Back at it again. I don't have much to say other than this chapter may be a bit faster paced. It's mainly the fallout of what happens after the Horcrux fights the Weasleys. After this gets going, we'll be going between a few different points of view for Ron, Draco, Merlot, and even a bit from Dumbledore.

So let's get going, shall we?

—0—

Bill Grunted as his body hit the ground with a wet splat. The familiar marsh that surrounded the Burrow was comforting, and yet it was all the same, agonizing.

"Why…"

Bill used his good arm to pull his fathers wand from his cloak. Whipping it at a nearby reed he shouted out the portkey spell, only for the wand to shudder in his grasp, and refuse his command.

"Dammit dad! PORTUS!"

The wand let out a high pitched whine, before the reed burst into flames. Bill let out an agonizing shout and attempted the spell again, and then again. Each time the things he targeted were destroyed, and eventually, the entire area around him had been razed, turned to ash by his fathers wand.

Bill broke into sobs, falling to his knees as the wand fell from his hands and rolled across the murky grass. He stayed that way for several minutes, before a twinge of pain snapped him from his sorrows.

Looking down at his arm, he winced, seeing that it had withered halfway up past his elbow, almost to his shoulder. He recalled what his father had said, about the attic, and the hairpin. Putting two and two together, he understood.

"Only if I had the monsters right hand… Dad kept the horcrux of Bellatrix Lestrange…"

Looking up ahead, he could see the burrow, the candle light on the ground floor shining dimly in the night. Picking up the discarded wand, Bill got to his feet, and made his way to the place he once called home.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Even this late at night, the Burrow always had some kind of noise coming from within it. It was as if they already knew.

'The clock. Oh magic, please don't let them be by the clock.'

Bills pace doubled, and he found himself half running, half stumbling through the door, clutching his injured arm, and causing his mother to leap from her place, knitting by the fire.

"BILL!"

"Mum…" The young man spoke, cringing at how hoarse his voice sounded. "Mum… I need… I need help. Up the stairs."

Molly blinked. "Up the stairs? Bill! You look like- Your arm!"

Bill shook his head, backing away from his mother. "It's bad, but the healers can't fix it. The attic, I need to go to the attic!"

Molly stared at her son, before slowly turning to the clock on the wall. Bills hand was with his fathers, between 'Mortal Peril' And 'Death'.

'Not good.'

"Where is your father." Molly spoke quietly, her voice hollow.

Bill held up his hand, showing the wayward wand that had brought him home. The sight of it made Molly shake.

"No…"

"He's not dead yet. His hand on the clock hasn't made it to death, so he must-"

"HE COULD BE OUT DYING SOMEWHERE!" Molly collapsed into sobs. The noise caused a flurry of thumps from the staircase. Bill looked up to see his siblings peeking down to listen in.

"Mother? Are you alright?" Percy called.

Molly sniffed, wiping her face. "What will we tell them."

Bill shook his head. "Head back to bed all of you."

"Bill? What's going on." Fred spoke curtly. He and George must have understood that something was wrong.

"Nothing is going on. You need to go back to bed. We'll talk in the morning."

There was more footsteps, and doors closing. Bill sighed and helped his mother back to her position by the fire. "Mum… I need your help."

The woman sniffed, shaking her head. "I made a vow to your father… I'd never go up to the attic."

Bills eyebrow twitched. 'He had mum make an unbreakable vow?'

"So you can't help me then…"

Molly shook her head. "Oh Bill… I'm so sorry…"

Bill paced back nd forth, clutching his arm, before he froze. "Call Charlie."

"Charlie?"

"Get him here. Now Mum."

The woman nodded, quickly leaping from her chair and hurling floo powder into the fireplace.

"Snrrrrk! Mum? What in the-"

"Charlie, there's no time to explain. I need you to get to the house now. It's an emergency."

The fire roared upwards, and Charlie appeared, hair unruly, wand drawn. "Where's the danger."

Molly looked him up and down. "Were you… sleeping in your work clothes?"

Bill took control, stepping forward. "There's no time. I need your help Charlie."

"Bill! What the- your arm!"

The eldest Weasley grabbed his brother and began marching to the stairs. "Attic. Now."

"The attic? What about the attic?"

Bill grunted. "Look… Dad and I found what we had been sent to destroy. But… it was too strong. I was hit by a curse that dad recognized, and he sent me home alone. There's a cure to this curse… in the attic."

Charlie blinked, staring at his brother. "Mate, you need a hospital not some-"

"Dad sent me here to be fixed. No healer can cure this!" Bill ripped his sleeve up, showing off his entire arm and causing Molly to faint. "Now come on. You work with dragons, a ghoul is much easier."

Charlie stared at the injury, before nodding and making his way up the stairs, wand in hand. "Let's go."

—0—

Arthur wheezed as his body hit a tree trunk, knocking him awake in the blink of an eye. The Horcrux smirked at him, pointing her wand at his face.

"Arthur Weasley… I must say I thought I would have killed you sooner. Lucius's claims do not do you justice."

Arthur sneered. "There's a reason that his sister died that night, along with Jonathan."

The horcrux sneered. "Yes, you are formidable. Still, you hold not a candle to me."

Arthur wheezed as a stunner splashed across his chest, causing the dark lord to chuckle. "What do you want with me?"

"This body is wonderful, but she is simply a means to an end." The horcrux sneered. "However… you know how to get to my ring. I cannot allow such knowledge to escape."

Arthur chuckled, quickly devolving into coughs as the horcrux's eyes sharpened. "What are you waiting for then? Kill me already."

The horcrux leveled their wand at him, before lowering it. "No, you will serve a better purpose. You are strong…"

Arthur shuddered as the girl stepped closer, raising her wand to his face. "You will be perfect for what i have planned… Imperio!"

—0—

The attic was dark. Darker than Bill remembered. He had once snuck up here to see what made all the noise, which is when he glimpsed the ghoul. The hideous thing had scared him stiff when he had seen it at eight years old.

"Lumos… Now what are we looking for?" Charlie spoke quietly.

"A hairpin."

"A hairpin?"

"It belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange. Dad found it and studied it, finding it to be a dark artifact."

Charlie nodded, giving his brother an arm up before he began to search through several boxes. Bill joined him, but kept his guard up. He had no idea if the ghoul still lived in the space.

"There's nothing here." Charlie growled, working his way through several boxes. "Most of these are newspaper clips and pictures of the family."

Bill sighed, flitting through a series of drawers. Old toys, but no hairpin. "Keep looking, there has to be-"

A snarl caught their attention. Bill and Charlie spun around to see the ghoul, in all its ugly glory, clothed in blue striped pajamas, with its teeth bared.

Around its neck was a loop of twine, with a bundled knot hanging at its chest. Bill drew his wand. "Thats magical twine."

Charlie winced. "The ghoul has it?"

Bill shook his head. "No… it must be guarding it. Dammit dad."

The ghoul yowled and leapt forward, forcing the two wizards to dodge out of the way. Charlie fires several spells at the beast, only for them to dissipate on its skin.

"What the hell?"

"Ghouls are tangible ghosts! Immune to almost all kinds of magic!" Bill replied, swishing his wand to the side and causing a series of boxes to topple over onto the creature. "Quick! Make a cage!"

Charlie shouted out a spell, and the boxes thinned out into interweaving iron bars, which kept the ghoul contained. The beast howled, but was cut short when Bill snapped the twine from its neck.

Both wizards watches as the ghouls eyes became clear. It looked at both of them, before curling up and falling asleep.

Charlie looked at Bill, who looked down at the bundle of twine in his hands. Unwinding it, they were greeted by the sight of a jeweled hairpin. "Oh god…"

Charlie buckled under the weight of the compulsion that sprung from the item, but Bill held his ground, reaching up to fasten the item to his hair.

"What the hell are you doing Bill?" Charlie hissed.

"Getting answers." The eldest Weasley spoke.

All that passed through him was a shudder as the hairpin slid into place. Bill heard echoing laughter, followed by a scratch which threw him backwards. The hairpin pulled itself from his head and fell to the ground with a clatter.

Bill grunted, before letting out a shout. The curse was still spreading. He reached for the hairpin again and put it on. "You can fix me dammit, so do it!"

Charlie froze as a voice filled the room, coming from Bills own mouth.

"Just like your father… so forceful…"

Bill clamped his jaw shut, before speaking again. "Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Aw… I miss his chiding name for me. My birth name. Yes, It is I. Bellatrix Lestrange. Right hand of the dark lord and herald of madness."

Bill growled as he took control back. "My father has sacrificed himself for me. He told me that you can fix me."

A shudder passed through his body, settling in his arm. A laugh emanate from his chest. "Ah! I see… My masters own withering curse. Nasty business. Unfortunately, as I am in this state, I cannot help you."

Bill wrestled back comtrol once more. "What do you mean?"

"So strong willed…" Bill could see his brother shaking as he spoke with the dark soul. This hairpin was more powerful than he had thought. "The only way to fix you is with my family magic. You would lose an arm, but not your entire life…"

"How."

Bills face twisted into a mad grin. "Black family magic of course! The spiders. They will eat your arm, and the curse spreading through it."

Charlie recoiled. "Spiders… that means-"

"Of course…" The black witch's voice hissed through Bills mouth. "Your youngest brother… how quaint."

"How does Ron have that magic?" Bill spat. He and Charlie had learned of the gift from Ron when he was little. It terrified him, and it was Black family magic? "He is a Weasley."

"Your father is a powerful wizard." The horcrux spoke once more. "But even he is susceptible to the trifles of everyday man. After your twins came, he could not make another child. So… he asked me to help."

"You're lying!"

"I am not." Bellatrix smirked. "Three souls can make more than two, and I recharged his body so to speak. Of course, it meant that your brother was the product of us… My soul magic took the place of his own when he made that child, so he is of course, opart Prewitt, part Weasley, but by my gifts he is a Black. What do you think will happen when dear mummy find out?"

Bill wrenched the hairpin from his head and held it in his hand, panting. The laughter faded from his mind, and he quickly rewrapped the artifact.

"Bill-"

"No… I can't…"

"Bill. It's either this or trying Azkaban." Charlie grabbed his good shoulder. "You have to."

"Mum will kill him."

"I won't let her."

Bill pondered for some time, before he placed the hairpin back around the ghouls neck. "Okay… okay. Let's go."

—0—

Ron lay wide eyed in his bed as he listened to the scuffle in the attic. He had heard something in Bills voice, and as they went upstairs, he heard Charlie with him.

That wasn't good.

All Ron could do was lay wide eyed as the struggle continued. Howls rattled his walls. Spells shook the ceiling.

And then it was over.

The silence lasted for mere moments, and then a voice filled the attic, seeping into the young wizards bedroom. He couldn't understand what was being said, but the laughter that grew with every minute was terrifying.

And then, everything went quiet once again. Ron heard the thump of the trapdoor that led to the attic, and then footsteps.

"Ron." His door opened, revealing Bill and Charlie, the former looking… downright awful. "I need your help."

Ron gulped and sat up in his bed, his pale face stark in contrast to his quidditch print pajamas. "My help? Bill… I can't fix-"

"You can." The man spoke, stumbling forward and holding out his arm. "I know you can… She told me."

Ron winced as he saw the withered flesh of his brothers arm. "What happened…"

"Ron." Charlie spoke firmly. "The only person who knows how to reverse this curse told us that it had to be you. Spiders have to cure it."

Ron sucked in a breath, his eyes becoming panicked. "No… Nononono. I can't."

"You must!"

"Mum will kill me!"

"Bill will die!" Charlie lunged forward and grabbed his brothers shoulders. He froze as his brother turned, eyes wild, and for a moment, was reminded of when he and Scortwit found Merlot.

'I didn't think it was this bad…'

Ron pushed his brother off of his shoulders and scrambled out of his bed. "You don't understand. I will not have a life to live if I do what you ask!"

Bill stared as his youngest brother fell to his knees. "She took my wand… I just got it back. That was because of dad and-"

Ron sobbed and blubbered through everything. The punishments, the scolding, the separation. He finally calmed down, but his body still shook. "She has the family ring… it won't matter how much you try to hide it…"

Charlie swore, turning to Bill. "We can't do this to him…"

Bill nodded. "I know… Maybe we could- argh!"

Bill collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain as the curse progressed. Charlie dove down next to him and drew his wand. "Episkey! Damn… Finite!"

His attemots only made Bill scream louder, which drew the rest of the Weasleys up the stairs to Rons room.

"What the hell is going on?" Percy rushed in.

"Get out! Get away from Bill!" Charlie spoke. His brother continued in regardless, followed by his mother.

"Bill! Bill oh Bill sweety." Molly fell to her knees and tried to reach out, just for Bill to scream luder and smack her hand away. The woman began to cry as Charlie argued with Percy.

"What the hell! Why is Bill scream-"

"Percy, do not test me right now-"

"Test you? He needs help!"

"Bill!" Ginny rushed in, her eyes wide as she saw her brother suffering.

"No Ginny! Stay back!" Charlie grabbed her. "We don't know if it could spread!"

Percy raised his wand. "I'm taking him to Saint Mungos with mother."

"They will only make it worse."

"And you have something-"

"STOP! JUST STOP!" Ron clutched at his head, causing everyone to go silent and stare at him. Molly's eyes sparked with fury.

"You are not acting all- in front of your suffering- Ronald!"

Ron ignored his mother and looked at Charlie. "Hold them back… I-I'll do it."

Charlie nodded solemnly as Molly looked back and forth between them. "Someone needs to explain-"

She was silenced by a spell and pushed back to the bedroom door. "Don't move."

Ron looked up at his mother, his chest aching as she stared, waiting for what was to come, along with his siblings. "I'm sorry… Nib."

A gasp came from Percy as Nib crawled out from her nest upon his desk.

"Whisperer… why do you call on me at such hours. It is time for feeding, not speaking."

Ron took a shuddering breath. "I'm going to use my gift… to heal my brother. I will probably be thrown out for this. Will you stay with me?"

"Nasty two leggers and their strange thoughts. Of course I will stay with you."

Ron nodded. "Thank you… Now all of you who can hear me. All of you who have whispered to me every day of my life. In the marsh, in the house, in the orchard. Heed my call and save my brother… please."

At first, everything was still. Then the air was filled with clicks and scrabbles. Molly let out a mute scream as waves of arachnids poured into the room, converging on Bill.

"STOP! WHAT ARE YOU-" Percy stepped forward, only to be restrained by Percy.

"Stay back."

"Let me go!"

Charlie grit his teeth as his brother thrashed. Bill continued to scream, but it became more and more mute, eventually dying down to nothing.

A few minutes more, and the spiders crawled away, disappearing back into their nests. Bill was left on the floor, his withered arm now gone, and the stump of bhis shoulder covered with glistening layers of spider silk.

Ron clutched his head and fell to his knees. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Chafrlie pushed Percy back. "I'm taking Bill to the dragonlodge to make sure he recovers properly. You won't move a muscle until I get back, am I clear?"

With no answer given, Charlie looked down at Ron. "I can only sidelong apparate with one person. I will be back for you."

The man grabbed his elder brother, and vanished with a crack.

Ron looked up as his family began to shuffle, with Ginny being shepherded away by the twins. Percy looked at his mother, then back at Ron, before ducking out of the room and down the stairs.

Molly stood staring for quite some time, before she shook her head. "No. I won't do this."

Ron's heart shattered. "Mum?"

"I will not have a dark child inside or out of this house. That power…" Molly shook, her face white. "It is the same power that drove the Longbottoms mad. No… that is where I draw the line."

Ron shook his head, but Molly did not cease in her rant. Ron began to panic as she drew out the Weasley house ring. "I cast you from this bloodline. Ronald Weasley is a Weasley no longer! I expel you and your possessions from these wards, and lock away this places memory. I sentence you to wander about the earth, with no family to call your own, so mote it be!"

Ron cried out as he felt atug on his navel, and the world slipped into a blur, and he fell with a thud onto a downed tree trunk.

Ron groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, his body aching from the fall. Looking down, he saw his clothes and school supplies strewn about the muddy ground of wherever he was.

"She really did it…"

He sat down, his chest heaving as he tried to breathe properly. Calm. He needed calm!

"Whisperer…"

"Nib!"

"I am here whisperer, though I know not where 'here' is."

Ron looked around. "Nor do I… But it's cold…"

"We must make a nest for the night. Try to stay healthy." Nib spoke. "I know two leggers feel sickness in the cold. You must stay warm."

Ron nodded. "Yeah… yeah, okay. Maybe… maybe I can make it through this after all."

"Come now whisperer. We will make it out of this alive."

Ron nodded nd sorted through his things, finding his wand. He quickly waved it at a muddy robe, cleaning it with a mutter, and applying a warming charm.

'Maybe we will…'

—0—

And that's a wrap. Ron is out of the house and the horcrux is plotting.

Like I said, there will be a few in between chapters with Ron making his way to London, a bit from Professor Riddle, and some developments from Merlot.

Until then, leave a review. It helps me know if you guys like the story.

Adios.