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Ron,
Do you know where I can get cauldron cakes at this time of night?
Harry.
Ron blinked blearily at the torn scrap of parchment that had just been delivered by a stressed-looking owl. He rolled out of bed as quietly as possible and made his way down to the living room. Kneeling before the fire, he threw a pinch of floo powder in and stuck his head into the green flames.
"Harry?"
"Oh, thank God! Ginny is craving cauldron cakes and I don't think anything is open. Do you know where I can get some?"
All Ron could see of Harry through the fire was his feet pacing across the living room of Grimmauld Place. Clearing his throat, he tried to force his still mostly sleeping brain into function.
"What's the time, mate?"
"Oh, er… just past two."
"In the morning."
"Yeah."
Ron sighed, blowing ashes out onto Harry's hearthrug. Reaching up, he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes before remembering he was half in a fire.
"Alright. Let me get this straight. It's just after two in the morning and your pregnant wife – my sister – wants cauldron cakes?"
"Yeah?"
The tone to Harry's voice made it clear that he thought Ron was being a bit dense. Unable to help it, Ron sighed again.
"Step through."
He didn't wait for Harry to respond. This was Harry and Ginny's second baby, and Ron knew he should have been expecting something like this. Harry had panicked at every single little thing during Ginny's first pregnancy, so a call about cauldron cakes at two in the morning really should not have been surprising. Crawling backwards until his back hit the lounge, Ron settled down on the floor, waiting for Harry to make an appearance. It didn't take long. Standing on the hearthrug dressed in what appeared to be yesterday's clothing, Harry glanced around the room before spotting Ron sitting on the floor.
"What're you doing down there?"
Ron shook his head. Taking the opportunity now that he had it, he rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes.
"You woke me up. Or, rather, your dumb owl woke me up."
"Oi! She isn't dumb! Just… young."
"She puts Pig to shame, Harry."
Harry sighed. "Look, do you know somewhere that's open, or not? Ginny wants–"
"It's two A.M., Harry!"
"Yeah, but–"
"But nothing!" Pushing himself to his feet, Ron held a hand out to stop Harry from responding. "Ginny will survive until the bakeries open at six, mate. She's not going to shrivel up and die just because she feels like nibbling on a bloody cauldron cake!"
"Ron–"
"No, Harry." Placing a hand on Harry's shoulder, he steered him towards the lounge. "Sit. Look, when Hermione was pregnant with Rose, you know what I was like. I was panicky and jumpy, just like you are now. And just like you were when Ginny was pregnant with James. But she was fine. Both of them were. There's no need to go rushing off in a state just because Ginny said she fancies a cake. Especially at two in the bloody morning!"
Harry sat there staring at him in silence for a few seconds. Ron could nearly see the cogs turning in his mind, trying to process what he'd just been told. When he eventually sat back into the lounge cushions with a sigh, Ron smiled. He took his hand back, knowing Harry wasn't about to go rushing off to try to break into the local bakery just yet.
"I worry."
"I've noticed."
"It's just…" Running a hand through his hair, Harry shook his head. "I want to protect her. From everything, you know?"
Ron nodded. He felt the same about Hermione. "Yeah, I do. But this is something that we can't help with, mate. Sure, we can help out a bit, but doing crazy stuff like this? It's probably just as annoying to them as it is to me."
Harry's responding smile looked sheepish. "Er, yeah. Sorry."
"Can I go back to bed now? Without worrying about getting a call from the Aurors telling me that you've been arrested over pastries?"
Harry's smile widened. "The press would have a field day."
"I can just see the headlines now: 'Boy Who Lived for cake. Does The Chosen One have an addiction?'"
Meeting Harry's eyes, they both began to laugh. Standing, Ron slapped a hand down on Harry's shoulder.
"I'll see you in the morning, yeah? Well, later in the morning."
"Sure, yeah. And Ron?" Harry paused just before throwing the floo powder in. "Thanks."
"Anytime, mate. Just maybe, not at this time for a while."
Trudging back up the stairs, Ron tried to not make too much noise. Rose was a relatively light sleeper – as most newborns were – and he really didn't want to be up for another hour trying to soothe her to sleep. When he slipped back into bed, Hermione rolled over.
"Harry?"
"Yeah, sorry. Did we wake you?"
"Mmm, not really. How's Ginny?"
"Hungry."
"Mmm?"
Ron grinned. "Nothing. Go back to sleep. I'll explain in the morning."
Wrapping an arm over Hermione's waist, he snuggled close. Smiling as he dropped off to sleep, he knew that the real explanation would probably make him sound insane.