The first day that Fred and Hermione brought the baby home, they did not have a name for him. Nothing they could think of sounded right to them. There was nothing that seemed special enough for what was now the most precious part of their lives.
Looking through all the baby-name books that Hermione had diligently collected only served to confuse their choices a whole lot more.
Their first instinct was to pick an elegant, old-fashioned name, which would work well with the surname of Weasley. Perhaps an Edward, or Thomas would soon join the ranks of the Weasley clan; however, they each found themselves shaking their heads as each option presented itself. Joshua and Lewis came next... then came the more modern names: Callum, Ethan, Cameron...
Fred and Hermione continued to volley names to one another at regular intervals throughout the day and even at night when his hungry cries would pierce through the darkness and waken them from their much-needed slumber.
There were even moments during the day when Fred caught himself listening to snippets of conversation from customers, hoping to catch a name idea or two which he would be able to take home to Hermione that evening.
This, of course, got Fred thinking of Hermione. His beloved wife. He wasn't quite sure exactly when he figured out that he loved her, but he supposed that it happened gradually over the course of the past year. Thinking back to the day when George came up with the idea of putting Fred and Hermione together for the 'Marriage Law' – as it had been dubbed by many – he couldn't believe how much of a fight he had put up at the time. Perhaps George had seen something within him that Fred was too scared to admit to himself at the time.
George had not been the only one who had been correct about Hermione. Molly had made an accurate prediction when she said that Hermione's spirits would lift after the birth of the baby. She had said that it would give Hermione a new sense of purpose, and something to focus on other than herself. She couldn't have been more correct.
Fred had dreaded going back to the shop for the first time since his son's birth. Not only did he have to leave his family, he had to do it right on Christmas Eve. He had no choice, really; he couldn't leave George and Verity on their own for the holiday rush. Not only did he not want to leave his family, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive at leaving Hermione alone with the baby. He didn't know how well she would be able to cope given her recent emotional situation, even if she had drastically improved over the past couple of days.
However, Fred only had to return to a clean flat, and contently sleeping baby and wife to know that the day had gone well. Hermione seemed to snap out of the doldrums of her grief enough to even put the Christmas tree up for them. Musing over his thoughts of the day as he climbed into bed that night, he snuggled up close to his wife, wrapping his arm gently around her sleeping form so that he would not wake her.
Just as he was about to close his eyes, an idea popped into his head, preventing him from being able to rest. He couldn't wait until the morning to ask Hermione what she thought of it.
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