Chapter 4
She slipped out of her smart work robes and put on her comfortable jeans and a faded t-shirt. Scooping Lucy up in to her arms she put her in her sling and bustled about the kitchen, fixing herself a tuna fish sandwich for lunch. Sitting down to eat it with a freshly-brewed cup of tea, Lucy, with her usual timing, started to cry. Hermione was convinced that Lucy felt left out whenever she started to eat and drink, making her presence felt, loudly. She had become an expert in feeding herself and Lucy simultaneously.
The afternoon passed in a blur of contentment, with cuddles, stories, singing and a trip to the park to feed the ducks. Although Lucy was still very young, Hermione believed that Lucy needed fresh air and the stimulation of different environments with varied colours, smells and noises. Ginny shared the same belief, so they went together. Both James and Lucy seemed very interested in the ducks.
Hermione was pleasantly surprised to find Ron already at home when she and Lucy got home from the park. She sat down next to him on the sofa.
'What brings you home so early?' Hermione enquired. She kissed Ron on the cheek.
'You!' he replied. He was looking at Hermione with a look that he hadn't used for, well, ages.
'Why are you looking at me like that?' Hermione asked him.
'No reason,' Ron replied 'just got an urge to do something with you, after dinner of course!' He raised his eyebrows, smiled and looked Hermione up and down.
Hermione looked confused. 'What are you talking about?'. But then she suddenly knew exactly what Ron was talking about.
'Its been almost a year sweetheart!' Ron stated. 'I've got needs!'
Hermione looked shocked! How could Ron be thinking solely about sex at the moment?!!
'No way!' Hermione stood up and looked at Ron disbelievingly. 'A: I'm too tired and B: where will we put Lucy? She sleeps in bed with us, remember?!!' She was reminded of Ron's apparent lack of ability to prioritize.
'I'm not tired though, I'm full of energy! It'll be pleasurable for you even if you're tired. Come on!'
'No Ron! Not for a while anyway, until we've really caught up on sleep!' Hermione snapped.
She was angry to see that Ron wasn't going to give in. She could tell by Ron's determined expression that he wasn't going to just accept no.
'Us men have needs Herm! Its been ages since we made love!' Ron knew that he wasn't going to give in this easily, not unless Hermione threatened to curse him.
'Me and Lucy have needs too! I need to catch up on more sleep and Lucy's crying every 20 minutes!'
Hermione stormed out of the room, taking Lucy with her.
'Typical!' she thought, sitting down in the rocking chair in the nursery. She watched the bewitched rabbits hopping round the skirting board. 'We come home and all Ron wants is to have sex! No sensitivity whatsoever!' she thought bitterly. She called Ron a few bad words. Then she became aware that her language was falling on tender ears and she stopped swearing. Hermione continued to stare at the walls. All the rabbits had gone back into their holes after they'd heard Hermione's language. She sat there, rocking backwards and forwards while rubbing Lucy's back gently, trying to get her to sleep.
Sometimes these days, when Hermione lay awake for a long time after being woken up, she had a long-forgotten vision in her mind's eye; a small, ginger-haired boy with mud on his nose and a rat on his lap. This boy had hated her 15 years ago, because he'd seen her as a bossy know-it-all. The same, repeated vision came into her mind at that moment.
And here she was, 15 years later, married to him for two years now and cuddling his baby. Ron Weasley, now that she thought about it, hadn't changed at all much except for his build. He was much more muscular and his hair was long. She sometimes felt that Ron was still the same small, annoying boy that she'd met on the Hogwarts Express. Although she still loved Ron, their situation had been precarious since the end of their baby moon. She'd been so tired recently, she couldn't even remember why she loved Ron.
She just knew that she did.