Now, remember," said Hermione in her most severe tone, "you can't say anything until dessert – no, not even a little hint! – otherwise they'll be onto us like...like...like a Weasley on dessert."
"Fine," grumbled Fred as they prepared to leave for Sunday lunch at the Burrow.
"Not a word. Not even to Ginny, who already knows that you're pregnant."
"Good," replied Hermione as she turned away from her husband, to the mirror where she smoothed down her hair one final time.
"Let's go."
The Burrow was already crowded by the time they arrived and it took Hermione quite some time to work her way through the crowd, over to where Harry and Ginny were standing. The latter winked at Hermione, while the former was midst battle with a struggling Teddy Lupin until Teddy dropped out from his arms, and ran over to the window to squeal at the gnomes.
"Oh, look!" he said pointing at a particularly chubby one who had decided to start tunnelling under the foundations of the house.
Hermione felt a great surge of affection towards the little boy. She laughed along with the other adults as they all watched him change his appearance to that of a gnome, and run around hunched over and grunting like one of the knobbly little men outside the window.
She winced when she saw him run head-first into Fred's leg whilst he was chatting with his brothers; but then she saw Fred bend down and scoop him up. A few calming whispers seemed to be uttered, and the whimpers were stopped before they had the chance to blossom.
Hermione loved the way how the Weasley's were so accepting, and unconditional with their love. It did not matter to whom the child belonged. Everyone was family, and everyone was cared for with the same devotion.
With the sudden addition of so many family members, the Weasley's were no longer able to fit in the confines of the kitchen. The work of several Weasley men had produced an outdoor living area of sorts which ran the whole width of the house and held the longest, wooden, outdoor table Hermione had ever seen in her life. To top it all off, the table was topped with the most succulent array of food. The perfect slices of roast meat were glistening with their juices; roast potatoes were wonderfully crisp on the outside and incredibly tender and squishy in their middles, just as potatoes should be. Tureens of brightly coloured vegetables were dotted along like bowls of candies, lighting up the whole feast. Suddenly Hermione was feeling exceedingly hungry.
Chairs were pulled in close, and for several minutes one could only hear the gentle clicking of cutlery, and the odd sigh of contentment.
Slowly, the chatter began to rise up once more, and over various conversations, the news and gossip of the past week was relayed to Hermione. She was saddened to hear from Ginny that Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies had sustained a severe injury during practice, bringing forward her retirement by a substantial amount of time. Management had asked Ginny to replace her, but Ginny wasn't sure that Quidditch was the best thing to be doing when she had to bring up a family soon anyway.
Finally, dessert came along with a healthy serving of anxiety for Hermione. She watched as Mrs Weasley levitated the trifle over everyone's head, and served it up.
Hermione's mouth, which had previously salivated at even the sight of food thanks to the pregnancy hormones, was now incredibly dry at the prospect of her and Fred's announcement. However, she focused her thoughts, and sent one look towards Fred that clearly indicated, 'Now!'
"Everyone..." said Hermione in a timid voice as she stood up awkwardly, Fred following suit.
A dozen heads turned in her direction, expectantly, but she did not let it deter her, even when she felt her stomach churning with the threat of Sunday lunch making a quick reappearance.
"Oi! You lot down there, shut up, we have an announcement to make."
The babble at the end of the table between Bill, George and Ron ceased with a minimum of glares from the aforementioned offenders.
"We're having a baby."
Hermione had barely released the word 'baby' from her mouth when she was physically crushed with a tidal wave of hugs and good wishes.
Mrs Weasley was at the fore of the crowd and with tears in her eyes she asked if Hermione had told her parents yet.
"Fred and I are going for dinner tomorrow night," replied Hermione, "That's when we're telling them."
"That's nice, dear. I was wondering if you could invite them over for our usual May 2nd celebrations. If they want to come, of course, but I thought it would be nice if they were included in that kind of thing."
Hermione smiled brightly.
"Of course! I'm sure they would love to. I'll let them know."
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