Written for the Hogwarts Grounds Challenge (Potions/Dungeons - Diagon Alley)

Live Another Day

"Mummy, Mummy, can I get ice-cream?"

"I wanna see new broom, Mummy. New broom!"

"When can I get a wand? I really want a wand."

"I want one, too! I want one like Daddy's."

"Mummy, there's the wand shop… Mummy, I want to go inside!"

Rose Weasley, a seven-year-old, red-haired girl, tugged on her mother's hand, trying to pull her towards Ollivander's – the famous wand shop. Hermione, Rose's mother, however, was stronger.

"Not today, Rosie," she said calmly despite her two children setting her teeth on edge. "When you're eleven, remember."

"But that is ages away!" Rose complained, giving her mother's hand another tug. "Can I just look?"

"Not today."

"But I want a wand!" Rose wailed, her bottom lip sticking out and tears forming in her eyes.

Hermione, who had endured seven years of her daughter's tantrums, shook her head. "No, Rose." Where was Ron? He had said he had some business to attend to, but that had been over an hour ago. He'd made it sound important, but she was now starting to wonder if he had just used it as an excuse to avoid a tantrum from Rose or Hugo.

Both were prone to throwing them whilst in Diagon Alley; thankfully, never at the same time.

"Can we get ice-cream, then?"

"No." She was only supposed to be here for an hour. She had needed a few things for work, and Rose and Hugo needed new clothes. All things she could have taken sixty minutes with had Ron not decided he needed to go with her. And then he had vanished, probably hiding in the Quidditch shop or something. He hated Diagon Alley more than she did. He hated it because there were always the Rita Skeeters around, dying to take pictures of them.

Another reason why they hated taking their children there.

"I want ice-cream!"

"Rosie, you can want all you like, but we're going to the robe shop, okay? I need some new work robes. And then we're going to Muggle London to buy you and Hugo some clothes."

Rose's eyes widened with delight. "I want new clothes!" she said, suddenly skipping ahead. "New clothes, new clothes, new clothes."

Hermione looked down to her left where Hugo's hand had replaced his sister's in hers. She smiled at him. "We better hurry," she said to him. "Or we'll lose her."

Hugo nodded, then ran off after Rose, joining in with her song of 'new clothes'.

…

He knew they had promised not to do anything special for anniversaries, but Ron wanted to this time. It wasn't even an important year – nine years – but still... last year's attempt at doing something had been pathetic on both their parts. This time, though, he had made sure neither of them would need to stay back until the early hours of the morning at work. They were both out of there by five in the afternoon. No exceptions.

He wasn't sure if he had made the right decision (each year it got harder and harder to buy something he knew she'd like) but he was certain he couldn't disappoint with books. He'd tried jewellery before, and although she had said she liked it, she hardly wore it. He had also tried perfume and music and other little things which had had the same reaction as the jewellery. But books… he knew she'd read them.

As he exited Flourish and Blotts with a heavy bag in his hand, he started in the opposite direction to where he thought the others would be. Hermione had said something about going to the robe shop and then to Muggle London; but he didn't think she'd go there without him. He hated going there without her, especially into the stores. Even after nine years of marriage, Muggle money still confused him. Hermione had given up on teaching him how to use it.

He had almost reached Madam Malkim's when he spotted something from the corner of his eye. He saw the flash of the camera and then the very familiar giggling of both of his children. Next he saw Hermione telling them to follow her, and a middle-aged wizard scribbling down some notes with a Quick Quotes Quill.

His mood darkening, Ron strode towards the wizard, furious. He knew that it was worse for Harry and Ginny when they went out, but even after all these years people would still take any chance they could get to get a picture of them. It didn't matter so much if it was him or Hermione (they could deal with the stories that appeared in the paper about them), but when the media thought it appropriate to take pictures of their children, too… that was when they had to draw the line.

"Hey!" he said, reaching out his free hand to grip the shoulder of the photographer. "What do you think you're doing?"

The man spun around, first appearing taken aback to see Ron standing before him, and then indifferent.

"Doing my job," he said with a shrug. "Why aren't you with them?" He nodded to where Hermione had just disappeared into the robe shop. "Trouble in paradise?" He seemed eager to hear something interesting, which infuriated Ron even further. It was none of their bloody business what his relationship status with Hermione was.

"Stay away from them," he said, his voice threatening. "And if so much as my children's names make an appearance in the paper, I'll have the Minister on you quicker than you can Apparate."

The wizard only glared, but it seemed the threat of Kingsley Shacklebolt was enough to keep his opinions to himself. It was widely known that the Minister for Magic was very good friends with Harry Potter and co. and it would not do well to make an enemy out of him.

"And," Ron then added, glancing to make sure Hermione was still in the shop, "I was buying my wife an anniversary present." He held up the bag of books. "Not as interesting, is it?"

The man's lips pursed into a very thin line. With his camera in hand, he stalked away without another word. Ron glared after him. No doubt something would make the paper tomorrow. It always did. They only had to breathe.

When he entered the robe shop, the books Vanished back to their house, Hermione was just paying for her purchase.

"You'll have them in three days, Mrs Weasley," Madam Malkim was saying as Hermione passed her three Galleons.

"Hi, Daddy!" Rose had just tackled her brother to the ground, but had still managed a hello. Hermione looked up.

"What took you so long?" she wanted to know, her voice almost demanding.

"I had something I needed to buy," was all Ron said.

Hermione studied his empty person for a moment. "And did you?" She looked at him suspiciously.

Ron only shrugged. "Where to next?"

"New clothes!" Rose exclaimed, letting her squirming brother go. "New clothes, new clothes!"

Ron smiled, and then grinned at Hermione. No wonder she was angry with him if that was what she had to put up with for an hour.

…

"Can I get this one?" Rose held up a dress she'd picked off the rack. It was a pretty red one with flowers on it, and she really, really liked it.

"Rosie, that's way too big for you," Hermione said, laughing. "Come on, you need to look over here. That's for older people."

Rose stuck out her bottom lip – a tactic that would work on her dad, but never on her mum. "But I want that one," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "It's pretty."

"I know it is, sweetie," Hermione told her. "Maybe when you're a little bit bigger, okay?"

Reluctantly, Rose nodded, but took another look back at the dress for good measure. She really liked shopping for clothes, and she liked it when her mum or dad bought her something. It didn't happen often, but she liked it when it did.

"Over here, sweetie," Hermione said, indicating another section of clothes. "These ones are your size. You might be able to find something similar here."

But there was nothing. She found a red dress, but it wasn't as pretty as the bigger one. Hugo found lots of clothes that fitted him, and it wasn't fair.

"I really want that one," she said, running back over to the red one again. "Please?"

"Rosie, darling, it's too big for you," Hermione said calmly.

"Can I get it for when I'm bigger?"

"Nothing a little bit of magic can't fix," Ron then said, mumbling so only they could hear. "Just shrink it to her size."

Rose found it funny when her mum gave her dad the look she was giving him right now; but it was also scary. It meant she was unhappy with him.

Ron seemed to realise he had said the wrong thing and took the dress from Rose. "You liked that other one over there, didn't you, Rosie?" he said. "I think that one's better, anyway."

Rose didn't. "This one," she said. "I want this one."

"Rosie –"

"I'll get it for you, Rosie," Ron said. "My little treat. You can find something, too, Hugo."

"Ron…."

"What can I get?" Hugo wanted to know.

"Anything you want."

Hermione was sending a very hard glare in Ron's direction, but Rose didn't care. Hugo seemed very happy that he was allowed anything he wanted, and had taken off in the direction of toys.

"You just give them anything you want, don't you?" Rose heard her mum telling her dad. "You can't say no to them."

"You were the one who wanted to buy them new clothes," Ron argued. "And we just have the advantage of being able to adjust it to fit them."

"It's way too old for her."

"I like it, Mummy."

They were all hurrying along after Hugo, who had somewhat vanished.

"I said I'll buy it," Ron said. "You can get her whatever you want to get her, and I'll get her that."

"In case it's escaped your notice, Ronald, but we share money. So anything you get them is from both of us, anyway."

Ron only shrugged, pointing to where Hugo had stopped by toy trucks. "There he is. Which one do you want, Hu?"

Rose saw her mother roll her eyes, but she seemed to have given up and was letting Hugo get a new toy. Rose didn't care either way, because she had her new dress, and she really, really liked it.

…

Hugo decided that he liked shopping. Especially when his dad came with them, because his dad would always buy him something. His mum always said no, unless he had been very, very good.

He liked the new toys he had chosen, and the new clothes. He also liked that he got to go to Diagon Alley. Normally, his parents would tell him he couldn't go. They said they didn't like it when people took pictures of them. Hugo didn't mind, though. Once he had even seen himself in the newspaper!

"Hugo, sweetie, can you go and put everything in your room, please?"

They had just arrived home and he was carrying everything inside. But he wanted to play with it, not put it away.

"Now, Hugo," his mum said, apparently realising what he wanted. "You can play after dinner, before you go to bed."

"Now?"

"Not now, later, Hugo."

Hugo frowned. "Now."

"Hu, take it upstairs," his dad then said. "You can play after dinner. We promise."

"Can you fix my dress?" Rose then asked, dumping the bags in the middle of the walkway to find her new clothing.

"After dinner," Hugo's mum said again. "Both of you take your things upstairs and then come back down here. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Can we help?" Hugo then suddenly asked. He liked helping to make dinner. He did it all the time.

His mum smiled at him. "Of course you can," she said. "Hurry up and we'll find something to eat."

Hugo disappeared up the stairs, bags and sister in tow, and threw them on the floor of his room. Rose, whose room was next door, could be heard rummaging through everything.

"Come on, Rosie!" Hugo exclaimed, coming to her door. "Let's go help!"

"Okay, but I just need to put the dress on first."

"Mummy said after dinner!"

"But I'll put it on now and she'll be happy because I'll look so pretty!"

Hugo's eyes narrowed. Rosie always made them late for everything! Even for dinner. Glaring, he folded his arms and stood his ground. "Then I'll go help!" he said darkly. "And you'll miss out on dinner." He stuck his tongue out and then made for the stairs.

Sometimes he didn't even like Rose.

…

"It was really nice what you did for them today, Ron, even if unnecessary."

Ron shrugged, setting a pot on the stove to boil. "Sometimes you just need to treat them, you know?" he said absently. "I couldn't have things I wanted as a kid, so I might as well let them have what they want."

Rather than being angry, Hermione nodded in understanding. "They probably deserve it, anyway," she said. "They were so happy."

Ron merely shrugged again, but a small smile graced his lips. "Of course they deserve it," he said. "They're good kids. Anyway –" He glanced in the direction of the stairs, "– it looks like they may have given up on helping us."

Hermione laughed. "Oh well. It's just one day," she said.

So, this is just a little slice-of-life fic I felt like writing. Just the everyday lives of Ron, Hermione and their children (not that I haven't written this before or anything...)

Anyway, I hope you liked it, and your thoughts would be very much appreciated :) Thank you for reading!