Prompt: Daily

Description: A reporter from the Daily Prophet explores the chaos– I mean, excitement!– of an average morning in the Longbottom household. (It all goes very smoothly, of course).

At eight in the morning, Mrs. Longbottom greets me carrying a baby. The candidate's hair is frizzy and unkempt– it's clear that she has just woken up. I suppose when you can apparate to the office, there's no incentive to wake up early. But she's so dazed and confused that she's completely forgotten I was supposed to meet her today.

"Good morning, Mrs. Longbottom."

"I'm sorry but...who are you?" This was the first time someone had come to her apartment so early in the morning.

"I'm Principa Prindle, the reporter from the Daily Prophet." Hermione still had no idea what the lady was talking about. "We're profiling all the candidates for minister of magic. Does that ring a bell?"

"Yes, I remember now. But I didn't expect you to be here so early." Hermione was practically fuming; she couldn't believe how angry she was at Principa. (Though to be fair, she'd be angry at anyone that tried to barge into her home before she had her morning coffee.)

"Well we did say that it was a 'daily routine' kind of spread."

"Who's at the door?" Neville yelled from the kitchen, not caring to control his volume. All the children were awake anyway.

"It's a reporter," Hermione said.

"Well tell her to bugger off; it's too early for this." Those days, it was normal for reporters to stand on their front door. Hermione usually shooed them away, offering to talk to them when she was ready. But this was an interview she couldn't postpone.

"No, no, dear." She hoped that the 'dear' made her sound extra sweet. "They warned us last week this would happen." Hermione was crossing her fingers that Neville's little slip up wouldn't be counted against her. "Sorry about that," she said to Principa. "Come in."

To consider the Longbottom household 'chaotic' is quite the understatement. Hermione and Neville have five children, and in a household of seven, there is no such thing as a simple morning. It is a mad dash to get everything ready in time.

"Eliza get back here...Get back here! Damn, I've burned the eggs." Eliza, the toddler of the family, was running around the kitchen with her clothes half off. So Neville put down the spatula and scooped up his daughter, before immediately smelling something burning.

The chaos is mostly due to their second youngest daughter, Eliza. At only three years old, she may be cute, but she is a huge bundle of energy. It is impossible to get her to sit still for more than a few seconds. Luckily, the Longbottoms have a secret weapon.

"Rose!" Neville called out.

Their oldest daughter Rose is only ten years old, but she thinks she's an adult– which she practically is. She loves reading quidditch articles from her favorite reporter, Ginerva Weasley, but quiet time is frequently interrupted by her family. The caring sister that she is, she'll stop whatever she is doing to help her siblings get ready for the day. She revels in the responsibility, but I highly doubt she enjoys waking up so early.

Rose had been reading a Quidditch article when Neville called for her. But she hadn't gotten too comfy, because she fully expected some mishap to occur. "Coming!" She ran into the kitchen, took Eliza from her father, and sat her down on the carpet. She got to work helping Eliza put her clothes back on. "Okay, put your arm through here...That's it. Now, do you want me to read you a story?"

"Keep her out of the kitchen, okay?" Neville said as he put out the tiny fire that had appeared. Suddenly Matilde, the baby in Hermione's arms, started crying. Hermione bounced her up and down, but she wouldn't get calm. "I got her, I got her," Neville said, taking Matilde from Hermione.

Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom are a dynamic duo, balancing out their strengths and weaknesses and working together to take care of the household. According to Hermione, they are supposed to switch off on making breakfast. However, Hermione frequently takes over the cooking so that her husband can take care of the infants, twins no less. She claims he has the "magic touch" when it comes to their children.

"He's got a magic touch," Hermione told Prinicpa. Then they heard crying on the baby monitor. "Neville, you take care of the twins. I'll take care of breakfast."

Neville grabbed two freshly heated bottles and he took Matilde to the bedroom. Hermione redid the eggs. She also started working on oatmeal with fruit. (Magic is perfect for multitasking.)

"Isn't it too stressful to make a proper breakfast every morning?" Principa asked. "I'm sure you could get away with cereal."

"My children and husband deserve the best," Hermione said. She turned back to the stove. "I'm really sorry, but I need to focus now."

"Of course, of course. When you're done, we'll go over your beauty routine."

Hermione scoffed. "There is no beauty routine. I brush my teeth, wash my face, and throw on my clothes. Sometimes I put on basic makeup at the office, but only if I have a meeting. There's no time for a whole routine. Now please, just give me a minute."

"Mom! Eliza's hungry!"

"Okay, give me a minute!" Hermione put a serving of oatmeal out, said "Bring her in!" and motioned for Rose to sit Eliza down in front of it. Eliza gave a tentative sniff, wrinkled her nose, and tried to push it away, which made the plate almost flip over. "I thought you liked oatmeal."

Eliza crossed her arms. "No! No oatmeal."

Hermione sighed and gave a pained expression before asking, "Would you like a banana?" Eliza was okay with that, so Hermione took a break from the eggs to get a new plate and chop a banana. It made Eliza happy, so there was one crisis averted. But she was also a sloppy eater. Rose had to kneel beside her to help contain the mess.

"Why isn't she in a high chair?" Principa asked.

"She's already three," Hermione said. "And she's too fidgety. She'd just knock the entire chair over." Hermione shuddered at the thought. But there wasn't much time to dwell on it, because she had to put the finishing touches on the food. "Okay everyone, breakfast is ready!"

"Just a minute, Mom. I'm putting the toys away."

"Thank you, Hugo," Hermione said. "Don't forget to wash up."

Hugo, the oldest son at age eight, is a kind, sweet boy. He is so quiet that I didn't even notice him when I entered the apartment. "It's mostly my job to stay out of everyone's way," Hugo explained to me. "But sometimes Rose is too busy to pack her bag or pick up the toys...So I take care of those things sometimes." I'm sure his parents appreciate it. As far as I could tell, his greatest fault is his inability to share the bathroom.

"Don't stay in the bathroom for too long," Rose whined. She turned to Principa. "He hogs it every morning."

Neville Longbottom may be one of the most popular professors at Hogwarts and one of the greatest herbologists of all time, but he is very much scatterbrained. Although both he and Hermione pre-pack their bags the night before, it is common for him to forget something. In the very morning I visited, he forgot two very important things he needed for the day.

Neville came down the stairs, holding Matthew and Matilde. "They're changed, dressed, fed, and packed," he said, proud that everything was ready.

"But you aren't," Hermione said playfully.

"At least I'm packed."

"No you aren't."

"What do you mean? Yes I am."

"Did you pack the NEWT practice exams?"

"Oh no, I forgot!" He sat the children down and ran up the stairs to finish packing.

Hermione shook her head and smiled. "I love my husband." She went over to the twins and tickled Matthew. Then she looked at Principa. "Oh! Where are my manners? I didn't set up a plate for you."

"That's quite alright, Mrs. Longbottom. I ate on the way."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Alright then." Eliza's food was already taken care of, but Hermione still had to set out eggs, sausage, and oatmeal with fruit for the others. Rose and Hugo helped themselves. "I can take care of coffee later," she muttered to herself. "I'll get dressed and brush my teeth once Neville gets down here."

"Did someone say my name?" Neville had returned, fully dressed and carrying his backpack.

"Yes, the breakfast is on the table for you. I'm getting dressed." She gave him a kiss on the cheek as she ran off to the bedroom. Then it was Neville's turn to watch the twins. Eliza had finished eating her food, but Rose hadn't finished hers, so she kept a close eye on her as she ate. Hugo silently chewed on sausage. Principa thought it was odd how quiet he was being. She didn't eat, but she sat down at the table with him. "You're so quiet, I didn't even notice you earlier," she said.

"It's mostly my job to stay out of everyone's way," Hugo said. "But sometimes Rose is too busy to pack a bag or pick up the toys, because...you know" he looked at Eliza. "So I take care of those things sometimes."

I'm sure many people ask: how does Hermione Longbottom do it? What's her secret? I of course had to ask that question. According to her, it's simple: a dark work robe is her go-to outfit, with a sweater just in case, and she sets everything out the night before to avoid stress. She doesn't spend much time getting ready. However, as the daughter of two dentists, she spends a significant amount of her morning on oral hygiene.

"I'm here!" Hermione had appeared once again. She had barely been gone a minute.

"What? How?" Principa asked, highly impressed by how quick Hermione had been. And she looked amazing, not nearly as messy or tired as before. "What's your secret?"

"Dark clothes always make you look put together." Hermione said, putting her hair into a bun. "I would've been ready sooner, but I like to make sure my teeth are clean before breakfast." For the first time that morning, she sat down. She was about to start eating but she said, "No! I didn't make the–"

"Coffee?" Neville stood up. "I got it."

"Thank you."

With so many members in her clan, childcare is obviously a major priority for Hermione.

"So where do your children go during the day?" Principa asked. "None of them are old enough to attend Hogwarts, so who watches them?"

Hermione said, "Rose and Hugo go to Hogwarts with Neville."

"We bring workbooks so we can study in the library or our dad's office," Rose said.

"Eliza goes to a Muggle preschool in London."

"It's fun!" Eliza piped up.

"Matthew and Matilde go to a daycare center," Hermione added. "A lot of my coworkers have children, so I hope to one day implement a daycare center at the Ministry." Principa made a mental note of that.

Neville returned with the coffee. "Here you go."

"You packed your thermos, right?" Hermione asked.

"Whoops." And Neville ran off to grab it.

"He always forgets something," Hugo said.

I will be honest in saying that I was once guilty of questioning Hermione's ability to be minister of magic because of her children. Would she be able to prioritize her duties as a leader if she was a mother as well? I have to apologize. She is extremely capable of handling the stresses of her daily life with a calm, cool, collected head. I believe that being a mother has actually taught her skills that will improve her time in office, from time management to efficiency to empathy and much more. She will support parents, muggle-borns, and women in a way no other candidate will. Her unique experiences and talents make her more than qualified to be the next minister of magic.

So what's Mrs. Longbottom's real secret to success? I misspoke. It's not special clothes or makeup: she works hard, she loves her family, and they support her back.

Once everyone had finished breakfast, Hermione put Matilde and Matthew in the stroller, they all grabbed their bags, and they left. Hermione was the last to leave, and as she locked the door, Principa asked, "This is your daily routine?"

"Yes."

"You deal with this every morning?"

"Yes, I believe that's what 'daily' means."

"Does it ever get tiring?"

"Of course. But I wouldn't trade it for the world."