Molly's character reflects her calling as a mother. She is devoted and hardworking, protective of her family, but not one to put up with too much nonsense from any of them. She is fiercely proud of her children's accomplishments, but scandalized by misbehaviour, and is not beyond sending a Howler to the school to humiliate one of them publicly for stepping out of line, evidenced by her reaction to the use of the unauthorized Flying Ford Anglia by Ron to reach Hogwarts at the start of the school year in 1992. Fred and George's antics, in particular, are a source of perpetual frustration for her. She sometimes finds it difficult as her children grow to maturity and strove out in their own directions. Not surprisingly, she initially considered Fleur Delacour completely wrong for Bill when they become engaged in 1996. Ironically, however, it is high achiever Percy who causes her the most pain when he breaks with the family in 1995 over their unwavering allegiance to Albus Dumbledore.

For Harry Potter, Molly became his closest mother figure. Molly was appalled at the mistreatment that Harry suffered at the Dursleys, and was delighted to have Harry stay with the Weasleys at the Burrow where she could offer food, advice and general mothering. Starved for affection from his own Aunt Petunia, Harry found warmth from Molly. However, Harry occasionally found her overprotectiveness somewhat smothering. In 1995, when Harry asked about what the Order of the Phoenix was doing against Voldemort, Molly constantly insisted that Harry shouldn't be told more than he needed to know; on the other hand, Sirius believed that Harry had dealt with more than the Order could imagine and thus deserved to have the whole picture. While Harry was touched that Molly considered him like a son, he also felt Sirius was right in that he was not a small child, and should be treated as a maturing adult.

Molly has shown surprising and incredible skill at dueling, specifically when her family is threatened, as shown in 1998 when she single-handedly killed Bellatrix Lestrange, a highly dangerous and skilled duelist, after Lestrange nearly killed her daughter. This could have been urged by an emotional surge of grief and anger for the death of Fred shortly before.

Boggart
Her worst fears are seeing her family (including Harry and Hermione) dead, as seen when she confronted a boggart at 12 Grimmauld Place in 1995.

Behind the scenes

 * J. K. Rowling's notebook lists show Alice Longbottom as a Prewett by birth, but how closely she may be related to Molly and her brothers is not known.
 * Molly first name comes from the term "Mollycoddle."
 * In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Remus Lupin mentions that Molly was not in the Order of the Phoenix during Voldemort's first rise to power. Being ten years older than Lupin, it seems odd that she was not in the Order, while he was.  However, it should be noted that this is possibly because Molly had just given birth to her first child, Bill in 1970, and that Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron were all born during that time, as well.
 * In one scene of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Molly reminisces about Ogg, the gamekeeper before Hagrid. But in other books, it is implied that Hagrid has been the school's gamekeeper since his expulsion in 1942; thus his tenure would have overlapped with Molly's years at school. Hagrid may have been being trained for the position at that point however.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows