Hermione wasn’t sure immediately what had awakened her. The house was dark, and Charlie was warm against her.<\/p>\n
It was a moment before she realized she was hearing sounds elsewhere in the house.<\/p>\n
“Charlie?”<\/p>\n
“Hmm?” He rolled toward her, pulling her close, one rough thumb stroking her back.<\/p>\n
“Listen,” she whispered.<\/p>\n
Charlie was good at waking quiet and alert, a skill that had served him well with his dragons, and immediately stilled, cocking his head to better hear. He grinned. “I think we’re going to have to be quiet as hell to catch this,” he whispered after a moment.<\/p>\n
“What is it?”<\/p>\n
“Shh.” He slipped out of bed, then came around and took her hand, dropping muffling charms on their feet. The big old house creaked gently as they moved toward the nursery, but these sounds were constant and didn’t serve to warn their intended target.<\/p>\n
Very quietly, they both peered around the jamb, Hermione grinning so hard she thought she might actually explode, Charlie warm against her back.<\/p>\n
Dat itt-tee bitt-tee spy-dah wen’ up da ‘pout aden!<\/em><\/p>\n Hermione pressed her fingers to her lips, but Quin heard her anyway and turned. “Hi!”<\/p>\n “Hi, baby.”<\/p>\n “I not da baby! New baby and other new baby!” Quin pointed at each of his little sisters in turn, then came over and put his hands up; at just two he was still fond of being held. “Dey wate up. So I sing dem.”<\/p>\n “How did you get out of your room, monkey?”<\/p>\n “I twime.”<\/p>\n Hermione nodded. Silly her; of course he’d climbed. That was Quin’s answer to everything. She was definitely going to have to come up with charms that would keep him more securely locked in. “I see.”<\/p>\n “Dey doe back to sweep,” he said proudly. Charlie ruffled his hair and went past them into the room to check on the pair of infants, who were, in fact, asleep inches apart in the single cot they insisted on sharing still.<\/p>\n “Thank you for taking care of your sisters until we got here,” he said over his shoulder quietly.<\/p>\n Quin had put two fingers in his mouth and laid his head down on Hermione’s shoulder, but he straightened up. “I big bruvver. Take care of baby. Have to watch out for dem.”<\/p>\n Charlie smiled. “Right you are. And now, big brother, would you like a song to put you back to sleep, too?”<\/p>\n Quin nodded against Hermione’s neck and reached for Charlie to be taken back to his room.<\/p>\n “What should we sing?”<\/p>\n “Dwagon song,” Hermione heard as they headed away from her. She shook her head. So much his father’s son, that one. One of the girls hiccupped, and she went into the nursery to set one hand on each little back, soothing.<\/p>\n The sound of Charlie’s voice, low and quiet in the next room stopped her there, and she smiled. It wasn’t the life she’d expected, but she was glad it was the one that had come when she wasn’t looking.<\/p>\n\n\n