Chapter 7
Hermione walked into Ron's room and smiled at the sight before her. Ron was lying on his stomach fast asleep, a sunbeam from the window landed on his hair, bringing out the red pigment even more than usual. The sheets were hanging halfway off the bed, the rest were tangled around his waist. He looked so content that she almost didn't want to wake him.
She padded, barefoot, across the room and knelt down by his bed. She rested her head in her hands and looked at the boy who had, somehow, captured her heart. She gently ran her fingers through his messy hair, taking in how soft it felt.
Her foot touched something on the floor. She looked down and noticed it was one of his slippers. She slid her own foot into the large, raggedy, maroon clog and laughed quietly when she felt that the slipper had formed to Ron's foot. She could feel every tiny indentation his foot had made in the cushy foam material. She slipped it off and looked back at Ron's sleeping face. He sighed. Hermione noticed there was a small puddle of drool on his pillow, and as disgusting as it really was, she couldn't help but find it oddly adorable.
She trailed her hand from his hair down to his cheek, tracing patterns from freckle to freckle. His freckles had been fading as he grew older, but there were still many that stood out on his pale face, sprinkled like cinnamon over his nose. There were also tiny freckles on his bare shoulders and his back; she guessed that the blemishes were all over his body.
His cheeks and nose were pink with sunburn, and his left eye was still purple from that bruise. That only made him more attractive in Hermione's eyes. A tuft of auburn hair fell over his eye. She could help wishing that she was lying next to him.
"Ron Weasley, the things you make me think." She whispered.
Ron's opened his cool blue eyes slowly and stared at her sleepily. "And what things are those, exactly?"
Hermione gasped. "You were awake?"
Ron wiped the drool away from his mouth. "I heard you laugh. G'morning." His voice cracked from exhaustion. "Your sister certainly is a loud one." He said rolling over and looking at the ceiling.
"What?" Hermione wondered, trying to put it out of her mind that Ron heard her.
"Last night-this morning... oh hell, it was dark and I was supposed to be asleep." Ron complained. "She was crying up a storm."
"I didn't hear her."
"Good. I was hoping you wouldn't."
"Wait--" She said quickly. "You mean you took care of her?"
"Reckon I did." Ron said sitting up. He pointed at his blue t-shirt that was lying on the floor. "Or that wouldn't be there."
Hermione looked at the shirt and saw a whitish yellow stain on the sleeve. "Did she spit up on you?"
"Yeah. What a nasty smell." Ron shook his head. "The kid woke me up four or five times. I changed her diaper, I fed her, sang to her, rocked her, and after all that, do you know what she wanted? Her bloody pacifier! It fell under the crib! That's all she needed!"
"You washed it off first I hope."
"No, Hermione," Ron said sarcastically. "First I let a dog chew on it, then I dropped it into the toilet, then I gave it to her-oh not before rolling it in the mud."
"As long as it was clean." Hermione said standing up. "I've made breakfast, get dressed and come down to eat." She picked up his blue shirt, "I'll wash this, too. Oh, and, Ron?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for taking care of Faith and letting me sleep. That was sweet."
Ron blushed and looked down, "Yeah, well, I just wanted her to stop, that's all."
Hermione walked toward the door when Ron called her back. "What things do I make you think, Hermione?"
It was Hermione's turn to blush. "Nothing. You just reminded me that laundry needed to be done. Drooling on your pillow and all."
"Well, Faith?" Hermione asked in a high pitch perky voice. "Did you keep Ron up all night? You did? Aw, do you fancy Ron now? Well I have news for you," Hermione laughed lifting the small child out of the highchair. "He's mine."
The child laughed gaily, as if knowing something Hermione didn't know.
"Lookie here, Faith! It's Mummy and Daddies mail!" Hermione cooed picking up the junk mail and opening it. "It says 'Earn money from home! Start an exciting new career making wire jewelry!' Isn't that amazing, sweet pea? Doesn't that just open your mind up to reading? Do you see all the interesting things you learn about?"
Faith reached for the paper as Hermione placed it back on the table. "Ah, ah… right now all you'll do with that is put it in your mouth. I'll teach you to read later."
"Probably when she starts to talk, right?" Ron came down to the kitchen still wearing his pajama bottoms, thankfully he had pulled on a t-shirt.
Hermione bounced Faith to hold her in one arm as she reached into the refrigerator for a carton of eggs. "Well, don't you look ready to start your day?"
Ron stretched. "My day doesn't start until there's food in my stomach."
"Then I will start breakfast," Hermione said, reaching to get sausage and orange juice. "I'm making eggs. How do you like yours?"
"Whatever you're having I'll have. You're working hard enough as it is," Ron said closing the refrigerator door for her. "Why is it you take care of your sister? Shouldn't your parents do that?"
"Oh, they take care of her. They just don't know she cries at night, and I don't want them to know. They need to get up early for work and I don't exactly have a specific time I need to be up during the summer… so I help out a bit," Hermione placed a pan on the stove, attempting to balance her sister and fry the eggs at the same time. "Don't you dare tell them that I stay up with her," she warned, quickly turning around and nearly smacking Ron with the spatula.
"You are amazing." Ron said, plucking Faith out of Hermione's arms.
Hermione felt a blush creep into her cheeks. "I'm not amazing. I'm just helpful."
Ron rolled his eyes and tossed Faith into the air, catching her around her middle before tossing her again. He laughed. "You're a regular Quaffle, Faith." He said putting her down.
"I'm not, Ron."
Ron ignored her and talked to Faith instead. "I told you she always has to be right," he said, placing the baby back in her high chair.
"No, I don't!"
"Funny, because you're trying to be right now."
Hermione glared at him.
Faith began to pout and when Ron didn't pick her up she burst into tears. Both Ron and Hermione stopped arguing as Ron lifted the crying child into his arms. "Hush, Faith. You shouldn't cry every time a man ignores you."
Hermione put her hands on her hips. "A Man? You?"
Ron smirked at her as Faith began to calm down. "Well you certainly thought I was something earlier when you had your hands in my hair."
Hermione turned around and went right back to frying the sausage and putting the eggs on a plate. "I did no such thing."
Ron frowned at her, shifting Faith in his arms, "Come off it, Hermione, I could feel it."
"Maybe it was Crookshanks, Ron." Hermione said, handing Ron his plate of food, and taking Faith out of his arms and putting her back in her chair.
"No, it wasn't that bloody cat."
Hermione ignored him and pulled a jar of baby food out of the cupboard. "How do bananas sound, Faith?" She asked as she unscrewed the container and sat down in front of her sister, spooning some out and moving it towards the babies mouth.
Faith kept her lips sealed. "Oh, come on, don't be fussy. Not today, just eat."
Faith moved away from the spoon. Hermione sighed. "Please..."
"Let me try." Ron said, taking the spoon. "See, Faith, it's good." Ron put the food into his mouth, and cringed. He swallowed hard. "Yum." He leaned over to Hermione. "This stuff is disgusting."
"I know, but she's buying it," Hermione said with a yawn. Ron took the opportunity to scoop the next bite of baby food into her mouth. Hermione gagged, but swallowed it. "Ron!"
"What, don't you like it?"
"Of course not!"
"Yes, you do, look." He gestured to Faith who was now reaching for it.
"Jealousy drives a woman mad." Ron said with a mischievous grin, spooning the food into Faiths mouth.
Hermione nodded. "That's true. Faith does fancy you."
"Of course she does. She's one of many."
Hermione snorted. "Only if girls want a boy with the emotional range of a teaspoon."
"I bet if I kissed you right now, you'd kiss me right back."
"You're reaching Ron Weasley, if you kissed me I'd send you packing. You'd go back to the Burrow to get tortured by your brother."
"You wouldn't."
"I would."
Ron picked up his plate. "I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait until your sister is older if I want to kiss one of the Granger women," he winked at her and walked back up the stairs.
Hermione stared after him feeling more confused than she'd ever felt in her life.
Got to love that animal magnetism.
Lenny
