Bizarre Love Triangle

Part 3: Oh Brother!

Ginny loved all her brothers equally. Really she did. It was just that she had a very different relationship with each of them.

Bill. Well, Bill was, for lack of a better word, her hero. She was as convinced of his goodness and perfection as she was of Dumbledore's wisdom and strength. A dangerously idealized perspective? Probably. But, she didn't care. Bill could do no wrong in her eyes.

Harry reminded Ginny of Bill. But, while she had over the past couple of years come to recognize and even admire Harry's weaknesses and flaws, Bill would always be a mythic figure in Ginny's mind.

Ron, quite the opposite, had always been her equal. For as long as she could remember, he was her playmate, her co-conspirator against the unjust sanctions put forth under the tyrannical rule of Molly the Mean and Arthur the Apathetic.

As they grew, he truly became her friend. He was someone she could talk to about almost anything. Boys being the major exception, of course. Despite the painful usurpation of Ron's attention that came with the arrival of Harry and Hermione, Ginny could feel their old connection returning, particularly after the events of the previous school year.

Percy had been her tutor. She loved listening to his lectures, even if they were a little dull at times. He genuinely took the time to explain things to her and never lost his patience as her other brothers so frequently did. She prayed for a swift and easy reconciliation now that the Ministry had officially vindicated Dumbledore and his supporters.

The twins had been the first to recognize Ginny's power and abilities as a witch. Unlike everyone else in the family, Fred and George had never treated her differently because she was the only girl. They teased and pranked her just the same as they did Ron and she knew that she owed much of her self-confidence and strength to them.

And then there was Charlie. To Charlie, Ginny would perpetually be the 6 year-old with pigtails that begged him to tell her everything about his life at Hogwarts. She was his baby sister and he was her fierce protector. As frustrating as it could be now that she had grown into a strong and capable young woman, she relished in the comfort of always knowing that anyone who hurt her would have to answer to Charlie.

It was because of her love for her second eldest brother that Ginny felt the train of her great summer project derail upon his arrival at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

You see, unlike Ron and Hermione, who utilized their updated High-Fidelity Extendable Ears solely to eavesdrop on meetings of the Order, Ginny had found an additional, much more entertaining application of Fred and George's innovative technology.

It wasn't spying exactly. She didn't report her intelligence back to anyone or use it to her own advantage. She considered it more like sociological research, which she had read a great deal about for her Muggle Studies class.

She had begun by "observing" Ron and Hermione, but that very quickly grew tiresome because she knew them both well enough to anticipate the things they talked (and argued) about. Plus, she got a very detailed run down of what her tremendous dolt of a brother did from Hermione most nights anyway.

So, she focused her attentions on the person in the house that she felt would be the most interesting: Tonks. Ginny had adored Tonks instantly when they met the previous summer and, having lacked a sufficient young, female role model during her formative years, decided that she could probably learn quite a bit from the punky Auror.

It was during the course of these research expeditions that Ginny had been privy to some very interesting interactions between Tonks and the resident former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Many had been fairly innocuous exchanges. Tonks harassing Lupin while he attempted to read. Lupin politely choking down truly terrifying "meals" prepared by Tonks. Shared private smiles over the antics of Ron and Hermione or the twins.

Other moments, much too frequent, had been quite heart-wrenching and made Ginny feel slightly guilty for her intrusions on their privacy. These revolved around the deep personal loss they shared. The loss of a beloved friend and family member. She listened as they took turns comforting one another, each trying to offer the other something they could not give themselves.

As she listened, Ginny thought about what it might be like if she lost one of her brothers. She prayed that she would never know, but secretly hoped that if such a thing happened, she would have someone special besides her family to share that burden with her.

And so it was that Ginny Weasley became the first person to acknowledge the burgeoning connection between Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin. She had seen a very similar type of tension before. It radiated between her brother Ron and his female best friend. Her parents, the quintessential representation of what a relationship should be as far as she was concerned, reserved the same meaningful looks for one another that Ginny had seen pass between the subjects of her observations.

They were both just too damn stubborn to admit it to themselves and to one another.

Thus, Ginny felt that the responsibility was hers to facilitate the realization of these feelings. At least she had believed so until Charlie arrived and she learned of his previous connection to Tonks.

Ginny had witnessed enough in the past two months to know with 100% certainty that if faced with a choice, Tonks' heart would go to Lupin over her brother. She could tell instantly that Tonks loved Charlie, but just not in that way.

And even though she knew better than anyone how deeply Tonks and Lupin needed each other, she could never actively support something that had the potential to hurt one of her brothers. She needed to know what her brother's feelings were and how he might react to what she felt was the inevitability of a Tonks/Lupin relationship.

This is how Ginny ended up standing at the door to Charlie's room, shaking with nerves, but determined to get the answers she needed. She took a deep breath and knocked.

"Hey there, Gingerbread," Charlie said with a grin as he opened the door.

"I told you not to call me that!" whined Ginny, immediately questioning the reasoning behind her desire to protect this particular brother's feelings.

"Yeah, yeah. What can I do for you, your highness?" Charlie answered, admitting Ginny into the bedroom he had taken as his own.

"Well...er," was all Ginny could bring herself to say.

"Why are you so nervous, Gin?" asked Charlie. "Have you come for romantic advice, kiddo? I saw Harry earlier..."

"This hasn't got anything to do with HARRY POTTER!" interrupted Ginny quite forcefully.

"Ok, ok... down tiger," replied Charlie, again with an obnoxious grin.

"I am here for your own good, Charlie, so you best be nice to me!" huffed Ginny, giving him her very best glare.

"My own good?" echoed Charlie. "What is it? Are the twins planning a homecoming prank?"

"No, it's nothing like that," assured Ginny. "I'm not sure where to start," she added hesitantly.

"Try the beginning. It usually works for me," he retorted.

"Fine, then," replied Ginny. "You can start by telling me what happened between you and Tonks at Hogwarts."

Taken aback by the abruptness of the question, Charlie just gave Ginny a confused look.

"You know...Tonks. That girl downstairs you were groping as soon as you walked through the door," Ginny clarified helpfully.

"Virginia! Watch your mouth!" Charlie responded.

"Yes, Mum," retorted Ginny.

"If you must know, Little Miss Nosy, Dory and I were best friends at Hogwarts. Still are as far as I am concerned. We dated for about 10 minutes in sixth year, but we decided that we were better as friends. End of story."

"Then why did she tell us at lunch that you broke her heart when you moved to Romania?" pressed Ginny.

"Did she now?" asked Charlie, the wicked smile returning.

"Yes. She told us you tossed her over for the dragons," Ginny answered.

This caused Charlie to laugh heartily, which led to an exasperated sigh from his sister.

"Before I got the assignment in Romania, Tonks and I had been planning to get a flat together in London after graduation," said Charlie.

"Purely platonic roommates, Gingerbread," he added when she arched an eyebrow. "We had been talking about it since fifth year, so she was a bit miffed with me when I decided to leave the country."

"And that is it?" asked Ginny skeptically.

"Yes," Charlie answered earnestly. "Now it is my turn to ask the questions. Why are you so interested in my relationship with Tonks?"

Ginny bit her lip nervously and dropped her gaze to the ground. She wasn't sure how to confess her extracurricular activities to her big brother without being reproached.

"Well, I was curious about you and Tonks after that display in the parlor this morning and after what she said at lunch," Ginny answered.

"And?" Charlie demanded. He knew her too well to let her off the hook so easily.

"Well, I kind of have a theory. And if this theory turned out to be true, but you liked Tonks, I was afraid you might get hurt," Ginny replied evasively.

"And the theory?"

"Tonks and Professor Lupin," Ginny answered simply.

"What about..OH!" answered Charlie, catching on to Ginny's meaning. "Do you have any evidence to support this theory?" Charlie continued.

Unable to keep it to herself any longer, Ginny burst into a rapid retelling of her accumulated observations from the summer thus far. By the time she had finished, Charlie wore an expression of pure amusement.

"I should have known," was all he could say.