Sunlight poured into the small attic bedroom, catching the mirror that had balanced against the door. Hermione had thought it was little too early start preparing for their kids inevitable self-obsession but Ginny had pointed out it would save them the job of putting it up when the kid got into her teens.
Ginny whistled happily to herself, balanced on a step stool that was levitating a few inches off the ground. Her wand was between her teeth and she was currently drilling small holes into the newly painted wall for the mirror screws. 'Besides' she thought as she caught a glance of herself in the mirror 'maybe if she grows up used to seeing her face she won't feel as self-conscious about it when she reaches that age.' She remembered her own teens with a slight pang. Being the youngest weasley, smaller than her brothers, with pale freckled skin and wiry arms. She looked back at her reflection and did her best to give herself a slanted smile. She'd vowed sometime after graduating that she'd start being kinder to herself. Especially seeing as it was just her and Hermione now, no school, no one she wished she could be, nothing and nobody to tie her to the past.
Well, not just her and Hermione, actually.
There was a knock on the door and the step stool clattered to the floor, lauching Ginny off it.
"Everything alright?" Hermione appeared around the door frame, holding two steaming mugs of tea. Her brow was knotted and Ginny quickly leant back as casually as she could manage against the cream chest of draws.
"Oh yeah, everythings fine! Just lost my concentration…"
Hermione raised an eyebrow, extending one cup of tea towards her. She was wearing a light teal sweater that just rounded over her stomach with new maternity. "Well I hope I'm not distracting you."
"Like there's any chance of you not distracting me" Ginny grinned fiendishly over her mug of tea. Her face changed as Hermione smiled weakly back at her "How are you feeling?"
"Sick" she sighed, leaning into Ginny shoulder as she offered it "and tired. And exited."
Ginny squeezed her shoulder at little tighter. This was what they'd wanted, for so long…and Ginny was determined to make it as perfect for Hermione as she could.
"What do you think?" she asked, gesturing to the room. Hermione nodded as she took in the sage green walls, ("like your eyes" she'd said when they were picking the swatches out at the hardware store. "Fantastic" Ginny replied "now our child can go to sleep every night haunted by the vague yet ever present spirit of her second mother") matching cream furniture, 'adventure' and world-map cushions in the tiny cot and the Irish quidditch team posters stapled to the wall.
She shook her head at this last edition "Uh uh, nope. You can't dictate her interests"
"It's not dictating her interests" Ginny said coyly, coming round behind Hermione to hook her hands underneath her bump. "This is a Weasley household. It's… nudging her in the right direction." Hermione frowned but Ginny felt her suppress a laugh and she smiled into her shoulder.
"Say at least that the broomstick can go" Hermione said, gesturing to a tiny toy broomstick that had propped in the corner.
"...That was my first broomstick" Ginny mumbled, remembering her tea left on the dresser suddenly. There was a soft silence.
Hermione huffed. "Fine. But in that case I want to put a bookshelf up with all of my Enid Blyton books and a children's first thesaurus. I don't care that they're muggle literature!" she cried as Ginny spluttered on a laugh "What?"
"...I love you" Ginny took Hermione's hand, still chuckling. "That's all"
"I know that" Hermione replied crossly, biting on a small smile. "I suppose I love you too."
There was a still moment and Ginny wondered how it was she came to be here, when so few got the chance, lingering with her fingers still in Hermione's like she was fourteen again, having a small but forgiving house with Hermione, being married to Hermione, having a little girl with Hermione. Her brothers never wanted to play house with her when she was a little girl and she wondered if this was what it felt like. Only this wasn't just a house. This was home.
"I think she's going to be lovely" she said softly
"Well, unless we spoil her half to death" Hermione replied equally softly "which is going to be hard because I think we're going to want to"
"Hermione?"
"Hm?"
"What if she's a boy instead?"
Hermione paused "Well if he is, then he can tell us that in his own good time. But for now I think we'll go with the ultrasound."
Ginny nodded and pecked Hermione on the forehead. Hermione returned it by patting Ginny's behind back towards the footstool. "Go on. We'd better get this done before the weekend. Mum and Dad will want to see it when they come round."
"And what are you going to do?"
"I" Hermione replied, slowly sitting down into the rocking chair "am going to sit here, like an invalid, and watch you work."
"Sweetheart, in front of the children"
"She doesn't even have a conscience yet. Probably."
Ginny turned to give Hermione a scathing look to catch her flicking her wand towards the door and muttering "Accio". A Copy of Ulysses zipped around the doorway and dropped into Hermione's waiting lap.
"Why am I not surprised?"
Hermione merely grinned sardonically and opened the title page with the sudden seriousness Ginny had come to adore. "Chapter one. Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror…"
"What are you doing?" Ginny asked warily, starting up the drill again.
"I'm reading aloud."
"Nooooo….."
"Shh it's good for the baby."
"Nooooo…" Ginny smirked, facing the wall so Hermione wouldn't see her face "The horror…"
"And it'll be good for you too" Hermione snapped, but there was a smile in her voice. She carried on regardless despite the noise of the drill and Ginny continued to whistle the first few lines of an old Stevie Wonder song.
After nearly twenty minutes, Hermione felt a small, slight kick against her stomach.