Chapter 9: Sunrise

Authors Note: Thank you very much for the fantastic reviews on the previous chapter! As I hope you are aware, I really appreciate people taking the time to reading this story and saying what they think of it. However there is something I want to point out to one reviewer who thought that this was realistic because a: Rose and Albus are the same age and b: That would mean that Ginny would be pregnant again within a few months. Firstly have you not seen this in loads of fan fiction's before now? JK Rowling stated that Rose and Albus were in the same school year but that does not mean that they are exactly the same age. Also people have children within a year of one another and so obviously she will get pregnant within a few months. I have planned it out and as far as I can see it works so... trust me. Anyway, here is chapter 9!

Ron stared at her in silence for what seemed like an eternity. His heart had stopped, frozen in the single beat that had been taking place when she had said those two simple words. Those were the words he, and she had been hoping to hear for nine months. He felt filled with joy and as he breathed in and out slowly, the feeling of excitement rose within his chest as he looked at her. They simply looked into each other's eyes as he was left unable to find the right words. Suddenly, he leaned over and wrapped his arms around her tightly holding on like he would never let go of her and she responded by hugging him back. When after a few moments, he broke away, still holding his gaze on her, but now a flood of tears appeared to be streaming down his face and a huge smile played upon his lips. Whatever reaction she had ever imagined in the past when she told him of this kind of news, this was never the one that had been in her brain. He was crying, and almost on the verge of laughing out of pure thrill and happiness.

"You are pregnant?" Ron said breaking the silence between them and wiping a few tears that had not travelled very far down his face on the back of his sleeve.

"I'm pregnant." Hermione repeated and he hugged her again. "Ron?" She asked after another pause filled with silence and she realised that both of them were crying, a lot more than she had expected them to. Certainly a lot more than she had expected Ron to but she could see the glee in his eyes when they looked at one another and both laughed tearfully.

"But, how?" He asked still crying

"Ron, if you do not know how then we really need to have a talk because I do not know what you thought you were doing that night." She giggled, sniffing and Ron shook his head.

"I know how. J.. just... wow. We are having a baby aren't we?" Ron smiled

"Yes, yes we are."Hermione beamed and Ron's hands let go of hers and instead cupped her face delicately between his palms and leant in to kiss her.

"I love you... so much." Ron whispered

"I love you too." Hermione replied, kissing him back.

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They lay there in bed, hands entwined and noses pressed against one another as they rested on their sides, facing one another and the warm sun of the 18th of April streamed through the curtains, making their eyes only seemed brighter. Neither of them had slept really at all throughout the night. Instead they had lay there talking about James and the baby, their baby, finally. They were both too excited to sleep but they knew that at some point or another sleep would come knocking on the door to night, just not quite yet. It had been considerably late before they had climbed into bed a few hours previously, having celebratory meal after not eating lunch or dinner. This had resulted in a take away pizza but it still counted in both pairs of eyes. This moment, the last what seemed like a million moments had been blissful, unforgettable and memorable, something that did not come across often but when they did they were worth every single second.

"I want to meet them." Ron croaked, brushing a strand of hair behind his wife's right ear. "I know we can't but I wish we could meet them right now. They will be the perfect combination of us both. We say that we are like a jigsaw because we always have qualities that the other one does not, well, maybe the baby will complete this puzzle." Hermione beamed at the sweetness as she knew he was right. They had wanted this for so long, longer than they could really think of when the idea was concentrated upon. And now, finally they had grabbed onto it and would never let go. Ever.

"I do too. What do you think they will be?" Hermione asked her voice being just a little more than a whisper. After a moment of silence, Ron spoke again.

"I think it will be a girl." Ron said simply put and Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"A girl?" She questioned his answer to her previous enquiry.

"I have always wanted a daughter. And I am not saying that I would not be happy if our child is a boy. I would be thrilled. But I have always wanted a daughter more. I can picture us with a girl. And maybe it will be a boy, it is just that I can see us having our own daughter. Preferably with red hair though." He said, chuckling towards the end of his statement. "What about you? What do you think, or want it to be?"

"I have not really thought about it, I only found out less than twelve hours ago that a child does exist. The concept of gender has not really clouded my brain. I do not mind though, quite frankly as long as they are healthy I am happy. I know every parent says that but I am serious. We have waited so long for this, longer than a lot of people ever have to and as long as they are happy, and healthy and safe I really do not mind. I am leaning more towards the idea of it being a boy though." She replied

"Do you want to bet on it?" Ron joked and Hermione hit his arm playfully.

"Ron, we can't bet on the gender of our child. You can't be serious?" She said almost scornfully as Ron shook his head.

"No, of course I would not do that. I am just saying that everyone else probably will." He told her.

"Everyone else." Hermione sighed

"Everyone else." Ron repeated "When do you want to tell them?"

"We can't tell them straight away. Things can go wrong, things can happen and it is just easier until we wait for the most likely time for those things to happen to be over. They must have been conceived on the night that I got promoted because we have not... before or after that since. Meaning that I am only three to four weeks along. So perhaps June?" Hermione contemplated reasonably.

"June? How the bloody hell are we supposed to keep something so huge as this from them until June?" Ron almost squeaked, as if he had seen a spider. "I share an office with Harry. You see Ginny at least twice a week on top of seeing your parents at least once or twice a fortnight. Weasley's pop up everywhere, there are so many of us we are like those little hideously pink rabbits on the muggle battery adverts, what are they called?"

Hermione laughed before informing him of the answer. "The Duracell bunnies, Ron."

"We see them almost every Sunday at the Burrow without fail. Surely my mother or your mother will notice something. Or Ginny will because somehow she knows these things. Actually thinking about it, anyone of the rest of our bloody sister in laws could work it out because they have all already had at least two children, and Fleur has had three." Ron continued and Hermione put a finger to his lips, suddenly silencing her husband.

"We will make it work." She reassured him and he nodded.

"Just tell me one thing though?" Ron said and Hermione sat up a little, looking at him more carefully.

"Anything, Ron." She replied and he joined her in sitting up.

"This is real isn't it? It is not just happening inside of my head? Please tell me that this real." Ron questioned and Hermione creased her eyebrows feeling rather puzzled by the statement before climbing out of the bed and heading to the elegant pinewood dressing table on her side of the bedroom. Her arm reached for one of the small draws and pulled something out of it. Upon sitting down on top of the bed once again Ron stared at her ahead her speaking to him.

"This shows that this is real. That this is actually happening." Hermione whispered , handing him the small object. It was a small plastic stick. He looked at the centre of it where there was a small box with two dark red lines inside of it. He had no idea what it meant, but was certain wherever Hermione's mad but intelligent mind was taking him would eventually lead them somewhere. Even if that somewhere had something to do with muggles.

"What on earth is this?"Ron asked and Hermione raised her hand and she pointed her right index finger to the few words next to the two lines. II – pregnant I – not pregnant and at that point it all made sense.

"It is a muggle pregnancy test. I got it after I left the hospital last night in case my suspicions were right. And it turns out that they were." Hermione informed him and his eyes darted back and forth before eventually meeting Hermione's gaze. Both pairs of eyes were filled with tears as they looked at one another softly. He took Hermione's left hand and placed the test in her palm before covering her hand with both of his and squeezing it tightly.

"Can we keep this?" He spoke gently. "I know that it is just a small muggle plastic stick, a test even. But it means something. Proof. Happiness. Contentment. Joy. If you know what I mean."

"Of course." Hermione replied and kissed him. "Of course we can."

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Hermione knocked on the door of Ginny's room and heard chatter inside, the voice was deeper and lower than Harry's with a humorous tone to it. There was a moments silence before she opened the door. Like the previous night, Ginny was sat up in the bed now wearing normal day time clothes, still looking rather tired but she put that down to the fact that James would have woken a few times in the night and that her two best friends had many more nights like that to come so at least they had gotten the first one out of the way. She was not holding the baby and he was not in the small raised cot next to her. Instead he was being held by George who sat on the opposite side of the bed cradling the child as he looked up at him whilst attempts to coax out the first smile or the very first laugh occurred. Their tries did not work but George seemed to be beaming rather proudly for his sister and newest nephew.

"Morning." Hermione smiled and Ginny looked up somewhat happily before George stood up and passed the tiny child back to her, kissing his sister on the forehead as well as ruffling what little jet black hair the baby had on their head so far gently.

"Morning." Ginny replied.

"Hey Hermione. I had best get going; I have left Angelina and Verity in the shop alone, what could possibly go wrong?" George said sarcastically referring to the many disputes his wife and co worker had experienced with one another, but had gradually gotten less and less frequent over time. At first it had been over the simplest things, like arguing over how things should be stacked or how to work the tills and similar things along those lines. In situations such as that it had proved that Angelina was the one in the wrong as she also worked at the Daily Prophet in the Quidditch section just like Ginny did and so she was unfamiliar with how things worked in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes but did part time work there to help out George or cover for him if they were short staffed. "Looks like you are on Potter watch round two now. See ya Gin." And he headed out of the door of the small private room.

"Hey I do not need people watching of us George!" Ginny called but he had gone already as she sighed and rested back a little.

"Potter watch round two?" Hermione questioned sitting where George had just sat on the right had side of the bed and Ginny chuckled.

"Harry has gone out to the Ministry of Magic for a while and so my mother devised a list of allocated slots as to when people should visit so that despite wanting a little space and privacy once in a while there is always someone here in case James or I need anything." She informed her.

"The Ministry of Magic? I thought he had been provided with a few weeks paternity leave though?" Hermione said raising both of her eyebrows.

"He is, but you know Harry. He will probably want to sort some things out for whilst he is not there." Ginny replied "I am guessing Ron is also there too."

"Yes." Hermione nodded before continuing "His day off is not until tomorrow, but he said that he will come in after work, about five, I think he said."

"Oh great, that fits in with Mum's schedule perfectly." Ginny said positively.

"What time did she put me scheduled down as?" Hermione enquired and Ginny's eyes quickly scanned the smooth, fresh, seemingly new piece of parchment for Hermione's name and then she landed on a few words at the bottom.

"Apparently I had told Mum that you would come over around midday – ish. Because she has made a note saying Hermione – anytime. I probably did tell her that but my memory is appearing to be foggy today after the many events of last night." Ginny rubbed her eyes with the hand she was not

"So you slept well, I gather?" Hermione said ironically and her sister in law shook her head softly.

"On the contrary. You would think after being in labour for around ten or eleven hours, then only realising that is what is happening and that you are actually in labour, then giving birth and pushing for the best part of forty five minutes would wipe you out and make you feel exhausted. And I was, and I still am but it turns out that even in a comatose like sleep the sound of a baby who is less that twelve hours old crying at an unnaturally high pitched increasingly frequently does wake you up. Even if it is Harry bloody Potter who goes and picks James up and rocks him back to sleep after a while he cries again and the whole cycle occurs once again. So yes, I did sleep rather well. It was actually rather amusing though. The bed is not exactly big enough for both of us to lie in and so whilst I had this and James had the cot Harry had the armchair that you are sat in. By the looks of it he had the roughest night out of all three of us." Ginny laughed before yawning. "Here, do you want to hold him again?"

Hermione nodded in response and Ginny carefully passed the baby in a drowsy state over to his aunt and god mother. He looked up at Hermione perplexedly, scanning the soft expression worn by the young woman with chestnut coloured bushy hair and brown eyes before surprisingly snuggling into her chest/ torso contently.

"Erm..." Hermione trailed off, unsure of what the small child was trying to do. "What is he doing?"

"Do not worry, he has already done that to Harry, we think it means he is used to you or that he likes you." Ginny reassured her and Hermione grinned as she brushed her thumb over the babies' forehead, admiring the small amount of black hair and his dark eyelashes.

"He is like a black haired version of you." Hermione glanced up and Ginny laughed "Thank god he did not inherit Harry's scar. I know they can't be inherited but you know, it would be funny if it happened by chance." In that moment she realised that in nine months time, maybe a little more, maybe a little less than that amount of time, they would be doing this with their own child. Working out who they look most like out of the two of them, introducing them to their family for the first time, and the little things like holding them and deciding a name. But she was glad because she knew that would be their child that they would be holding, their own and not someone else's. And she could not wait for that to happen.

"I do not know what to say I really don't." Hermione said as she looked down at the child, "I know I said this last night, but he is just lovely. He really is. Thank you, really for asking us to be his God parents. It means a lot to both of us."

"We could not think of anyone better for the role to be truthful. You are both Harry's best friends. Ron has always been my favourite sibling and maybe this is because of the smaller age gap than with Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George but we have always been closer to one another than with the others. Not Fred and George close, but close how a brother and sister should be. Like you and Harry. And you are my best friend. I know it is different and you have Harry and Ron as well and it is practically impossible for anyone to break into the bond that you three share but you are my best friend. And I do not know where I stand in your mind but I have thought that for the majority of time that I have been friends with you." Ginny said, and Hermione swore she had not taken in any oxygen whilst saying that.

"You are my best friend. My best female friend at least. The four of us are a lot closer than most brothers, sisters, brother in laws and sister in laws ever are and that is great. You, Harry, Ron and I are best friends and I really hope that nothing ever changes that. Ron says the same about you, you know? You two are closer to one another than to the rest of your brothers but that is all down to Harry of course. Hermione chuckled

"I know what you mean. If Ron was not best friends with Harry and I had not fallen in love with Harry we probably would not be this close. We just happen to have one bespectacled twenty four year old man with glasses and a lightning bolt shaped scar in common. It is different with Harry and I than it is with you and Ron though. Although you are best friends with Harry, you are best friends with one another, and I have never seen two people be as close to one another as you two are. Harry and I love each other, we are married but we are not best friends. It is just love and I love him and I always will." Ginny sighed and Hermione smiled.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered and a sad smile appeared on Ginny's lips as she reached for Hermione's free hand and squeezed it gently.

"It will happen for you two Hermione. Even if it has not happened yet, it will." She said softly and Hermione smiled. She was so close to saying the two words that she had said to Ron last night that had changed everything in their lives in one single second, a nanosecond and their world was now completely different although it was just the early stages. The words would just roll of her tongue effortlessly if she easily allowed them to do so, but she was reluctant and knew she could not. It was too early to tell anyone, just in case anything happened and they would wish that they had not said anything. Also they had made an agreement not to say anything and she was willing to keep their secret under wraps and just that, a secret for quite a bit longer. But instead she answered smiling and knowing inside her head exactly what she meant.

"I know it will." Hermione replied knowing that it had already happened.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Is he not with you?" Ginny asked as Ron held James carefully, an expression worn on his face as if he was worried that he could easily break his nephew, although Ginny had reassured him that that would not happen. Hermione had left a few hours before and Ron had now been there for only a mere few minutes. It was already apparent that he was unintentionally attempting to do the same thing George had been trying to do when Hermione had entered her room earlier that day.

"From what I heard him say in our office this morning, I thought he was going to head here with me. But then when I said I was going to come and see you he said he would be a while longer. Apparently he and some as he said "loose strings to tie"." Ron said emphasising the phrase that Harry had used by making two of the fingers on his free hand into quotation marks.

"Loose strings to tie?" Ginny questioned inquisitively. "What on earth do you think he means by that?"

"I do not know." Ron shrugged, the best he could whilst holding a baby. "Probably some weird muggle phrase. I will ask Hermione when I get home."

"Is she alright? Hermione I mean. I did not ask her when she was here earlier because I thought she would just dismiss my question with a wave of her wand. She looked horribly pale and tired as well." Ginny enquired and Ron knew he could not actually say what was going on but could say something different that Ginny would hopefully be convinced by as much as he did not like lying to her.

"She was sick yesterday but then she stopped on her way home last night after leaving here and picked up a potion from Diagon Alley. She says she feels better though." Ron said and Ginny nodded, clearly believing what he said. "You sound like Mum when she is worried that one of us is ill. It is rather frightening." He chuckled and Ginny grinned

"Can I just say that I have not always been like that. It only started twenty four hours ago when he appeared." She said gesturing to James.

"It is weird how much he looks like you. Except with black hair. It would not work on you, but really does on him." Ron informed her before looking down and talking to James. "You have two pretty cool parents you know. Your Dad defeated the greatest, darkest, most evil wizard of all time and then there is your Mum." He laughed. "Well let's just say that you really do not want to get on the wrong side of your Mum. For one thing she was a chaser for one of the most famous Quidditch teams in Great Britain and she can cast a horribly gruesome bat bogey hex when she wants to. So you had better watch out." As he said this Ginny laughed at her brother talking to her son. "You have two rather good looking, and awesome God Parents two, myself and Aunty Hermione but we will get onto them another time."

"Oh that reminds me, she told me to tell you that dinner would be ready at six as she knew you were coming here first so employed me as messenger." Ginny remembered and Ron passed James back to his sister before gathering his black rucksack that Hermione had bought him for his birthday in the previous month that he now used for carrying things to and from work in.

"I best get going then. Are you still coming to the Burrow on Sunday? Because Mum has got it in her head that you are." Ron asked as he headed for the door.

"Probably, that is if they let us out of here tomorrow." Ginny replied

"Well, listen if you and Harry want help taking your stuff back home Hermione and I do not mind helping." Ron gestured and Ginny smiled

"That would be great. Thank you. I will see you tomorrow then." She said

"See you tomorrow." He responded

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"Oh my God I almost told her. And I nearly told Harry as well." Ron said as he sat opposite Hermione at their small kitchen table, thinking that they would have to extend it at some point rather soon.

"You think you nearly told her? I was that close that I was smiling my head off as she was talking to me. They are going to work it out at some point." Hermione replied

" Are you absolutely sure that we have to wait until June to saying anything to anyone. By that point they will have probably have all worked it out before we can even begin to say anything."Ron questioned and Hermione thought for a minute before speaking once again.

"Okay perhaps mid May but no earlier than that just in case." Hermione sighed, giving in.

"It will all work out." Ron said reaching for her hand. "I promise."

Authors Note: Aaagh! My head is spinning now with the characters of Ron, Hermione and Ginny. I think I wrote far too much in one go. It is 14:15pm BST now and I came onto the laptop and have not stopped writing since half past twelve. At least it is done though. I know this is not one of the greatest of chapters I have wrote in this story so far but needed just to fill a gap and continue a scene from the end of the last chapter. Once again thank you for the great reviews I think I went from having 27 to 36 in a matter of forty eight hours. Anyway thanks and PLEASE REVIEW!