Chapter One: The Great Owl and the Bet it Began
Disclaimer: I'm going to call this disclaimer good for the whole story. I do not own Harry Potter. JKR does, and I'm rather mad at her for delaying Pottermore to the general public again.
A/N: This was written for Eirnn Croi's Pondering Parenthood Challenge. I'm sorry if Fleur's accent is off, I did this really late last night, because I've had late practice for Musical all day. Wish me luck in a review? Show's tonight! Thanks for reading!
"Bill." Fleur whispered. My eyes opened slowly. I blinked a few times to try and focus my eyes before glancing at the clock. Four-thirty in the morning: Why would anyone be saying my name? I turned over. "Bill." She whispered a little harsher.
"What, love?" I mumbled, the words coming out more like "Mahaa, luuurg." Fleur shook her head.
"Bill. I waz zeeck zis morning. Again." She said a little tearfully. I frowned.
"Do you think it's a bug? Oh, I hope Vic doesn't catch it…" I fretted, hating the thought of having to deal with a sick four-year old.
"I do not theenk eet is zat…" Fleur murmured. I looked at her curiously.
"Oh, Merlin. You're not dying are you? Please don't die!" I pleaded, my weary brain ignoring any sense of logic there should have been. Fleur laughed a high musical tone.
"No, seely! Do you remember when I vas pregneent vith Victoire?"I nodded vaguely, hoping she would hurry up and explain. "Do you remember how I vould wake up eech morning and be zeeck?" she asked pointedly. I nodded numbly. Fleur sighed, obviously disappointed in me.
"Bill. I theenk I am 'aving anuzzer baby." She whispered. I blinked.
"A- A baby?" I murmured, more to myself than to Fleur.
"Yez! A baby. Like Victoire." She said, worry creeping into her voice.
"We're going to have a baby." I said numbly. I remembered when Fleur said she was pregnant the first time, and I was so scared. This was different. This wasn't new, but it was. We would be better at it this time. We would know what to do. Maybe it would be a boy. This was so different from the first time, yet my excitement was just as sound.
"We're going to have a baby!" I shouted, my drowsy morning haziness fleeing. I pulled Victoire up fom the bed with me and kissed her fiercely. I grabbed her right hand in mine, and wrapped my left around her waist, dancing her around the room and through the hallway.
"Bill! Hush up! You'll wake Victoire!" she laughed, pulling away. I shook my head.
"No. You stay right here. I'm not finished with you." I whispered, pulling her into another kiss. We broke apart what seemed like hours later, and she rested her head on my shoulder.
"I am zo 'appy." She whispered into my shirt.
"Me too, love. Me too." I smiled. I couldn't wait to tell Victoire, to tell mum and dad, to tell the goblins at work…
"Mummy? Da?" a voice called from down the hall. A blonde head stuck itself through a doorway.
"Why're you up Vic?" I asked, walking to her with Fleur close behind.
"You 'n mummy were being loud." The small girl scolded.
"Ve are zorry, sweet'art." Fleur apologized, pulling the child close and stroking her hair.
"Why were you so loud?" she asked, looking over Fleur's shoulder at me. I looked at Fleur questioningly, hoping she would catch my question and answer. She did, and nodded.
"Your mummy is going to have a baby, Vic. Do you know what that means?" Bill asked. Vic nodded.
"It means the great big owl is gonna bring me a little sister!" Victoire shouted, her face brightening. Fleur and I laughed, knowing Mum or Ginny must have given off that wild story.
"Not quite. You zee, Victoire. Your leetle bruhver or seester is in my stomach right now." Fleur smiled.
"What? Did you eat my sister?" Victoire began crying. "Why would you eat my sister?" I laughed.
"No, silly goose. The baby is growing inside your mummy's belly, and so she'll get real real big, I mean massive, horribly fat-" Fleur glared at me. "But she'll still be absolutely beautiful. And then, the baby'll come out, and you'll have a brother or a sister." I tried to explain. This was so much harder than I'd imagined. I tried to remember what my mum and dad told me when they were having Charlie or Percy, but that conversation chose just the right time to escape me.
"It's going to be a girl." Victoire whispered. I blinked.
"What?" I asked. How could a little girl hear all that, and simply predict the gender?
"I'm gonna have a sister. Not a brother." She said, as though it were obvious.
"I dunno. I think it's a boy." I smiled. Fleur shook her head.
"Eet is a girl." She said.
"How do you know?" I countered, cursing women's insanity.
"Eet feels ze same as 'er." She said, pointing to Victoire as though this were a sensible reason.
"Sure. Alright. We'll just see. Tell you what. If it's a girl, I'll make dinner every night for a month. When it's a boy- alright… if it's a boy, you have to give me a back rub every night for a month." I challenged, smiling at the prospect. Fleur thought for a moment.
"You want to bet on ze baby?" she asked, shocked. I nodded sheepishly. "I accept." Fleur smiled.
And so began our long journey into the ups and downs, and those awkward sideways jolts, of returning parenthood.