Moments of Love

'Excuse me.' Hermione peeked at the shop clerk over the pile of books in her hands. 'I heard about a book called A Yesteryear Pregnancy, and I was wondering if you had that. It's supposed to have all kinds of old folk remedies to help pregnancy-related symptoms.'

'Oh yes,' the clerk said and veered around the counter. 'It's been really popular as of late; I think it was featured in Witch Weekly some months ago.'

Hermione followed the man into the maze of dusty, narrow shelves. It was Monday afternoon, and Flourish and Blotts was brimming with people, as the popular romance author Raymond Grimmlenschaffer had a new novel out, The Dark Wizardess.

'It should be somewhere here...' The clerk propped his spectacles up his nose and ran his finger along the volumes. 'Ah!' He pulled out a small, thick book with golden engravings on the spine and an image of a pot of herbs on the cover. 'This is the last one.'

'Thanks!' Hermione beamed and put the book on top of her pile. She could now hardly see over it, and she wobbled slightly as she followed the clerk back to the till.

The bell tinkled, and Ron's tall figure flashed by the door. He scanned the masses, spotted Hermione in no time, and made his way towards her.

'At least you're easy to find in a crowd,' he said with a grin. 'Just follow the highest pile of books. Seriously, you're not going to buy all of those?'

Hermione tipped the pile towards the counter and almost lost her balance, but Ron caught the top half of the stack.

'So, You're Having a Boy!...So, You're Having a Girl!...So, You're Having Twins!...When Your Child Is a Squib...It's Never Too Early to Start Educating Your Child...Sing to Your Womb and Have a Happy Baby...' Ron looked at Hermione, a mixture of disbelief and amusement on his face.

Hermione blushed and snatched the book from Ron's hand.

'I want to be prepared! Having a baby is a huge deal.'

'There's prepared, and there's madness,' Ron muttered, flipping through the books. 'How to Raise a Good Wizard or Witch...Prepare For Pain -A Realistic Look into Labour...How to Have a Fabulous Career AND a Fabulous Family ...My Child Blew Up the Microwave -Memories of a Muggle Mother... Honestly, Hermione!'

'I'm going to lay off all my other books for a while,' Hermione said adamantly. 'I want to know as much as I can about every aspect of motherhood. And you know, I haven't even started on books on fatherhood yet!'

'Hmph,' Ron said and straightened the pile. 'I'll trust my natural instincts. Mum and Dad never read any books like this, and none of us turned loopy. Well, Percy might be a borderline case, but in principle.'

'But it won't hurt you either,' Hermione said and touched Ron's hand. 'Come on, do it for me.'

'Fine,' Ron said. 'One book.'

Hermione rose on tiptoe and kissed Ron on the cheek, blowing gently in his ear.

'Okay, two books.'

Hermione glanced around; nobody was watching them as the clerk was opening another box containing shiny copies of The Dark Wizardess. She whispered something in Ron's ear that promptly caused his ears to go red.

'Three books, but no more. Blast it, woman, you're good.'

Hermione smirked and settled in the queue, holding out her Frequent Customer Card.

'So, sang to your womb yet?' Ron asked. 'Or do you want me to do it?'

Hermione, who was lying on the sofa and reading It's Never Too Early to Start Educating Your Child, looked at Ron reproachfully, although her lips twitched.

'You know Ron, the baby can hear surprisingly much in the womb. It wouldn't be a bad idea if you talked to it. Then it would learn to recognise your voice.'

'Really?' Ron sat at Hermione's feet and looked at her tummy doubtfully.

'Mhm. It says so here, and I've read it before, too. And you know, there have been studies that suggest playing Mozart to your baby might increase the baby's level of intelligence!'

'Mozart?'

'A Muggle composer. Mum promised to bring me a portable CD player and some CDs of his music next weekend.'

'Right, Muggle stuff,' Ron said distractedly. He squirmed himself beside Hermione and pressed his ear on her tummy. 'You in there, tot?'

'Why don't you try singing to it?' Hermione asked, biting her lips hard. 'You have quite nice voice, you know.'

Ron looked at her, his chin propped on her tummy.

'But it's just a tiny embryo at this point, isn't it? I don't think it could hear me yet.'

'You can still try.'

Ron pulled up the hem of Hermione's jumper. His lips brushed the warm skin, and Hermione started.

'No naughtiness,' she whispered.

Ron's eyes made no promises, and he pressed several soft kisses around her navel.

'I'm getting there. I'm just warming up...'

'Ron...'

'Mmm, yes, I'm thinking of a song...'

'This is really supposed to be for the baby...'

'Of course...but what's good for the Mummy is good for the baby...'

Hermione could say no more. When she stood up many moments later, she realised there had been no singing whatsoever.