Chapter 85

Harry stifled a yawn, closing his eyes for a moment as if needing to regather himself. He'd been staring listlessly at the wall for the last minute or so, Ron slowly realising that what he had been trying to say to his friend was not registering at all.

The stack of plates and cutlery in Harry's hands almost fell to the floor, only saved by Ron taking them from him at the last second.

The screaming of James from the living room, one room over, had not stopped for the last twenty minutes. After Harry's failed attempt at calming the baby, Ginny had taken him from her husband, but it sounded like she was having as much luck as Harry had.

At the plates leaving his hands, Harry startled and turned to Ron.

"Thanks." He spoke through a yawn, covering his face.

"Having a kid exhausting you, huh?" Ron asked, not sure whether he felt amused or pity. He supposed he was amused for now, because James wasn't his, but he knew that in a few short months he'd probably be in the exact same position.

"You could say that," Harry said as Ron began laying the plates on the table. "He was doing so well — really easy, mostly. Like, yeah, he woke at night, but nothing you wouldn't expect. And then he hit four months and… he doesn't want to sleep anymore. It's been going on for a week. Waking up every hour, taking half an hour to get back to sleep…"

"That's what they do, isn't it?" Ron asked, though he spoke so calmly only because James yet again wasn't his. He was just visiting, experiencing the screaming for a few hours. Soon, he'd get to go home to the quiet of his house, get a good night's sleep, not have to wake up to a screaming baby.

"Laugh now," Harry said. "This is apparently some developmental change. They all do it."

Ron smiled, finishing laying the final utensils for dinner on the table. "Yeah, well, you can laugh at me when it's my turn, alright?"

Ginny came into the dining room, her crying child on her shoulder; she was patting him to no were dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks drooped ever so slightly, and her hair appeared unbrushed and in knots.

Ron hadn't noticed it until now, but this was the most exhausted and stressed he'd ever seen his sister. She appeared to have breezed through her pregnancy, experiencing no sickness, no pain. James' birth had been easy — textbook, according to her — but apparently that easiness had come back to bite her with a wailing, restless child who didn't like to sleep.

"You take him again," she said to Harry, holding the child out for him to take.

Harry was about to grab James when Hermione, following Ginny into the dining room, offered her assistance.

Neither Harry or Ginny argued, Ginny turning and passing the baby straight into Hermione's arms.

James squirmed, his cries grew louder, quietened for a moment, then upped his vocals once more as Hermione patted, rocked, and walked around the small kitchen with him.

Ron watched her, a smile on his face as she tried to comfort their godson. What a beautiful sight it was. At twenty weeks pregnant she was actually starting to look the part now. A small bump had formed and she'd been forced to buy clothes that catered for it — though she'd stubbornly tried to continue to fit into her normal clothes for as long as she could.

At work, she still tried to cover it with her flowing robes, but Ron couldn't blame her. She already got enough attention at the Ministry — she didn't need anymore.

But here, around her friends and where she could be herself, he saw the change in her. Now that her sickness was easing, now that she no longer woke up feeling like death, her mood changed. She smiled; she was excited where Ron once thought she might have regretted their decision. She couldn't wait for their daughter to be born as much as Ron couldn't.

And she would be so good at this parenting thing, he decided as he watched her. She was on top of it already, had a sense of what she was doing. With Hermione as her mother, their little girl was going to do just fine in life.

James continued to cry, Harry and Ginny looking as if they needed a solid night's sleep. Ron was very close to offering to at least take the boy out for a long walk in the fading light, when the room quietened.

It took everyone a moment to realise that the crying had stopped. They all looked to Hermione, who was still walking around in circles, rubbing James' back.

"You can stay forever, Hermione," Harry said, vaguely smiling.

Hermione returned it. "You know I'd be happy to help wherever I can. Ron and I can mind him for a day if you two want to ever catch up on missed sleep."

Harry and Ginny looked like they were going to take up the offer. For a moment, their eyes widened in contemplation and Ginny even opened her mouth in what looked to be the beginning of an acceptance. But then Harry shook his head. "No, he's our son," he said. "We'll… manage."

Still rubbing James' back, whose eyes were starting to droop as he laid against Hermione's shoulders, Hermione looked at Ron. It was a look of askance — should we? — and Ron knew the answer immediately. They were good at the moment. Hermione was well, they were getting enough sleep — more than their friends at least. It was an easy agreement.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said, turning to Harry. "You made us his godparents, and that's part of our job, isn't it?"

"Not really," Ginny said. "Godparents are supposed to look after them if something were to ever happen to us."

"Well, we're his aunt and uncle, too," Ron countered. "And we're your friends. You can't parent right when you're so exhausted. We have nothing planned tomorrow. We'll play with him."

"He's hard work," Harry said. "And he'll cry."

"Babies cry," Hermione answered. James had fallen asleep against her shoulder, his face scrunched up and incredibly adorable. She looked so proud of herself for getting the kid to sleep.

"And besides," Ron said, beaming at Hermione, "one day we are probably going to need you to do something similar. And it's great practice for two people who still don't know the first thing about how small people function. Well, one person maybe. Me. Hermione seems to have it under control."

Hermione beamed back at the compliment and turned back to Harry and Ginny. "If you can get through one more night, we'll take him tomorrow. That's what friends, aunts, uncles, godparents — whoever — do. You spend the day catching up on sleep and don't worry about him."

Harry and Ginny didn't speak for a while. They looked at each other, still unsure, but they seemed unable to argue.

Ginny nodded. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"Any time," Ron replied, smiling at her.

Ron made to serve up dinner, despite Harry and Ginny hosting them. He knew that even though he didn't feel the strain of raising a baby now, that soon he probably would. When Harry and Ginny had a one year old who was sleeping well, eating well, maybe even walking around, he and Hermione would be feeling the stress of a baby not sleeping.

He was trying to be sympathetic, but also, he loved James. He was cute, he had a good smile, he was fun. It was the first time Ron had ever offered to babysit one of his siblings' children, but it was probably about time he did.

Having the pressure of getting through another day with a baby who didn't sleep off of them, the tired couple seemed to wake up a little. As they sat around the table sharing a meal — James now sound asleep in a small bed beside Ginny — they were able to chat and catch up on their week.

The conversation, of course, was mostly about babies. Ginny and Harry talking of all the cute things James had done, Ron and Hermione talking about the check up they'd recently had and how their little girl was growing well and was healthy.

"Have you felt any movements yet?" Ginny asked Hermione as she cleaned away their empty plates.

"No," Hermione answered. "Sometimes I feel something that I think maybe, but I can't be sure. I think it'll be a few more weeks before I can actually feel anything."

Harry gave an uncharacteristic chuckle. "Maybe it'll be like what happened for Ginny."

"Yes, he thinks it's kind of funny that the first time I felt James move it was because he kicked me right in the ribs in the middle of the night. Even then he apparently wasn't a great sleeper, always wriggling around at night, keeping me up."

Hermione smiled, not looking at all perturbed by the warning. She and Ron had both been desperate to feel the baby move. They'd seen her wriggling away on the ultrasounds, they heard her heartbeat almost daily, but apparently she was still a little too small for Hermione to be definite that what she felt was the baby kicking or moving around. And whenever she thought she did, Ron never felt anything from his side.

"Dessert?" Ginny then asked, jumping to her feet. "Mum sent over a pie a few days ago, because we haven't really had the chance to cook properly —"

"Why did you invite us over?" Hermione spoke with a gentleness in her voice, looking at Ginny who was on her feet, but appearing exhausted by just standing.

"Yeah, we should have had you," Ron said.

"Honestly?" Ginny said. "Being stuck at home with a screaming baby gets a bit lonely. All my friends either work or are around the world doing Merlin knows what. And there's only so much of Mum I can take before that becomes too much."

"Still, we probably should have had you guys over," Ron said.

"Pie?" Ginny asked again.

Hermione nudged Ron in the ribs and he stood up.

"Let me help," he said, taking out his wand.

…

No wonder they are so tired. The kid doesn't stop crying.

They'd had James for thirty minutes and for twenty-one of those, James had screamed his little lungs out for the whole street to hear.

They had Floo'd to Harry and Ginny's at eight-thirty that morning. The tired parents had passed over a bag of things, some bottles to feed him with, a few toys, kissed the boy goodbye and then left Ron and Hermione to their own devices.

For a while, they had debated whether to stay in the house where it was familiar, but had eventually decided to take him back to their own place.

Once there, James had cried. And cried. And cried.

Rocking didn't work, cuddling didn't work, feeding didn't work. Nothing worked.

Hermione even went back and grabbed James' bassinet in the hope that that would help, but it hadn't.

"Maybe they should just throw the whole kid out and try again," Ron suggested as Hermione passed the baby over to him for the third time.

"Ron! That's a horrible thing to say." She looked helplessly at the screaming child as Ron started rocking him again in a useless attempt to calm him.

The more James cried, the more agitated Ron became. Was this really what it was like behind all the smiles, laughter and joy at having a child? Sleepless nights? Endless screaming? When he imagined having a baby, he pictured his little girl — a mini Hermione — running around and him chasing her. He imagined taking her to Quidditch games and having her decked out in Chudley Cannons colours. He thought of all the times they'd lie together on the couch, or in bed — Hermione too — huddled away from the cold.

But this… this was the bad side of it. The horrible side; the side that made him look at Hermione's growing belly and feel a pang of regret start to rear its head. Could he actually do this?

Still looking helpless at what to do, Hermione caught his wary glance. She smiled. "It'll be different for us," she assured him gently. "When it's ours…"

Ron continued to rock James, thinking back to last night where Hermione had settled him by walking around. He'd tried that already today, but he may as well try again.

"Something's bothering him," Hermione said.

"He probably misses his mum and dad," Ron said.

"But it's something else, too," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"We've changed him, we've fed him, we've rocked him, we've tried playing with him… what else does a kid his size want?" Ron asked desperately.

Hermione went to the bag and rummaged through it. She was there for a while, leaving Ron with James. When she finally emerged, she was holding a tiny potion vial.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"It's a calming draught. It's commonly used for babies who are distressed. I'm sure your mum used it for all of you." She unstoppered the vial. "Ginny said just one drop is enough… it eases pain, distress, everything."

"So we're going to drug him?" Ron questioned, only half amused. At this stage he was willing to try anything.

"It's perfectly safe," Hermione said. "It's helpful and I daresay used by every parent in the wizarding world at one stage." She took out her wand and extracted a single drop from the vial. She then indicated for Ron to bring James closer to her. He did, struggling to hold him still with all the thrashing the boy was doing.

"It's supposed to have an instant effect," Hermione continued, lowering her wand and carefully letting the drop fall into James' mouth.

It was like magic… well, it was magic. The moment the liquid entered James' mouth, he stopped crying. Ron felt him relax in his arms, the thrashing, screaming and everything else ceasing immediately.

"Where can we get some of that?" Ron asked.

Hermione smiled. "Any apothecary would sell it. As I said, it's standard for babies. I daresay he's in pain of some kind."

"Should we get him to the hospital then?" Ron asked uncertainly.

"No, no…" She took James back, who was now looking around the room with wide, curious eyes. "But I'll let them know when we drop him back that he probably has severe gas pain."

Ron stared at her for a moment. Merlin, he admired her. She just knew… everything. "You should be a Healer."

Hermione laughed. "No thanks. I don't think I have the patience to deal with stupid people."

Ron also laughed. No, she was probably right. She would snap at him if he didn't understand some convoluted thing she was talking about after she tried explaining it only once to him. He couldn't imagine her trying to treat patients who were there because they'd attempted some spell on themselves.

Hermione bent down and laid James on the blanket they had laid out for him with some of his toys. He was finally interested in playing with them, reaching immediately for a rattle with his right hand.

Ron and Hermione sat on the floor on either side of him, watching him as he shook the rattle and smiled happily at the noise it made.

"See, it's fun when they're like this," Ron said after a moment. "Not screaming their bloody lungs out and not knowing how to settle them… you seem to be all over it, though. It's just me that's useless."

"It'll be different with our daughter," Hermione said soothingly. "You'll understand her better because you'll spend more time with her."

"You really will be amazing, Hermione," Ron said. "The best."

Hermione looked over James and smiled at him. "So will you," she assured him softly.

After that incident with James, Ron wasn't sure, but he decided not to argue the matter. At least not now. He had many years ahead of him to question his ability to parent appropriately. For the moment, his one job was to keep his godson alive.

James was happily playing now, rolling from his back to his tummy and then back to his back again. There were a few times where he rolled off the mat that either Ron or Hermione had to pick him up and put him on it again.

Ron spent some time watching the boy, thinking about how much he looked like Harry. He had Harry's hair, at least, and therefore the hair of his grandfather, whom he was named after.

He looked up at Hermione who was staring at James affectionately. "Have you thought about what we're going to name her?" It wasn't something that he'd put a lot of thought into until now. He'd been so excited about everything else that naming his daughter seemed almost inconsequential. James was named after his grandfather and Sirius, two very important people in Harry's life. But who was Ron supposed to name his daughter after? Percy had taken the only name that he could possibly use. Maybe they could call her Jane, after Hermione's mum. Or, maybe they could just give her her own name and not worry about that. Bill's kids weren't named after anyone — not even from Fleur's family.

Hermione snapped her eyes away from James and looked at Ron, smiling. "A little."

"And?"

"Have you thought about it?" she asked him. "Maybe we can compare, find something we both like." She returned her gaze back to James, who was now exploring the rattle with his mouth. "I don't want to name her after anyone, though."

"Who's left to do that, anyway?" Ron said, smiling. "I haven't really thought about it. There's a lot of names to think about… I think."

"Say something you like," Hermione said.

Ron thought. Nothing immediate was coming to his mind. He shrugged. "Maybe you go first?"

"I was thinking more along the traditional line of names."

"What, like Merlin?" Ron asked, wondering if they could get away with naming their daughter Merlina. For some reason, he wasn't keen on it.

Hermione laughed. "Sorry, I should have specified traditional Muggle names."

"Oh, right. So, like… Hermione?"

"No, not really," Hermione said. "But maybe something like Catherine. Or… Elizabeth."

Ron stared at her for a moment. He was sure there were plenty of magical people who went by those names — Muggleborns, halfbloods — but they sounded weird.

"It's okay if you don't like them," Hermione said, seeming to read his expression. "There's plenty of time. What do you have in mind?"

Ron wracked his brain for some ideas — names he thought would suit their little girl. It was hard to choose when he didn't even know what she looked like, or her personality. "I dunno…" he said slowly. "I heard a name once — I can't remember where — but I think it sounds nice. Esmerelda."

He knew immediately that that wasn't going to be something they agreed on. Like he had not liked her suggestions, he saw her visibly wince the moment he suggested it — as much as she tried to hide it.

"Alright," he said. "How about Angelica?"

Again, Hermione quite obviously didn't like it, but she said nothing.

He sighed.

"So, we have completely different tastes, huh?" Hermione said.

"Yeah."

She smiled at him. "We'll find something. We've still got twenty weeks to go, so there's plenty of time. We've only thrown out four names in total. That's nothing."

Though Ron smiled, though he didn't say anything, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that the names they both liked — so far — seemed to be at complete opposite ends of the scale.

Hermione turned her attention back to James, tickling his tummy and extracting a happy smile and squeal from him. Ron couldn't help but allow for his pretend smile to widen into a real one.

He'd thought it from the moment they decided to have a baby, but he knew it for certain now — Hermione, no matter what happened, no matter what they named their daughter — was going to be the most wonderful mother any little girl could ever wish for. Ron just hoped he'd be able to live up to the same standards.

There's a million and one ways Ron and Hermione could choose the name Rose, and I hope you like my way I've used in future chapters haha!

Tomorrow is November 1 for me, and I'll be writing NaNo so I'm not sure how many chapters (if any) I'll post in that month. But I thought I'd get this one up before I attempted it. I hope you enjoyed it!