The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

Chapter 6: Telling the 'rents

That Friday, Percy came to Hermione's flat. Ginny was out with Harry, so they didn't have to worry about explanations with her (A/N- convenient how that happens, isn't it?).

"I'm almost ready," Hermione said, ushering him into the living room. She quickly hurried through her bedroom, running a brush through her hair and putting on her shoes at the same time. As soon as she was satisfied with her appearance, she went into the living room.

"You look nice," Percy said, giving her a small, nervous smile. With as apprehensive as Hermione was about telling her parents that she was pregnant, not married, and had no plans for it, Percy must have been a thousand times worse.

"So do you," she replied. She took Percy's hand, closing her eyes and Apparating with him. They reappeared momentarily in front of her parents house. "Ready?" she asked.

Percy gulped. "I guess." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before realizing that she was still holding it. She let go awkwardly, giving a lopsided smile.

"Sorry," she said, to which Percy just shook his head. Hermione swiftly knocked on the door, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she heard the approaching footsteps. She had sent a letter to her parents earlier in the week, saying that she and a friend had something to tell them.

"Hermione!" said Lois Granger. "Its great to see you, love." Hermione embraced her mother tightly, patting her on the back.

"It's good to see you too, Mum," she said, looking over her shoulder at Percy. "Um, Mum, you remember Percy Weasley?"

"Oh, yes, Percy, how are you?" asked Lois.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Granger, thank you," he replied politely, shaking her hand.

"Call me Lois," she said, giving him a warm smile. "Come in, kids," she said, holding the door open. They walked into the sitting room, where they found Thomas Granger reading the paper.

"There you are," he said, setting the paper aside. Hermione bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Daddy, do you remember Percy Weasley? Ron's brother?"

"Oh, yes, how do you do?" he asked as he shook Percy's hand firmly.

"I'm fine, Mr. Granger, thank you," Percy replied.

Mr. Granger gave him a funny look. "Well that certainly makes me feel old. Please call me Thomas."

"Alright," Percy said nervously.

"Sit down, sit down," Lois said, "Let me get some tea." Hermione and Percy sat down on the sofa, sharing a look. Hermione could tell Percy was even more nervous now.

After a few moments, Lois came back. "Thanks, Mum," Hermione said, sipping her tea lightly.

"So," Thomas said, "You said you had something to tell us?"

"Um, yes, Daddy," she said, nodding.

"What is it?" Lois asked curiously.

"Well, you see...," Hermione said, searching for the right way to tell them. She looked at Percy, who then tried his hand.

"Uh, Hermione is...," he said, waving his hand as he also stumbled with his vocabulary for a less harsh way of saying it.

Hermione decided to come right out and tell them. "Mum, Dad, I'm pregnant." Lois and Thomas looked decidedly shocked.

"You're having a baby?" Thomas asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Hermione said, casting her gaze to the floor.

"When did you start dating?" Lois queried.

"We, um, aren't," Percy said, gulping.

"What happened was a one-time accident," Hermione told them. "I just found out that I'm pregnant."

"And what do you plan on doing about it?" Thomas asked. He had gone a bit pale.

"We're going to keep it," Hermione told him firmly. "We've talked about this a lot, and we'll be able to take care of it."

"How far along are you?" Lois said, eyeing them cautiously.

"About two and a half months," Hermione told her. "It's too early to tell the gender, but the baby is perfectly healthy."

"And what are you going to do about living arrangements for the baby?"

"We're going to find a three bedroom to move into," Percy said, sitting rather rigidly. They discussed their plans for another hour, until Lois and Thomas were both satisfied.

"Well," Lois said, "You two get going now. Hermione, get plenty of rest, love."

"Yes, Mum," she said, hugging each of her parents in farewell. Percy shook their hands again, and they Apparated together to Hermione and Ginny's.

"That was one of the more traumatizing moments in my life," Percy said jokingly.

"Oh, it wasn't all that bad," Hermione said, giggling. "I'll see you later, Perce."

"Night, Mione," he said, waving as he Disapparated. The easy part was over. Now they had to tell everyone else.

******

Saturday night, the Burrow was packed. There were nineteen people seated around the living room, kitchen, and in the garden. Of course the guests of honor were there, Bill and Fleur; they were talking with Molly and Arthur in the kitchen. Charlie had brought his girlfriend, Amanda, and Fred and George's girlfriends Angelina and Sarah were there; the six of them, and Percy, were out in the garden. Ron and Draco were sitting in the living room with, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Narcissa, Sirius, and his current girlfriend, Marjorie.

Hermione felt almost suffocated in the crowded room, and was glad that they were to be eating in the garden. She fanned her face with a hand, slowly sipping a glass of water. She and Percy were planning on telling everyone before dinner.

Across from her, Hermione could catch snatches of the whispered conversation Harry and Ginny were having. 'Do you want to now?' Harry asked.

'Yes,' Ginny replied, 'Let me go get Mum and Dad.' She quickly hopped up from her seat, heading into the kitchen. She returned after a few moments with Molly and Arthur in tow. "Everyone!" she said, clearing her throat. "Harry and I have an announcement to make."

Harry wrapped an arm firmly around her waist. "Ginny and I have decided to move in together." Everyone in the room broke into happy chatter with congratulations.

Hermione quickly stood up and hugged her friends. "That's great, guys," she said.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but we wanted to surprise everyone at once," Ginny told her. That was when a sudden thought struck Hermione. She and Percy couldn't tell them tonight. With Harry and Ginny's news on top of Bill and Fleur's engagement, their news would be too much. They'd simply have to wait for another time.

A few minutes after Harry and Ginny came back from the garden, where they had told the rest of the group their big news, Hermione sidled out there. "Percy, can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked casually.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, sounding just as offhand. They walked upstairs quickly, stopping in Percy's old bedroom on the second landing.

Hermione sat down on his bed and sighed heavily. "We can't tell them tonight."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Percy replied, running a hand through his hair as he sat down beside her heavily.

"We'll just have to do it another time," she said, "When there aren't a million things going on. Although now..."

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I think our living arrangements might have been taken care of," she told him.

"How so?" Percy queried.

"Well, Ginny and I live in a three bedroom, you know, and we use the spare one as an office. Since she's moving out, her room will be empty. You can move in and use her room, and we can turn the office into a nursery," Hermione explained.

"Well that'll save us some trouble, won't it?" he joked, smiling.

They walked back downstairs, to find Molly calling everyone to eat. Hermione and Percy sat down at their seats at one of the large tables set in the garden; there were three assembled, and everyone was still pretty packed in.

As soon as everyone was settled in at the table, Arthur raised his glass. "I'd like to make a toast." Everyone followed his actions. "To Bill and Fleur. I wish you all the happiness life can bring."

"Hear, hear!" both Fred and George said loudly, making several people snort into their glasses. Hermione helped her plate with plenty of Molly's delicious confections, piling it high. She dug hungrily into her food. She had been famished lately, as was the curse of pregnancy. Her weird cravings hadn't stopped at all, either.

As she watched around the table, she sighed enviously at the happy couples. She really did want a relationship, but that was going to have to be put on hold for even longer now that she was pregnant. And trying to date with a child! That would be even harder.

As she continued to eat, everyone watched her in amusement. "Um, Mione," George said, motioning to her plate, "What's up with all of that?"

"George..." Sarah said warningly, giving him a look.

Hermione went a bit red. "I'm just hungry, I guess," she said, shrugging. She was feeling a bit irritated now. Percy looked simply livid, but he was attempting to conceal it.

"Seriously, Mione, if you keep eating like that, you're gonna get a bit heavy," Fred said.

"Fred Weasley!" Angelina said, slapping his arm. "Don't say things like that!"

"What?" he asked, "I'm just making a comment!"

"Oh, leave her alone," Ron said defensively.

"I'm just teasing," Fred said, "You never eat that much, so it's pretty funny. You know I'm only joking, right Hermione?"

As she started to reply, Percy yelled angrily. "She is eating for two!" Everyone around the table stopped and stared at her. Hermione's face burned bright red and she avoided everyone's gaze.

"Hermione?" asked Harry in wonder. "Are you..."

"Yes," she said quietly, "I'm pregnant."

"Who's the father? Jeremy?" said Draco. Hermione and Percy looked at each other guiltily.

"No," Percy said in a small voice, "...me."

"How could you get pregnant?" Ron demanded angrily. He was seated across the table from she and Percy.

"Well, I'm pretty sure in the usual way," she said quietly.

"How could you?" he yelled, glaring at Percy.

"It was an accident," Percy told him. "We were drunk and it just sort of... happened."

"And just what do you two plan on doing?" Molly asked.

"We're keeping it," Percy told her, swallowing hard.

"Percy, Hermione, would you please come with us for a moment?" Arthur asked, he and Molly standing up. Hermione and Percy tentatively followed them inside to the living room. "Now, exactly what happened?"

Hermione and Percy looked at each other for a moment. "Well," Hermione said, "Ginny thought that I could use a night out a couple of months ago, and she took me to a club. While I was there, I saw my ex-boyfriend kissing some girl, and I got pretty upset."

Percy took over from there. "I found Hermione sitting outside, and she was crying. We went to dinner and had a bit too much to drink. After that, well..." he trailed off, blushing furiously at talking about the subject with his parents.

"Have you been to see a doctor yet, Hermione?" Molly asked.

"Yes," she said, nodding. "The baby is fine."

"And what are your plans?" Arthur asked them. Neither he nor Molly looked angry or upset, but they both still appeared to be very surprised.

"Well, with Ginny moving out," Percy said, "I'm going to move in with Hermione, and we'll turn the office into a nursery."

"And you'll be able to care for a young child?" Molly questioned. "It is quite a task, I assure you."

"Well, we've discussed this several times," Hermione said, "And while it will be difficult, we'll be able to manage." After a few moments of tense silence, Molly and Arthur looked appeased.

"Alright, then," Molly said. She quickly stood and pulled both Percy and Hermione into a tight hug. When she let them go, there were tears in her eyes even though she was smiling broadly. She walked out of the room, quietly saying something about her first grandchild.

"Well," Arthur said, "We'll be supporting you two through this as much as you need us to."

"Thanks, Dad," Percy said, nodding. Arthur gave them a small smile before following his wife back towards the garden. After a moment, Percy said, "Ready to go back out there?"

"If we must," Hermione said, grinning. As they stepped outside, a hush fell over the group. Hermione and Percy sat down for what was going to be a long evening.