Wow, Day 10 already… meaning there are only 20 days left… when did that happen?

Well, today is with animal ears so, well… I decided to write some baby Rose. That's about it…

Day 10: With Animal Ears

"C'mon, Rosie," Ron said, pacing back in forth with baby Rose in his arms. "Smile for Daddy, smile!" he flinched as she let out an ear-splitting wail, bouncing slightly on his feet. "Okay, you don't have to smile, just sleep or be quiet or something…" he was met by more tears and crying from the baby. "Shoot," he muttered, biting his lip as he did every time he almost swore. It had become a habit after Hermione told him she was pregnant, where every shit, damn, and fuck had resulted in him biting his lip nervously as he struggled to correct himself ("Shit I meant 'danget'… wait… no, I meant shoot… oh fuuh… fudge. Yeah, that's safe.").

However, his teething daughter was not in the slightest bit amused by his effort. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled it out, as if asking him to make it stop. "I'm trying," he promised. "Remember? We called up Grandma Molly a few hours ago, didn't we?" He shifted his hold so he was holding her under her rump, patting her back gently. "And what'd she say, Rosie?" Rosie let out another miserable sob. "That's right! She said Aunt Ginny would bring us a numbing potion -" he checked his watch, "- anytime now! And Mummy will be home soon and it'll be aahhhhllll better."

When Rose continued crying, Ron sat down and set her on the floor in front of him. She let out a noise of despair, holding her arms out for him to pick her up again. "One minute," he said, stalling. He knew that she had him trained; every time she cried or simply asked, he would pick her up (he was trying to break the habit). "But right now, don't you want to see purple dragon?" He set the toy in front of her, moving it with his hands. "'Hey, Rosie! Why be sad when you can be happy!'" Ron cringed at his own high-pitched voice. Bloody hell, it's hopeless!

"Er… look, Rose!" he grabbed a pair of cat animal ears from the floor nearby and put them on. "Doesn't Daddy look goofy?" Rose blinked at him through bleary eyes and sniffed, rubbing her eyes with her hands. Figuring this was better than crying, Ron continued. "Uh… meow! Daddy's a cat! See? Hiiissss!"

While Ron was bent over looking at her Rose snatched the ears off Ron's head, making what Ron would determine to be a happy baby noise. "Oh no, I'm not a cat anymore!" Ron said with exaggerated horror. "I guess I'll just have to be a dog!" He snatched up the only other set of ears they owned – the dog ears. "See Rose? Daddy's a dog! What do dogs say? Woof! Right, Rosie? Woof!"

Rose made a sound that distinctly resembled a woof and Ron clapped. "Yes, yes! Just like that! Woof!"

"Roof!" Rose gabbled, clapping her hands as well. "Roof!"

"It seems that you've taught her a new word."

Ron turned to see Hermione was in the entrance to the living room, smiling down at her husband and daughter. "If that's what you want to call it," Ron scoffed, standing to greet his wife. He'd hardly gotten to his feet when Rose let out a shrill shriek.

"Not doing well today?" Hermione asked.

Ron shook his head. Rose was looking at him expectantly again, arms raised in an 'up' gesture. Ron sighed, relenting. He pulled her up and set her against his hip, where Rose continued to wipe her snotty, tear-stained face against his shoulder. "The whole teething thing isn't really agreeing with her. Ginny's coming over with some ointment soon so hopefully that'll help. She skipped her afternoon nap, too, so she's really cranky."

Hermione frowned at where Rose was crying, gradually getting louder. "Let me," she held out her arms and Ron handed Rose over. "Hey, Rosie," Hermione said softly, holding Rose in a natural position against her hip. "Mummy's home. Oh," she noticed the irritated red skin on Rose's cheek. "Does Rosie have a yucky rashy?" Rose whimpered. "It's okay honey, it'll be over soon."

Ron – whose ears were assaulted with another scream – felt as if it would never be over.

"Why are you wearing those?"

"What?"

Hermione was looking at him quizzically. "Why are you wearing those ridiculous dog ears?"

"Oh," Ron said, looking up stupidly to realize he couldn't see the top of his head. He hadn't realized he still had them on. "They cheered Rose up. Strange – thought Harry was joking when he said they helped distract James." They both cringed as Rose wailed. "Why don't you try 'em on?" he asked, retrieving and fitting the cat ears over her bushy mane of hair before she could object. "There."

Hermione glared at him but their daughter's racket seemed to irritate her more than Ron. "Look, Rose, now Mummy's a cat!" she said, coaxing Rose's face out of her work clothes. Rose didn't notice.

"Hand her here," Ron suggested. Hermione tried to do so but Rose grabbed and held tight to Hermione's hair and shirt, objecting rather loudly to Ron's attempts. "Come now," Ron said, gently prying the jacket from her iron grip. After an extended moment, Hermione was free. Ron sat down, setting Rose beside him, and Hermione followed suit. "Look at how goofy Mummy and Daddy are," he croaked. "They're funny!"

Rose full-on screamed.

"Wow, you two must be desperate!"

Ron had never been more relieved to hear Ginny's voice. "Thank Merlin," Ron groaned, looking toward the fireplace where Ginny had just Flooed in. "Hurry up, now! Give us the potion ointment thing!"

"What, no hello?" Ginny rolled her eyes, handing Hermione a small purple vial. "Just 'give us the medicine', like seriously? Rude."

"It's been a long day," Ron explained as he watched Hermione apply the substance to Rose's broken-out cheek. "Crying almost nonstop! Wouldn't sleep, fussy about her food, it's like she's some sort of rebellious teenager already!"

"Just wait for the toddler years," Ginny sighed, bending down to see Rose. "Hey Rosie-Posie," she said, giving Rose a winning grin. Rose stared at her as though she were confused. "Looks like it's working – that stuff is great," Ginny commented. "Mum gave me her recipe – said it got her through seven children, it could get me through two or three."

"Thank you, so much," Hermione said, closing the capsule and stuffing it in her pocket. Rose – who now seemed to be in a lot less pain – was rubbing her eyes instead of her blotchy cheek. "We better get some food into her before we put her down," she told Ron. "Besides, don't want to have her waking us up any earlier than she has to."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Maybe tonight we'll get a decent night's sleep."

"I wouldn't count on it," Ginny said, her eyes widening as she stared at them. "Wait, are you – are you wearing Harry's animal ears?"

"Oh, yeah, he loaned them to us," Ron said sheepishly, not bothering to look away from Rose. "They helped a little."

Ginny nodded. "Well, I have to be going – it's not fair to leave Harry alone with James and Al. See you at brunch!" They shared their goodbyes as she left, Apparating this time.

Ron and Hermione didn't realize they were still wearing the animal ears until later that night, after everyone had been fed and Rose put down to sleep.

"Hey, did we forget to take these off?" Ron asked, noticing Hermione was still wearing her cat ears as she began to take her shirt off.

"I guess…" she said, pulling the ears from her head to stare at them before removing her shirt to put on her nightgown. "I don't know, you look kind of cute with yours," she commented, smiling at him slyly.

Ron, a wide grin crossing his face, lay down on his side of the bed and grinned up at Hermione. "So do you," he said, picking hers up from where she'd casually set them on the bed. "C'mere." She sat on the bed beside him and he gently put the ears back in place, smiling tenderly. "There. Beautiful."

"Really? What about without the ears?" she teased.

"Still beautiful," he replied, pulling her toward him. She didn't object, shifting to lay on the bed beside him as he insisted. He ran his finger through her hair, pinching her cat ears gently. "Y'know," he said matter-of-factly. "I read that the potion is only supposed to last between four and six hours, so there's a pretty good chance we'll be woken up by a crying baby in an hour or two."

"Your point being?"

Ron rolled over on top of her, grinning down at her. "Wouldn't it be a shame to have to wake up so soon?"

Hermione, brown eyes gleaming, hooked her right leg over his waist and pushed him back so he was beneath her. "It would be," she smirked, tracing his dog ears with her index finger. "What do you suggest, Ron?"

"Oh, I've got a few things in mind."

Anyway, favorite/review if you enjoyed! Thank you to everyone who has already reviewed – I love you all and you have brought light to my day! Thanks again for reading and see everyone tomorrow for Day 11!