Happy Birthday, Molly Weasley!

It’s time to wish a Happy Birthday to one of our favorite Harry Potter mothers–Molly Weasley! If we could whip out our wands and knit her a new “M” sweater perfect for sipping tea by the fireside on chilly autumn nights when she’s trying not to stare at the wizarding clock because her boys have left Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes and not arrived safely Home yet, we would.

(Goodness knows, they’re probably still getting themselves into plenty of mischief now and again, and mothers never stop being mothers, do they?)

But, our sweaters would never pass muster, nor would our needles fly so fast, so instead we’ll remember all of things about Molly Weasley that continue to endear her to us!

Her warmth and hospitality.

Molly Weasley is that mom whose house is always a little messy and cluttered, but what it’s full of the stuff of home–and homes away from home. The stacks of books are the books you want to read. The crockery is stocked with pumpkin pasties and the pumpkin juice is plentiful. If you’ve been caught in the rain, she’ll dry your socks by the fire and provide you with warm, fresh pajamas to wear while you wait it out.

More specifically, she welcomed Harry like a son. He could come whenever he liked, for as long as he liked, and there was always a ready hug waiting for him upon arrival. (We will always love her for that!)

Her high expectations and solid priorities. 

She loves her children enough to tell them what for when they need it. She has expectations for how they treat her and how they treat others. She expects them to be responsible. No, they don’t all have to be like Percy, but it’d be good if they didn’t steal the family car (twice).

Molly set an example for what’s important in life by who she loves and how she lives. She’s of a pureblood wizarding family but makes nothing of it. In fact, she supports and encourages her husband in his interest for all things muggle and is clearly content with the life they’ve made for themselves, including his “humble” position in the Ministry. They don’t need power or wealth to be happy, only each other and a mutual commitment to serve well in the work they’ve chosen. And, lo and behold, the children all turned out to be brave, kind, funny, passionate, and selfless–just like her.

Her resourcefulness.

They don’t have the wealth most old wizarding families seem to have or, apparently, one of the high paid positions within the Ministry, but Molly Weasley doesn’t let this define them or limit them. She is endlessly resourceful–from multiplying her time management in the home with expert application of useful magical spells to the unabashed use of perfectly-good used text books and hand-me-down robes (to the chagrin of her children, admittedly).

She is nothing if not practical, and though her children may not have always appreciated it at the time, knowing how to do a lot with a little is a skill that will serve them very well in life. Ron gave testimony to this when he looked around the Burrow, resplendent in its hodge-podge glory, and said happily, “It’s not much, but it’s home!”

Her fan-girling (like the rest of us). 

We wouldn’t have a complete picture of Molly Weasley if we left out her fun-loving side. When presented with the opportunity to get autographs from her wizard-crush, Gilderoy Lockhart, she fawned over him like any fangirl would! You’re never too old for fun and adventure, and she owns it like the boss she is.

(We’ll forgive her for not realizing he was an absolute dolt, of course. How could she know, going only on the charismatic public image he’d carefully crafted and the persuasiveness of his stolen legend? We rather think that if she’d known how he planned to run from rescuing Ginny Weasley and then perform memory charms on Ron and Harry, that she would have befuddled him herself!)

Her ability to know when to step in and when to step back.

Molly Weasley may have spent a good part of the recent years raising her family, but make no mistake, she’s well qualified to rejoin the Order of the Phoenix when called to do so, and she has no problem speaking her mind boldly among her fellow leaders–and bringing action to bear as well. She is compelled to do so for the good of wizard kind and is proud to later see her children joining the fight.

But, she knows members must be well prepared for the role they undertake. She strongly objected to Harry gaining full access to the Order at the young age of 15, wisely knowing that he was not quite ready and hoping, as any mother would, to guard him until it was truly necessary for him to shoulder the weight. She made no apologies to Sirius for disagreeing with him and was forceful in carrying her point.

When, on the other hand, it was evident that Harry, Ron, and Hermione must abandon their schooling two years later and continue Dumbledore’s search for horcruxes, we heard no inkling that she attempted to dissuade them from their mission. It was time–and she knew it.

When found in the midst of the Battle of Hogwarts, however, she not only fought proudly and fiercely alongside her children, she also stepped in to shield and defend them when possible. She would not let Ginny face Bellatrix alone and, in fact, took commanding control of their duel in order to protect her daughter and best her foe.

Her strength and resilience. 

In many ways, this echoes the comments above, but we would be remiss if we failed to mention her amazing strength in the face of loss and tragedy. Though she had to watch George lose an ear to a Death Eater’s curse and saw Bill’s face mauled by a werewolf and (temporarily) lost Percy to the pernicious grip of power and position and endured months of agonizing over Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s whereabouts and knew Ginny to be facing daily persecution and torture at Hogwarts and, finally, witnessed the death of her son, Fred, she got up, day after day, and she fought. And she kept fighting.

Whatever fear and anxiety she faced in her private moments, whatever tears were shed, she did not lose heart, she did not lose hope. And that is a theme echoed throughout the series. There are things worth fighting for, worth dying for, and there is life worth living in the aftermath.

So raise your glasses to Molly Weasley–and go hug the Molly in your life!