Written for the first week of Camp Potter (which I miserably failed to get in on time). I used the prompts 'wet paint' and 'Sugar Quills' and the required prompt of 'write about a father and his children'
Of Sugar Quills and Wet Paint
There had been a time when Ron had believed fatherhood wasn't for him. The thought of being responsible for another human being was terrifying. What if he hurt them, or they started crying and he didn't know what to do? They'd come to him with problems he couldn't solve, and questions he couldn't answer. Children were terrifying, and quite frankly he didn't like them very much. Being Uncle Ron was enough hassle, let alone being Dad. No, he was never going to have children. That decision was final.
It was final, at least, until Hermione decided she wanted children. To be honest, he had not considered her the baby type. The first few years of their relationship, she had been solely focused on her work. She'd even scheduled their own wedding around their jobs. He had thought they would be safe from that side of things, but it seemed even she was susceptible to the consideration (being surrounded by nieces and nephews constantly had not helped his cause).
He had been talked into it and a little over a year later, little Rose Nymphadora Weasley came into the world; two years later Hugo Bilius Weasley. After seeing them, Ron decided that fatherhood definitely was for him. He also decided that the main reason he'd been so reluctant was because he had not believed he was capable of feeling the love every child deserved. But he was very capable of it and quite soon his favourite days were the days he got to spend at home with his children.
…
"Daddy, I think Mummy might be mad if we do this."
"No, Rosie, she'll love it."
"She doesn't like mess."
"She'll love it if it's from you and Hugo."
Rose looked hesitantly up at her father and then towards the freshly painted fence that adjoined to the neighbours on either side. Ron had been meaning to paint over it for weeks, but had never found the time. And now that he had, what better way than to get his children involved, too?
"It's not very good."
"It's wonderful, Rosie. I promise." He beamed down at the eight-year-old. "Come on, let's go inside and grab some lunch." Leaving the brushes and the smell of wet paint behind them, the three of them piled through the back door and into the kitchen. The paint job in there was starting to look tacky, too (bloody Muggles), but that could be done by magic. There was no nosy neighbours to peek over the fence and wonder how they had got it done so fast inside.
"What do you want for lunch?"
"Sugar Quills!" Hugo ran to a cupboard where he knew the sweets were kept and pulled out a large pack of the treats. Hermione had bought them months ago, saying they were handy for teaching their children to write; but Rose and Hugo were more interested in the taste than anything else.
"Not for lunch," Ron said, taking the pack from his son. "Maybe after."
"Mummy lets us," Rose interrupted.
"I doubt that," Ron replied, smiling at them both. Hermione was as likely to give them Sugar Quills for lunch as she was to quit her job at the Ministry and take up the role of being a stay-at-home mother. "Come on, what do you want for lunch?"
Rose and Hugo both decided on sandwiches they wanted to make themselves. They found the strangest foods, but there was plenty of laughter, and that was all that mattered to Ron. He had fun helping them, even if they only managed a few bites before deciding they didn't like their creations.
"Can we have Sugar Quills now?"
Ron thought back to all the times they had asked Hermione the same question. She had given them only one answer: You must write first. It was hard work teaching them to write, and although they had considered Muggle schooling, they had decided against it. Rose, especially, had very sporadic early magic. She had absolutely no control over it and they were worried what might happen if she got too excited or too scared. Despite being younger, Hugo had managed to grasp quite a hold over his own magic, but they couldn't send one to school and not the other. Rose would be devastated.
"No writing today," Rose said as if that solved everything. "Just the Sugar Quills."
"Half an hour," Ron reasoned (Hermione usually said forty-five minutes). "Then we can go back out and finish painting.
Rose pouted and her brother followed suit. "Please, Daddy."
Ron opened his mouth to tell them no, but reconsidered at the last minute. How often was it that he got to spend a whole day with the two of them? He barely had a day off work and Ginny or his parents saw more of his children than he did. They were his whole world, yet he needed to keep going to work in order to provide for them properly. There was no way they were growing up as he had – everything they owned belonged to them and them alone.
"Alright," he relented, passing them each a Sugar Quill. "But don't tell Mummy." Hermione would be furious.
Rose and Hugo eagerly sucked on the sweets, wide eyes and cheeky grins. Ron watched them fondly, suddenly wondering where all the time had gone. Soon he would be sending them both off to Hogwarts, preparing them for their future. It hadn't seemed that long ago that it had been him; but her sure hoped to Merlin they wouldn't find themselves in the trouble he had. He'd bring them home in a heartbeat if they did.
"Daddy?" Rose disposed of her Sugar Quill and looked up at Ron with questioning eyes. "Daddy, do you think Mummy will be happy with the new fence?"
Ron studied his eldest child for a moment, and then looked through the window to the half-painted fence. Smiling, he shook his head. "No, Rosie, I don't think so," he confessed. "But I do think she'll be happy that we had so much fun today."
Rose and Hugo both beamed. "So much fun!" they echoed.
Ron nodded, for they had all had a lot of fun together. And that was all that mattered.
Wow, the first thing I've written in a very long time. I just needed a bit of a break from fanfiction to be honest, but I'm back now, and hopefully I will post some more things soonish :)