Chapter 84
Ron clutched the first and only picture of his daughter in his hand. He'd looked at it every day since being given it three weeks ago. He'd stare at it before going to sleep and pick it up first thing in the morning, just to make sure it was all real and hadn't been some kind of very good dream.
To say that he was already completely in love with his baby girl was an understatement. It had become a near obsession for him, as well as a secret that he was more than happy to keep.
When he'd pictured this moment, he'd always thought that he'd be bursting with the need to tell everyone — that he'd be at the Burrow, surrounded by his nieces and nephew and just wanting to tell them all that there was going to be yet another one joining the Weasley ranks.
But it hadn't been that way at all. He'd sat there, he'd listened to his brothers, to Harry, to Ginny, all talk about their children, and he'd been content to just listen to them. No one asked him or Hermione anymore — not since his outburst with Molly some months ago. But soon he'd be able to join in with the conversations, and he felt entirely at peace with not yet revealing the biggest and most amazing news he would ever share with his family.
As Hermione reached fifteen weeks, though, they knew that they'd eventually have to share their joy. They'd have to burst their little bubble of happiness and let the world know that another small human would be soon making her appearance. Hermione wasn't starting to show all that much yet, but her sickness was still bothering her. Although not intense like it had been early on, she was still nauseous on a daily basis and still bringing up meals, albeit not as frequently as before.
If they hadn't worked it out already, people would soon. They could only keep it a secret for a while. He'd always known that.
Tucking the picture in his pocket, he averted his eyes to where Victoire and Dominique sat on the floor cooing over baby James. They had taken on the role of older cousins very well with their only boy one — the excitement of one-year-old Molly wearing off.
James was two months old now, smiling, gurgling, and with eyes so wide Ron could almost see him taking in every detail of the world around him. He'd be laughing soon, Ron reckoned, and he couldn't wait to hear it when he did.
Harry was the proudest father Ron had ever seen. He loved to show James off, talk about James whenever he could to the point where Ron and Hermione were thoroughly drilled in James' sleeping and feeding habits. Whenever he spoke of James, a giant smile blessed Harry's face, and there was so much adoration in his eyes whenever Harry looked at his son.
Reeling in their own joy, Ron and Hermione could only be happy for their friend.
Ron took out the picture again and rested it face down in his lap, just as his mother came into the room, levitating a tray of drinks in front of her. She waved her wand and the cups began flying in all directions, each to a person who had asked for one.
A Butterbeer flew into Ron's hands, and as it did, he flipped over the photo so it laid visible on his lap. He didn't know if his mother would know it for what it was, but he had no idea how else to reveal it to his family unless he shouted it out as they sat there.
"What've you got there, Ron?" It was his dad who spoke, leaning forward in his chair as if to get a better look at the picture. "I've seen you playing with it for a while now."
"Oh…" Ron picked up the picture and stared down at it for a moment. He knew every feature of his daughter by now, the shape of her nose, her hands… he turned the photo around to show his father.
His mother let out a shriek, almost dropping the now empty tray.
"What is that?" he heard Charlie, who'd come to visit today, ask. "It looks like one of those alien things I saw in a Muggle book once."
But everyone else had seen the very similar image that Percy and Audrey had once shown them and the shock factor was no longer there.
"No…" Molly said softly.
Ron grinned. "Yeah…" He placed his hand on Hermione's knee and his smile widened. "We're going to have a baby in December," he announced. "A girl. She's due on Christmas Eve."
He caught the smile from Harry and Ginny, but they said nothing. They'd done well in keeping the pregnancy secret, perhaps too caught up in their own happiness to even consider telling anyone.
"Oh, that is so wonderful for you two!" Molly cried, and she waddled over to Ron, who stood up and allowed his mother to hug him. "Another granddaughter? Goodness, you lot are having a lot of girls after so many boys in the family."
Something that Ron thought felt like pure happiness washed over him as the round of congratulations came through. This was the standard for the family now with news like this — but it was different because it was for Ron and Hermione this time. Everyone was happy for them, they hadn't been brushed off.
That had been Ron's fear, though he had never spoken it out loud. He had feared that his child or children would come so late in the generation that they'd be dismissed. When Victoire had been born there had been so much delight. She had come a year after the death of so many loved ones — after Fred — and she had been the first of the next generation of Weasleys. Of course people were very happy.
Then Dominique, then Molly and they were all still new to the point that people were happy. Then James was next and the excitement started all over again because he was the first boy.
But he'd feared that his little girl — who'd be the fifth oldest amongst her cousins — would be nothing exciting for everyone else.
But the way his mother hugged him, how his father and Charlie clapped him on the back and congratulated him, was the confirmation he needed to know that when she was born, his baby would be just as loved, just as doted on, as all the others were.
She was already his and Hermione's world and they were completely and utterly obsessed with her, but she deserved the love of her family, too, and she was going to get it.
"A Christmas baby?" Molly said once the excitement had died down. "That will be such a beautiful gift." She sighed as if imagining the delight of it all.
"Yeah," Ron said. "Who knows, maybe she'll come Christmas day… though…" He looked at Hermione, "we don't really want that. We want her to have her own day."
"Near or on Christmas, she will be such a treasure to us all." Molly patted his arm. "This makes me so happy."
"Thanks, Mum," Ron said, once again grinning from ear to ear. "We're excited, too. She's doing so well at the moment. Wriggly and happy and healthy, and…" He looked down at the picture again. "She's just so perfect."
"That she is," Molly replied quietly, smiling fondly up at him.
Turning his attention to Hermione, who'd not spoken much in the exchange — it was his news to share with his own family, she'd said — she offered him a smile. She was actually looking better today than most others. Now that her sickness had eased, the potion was becoming more effective in stopping her nausea all together. She'd said a few days this week that she almost felt normal again.
"Do your parents know yet, dear?" Molly asked suddenly. "I bet they're so excited to learn of their first grandchild being born."
"Not yet," Hermione replied. "Mum and Dad are away — they're currently travelling Spain and Italy. They're due back tomorrow, so we will tell them then."
Molly nodded, and Ron couldn't help but notice the small bit of pride her expression took on at hearing she knew about it before Hermione's parents. The Weasleys had been the second to know on all other special occasions, Ron was happy to let them have this one — and so was Hermione.
After that, Audrey approached them, nursing a teary-eyed little Molly on her hip, who had broken into tears when everybody had directed their attention to someone who wasn't her.
His mother's namesake, Ron was learning, was going to be a right so and so as she grew. She was a large child, almost eighteen months old now. Tall like her dad, but possessing the dark hair of her mother. She was demanding and irritating, always wailing these days, and though Ron had never said this out loud to anyone, he thought the girl to be rather… stupid. A few weeks back, George had placed one of his toy slugs on her head and she'd walked around for a good ten minutes searching for it, even after the slug had slid down to the side of her face.
Everyone else thought it hilariously cute — Ron wondered how someone even that little could not feel a giant purple slimy thing going down their face.
But he would never tell Percy such a thing. Besides, Molly was only little still. She had plenty of time to get smarter.
"How are you feeling, Hermione?" Audrey asked. "I'm so pleased there's someone else around here who understands… my way of going through pregnancy and that. It does get a bit lonely."
"Oh…" Hermione shifted uncomfortably where she stood. In all honesty, the ultrasound had been the only Muggle thing she had done. While she spoke of using a hospital to have the baby, it wasn't anything she'd looked seriously into as of yet. And not to mention that Ron was certain Hermione wasn't all that fond of Audrey.
"I've been quite sick, actually," she said after a moment. "Terrible, really. It's been hard. But there's potions —"
Audrey's face fell.
"They've only semi helped, really," Hermione added quickly. "It's gone beyond the supposed twelve weeks it's meant to last, though. It hasn't been overly useful."
"I think I got rather lucky," Audrey said, shifting Molly to her other hip. "I never really felt anything —"
"Neither did Ginny," Ron said.
Audrey nodded. "I think it's just luck, really, huh?"
"Genetic, maybe," Hermione answered, sounding a bit disgruntled. Ron felt her attempt to move away from the conversation, so he rested a hand on her arm and steered her slightly to the right.
"I think Mum said she needed some help with something."
Once away from Audrey's inquisitive mind, and in the empty kitchen, Hermione turned to Ron and said, "Thanks."
"I sensed you were getting annoyed. You, er, don't like Audrey?"
"No, no, she's fine." Hermione sighed. "It's the bragging about not being sick… and just general irritation. Like I don't want to be around anyone." She laughed slightly and looked up at him. "Am I bad person?"
"You? A bad person? Don't make me laugh," Ron said. "You're just… pregnant?"
Hermione smiled. "I don't want to use that as an excuse. I pity Malfoy and Maia at work on Monday —"
"Oh, I don't," Ron said, glee on his face. "Not Malfoy, at least. Even if he's done nothing to deserve it, he probably deserves it." He kissed her forehead. "Well, at least that's my family done now. That went well. Now it's just your parents tomorrow. They're going to be so excited."
…
Ron's guess about Hermione's parents being excited had been an understatement. Not only were they thrilled over the news when Hermione broke it to them on Sunday, they were ecstatic by the fact that they were going to become grandparents.
Over the years that Ron had known Robert and Jane Granger, he had always assumed that Hermione was an only child because they were busy professionals who ran a business and had learnt that raising one child was difficult enough, that two or more would be far too much of a challenge.
Whilst that had been semi true, for after Hermione was born, they'd decided that they were at peace with their family, prior to Hermione's birth, they'd hoped to be parents five years earlier.
It hadn't been a struggle for them as such, but something personal always seemed to get in the way or something happened with their dental business that always put it off. Hermione had told him that they'd apparently always considered two children a good number, but then decided against it.
So the fact that another baby was entering their family in a few short months was a delight to them both.
Upon breaking the news, Hermione showing them the picture of their granddaughter, the Grangers had sat there for a good minute, shock on their faces. It had been Robert who had broken the silence, speaking slowly, a gentle expression on his face that Ron hadn't seen from him before.
"I'm going to be a grandpa?" he asked.
Hermione gave him a warm smile. "Yes," she said, passing him the photo so he could get a better look. "That's her."
He accepted it and stared at it for a moment. Ron could have sworn he even saw a tear form at the corner of his right eye, though if it was there, Robert blinked it away quickly.
"Wow," Jane said, also peering at the photo. "This is — well, not unexpected, I suppose — but a surprise. A nice surprise, of course."
Hermione beamed, looking as proud of their news as Ron had felt yesterday. He knew in that moment their little girl was going to be incredibly loved and adored by not only her mother and father, but her doting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, too.
"We just wanted to be extra certain before telling anyone," Hermione said. "But… we've made it to fifteen weeks and it just feels right this time. She's due Christmas Eve."
Robert and Jane snapped their heads up. "A Christmas baby?" Jane said. "Beautiful."
Robert passed the photo back, looking as proud as anything. "Well, I for one am delighted by learning this. All our neighbours… they're starting to have their little grandkids run around. I hear them, often, actually. Will be nice to be part of the club."
"You sound like Ron," Hermione said, laughing. "Ron has looked at that photo every day since we got it. He even talks to it sometimes."
Ron looked at her, affronted. "I don't talk to it…"
"You do," Hermione said, nudging him affectionately with her shoulder. "I've heard you." She turned back to her parents. "He's completely and utterly smitten with our daughter, and he hasn't even met her."
Jane smiled. "I don't blame you, Ron. You'll both be wonderful parents. Loving, kind, gentle… and you know what hard work is, so you'll be prepared to go the extra few miles."
Beside Ron, Hermione sat a little straighter at the praise. It reminded him of her reactions when the teachers told her she had received the highest mark in class, and he was forced to suppress a laugh at her reaction to her own parents' praise.
"Hermione will be great," he said. "You'll be amazing, really." He rubbed her back. "Like you always are."
Again, her cheeks flushed, and that look of pride appeared on her face again. Ron smiled.
"You will be, too, Ron, don't doubt that." Jane smiled at him, though he didn't have the same reaction as Hermione had. He shrugged, instead, and suppressed the need to say, 'we'll see.'
If he was being honest, thinking about his own ability to parent had been something that had not crossed his mind too much. He hadn't allowed it to. He wanted to have a baby, he wanted this baby more than he'd wanted anything in his life, but he refused to think about the finer details of what it meant. He was ready to be a dad, he loved his daughter so much already, but he knew that once he started thinking about what kind of father he'd actually make, there'd be no going back. He knew how his mind worked: one negative thought would be a spiral of negative thoughts until he'd convinced himself that he was going to be the worst dad in the entire wizarding world, maybe even the Muggle.
So, instead, he preferred to think of what he was looking forward to. He'd handle actual parenthood when it came to him.
Harry was doing all right, so that was something.
Taking his shrug to be non-committance, Hermione patted his hand and said, "You'll be wonderful. Maybe an even better dad than you are a husband."
Ron shrugged again and said, "I hope to be."
Hermione smiled.
"I mean, I hope to be a good dad. Not… better, as such. Just… good."
"And you will be," Jane replied kindly. Hermione nodded her agreement.
"She'll be fortunate to have you two as her parents," Robert added with a proud smile. "I have no doubt."
Uncomfortable with the conversation now, Ron pulled his hand away from Hermione and took the photo back. He put it carefully in his pocket, making a note to charm it so that its quality went back to its original state when he got home. It had been passed around a lot the last few days, and it was starting to crease and fold at the edges.
He felt everyone's eyes on him as he put it away, their minds clearly thinking something about him, though he didn't know what.
It was Hermione who spoke, sounding like she was holding back a laugh. "See," she said, "I told you. Smitten."
Ron flushed while everyone chuckled. He glared at Hermione, who just smiled more. "Don't be embarrassed," she said. "It's sweet."
"That it is," Jane said affectionately.
Hermione patted his knee and then turned back to her parents. "So, I know you're probably desperate to tell us about your trip. What was your favourite part?"
While Robert and Jane shared details about their holiday, Ron only half listened. He'd enjoyed keeping it all a secret, but he was now glad that everyone else knew, too. He was more excited about having this baby than he'd ever been about anything before. And finally, he got to share that excitement with everyone who was important to him.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
If you missed my post on Instagram, I have taken on a class for the remainder of the school year (December 17) due to their original teacher not returning due to personal reasons. For the next 8 weeks, this is going to impact the spare time I have, though I'm really trying to find a work-life balance so I'm still going to aim to get chapters up and write! I've also dumbly decided to do NaNoWriMo with an original piece, so November is going to be busy! But I'll be around haha, don't worry!
