Francis POV
"We should put him in a ballet class."
"Pardon, what did you say, dear?" he asked, confused, wanting to make sure he heard her correctly.
"I said we should put Henry in a ballet class," she repeated again while nodding as if saying the same thing would make it clear.
It really hadn't.
He was still very much confused about how the conversation had shifted to enrolling Henry in a ballet class.
'Okay, think Francis, how did the topic shift to, well, whatever this was? What was she saying while he was lost in thought?'
He didn't want to poke the pregnant bear by saying the wrong thing and have her come down on him with accusations that he wasn't paying attention while she spoke. He had learned from last time that even the smallest of things could set her off, around this time of her pregnancy cycle.
'I think she called it hormones?' he thought.
Fortunately, he was spared from having to respond to her as she continued to speak.
Did she think he was thinking about her "suggestion"? If you could even call it that, while in reality, he was just thinking about the most generic response he could give her.
"Our problem is that he is focusing entirely too much on magic. He has lost interest in his academics in his Muggle primary school, and he seems to have a great deal of difficulty making friends."
He nodded. Indeed, Henry was already on an accelerated course in his school and was quickly losing interest in his studies.
"So we need to find a way to distract him from magic, however brief that may be," she said.
"Right," he agreed with her, seeing where she might be going with this.
"I am very glad that he is so passionate about magic, but he also needs to learn how to make friends and gain some social skills."
"Yes, yes, I agree. Social skills are important," he said. He agreed with her on that aspect, especially since he himself had so many friends in Hogwarts. But he still wanted his son to do something other than learn to dance in a ballet class.
Perhaps something a little more manly than a ballet class, which was mostly dominated by girls rather than boys.
"But why ballet? Why not swimming or the plethora of other things he could be doing?" he brought up.
"Well, he has expressed interest in learning French and speaking in French with you for practice. Maybe he will also be interested in the arts if he is interested in language," she said as she averted her gaze.
Indeed, Henry had recently asked him to converse in French, which he had happily obliged to, and he had taught him some words. Francis was happy at the thought of Henry speaking in French with his parents when they came to visit, which would likely be once their second grandchild arrived.
'Hmmm, this is mighty suspicious. She still hadn't said the reason for choosing ballet instead of anything else,' he thought to himself as he observed her fidgeting.
"Dear, I noticed you still haven't said why ballet classes?" he questioned.
"Well…" she dragged.
Okay, this was definitely suspicious.
"Dear…" he pushed her for an answer.
"He would look adorable doing ballet," she said softly, almost underneath her breath.
Ahhhh, and there it was, the real reason she had chosen ballet. While she might give 20 other reasons, he wasn't fooled for a second; her main motive for pushing on ballet classes was definitely this.
"Oh boy," he sighed.
"He would! I could just picture him with his little tights and socks on, kicking in the air as he jumped. He would look absolutely adorable," her eyes sparkled as she got lost in her daydream.
'Oh lord, is there a lumos behind her eyes?' he thought as he observed her luminous, shimmering eyes as she tried to defend her rather questionable choice.
"I see, you are right, dear," he nodded along.
'Don't poke the pregnant bear, Francis, just parry and counterattack,' he thought as his mind churned with the best way to divert this crisis. And what a crisis it was, he could just imagine the indignant look on Henry's face after he found out they had signed him up for a ballet class.
Plus, he could already see his son being made fun of, if his friend ever found out he was doing ballet, once he got to Hogwarts. He knew children could be cruel, so for his son's future, he had to prevent this.
"While I think you are absolutely right dear, he would definitely look adorable." he agreed with her first.
"However, wouldn't he have even more trouble making friends in a class mostly filled with girls?" he then parried, offering a different perspective.
'That's right Francis, appeal to her emotionally by using valid reasoning, nice and slow,' he thought to himself.
"How about we start him off with some ballroom dancing lessons? I think it might overwhelm him to go straight to ballet classes," he proposed, pausing to get her reaction.
"He would likely feel more at ease starting with some simple dancing techniques," he continued to counter.
He waited silently for his wife's verdict.
"Oh, I suppose you are right, we wouldn't want to scare him off," her eyes dimmed slightly as she finally said after what felt like ages.
'Crisis averted! I think that was some of my quickest thinking as of yet,' he celebrated inwardly.
"Look at it this way dear, he will likely be paired up with other kids his age, which might give him the push he needs to finally start making friends," he said to her, consoling her. Now he was really on a roll.
'Duck and weave, Francis, duck and weave.'
"Yes, I suppose you are right," she nodded.
"It's not like he won't move around and get exercise in his dance class; it might even help him build mobility and flexibility," she continued, as she thought on the idea of putting Henry in a dance class.
As the idea of enrolling Henry became more and more solidified in her mind, she continued to voice her thoughts aloud and share them with Francis.
"The classes should also help burn off some of his energy and shift his focus to dancing instead of thinking about magic all the time," she nodded along as she continued to speak.
"Absolutely, if he wants to be any good at it, he will need to put some effort into his lessons," he added his own thoughts.
"It might even help build good habits!" she added.
"Good habits?" he asked.
"Yes, good habits. You know, help him stay active and keep him healthy if he decides to continue," she responded.
"Right," that made sense. If Henry got into dancing, it would help him build good habits. At least, he won't become lazy as he grows up.
"However, what if he doesn't want to continue? What if he doesn't like ballet? What if he doesn't care for it, like he is already doing with his school?" she questioned him rapidly.
"If that time comes, then we will choose something else," he supplied.
'Hopefully not ballet,' he added on the inside of his mind.
"Very well," she accepted, coming to terms with the idea.
"It would also give me a chance to leave the house and interact with other parents."
Huh, he hadn't thought about that. He supposed that would be fine, now that you-know-who was gone, it would be safer for her to go out. He didn't need to tell her to be careful. She would probably take more precautions than he could even think of.
"That's a great idea! So, we are decided on enrolling Henry in ballroom dancing classes?" he asked her.
She nodded and smiled, "It seems we are."
A/N: You might be thinking, just get to Hogwarts! Or even how is all of this important to the story? I would say this chapter and the previous one provides insight into the daily lives of Henry's parents. It shows how they interact with each other, and shows a different side of Clare than the mom we are familiar with so far. How Henry views his mum and how Francis sees his wife are completely different; that's why these chapters are important. Plus, it helps flesh out the OC characters and gives a reason for why Henry will do some of the things he will in the future.