Author's Notes: This is in response to "Vows" written by .princess. I thought it would be easier to continue a story someone has already written since this is my first fanfic ever. Y'all should read "Vows" before this one otherwise you might be lost. This first part in italics is from the last part of "Vows". There will be at least a few chapters. Enjoy and let me know how I did with my first fanfic!

Learning To Cope Without Arthur

He looked at Molly one last time, and mouthed an apology. And before she could react, he had pushed Fred out of the way.

As the stones came down upon him, he allowed himself one last smile.

If it meant his own son would live, it was worth it.

ooOoo

Molly, Fred, and George couldn't believe what just happened. Their husband and father was just buried alive by rubble. None of them could afford to be distracted or the Death Eater would kill them too. The three of them immediately hexed the Death Eater. He went down.

When Molly, Fred, and George checked to make sure the Death Eater was dead and no others were near, they ran back to the pile of rubble. "Help me move these rocks," Molly commanded Fred and George. "Yes, Mum," they replied in unison. With the help of magic, they had Arthur uncovered in a matter of seconds. By this time, Percy saw that his father was lying, lifeless, on the ground and ran over. They feared the worst as Molly, holding her breath, rolled him onto his back.

To their relief, and surprise, Arthur wasn't dead… but he was barely alive. "A-Arthur?" Molly said in barely a whisper. In a voice only Molly could hear and with his last breath Arthur said, "I vowed to protect our children no matter what." With one last gasping breath it was over. Molly's body began to shake violently as she wept over her dead husband's body. Fred, George, and Percy went over to their mother and the four of them held each other in a tight embrace with tears streaming down their faces as what just happened started to sink in.

Luckily, during all this, the battle had started to die down and no Death Eaters were around to attack them. After several minutes, the four of them got a hold of themselves; Percy conjured a stretcher. Fred and George lifted Arthur onto the stretcher and they took him to the Great Hall where all the other fatalities were. On their way there, they ran into Bill and Charlie and explained what had happened.

The battle had stopped and people started coming into the Great Hall to see Madam Pomfery about their injuries and to see who all didn't make it. The Weasleys, except Ron and Ginny, settled themselves in a corner of the hall so as not to be bothered.

ooOoo

Half an hour later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny entered the Great Hall. (They had just come from the Shrieking Shack where they had witnessed Nagini kill Snape). They looked around for the rest of the Weasleys and finally spotted them in the far right corner. Molly and her five oldest children were crouched around something; the four of them couldn't make out what it was. As they got closer, they could tell someone was missing, but none of them had imagined the worst.

Ginny hesitated then said, "Mum?" Molly stood up and looked at her only daughter. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny could tell something was horribly wrong.

Ron asked timidly, "W-where's Dad?" They were hoping she'd say Arthur had gone to speak with Kingsley or someone else. They knew she wouldn't.

Molly didn't say anything. She just stared at them with red, puffy eyes. The rest of the Weasleys stood up and looked at them.

"Where's Dad?" he asked again, this time more firmly.

Neither Molly nor any of her oldest sons could say anything. After another moment had passed, Molly shook her head and they all backed up so Ron and Ginny could see their father lying on a stretcher, lifeless. The two youngest Weasley children stood there, horror struck, before attempting to move or speak. Harry and Hermione stood there holding back tears of their own.

They finally walked over and knelt on either side of their father. Ginny started visibly shaking as she began to sob while Ron just sat there staring at his father, a pained expression on his face and his eyes glassy. All Molly could do was stand there and watch as her last two children came to the rough realization that their father was dead.

As he looked up at his mother, Ron choked out, "W-w-what happened to – to Dad?"

Molly had a huge lump in her throat. She couldn't do this. Not now. Not again. She'd already had to explain it once, to Bill and Charlie; she didn't want to have to explain it again. She couldn't tell her two youngest children that their father was - dead.

She realized Ron was waiting for an answer. She cleared her throat. Molly took a deep breath and said, in a strained voice, "Your – your father was killed about forty-five minutes ago." Her son and daughter looked at her pleadingly with tear-filled eyes. They knew he was killed. She had only told them the obvious. They wanted to know how it happened. "A Death Eater shot the ceiling above him with a spell and – and your father. He was buried under a pile of rubble." They didn't have to know he was barely alive once they uncovered him. Not yet anyway.

"Who was it?" Ron said angrily, "Who was the Death Eater?"

By now she had tears streaming down her face again. Fred turned her around and held her in a tight embrace while her tears started to dampen his shoulder.

"We don't know," George was speaking now, "Whoever it was, the three of us killed him." He jerked his head toward his mother and Fred. Ron nodded.

After giving them some time, Harry and Hermione went over to their significant other to comfort them. Ron shrugged Hermione's hand off of his arm; he didn't want this. He knew if someone touched him he'd fall apart.

Ginny, on the other hand, immediately buried her face in Harry's shoulder as he held her close. Tears started falling down his own face. The girl he loved was in pain and the only real father figure he had in his life had just died.