October 31st 2005

Charlie absolutely insisted that they take Arty out trick or treating. Hermione had been adamant that she would not be going right up until the very last minute when both father and son completely wore down her resolve with puppy dog eyes and pleading. He would swear that Charlie was a very bad influence on their son, if he didn't look completely adorable in his little Dragon outfit. Charlie, of course, was dressed as a dragon keeper and Hermione was currently watching as Arty ran around roaring while Charlie tried to 'subdue' him. Oh, and she herself was dressed as a cat, after Ron and Harry told the story of their second year at dinner a week ago and Arty had insisted that it was the only option. Bastards.

Charlie had spent every spare moment he got with Arty, whenever he wasn't at the new reserve. Thankfully, it was going well and there had been no problems so far, which left Charlie free for most of every day, all time that he had spent making up for the last five years of being absent in his son's life. Hermione had caught herself welling up more than once at the sight of them cuddled up together, fast asleep after a long day of 'adventuring'. Charlie really was a fantastic father and she was finding herself with flutters of affection that needed to be quashed. Immediately.

"Mummy!" Arty screamed from his place atop Charlie's shoulders as Charlie ran towards her at full speed, "look mummy look look look!"

Hermione barely caught the giant bag of sweets that was thrown at her face and, after telling Arty off and making him apologise, she opened the bag and rolled her eyes are the sheer amount of sugar in there. Charlie put Arty down on the floor and came to stand by Hermione, grinning, as they watched their son run around in circles, pretending to be a dragon. He was flapping his arms so fast she feared he might take off, even if his wings weren't real.

"Just how much sugar has he had, Charlie?" She asked, turning slowly to him with her eyebrow raised and he shrugged with a chuckle.

"No idea," he laughed, "they were all giving him 'one for now and one for later', so it's anyone's guess really."

"Oh gods," she groaned, rubbing her forehead, "you're putting him to bed tonight. When we get home I'm going to take a nice long bath, minus the tail."

"Oh I don't know," Charlie said as he tugged on the false appendage, "I think it's quite fetching."

"Stop imagining me with a furry face." She huffed, knowing that he hadn't stopped since he'd heard about her polyjuice mishap.

"I can't help it," he snorted, grabbing Arty around the waist as he ran past them again and hoisting him onto his back, "are we going to dinner again this week?"

"I always go," she shrugged, "I think we should tell everyone the truth."

"Really?" Charlie gasped and she nodded, "Why now? You've been so hesitant."

"Honestly?" She asked as they walked back towards her flat, smiling at the dressed up children passing by with their parents and Charlie nodded, "I've had to convince myself that you weren't going to leave, and that you two would get on. Obviously that is not a problem so…"

"Ok," he nodded, smiling at her and letting one hand fall from where he was holding Arty up on his back and grabbed hers where it hung by her side. Hermione swallowed the butterflies she felt at his touch.

"I love him, you know?" He murmured, squeezing her hand before using it to hold Arty up again, who had now fallen asleep, "I have no right to say it, but I'm so incredibly proud that he's my son."

"I hate that you missed out on so much," she said, "seeing photos and videos is all well and good, but it doesn't replace those memories."

"No, but I'm here now," Charlie shrugged sadly, "if it's any consolation, I kind of hate that I wasn't there to hold your hand during the scans, or to support you while you gave birth… I feel cheated somehow."

"Cheated?" She asked with a frown, pulling her wand out and discreetly opening her front door, "You didn't exactly missed much except maybe a broken hand."

She watched as he quietly walked into Arty's bedroom with the boy on his back and listened to his quiet voice saying a gentle goodnight to their son as she pulled two glasses of wine from the cupboard and filled them with red wine, handing one to Charlie when he appeared back in the living space.

"I did miss out on one thing, and it kills me." He muttered and she frowned as she passed him, moving towards the living room.

"What?" She asked as he moved to stand in front of her, gasping when his hand gently came up to her stomach, dropping her head to watch his hand.

"I missed doing this," he said, stroking her stomach for a few moments before dropping his hand heavily and sighing as he flopped onto the couch, shrugging sadly, "I missed you being pregnant with our son and I hate that."

"I'm kind of glad you didn't see me like that, to be honest," she said shakily after taking a deep breath to clear her mind and perching on the edge of the sofa, "I was huge, not to mention I waddled."

"It can't have been that bad," he snorted, "I think you were probably quite lovely, carrying my child."

"I doubt it," she muttered, blushing and grasping for anything she could find to change the subject, "How do you think your family will react?"

"I think.." Charlie started, frowning, "That they will be very confused to begin with. Ron will be furious that we slept together so soon after you broke up, even though he was the breaker and not the broken. Mum and dad will soon get over their shock and be over the moon and as for the rest of them… I'm not sure it will change that much."

"Harry will be so annoyed that I didn't tell him." She sighed, slumping back into the cushions.

"I've been meaning to ask," Charlie said, turning his body sideways and putting his arm on the back of the sofa so that his fingers brushed her shoulder, "why was Ginny the only one who knew for so long?"

"She was with me when I found out," she laughed, remembering the scene in the bathroom, "have I not told you about that?"

"I don't think so." He shrugged, and she shifted so she was also sideways on the sofa, facing him.

"I'd been feeling sick for weeks, and one lunchtime Ginny and I went for coffee in the alley, but the smell of coffee had me throwing up in a bin, and she asked me if I could be pregnant. Long story short, I bought one of every test in the chemist, peed into a pot, in front of your sister might I add, and we ended up sitting in the floor in the bathroom at Grimmauld Place, surrounded by positive pregnancy tests."

"How many?" He chuckled and Hermione shrugged.

"About twenty, maybe?" She grinned and Charlie shook his head.

"Did you not think to do the spell?" He asked and she glared at him.

"I feel like everyone knows about that spell, but I had no idea it existed!" She frowned, "and your wonderful sister didn't tell me about it until I'd already spent a stupid amount of money on all these pregnancy tests, so I was damn well going to use them."

They drank their wine as Hermione told him more small details about her pregnancy that she thought he might want to know, enjoying his company immensely. The couldn't deny that something was bubbling between them and it sort of terrified her. When he stood to leave, he dropped a kiss on her forehead before stepping into the floo and she waited for him to disappear before groaning and covering her face with her hands.