Written for Lucy (WeasleySeeker) for her brithday. Happy birthday Lucy!

Written for teddylupin-snape's Fantastic Beasts Challenge in the category 'Crup - write about Ron'

Written for Gamma Orionis' OTP Boot Camp using the prompt 'letter'

Certainty

Hermione sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She was being stupid. It was nothing to worry about, and she knew anyone would tell her likewise, Ron especially. It wasn't like what had happened was a disaster. In fact, it was the complete opposite. She was delighted, thrilled. She couldn't have been happier.

Still, it made her nervous.

"Hermione?"

Hermione jumped at the sound of Ginny's voice, startled, despite having knocked on the front door of Grimmauld Place. Her sister-in-law's hair was pulled back and she looked completely exhausted, as if she'd gotten very little sleep in the past months. And she didn't seem as cheerful to see Hermione there as she would have a few months ago either.

Hermione bit her lip. "Have I come at a bad time?" she asked. It wasn't like she needed to see Ginny in this moment, she had just thought….

Ginny shook her head. "No, not at all," she said. "Sorry, it's just with Harry away and James up all night, every night…." She didn't need to finish her sentence for Hermione to understand. She didn't even have a baby and she hated it when Ron was away. No doubt it was ten times harder for Ginny.

Her friend smiled at her. "Come in."

Hermione followed Ginny through the long, narrow hall and into the kitchen. Baby James was in a bouncer by the table and he waved his hand joyously at the sight of a new person.

Any other day, Hermione probably would have picked him up, but not today. She had something else on her mind, something that had been bothering her for over a day now.

"Hermione, what is it?" Ginny questioned, taking a seat at the large table. She indicated for Hermione to do the same, and she obliged. "You look worried about something."

Hermione shook her head. "I'm not worried," she said. "Not at all. It's just… I don't know how to tell Ron and I thought you could help."

Ginny studied her curiously, frowning. Realisation then seemed to dawn on her, and she brought her hand to her mouth, gasping. "Hermione, are you –?"

Hermione nodded, giving her a small smile.

If she'd been any younger, Hermione could have sworn Ginny would have squealed. But she managed to compose herself and simply say, "Hey, that's great! Congratulations!"

Hermione's smile widened. "Yeah, it is," she said. "We've been trying for so long, and it's finally happened and… how the hell do I tell Ron?"

Ginny frowned again. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I just don't know how he'll take the news, that's all. He says he's okay with it, but, well, that was just the prospect of having a baby. I'm not sure how he'll feel about the real thing. I'm worried he'll… flip out."

Suddenly, Ginny's expression changed to one of sympathy, and she reached out for Hermione's hand. "He won't," she promised. "You've been trying for so long; if he wasn't ready, then he would have said something by now. He would have flipped out long ago if he was ever going to… which, he never was going to," she added hastily, noticing the slight concern that appeared on Hermione's features. "He wants to have a baby. Probably more than you actually know."

This surprised Hermione. "Really?" she asked.

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, Harry said it's all he talks about at work. He can't wait, especially now that James is here."

Hermione smiled, but didn't say anything. She knew Ginny was right, but there was something that was still troubling her. There was a small part of her that still thought that once Ron heard the news, he wouldn't be happy about it. She was scared that it would scare him.

"Hermione, you know Ron better than most," Ginny continued. "Do you think he'll change his mind?"

"I think there's a chance it'll frighten him," Hermione replied.

"He might surprise you."

Hermione sighed. "You're probably right, Ginny," she said. "I guess that when I found out it frightened me a little. I think I kind of just told myself that it was never going to happen." She shrugged, shaking off the sympathy that she knew was going to come.

"Hermione, you've only been trying for a bit over a year. It takes some people two or more."

Hermione shrugged again. "We've been lucky all our lives, surviving so much. I guess I just assumed our luck would run out eventually."

Ginny shook her head, obviously in disbelief. "The two of you are going to make wonderful parents," she promised her, giving her hand a squeeze. "I know you will. I mean, what child wouldn't be well off with you there? And Ron, well Ron, I think he's ready."

Hermione nodded. She thought so too. She thought they were both ready.

"Ron and Harry get back from their mission in two days, so you have that long to work out how you're going to tell him. Obviously, don't blurt it out the moment he comes home, but break it to him gently."

"Two days?" Hermione questioned, sighing. She ran her hands over her face. She didn't want to have to wait two days. She wanted Ron to be the first one to know, but there was a part of her that just wanted to share her news with everyone. It was true, it had been just over a year since they'd started trying, and now things were finally happening. She didn't want to keep it a secret anymore.

"I could send him a letter," she then said, more to herself than Ginny.

"Hermione…."

"I want him to know! Now, I want to tell him now. He'll be happy, I know he will, and I want to share that happiness with him. I shouldn't have even told you, but I just had to tell someone."

"Two days, Hermione," Ginny said, laughing. "It's not that long. And I don't think a letter's the way to go. You need to tell him in person."

Hermione nodded. "I know," she said. "It's just so…." What was the word she was after? She didn't even know.

"Amazing?" Ginny offered.

She shook her head. "I can't describe it," she replied. "It's like the next stage in our lives and it's really, really exciting. I want this child to have the childhood the rest of us didn't have."

Ginny smiled. "I hope all of our children have that," she said softly. "Victoire, Dominique, Molly… all of them need to grow up in a world without war and death."

"I love this baby so much already," Hermione then said. "So much."

"And your feelings will only grow over time," Ginny told her. "By the time he or she is born, you won't know what hit you."

Hermione nodded. She was already beginning to understand that, and she still had seven and a half months to go.

OOO

"I missed you too," Ron said, stumbling back slightly as Hermione's arms flung around his neck. "But obviously you missed me more." He broke away, looking at her. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Why does something have to be wrong because I've missed you?" Hermione demanded, kissing him. "One week is too long for you to be away."

"I've been away for two before," Ron reminded her. "You've never been so happy to see me then."

Hermione smiled. "I'm not allowed to miss you?" she asked.

Ron shrugged, before gathering her into his arms and pressing his lips to hers. "You can miss me as much as you want," he said, "but I probably miss you ten times more." He kissed her again. "Are you going to tell me why you've had that grin on your face before I even got here?" he then questioned.

Hermione pulled away and smiled up at him. "I have news," she said, and Ron had never seen her so happy before.

"What kind of news?" he asked, feigning suspicion. It obviously wasn't bad news; otherwise she wouldn't have been smiling like that.

"It's good news, I promise," Hermione assured him, taking his hands. "Though, you might need to sit down." She led him over to the couch, where he sat on one side, and she the other. She continued smiling at him.

"Are you going to tell me?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

She nodded. "Ron, you know how we've been trying to have a baby for a while now?"

He nodded. He certainly did know. It had been quite a while now, and it was becoming quite frustrating sitting and waiting for it to happen every month. They'd watched both Harry and Ginny, and Percy and Audrey both have a child, and every time, it made both of them want one of their own even more.

Though, for some reason, it just wasn't happening as quickly for them as it had for his siblings.

"Is everything okay?" he asked eventually.

"Ron, I said it was good news, didn't I?"

Ron's heart began to beat just that little bit faster at her words. What was she telling him?

She shuffled closer to him.

"Are you saying that you're –?"

"Pregnant?" Hermione finished. She nodded.

"Really?"

"Yes, Ron." He could barely ignore her smile as he processed this information. She was grinning from ear to ear and she was waiting for the same reaction from him.

For some reason, though, all he could do was sit there and blink.

After a while, her smile faltered.

"Are you okay, Ron?" she asked, and her tone made Ron realise that she wasn't at all surprised by his lack of words. "I know it might be a shock."

He nodded. "Yes, I'm okay," he promised. He smiled. "It's just…."

"Surprising," Hermione finished, nodding. "Yeah, I know."

"I'd kind of given up on the idea," Ron then admitted. The shock of the news seemed to overwhelm any other emotion he might have been feeling right then. Hermione was pregnant… they were going to have a baby… it was happening… finally.

"Me too," Hermione said. She took his hands. "But, it's happening, Ron. We have a baby."

"Not quite yet," Ron reminded her.

"In seven and a half months we will. Ron, in just a few short months, we're going to have a little baby, and I know we've wanted it for so long, but when I found out… it scared me."

Ron laughed slightly. "You? Scared?"

Hermione nodded. "It's frightening, I realised. It's frightening to think that we're going to have this life that completely depends on us for everything."

"And we'll do a great job!" Ron assured her, ignoring the small bit of doubt that was creeping into his mind. He could do this, he knew he could. He'd debated with himself for so long over whether or not he was equipped for parenthood. Despite still thinking Hermione would be one hundred times better than he ever could, he'd decided he could manage it. And the fire that burned in Hermione's eyes as she told him was enough to convince him of that. Together, they could bring a child up. Together, it would be easy.

A tear trickled down his wife's cheek. "I can't believe this is happening, Ron."

He pulled her closer to him, stroking her hair. "We deserve it," he said. "You deserve it."

"No, we both do, Ron. After everything we've been through, we're finally going to give someone the childhood we never had. I want our children to live the life we should have had." She sniffed, and he pulled her closer. "I love you, Ron," she said, burying her face into his neck.

"I love you too," Ron said.

"And, I'm glad we're having a baby. I couldn't imagine having children with anyone else."

"I'm sure they'd be a lot more attractive with Viktor Krum as their father."

"Ron!"

"What? It's true."

"But no one could love them like you could, Ron. Of that I am certain." She brought her face towards his and kissed him tenderly. "This baby is going to be the luckiest person in the world, because he or she will be loved so, so much."

Ron kissed her back, running his hand down the side of her face, brushing away the few stray tears. "And of that," he began, "I am certain."

Hm, well this fic gave me a lot of trouble. I could't even come up with a good title for it, but... Lucy, I hope you like it :) Happy birthday!

Also, I have been talked into writing a smut fic... *is scared* and have been promised five fics written in my honour if I do, so, um... look out for that. Or don't.

Anyway, I hope you liked!