I don't own anything but the plot nor do I make money off of this either. JKR owns it all and she's one lucky gal, if a bit delusional if the end of book 7 is used as evidence.

Chapter 1: Support

"As long as birth injuries are not overwhelming, a supportive home can restore children's growth"

Berk, L (2008); Infants and children, 6th ed.,pp. 145, Pearson, Boston

It was a warm sunny day on the outskirts of London. Hermione Granger, formerly Weasley, sat on a park bench and watched as young children ran amok at a playground. At first glance, this playground appeared the same as any playground, except the swings were a little different. Then, one noticed that the ground was actually a spongy material, not grass or wood chips, and the jungle gyms contained wheelchair ramps. Every aspect of the park was familiar but different. This particular park was founded for children with disabilities to come and play in safety.

During her pregnancy, if someone had asked Hermione Granger what she wanted for her child, she would have responded with "I want my child to be healthy and happy." Her husband had insisted that he too only wanted a healthy child. As it so happens, the Weasley ideal for "healthy" was far removed from Hermione's own concept of the idea.

Being a good mother, Hermione read development books, and researched expectations while pregnant. After the birth, Hermione kept a journal and filled in milestone details for their daughter, Rose. When Rose was around six months old, Hermione approached their pedi-healer about some concerns she'd had about delayed development. The healer noted that Hermione was a first-time mother and wrote her off. Refusing to be deterred, Hermione then talked to her mother-in-law, a woman who had seven healthy children and many grandchildren.

Molly assured Hermione that some children are ahead of schedule while others lag far behind and there was nothing to worry about. At first, this calmed Hermione but after watching children months younger than hers accomplish tasks that her daughter seemed unable to perform, Hermione made an appointment with a pediatrician.

That was the start of the end of her life as she knew it. In truth, that was the day her marriage ended, the day her faith in magical healing ended, and her faith in her mother-in-law ended. The muggle specialist was able to diagnose Rose's disability within half an hour of meeting her.

Instead of being thankful that someone was able to help Rose, Ron felt betrayed that Hermione took their child to see a muggle doctor without consulting him. Molly made no secret of her dislike of muggle things, especially healing, and quickly rallied the support of her son against Hermione and the muggle doctor. Things became very strained and people were forced to take sides.

Hermione persevered and took her daughter to endless specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social clubs for other children with disabilities, renovated their home for a child with special needs and did as much research as possible in order to properly advocate for her child. Ron, on the other hand, lived in a constant state of denial. It was at Rose's first birthday party that denial became something ugly. Ron's denial became rejection, and it broke Hermione's heart.

Ginny was pregnant with her second child while Hermione was pregnant with her first. The two of them had never been overly close, but Hermione and Ginny used their mutual experiences to bond. Baby Rose was born just shy of three months before baby Albus. At Rose's first birthday party, little Albus was running around happily and shouting words while little Rose was barely able to pull herself into a sitting position. Watching several other children younger than his child pushed Ron into the harsh light o reality. His daughter was not like other children and may never be. Unable to deal with this reality, Ron took to pretending that he didn't have a child. If someone asked after her, he said "fine" and changed the topic as soon as possible. When Hermione asked his input on therapies, he responded with "whatever you think is best."

Gradually, Ron pulled away completely and one day he was just gone. Ron replaced one form of denial with another. Molly, on the other hand, replaced denial with blame. One Sunday during family brunch, Hermione was assisting Rose in holding her spoon, when the bomb fell.

"You coddle her too much, if you didn't hold her hand for her, she'd learn to do it herself" Molly snapped at Hermione. There was a pause where everyone waited for the response.

Hermione put the baby spoon down gently and responded with "You're telling me not to help my child after the way you all but coddled your children into incapacitation?" As soon as the words flew out o her mouth, Hermione wished to take them back.

Molly narrowed her eyes and said "I told him not to marry you, you know." After a short pause she continued, "Everyone else in the family has at least some magical blood, and all of their kids are normal."

Ignoring the audible gasp from the clan, Hermione calmly arose from her seat, picked Rose up, accioed their things and said "I always knew you didn't like me, but I got over that though. I this is the way you feel, then Rose and I will no longer darken your door." and was gone with a small pop.

That had been over nine months ago. Rose and Hermione celebrated Rose's second birthday together at this same park. Ron gave Hermione a no-strings divorce and relinquished all rights to Rose, disinherited her and pretty much removing Hermione and Rose from the family records.

Caring for a child with disabilities is time consuming and costs a lot of money. The government assessed Rose's disability at a moderate level according to the other children diagnosed with disabilities in her area and stated that she only qualified for PT and OT twice a month. Beyond doing all of the exercises herself with Rose every day, Hermione was forced to pay for extra PT and OT herself, which ate up a lot of her savings. Rose attends an early start school program five days a week during the hours Hermione went to work and she had arranged for Rose's PT and OT sessions to take place at the school.

At one point, Hermione realized that every aspect of Hermione's and Rose's lives revolved around Rose's disabilities and what Rose couldn't accomplish, as opposed to what Rose could do. When that happened, Hermione again reorganized their lives to celebrate Rose's accomplishments and ignore things she couldn't do. They didn't give up working towards new goals, but Hermione refused to constantly focus on the negative.

That was the start of their new lives together. Hermione left her job at the ministry and took a job in the muggle world. She also moved to a flat near her parents and Rose's school. The pedi-healers were unable to assist Rose, and truthfully, Hermione was tired of fighting. She spent Rose's entire life fighting her spouse, family, friends, specialists and the public and it all meant nothing. After the fallout with Molly, Harry supported Hermione in secret but was afraid to alienate the only family he'd ever known by standing up for the woman he used to refer to as his sister.

So here Hermione sat on a bench in June, watching her daughter totter and teeter around on rubbery legs and play with other children who weren't considered normal and Hermione was happier than she'd been in over two years. The betrayal hurt, and probably always would, but it was over and they survived.

Tomorrow was a big day because tomorrow Rose was going to meet with a learning development specialist to try and ascertain if her physical disabilities were indicative of learning or mental disabilities. It was hard to prepare for bad news on the inside while keeping up a brave face for her parents and friends. It took her a long time to talk about Rose's progress or set-backs with other people after the ugliness, but in the end, her parents were very supportive and she was able to make friends in a support group for families of children with Rose's form of Delayed development.

Today was for play, worries were for tomorrow. With that thought, Hermione got up off the bench and ran to chase her daughter over the spongy playground in a rousing battle of tag.