Two apologies: 1) Sorry for the delay, my internet was down for a couple of days. 2) Sorry for the short chapter, I just couldn't get it to work so I'm hoping a fresh start on a new chapter should bring some better ideas :) Also, I'm back to school as of Wednesday so updates might be even slower than they are at the moment - sorry! I'm coming to the end of the story though, so it shouldn't be too bad:) Thanks for reading&reviewing!

Ron shot a glance at Hermione across the room. To the rest of the family, she was perfectly fine. She was smiling as she talked to Katie. Only Ron could see the forcefulness behind it and the tiredness in her eyes.

"Dinner!" Molly called from the kitchen.

A series of cheers from her son's echoed around the room, followed by a wave of 'shushes' from her daughters-in-law, who were trying to calm down her grandchildren. Molly couldn't help but grin foolishly as she watched her family take their seats around the large dining table. It had been a lifetime goal of hers – being surrounded by family - and it was one of the few she had actually achieved. She could have had fewer children and more money. That would certainly have made life easier, especially when the children were younger. She could have spent her later years travelling the world, rather than looking after grandchildren at next to no notice. But, Molly thought to herself as she piled potatoes onto Victoire's plate, she wouldn't have had it any other way.

Harry walked into the dining room of the Burrow to find everybody else half way through their meal. Ginny looked up as he came down the stairs, gesturing for him to sit in the seat next to her.

"I finally got him to sleep," He yawned, watching Ginny attempt to feed James small pieces of soft carrot. "He's impossible."

"I know," Ginny smiled at James in an attempt to get him to eat. "We'll wake him up in a couple of hours, though, and he should sleep well tonight."

At the other end of the table, Bill was struggling to keep Dominique in her high chair. After a moment or two of watching his daughter wrestle with the straps to the point where Bill thought they might break, he lifted her out of the chair and sat her on his lap, laying his knife and fork aside.

"Make the most of not having to deal with this," He muttered to Ron and Hermione, who were sitting to his left. "How long left now?"

"Three weeks exactly," Ron said promptly, shovelling more parsnips onto his plate.

Bill caught Hermione's eye. They both looked at Ron, back at each other and then rolled their eyes.

"What?" Asked Ron, through a mouthful of broccoli.

"You," Bill chuckled. "You're so jumpy. You've been sitting on the edge of your seat all afternoon, as though Hermione's going to give birth any second.

"Am not," Ron said defensively.

"You so are," George chimed in.

"Oh," Ron scoffed. "Because you weren't like that when Katie was pregnant. You overcharged someone in the shop by six galleons a month before Fred was due."

George seemed to have lost interest in their conversation and instead became intent on getting as much food off of Roxanne's face as possible. Ron watched his brother become increasingly uncomfortable with a smirk on his face, before turning back to his dinner.

"Your turn," Ginny sighed, jiggling James on her lap.

Harry rolled his eyes and made to get up, but Ron got there first.

"I'll go," He said, following the sound of Albus' cries from upstairs.

"He won't be this eager in a couple of months time," Angelina said to Ron's retreating back.

"Leave him to it," George said happily. "He's so naïve. He'll realise what he's got himself into soon."

"Shut up, George," Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"Touchy," Charlie smirked, his next remark dying in his throat as he earned a glare from Hermione.

Ron cautiously opened the door to the room where Albus was sleeping, Percy's old room. Three cots lined the wall furthest away from the door, all empty except for the one where Albus lay, his tiny fists flailing.

"Hey, buddy," He whispered, moving across the small room in two strides and scooping his nephew out of the cot and was shocked to find that Albus' sobs subsided immediately.

"Wicked," Ron murmured, cradling Albus in his arms for a moment. He moved to place Albus back in the cot but as soon as they lost bodily contact, Albus resumed his crying.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Guess you're coming downstairs with me then, aren't you mate?" He bent back into the cot to pick up the small, stuffed stag that Harry had bought for Albus the day he was born and went back downstairs, kicking the door shut behind him.

"Here comes trouble," Harry said as Ron came back down the stairs, holding Albus. "Is he alright?"

"Fine," Ron said, sitting down between Fleur and Angelina. "He wouldn't let me leave him in the cot, though."

"Ugh," Ginny groaned, "He'd better not be as clingy as James was when he was that age. It was awful, wasn't it?"

"I'll say," Molly added. "Nightmare. You couldn't put him down for two seconds."

"Doesn't parenting sound fun?" Ron grinned across the room to Hermione.

"Superb," She said dryly. "You'd better hand Albus over to someone else, we should get going because I've got to be at work early tomorrow."