MORE THAN ONE WAY

It was deafening, The silence. It practically screamed through the whole of the Burrow just begging to be broken. Of all the occupants of the lopsided house, blood and honorary Weasley alike no one had spoken a word in over three hours. Speaking would solidify what no one wanted to believe.

Arthur Weasley, Dead.

They had proof, of course, his body lying in the middle of their floor frozen in the last position that he had ever held, a look of terror on his face and tears forming in his eyes. No one could bring themselves to say or do anything other than sit in their respective places and stare at the cold body of the Weasley family patriarch. It would have turned Molly's stomach had she not been in shock.

"Mrs. Weasley," Harry started after some time, stopped only by the sharp disapproving look he received. She hated when he called her by her surname, he wouldn't call her mother of course but she preferred Molly to Mrs. Weasley, that was such tedious a formality that she nor Arthur had cared about. She had done it out of instinct though as she just looked at him for a brief moment before staring unblinkingly at the body of her husband. "Sorry, Molly, I can't say I know what you are feeling but I think we should at least put a stasis on Arthur until we can get our bearings together." Harry finished, heeding her as if she had verbalized her warning.

He was not awarded an answer, just regarded with the puffy eyes of all the rooms occupants. His own eyes probably resembling theirs.

"Harry's right" Hermione hiccuped breaking the silence yet again. "He lived for his family the future of the Weasley name, he died the same way, I don't think it would do well to keep him like this. This isn't how he would want to be remembered. At least, I don't think he would."

"Yeah, and what do you know he wasn't your father! Neither one of you" Ron said pointing in Harry's direction.

"Ronald!" came a collection of voices though it wasn't many.

"No, don't Ronald me, They are the reason he's dead. We are pure-bloods but aligning ourselves with them made us targets." Ron continued.

"Doing what's right makes us targets, this war wasn't because of Harry, Ronald Weasley, in fact, had it not been for Harry there would have never even been a reprieve from the first war and Voldemort would have probably already taken over." Hermione snapped. "I understand you are grieving and I don't know how that feels but you will do well to remember who approached whom on the trolley first year so if you feel like you need someone to blame for 'making your family a target' blame yourself."

"Hermione!"

"No, he's being a-"

"All of you just shut up!" Said Molly, who had been silent since the Aurors had released Arthur's body leaving it haphazardly on the floor. "I won't stand for this in this house do you hear me? This was no one's fault but that megalomaniac. Hermione and Harry are no more to blame than any of us. We don't believe in anything that he is trying to do and that makes us targets in and of itself. I will not sit here and watch my children tear each other apart. This is what he wants, don't you get that? He wants us to become weak, and now is more reason than ever to stay strong. Otherwise, no matter who is to blame Arthur died in vain.

"Now I am going to put a stasis on him and send him to the attic" there was a pause as Molly tried to swallow the bile that rose in her throat. "Until we can plan a proper service. I know what your father wanted but unfortunately, in these times we can't chance that monster making him and inferi. He will have a fire-bed of that much I am sure, anything else has to be planned properly and I am quite frankly not able to do it right now." Molly had tears in her eyes, it wasn't the first or even the second or third time that she had cried that night and she felt that over the next few days she would be able to use her tears to water her entire garden.

Molly had seen the looks in some of her children's eyes, they had agreed with Ron. Ginny and Percy wore their agreement on their faces. She knew that it would need to be addressed soon but for now, she was just grateful that no one had said anything else while she struggled to perform the charm.

"Off to bed with the lot of you, breakfast may be a bit late in the morning but I still expect everyone up before noon we have a lot of work to do," she said sniffling and turning towards the steps. "Come on dear let's go to bed." she said floating her husband in front of her as she took the steps slowly as not to bump him into anything.

It was a different time, things had changed so quickly in this new world that had come about after the Voldemort had returned. He was being diplomatic, she knew, at least for now. that would all change soon of that she was sure.

***********************************More*than*one*way***********************************

Tears trickled down a slightly wrinkled face of Molly Weasley as she watched the pyre crackle and burn the remains of her late husband. The week leading up to the funeral was full of tears and arguments. In her logical mind she knew that a fight was exactly what Voldemort wanted from the order but her emotions won out making her just as hot-tempered as Ron, though she didn't accuse Harry and Hermione, she did point the finger at Dumbledore. They were in the prime of their lives as well when the first war had started and he recruited Arthur with what in her emotional state she considered delusions of grandeur.

Fighting for what's right

She could hear Hermione's voice in her head and chastised herself. She would have been much better off staying neutral but to do so would mean the same as condoning such violent acts on innocent people.

"Come on mum" Said Fred wrapping his long lanky arm around her. She hadn't realized that any time at all had passed between when they lit the fire and when it had dwindled to just a glowing ember. "It's getting cold and you have no sweater."

So she didn't, it was the middle of summer but lately an ominous chill had fallen around the Burrow making the days cool and the nights cooler.

"We Have to get the Ash-we have to bring your father in the house too." She cried.

"Let us take care of Dad, you need some rest."

"I don't think...I don't think I can do that" she said numbly all the while letting the boys lead her to the house.

All though the fire was crackling in every fireplace in the Burrow Molly could feel the chill settle in her bones. She had never in her life felt as old as she had now. Old and alone.

Fred and George steered her through the foyer and up the stairs to Ginny's room where she had been sleeping. Ginny took over and helped get her mother into her own pajamas and get her into the bed.

For Molly, this would have been degrading and the very small part of her mind that wasn't consumed with grief was yelling at her to move become active telling her Arthur wouldn't have wanted her to fade away. That part of her though was overshadowed by any and every other emotion one would feel in a situation like this. She couldn't put her finger on them separately but she knew that joint they were like Novocain she could feel so much at one time that it made her numb near catatonic.

"Mum, I'm going to sleep with Hermione tonight, is that okay?" Said the youngest Weasley child. It had been later in the week that Ginny had apologized to Hermione and Harry for even feeding into what Ron had said. Ron for his part had begun to shy further away from the remaining two-thirds of the trio.

"That's fine dear," Molly answered.

"Would you like some tea? Or anything?"

"No no, I'm just going to lay here," Molly said, the words were the typical answer for the doting matriarch but the usual jovial feeling behind them had been replaced with an aloofness that could have rivaled Luna's.

After the second attack on the ministry, things had begun to go back to normal for the wizarding world. The family of redheads were doing their best to maintain some semblance of normal. It was harder than anyone of them could have assumed. The difficulty was doubled for Molly but she had absentmindedly thrown herself into her routine. Cooking and Cleaning and giving advice only she did so with a hollowed tone as she was the puppet to a horrible ventriloquist.

It had been a month before she had felt anything at all, and it happened out of nowhere. She had served up breakfast to the hungry lot trying to get them fed and out the door to Diagon Alley.

"Ministry owls," Harry said swatting at the owl that had just dropped a letter on his full plate. He picked up the letter only to be distracted by 3 more owls coming in and dropping letters on Fred, George and Hermione's plates as well.

"Oi, what does it say then?" asked Ron trying to read over Fred's shoulder only to be swatted away as the bird had moments ago.

Molly watched as the room grew silent and the already pale faces of her children grew even whiter.

"Come on what does it say?" Asked Ginny now curious.

"It's a...It's a marriage law" Hermione said tears in her eyes. "They are calling for the marriage of all those 15 through 65 to marry."

Everyone at the table began their loud protests, yelling and slamming their fists down. Molly was grateful for this distraction as no one had seen a small bird perch itself on the counter holding out the letter that it had for Molly. Enveloped in the same black as the others she slipped it into the pocket of her apron pushing back the fear and anger for the time being. Busying herself with attempting to calm her family down. For once she was grateful for the obtuseness of her sons.