Hermione’s one request with Ron’s YouTube career is that he keep her and their daughter off-camera. But with Hermione expecting their second child and both parents beyond exhausted, one sweet little girl is about to make her YouTube debut.
A gift for @onceuponmystory and a sequel to my story Preponderance.
Ron didn’t feel like a regular YouTuber.
For one he was sponsored by his brothers’ company, so even if the channel tanked, he’d be able to move seamlessly into their marketing department and still bring home a paycheck. Not that the channel would tank, Ron had 8 million subscribers now. For another, he had an incredibly private wife. Where most YouTubers he knew personally and those he only knew of used their families as part of their content, Hermione had never appeared in a video, nor had Ron ever showed a picture of her.
And his subscribers had no idea he had another girl in his life either.
Hermione had been very specific that their children were not to be mentioned or involved in his channel. She wanted the privacy and distance and to not be targeted by crazies. And Ron agreed. He’d had to block a subscriber here and there over the years because they’d gotten obsessed. Thankfully nothing awful had happened, but it proved Hermione’s point and Ron was for the most part in her camp.
What Ron hadn’t considered was how utterly exhausted he would be when Hermione was in her first trimester with their second child. Ron was doing his best to take Rosie so Hermione could sleep undisturbed, but he also had videos to plan and film and edit and slot for posting and the standard ten comments a video that he limited himself to replying to. He’d long ago given up on responding to every single one. On top of that Ron actually was helping with the non-YouTube marketing of the company as well, with deadlines to make there.
He honestly felt lucky they ate each day because he was so swamped and Hermione was so sick and Rose was the handful any toddler would be when you upset their schedule.
That stress was probably why he answered Ginny’s call with a touch of sharpness.
“Oh good,” she sounded relieved, “You already know.”
“I already know what?” Ron jumped from his computer to stop Rosie from pulling a box of Wheezes down on her head.
“Oh,” she paused a moment, “well I’m about to add to whatever already has you pissed off.”
Ron groaned, “What is it now, Ginny?”
“Your channel now knows Rosie exists.”
Ron felt like he’d been gut-punched.
“Go watch your last video,” Ginny said, “And no point in taking it down, it already has probably 100 comments dedicated to the fact that you have a little girl.”
Ron felt the panic rising as he moved back to his computer. “Where in the video, Ginny?”
“My darling niece must have missed her daddy because she was playing behind the frosted glass of the French doors you used as a backdrop for that magic trick with the smoke colors.”
Ron opened the file and groaned as he dragged his courser until he found the scene.
Sure enough, little pink dress and head of bushy hair pulled back into that enormous bow his mum had given them sat behind the frosted glass.
“I’m so dead.” Ron moved the courser and saw that Rosie was there for the whole trick. He’d been so focused on making sure that the trick was perfect in editing that he’d completely missed Rosie.
And now he had to tell Hermione.
“At least you can’t see her clearly,” Ginny’s voice sounded through his earpiece.
“Well, if you hear about us on the news for spousal homicide, you and Harry are supposed to take Rosie.”
“Good to know,” Ginny huffed, “Best of luck, Ron.”
Ron turned as the call ended and looked down at Rosie as she made her plastic horse gallop along the floor.
“I love you, Rosie, but I really wish you would have stayed in the playroom when I filmed that trick.”
“Daddy do magic?” Rose looked up happily.
“If your mum doesn’t kill me we’ll do a trick to celebrate, alright love?”
“Color trick,” she nodded and went back to her horses.
“Come on then, you’re serving as my ‘please don’t kill me’ card.”
Rosie proceeded to trot the toy horse up to his shoulder and over his head as he walked them down the hall to Hermione’s office.
“Hermione?” Ron tapped quietly on the door.
He pushed it open to find Hermione asleep in her desk chair.
Ron wasn’t surprised. Hermione’s pregnancy with Rosie had begun just as poorly. Constantly ill, constantly passing out, and if this round followed the same pattern as before in its entirety, Ron was going to suggest that they stop with two kids - he didn’t fancy his wife going through physical hell more than she absolutely had to. He would have stopped with sweet Rosie, but Hermione insisted they needed two, and Ron knew it wasn’t worth the fight.
“Hermione, love,” he moved to her desk and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She started and blinked up at him. “Sorry, I must have dozed off.”
“Let’s get you to the couch or our bed for a quick kip,” Ron shifted Rose in his arms.
“No,” Hermione shook her head and moved her computer mouse, “I’ve got work to do.”
Ron watched her for a moment before leaning against her desk, this arms still wrapped around his daughter.
“So, I was thinking, what if we had a backup plan for if anyone did figure out we have Rosie, or if anyone figures out when we have this baby. That way we’d be fully prepared to handle the situation if it ever were to come about.”
Hermione shrugged, “It won’t happen, we’ve kept Rosie safe for two years now. I’m sure we’ll do just fine with this baby as well.”
Ron rubbed the back of his neck, “Right, I just supposed an agreed-upon plan would be like a safety net in case we were to slip one day.”
Hermione shrugged again before going very still. Slowly she spun her chair around to face him and Rose.
“Please tell me this is hypothetical.”
Ron really tried to hold her gaze, but his guilt weighed in his chest like a dumbbell.
“Ron,” Hermione’s voice was shrill, “it’s hypothetical, right? Tell me this is a hypothetical scenario!”
Ron shook his head, “I’m sorry love, I slipped up. But,” he finally looked up at her, “she was only visible through the frosted glass of the French doors.”
Hermione stared at him, her mouth agape.
Ron was so busy racking his brain for the right thing to say that he nearly jumped out of his skin and dropped Rosie when Hermione burst into laughter.
But this laughter didn’t sound terribly happy, in fact, it sounded a bit… hopeless?
“Are you alright, love?” He set Rosie down to gather his wife in his arms.
“Of course, I’m not alright,” she continued to laugh, “my world is collapsing around me and I’m too exhausted to properly care!”
“Right,” Ron had no idea what the right thing to do was. “Listen, Hermione, no one from the channel actually knows what Rose looks like. Here,” he pulled out his phone and opened the video, “I’ll show you exactly what they saw.”
He set the phone down on her desk and set the video to play where he did the magic trick. Hermione reluctantly picked up his phone and watched.
Ron snagged Rosie around her middle with his calf before she could grab at the cup of pens on the desk. When he looked up, Hermione was smiling.
“Is, is everything, er, you're…”
She looked up with tears in her eyes.
“Have you read the comments?”
“Er, no, I, I only just realized…”
“realmagic: romione has a toddler! omg i bet they make the cutest kids!”
Hermione scrolled and then read again.
“candyandwheezes: RON AND HERMIONE ARE DEFINITELY THE BEST PARENTS!”
Ron chuckled, “Some of these crazies aren’t half bad, eh?”
Hermione gave a teary laugh and read again.
“LavB6: romione is my life goal! romance, fun careers, and beautiful kids!”
She set his phone down and reached for Rosie who gladly took the opportunity to be closer to her mum’s pen cup.
“So,” Ron scooted closer to her and slid his phone away, “How do we handle this?”
“Isn’t this how we’ve always handled it? We slip little bits of our lives into random videos and your hardcore fans think it’s part of the plan.”
She looked down at her barely swollen belly.
“I’m sure someday this little one will find a way to make their appearance as well.”
Ron took her hand, “I’m so sorry, love.”
“It’s alright,” Hermione smiled at him. “We’re stressed and exhausted and honestly, there’s not a whole lot of harm in it. I still don’t want our kids or me on camera, but I suppose it isn’t the end of the world if they know we have children.”
“You are absolutely wonderful.” Ron felt relief rush through him so fast he felt light-headed.
“I’m also three months pregnant and my hormones are everywhere so if it had to happen, I suppose this is the best time for it. I have a feeling I might have had you for lunch if I weren’t completely off-kilter.”
Ron laughed and pulled his girls into him.
His subscribers weren’t all idiots, he mused. They had a few things down, specifically how absolutely perfect his wife and daughter were.
