* On Gnomes and Tantrums *

She was usually a very sweet and calm child, but lately Ron noticed that she wasn't that way anymore. She was moody and had several tantrums a day. Hermione had explained to him that Belle was going through the Terrible Two's stage: she was surely growing up and learning more skills, she wanted to do more things by herself (like eating and getting dressed) but she was also easily frustrated when things didn't go her way or she couldn't express herself properly. That's when she had one of her infamous tantrums, usually calmed down by Hermione in a matter of minutes. But that wasn't the case that Sunday afternoon. They were at the usual brunch at The Burrow. Ginny had finally gotten time off from her training with the Holyhead Harpies and was joining them. Unfortunately, not everyone was there that day. Charlie was still in Romania as he had received a new dragon in the reserve, and Bill and his family were in France visiting Fleur's parents, while Teddy Lupin stayed home with his grandma due to a fever. So Hermione and Ron's daughter was the only child in the family reunion that day. They were all in the living room talking when 2-year-old Belle toddled her way to her mother and pulled her skirt. Hermione looked at her and smiled.
"Yes, sweetheart?" She asked
"Out, mommy." Belle asked with a toothy grin on her face. Hermione kneeled down to her and shook her head.
"Not today, baby. It's raining outside." She explained. Belle frowned.
"Out! Want momes!" Belle pouted, raising her voice. Hermione sighed. She didn't like where things were going.
"What the heck are momes?" Ginny asked Harry as he shrugged.
"Gnomes. She has a fascination for those bloody creatures. She's always trying to follow them around." Ron explained. Ginny nodded as Belle glanced at Hermione, who could clearly see a tantrum coming up.
"Momes! Want momes!" The toddler shouted.
"Belle, shouting is not a nice way to talk to someone." Hermione calmly but firmly said. But, Belle wouldn't have it. She kept shouting that she wanted to see the gnomes, and at her mother's negative answer, she threw herself to the floor and cried hysterically. Hermione just let out a loud sigh and looked at the ceiling, trying to count to ten and remain as calm as possible.
"What happened to my sweet niece? She wasn't like that when I left. And why isn't Hermione calming her down?" Ginny asked shocked as she contemplated the scene before her.
"Terrible twos. It'll end in a few minutes. And... We're letting her get it out of her system and slowly calm herself down without any interventions." Hermione explained as she reached out to the little girl on the floor. She picked Belle up and held her. Belle kept whimpering in her mother's arms.
"Momes!" She demanded but Hermione was adamant.
"Not today, sweetheart." Hermione just replied.
"Why?" Belle inquired this time, arms crossed across her chest. Hermione got up and took the girl to the kitchen. She made her look out the window.
"See? It's raining a lot, hun. Gnomes won't go out in the rain." She explained. Belle just looked at the window, then at her and hiccupped.
"No momes?" she asked, a bit disappointed. Hermione shook her head and kissed her daughter's cheek.
"No gnomes. But how about we show aunt Ginny your new toy?" Hermione said, trying to sound excited as she turned around to face her red-haired soon-to-be sister-in-law.
"You got a new toy?" Ginny asked with as much enthusiasm as she could pretend. Belle nodded.
"Piggy." she said, smiling a bit. Hermione put Belle on the floor, and took a stuffed pink pig out of her bag and handed it to the little girl. Belle took it to her aunt, all smiley.
"Wow! So pretty!" Ginny exclaimed, and then she turned to Hermione. "Just like that?" she asked, referring to the end of the tantrum. Hermione just nodded.
Percy and his new girlfriend, Audrey, arrived shortly after that. They were all very eager to meet her as Percy had talked a lot about her during family meals. It was in that moment when Hermione excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Belle in the living room with the rest of the family. Everybody was focusing on Audrey, so Belle went to the kitchen and went to the door that lead to the garden.
"Ok, everyone. Time to eat." Mrs. Weasley announced as she laid the food on the table a few minutes later. Hermione was downing the stairs and Ron was talking animatedly with Harry and George.
"Ron, can you get Belle?" she asked him as she rummaged in her bag for a few things. He turned around to see her.
"Isn't she with you?" he asked confused. She looked at him, frowning in confusion.
"No. I told you I was going to the bathroom and that she was staying with you in the living room." she replied.
"Well, she's not with me. Maybe she's with Ginny upstairs." he said as they went to his sister's room. Ginny was there with Angelina and Audrey showing them her new Quidditch kit when Ron opened the door.
"Don't you knock, git? What if I wasn't decent?" the red-haired girl asked, annoyed.
"Is Belle here with you?" he asked, not even listening to what she had said.
"No. why?" at this response, Hermione panicked. Where could her little girl be? They searched around the house, calling her name in case the little girl was hiding for fun, but they got no response. By now, Hermione was hysterical. Her breathing was heavy and eyes welled up with tears. Where was Belle? She went to the kitchen for some water and noticed the back door opened.
"Who left the door open?" she asked, running to it. Outside it was raining cat and dogs. "Who left it open?" she asked again, raising her voice. Everybody looked at each other.
"What do you mean, dear? I personally closed it this morning. I made sure it was locked and everything." Mrs. Weasley said. Hermione's heart started to beat faster than ever. She got out and ran, calling for her daughter. Ron followed her. They found the girl near the gnome's hole next to the lake. Hermione just kneeled down and scooped the little girl in her arms, holding her tight and crying in relief.
"What were you thinking going out like that?! You scared daddy and I to death! You could have been hurt! Do you realize about that?!" she shouted to a frightful and soaking wet Belle. The little girl just looked at her mother but didn't say anything. Instead, she started to cry as Ron got to them. He wrapped his arms around them and guided them back to the house. As soon as they were in, Ron took the baby in his arms and Ginny took Hermione to her room.
"Mommy no love me." Belle said as Ron took her wet clothes off. They were in his old bedroom. He was more than happy that his little girl was safe and sound, but he couldn't help but feeling upset and a bit guilty.
"Don't be silly! Mommy loves you a lot." he said as she shook her head vigorously.
"Mommy yelled. Mommy angwy" she said, upset, as her father dried her with a towel. Ron just looked at her and sighed.
"Mommy's not angry, princess. She's just... she was very scared." he said.
"Scawed?" Belle asked. Ron nodded, getting her dressed in clean and dry clothes.
"Daddy was scared too. We didn't know where you were, and that made us feel very sad." he said.
"Mommy and daddy sad?" she asked. Ron nodded. Belle looked down and cried. Ron held her as he grabbed his wand and transfigured a ball into a stool. When Belle was a bit calmed, he sat her there.
"It was very bad of you to go out alone. Mommy and daddy were very worried and scared and you could have been hurt." he explained.
"Huwt? owy?" she asked. Ron nodded.
"Yes. You could have had a very bad owy and mommy and daddy weren't there with you. So now, you are going to sit here for a few minutes and think about it, ok?" he said. It was usually Hermione who disciplined Belle when she was out of line, but he knew his fiancée was in no state to do it at the moment. Belle didn't complain this time. She realized something was bad because mommy and daddy weren't happy, so instead of throwing a tantrum, she just sat down and looked down to her feet. Ron sighed and put the wet clothes in a bag. He heard the door opening to discover Hermione. He looked at her and she nodded at their daughter sitting in the corner of the room.
"She's very upset about what happened. She knows she shouldn't have done it, so I told her she would sit there for a few minutes to think about it." he explained. Hermione nodded and went to Belle and sat next to her. Belle turned her head to her.
"Mommy angwy?" she asked. Hermione looked at her and sighed.
"No, mommy's not angry. But she's very sad because of what you did." she explained her daughter. Belle looked down and Hermione could notice she was tearing. She picked her up and sat her on her lap.
"Mommy no love me." Belle cried. Hermione held her tight.
"My sweet girl! I do love you. I love you so much! That's why I was very sad and very worried when I didn't see you in the house." she explained. Belle looked up to her and sniffed. "I don't want you to ever go outside without mommy or daddy or granny or grandpa or any of your uncles and aunts, ok? If you want to go outside, you have to go with one of us, understood?" she asked. Belle nodded and snuggled closer to her. Hermione kissed her head lovingly. "Sweetie, how did you open the door?" she asked a while later. Belle looked up and smiled.
"Alo mowa!" she said proudly. Ron sighed.
"Great! She said a bloody spell!" he said. Hermione laughed a bit. "I guess we'll have to reinforce the locking charms in the house." he sighed. Hermione just nodded and looked at Belle. She was back to being her sweet and calm self, though Hermione knew there were going to be more tantrums, more defiance and probably more adventures for Belle in the years to come. She knew her daughter was determined and stubborn when she wanted to get her way, and she was sure she was going to be highly opinionated as she grew up. But as long as she didn't get in trouble or danger as that day, she was going to be just fine.