Harry walked into Transfiguration and quickly grabbed a seat beside Ron. He looked around but Hermione had yet to arrive. He turned to his friend. "Where're the twins?" Luna was sitting in front of them with Ginny.
"Taking a nap. We've got a magical ward on the cribs to let us know if they wake up."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "That's smart." He leaned forward. "You think you can teach me that to use with Jamie? He wakes us up crying every night and it takes us ages to get him back to sleep."
"Yeah, 'course, mate. Mum taught it to me actually. Sent me the instructions in a letter."
"I bet she used it constantly on you lot." Ron grinned and nodded. "How're you two doing? You and Luna?"
Ron turned and glanced at the blonde haired witch a little ways in front of them. His grin grew. "We're getting on alright. Luna's still a bit daft, but I reckon I'm just as bad."
Harry tried not to snicker. Ron looked nearly… smitten. "Anything from the bond?"
Ron shook his head and turned back to Harry. "What? The bond? Nah. And I asked around for you, but I was right, Harry. No one else has had any feelings crop up from the bond." Ron and Harry's heads dipped closer as they whispered. "Are they bad? Like really out of control?"
Harry made a face as he thought. "No, we just… we're closer, I guess."
"I didn't think that was possible." He gave Ron a significant look. The redhead's eyes widened. "Oh…oh… have you…?" He gestured in a way that he thought clearly implied sex.
Harry shook his head. "No we just…" He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. "It's just different. Lots of hugging and kisses to the cheek. We cuddle."
Ron's brows shot up and a snarky grin touched his lips. "You cuddle?"
Harry glared at his best mate. "Shut up."
Ron raised a hand to his mouth to smother his snicker. Harry continued to glare. "Sorry, it's just… well, don't let Hermione see you looking that upset about it."
Harry looked around the room quickly but Hermione and the baby were still absent. "I'm not upset!" he hissed urgently. "It's just different, and I'm worried about how this is all going to progress."
Ron shrugged. "Well, didn't you set up boundaries?" He'd been in a relationship with Hermione. He knew how much that witch liked and respected boundaries.
Harry winced and scratched his ear. "Technically, we sort of did the opposite." Ron raised an eyebrow. "We said if feelings pop up we'll just go with it." He shrugged.
Ron didn't know how to respond to that. He tried not to show the hurt on his face that Hermione trusted Harry so implicitly that she didn't feel the need to set up boundaries with him. But with him it had been a god damned circus act at every turn.
Ron shook his head. It didn't matter. They hadn't worked out and it'd been obvious for months. "But these aren't really feelings yet… are they?" Harry didn't say anything. He wasn't so sure about that one himself. Ron nodded once. "Right, okay. I'll keep my ears open for if someone else gets the feelings thing. You guys can compare."
"Thanks, mate. You're the best." Ron brushed off his robes and straightened in his seat, a cocky grin on his face. Harry chuckled.
"Good afternoon, class," the headmistress greeted them. She had yet to find a replacement for her Transfiguration classes and was attending to them until she did. How she found time to do both teaching and running the school, Harry would never know. It was a feat he was sure very few others could achieve. Something told him Hermione would be one of those few who could.
Harry straightened in his seat at the thought and looked around. Hermione was late. Hermione was never late. Professor McGonagall also noticed. "Mr. Potter? Where is Miss. Granger?"
Harry looked around the room, nonplussed. "I don't know. Uhmm… may I be excused?"
She studied Harry for a long moment before nodding shortly. "Read chapters 13 and 14 and summarize the conclusion found in the accompanied text on page 403." Harry nodded quickly and gathered his things before quietly leaving.
He paused when the door closed behind him. His first instinct was to go to the Hospital Wing, nothing short of death itself would stop Hermione from attending class. But he knew if Hermione or Jamie were hurt or sick she'd have sent him a patronus before going anywhere. Harry nearly went to the library but realized Hermione wouldn't have knowingly skipped a class like that. Not one they shared together as well.
So, it was not long later that Harry found Hermione in their room. She was fast asleep in a pair of jeans and a thick jumper. Her shoes and robes had been shed and draped across the rocking chair. He breathed out a sigh of relief. Harry knew Hermione had a spare before Transfiguration class since she had dropped Herbology on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She must have gone to take a nap.
A noise from the crib startled him out of his thoughts. He dropped his bag by the foot of the bed and went over to find Jamie awake. His legs kicked as he stuffed a fist in his mouth. He made a noise of slight irritation, one Harry knew well to mean he was hungry. Deciding to let Hermione sleep, Harry grabbed one of the many bottles of breastmilk they had stockpiled and warmed it. He moved Hermione's things from the rocking chair before settling down with Jamie and feeding him.
His mind wandered to the spell Ron had mentioned. It would be loads easier at night if they woke up right when the baby did. Feeding and caring for Jamie was always infinitely easier when he was full and sleepy and nothing made him more sleepy than a full belly. Jamie's eyes blinked slowly as he fed, proving Harry's point. Harry definitely needed that spell.
Baby fed and fast asleep once more, Harry pulled off his robes and decided to join Hermione in her cat nap. He set an alarm on his wand for an hour later when dinner would start. He slid under her, letting her rest her head on his chest. She hummed and pressed herself against his side. Harry's fingers were quickly lost in her hair, a waft of tulips hitting him once again. He couldn't help but smile.
Ron's voice came back to him, questioning what they were feeling as not really being feelings yet. Harry hadn't been able to respond then and if asked again he didn't think he'd know what to say. But laying there, holding the curly haired witch to him, Harry thought he might be very close to knowing what he would say.
The thought didn't terrify him as much as he had expected it would.
/\
A beautiful yellow and pink butterfly flapped its wings and floated up from the children's book. Hermione gasped. She looked down at Pandora who was smiling in her lap and reaching towards the butterfly. "Isn't it pretty?" Pandora giggled and squealed. Hermione kissed the baby's chubby cheek. "Almost as pretty as you." Another giggle.
An identical giggle came from where Harry was lying on the couch with Molly, blowing raspberries on her round tummy. Molly squealed in delight. Hermione looked over at the two and smiled.
Ron had asked the two of them to babysit while Luna and he went to feed the thestrals. Luna insisted on doing it every Friday, but last week she'd nearly gotten lost in the Forbidden Forest and Ron was nervous about her going alone again. Harry and Hermione had accepted easily, knowing they'd probably get babysitting in return which they would more than appreciate.
Jamie was resting in the portable bassinet they'd brought with them. Harry and Hermione had thought it'd be a tight fit in Luna and Ron's room for all five of them until they actually saw the rooms. They'd never had reason to enter their friends' room before and when they finally did, they had been furious.
"They have a sitting room, Hermione." He had looked at her indignantly. "Why don't we have a sitting room? We haven't even technically got a bedroom. They have two!"
Hermione had huffed and shaken her head which had made her curls toss about her head. "Who knows? Nothing about this thing makes much sense. But there are more people in their household."
Harry had glared at the comfy couch in the fireplace sitting area. "Is this the kind of respect a saviour gets?" Hermione had rolled her eyes. He was never going to let that joke die.
Only an hour or so later and both the girls were fed and happily sitting with their sitters on the couch. Ron and Luna were expected to be back soon. Hermione leaned her head against Harry's shoulder and snuggled up with Pandora.
"She's got the prettiest eyes."
"…yeah."
Hermione pulled back and looked up at Harry. He looked far too depressed for a man currently holding a little girl as cute as Molly. "What's wrong?"
Harry blinked and shook his head. "Nothing, I just…" He smiled sadly at her. "I'm upset we won't get to see Jamie this old." Hermione smiled sadly as well. "Five months felt long after the first few days but now… He's gotten so big." Hermione nodded. Their baby was growing in leaps and bounds. Harry blamed Hermione for feeding him so much - he refused to listen to her argument that babies that breastfed had to eat more often. "But we're already past the one month marker and I…" He sighed.
"I know," she pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "I'm going to miss him too. But we still have a while with him so let's just enjoy it while it lasts."
Harry still looked distraught. "But he'll be gone."
"I know," she raised her hand into his hair and kissed his cheek. Her forehead touched his and their eyes closed as they revelled in the closeness. "I know."
The portrait swung open and the two pulled back. Ron gave Harry a look, having caught the tail-end of their moment. Harry ignored him and Hermione didn't notice. "How were the thestrals?" she asked politely.
Luna smiled airily. "Glad for the company. Thank you for watching the girls."
"It was no problem. They're angels." Ron plucked Molly from Harry's arms while Hermione handed Pandora off to Luna. "We'll leave you both to it, I'm sure they've got to get ready for bed and we should get some homework done before Jamie is up again."
Harry nodded at the family before helping Hermione with Jamie's portable bassinet. It took them only a minute to get their things together and head down the hall to their own room. The young mother left Jamie in the bassinet instead of moving him to the crib and risk waking him.
Harry opened his bag and began pulling together his school supplies. Hermione joined him on the bed as they worked on separate classes. Despite the high demand of attention required to take care of Jamie, both had managed to stay on top of classes. Harry was even ahead, mostly due to the fact he spent all his time with Hermione. The only real time he actually had away from her was Quidditch. Which was good for Hermione, actually.
It filled the void of no longer talking to her best female friend. Since the debacle in the hallway, Ginny had been avoiding them all like the plague. Harry had to see her at Quidditch, but Hermione didn't know how that went over besides a shrug and noncommittal "fine" and the subject was dropped. She knew Harry avoided the topic of Ginny to spare her feelings.
Since breastfeeding started, Hermione's emotions had been completely out of whack. Her hormones were all over the place and anything could set her off. Harry, having been around Hermione when she had a literal horcrux around her neck, was more than capable of traversing her emotional rollercoaster. As such, he stayed far away from the topic of Ginny when they were together which, admittedly, was always.
Hermione paused mid sentence in her Herbology essay. She looked at Harry. His brow was furrowed as he studied for his Care of Magical Creatures test coming up. The two had spent every day together, nearly every second. It was far more time than the two had ever spent together in previous school years.
"You can go," Hermione said abruptly, "if you want to."
Harry looked up at her, face blank. "Excuse me?"
"You don't have to stay. Jamie's asleep, I'm studying. You can go enjoy the rest of your Friday."
Harry blinked once in confusion. "Did I miss something?"
Hermione huffed. "I know you don't usually study this often and you're probably bored. It's been a month since we got Jamie and I can handle it."
Harry raised a hand. "Okay, stop. Whatever this is, just stop." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I'm studying," he explained slowly, "because I don't want to fail my test."
She glared at him. "We've spent every day together. You can't tell me you aren't sick of me yet."
Harry's brows rose. He didn't really know how to respond to that. He knew Hermione, better than anyone could know another person, and he knew she was prone to leaping to conclusions. "Hermione, at the risk of you hitting me, I'm going to tell you that you're being ridiculous." She narrowed her eyes. "We literally lived together for a year," he reminded her. "I don't think I've gone a day without seeing you since my seventeenth birthday." Hermione looked up as she thought about that. He wasn't wrong. "Are you sick of me?"
Hermione's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "Of course not!"
"Then what is this all about?"
"I just…" She sighed. "I don't want you to feel obligated to be here constantly. I don't want you to think I'm making you do this."
"You aren't," he replied simply. "I'm not going to leave you to do all the hard work. That was us when we were kids and personally I like to think we aren't third years anymore. This baby is just as much mine as it is yours and even if it weren't…" Harry raised his hand and tenderly held Hermione's face, his fingers just stretching into her soft curls. He stared into her warm brown eyes. "I love spending time with you. I'm here because I want to be here."
Hermione's heart fluttered inside her chest. She couldn't stop the smile that stretched across her face even if she wanted to. "Thank you," she whispered.
Harry smiled. He didn't move away as his eyes focused intently upon her face. He ducked his head and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. Hermione's eyes fell shut. "Any time," he whispered back, his breath ghosting across her cheek. He pulled back and both took in deep breaths to collect themselves. "Now then!" Harry cleared his throat and picked up his school book again. "If you'll let me study, Miss. Granger, some of us would like to pass their tests next week."
Hermione smiled and nudged her shoulder against his as they turned back to schoolwork.
/\
Harry held Jamie up and kissed his cheek. Jamie's feet kicked as he smiled. His big blue eyes stared intently at his father. The baby blinked and smiled around the fingers currently stuffed in his mouth. "What are you looking at?" Harry asked his son. "What are you up to?" He kissed the other chubby cheek with a loud smack.
Hermione grinned at the two of them. She glanced around the Family Planning room and rolled her eyes at the numerous feminine sighs she heard. Nearly half the females in the room were either covertly or flat out watching him interact with Jamie. As the weeks had gone on, it had become more and more obvious that the boys in the Family Planning class were not prepared for any form of parenthood. Some stepped up to the plate, such as Neville, Ron, and a few others. But it was Harry's natural ability with Jamie that was really making all the girls sigh. Probably that and the fact he was ridiculously handsome and, well, Harry Potter.
Hermione shook her head in amusement. Harry turned to her. He raised his eyebrows and smiled a quick, charming smile. Hermione's grin grew. She bit her lip and tried desperately not to blush. Harry's smiles had been doing horrible, terrible things to her for the past few days now. It'd definitely started earlier then that, but its effect had increased greatly since they'd babysat the twins last Friday. She wasn't sure Harry had noticed. She prayed he hadn't.
He had.
Harry loved the way her cheeks turned pink when he smiled at her certain ways. It reminded him of the flush she would get when she got worked up about a topic. He'd found himself asking about house elf rights so many times in the past week and a half that Ron honestly thought Harry might be ill.
"Doin' alright, Granger?"
"Shut up, Potter."
His charming grin did not falter.
Jamie let out a small squeal and both turned to look at the baby. Harry sat him in his lap and Hermione leaned into his side to tickle the baby's stomach. "He's going to have to sleep again soon or he'll get grumpy."
Hermione hummed and nodded in agreement. "I should feed him first." She made a face. The young mother had quickly grown to dislike feeding Jamie outside the comfort of their room. While the nursing bras and variety in clothing helped, she found that it was far more comfortable when she was able to take her shirt and bra off. Harry was still uncomfortable with it but had so far wisely said nothing.
Harry's grin turned mischievous. "You're gonna make him-"
"-I'm not going to make our baby fat!" she protested loudly. Harry laughed. "He's a baby. He eats a lot! It's your fault."
"How is it my fault?" he laughed back in question.
Hermione took Jamie from his hands and rested him in the crook of her arm. "They're your genetics," she argued as she pulled Jamie under her top. She expertly unclipped the front of her nursing bra and got Jamie to latch.
Harry leaned forward, elbows on knees. "I'm pretty positive your genetics got involved somewhere in there as well."
"Pretty positive?"
"I could be wrong."
"Well, we both know I'm never wrong."
Harry couldn't help but smile up at her. "That's true." Hermione's cheeks flushed.