The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

Disclaimer- I sincerely wish I owned all of the HP characters. I mean, how cool would that be? They could all do the dishes, make my bed, take out the trash, walk the dog... wow, that would be sweet!

Chapter 7: Sneak Peek

The day of Hermione's appointment, she hurriedly finished her work so she could get out of there sooner. As she scribbled down the last line on the parchment in front of her, the buzzer rang.

"Miss Granger, there is someone here to see you," Chelsea said, her voice lowering libidinously on 'someone'. Hermione quickly grabbed her cloak and her purse, heading into the lobby to find Percy shifting nervously under her secretary's inquisitive gaze.

"Alright, see you later Chelsea," Hermione said, holding back a snort.

"Bye," Chelsea replied softly, batting her eyelashes at Percy, who gave a quick wave before he hurried out after Hermione.

"Honestly, that woman..." he said, shuddering slightly. "I feel like a piece of meat!"

"Yes, well, you are devilishly handsome," Hermione told him, grinning and fawning over him jokingly as they headed towards the exit. She continued the behavior all the way to the doctor's office. (A/N- yeah, I know that last time she Apparated, but I say the office is in Diagon Alley, and that they didn't feel like wasting the perfectly good afternoon by Apparating)

They entered the office and Percy grimaced. As nearly everything in the entire place was some pastel color, and it wasn't exactly inviting for a man. "Oh, hush," Hermione said, swatting his arm as he scrunched his nose at a particularly pink bouquet of flowers. They quickly signed her in and sat back, only waiting for a few moments before she was called back.

"Alright, Miss Granger," said a young nurse, "put these on, and the doctor will see you in a few moments." Hermione turned to Percy, who had sunk down into a cushy chair near her bed.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you mind, um, you know, waiting outside?" Hermione asked, holding up the robe.

"Oh, right!" Percy replied, the tops of his ears reddening. "Sorry," he said, quickly stepping into the hallway. Hermione grinned as she exchanged her clothing for the exam robe, shaking her head slightly.

'He looks so cute when he does that!' she thought, carefully folding her blouse. As she realized what had just passed through her mind, she nearly dropped her shirt on the floor. 'I didn't just think that! No! Get that out of your head, Granger!' Hermione continued to silently berate herself as she stashed her folded clothes on the counter, settling herself on the table.

"Alright, come back in," she called to Percy, carefully folding her legs to prevent anything from being seen. He grinned nervously and sat back down in the chair he had previously been residing in.

Hermione and Percy sat in a tense silence for a few minutes, until the doctor came in. "Hello, Hermione!" she said brightly, a large smile adorning her face.

"Hi," Hermione replied, waving slightly.

"And who might this be?" Amelia asked, turning to Percy.

"This is Percy Weasley," she told her, "He's the father."

Percy quickly stood up and shook the doctor's hand. "Hello, Percy, I'm Amelia Parker."

"Pleased to meet you," Percy said cordially, inclining his head slightly in a nervous manner.

Amelia seemed to sense this. "You know, I figured that Hermione would be the nervous one here," she said kindly. Hermione fought back a laugh, placing one hand over her mouth. Percy grinned apologetically, shrugging slightly.

"Just a bit anxious," he said, settling back down into his chair.

"Well, don't worry, this is just routine. I'll run a few tests to check on the baby, see if everything is fine, and those sorts of things," Amelia said, motioning for Hermione to lie back.

As the exam went along, Hermione and Percy both listened intently to everything the doctor had to say. Neither wanted to miss one thing she said, and both paid rapt attention.

When the exam was nearing a close, Amelia's face lit up as she examined the results from a test. "Well, I have some good news," she said happily.

"Yes?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"I believe we can now conjure the image of the baby. If you want me to, that is," she said proudly, smiling at them both. Hermione turned to Percy, who was looking ecstatic.

Hermione bit her lip excitedly. "Yes, please!" Amelia smiled at her happily as she held her wand in front of her. Percy moved his chair, which had been moving steadily closer to Hermione as the exam had proceeded, so close to the bed that it was touching. He grabbed Hermione's hand, entwining their fingers.

"Are you ready?" Amelia asked, raising her eyebrows. Both Hermione and Percy nodded spiritedly. The obstetrician then recited a rather complicated incantation, tracing a pattern over Hermione's stomach. As she quickly swished her wand through the air, a small, flat box appeared. Amelia handed it to Hermione, giving her instructions to press the small button on the top before she left the room.

"Here goes," Hermione said, gripping Percy's hand tighter as she pressed the button. A small, holographic image appeared, showing them the tiny image that was their growing child.

"Oh my God..." Percy breathed, his mouth hanging open. Hermione felt a tear trickle out of her eye as she looked at the small image.

"That's our baby," she said softly, biting her lip as she moved a hand down to her stomach. Percy's hand moved down as well, both of them marveling at the image. A joyful laugh escaped Hermione. Percy started laughing quietly, his shoulders shaking.

"Our baby, Hermione!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her. Their joyous laughter filled the room as they shared the tender moment, the entire world lost to them except for themselves and the life that they had created.

******

After Hermione's appointment, she and Percy quickly Apparated to the Burrow, the image of their unborn child clutched tightly in Hermione's hand. "Mum? Dad?" Percy called out, hanging both of their cloaks over a chair.

"In the kitchen!" Molly called. Hermione and Percy quickly made their way in that direction, finding Molly, Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Draco seated around the table.

"We've got big news," Percy said, grinning at the group.

"What is it?" Ron asked, sipping what appeared to be tea from a small mug.

"Didn't you have an appointment today, Hermione?" Ginny asked. Hermione grinned and nodded.

"What, were you two at it again?" Ron asked facetiously. "You know, you two might want to come up for air sometime." Percy scowled, but Hermione grinned smugly.

"Maybe you two should follow your own advice," Hermione remarked, waving at Draco and Ron. Ron blushed furiously and indicated that Hermione should continue. "The baby was far along enough to conjure the image," she told them happily, pulling the small box from behind her back.

"Really?" Molly asked, placing her hands firmly on the table to steady herself. She looked ready to jump up and dance around the kitchen.

"Yes," Percy said, nodding slightly. Hermione pressed the small button, the image of their baby popping up.

"Wow," Draco breathed, raising his eyebrows. Hermione's hand wandered down to her stomach again, only to find that Percy had already beaten her to it without her realizing it. A warm feeling ran through her entire body as she covered his hand with her smaller one, the entire group gazing at the picture of the unborn child.

Ginny suddenly jumped up and threw her arms around Hermione, squealing. Molly quickly joined in, the three women excitedly embracing and ignoring the amused looks the men were giving them.

"Isn't it sweet?" Ron asked, wrapping an arm around Draco's waist.

"Yeah," Draco replied, smiling sweetly at the image of the unborn child.

Molly and Ginny finally let Hermione go after a few moments, Hermione and Percy both settling into chairs around the table with the others. "My first grandbaby," Molly said, sniffling.

"Well don't cry, Mum!" Ginny said, looking close to tears herself.

"So what's going on?" Hermione asked as she tucked the small image box into her pocket.

"We're discussing the best way to get everyone's stuff moved tomorrow," Harry said, taking Ginny's hand into his. The next morning, most of the Weasley family (including Harry, Draco, and Hermione) were going to move Ginny's things into Harry's flat (Bill and Fleur were currently visiting Fleur's family in France, and would not be able to help). All of Percy's possessions would be moved in the afternoon.

"And what have we decided on?" Percy inquired.

"Well, we can Floo back and forth with most everything," Ginny said, "And we can Lighten all of the heavy stuff and Apparate with it and the breakable stuff."

"Sounds great to me," Hermione said, yawning. As she raised a hand to her mouth, she noticed the longest hand on the clock against the opposite wall had moved from 'work' to 'traveling', meaning that Arthur was now on his way home. A few moments later, he appeared with a soft 'pop' in the middle of the kitchen.

After everyone had said their hellos, he turned to Percy. "May I have a word with you, Percy?" he asked.

"Sure, Dad," Percy replied, quickly rising from his seat. The group continued their conversation, discussing their plans. After a moment, they could hear Percy and Arthur's raised voices.

The two men walked back into the room a few minutes later, Percy sitting down beside Hermione again. He looked determined, like he had just given his father a stern 'no' on some issue. 'What is it?' Hermione mouthed.

'Later,' he mouthed back. Hermione raised an eyebrow before turning back to answer a question Molly had just asked.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she said, smiling apologetically. After about twenty minutes, Hermione was completely exhausted. She'd had a long day, waking up in the early hours of the morning and throwing up.

"Maybe you should go get some sleep, Mione," Harry commented, noticing the fifth yawn she had given since she'd been there.

"Yeah, I suppose I should," she replied, rubbing her eyes.

"I'll make sure you get home okay," Percy said quickly, standing up. Hermione nodded as she let out another yawn, waving to the group as she Disapparated. She appeared in her flat after a moment, standing beside Percy.

"What did you talk with your Dad about?" she asked almost immediately; she knew that was the main reason Percy had seen her home.

"Well," he replied rolling his eyes. "My Dad and my Mum have come to the decision that I need to ask you to marry me."

"What?" Hermione asked in disbelief. She and Percy had already discussed that issue, and had thoroughly decided against it. They could have a child together and not be married! After all, they were going to be living together to raise it.

"I know!" he said, snorting. "I told him that we'd already talked about it, and decided that we don't need to. Not like it's that important or anything. As long as we can take care of the baby, it'll all be fine."

"What a preposterous idea," she scoffed, shaking her head.

"Alright," Percy said, "I've got to go. Make sure I'm ready for tomorrow, you know."

"Night, Perce," Hermione replied, waving. He quickly Disapparated, and Hermione headed to her room, glad to be able to get a good night's sleep.