Of Loving His Sister – Alex

"Well excuse me," said Bethany, after Rebecca had stalked off.

"Merlin, what's her problem?" said Mary, looking insulted.

"We were just trying to help her. She didn't have to get all snooty!"

"Oh, I know…"

"Excuse me," Alex interjected, "but I think you two are the ones with the problem."

Bethany and Mary exchanged open-mouthed glances. "Why, Alex…what—?"

"I think I agree with my sister on this, Mary," he said grimly.

"But, but," spluttered Beth, "you never agree with your sister! You and Rebecca are enemies!"

"Never say never, my dear cousin," said Alex. "And we're not enemies. Technically." He shook his head and looked from Beth to Mary. "Listen, Rebecca is really sensitive, and you just hurt her feelings when you said that about Mum. And plus," he added, "Rebecca thinks of Mum as some kind of saint. You crushed her simple adolescent heart, that's all."

Beth and Mary blinked before exchanging glances, yet again. Twins did that a lot, Alex noticed. And after living with a pair of twins, it got quite annoying.

"We didn't mean to upset her," said Beth.

"We just…"

"We were looking out for her, really…"

"She's our little cousin, you know…"

"It's our duty to look out for her…"

"Because you know…"

"You really don't, Alex…"

That caught his attention. He fixed his gaze on Beth and frowned at her. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's not s'posed to mean anything," said Mary.

"All we're saying is…"

"Is that you're not exactly…"

"Brotherly…"

"Towards Rebecca…"

Alex gaped at them. "What the—that's rubbish! I'm very brotherly!"

Beth rolled her eyes. "You fight with her all the time, Alex."

"So?" said Alex expectantly. "That's what brothers and sisters do! They fight with each other!"

"No they don't!" Mary argued. "Beth and I don't fight with Nick!"

"Nick is ten years older than you two," said Alex, rolling his eyes. "You've no reason to fight with him. Rebecca and I, however, are two years apart. We've plenty of reasons to row."

"But…why?" said Beth, sounding as if she thought that was the stupidest thing in the world. "You do realize how incredible your sister is, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah." Alex waved his hands. "She makes high marks." He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah…and that makes her a modern day Merlin?"

"Oh…go on, Alex," Mary said. "Rebecca's more than that. Have you ever had a conversation with her?"

"Have you?" he shot back.

Mary's face hardened. "Of course I have."

"Okay," said Alex mockingly, "let me rephrase that. Have you had a conversation with her and she was the one talking?"

Mary flushed slightly and made a noise in her throat. Beth, obviously noticing that her twin was in a right state, took over for her. "Alex, that's beyond the point," she said. "At least we've attempted to say something to her that wasn't about how ugly she is, which by the way, she is not." Beth shook her head at him. "Honestly, Alex. Calling a girl ugly can seriously affect her in the future, and not in the good way, either. That can lead to low self-esteem—"

Alex laughed out loud. "Yeah, right. Beccy? Have low self-esteem? That's rich…"

Beth sighed and looked at Mary for help. She just shrugged.

"Alex—"

"Bethany and Mary!" came Ginny's hushed yet firm voice as she stalked up the trio. Her face was hard, and Alex almost laughed at the identical scared expressions on the twins' faces. Almost. "How dare you!"

"I didn't do it, Mum!" cried Beth. "It was Mary, I swear!"

"Bethany!"

"No, no, no…" said Ginny, shaking her head. "Don't you try that with me! Both of you are to blame this time." She put her hands on her hips and looked from Mary to Bethany determinedly. "Now, why did you two lie to Rebecca Weasley?"

"Mum…what are you talking about?" asked Mary, very cautiously, as to not to set her off again.

"You heard me, Mary," said Ginny. "Why did you lie to that poor child?"

"We didn't lie to her, Mum," said Beth, shaking her head.

"Er…Aunt Ginny…" Alex intervened, "I think we might have had a misunderstanding here."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "Oh really?"

Alex nodded. "Yes ma'am. You see, Bethany and Mary here got in a bit of a row with our dear Rebecca and they both said things they really don't mean. Rebecca, I'm sad to say, was the victim, but your daughters have learned their lesson, Auntie, really they have. Please don't be angry with them…they meant well, really they did…"

Ginny scrutinized her nephew with an amused expression. "Is that so, Alex?"

He nodded earnestly. "It truly is, Auntie. Truly."

"Alright then," she said. "I'm willing to let this little incident go, if you apologize to Rebecca."

Beth and Mary nodded. "We will," they said in unison.

"Good," she said. "And Alex?"

"Yes, Auntie?"

"Don't tell your father this, but you got your manipulability from your mother."

Alex grinned. "I know."

Once Ginny had disappeared, Beth and Mary both embraced Alex in one-arm hugs. "Thank you!" they cried. "Mum would have killed us!"

"I know," said Alex, "but I sincerely hope my services won't go unrewarded?"

Mary and Beth exchanged apprehensive glances. "What do you want, Alex?"

"Nothing too bad," he reassured him, "but d'you remember how you said Rebecca was…interesting?"

Mary and Beth nodded. "Yes."

Alex bit his lip. "Can you show me her interesting-ness?"

Beth and Mary looked at each other with pleased expressions before looking up at Alex and smiling. "Of course."

"Alex," said Mary, sounding interested, as she looked at him across the kitchen table, "why are you doing this?"

"What?" said Alex. He looked around at her. "What are you talking about?"

Beth and Mary exchanged glances. "Well, Alex, let's face it," Mary said, "you are not exactly the type to…er…"

"…admit wrong-doing?"

"…be nice?"

Alex frowned at them. "I am always nice."

"Not always," countered Beth. "What about that time in third year when Rebecca had just come to Hogwarts and you told her to go down to the dungeons for Transfiguration, and she did, and Professor Snape made her cry for going down there when she wasn't supposed to be?"

Alex smiled reminiscently. "Oh yeah…I remember that…that was hilarious…"

"ALEX!"

"I'm only joking!" said Alex, smiling. "C'mon girls. I was merely thirteen. I was incredibly immature for my age."

"You still are incredibly immature for your age," said Mary, her lips pursed. "Listen, Alex, all we want to know is why you're so interested in redemption of your…brotherly duties towards Rebecca."

"Redemption?" said Alex with a smirk. "Big word, Mary."

"Shut up, Alex. We're only trying to help you!" she shot back. "But oh no you can't take our advice like a—a—a normal person, can you? No, you have to—"

"Mary," said Beth, laying a placating hand on her twin's arm. "Relax. It's just Alex. He's trying to get to you. And will you let him?"

"No," growled Mary through gritted teeth. "I will not."

"That's good…" Beth told her. "Just keep thinking that. I'll deal with him, all right?"

Alex's lips upturned into a wicked smile (they were making this too easy!), but the smile was gone the moment Mary shot a death glare his way.

"Now, Alex," said Beth, returning her attention to her cousin. "Are you ready?"

Alex stole a glance at Rebecca, who was presently snooping around the gifts with Emily in tow, and nodded determinedly. "Yes," he said, sounding sure of himself. "Absolutely."

"Alex, relax," said Beth. "This isn't a Quidditch game."

Alex stared at her. "I'm relaxed."

Beth almost laughed. "Look at you. You're all red. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," said Alex defensively. "I'm just not good at this type of thing, all right?"

Beth grinned. "Why not?"

Alex did not answer.

"You're afraid of her aren't you?" Beth questioned. "Is that why you pick at her so?"

"I don't pick at her…"

"Mary!" called Beth suddenly, whirling around to look at her twin. "Mary, Alex is afraid of Beccy!"

"I am not afraid of her!" Alex cried. He was very red in the face and looked simply terrifying. "You two listen to me, there's no way I'm afraid of my little sister! I'm just…I got into the Christmas spirit, all right?"

Beth and Mary raised their eyebrows. "Be serious, Alex," said Mary. "This is just a bit out of character for you." She frowned. "Are you trying to win a bet or something?"

Alex let out an irritated sighed. "What's wrong with a guy wanting to be nice to his sister?"

"…when he hasn't been nice to her since she was uh—born?" Beth cocked her head to the side. "Plenty."

"Actually, Beth, he's never been nice to Beccy," said Mary, nodding. "Remember when he smacked her on the face when she was just a baby?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" cried Alex abruptly as he shot up out of his seat. "You two are completely crazy." He made several crude hand gestures and flailed his fingers around frantically. Beth and Mary stared at him with furrowed eyebrows, like he was mad, until they watched him stalk off, and then bump right into Rebecca Weasley herself.

Alex really didn't know what he was doing, or whom he had bumped into, or why he had bumped into them, until his sister's voice snapped, "Merlin Alex…don't you have any sense of direction?"

He stared down at her, and wanted to snap right back ("You're in my way!"), but he remembered his goal. Be nice to Rebecca. That's all. Simple as pie. Piece of cake.

"Er…" he started, "sorry about that, Rebecca."

Her eyebrows shot up into her red bangs. "Is this some type of joke?" she accused. Alex groaned. "Are you trying to hurt me? 'Cause if you are, it's not funny."

"Merlin Beccy, why do you have to make things so hard?"

"What in the name of Dumbledore are you talking about?"

"I was just trying to be nice!"

Rebecca laughed. "You? Be nice to me?" She guffawed at him, holding her stomach from laughing so much. "That's…rich!"

Alex stared down at her with a frown plastered on his face. "C'mon Beccy…I'm being serious."

That only set her off more. She let out a scream of laughter so loud, little Emily jumped in horror and quickly scuttled off in pursue of a safer place. "You? Be…serious?" she gasped in between breaths before laughing again.

Alex rolled his eyes. "So this is what I get?"

Rebecca nodded profusely. Her eyes were squeezed shut. "Yes!" she gasped. She opened her eyes and grinned at him. "C'mon Alex. You have to admit that was funny."

"Not it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"Wasn't."

"Was."

"Wasn't."

"Was."

"Okay…so maybe it was a little funny," Alex conceded with a chuckle. Rebecca laughed. Alex grinned and wrapped an arm around his little sister's shoulders. She tensed up a little, but did not pull away. "Happy Christmas baby sis."

"I'm not a baby!"

A/N: Hi guys! I'm sorry it's been a while since I've updated, finals have been my top priority, but now that those are over, I'm out of school and have more time to write! Thanks for all the reviews and thanks for reading and I really, sincerely hope you like reading it as much as I like writing it! If you like discussing, reading, and writing fanfiction, please join the WeasleyWriters messageboard, which myself and several other writers have put together. It's quite fun!