Title: Survival
Much to everyone's surprise, Fred Weasley was an over-protective father. If anyone had bothered to run a betting pool (which George actually set up the minute he'd heard Hermione was pregnant but Molly made him abolish before any money had exchanged hands) they would have wagered that Fred would put his child on a broom as soon the boy could grip the handle. They would have bet that Fred's kid would have tasted a Canary Cream, a Ton-Tongue Toffee, and a Fainting Fancy all before his second birthday. And they definitely would have warned their own children to not stand too close to their cousin whenever he opened a gift from his father, least they be caught in the cross-fire.
They all would have lost dozens of Galleons.
In reality, Fred was more careful than even Percy at sheltering his child from possible injury. As an infant, the boy had been constantly in his father's arms or in some Muggle contraption that allowed Fred to carry the baby on his back. When the child began to walk, Fred managed to cast a permanent cushioning charm over all the hard surfaces in his and Hermione's home. Even when the boy's cousins played Quidditch on miniature brooms that didn't lift more than four feet off the ground, Fred volunteered his son to be scorekeeper so the lad couldn't come to any harm.
Ron and George initially blamed Hermione for Fred's attitude. However, it quickly became clear that Hermione was much more permissive with the child than was Fred. She had no problem letting the boy swim in the pond behind the Burrow – something that Fred had tried to forbid. She let the child pet stray dogs and cats, causing her husband to begin carrying around a vial of rabies vaccine at all times. She also encouraged the boy to explore the stockroom of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, showing him how to get past the Wards Fred had put in place to prevent such an occurrence.
While his brothers teased him about turning his son into a poof, Fred always just shook his head and hugged the boy a little tighter.
Hermione knew, however, what lay behind her husband's demeanor. Their child had been born six weeks early and significantly underweight. It had been almost a month before they were allowed to bring him home from St. Mungo's and even then he had been fragile and fussy. Both Fred and Hermione had quickly reached their wits end with feedings every two hours and a baby who woke the moment he was laid into his crib.
It wasn't until Fred walked in on Hermione singing a lullaby to the child that his aggressive need to shelter the boy developed.
Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top…
"What?! What in the world would a baby be doing on a tree top?"
"It's a song, Fred. Muggles sing it to children to help them fall asleep."
"Bloody stupid, if you ask me."
When the wind blows the cradle will rock…
"I'm telling you right now, Hermione, that my son is not going out on windy days without a stocking cap."
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall…
"That's it! No more of this horrible song! You will give the boy nightmares."
"Fred, calm down."
"Unless this song ends with a fairy godmother sweeping down from the sky and rescuing the tot, I don't want to hear another word."
"But…"
"Not another word, Hermione."
From that moment on, Fred had determined that he was the only one who could completely be trusted to look out for his son's interests. He knew Hermione and the rest of his family would never intentionally hurt the boy, but obviously their sensibilities had been warped in the fight against Voldemort. Apparently, in Fred's mind, only he had survived the struggle untainted. And, therefore, he had to constantly protect the boy.
"You'll have to let him go someday, darling," Hermione whispered in his ear, as Fred sat watching anxiously as his son play Exploding Snap with James.
Fred nodded distractedly. "I know, luv. Just let me get him to Hogwarts in one piece and I'll calm down."
Notes: Set in the Freds_Not_Dead Universe. Written for lj community fwhg_ldws challenge and based on the prompt: lullaby.
Hermione smiled and rubbed his back. She hoped he never remembered that her, Harry, and his entire family had faced more dangers and evils at Hogwarts than they had ever faced at home.
