Conflict

Ginny Weasley was a woman of divided allegiances. Her heart belonged to two separate factions: institutions that had been in place since almost the beginning of time. As Ginny Weasley was a loyal person, she had a difficult time choosing a position when these two sides went to war with one another.

You see, Ginny Weasley was a girl and a sister.

Of course, one may think these two went hand in hand. In order to be a sister, you must be a girl. True as that was, there were so many instances when it was difficult to be both a girl and a sister.

Ginny had six brothers and she loved them all dearly. Bill and Charlie regarded her as all significantly older brothers regard their younger sisters - she was innocent and young and could do no wrong. Apparently, Bill and Charlie did not remember much of the girls they knew at fifteen.

Percy... She was a bit reluctant to talk about Percy. She could never truly hate him, not even if she wanted to. When Bill and Charlie went to Hogwarts, Percy took on the role of the eldest child. He treated her as though she was his personal responsibility. Part of her wished he would return to the family just so she could drive him mad again.

Ginny's relationship with the twins changed constantly. Some days they wanted Ginny as their protégé. Other days they wanted her out of the way. She was excellent in both carrying out their plans and schemes or as their unwilling test subject. Beyond that, she was a bit of a pest in their eyes. They had each other and did not see a need for anyone else's company.

None of her five oldest brothers posed any problems when it became obvious she was a girl. They allowed guilt-free participation in girly activities, like gossiping and giggling with other females her age.

Ron was the one who always brought conflict and strife when it came to her roles as a girl and a sister. Ron was not her "favorite" brother or the one she "loved the most". None of her brothers were. That was just not how the concept of family worked. Ron was her closest brother, and they had grown closer this summer.

The two of them spent the first month of holiday at the Burrow where the only real company was each other and it had been very enjoyable. Ron really seemed to have matured the past year, and it showed in their conversations. Ron actually listened to her, even when she could tell he thought she was being ridiculous or nosy. She found they could talk about almost anything. Ron even managed to muster up the maturity to listen to (some) details about her past and present relationships, although every time, he, not so subtly, hinted her perfect match had messy black hair and glasses.

Yes, some people may think that having one's brother as a close friend is a bit pathetic, but something her mother said long ago stuck with her. Her brothers, especially Ron, were the only ones who knew what it was like to grow up a Weasley; who knew the holidays and memorable events the family shared. There were things her friends could never understand and the same went for Ron's friends. They could not know what it was like to be poor or grow up in the magical world or as the babies of a large family. For that reason, Ginny was not ashamed of her friendship with her brother. He was a great person and even when Ginny was angry with him, she always found herself rooting for Ron. Therein lay the first half of the problem.

Not all areas of Ginny's femaleness conflicted with her sisterly obligations. Ginny had plenty of friends who were girls. In fact, all of her roommates could be counted among her girl friends. They were not the pour-your-heart-out-to-and-tell-all-your-hopes-and-fears friends. No, they were more of the stay-up-late-giggling-about-boys-and-gossip friends. Yes, Ginny recognized that giggling and gossiping were not the most sophisticated of activities, but she enjoyed the frivolous time she spent with these girls.

There was a girl who was slowly becoming the heart-and-soul sort of friend. Hermione Granger listened in the same genuine way as Ron. She was trustworthy and faithful. They could discuss the serious matters in life, as well as the more entertaining aspects. Unfortunately, Hermione Granger was the other half of her problem.

Ron and Hermione were best friends. Of course, in saying that she rolled her eyes or raised a suggestive brow. Because while Ron and Hermione were just friends, neither of them actually felt that way, and more and more people caught onto that fact. Ginny especially, because she was the only one who had managed to coax confessions from them both.

Hermione already confessed the prior summer at Grimmauld Place that she possessed feelings beyond friendship for Ron. Consequently, Ginny made it her goal to obtain the same confession from Ron that summer. It was not half the challenge Ginny originally anticipated. Two weeks into holiday, she spoke a few carefully chosen words about Hermione's impending arrival and Ron caved. Irritatingly enough, neither one of them made a move to step past the line between romance and friendship.

With the stalling of their relationship, the bickering remained. Harry remained distant and removed from the whole situation, designating her as the go-between of choice. This brought out Ginny's two personalities, Ginny the Sister and Ginny the Girl. It actually got to the point where Ginny could visualize miniature versions of herself perched on each shoulder. Sister Ginny wore a Weasley jumper with jeans and her hair was such a bright red that it could not exist in nature. Girl Ginny wore way too much pink and an extraordinary amount of makeup. And the two of them never agreed on anything. They bickered almost as much as Ron and Hermione. What it made it even more difficult was they both always had valid points.

So when Hermione exploded into the fifth year girls' dorm, where Ginny sat on her bed, organizing pictures in her album, she was not surprised to see Sister Ginny appear on her left shoulder and Girl Ginny on the right to see what the problem was.

"Oh Ginny, sometimes he is just so awful!" Hermione cried, flopping on Ginny's bed.

"What did he do?" demanded Girl Ginny.

"What did you do?" hissed Sister Ginny.

"What happened?" Ginny sighed. It was a beautiful October afternoon and the last thing she wanted to do was discuss her brother with Hermione and her two personalities.

"Well, Ron and Harry came down with their brooms and I said, 'Ron, I thought you were going to work on your Potions essay with me this afternoon.'"

"She nagged him about that yesterday!" Sister Ginny huffed.

"Encouraged!" insisted Girl Ginny.

"Oh please. Are you telling me that Hermione doesn't nag?" asked Sister Ginny.

"Didn't you mention that to him yesterday?" asked Ginny.

"Well, yes."

"Ha!" said Sister Ginny.

"Only because I - well, because I care about him. I want him to do well," said Hermione.

"See, she means well!" said Girl Ginny.

"It's because he's much smarter than he gives himself credit for and if he just worked a little harder..."

"Well, I guess I have to agree with her there," conceded Sister Ginny. "He is smart."

"For a man," agreed Girl Ginny.

"And then, he says, 'Don't nag!' I told him that I, of course, AM NOT nagging and -"

"Hermione, might I ask why you're so upset over an argument that seems so typical for the two of you?" Ginny prodded.

"Oh, good point! Now we're getting somewhere!" said Sister Ginny.

"It's not very nice to corner someone," Girl Ginny huffed, crossing her arms.

"I told you; I just want Ron to do well!" insisted Hermione, but her pink stained cheeks told a different story.

"Ooo, she's got a secret!" squealed Girl Ginny.

"Must you squeal?" asked Sister Ginny.

"Hermione," Ginny prodded, her voice tinted with disbelief.

"Well," she said, sitting up and primly straightening her skirt. "He just made a comment yesterday and I thought that - I obviously took it out of context."

"What did he say?" asked Ginny.

"It's not - it's not a big deal. In fact, I obviously made a big deal out of something that was not."

All three Ginnys patiently stared at her.

"Well, yesterday, he told me that he thought that I looked nice," she said quietly.

"Good going Ron!" Sister Ginny said.

"What, she doesn't look nice everyday?" asked Girl Ginny.

"And...." Hermione stopped and blushed.

"Hermione," Ginny prompted.

"Well, yesterday when we were playing chess, he said it was sort of nice to spend time together by ourselves and - he kind of put his hand over mine. Of course, before I could respond, Dean and Seamus came in needing Ron to settle some sort of Quidditch argument. So I made some excuse and left."

"She fled the scene?" asked Girl Ginny.

"See, she was in the wrong!" declared Sister Ginny triumphantly.

"Maybe his hand was clammy," Girl Ginny said.

"Hermione, it sounds like he was complimenting you and trying to show some more than friendly affection. I don't think my brother would do that unless he was attracted to you."

"Ginny, I don't know," Hermione said as she rose from the bed. She began to pace back and forth. "All I wanted was to - to spend some time with him alone again this afternoon and so that's why I pressed the issue, I guess."

"Oh Hermione," said Sister Ginny. "Homework is not the way to seduce my brother."

"Food works well for seduction," piped up Girl Ginny. "Or cleavage."

"Okay, I can handle some things but let's all please remember that this is our brother and I would prefer we never have the word seduction be uttered in the same sentence as his name," Ginny told her two alter egos.

"Hermione, I bet if you just told Ron you wanted to spend time with him, he would happily oblige," Ginny suggested gently.

"Hmph," scoffed Hermione. "Why would he want to spend time with me?"

"If you want to bang your head against that wall, we'll hang on tight," suggested Sister Ginny.

"Because he just told you he does!" Ginny exclaimed.

"He's just... making conversation," Hermione said. Ginny glared at her. "Oh Ginny, I wish I knew for sure!" Hermione sank back into bed and sighed.

"I wish I could just tell her that Ron told me and this whole damn thing could be over with," Ginny thought.

"Well of course you can't," said Girl Ginny. "And neither can I. But you can!" She pointed directly at Sister Ginny.

"What!" said Sister Ginny.

"What!" said Ginny.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"Just - just hang on a second. I have to think for just one second," Ginny replied. "Now, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Listen. We can't tell Ron Hermione likes him because Hermione is our friend and you cannot betray a friend. We all agree on that, right?" said Girl Ginny.

"Right," confirmed Sister Ginny, looking a touch confused. Ginny herself was a bit confused as to where this was going.

"Now, you're his sister. That means you can't allow anyone to put him down or humiliate him or anything like that, right?"

"Correct," answered Sister Ginny.

"But as his sister, it's your job to embarrass and annoy him!"

"So," Sister Ginny started out slowly. "I can tell Hermione that Ron likes her and it's not really breaking a promise to Ron -"

"It's being a little sister!" finished Girl Ginny.

"Wait a minute!" cried Ginny.

"This is perfect! I can't even feel guilty because this is helping Ron. He can't even be mad!" Sister Ginny exclaimed.

"Shouldn't we stay out of this whole thing?" Ginny asked weakly. She needed to regain control before she was completely overruled.

"NO!" shouted Sister Ginny and Girl Ginny.

"Well, at least you two are getting along," Ginny sighed.

"This has gone on long enough. It's time for some serious interloping," confirmed Sister Ginny.

"Just tell her. She's your best friend and you should not keep secrets from your best friend," pushed Girl Ginny.

"Don't you want to do what's best for your brother?" Sister Ginny asked.

"Ginny? What should I do?" asked Hermione.

"Tell her!" Girl Ginny urged.

"Say it!" pressured Sister Ginny.

"FINE!" yelled Ginny. Hermione jumped two feet in the air at sound of Ginny's outburst. Ginny took little notice as she launched into her speech. "Hermione, Ron likes you. He told me himself over the summer holiday. He wants to tell you but he was just too scared to say it so I helped him develop a plan. He was going to try and slowly change your relationship. That should explain the decline in the rows and the increase in compliments and touching. Ron was going to see how you responded, and if he thought you liked him too, he was going to tell you on Halloween."

"Halloween?" said Girl Ginny, wrinkling her nose. "Not very romantic, is it?"

"At least he was going to make a move," said Sister Ginny.

Hermione was looking at her with wide eyes and a slight smile. "Really? He thought up a plan? It's more than I managed."

"Well, I did help him come up with it," Ginny reminded her. "Anyway, with Halloween right around the corner, your bolting away from him last night probably made him doubt all the other responses he had been getting."

"Which explains the fight earlier," finished Hermione. "Oh Ginny, thank you! I'm sure it was hard for you to give up something Ron told you in confidence."

"Well, it's for a good cause," Ginny said. "You are going to fix this, right?"

"Oh yes! I'll - I'll - I'll meet him down at the Quidditch pitch right now," she declared, standing up from the bed with a look of determination on her face. Suddenly, she deflated slightly. "Oh, but Harry will be there."

Ginny chuckled. "I'm sure Harry will leave you alone."

Hermione looked at her. "Does he know as well?"

Ginny was not sure if Ron had told Harry or not but Harry's increased eye rolling and smirks in Ron and Hermione's direction seemed to indicate he figured it out. "I'm not sure," Ginny shrugged. "I'm sure he'll leave you alone. He's not as nosy as Ron."

Hermione smiled as she glanced in the mirror, smoothing her skirt repeatedly. "Do I look okay?" she asked as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I mean, obviously my hair is a fright but it hasn't picked up anything between here and the common room, has it? No stray quills, right?"

Ginny laughed. "No, your hair is fine." While her friend's hair was bushy, it wasn't quite the disaster Hermione imagined it to be.

"Well, I suppose it's okay," she said, still smoothing it down. "It's not as if Ron likes me for my looks."

"Oh Merlin. She either has horrible self-confidence or she is completely blinded by love," said Girl Ginny.

"Even I am not that delusional about my brother," said Sister Ginny.

Ginny snorted. "Hermione, you do realize Ron is a teenage boy? I mean, yeah, he likes loads of noble things about you, but he definitely likes looking at you. Believe me; I've heard all about it. His eyes even glaze over when he stares at you, and you know he's picturing you naked."

"GINNY!" exclaimed an outraged Hermione, face burning red.

"Isn't that a little too much information for you?" Girl Ginny asked Sister Ginny.

"I have five other brothers. I figured out a long while ago what they think about the majority of the time."

Ginny ignored the two and turned back to Hermione. "Go on Hermione! You're a beautiful girl; just go out there and tell Ron how you feel. While you're at it, make him forget I was the one who let his secret slip."

Hermione giggled. "I'll try," she said as she hurried out the door. Ginny sank back onto her bed.

"I hope I did the right thing," she muttered aloud. "I feel a bit guilty for giving Ron away like that."

"It had to be done," Girl Ginny reassured her. "The arguments, the constant need for your advice..."

"It wasn't good for your sanity," finished Sister Ginny.

"My sanity? I'm in my room, talking to two aspects of my personality that have taken on distinctive voices and physical forms. Ron and Hermione were not the ones causing me to question my sanity. So if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go down to the common room and fill Harry in when he comes back up," Ginny finished, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Harry?" Girl Ginny asked excitedly. "Is that open for discussion again?"

"You cannot date your brother's best friend!" insisted Sister Ginny.

"And why the hell not?" asked Girl Ginny.

"Oh Merlin."