* Mission impossible: nap time *
It had been a particular difficult day for Hermione when she arrived at N12 Grimmauld Place, her 18-month-old crying daughter at her hip. She would normally apparate home, but she was pretty tired so she decided to take the floo network. Belle was being extremely cranky that day. She hadn't slept much the night before due to her teething (which kept Hermione and Ron up most of the night) and she only took a 10-minute nap at nursery school, so Hermione was determined to try and make her daughter sleep till dinnertime before she lost her mind. Besides, she had a few reports to finish and she couldn't do it with a toddler around.
"Alright, sweetie. Let's get your teething ring from the kitchen, shall we?" Hermione cooed the crying little girl in her arms. Belle just nuzzled her head in her mother's neck and held onto her tight, playing with her hair from time to time. It was a habit that she had acquired since she was a little baby and that it seemed to calm her down when she was upset. Hermione kissed her daughter's head and walked to the kitchen where the house elf was.
"Mistress Granger." Kreacher greeted. Hermione smiled a bit at him.
"Hi, Kreacher!" She greeted back as she went to the fridge and got Belle's purple teething ring from it. She gave it to the baby who quickly took it and put it in her mouth.
"Would mistress want something to eat?" Kreacher asked. Hermione shook her head.
"That's fine, Kreacher. I'll go and buy something in a while." She said. 20 minutes later, she had left the place and went to the market down the street since Belle was finally asleep and Kreacher had reluctantly agreed to watch her. When Hermione got back 20 minutes after that, she was greeted by a screeching cry and the house elf floating around the living room. She immediately left the bags on the floor and ran to the baby.
"Belle! Put Kreacher down now." She ordered. At the sound of her mother's voice, Belle stopped her crying and looked at her as Kreacher landed soundly on the floor. He got up really mad and went to the kitchen, mumbling insults and other stuff. Belle upped her arms to her mother who instantly picked her up.
"You can't levitate everything just because you're mad, baby. It doesn't work that way." Hermione reprimanded her. Belle just rested her head on her mother's shoulder and held onto her tight. Hermione sighed. She put all the groceries in the kitchen with a flick of her wand, then she put Belle back in her playpen and charmed some toys to entertain her. After that, she went to the desk that they had in the living room and started writing one of her reports. She was finishing the first one when she felt somebody was tugging on her robes. When she looked at the source, she saw little Belle trying to climb up her mother's lap. Hermione sighed, picked up the baby and sat her on her lap. She started singing while she wrote the reports. The steady breathing sound of her daughter told her that Belle was finally asleep 20 minutes later, so she slowly got up and laid the sleeping child on the playpen. As she was about to leave, she heard laughing and noise coming from the fireplace. She immediately drew her wand from her pocket and pointed it at the two intruders.
"Bloody hell, Hermione! What's got-?" Ron started before Hermione cut him off with a deathly glare. She kept pointing her wand at him and Harry and quickly lead them to the kitchen, glancing from time to time at the sleeping baby in the playpen. When the three of them got there, Hermione turned to them. "Now, you two listen to me and listen carefully: it took forty minutes - FORTY! - to finally make Belle fall asleep. She hadn't slept a wink last night due to her teeth, and according to Lyra, she barely took a nap at school today. I have three reports to write not to mention dinner to make since Kreacher won't make it after today's flying incident. So, if any of you two dares to wake my daughter up before dinner, I'll make sure battling Voldemort will look like child playing. Understood?" She said. Both boys nodded in agreement, half terrified half amused. She nodded as well and lowered her wand.
"So... a flying incident?" Ron asked half smiling. Hermione sighed.
"I went to the store to buy groceries while she was asleep. 20 minutes later, I came back to her crying without console and Kreacher flying around the living room." She explained. Ron and Harry laughed as Ron went and hugged Hermione.
"She surely knows how to get attention." He said as Hermione buried her face on his chest. Ron kissed her head. "I'll watch her, you finish your work. OK?" He suggested. She upped her head to him and kissed him sweetly on the lips. They were quickly interrupted by the baby's cry and a female voice shouting: "Guess who's home!"
Next thing Ginny Weasley knew, she was hit with a bat boogey hex that came directly from Hermione's wand.