these graces that hold me, it's from you that i borrowed

[cleverness]

There were few moments in Hermione's life as focused as that moment. Living in the countryside, it wasn't rare for the Nook to be surrounded with the sounds of nature, of birds chirping in the branches of trees and breezes rushing merrily through the tall grasses. If one listened closely, they could often make out the sound of deer hooves against the beaten paths. But none of them registered with Hermione right then, from where she sat at the foot of her bed, hands curled on her lap. Instead, there was a dull pattern that rang against her ears; it took several moments before she realized that it was the pounding of her heart, steady and strong inside her chest.

It was her birthday. Since her birthday fell on a weekday that year, she had insisted to Ron that both of them still go to work for the day, especially considering how they would have the rest of the weekend to celebrate if they wanted, but she had still closed shop a little early in order to get home and prepare herself for dinner that evening. Her mind had been scattered for the entire week, and a vague sense of fatigue lingered that she imagined was a result of her long nights spent poring over notes, and her plans for opening a school in Darrow to serve the much needed gap of instructing those with paranormal interests or abilities. Returning to academia had never been in her plans back home, because the need was elsewhere, in providing the underprivileged with equal rights and protections. In Darrow, the situation was different.

Hermione wanted to work where she was needed most.

But as she picked out her dress for the evening and checked to make sure their reservations were still held by the restaurant, Hermione had felt a wave of dizziness and nausea. And while there was a good chance that stress was responsible for all of it, the feeling had been persistent over the past few days. She'd made an appointment with the clinic to make sure she wasn't suffering from some contagious illness.

She had returned home, instead, with a store-bought test and a faint suggestion to check. Just in case.

The first few seconds after Hermione spotted the second line were numbing. She didn't know how to react; didn't know how to respond. Shock kept her rooted in place, even as her stomach fluttered with dawning realization, and the ground seemed to shift underneath her feet. Having children with Ron had always been part of a distant plan, a detail included when Hermione spoke of her future, five or ten years down the road. But no matter how many times she'd fantasized about that ideal future, it had always remained exactly that, an idea more than a frequent consideration, not to be further explored until the time was right.

Knowing changed everything. Only when Hermione's hand shifted away from the test hastily bought at the store, coming to a rest instead on her own stomach, did it start to sink in. She noticed her vision blurring before she realized that the tears had already started to fall down her cheeks, and it took a few minutes before she was able to calm herself. Happiness, she thought. The sheer force of the incomparable joy she felt pushed out every other emotion, until it was practically overflowing. She didn't know how to process it. All she knew was that she needed Ron home right then so that she could share with him the news.

They were about to start a family.

Not wanting to alarm Ron at the station, Hermione gradually began picking her things up, carefully checking her reflection in the mirror to make sure her eyes weren't red, that she wouldn't give Ron any reason to panic when he Apparated back home. There was nothing to worry about, after all. This was always the life they were meant to have.

Comments

[deluminate]

Ron didn't know a lot about pregnancy-- though he suspected that was likely to change in a hurry-- mostly because he'd still been young when his Mum had had Ginny. He only knew from stories about morning sickness, really. And it wasn't until after he'd asked that he realized that it wasn't actually morning, but Hermione had said she'd seen a Muggle Healer because she'd been feeling under the weather. She didn't seem worried about it though, which was good.

Hermione tugged at his hand and he took the cue to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her close, pressing a brief kiss to her temple.

"You're right, it's bound to be a boy," Ron said, and the more the idea of it sunk in, the more he found that he liked it. He couldn't imagine that just the one kid could get into that much trouble, though. In his family, it'd mostly been because there were so many of them, and his parents had managed. It was only with the twins that things had gotten so out of control, really.

And at that thought, another occurred to Ron.

"You don't think there's a chance it could be twins, do you?" he asked.

[cleverness]

Hermione's eyes widened. Truth be told, she hadn't considered the possibility of twins, if only because the prospect of having a child at all already seemed like so much to process. But the thought of having two children to care for was exciting in of itself, causing Hermione's stomach to do another flip as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Ron's cheek, laughing in disbelief.

She didn't want them to get ahead of themselves, but it didn't hurt to be prepared for any possibility.

"I guess there's a chance. Of course there's a chance," Hermione said, her voice containing barely concealed excitement as she squeezed Ron's hand. "It runs in your family, after all. I don't think it runs in mine — at least, I haven't met any relatives who were twins. But we know how strongly the Weasley genes tend to run, after all." She glanced down, eyes unfocused but gaze lingering around her knees.

"The one thing I know is that I'd like to have more than one child. I wasn't unhappy at all as an only child, but having watched your family growing up, there were so many times I wished I could have had a sibling at home. Someone whom I could talk to about everything I experienced at Hogwarts, someone I know I could confide in and lean on. I suppose the both of us, with Harry, were together so often that we were just as tied at the hip. But I would love for our child to have that unbreakable bond in their early years." She smiled. "What do you think, Ron?"

[deluminate]

"You say that now, but do you really want to end up with a Fred and a George?" Ron replied with a bit of a laugh. He'd always looked up to his older brothers, the twins especially, when he was younger, but sitting there now, he couldn't imagine how his parents had managed the two of them on top of everyone else. It seemed like the sort of thing that'd drive them mad.

After Hermione's comment about having more than one, though, Ron realized that he hadn't really thought that far ahead. This itself was a bit of a surprise, and while they'd talked about having children before now, they hadn't really made any decisions on how many they might have when the time came.

He'd always liked having siblings growing up, as much as the twins tormented him when he was younger, and as much as his other brothers sometimes poked fun, but Ron felt like he'd gotten lost in the shuffle sometimes. Seven, he thought, was definitely too many for the two of them.

"I dunno," he continued, frowning thoughtfully for a moment, before his grin returned, "More than one might be alright. But... not seven, Hermione. Definitely not seven."

[cleverness]

"I wasn't thinking anywhere near seven," Hermione said with a small, helpless laugh. Even the thought of carrying so many children was a little daunting, especially coupled with how restricting it would be for both of their careers. As much as Hermione wanted to help raise and nurture a family, she knew that she was at her best when she had something outside of her personal life to focus on as well.

Sighing softly, Hermione shifted closer to Ron, resting her head against his shoulder and lacing her fingers with his. "I do want more than one, though. I would love to give our children that kind of security and environment at a young age. A way to foster a confidence in their family," Hermione mused, tilting her head until she could briefly press her forehead against Ron's cheek, softly affectionate. "Maybe two or three? A boy and a girl seems like it'd be perfect. Two boys might not be bad, either."

She glanced up with a grin. "I'd have first-hand experience with managing that type of combination, after all."