Hermione and Percy: The Baby part 2
Lavender walked deliberately up the stairs, all the way up to the top floor; Ron's bedroom. She unlocked the door, hurried inside, and locked the door again. Ron looked up from the bed on which he was reclining. "Hey."
"You don't get to 'hey' me, especially after that shite you pulled earlier downstairs," she said hotly.
"I know, and I'm really sorry for that," Ron said sincerely.
"You should be," Lavender said. "You know, some of those comments were totally uncalled for."
"Well how the bloody hell was I supposed to know that she was pregnant?"
"She told us not to tell you or anyone else outside the family. We knew you would react this way."
"What?" Ron exclaimed. "You knew for nine months that one of my best friends was going to have a baby and you didn't bother to tell me about it?"
"Because of this. You should have seen the way you acted tonight. If I didn't come to grips with her always having a spot in your heart, I would be jealous as hell that you always do shite like this around her," she ranted. "You probably would have beaten Percy to a pulp if Fred and George hadn't restrained you."
Ron's face dropped steadily as she spoke, knowing that it was the truth. He sat up and held his head in his hands and wept. She stood there and watched him weep, but she stepped closer to him so she could run her fingers through his hair soothingly. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed the side of his face into her three month baby bump. "I really want to be a good dad," he mumbled. "But I don't know how. I'm not even a good Uncle."
"That's where you start," Lavender said simply. He looked up at her, his eyes glassy from tears. "Tomorrow morning, you apologize to your mother and brother. Next you apologize to Percy."
"This is gonna be hard," Ron sighted and put his head back to her stomach.
"I know sweetheart, I know," she soothed. "But the hardest part is going to be making it up to Mione and the baby. I've heard that you were good with the kids before I was around."
"I don't know what happened, the just reminded me of her."
"And that's hard for me to accept, but I'm your wife. We should make our own memories of the kids. Something that we can remember just being us."
"Okay," he murmured. "How is she?"
"She's fine," Lavender said. "And Hermione's fine too."
"She had a baby girl?" Ron's perked his head up. Lavender nodded and kissed her forehead. "Can we just cuddle tonight, our first new memory, one that doesn't involve sex," he chuckled.
"Okay, we'll go down in the morning, I'll get people alone for you if you'd like." They laid down on the bed together.
"That'd be great," Ron yawned. "Good night, love."
"Good night to you too, love," she replied, snuggling down into his arms.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
It was rather early the next morning when Molly had breakfast cooking on the range. Lavender tiptoed down the stairs, trying not to wake anyone else up and headed to the kitchen to talk to Molly.
"Morning dear," Molly said absent mindedly from the stove.
"How did you know I was up?" Lavender asked incredulously.
"I've raised six boys and a rather mischievous daughter, I've learned to hear when they try to sneak around," she replied. "Plus you hit the squeaky board, second flight or stairs, fifth step. We put it there, mainly for Fred and George.
"Oh."
"Was there anything you wanted dear?"
"Well, I would like for you to listen to Ron," Lavender started tentatively. "He wants to apologize for last night."
"Will you hear me out?" Ron said, appearing in the doorway to the earthy kitchen.
"You levitate yourself down?"
"Erm… yeah," he admitted sheepishly. "I just wanted to talk to you without my brothers sneaking downstairs."
"It's almost too late," Charlie said. He had carefully silenced the board before walking down the stairs.
"Well, I really would like to apologize," Ron said earnestly. "Let me guess, everyone is on their way down?"
Bill, Fleur, and Victoire appeared in the kitchen followed by the twins family. Ginny, Harry, and baby James floo'd in very close behind. The kitchen was nearly close to bursting.
"I put a silencing charm on their room last night," Ginny said pointedly. "They won't hear us."
"Alright then. Look, I know I was being a complete git last night, and quite frankly, for a long time. You know there will always be a small spot in my heart for Mione. But I want her to be happy, like Lav and I, even if she's happier with one of my brothers. I am trying to get back to the old Ron, and I desperately want you guys to forgive me."
Little Victoire wriggled out of Bill's arms and walked in front of Ron. "Uncle Won-Won coming back?"
"Yeah Tor Tor, Uncle Won-Won is back," he said softly. She tackled him to the floor in a hug, giggling like mad.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Hermione slipped out of bed, stretching her head over her head. It had only been three hours since the baby's last feeding, but Percy was out for the count. They still had to come up with a name for their baby girl. Hermione resolved for a changing, then a feeding, then finally a wake up call for her boyfriend. "Hello sweetie," Hermione cooed at her sniffling daughter. "We're just gonna change your nappie before you get fed."
Hermione's nappy changing skills had been honed over the past few months because of Baby James. Hermione made the choice to breast feed, so she watched in amazement when the baby rooted toward her breast after a few seconds of freeing it. While the baby suckled, she took time to listen to the house. She couldn't hear the snores from the Weasley men, this meant that there was a silencing charm up.
"I wonder," she thought aloud, then shrugged. They must have put it up so the baby wouldn't wake them up.
"Speaking to yourself is a sign of madness, love," Percy said groggily from his bed.
"Oh hush," she chided. "I was just wondering about the silencing charm."
"Ginny mentioned that before she and Harry left with the baby," he said. "But we really need a name for this baby."
He got up from the bed slowly, and made his way over to Hermione who was trying to switch breasts so the baby could continue her feeding. Percy stroked the dusting of red hair on her head. "What do you think we should name her?"
"I like the name Charlotte," he said simply. "It's beautiful, like her mother's name."
"Charlotte Rose Weasley," Hermione said, cooking at their daughter. "Do you like that name sweetheart?"
The baby opened her eyes up for the first time and they were blue. "They're blue!" Percy exclaimed.
"Most babies eyes are blue and they change later," she explained.
"I think they will stay blue," Percy predicted. "You stay here with Charlotte. I'll go get us some breakfast in bed. You should try to get another nap if you can."
"Alright," she replied as Charlotte stopped feeding. "Don't hurry, go talk to your family a bit."
"They are your family too, always have been," Percy pointed out before he left the room. He jogged down the stairs and entered the kitchen.
"Uncle Percy!" Victoire squealed, hopping out of Ron's arms and running to the newest occupant of the kitchen. "Guess what?"
Percy scooped her up and carefully balanced her on his hip. "What's that sweetie?"
"Uncle Won-Won is back!" she whispered excitedly.
"Really?" he asked skeptically, looking at Ron.
"We'll let you two talk," Bill said, relieving Percy of the wriggly seven year old girl. Everyone except Ron and Percy left the kitchen. Lavender bent to kiss Ron's forehead and whispered, "I am proud of you."
Ron nodded and waited for her to leave before he started talking. "How's the baby?" he asked.
"She's fine," Percy said evenly.
"And Hermione?"
"Fine as well."
"Okay, I know you're not going to make this easy," Ron said, letting out a breath and getting up from his chair. "I am so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I was the worst kind of git for the past year or two. I had a lot of time to think about last night after the twins locked me in my room. I heard her screaming and it cut right through me. It reminded me of the night I left. I left her crying, but I never really intended for it to be like that. I wasn't I love with her like that anymore. We always argued. I just knew that we would have been better friends.
"I am horrible around girls, so of course I buggered it up. If I could do it all over, I would have told her the truth. I am so ashamed of what I did say to her. I really just wanted her to be happy, but I didn't think it would be possible for her to be happy with another one of my brothers. A small part of my heart will always belong to her, but I know you love her more than I ever could.
"Trying to go back to 'Uncle Won-Won', A Vic puts it, will be hard, and I'm gonna need all the help I can get. I wanted to apologize to you and Hermione. I would like to be a better Uncle to your baby than I was for James, for example. It would mean the world to be if you could forgive me."
"I forgive you," Hermione said from the doorway. Both men's heads whipped around to face her and the baby.
"When did…? How…?" Ron spluttered.
"When Percy left the room to get breakfast, the silencing Charm broke. I heard everyone down in the kitchen. I was getting ready to come down to see all of you, but I heard Bill let everyone of the kitchen," she explained. "I heard your whole apology, and I think that's the most honest thing I've heard you ever say."
"I am really sorry, Mione," Ron said, pleading with his eyes.
"I want my old brother back," Percy said quietly. "The one who constantly made fun of me because I was a bookworm, not the one who wants to kill me every time we see each other."
"I want to be that brother again, I really do."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The rest of the family was out in the living room, wondering how everything was going when Hermione, the baby, Percy, and Ron walked out of the kitchen. "Well?" Charlie prompted.
"We would like to formally introduce the newest member of the Weasley family," Hermione said.
"Charlotte Rose Weasley," Percy said confidently.
"And to her godparents, Ron and Lav," Hermione announced.
