(A/N: Just felt like we needed to see something cute)
"Nev?"
"What is it love?"
"Mama?
"I was thinking I could go for the meeting tonight; could you take care of Minnie tonight?"
The curly-haired toddler looked up, her plush pygmy puff, a gift from Aunt Luna, still in her hands.
"You know she won't go to bed without her stories"
"You can read to her"
"You do it better" Neville shot his wife a smile.
"Oh, you've done this before and they loved it"
"Daddy gonna read?"
"Yes, daddy's going to read to you!" Hermione looked excitedly at Minnie
"Yay!" Minerva Longbottom jumped up and down.
"Which one do you want to read, strawberry?" To him, Minnie was his little strawberry.
"Da one wit da fwower!"
"Peggy Pegasus and Little Rosie" Hermione deduced.
"I think it's her favorite. I know you read that one a lot to her"
"Then it's settled. "
That night, Hermione battled with herself internally as she sat through yet another presentation on the financial status of the campaign. Part of her knew to trust her husband, trust him with their child. He obviously loved Minnie, and loved being a father. On the other hand, her natural anxiety made her dig her nails into the chair. Experience was the ultimate educator, but in this circumstance it was hard to judge when this was a new experience. He'd been alone with the baby on many nights, but it had been years since the meeting ran so late. Had he forgotten how to do this?
Meanwhile, at the flat, it was bedtime for Minerva
"Storytime!"
"Yay!"
After he tucked the child in, Neville Longbottom sat down and picked up the colorful book.
"Peggy Pegasus ate plants. She ate the grass. She ate the leaves. She ate the veggies. See? Look at her eating the veggies, like Minnie!"
"I like veggies!"
"Peggy walked to a big bush, and on it were roses, big beautiful and in every colour. What colour is that?"
"Pink! "
"Are the blue roses?"
"There's one!"
"Ooh, is that a white rose?"
"Yeah!"
At the meeting, Hermione had resolved herself. She couldn't be his security blanket; he was a grown adult, and one who had earned her trust and confidence and pride years ago. She wouldn't have married him if it wasn't for this trust. Yes, she did have a sample to extrapolate from, and this gave her the security she needed. And so she argued herself into calm and confidence.
"And so when Peggy Pegasus went to the rose bush again, she didn't eat any of them, but just said hi. In the morning, she said good morning. And in the night, she said-"
He looked over the book. Minnie had finally gone to sleep cuddling her pygmy puff.
"Good night" Neville kissed his daughter on the forehead, adjusted the blanket, and turned off the light.
