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Part 3 - I'm a Muggle
They got their first glimpse of Rose's inherited temper over breakfast. By the time Ron came down his niece was sitting at the table, eating her cereal half-heartedly and glaring at her father, who was buttering toast. Hermione was sitting in what Ron thought of as 'her usual spot' at the end of the table, and he kissed her good morning, followed by Rose and Harry. The green eyed man did seem to lean into him a little, which was a promising sign, but Ron still hadn't figured out how to tell Harry he was gay.
"Ron will know!" Rose announced when he sat at the table, "Won't you?"
"What will I know?" he asked lightly, smiling at Harry as his friend put the plate of toast in the middle of the table and went to make tea.
"Nanny won't mind if I go to her today, will she?" wide blue eyes and a beguiling twist of the head accompanied the ingenuous question. Ron saw at once the trap he'd walked into and Hermione kicked his ankle to prevent him from agreeing with the girl. His mother would be delighted to see her grand daughter, but if he said that he'd be undermining Harry. He was spared from answering, by the man in question.
"Rose Sarah Molly Potter," the words were evenly and deliberately spaced, "The answer is no."
"But Daddy!" Rose protested.
"No," Harry turned, his voice quiet and even, his gaze steady, "And that's final."
Rose wriggled off her chair and stomped out of the room and up the stairs. Harry sighed and brought the teapot to the table, sitting in his own chair and staring at the plate of toast.
"Well done, mate," Ron tossed a bit of toast onto the empty plate, "Although you do know that Mum would love to have her."
"That's hardly the point, Ron," Hermione snapped, "Harry has to decide what is best for his daughter himself!"
"That's not it either," Harry said softly, "I know mum would love having her, and would probably spoil her rotten but… we don't play people off against each other in this house, and if we make a commitment we stick to it. We're booked to go to the child minders this week. She goes to a house where there are other kids her age, so she learns how to get along with them. I'll send mum a letter with Hedwig to see if she would mind us dropping by during the holidays, but I won't just drop everything now. It's not that mum will turn her into a brat - I've only got to remember what you were all like at school to know that Molly won't put up with any nonsense - but if I give in to Rose now… where do I draw the line?"
"Exactly," Hermione nodded, seeing Ron was too busy being proud on his mother's behalf, "You don't want her turning into Draco Malfoy."
"Or Dudley Dursley," Harry muttered, shuddering at the thought, "As you can see she inherited my temper."
"Relax Harry," Ron said lightly, "She's not a monster, and a bit of spirit is not a bad thing. Would you rather she be all wet?"
Harry shuddered and Ron grinned. The red head still had a glow over the trust that Harry put in his adopted mother and made a mental note to tell her what her son had said. Breakfast was quiet after that and the three of them walked into the front hall once the kitchen was tidied up. It felt as if Harry was seeing them off to work, such a domestic gesture, that Ron felt a little hope.
"Rose! Ron and Aunty Hermione are leaving for work!" Harry called up the stairs. His daughter appeared from her room and climbed down the stairs slowly, an unhappy look on her face. She hugged and kissed them goodbye, while Harry asked if they had their keys.
Ron fished his out of his pocket and held it up so they could see, a grin on his face. This redundant gift was more precious to him than any other possession he owned, simply because it gave him access to Harry and Rose's home. Rose smiled a little bit and then looked up at her father.
"Are you mad?" she asked softly, and Harry shook his head, bending to hug and kiss her in forgiveness. She looked a lot happier when Harry let go and he sent her upstairs to get her shoes for the trip to the child minders. She climbed the steps a lot more enthusiastically this time and Harry grinned, running a hand through his hair. Ron patted his shoulder a little awkwardly and followed Hermione out into the street.
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