Disclaimer: This world and all its characters belong to JK Rowling. I wrote this purely for entertainment purposes, and have no wish to sell, copyright or otherwise claim any of this content.

"Ron!" Ginny ran into Ron's room. "Quick, Charlie's fighting with Mum!"

Ron looked up from the quidditch figures she was playing with, but didn't look as excited about it was Ginny felt. "They're fighting!" she repeated.

"Why?" Ron looked perplexed. "Charlie never fights with Mum … "

"I know, come on!" Ginny quickly crossed the room and tugged on Ron's sleeve, dragging her off the bed. "They're fighting about you, I think."

While Ginny didn't think much of eavesdropping, she wasn't stupid enough to deny that it was sometimes useful. Besides the fact that it was Charlie fighting with Mum, there were several other points which, in Ginny's mind, made this fight notable. The first was that they were arguing loud enough that if she strained her ears, she could hear them from all the way in Ron's room. Second, Percy had come down the stairs a few minutes after she started listening and, upon hearing them, had sat down on the stairs and started listening too. In fact, it had been Percy's idea that she run and get Ron. Lastly and perhaps most strangely, Dad hadn't yet come to Mum's defense. While in Ginny's experience he usually sided with her on everything, now he just sat silently and listened.

Tugging Ron down the stairs, Ginny arrived at the bottom to find that her perch was more crowded than when she had left it. Fred and George had joined Percy on the steps, out of sight but certainly not out of earshot.

"… not right," Charlie was arguing. "I don't know what it's doing, but she's not herself!"

"She's sick." Mum's voice was slightly louder than normal, and she sounded tense. "She's been taking the potion for over a month, and there's been plenty of progress."

"In making it worse! She's miserable."

"It's not that bad," Ron mumbled, but her mouth was turned down at the corners. Percy glanced back at them, pushing his glasses up on his nose, then turned back to the kitchen. Ginny shifted uncomfortably, not sure if she should say anything.

The truth was, Ginny had always known Ron was a boy. She was a boy who looked like a girl and who was a she instead of a he, but a boy nonetheless. Ginny had never understood why Mum especially was so adamant that Ron wasn't a boy, but had accepted it as a truth in her world early on. Some things, like muggle's eclectristy, simply remained unknown. But then Ron's magic had lashed out, and Mum and Dad started to notice, and then there was the potion.

Ron had started taking the potion in mid-October, and Ginny had noticed almost immediately that something wasn't right. Mostly, Ron had just been more tired and withdrawn, which had frustrated Ginny to no end because Ron was the only one who (reluctantly) let her play with her. As the days turned into weeks, though, Ron's attitude towards herself had changed. She'd become less insistent that everyone call her Ron instead of Ronny, and had started asking strange questions like "Should I wear my sneakers inside?" and "Do I have to get up when Ginny does, or when Fred and George do?" While at first Ginny had agreed with Ron that she wasn't sick, now she wasn't so sure.

"She's getting better," Mum said. "You haven't been here, you can't seen it yet."

"I've seen enough to know something's really wrong!" Charlie yelled, and Ginny suddenly felt that they maybe shouldn't be listening in. She reached forward to poke Percy, but paused as Charlie continued.

"She was better off before you took her to that witch in Topsham! She wasn't happy, but she wasn't sick! Why can't you see that everything's so much worse now?"

"Charlie –" Dad began, but Charlie cut him off.

"Would it hurt you so much to accept that Ron's different? There's nothing wrong with being different, you've always told me that, so why is it so different with Ron?"

"She thinks she's a boy!" Mum said shrilly. "She's a girl, my girl, and I won't let her live her life trying to be something she isn't!"

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Charlie bellowed. Percy stood suddenly and ran up to his room, and Ginny clapped her hands over her ears. Glancing over, she saw that Ron had done the same, and had silent tears streaking her face. "RON'S NOT A GIRL, MUM!"

"Don't speak to your mother like that," Dad said sharply.

"You don't care either," Charlie said furiously, although he was no longer shouting as loudly. "You're so selfish, both of you, you can't stand to let Ron be happy because you can't let go of a daughter you never had!"

"Go to your room!" Mum yelled. "And don't come down until you're ready to apologize!"

Fred scrambled past Ginny up the stairs, George following closely behind, and Ginny grabbed Ron and pulled her around the corner to her own room, where she quickly shut the door and wished not for the first time that she could lock it. She stood tensely, listening as Charlie stomped up the now-empty stairs, and Mum and Dad held a hushed conversation in the kitchen that she couldn't make out. She turned to Ron.

"Do know what that was about?" she asked unhappily, flopping on her bed. Ron was standing in the middle of her room, looking miserable and kind of lost. She shook her head, sniffed, and scrubbed at her face in an attempt to stop crying. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Is it really that bad?" Ginny asked hesitantly. She thought of all the little potion bottled lined up neatly in the bathroom closet…. Ron didn't say anything, just wandered over to the window. "I wish he hadn't shouted," she muttered.

Coming to a decision, Ginny announced "I think you should stop taking the potions."

Ron frowned, wiping the last tears from her face. "What? Why?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Weren't you just listening? It's obvious they're not helping with your gender-whatchumacallit."

"Mum was pretty upset … " Ron said hesitantly, and Ginny huffed in annoyance. She knew how much Ron complained about having to take the potions – why was she hesitating now of all times?

"Come on." She grabbed Ron's arm again and towed her towards the door. Peeking out to make sure the coast was clear, she and Ron tiptoed up the stair to the bathroom, where Ginny opened the closet and started loading the potions into the pouch she'd made out of her skirt. "You keep watch," she ordered Ron. Ron immediately went to the door and peered down the stairs, as Ginny started shoving bottles into the pockets of the pants she was wearing under her dress. Ron could argue all she liked, Ginny decided, but dresses really were useful sometimes. Grabbing the last bottles off the shelf, she crept to the door and tried to look over Ron's shoulder. "Is the coast clear?"

"All clear," Ron whispered, and Ginny was thrilled to notice an undercurrent of excitement in her voice. It seemed like ages since Ron had been excited about anything.

They snuck down the stairs, past doorway to the kitchen where Mum and Dad were still talking, and into Ginny's room, where she dumped her loot on the bed. "There," she said smugly. "Now you don't have to take them anymore."

"Mum's going to notice that they're gone," Ron pointed out. "She'll – "

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Ginny quickly flipped her blanket over the potions as Bill stepped into her room. "Ginny? Ronny – Ron? Are you okay?"

Ginny nodded, trying not to glance behind her to make sure the potions were completely covered. "We're fine," Ron said carefully, although her shoulders had tensed.

"Percy just told me what happened, and he seemed pretty upset."

Ron shrugged, studying the floor, and Ginny said "Charlie was shouting."

"How much did you hear?"

"Not much," Ron said reluctantly. Her eyes darted to where the potions were hidden under Ginny's sheets, then back to Bill's face. "Did he mean what he said?"

Bill sighed. "I didn't hear it, but Charlie rarely says something he doesn't mean. What did he say?"

"He said Ron isn't a girl," Ginny said, suddenly excited. "I already knew that, though! He said that Ron should stop taking the potions, which Ron agrees with, right?" She turned expectantly to Ron, who glanced at the potions again and slowly nodded.

Bill opened his mouth to say something, but then his eyes focused on something behind Ginny and he frowned. Ginny felt her face go red as she glanced behind her and realized some of the potions hadn't made it all the way under her blanket.

"Speaking of potions," Bill stepped forward. "Why are they all on your bed?" He reached to lift the sheet away, but Ginny hastily batted his hand away. "No! We're hiding them." She stared at him stubbornly, squashing the guilt trying to worm its way into her head. "Mum can't make Ron take the potions if she can't find them."

"Was this your idea?" Bill asked, frowning at her. Ginny folded her arms, and Ron tugged on Bill's sleeve to get his attention.

"It was my idea too," she said. "I said … I don't want to take them anymore." To Ginny it sounded a bit like a question, but it was good enough for her. Bill was silent, frowning at them as he fiddled idly with his shoulder-length hair. Finally he sighed. "Go put the potions back, Ginny. Dishonesty isn't the way to get what you want. I'll talk to Mum and Dad, see what I can do. Maybe they'll listen to me."

Bill could still remember the day Ron was born. He'd been eight at the time, and while Fred, George and Percy had been brought to Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon's house, he and Charlie had been allowed to come to hospital with Dad and see their new baby sister.

He remember climbing up on the bed Mum was in, and staring at the tiny bundle of pink in her arms.

"Meet your sister, Bill," Mum whispered proudly. "Meet Veronica Beatrice Weasley."

"I wanna see!" Charlie complained loudly. Dad shushed him, and lifted him up in his arms so he could see. Charlie wrinkled his nose. "Ew. Why's she so scrawny?"

"Can I touch her?" Bill breathed. She looked so tiny he was surprised Mum hadn't broken her already.

"Here," Mum carefully handed him the baby. Sitting back on his heels so that he was more stable, he carefully cradled Veronica against his chest. Remembering something from when Fred and George had been born, he reached around to hold her head with one hand. Dad set Charlie on the bed beside Bill, then leaned in so he could kiss his wife. "Well done," he smiled softly at her. "You've produced another beautiful Weasley."

Charlie tried to touch Veronica, but Bill turned away, not trusting his brother. "Wait," he told him. "I'm still holding her."

"It's a girl," Mum laughed, sounding happier than Bill had ever heard her. "Oh Merlin, Arthur, it's a girl!"

Bill held Veronica back out to his mother, who took her and smiled as Dad wrapped both her and Veronica in gentle hug, kissing them both. "It's a girl," she repeated in a whisper, beaming at each of them in turn. "My beautiful little girl."

Now, as he walked into the kitchen where he hoped to find Mum, Bill wondered how he was going to convince her that she needed to let go of the vision she'd always had for her eldest daughter. He'd always thought of Ron as his sister, but the past year and especially last night had forced him to reconsider. After Ron had cried herself to sleep, and Bill had returned her to her room, Charlie had whispered to Bill all his theories and worries. Bill had managed to convince Charlie that everything would be okay, and then lain awake for hours trying to make sense of everything he'd heard and everything he knew. Finally, as the clock downstairs struck two, he'd come to the decision that Charlie was right and that Ron wasn't okay. Charlie had seen it right away, but he'd always been too headstrong in situations like these, and Bill knew that he wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. And since Mum refused to see how the potions were affecting Ron and Dad wouldn't do anything unless things got out of hand, it fell to Bill to make sure everything was all right.

Dad was stacking dishes in the cupboard, and Mum was flipping through a book on basic household charms at the table. She looked up as Bill entered and frowned at him. Bill winced inwardly, but spoke anyway. "Hi Mum, hi Dad. Er … how are you doing?"

Mum sighed, and shut her book. "I don't know, Bill. I suppose you heard me shouting at your brother?"

Bill shook his head. He'd put silencing charms on his room so that he could write to his girlfriend Maria in peace, and had only realized what had happened when Charlie came storming in looking on the verge of tears, and began ranting about how blind everyone was. Then, on his way down to see if everyone was okay, he'd been intercepted by Percy, who'd pulled him into his room to confess about eavesdropping.

"Percy told me what happened. Mum … I think you should listen to what Charlie's trying to tell you."

Dad came over to stand behind Mum, looking weary. "Do you have something to add, Bill?"

Mum's eyes narrowed, and Bill wavered for a minute before finding his resolve as he remembered Ginny standing defensively in front of Ron and the potions. "Yeah … yeah, I do. I mean, think about it. I've been at school, mostly, but since I've been home I haven't heard Ronny laugh once. She picks at her food, and doesn't seem excited about much of anything. I know it was bad before she started taking the potions, and that's why you took her to see Mrs. Bellevue in the first place, but I don't know, Mum…." He trailed off, then took a deep breath, fixing his gaze on Dad. "Dad, I don't know if Charlie told you, but Ronny came into our room last night. She was really upset, said that she didn't want to take the potion anymore because it was making her feel sick and confused. And then Charlie told me this story … honestly, I'm worried that if Ronny keeps taking this potion she'll never truly be happy again." Being a protective older brother, that was what had scared Bill most as he thought last night, and he hoped it might persuade Mum and Dad to reconsider as well.

Dad raised a hand to scrub at his face, Mum stared at him steadily as Bill fought the urge to fidget. It bothered him that he couldn't tell what she was thinking, and Dad seemed content to let her talk. Finally she sighed. "I love you, Bill, you know that, right? I love you, your brothers and your sisters. You'll learn this when you have children of your own, but I'll tell you now anyway. It's a parent's job to protect their child from the world, to make sure they grow up happy and healthy and good…. You have no idea how hard that is." She turned to stare out the window, and Bill was startled to notice a few streaks of silver in her red hair. How had he never noticed that before?

Bill hesitated, then stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. Dad rested his hands on Bill's shoulders, and Bill was suddenly reminded of that day in the hospital all those years ago. "Don't worry, Mum, we know you love us. Just … think about what I said, and about what Charlie was trying to say, even if he didn't do a very good job of it. You too, Dad. Sometimes you have to let go of what you want to see in order to see what was hiding behind it all along."

Mum held Bill's hands in front of her, silent for a moment, then she sighed. "Okay, Bill, I'll think about what you said." She dropped her hands back to the table and Bill stepped away.

He felt he ought to leave to give her some space, leave her and Dad to talk some more, but Mum still looked lost and Dad looked so sad. Unsure of what to do, he said quietly "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Bill," Mum sighed. "None of this is your fault."

Bill found Charlie in his room, staring moodily at the ceiling and twirling his wand between his fingers. As soon as Bill came in, Charlie sat up and frowned at him.

"Did Mum send you?" he asked.

Bill shook his head, and lowered himself into his desk chair where the letter he'd written to Maria was waiting to be sent. "No. I came back to see how you were doing."

Charlie huffed and flopped back on the bed. "I'm not okay, if that's what you're asking," he grumbled. "Mum cares more about her 'perfect' family –" he raised his hands to quote the air "– than she does about Ron."

Bill shook his head. "You know that's not true, Charlie," he said. Charlie narrowed his eyes at Bill, who frowned back at him. "Don't look at me like that," Bill said sternly. "I'm on your side, remember?"

Charlie flopped back down and they sat in silence for a while before Charlie finally said "I'm not going to apologize to Mum. I meant what I said, and I'm not taking it back."

"Then don't apologize for what you said, but you should at least apologize for shouting. Mum's pretty upset, you know."

"Mum's upset?" Charlie demanded, propping himself up again. Bill suppressed a groan. "Good! She bloody well should be. She's ruining Ron's life!"

"Charlie!" Bill said sharply. "Stop it. Do you hear yourself right now? I know you're angry, and that you're worried about Ron. I am too. But shouting's not the way to go about it, even if it does get your point across. You need to go apologize to Mum for shouting – not what you said, just the shouting bit – because you need to grow up. I'm going to be leaving home for good in less than six months, which means you'll be the oldest. You'll be the one sorting out fights when Mum and Dad can't, the one everyone's going to need to help them when they're in trouble and don't want Mum and Dad to find out. You need to be able to reason your arguments, not just shout them at the top of your lungs." He fixed Charlie with a stare he used on especially surly younger-years at Hogwarts, which Charlie managed to return for a solid ten seconds before giving in.

"Fine!" Charlie groaned, flopping backwards. "Okay, fine, I'll say I'm sorry. Is she still in the kitchen?" Bill nodded, and Charlie pushed himself off the bed. "Just know I'm doing it for you, not her."

Bill rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Whatever you say, Charlie."