Fred Weasley x Pregnant!Reader - Double trouble (1/2)
Part 2
Lying on one of the sofas scattered around the extremely well-heated living room, you let out a long, soul-wrenching sigh. You had long since lost count of the number of times you had sighed, without anyone wondering what was going on with you. For a very simple and understandable reason.
You were all alone at home, after all.
Fred had left that morning for the joke shop he had founded with his twin brother. It was now four o'clock in the afternoon, and you were desperate for your boyfriend to finally come home.
Why were you not at work yourself? Once again, the answer to that question was very simple.
How could you even hope to apparate to your workplace with the enormous belly you had been carrying around for several weeks now?
Since the fourth month of your pregnancy, you had been forced to take maternity leave because of all the side effects caused by your unborn child. Morning sickness, mood swings, various pains and aches... You had expected this, knowing that your sister-in-law, Fleur, had gone through the same thing with Victoire.
But for you, the effects of pregnancy had been tenfold. At this stage, you could not take a step without grimacing in pain and feeling like you were going to throw up. As a result, you were resigned to spending your days sitting, reading or watching television (which you had fought to be able to power, and which Fred still did not know how to use despite the years), or even waiting for a visit from your loved ones when your boyfriend was not busy elsewhere.
Even though Fred had practically begged you to stay by your side at all times, you quickly reminded him that his brother could never run the store on his own; and besides, if you were careful in your movements and actions, you were not likely to faint when you got up from your seat. What's more, your family and in-laws made sure you had everything you needed when Fred could not do it himself, much to his dismay.
But right now, you bitterly regretted pushing your flamboyantly red-haired boyfriend to go and spend the day with his twin. Molly had just left after keeping you company for most of the afternoon, leaving you alone with your pain and your thoughts.
And since you had been pregnant, mood swings had become a daily occurrence, and being alone was something that scared you incredibly, even though you did your best to hide it. Your loved ones may have said they were ready to help you at the slightest request, but you could not call on them forever. You were pregnant, not convalescing, after all...!
But convincing yourself of this was much more complicated than it would have been under normal circumstances, i.e., when you were not pregnant. Now, every little annoyance that would have previously made you sigh was enough to make you burst into tears for several minutes.
And things only got worse as your due date approached. Today was unfortunately no exception.
You were slumped on the sofa, unable to even sit up. It was impossible to get up, and therefore impossible to get to the bathroom, which you desperately needed because of the little monster who was enjoying pressing on the wrong spot and had been moving around nonstop for a good two hours.
No DNA test was needed to confirm that the father of this child was indeed Fred Weasley. The thought made you laugh, a laugh that mingled with your sobs as tears streamed freely down your cheeks. You were no longer even capable of fending for yourself. But you could not ask Fred to stop working until your child was born...
As your face was now covered with tears, you heard a sudden noise that almost made you jump. Wiping your eyes as quickly as you could, a smile automatically appeared on your face as Fred, who had just apparated into the middle of your living room, approached you with a cheerful expression.
However, that expression gradually faded when he met your gaze, and especially when he saw your eyes brimming with tears.
The young man immediately rushed to your side, sitting down with you on the sofa, gently stroking your back and pulling you close to him. His other hand wiped away your tears as best he could, while your crying intensified. “Damn hormones,” you thought, cupping your face in your hands.
“What's going on?” Fred asked quickly, a look of terror on his face.
He knew you had been having regular mood swings over the last few months, but they had never been so... expressive...? How long had you been crying like this, alone, with no one to comfort you?
He knew his mother had been by earlier, but he regretted not coming home from work sooner.
Although he had left well before his usual departure time, he could not shake the worry he felt at the thought of leaving you alone for too long.
So he had come home early, but not early enough for his liking.
“I... I can't get up,” you whispered shamefully, crying even harder. "I can't do anything on my own anymore, I'm so useless...!"
Fred looked at you as if you had grown a second head.
“...you don't do anything? How can you say that?” asked the redhead, taking your hand in his. "You're carrying our child. That's something priceless, and only you can do it, you know that."
“But I've gotten so big, how can you still love me?” you lamented, nevertheless accepting your boyfriend's embrace, who was careful not to crush your rounded belly.
“A few extra pounds won't change who you are. Nor will they change my feelings.”
This response, so innocent and so necessary, only made your sobs worse. In a good way, this time; you could not imagine that Fred, your Fred, the boy who had been so rowdy during his school years, had just uttered these words overflowing with wisdom.
Your tears turned to laughter, the two emotions alternating and merging, so that no one could tell whether you were crying or laughing. Perhaps both at the same time?
“Thank you,” you managed to whisper as you hugged Fred, while the redhead gently stroked your hair, a smile clearly forming on his lips.
“Come on. I'll help you up. Where do you want to go?” your boyfriend asked, moving back slightly so he could look you in the eyes.
“To the bathroom. I have to..."
But you could not finish your sentence, knowing that something unexpected had just happened. And for good reason; you felt liquid running down your legs, causing you to freeze suddenly. Had you really just peed yourself...?
The sharp pain that struck you a few seconds later, however, told a completely different story.
“Fred...?”
The young man, seeing the color drain from your face, replied with growing concern and apprehension.
“Yes...?”
“...Don't panic, but I think my water just broke.”
Going completely against your wishes, the redhead turned as pale as you were in record time and jumped to his feet.
“Is that true...? But it's only been eight months...!”
“You'll have to remind our baby of that when they're born,” you managed to joke despite yourself, as you curled up into a ball, wrapping your arms around your stomach in a futile attempt to ease the pain.
Fred finally seemed to return to reality as he ran to fetch the bag you had packed a few days earlier in anticipation of your upcoming hospital stay. You never imagined for a second that your baby would arrive so soon.
Your boyfriend returned to the living room, asking you repeatedly if you were feeling any better and if you were ready to apparate to St. Mungo's. You were not sure you could keep from vomiting during the apparition, but you had no other option.
Everything that happened next was a blur of images, sounds, and sensations. You were quickly taken to a delivery room, while Fred stood by your side, trying his best to push all his fears aside so he could be the pillar of strength you could lean on. As he had always done, despite your stubbornness in wanting to show your strength of character, even in the most difficult moments, such as your delivery.
During the hours that followed, Fred never let go of your hand, constantly encouraging you and whispering reassuring words, while the feeling of being torn in two overwhelmed you with all its delicacy.
But finally, relief appeared. A nose covered with freckles, a tiny head adorned with magnificent strands of flaming red hair. He was certainly a whole month early, but the doctors assured you that your son was doing wonderfully.
You could not hold back your tears when the little one was placed in your trembling arms. You looked at him with love, while Fred tried (unsuccessfully) to stifle his own tears; when he took his son in his arms, he burst into tears, unable to help himself.
“He's... perfect. I can't believe you could create a baby as perfect as this one.”
Not knowing what to say, perhaps because of your sobs or your big, silly smile, you simply stared at your two loves, still unable to realize how much your life had just changed, for the better and forever.
Just as you knew what you were going to say, however, something else prevented you from speaking a second time.
A sharp contraction had just caused you to let out yet another moan of pain, attracting the attention of Fred, but also of the nurses and midwife, who had left you some privacy. They quickly returned, worried looks on their faces, echoing that of your boyfriend, who was still holding your child, wriggling energetically in his arms, grabbing everything within reach with his tiny little fingers.
"What's..."
Once again, you did not have time to finish your sentence, as another contraction made you scream in pain.
A flash of realization crossed the midwife's face, and she put on a tense smile.
“Miss...? I'm going to have to ask you to push again.”
“What...?” was all you managed to stammer, as one of Fred's hands reached for yours, the one closest to him, while making sure not to let go of your child.
“It seems another member of the family wants to see the light of day,” joked the midwife, positioning your legs to make your labor easier.
It took a long time for the realization to sink in, slowed by the pain you were feeling. But when you understood the meaning of the midwife's words, you let out a long groan of pain.
“Fred Weasley...! I hate you!” you shouted as another contraction came, even more violent than the previous one.
The poor young man could do nothing but look guilty, unable to hide his excitement. He could not believe he was going to be the father of twins, just like he was with his brother...!
He would make sure to give his first name and George's as their middle names, even if he had to fight with you to do so. But he did not doubt for a second that you would agree.
All the trials that had brought the four of you together had been worth it.
What if JKR didn’t leave Greyback’s fate hanging? What if Bill and Fleur killed Greyback together in the Battle of Hogwarts? What if Greyback recognized Bill and wanted to finish what he started? What if Fleur was ready and willing to protect her husband? What if Fleur used some hitherto-unseen Veela magic to overpower Greyback? What if Fleur cast a spell in French that Greyback could not understand? What if it was a double whammy (similar to Molly’s spells on Bellatrix in the movies) where Bill paralyzed Greyback and then Fleur fired the killing blow that blasted the savage werewolf into smithereens? What if Fleur finally got her big magical moment after being constantly humiliated and deprived of her dignity in the Triwizard Tournament? What if the couple to whose wedding an entire chapter was devoted received their narrative payoff by working together as a badass power couple to give the much-needed comeuppance to one of the most wretched villains in the series, with whom they already had personal history?
I have been craving dysfunctional Weasley family for months. My current favourite is 'And, Obviously, Oliver' by oncethrown which is just so many flavours of ridiculously good I can't even describe it. It's so amazing, think Percy-centric, Perciver fic angst + a badass Hermione who is figuring her shit out + not the greatest but trying Weasley parents + a very adorable Charlie, Hermione and Fleur relationship + Charlie being sick of straight people, and that is all just from the top of my head. But they are all so perfectly dysfunctional, it's perfection. I want more. I don't really care about ships, so please, people of the internet, do your thing
Sometimes you get thinking about Tedoire and the family tree and it just hits you the Teddy's father is closer in age to Victoire's grandparents than to his own wife, who is younger than Victoire's father.
Like ... Teddy's mother was best friends with Victoire's uncle, and Teddy's father is only a couple years younger than Victoire's grandparents. Teddy's father is closer in age to Apolline and Monsieur Delacour than to Nymphadora Tonks. Like, sometimes you're doing something and that really just smacks you in the face. He went to school with his wife's parents too. Meanwhile Severus Snape was already a Professor by the time Tonks joined the student body. Tonks is younger than Bill and Remus is only eight or so years younger than Bill's parents. He went to school with Bill's uncles. And then, once you get to thinking about it, you realise Fleur is freshly eighteen when Bill, a man in his late twenties, starts dating her.
It's not necessarily icky, they met as adults, but it just really hits you sometimes that Tedoire have a family tree full of age gaps and then they're barely a year apart.
Felix Rosier and Fleur Delacour speaking in French to one another during the Weasley family gatherings. No one ever knows what they're saying and it drives both Bill and Charlie mad.
Sorry, but for me J.K didn't write good romances. We don't know Astoria, Rolf and Hannah. Lupin and Tonks appeared out of nowhere. Jily is undrinkable. Hinny has little or no development over 7 books even though they have really known each other since volume 2. Romione is really not great from my point of view. Don't even get me started on Dumbledor and Grindelwald...
Bill & Fleur are the only ones, among the young characters, that I find cute and even then it's a very secondary couple. Honestly, Molly and Arthur are the only real Harry Potter goal couple in my eyes. And yet, they also haven't seen them much !
