Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it. Thanks for rubbing it in my face. =P

A/N: Hm. This may be confusing, so I'm gonna 'splain it. Conflicting Adoration is only canon up to GoF, but some things from OotP did happen. For example, the Prefect stuff, the Order of the Phoenix and the problems with Percy all happened. Delores Umbridge did go to Hogwarts, and the twins did just leave at the end of the year…(But chose to keep their business as mail order until they found the perfect spot to set up an actual shop…and it's still a secret from Mrs. Weasley). The other things, though,  relating more to Voldemort, like Sirius' death, didn't happen. Mainly because I can't stand to have him constantly depressed and really didn't like him in book five. So sorry if this is terribly confusing! Just lemme know if there are any other questions as to what's going on, alright?

Also, there is a teeeeeeeensy part where someone imitates a gay guy. Please don't be offended! =)

*****

       "What the fu—" Ron shouted, cheek stinging.

       "That's for the way you treated me end of term," she snarled, cutting him off.

       "I may have been an ass, but that was then, what the hell is your problem NOW?!"

       "I didn't want you to think you'd gotten away with what you did—" she replied, anger fading into hurt. "Merlin, Ron, you were the best thing that'd ever happened to me, and when I trusted you, you ripped me apart!"

Ron sighed, the familiar cold seeping into his stomach as he remembered what he'd put her through. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, smart, funny—the perfect woman…for someone else.

"Jess…" he began, "Do you want to go somewhere and talk?" he asked quietly, realizing he'd never explained or apologized for his actions. She looked at him for a second, not sure she wanted an explanation, a confirmation of her suspicions…

"Ron?" Hermione came out of the shop, a large bag of books in tow. "I thought you were going to Quality Quidditch whatever…?" she asked, looking from him to the girl next to him. That girl…seemed slightly…familiar..

"Hermione?" Ron looked up, surprised she'd come out so quickly—must've run out of money, he mused. Oblivious to the awkward moment, he began thinking about the irony of the situation—the way she always yelled at him to not spend every last sickle on Quidditch supplies.. and here she was, spending all her spare change on books…

Rolling her eyes, Hermione stepped forward and introduced herself to the girl. Honestly, guys could be such idiots, just standing there. Of all the…wait! Looking closely at the girl, she realized—that face—it was just like that one in the picture…

"Are you a friend of Ginny's?" she asked, sure she was right. But what could she have to do with Ron? It wasn't like him to go after his little sister's friends—unless, of course, he was in 'over-protective' mode and the aforementioned friends were guys…

"Yeah, I'm in her year…Ravenclaw." she replied, voice shaking.  

"OY! There you are—Ron, mate, you missed a bloody brilliant demonstration of the new Falcon 5-0! Beautiful broom, that one…" Fred and Kalea appeared hand in hand, George trailing behind.

"Need a hand with that, Hermione?" George asked, eyes lighting up at an excuse to get away from the lovebirds.

"Uhm…sure, thanks…" she replied, handing the bag to him. It was a bit heavier than he'd expected, apparently, and she tried not to laugh as he dropped it on his foot. Trying to be as smooth as possible, he hoisted it over his shoulder, nearly knocking Kalea down. Ears red, he stepped behind her so as not to hurt anyone else.

Meanwhile, it seemed as though Ron had finally come to his senses. "Where's Harry?" He asked.

"He's at Gringotts…" Kalea replied.

"Or at the Owlery?" Fred asked, turning to her, a confused look on her face.

"I dunno…"

"We lost HARRY POTTER?!?" George cried out in mock panic.

"Relax, he can take care of himself…" Hermione replied, rolling her eyes. Honestly.

"Sure, or Ginny can take care of him…" He snickered—as if those two thought they could keep their new found relationship a secret. Those extendable ears combined with the butterfly long distance carriers were really handy sometimes…

"Yeah well he'd better take care of her, or we'll take care of him…" Fred smirked, eyes dark.

"Uhm…I'd better…get going…" Jessica spoke up amid the chattering confusion.

"Nice meeting you." Hermione smiled.

"Er…yeah. Sorry 'bout knocking you over…" Ron nodded lamely. She said goodbye and, disappearing into the crowd, turned just long enough to give him one last meaningful look.

"I'm gonna go find Harry, then…" Ron mumbled before heading off in the direction of the bank.

"Yeah…well, we're gonna go to Fortescue's for some ice cream before meeting Mum at Flourish & Blotts…" Fred grinned and, winking at his brother, led a blushing Kalea in the opposite direction.

"Well…Guess it's just you and me now, eh? Shall we?" Bowing slightly, he offered her his arm. Intrigued, she took it and smiled. This was going to be an interesting day…

*****

"Harry…" Ginny giggled as he pushed her against the wall, roughly kissing her neck.

"What?" he paused long enough to look into her endlessly deep chocolate eyes, sparkling with love and humour.

"We're going to get caught, that's what…" she replied, trying to squirm out of his grasp without knocking down any of the potions on the shelf beside them.

"No we won't…we're on the upper level of Potions and Dangerous Notions, for Merlin's sake…none of your family comes into Knockturn Alley, let alone a dark potions shop…" he smiled.

"Well…" she looked around, biting her lip. "Good point…" She quickly leaned up and caught his lips in a full, sweet kiss. Somewhere below, a bell tinkled and an old gypsy woman appeared to greet her customer. Harry turned to make sure they were still hidden from sight when he recognized who had entered the store.

Standing at the counter was Percy Weasley.

***** 

Finally three o'clock, everyone gathered at Flourish & Blotts with nothing left but books to buy.

"Well, how was your day?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she bustled the group inside. Grinning, she surveyed her children—which all of them were, in some form or other. Fred and Kalea stood close together, hair slightly disheveled, grinning madly. Good, she thought, I thought there'd been sparks when he came back from America. I'll have to write Bridget and tell her she was right—her daughter and my son, together alright… just like she'd predicted.

Not listening to anything anyone was saying, she shifted her gaze to her youngest son. He seemed quiet, pensive. Not sure what to think, she turned to Harry and smiled as she saw the way he looked at Ginny. She was saying something…something about that son, she felt her chest go cold at the thought of him, and knocking eternally. Sure, honey, whatever you say…she nodded mindlessly as her attention moved to Hermione and…George? Well this was certainly unexpected… George stood beside her, watching her with worry and…well, something in his eyes. She seemed upset, slightly pale and it was obvious she was lost in her thoughts. Wonder what that's all about, poor dear… possibly that wretched boyfriend of hers… She should just go and dump him once and for—

"MUM!" Ginny said, exasperated, bringing Molly Weasley out of her reverie.

"What, what is it dear, are you alright??" she replied, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

"We asked if we could get our books now…" Ron said, looking at her strangely.

"Oh, certainly…Go on, I'll be in the Culinary aisle, just call me when you're all ready." She nodded and shuffled to the nearby shelf and began examining Tommy Lockhart's 1001 Magical Cooking Solutions. Tsk, such a pity, that poor Gilderoy being in that accident—lucky his brother took up the business… she put the book down and grabbed one next to it—Tommy Lockhart's Collection of International Magical Recipes. Glancing at the price, she sighed and placed it back on the shelf. Maybe I'll come back when the kids are in school…she mused, when a thought struck her. The kids…she wanted to know what was going on, if anything, between George and Hermione, right? So why not find out? Pleased with her own brilliance, she glanced around. Seeing no one and feeling like a student in Hogwarts again, she quietly crept toward the School Section of the store. After minutes of dodging clerks and other customers, she managed to sneak up to the shelf directly behind Harry, Hermione and Ron. Ginny and Kalea were a bit farther down, towards the Divination counter, giggling about something or other. Turning back to the trio in front of her, she crouched down and listened intently. 

"Advanced Charms and Spells, by Annabelle Lacious.." Hermione read off their book list.

"Got it," Ron replied as he and Harry strained to put four copies of the immense book into their basket.

"Advanced Charms and Spells, by Annabelle Lacious," she continued.

"Hermione, we've already got it—" Ron repeated, pointing at the copies dumped unceremoniously in their cart.

"Hmm?" She looked up. "Oh, right…sorry…" She reddened slightly and looked back at the list.

"Are you ok? You seem distracted…" Harry asked, leaning against the shelf.

"Of course I am, I'm not distracted, why would you think I'm distracted? Do I seem distracted to you? I'm not distracted, I'm focused and right here with you…" she trailed off in a slightly higher pitched voice than normal. Exchanging looks, the boys smirked and crossed their arms.

"We're not buying it."

"Not buying…oh bugger." With an air of resignation, she pulled them farther away from the chattering girls. Aha, thought Mrs. Weasley, now we find out everything! This is gonna be good… she could hardly contain herself as she followed them, crouching and creeping without a sound.

"…Molly?" The aging redhead jumped at the sound of her name. Slowly turning her head, she was shocked to see Remus Lupin towering above her.

"Are you quite alright?" He asked, looking down at her with genuine concern. Face reddening, she pulled herself up.

"Remus—I wasn't expecting to…to see you here…" She brushed herself off with an air of surprised dignity. "I was merely examining the books…there…" She replied, grabbing the first one she saw—a white one with silver lettering.

"Vampires and Werewolves—Creatures of the Night," He read. "Interesting choice…" his eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched her turn at least five shades redder than her hair. Glancing past her, he could see Ron, Harry and Hermione on the other side of the shelf, pulled together, discussing something in hushed voices. Suspecting she was anxious to spy on them, he decided to take her off their hands and asked her to join him for coffee.

"Oh, no, I should stay here, the kids will be ready in a moment…" she stammered, anxious to hear what the three were whispering about.

"No, no, I insist. We'll sit in the coffee alcove over there, they'll see us." He smiled. Casting one last disappointed and curious glance at the trio, she sighed and followed him.

***** 

Finally home, Ron and Harry tramped into their room and dumped their things on the floor before falling flat on their beds. Eyes closed, Harry sighed. It had been a great day, he'd decided…

"Eh, Ron? Why weren't you at Quality Quidditch Supplies with us? I turned to tell you something and you disappeared…" He asked. After a moment, Ron responded in a lazy voice,

"'Mione dragged me off to some bookstore…and then I ran into Jessica on my way out…"

"Jessica?" Harry gave a low whistle and sat up, brow furrowed. "What happened?"

"Nothing, really…slapped me, almost started crying—then everyone else came up before we could really talk about it…" Harry snorted at the resigned tone of his best mate.

"Well, you were a complete…"

"Ass? I know, and it's pretty obvious she knows," he finished. "But what I don't get is why it's still such a big deal…it was bloody sixth year, for Merlin's sake. Why do women have to make everything so prolonged and emotional? I was an ass, so punch me and move on with it, already!" He said as he stood, ears red. Harry, a smile twitching on his lips, watched as Ron paced across the room.

"Women… You know, you could always ask Hermione what you should do." Harry suggested.

He wheeled around—"Ask Hermione? If I asked her now, I'd have to explain the whole situation—it would take too much time and trouble…besides, she'd probably side with Jess, you know how girls are!"

"You could have told her from the beginning, you know…instead of keeping it secret…"

"I wasn't keeping it secret! Hermione is…well, Hermione! She doesn't care about the girls I date, she cares that I study properly and that everything is fine…"

"And is it?" Harry questioned, eyebrows raised. Ron was his closest friend, but even he had to admit the Weasley could be thick-headed, sometimes. Alright, all times when it came to Hermione.

"It wa—oh, shut it, you…" Ron's eyes darkened and he sat down on his bed in a huff. Harry snorted and couldn't help but laugh. After a minute, Ron joined him and their laughter echoed down the stairs.

*****

"Wonder what they're laughing about," Kalea said, laughter drifting down the hall as she took the clippies out of her hair. Hermione and Ginny lay sprawled about the room, completely beat.

"Do you actually want to know?" Hermione asked wryly. "You never can tell with them…" It was quiet for a moment, until Ginny broke the silence.

"I wonder why Mum didn't say anything about us seeing Percy in that shop?"

"I wonder why she didn't say anything about you being in Knockturn Alley!"

"I told you, I'd just gone to pick out some ingredients I couldn't find at the other apothecary…"

"Riiight… and that mark on your neck is a mosquito bite, right?" Kalea snickered as Ginny blushed. Hermione sat up and absently took off her shirt, pulling another from the top of her trunk.

"So Hermione, what's up with George lately, eh?" Kalea plopped down on the bed, eyes wide with interest.

Blushing, Hermione replied in a quiet voice, "Nothing…"

"Oh come on, we've both noticed—what's going on??" Ginny questioned, pulling herself up on her elbows. What happened to Ron??

"Actually, honestly, I have no idea—it's like this morning he woke up and decided he'd talk to me, or something…" she trailed off, eyes narrowed as she thought.

"More like he woke up and decided to be smitten with you—I've never seen him act like this… I thought he was all about Angelina, remember?"

"Yeah," Ginny replied, "But the dare was to send the picture to whoever he'd been most in love with when he was at Hogwarts. I think after they left and Fred went out with her for a while, he got over it…"

"Mmm…well, he's a good guy, Hermione—handsome, funny, sweet…" Kalea grinned, while Ginny pretended to gag. Heart beating, Hermione went over the day in her mind. He'd escorted her to the Apothecary for her potions ingredients, making her laugh at his brilliant imitations of Snape. Then they'd gone to Madam Malkin's for some new robes and, surprisingly enough, he didn't get bored or irritated at shopping for clothes. In fact, he stood back and critiqued each outfit she tried on with the tone of a host from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Her eyes watered and cheeks hurt from laughing as he fussed over her newfound robes, pinkies fully extended, wrists dramatically bent. He'd listened as she talked, laughed at her jokes and gave her advice for her next year. Who knew he could be so…real? It'd been a great day, until they passed a rather secluded ally-way, where they saw Draco harassing a pretty young girl who was close to tears. Fury had boiled within her as she watched him sneer and mock her before pushing himself against her, forcing her to kiss him. Before she could react, George ran over and pulled him back, punching him in the face and throwing him on the ground.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" He shouted, as Hermione caught the girl from falling, tears pouring down her face.

"None of your business, Weasley…" Draco replied, wiping the blood from his nose. The girl let out a sob and buried herself in Hermione's shoulder. Looking closer, she realized it was Amethyst, a Slytherin fifth year. She was…a chaser for the team? She shook her head, unable to remember. Looking up, she saw Draco backing up as George said…something to him in a low voice, his eyes flashing dangerously. Trying to act like he didn't care, the Slytherin stepped past him and quickly left the ally, robes billowing behind him.

"Bloody bastard—" George muttered as he leaned down to pick up the girl's bags and parcels. Standing, she weakly took them and, head down, whispered a quiet "Thank you," before running meekly out to the main road. Shaking her head, Hermione looked up to see him standing directly in front of her, staring intensely into her eyes, face full of concern.

"I…I…" she stammered, shaking from the entire scene. George pulled her close and hugged her tightly. She buried her head in his shoulder and tried to catch her breath, shocked at what had just happened. And HE was supposed to be Head Boy. There was no way in HELL she was going to share a dorm with him after this… Almost as though reading her thoughts, he stroked her hair and whispered,

"Don't worry…Dumbledore wouldn't put you in that position. He sees through Malfoy's act and wouldn't put you in harm's way…" They stayed like that for a moment, until Hermione pulled back and wiped her eyes. He was right, Dumbledore wasn't stupid. She took a deep breath and tried to smile. Realizing she was ready to go, he picked up her bags again and followed her out of the ally, hoping he was right about his old headmaster.

Naturally, she had to tell Harry and Ron what had happened—though she left out the end bit; what would they think? What was SHE supposed to think?

Kalea and Ginny continued chatting happily about different guys, oblivious to her silence. No matter—she needed to think. What the hell did she want? She was with Viktor, but hadn't heard from him in days—and there'd been that weird article about him in the Prophet. She wasn't feeling connected to him anymore…if she ever did. Kalea was right about George—he was handsome and funny and sweet. She would never have thought him a possibility, but today she'd seen a different side of him and was curious to know more. Ron…well, he was Ron. Love of her life since second year…right? Or was it just some infatuation that had finally run its course? She shook her head, so confused. Either way, she knew she couldn't keep this up. She had to do something. She was leading her so-called boyfriend on, if he even noticed, and was struggling with her feelings concerning two brothers. Frustration building, her heart pounding in her ears, she blurted out,

"I have to break up with Viktor!" The girls stopped laughing, shocked at her sudden statement.

"Wha…what?" Ginny asked, unsure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I…I have to break up with Viktor," Hermione repeated, embarrassed she'd said it out loud. "I just…we're not connecting anymore, I never hear from him. And there was that article in the Prophet…I just don't think it can work anymore…" she continued, looking away from the blank faces of her roommates.

"Hermione, I'm sorry…" Kalea said softly, getting up to close the door.

"It's...it's ok. It's just time, you know?" New resolve rushed through her and she felt strengthened having made a decision. "I'll go to his house tomorrow—it's only fair of me to do it in person, right?" They nodded, glad she'd finally come to her senses. After talking a bit more about it, and about what she would say, the three girls changed into their pajamas, climbed under their blankets and began planning their next prank.

*****

a/n: There you have it… not really an on the edge of your seat, hold onto your hat cliffhanger, but it'll do, eh? We'll find out what George was doing in the girls' room in the next chapter, I promise! Hehe… Anyway, a million thank-yous, chocolate chip cookies and hugs to all my reviewers—especially Leha and Caitlin (pottyboutweasley) whose reviews made my day!! Hehe, send along any ideas you have, alright? Now review!