QLFC, R6 — Captain: Charlie & Ron (this was a chain. My seeker started with the character Tonks and chose to pair her with Charlie. I have selected Ron and will be doing a platonic brotherly fic. Next in line is my Keeper, who has chosen Ron/Luna and so on! Fun round :D).

Chudley Cannons Team Challenge: use a song from a band or artist you like. I have chosen the song 'Capri' by Colbie Caillat

Quidditch League Boot Camp: 9. Blanket, Ron Weasley

QLFC Daily Prophet, Book Club: [relationship] siblings

Notes: the title of the fic is a line from the song too.

WC. 2055

Sweet Baby

And oh, when she'll open her eyes

There'll be no surprise

That she'll grow to be

So beautifully

(Capri, Colbie Caillat)

Ron watched the rise and fall of Rose's chest, waiting a minute to ensure that she really was asleep, before tip-toeing from her room and back down the stairs.

It was his first time alone with his daughter, and despite having lots of practice over the weeks, there was still a small part of him that was scared that something might go wrong. She was so tiny, so vulnerable, and the slightest bump could harm her. What if she rolled over in her sleep, but couldn't get back? What if he'd wrapped her up too tightly and she couldn't breathe? What if he'd wrapped her too loosely and the blankets ended up over her face? What if she was too hot or too cold?

He'd check on her in a few minutes, just to be sure.

He'd just settled into the sofa in the living room, ready to close his eyes for a few moments — trying to keep a newborn baby entertained was harder than it sounded — when a woosh of green flames startled him from his near slumber.

He jumped to his feet, instinctively drawing his wand, ready to hex anyone who might pose harm to his daughter.

Logically, it made no sense considering only friends and family had access to their Floo connection, but… he was on edge about being alone with Rose.

He sighed in relief and lowered his wand when he saw the flaming red hair and ash-covered face of his older brother.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked Charlie, a little taken aback by the latter standing in his living room. He couldn't even think of a time where Charlie had come to his place invited, let alone unannounced.

Charlie siphoned the soot and ash from himself using his own wand and then offered Ron a wide, toothy grin. He was missing a tooth, Ron noticed — perhaps from trying to tame a dragon who didn't want to be tamed — and there were more burn marks and scars on his arms than there had been since the last time they'd caught up. And that had been… a good six months ago. Charlie only came to England once or twice a year these days.

"I thought that maybe it was about time I paid my little brother a visit," Charlie said, his voice echoing loudly around the room.

Ron winced. "Keep your voice down," he warned.

"Sorry. Is she sleeping?"

Ron nodded. There really wasn't much else a one month old baby did.

"Where's Hermione?"

"Out, taking a much earned break for a few hours," Ron replied, still not entirely sure why Charlie was standing in his living room.

"Right." Charlie sat himself on the sofa Ron had just been dozing on and looked around. "This seems nice and cosy," he observed. "I finally get to see where you live after hearing so much about it."

Ron nodded and smiled. "Yeah, want a tour? You'll just have to be quiet…"

"I'd love a tour," Charlie replied, and he stood back up again.

Ron led Charlie around the house he'd now lived in for about four years with Hermione, showing him the kitchen, the dining room, the yard where he had put up a makeshift Quidditch pitch that he hoped one day would entertain Rose when she was older, but he didn't go upstairs lest they wake his sleeping daughter.

"It's just bedrooms and a bathroom up there," he said to Charlie.

"It's brilliant," Charlie said, grinning. "I like it."

"Thanks."

Charlie had always been the evasive brother in Ron's life, and whilst he loved him like he loved all of his siblings, he didn't always know what to say. Charlie had never been a huge presence in his life, going off to work with dragons in Romania before Ron started school, and spending seven years away at Hogwarts prior to that. He only returned for special occasions such as weddings and some Christmases, and needless to say, Ron wasn't exactly close to him.

"So… you're a dad now," Charlie said when they returned to the living room. He once again settled on the sofa, making himself at home.

"Yeah," Ron replied. "Yeah…" Despite himself, he smiled, because he liked that term.

Dad.

It meant more to him than Charlie probably realised.

"How is it?" Charlie asked.

"Good," Ron said, taking the only other place to sit, an armchair near the fireplace. "Great, I mean. She's great. Rosie… she's awesome. She smiled just the other day for the first time, and she's starting to take more things in around her. She's… great."

Charlie smiled. "That's… great," he said with a small chuckle. "Wish I could meet her."

"Well, if you stick around a little longer, you may," Ron said. "She only sleeps for about forty-five minutes at a time."

"Fun," Charlie replied.

Ron shrugged. He was used to the sleepless nights now, he and Hermione taking it in turns to be with Rose when she stirred.

It won't be forever, he kept telling himself as he sat in her room, rocking her gently back to sleep. One day, it will get better.

"I don't mind spending time with her," Ron finally said, smiling.

"Sounds like you're cut out for such a task," Charlie said, and his tone told Ron that he was genuinely impressed by that information. "I'm glad."

The conversation moved on to other things after that — Ron asking Charlie how his dragons were going, Charlie asking Ron about his own work. Both said it was fine. Ron didn't really know what else to say to his brother, their interactions so few and far in between. He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Charlie was in his living room at all.

Ron had just offered Charlie a drink — the thought only occurring to him half an hour into his brother's surprise visit — when there was a screech that echoed throughout the whole house.

Charlie looked up, then over his shoulder, trying to locate the source of the unexpected noise. He turned back to Ron who hadn't so much as blinked.

"Is that —"

"Rosie," Ron said, grinning. "She's awake."

There was another cry which sounded as if Rose was right beside them. Ron stood up. "I'll go get her and you can meet her."

Ron made for the stairs, Rose's crying now a familiar constant to his ears. At first, it had bothered him — he hated the idea that his little girl was so upset all the time. Over the weeks, though, he'd come to learn that just because she cried, it didn't mean she was in pain, or even upset. It was just the only way she knew how to communicate.

The moment Rose sensed his presence in her room, her crying reduced a few decibels and Ron took down the supersensory charms around the house.

"Hey, Rosie," he said, picking up his daughter from her bassinet. One hand had come free of the blankets and she flailed it happily now that she was in the safety of her father's arms. Ron smiled down at her, relishing in the feel of her tiny figure against him.

"Someone's here to see you," he said as her cries stopped all together and she was now offering happy gurgles as he carried her from her room.

He carried her carefully down the stairs, being sure not to miss one, or stumble on any. She was wide awake now, wide, blue eyes taking in the bright lights and unusual objects that surrounded her.

Ron took her back into the living room, and Charlie stood up immediately, eyes falling on the tiny bundle within Ron's arms.

"She's smaller than I anticipated," was the first thing Charlie said. "More… fragile than I expected." He hesitated ever so slightly when Ron went to pass Rose to him.

"You'd be surprised to know she's actually grown a lot in her first month of life," Ron said. "Go on."

Charlie took Rose, still a little unsure — looking as if someone as big and clumsy as him shouldn't be holding something that might break at any moment. Ron could sympathise — he had felt like that in the beginning, too.

For a long moment, there was silence in the room. Even Rose's gurgling had stopped as she stared up at the unfamiliar face looking down at her. Charlie's expression had softened drastically, his nerves merging into something resembling affection for his niece. Sure, he had plenty already, but he'd never met any of the others for the first time when they'd been so small.

"She's… beautiful, Ron," Charlie managed to say after a moment. "She's got your eyes… and your hair."

Ron couldn't help but smile.

There was more silence, Charlie staring down at Rose, who seemed to be rather content being held by him.

"I, er, brought a gift."

Ron startled, staring at Charlie. "You did?"

Charlie nodded, handing Rose back to Ron with very careful hands that didn't match all the scars and burns on them. He then dug into one of his pockets, pulling from it a messily wrapped package. He unshrunk it and offered it out to Ron. "From Romania," he said.

Ron didn't accept the gift. "Maybe you should open it? You know…" He indicated Rose in his arms.

"Right," Charlie said, and he tore at the paper, revealing a maroon and gold blanket. He laid it out on the sofa and Ron could see that it had been handwoven with an enchanted fabric.

"Woah," Ron said, "that's awesome."

Charlie beamed. "I saw it at a local wizarding market on one of my days off. I just… couldn't resist."

It was nothing like the plain cloth blanket Rose was currently wrapped in. On the front was a maroon dragon which moved from the right of the blanket, flying through a golden sky, to the left, then reappearing on the right again. It was mesmerising, stunning.

"I obviously haven't tried it yet," Charlie said, "but the witch who sold it said that when you wrap a baby up, the dragon curls around and keeps them nice and tight and warm. She said it was comforting for little ones… familiar."

"Thanks," Ron said. "It's great…" He stared at his brother in awe, still not quite believing that Charlie had come to visit. "Thank you."

Charlie inclined his head in acknowledgement and smiled. "It's nothing," he said. "And Ron?"

Rose had just started to cry again. She was hungry, Ron knew. He bounced her gently in his arms.

"Yeah?" he said.

"She really is beautiful. You've done well. I'm proud of you."

Ron didn't say anything. He couldn't remember a time that he'd heard that from anyone but his mother, and maybe his father. They certainly hadn't been words that Charlie had ever said before. A rush of affection and pride surged through him and he smiled.

Rose was squirming now, her cries starting to turn into shrieks the longer she was ignored.

"That's my cue to leave," Charlie added with a smirk. "Thanks for having me over."

"You're welcome anytime you want," Ron replied, shifting his daughter to his shoulder. "You know that."

Charlie picked up some Floo Powder and tossed it into the fireplace. Rose was positively screaming the house down now to the point Ron was struggling to keep a hold of her thrashing form.

With another warm smile their way, Charlie stepped into the fireplace and was gone in a roar of green flames.

For a moment, Ron stared at the spot his brother had just been, but he could no longer ignore his daughter's demand for food.

"That's your Uncle Charlie, Rosie," he said, carrying her to the kitchen. "And he's brought you a really nice blanket for you to sleep in. I reckon you'll sleep so much better in that." He kissed her bright red forehead and then shifted her to his other shoulder while he attempted to prepare a bottle one-handed — all the while reliving the moment his absent brother had paid him a visit and met his little girl for the very first time.

I really don't write Charlie all that much, but I'm actually glad I got the chance to write this! I hope you all enjoyed!