Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ron Weasley knew that he should be perfectly equipped for a situation such as this. After all, he�d grown up in a rambunctious household of nine; he�d seen mum and dad juggle seven children with the greatest of ease (well, all right, perhaps not always with the greatest of ease), and had even been called upon at various times in his life to help keep order in the family. It stood to reason, then, that getting three children under the age of eleven ready for the morning should no problem for him whatsoever.

Unfortunately, he didn�t think anything could have prepared him for the reality of this morning.

�Daddy, my hair�s all in knots...�

Ron turned his attention away from the scrambled eggs for a fraction of a second to watch his six year old come into the kitchen, her usually impeccably brushed chestnut curls contorted in some sort of woe-be-gone braid. And she did not look a bit happy.

�Oh dear,� he said, cringing as he watched her tug at the ribbons in her hair in an effort to untangle them. �Come here, let me get a look at that...�

Caroline whimpered and shuffled over to her father, her tiny bunny slippers sticking to the floor where he�d spilled milk earlier. Apparently he hadn�t done a good enough job cleaning it all up; he�d have to remember to say a quick spell later.

Jack snorted into his porridge as his sister passed by him.

�Nice hairstyle, Carrie,� he said. �Really suits you.�

Caroline responded with her best glare, which did not seem to deter Jack in the least; he opened his mouth, clearly preparing for a follow-up remark, until Ron caught his eye and he cleared his throat, then suddenly regained interest in his porridge.

�What happened here, anyway?� Ron said.

He pulled out a chair and sat her on his lap, gently taking hold of her head and began to unravel the strands, though it was obvious from the get-go that this was not going to be a simple task.

�Mummy was still sleeping,� she sniffed. �I didn�t want to wake her. Maddy said she�d braid my hair. She said she knew how to braid hair.�

Jack stopped a snigger halfway in process and wisely avoided Ron�s eyes.

�Well,� Ron said, �I s�pose it was awfully sweet of her to try.�

Caroline flinched as Ron was finally able to get several ribbons free, reaching up a hand to rub at the top of her head. This was turning out to be an even harder task than he had first anticipated, and he was so engrossed in what he was doing that it had completely slipped his mind that he�d had something on the stove.

�Dad!!!� Jack suddenly screamed, startling him. �The eggs!�

�The what?�

And soon, the smoke trailing from the stove answered his question. Ron leaped from the chair and raced to the burner, managing to turn off the heat just in time. The eggs stared back at him, rubbery and ruined, but at least he�d stopped the house burning down.

He�d have to live with the trade-off.

�What�s going on?�

Madeline had now come downstairs, clutching a bag full of paraphernalia for the day: a camera, a pair of Omnioculars, and the faded orange Cannons hat that had once been Ron�s, which she�d dug out of his old school trunk one year. She was already dressed, too, wearing the Cannons shirt Harry had given her for her seventh birthday--already two sizes too small, but one she refused to give up.

�Nothing, love, just...� Ron sighed and tossed the now-burnt eggs into the sink. �No eggs this morning, okay? There�s porridge on the table, though.�

He glanced up at the clock. Already half past eight--how did that happen?? Harry and Ginny would be flooing over with Emily at any minute now, and he still hadn�t straightened out Caroline�s hair or got her properly dressed.

�Hey Maddy, did you hear?� Jack said, as she sat down beside him. �The Magpies�re playing Francis at Seeker today!�

�Francis! But he�s terrible! The Cannons�ll win for sure!�

�I know! Should be a good game, eh?�

Ron couldn�t help but smile as he listened to their conversation. Hermione had always half-joked that he would turn their children into Quidditch experts; it seemed she had been right on the money.

�I wish you and Mum could come with us to the game, Dad.� Madeline said, helping herself to some porridge. �It won�t be the same without you.�

�I know,� he said. �But your mum�s only just got home from hospital. She won�t be able to manage with the baby all by herself just yet. Besides, you�ll be with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. You�ll have a wonderful time.�

Jack shook his head, the corners of his mouth curved slightly into a mischievous smile. �Shame,� he said, �missing the Cannons and all.�

�Mmm,� Ron said, �and thanks for not rubbing it in, son.�

�Don�t worry, Dad, we�ll bring you home some programmes.�

At that, Ron couldn�t help but laugh out loud, and he gave his son a good tousle of the hair.

As it turned out, the three of them did finish their breakfast in plenty of time. By the time Harry, Ginny, and Emily had arrived to pick up the children, Ron had managed to get the dishes done, the food put away, and Caroline dressed in her Cannons gear.

Exhausted, he trudged his way up the stairs, thankful that the racket hadn�t woken up Elinor. He was sure Hermione would still be sleeping too--they�d both managed a total only four hours of sleep last night, if even that--but was surprised to see her stirring when he slipped into their room, opening up her eyes tentatively and smiling when she saw him standing at the door.

�Good morning,� she murmured.

�And good morning to you,� he said. �How are you feeling?�

She slid up to sitting, leaning back against a stack of pillows and closing her eyes again, as if the action had taken far too much energy.

�Like a Hippogriff ran over me,� she said, laughing softly. �But otherwise, just lovely.�

He sat at the edge of the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

�Is she still sleeping?�

�Mmm hmm. I expect we�ve got an hour or two yet before she lets us know it�s feeding time again.�

Hermione smiled, without opening her eyes. �And the kids? They get to the game okay?�

�Yes, just fine.� He scooted back onto the bed beside her. �Just you and me for the next little while.�

�That sounds nice,� she said.

She turned on her side so that she faced him, and laced her fingers with his.

�You look tired, Ron.�

He shrugged and pressed her fingers to his lips. �Not too much.�

�They�re quite a handful, aren�t they?�

�With parents like us, did we expect any differently?�

She laughed. �No, I suppose not.�

�You know, I was thinking...�

�Hmm?�

�This domesticity... it�s nice.�

She raised her head to look at him and gave him a smile that was equal parts amusement and curiosity.

�When I was little,� he began to explain, �I always thought I�d never have a big family when I got older. No, sir. Too much work. Too much upheaval. Not enough time, not enough privacy, not enough... not enough anything, really.�

He chuckled.

�And then...�

�And then?�

He looked at her, gentling running the back of his fingers down her cheekbone.

�What changed, Ron?�

�You.�

�Me?�

�Mmm. You. Us. You know, Mum and Dad used to always say they had so much love to give that that�s why they kept having children. The more to love.�

She smiled, then snuggled closer to him. Ron wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her rest her cheek on his chest.

�That first moment when I held Jack,� he said, �I think I finally understood what they meant. And I finally understood--for the first time in my life, really--why they had so many of us. Growing up, I used to wonder how they could possibly have enough love for all of us, but... but they did. Now I know why.�

She was silent for a long time, and when he looked down, he saw that she had fallen back asleep. Gently, without shifting too much in bed, he ran a hand down her hair, tucking a stray lock behind her ear before placing a light kiss on her temple.

�I love you,� he whispered, knowing that she probably wouldn�t be able to hear him, but feeling the need to say it out loud nevertheless.

�I love you, too,� she whispered back, still sleeping.

And in that moment, Ron knew that life was as exactly how it should be.