I Love That Man

"Waaaaaaaaaaaah."

My eyes snap open at the sound of my daughter's cry. I begin to sit up, and a hand reaches out to my shoulder. "I'll get her. You get some more sleep."

I look over my shoulder through the blur of the early morning to gaze at my husband. I've always liked the way he looks when he first gets up. It reminds me of the young boy I grew to love at Hogwarts.

"Ron, you have to work in a few hours. I'll get her."

He is not a young boy anymore; he is a man who has taken to the responsibility of family with the same passion that he used to apply towards Quidditch. Not that I am surprised, coming from the type of family he does. Even though everybody knew that we fancied each other in school, most did not believe that we would survive the long haul.

"Hermione, as much as I'd love to have a row with you, now is not the time," he says when he gets out of bed. "I have said this before and I guess I will have say it again. You are with the kids all day long. The least I can do is make sure you get a good nights rest."

He walks around the bed, bends down, and kisses me on my forehead. "I'll come get you when I have to leave."

As I watch him walk out of the room and close the door, I reach under the bed for the Extended Ear that I have hidden there. Let it never be said that Fred and George aren't good for some useful things. After getting caught trying to listen in on one to many Order meetings, they perfected the Extendable Ears by getting rid of the attached string. It still brings a smile to my face that an invention by two jokesters helped get valuable information and was instrumental in the defeat of Voldemort.

I hear the door to our youngest daughter's room creak slightly when it opens. "Hello there, Julianna." His voice is so filled with love when he says her name. I have almost become addicted to listening in on Ron while he interacts with the girls. He would probably kill me if he knew. He would assume I was trying to check up on him. I hear him pick her up and kiss her multiple times. "Are you hungry or are you just craving a little attention, huh?" I hear the squeak when he sits in the rocking chair and I can hear him whisper to her, "Don't worry little one. I am here."

I put the Extended Ear away. I do not want to go too far over the line. I snuggle back into the warmth of our bed and look out the window. It is beginning to snow. I think about all the times Ron has let me sleep during the night when the kids needed something. Most people may not think of Ron as being all that romantic, but they do not know this part of him. This means more than any box of chocolates or bouquet of flowers ever could.

As I drift back to sleep there is only one thought on my mind - Oh, how I love that man.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaah."

My eyes snap open at the sound of my daughter's cry. I have come to think of it more as the sound of my alarm clock. I notice my wife begins to sit up and I reach a hand out to her shoulder. "I'll get her. You get some more sleep."

I look over at my wife. I love the way she looks in the morning. Even though her hair is a little shorter now, it still gets very bushy when she sleeps. It reminds me of the young girl I came to know at Hogwarts during our first year.

"Ron, you have to work in a few hours. I'll get her," she says.

She is not a young girl anymore; she is a woman who has grown more beautiful as our family has grown. When we first got pregnant I was a little worried Hermione would miss working at the Ministry, but now I truly feel that she has taken this family to be her life's work. In traditional Hermione style, she read everything there was about being a mother and raising children. Finding none of it very practical or useful, she is now talking about writing a book. Bloody brilliant, this one. I am ashamed of how long it took me to realize my feelings for her, even though everybody else knew.

"Hermione, as much as I'd love to have a row with you, now is not the time," I say after I get out of bed. "I have said this before and I guess I will have say it again. You are with the kids all day long. The least I can do is make sure you get a good nights rest."

I walk around the bed, bend down, and give her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll come get you when I have to leave."

As I walk out of the room and close the door, I notice the slightest grin on her face. I know that look. She is going to use the Extended Ear. I found one hidden in our youngest daughter's room not too long ago. I thought at first she was checking up on me to make sure I didn't go off the feeding or sleep schedule she had planned. But she never corrected anything she may have heard and sometimes seemed to be cheerful after I knew that she listened. Eventually, I figured out that she secretly enjoyed listening in and I didn't want to ruin that for her.

I open the door to our youngest daughter's room and walk over to the crib. "Hello there, Julianna." I can't imagine loving them any more than I do, but every time I look at one of our children my love for them seems to grow. Bloody amazing. After realizing my feelings for Hermione, I promised myself that I would never hold back feelings like that again. It's not worth it. I reach down, pick up my daughter, and plant several kisses on each cheek. "Are you hungry, or are you just craving a little attention, huh?" I carry her over to the rocking chair, and, as I sit down, I whisper to her, "Don't worry little one. I am here." Maybe it's my over protective nature, but I don't ever want anyone in my family to think I will not be there for them.

Julianna snuggles into the crook of my arm and I look out the window. It is beginning to snow. I think about all the things Hermione has done for this family; she truly amazes me. Letting her get a good nights sleep is such a small price to pay for all that she does. I have come to like the fact that the kids come to me when something is wrong at night. I recall dad was always the first to react at night when my siblings and I were small. I wonder if he did it for the same reason that I do it today; the realization that we will never truly deserve the women in our life.

Julianna is asleep, but I don't want to put her down yet. I put a rocking spell on the chair, and, while I drift back to sleep, there is only one thought on my mind - Oh, how I love that woman.