It all belongs to J.K. Rowling except for the plot. Enjoy.
The memorial was held on Rose's birthday. Hermione and Molly had decided not to wait due to the fact that the baby might arrive any day now. Rose was extremely confused. She couldn't understand why her father wasn't coming home. Why couldn't she have her birthday party? She had had more tantrums in the past four days then she had had in her last two years of life put together.
Hermione couldn't deal with it at all and ended up leaving the room when Rose became too unreasonable. Yesterday in her anger Rose had actually made a vase in Molly's living room shatter. Normally this would have been something to celebrate. A sign of her magical abilities but it just made Hermione more angry. She left the room in a flood of tears.
The two of them hadn't left the Burrow. This was due to a couple of factors. Hermione was frightened to be alone in case she went into labor. She also felt close to Ron here. This was where he had grown up, where they had spent school holidays and breaks. She slept (or tried to) in his old bed every night. This was where he had laid his head so many nights. How could she ever leave this place? Her mother tried to convince her to come home with them but she had refused. A part of him was here. How could she ever leave it?
The main reason for staying though was because she just couldn't face entering their home without him. It was the house they had spent two years looking for. They fixed it up together, decorated it together. There was not a room in that house that would not remind of her of Ron. And she just wasn't ready to face that.
They sat in the garden now where Fred was buried. The minister was saying something or other about life going on. Rose sat next to her fidgeting. Hermione looked down annoyed with her behavior and realized that at that moment she looked exactly like Ron. She took a steadying breath as she turned away from her daughter unable to look at her any more.
The crowd surrounding her was small. Hermione had insisted on only immediate family and very close friends. Harry was on the other side of her. She glanced down at their entwined fingers. Memories of the three of them flooded her mind. Everything they had been through together. She turned her face to look at him. He looked so sad. Hermione knew he was trying to be strong for her and Ginny. He had lost his best friend after so much loss in his life already. This really was so unfair. She was starting to cry and was trying hard to stop.
Harry looked at her his eyes full of concern. He whispered, "Are you alright?"
She shook her head and whispered back, "I'll never be right again."
He put his arm around her and pulled her to him as she wept on his shoulder.
They had a lunch in the garden after the ceremony. It was a glorious spring day. Every flower and blossom was in full bloom. It seemed unnatural to Hermione that the rest of the world should continue when hers had stopped four days ago.
Halfway through lunch Rose started to cry about something. Molly was holding her and trying to comfort her. Hermione heard her sob. "But I want go my house. Mummy and daddy house." Molly was starting to cry so Arthur took Rose from her. Hermione knew she should go get her daughter but instead she turned and started to walk away from them all.
She didn't stop until she got back to the small garden where Fred was buried and now where Ron's memorial marker stood. They hadn't found his body yet. They didn't know if they ever would. That was hardest on Molly. She wanted to put her son to rest properly. Harry had explained to them that the ravine Ron had fallen into was treacherous and they were doing the best they could to search for him.
Hermione knelt down in front of the marker. "Oh Ron, I'm so angry. You've left me in a right mess. Why did you let yourself get separated from Harry? You know the rules. How could you be so careless?" Bowing her head she started crying hysterically.
After a minute or two she felt a hand on her shoulder. Expecting Harry she turned only to find George behind her. He sat next to her not saying a word. He then took her into his arms and let her cry. It was exactly what she needed.
The next three days crawled by. They had had a quiet birthday celebration for Rose the day after the memorial. She was so happy with all her presents. Once they had finished dinner and cake Hermione took her up and crawled into bed with her. They had just gotten all cozy when Rose looked up at Hermione and asked, "Where's Daddy?"
"Remember Rose we talked about this. Daddy had a terrible accident and he died. He's not able to come home anymore. Remember?" Hermione believed in being completely honest with her daughter. She then laid a hand on Rose's chest. "Remember daddy lives in your heart and in your memories and feelings. He'll always be with you."
Rose then touched Hermione's chest. "Is Daddy in there?"
Hermione nodded and smiled tears filling her eyes. "Your daddy will always be in my heart." She kissed the top of her head. "You know Rose after your new brother or sister arrives we are going to go back home to our house. Okay?"
Rose became very thoughtful and quiet and then whispered, "Okay. No daddy?"
Hermione shook her head. "No daddy. But Grandmamma is going to come and stay with us for a little while until the baby gets a bit bigger."
She nodded again and held up her new book of fairy tales. Hermione took it from her and they decided to read Cinderella. Rose loved it so much Hermione had to read it two more times before she would agree to go to sleep.
She was now back in her house for the first time since Ron died. She needed to pick up some stuff. George and Percy were with her. They were going to put Rose's new bed together and move the crib into the nursery so everyone could be settled when they came back home for good.
Hermione walked from room to room very slowly. Finally going upstairs she took a deep breath and entered their bedroom. It was weird to look at that big bed and know that Ron would never sleep beside her again. She opened their closet and ran a hand along his robes, shirts and pants. She crossed to the bed and picked up his pillow holding it to her face she took a deep breath. She silently cursed herself for doing the spring cleaning while he was away. Molly had helped her. She wanted it all done before the baby arrived. They had washed everything including the pillows. There was no trace of his scent. She threw the pillow down in annoyance.
She wanted to find his Chudley Cannons tee shirt. She couldn't fit in it now with her protruding stomach but she wanted it with her. She pulled open his top dresser drawer and found a piece of folded parchment stuck between his socks. She took it out and opened it. There were two lists of names written in his untidy hand. The first list was girls names; Sophie, Molly, Jean, Muriel (he had written just kidding after this one) Lucy, Prewett (middle name). The second list were boys names; Hugo (with a star next to it), Edward, Arthur, George, Henry, Ignatius.
Hermione's mind flashed back to three months ago. They were in this very room in bed. Ron had just come back from a weeklong mission. They had put Rose to bed early and after a quiet dinner together they had ended up here in bed. Ron had performed the "Muffliato" spell as he crawled in next to her.
Hermione smiled at him. "Ronald Weasley are you expecting some sort of sexual transaction to take place tonight?" She teased him.
Setting his wand aside he pulled her to him. "Something like that." He whispered in her ear. He pushed the hem of her nightgown up and realized she wasn't wearing any underwear. He grinned at her. "It seems I'm not the only one thinking about sex tonight."
They had spent the next hour engaged in lovemaking. When Ron had finally taken her from behind she was more than ready. Afterwards they had been laying there, Ron's head on her bulging stomach, discussing the baby. Ron ran his hand over the bump. "You're much bigger this time."
"Your mum said it's second babies. Ginny and Fleur say it's a boy."
Ron raised his eyes to meet hers. "Do you think it's a boy?"
Hermione ran a hand through his tousled hair. "It has definitely been a different type of pregnancy. More morning sickness, bigger, more aches and pains and swelling. Come to think of it only a Weasley boy could give me this much trouble."
He kissed her stomach. "I just want a healthy baby but a boy would be nice. I love Rosie so much but a boy would complete us. Don't you think?"
Hermione nodded. She knew secretly Ron wanted a son. It wasn't because he didn't adore Rose but because he had seen Harry with his boys and he wanted that bond. Rose was all tea parties, dolls, dresses and books. He wanted Quidditch, brooms, frogs and mud. The boy stuff.
He laid back on his pillow and looked at her. "I would love to name him Hugo."
Hermione glanced at him with a confused look on her face. "Hugo? Where did that come from?"
"Hugo Westerly, the best seeker the Chudley Cannons ever had. He was amazing on a broom." His face had lit up.
Hermione shook her head. "Oh no, Ron, we are not naming our son after some Quidditch player."
Ron turned onto his side to face her. "Why not? It's a good strong name and he was a great player and a great wizard."
"Okay well if we're picking good Quidditch players how about Viktor? That's a strong name and he can do that fainting thingy."
He rolled onto his back pulling her on top of him. She straddled him laughing as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Feint Hermione, the Wronski Feint. You would think after all these years together you would know something about Quidditch and Viktor is most definitely not up for consideration. No ex-boyfriends." He laughed as he pulled her face towards his. Covering her mouth with his own he kissed her passionately. They made love a second time with her on top and she had been blissfully happy.
"Hermione the bed is all set up." She was drawn back to the present by George.
She folded the parchment back up and put it in her pocket. "Thanks George."
He joined her at the end of the bed. "No problem. I hope you know you're like a sister to me and I'm here to help you out anytime you need it."
She smiled at him. "I just want to find his tee shirt and then I'm ready to go." She got up and went back to the dresser. She found the shirt in the third drawer. She pulled it out and held it against her face. The smell of detergent hit her nose. She berated herself for being so anal. If she had only been a little more of a slob like Ron there would be unwashed laundry that still carried his scent. Now there was nothing. She started to cry for what felt like the millionth time.