Title:Little Delights
Category:Books - Harry Potter
Challenge(s):The Russian Roulette Challenge.
Prompt(s):An apple a day keeps the doctor away. - To use however it inspires me.
Length:Drabble – 797 words!
Rating:K
Pairing or Characters:Hermione, Rose, Hugo, Iris, and Ivy (both OCs). With mentions of Ron.
Thanks: To one of my amazing betas, Katie! She always reminds me to paint a picture with my words, not just tell a story, and gives my work high praise. Thank you Katie!
Disclaimer:Though it pains me to say so, I do not own the rights to anything that belongs to the Harry Potter universe, nor do I make any money from writing about them. The only thing(s) that I can claim as mine own are the ideas and/or characters that may be woven into the wonderful world of all that is Harry Potter. Everything else is used in the spirit of good-natured fun or naughty shenanigans. What can I say? I just like to play!
Author's Notes:Please forgive any and all mistakes that have been made throughout this story. Currently my beta is busy with RL stuff and I've had to submit this unedited. As I'm crap with writing there will be endless mistakes. I've sent this away to my beta for editing and once it's finished I will update it. I would have waited for the chapter to be edited before posting it, however I had a 48 hour deadline. I'm so sorry.

Little Delights

Warming rays of morning sunshine beamed through the kitchen windows where Hermione stood peeling rosy apples fresh from the old tree swaying in the garden. The fragrance of the delicious fruit made her mouth water for just a taste, but Hermione knew that she would just have to wait. It was nearly eight o'clock in the morning, and her little ones would be clambering out of their beds to clatter downstairs for a spot at breakfast at any time. If she didn't whip something together by the time they descended on the kitchen, Hermione knew she would have four grouchy children on her hands for the rest of the day. That was one thing she definitely didn't want to deal with on such a lovely spring morning.

Just beside her cutting board was a bowl of batter being blended rhythmically together with a wire whisk. While the whisk churned round and round with a soft clinking sound, Hermione motioned toward the now cored and quartered apples with her wand. Immediately they sprang to life and began shredding themselves into fine pieces, leaving her free to get the waffle iron prepared. When it was piping hot Hermione mixed the shredded apples into the batter, and then she began spooning the chunky mixture onto the hot plates. The scent of the apples and cinnamon filled the entire kitchen as she cooked one after another of scrumptious-looking waffles. It reminded her of apple pie, one of her favourite sweet desserts.

The smells must have wafted throughout the entire house, because after a while she heard the sounds of her children stirring. Little footsteps could be heard walking across the floor above her, and without having to see for herself, Hermione knew that Rose was helping Iris and Ivy get dressed for the morning. The seven-year-old absolutely adored her twin sisters. Each morning Rose awoke with a smile on her face, ready to greet the toddlers, and she made it her job to get them ready for the day. Hermione found it both sweet and heart-warming that her oldest child was so close with her younger siblings.

A few minutes passed in silence, and then Hermione heard the soft sound of their little voices coming down the stairs. "How big was the pretty unicorn, Ivy?" Rose asked. The interest that Hermione could hear in the girl's voice was absolutely genuine.

"Wosie, he was so big," Ivy chirped with excitement. "As big as a dwagon!"

Rose giggled at the exaggerated size of the unicorn, but she didn't tell her little sister that she was being ridiculous or silly. Rose always encouraged the younger children's imaginations. Instead she said, "I wish I could have seen it. Maybe you could draw me a picture?"

"Okay!" Ivy said with glee. Both of the twins loved to draw little doodles, and most of the time they drew on anything other than parchment.

Hugo's voice came next. "Unicorns can't be the size of dragons."

"That isn't true," Rose protested. "Someone could use some sort of charm or spell to make them bigger." Hermione heard the little boy harrumph at his older sister. Hugo wasn't much of a morning person. As the matter of fact, if Hermione had to guess, she would say her son wouldn't wake up in the mornings if it weren't for breakfast. Like his father, Hugo loved to eat nearly anything, usually in large quantities, and still remained thin as a rail.

All four of the children came into view as she was flipping the last waffle onto a plate. The three girls, who all wore similar dresses with leggings, walked in holding hands. Hugo on the other hand shuffled in behind them with his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets, his little shoulders slumped. No, Hugo was definitely not a morning person.

The foursome chorused their morning greetings and gave Hermione squeezing hugs. With a bright smile she said, "Good morning, my loves. How would you like to sit outside in the sunshine while you eat breakfast? There is a nice little spot just under the apple tree that I thought would be perfect."

All of the children nodded—even Hugo, who had perked up at the sight of food—and they all made their way out into the garden. When they were situated beneath the tree, Hermione transfigured a small stump into a low table that they could eat at while sitting in the sweet-smelling grass. Then the five of them dug in. As Hermione chewed a bit of waffle, she thought of how lucky she was. The morning was beautiful, her children healthy, the apple-cinnamon waffles were delicious, and though Ron was missing from their gathering due to work, for Hermione, life really couldn't get any better.

A/N: I really appreciate all of the people who take the time to read and review. I respect positive comments and constructive criticism. Both help to make me a better author which in turn makes my writing style improve for the better. On top of that I truly enjoy responding to all of your reviews. Also, thank you to those of you who favourite and/or follow any of my stories. It means so very much to me! So, thank you all so much!. You're all wee gems! =)

OH! And if you want the recipe Hermione used in this story...check the recipe at the following link...just remove the spaces and the 'e' from com. That is seriously the only way I could share the link...sheesh!

www . food . come/recipe/cinnamon-apple-waffles-431114