The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

Disclaimer- I don't own it, but if you really wanted me to, you could always send it c/o Gwen... nah, you know what? I don't want it all. Especially not Voldie, and what's with the evil Draco? My Draco is nice and sweet and sensitive! Ron's Draco is gay, but my Draco is all man, baby! Therefore, no, I don't want it all, just a few select items. *cough*George*hack*Remus*sneeze*

Chapter 8: Moving Day

During the move the next day, Hermione felt quite irritated. Anytime she tried to lift a box that weighed much more than ten pounds, everyone jumped, trying to act casual about helping her with it as to not offend her. They were being quite unsuccessful at it. Harry had nearly broken a lamp as he witnessed Hermione lifting a box of Ginny's belongings, rushing over to take it from her; Molly had nearly yelled as she saw Hermione carrying bedding; and Charlie had almost fallen when he had refused her help to carry a rather heavy vanity mirror.

But Percy was the worst of all. He shadowed Hermione almost the whole time, rarely letting her lift anything that wasn't made of feathers or foam. "Percy, I'm fine!" she snapped, roughly seizing the box she had been carrying back from him. "I'm pregnant, not dying! Honestly!"

"Hermione, I know that," he said grabbing a box from the floor, "But you have to be careful. You can't lift too many heavy things, or you or the baby could get hurt!"

"He's right, Hermione," Ron said as he passed them when he reentered the room.

"And tell me," she asked, "What do you know about it?"

"I know well enough that you don't want to break your back," he said, tilting his head to the side. Hermione rolled her eyes, angry that Ron had to point out the obvious that she had been too busy to notice.

"Hermione, there are only a couple of boxes left," Ginny said, stepping into the room. "Why don't you just head home? We can take care of the rest of it." Hermione glared, but realized that she was rather tired and could use a rest.

"Okay, fine," she said, "I'll quit, if it will make you guys happy."

"Well, it would," Percy told her, nodding. Hermione shook her head and Apparated home, setting the box down in Percy's new bedroom before kicking back on the couch. Within ten minutes, all of the rest of Percy's things had been moved in.

"Thanks so much," Percy told his family as he stepped into the living room.

"Yeah, thank you," Ginny added.

"Yes, well, you do realize that the three of you will be helping in the shop for a couple of weekends to come, don't you?" George asked, looking at Percy, Ginny, and Harry.

"Hey, how come I have to help?" Harry asked.

"Well you're the one who got us into this moving business in the first place!" Fred told him.

"Oh yeah..." Harry replied, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around Ginny's waist.

"Well, come on kids, let's let everyone get settled in," Molly said. As everyone said their good-byes, Hermione and Ginny walked towards each other.

"Well, I guess this is it, then, Mione," Ginny said sadly.

"Yeah," Hermione replied, biting her lip. She had known that it would be tough to say goodbye to Ginny after they had been living together for the past two and a half years.

"I mean," Ginny said, "it's like the end of an era or something."

"It is, isn't it?" Hermione replied, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. Both women quickly wrapped their arms around one another. "I'll miss you, Ginny."

"I'll miss you too, Hermione!" Ginny sobbed; Hermione was now openly crying. Neither of them noticed the amused snorts and snickers from around the room. After several minutes, the two women broke apart to find that the room was empty, save for themselves, Percy, and Harry. Ginny immediately latched on to Harry.

"We'll have lunch tomorrow, okay?" Hermione said, sniffling.

"Alright," Ginny replied, "Bye Mione."

"Bye Gin," Hermione said sadly as Ginny and Harry Disapparated. She sat down heavily in her favorite armchair, sighing. Noticing Percy's attempts to conceal laughter, she scowled. "What?"

"That was just rather cute, is all," Percy replied, grinning as he sat down opposite Hermione on the couch. Hermione resisted the urge to make a rather rude finger gesture, instead opting to stick her tongue out at Percy.

"Do shut up, won't you?" she asked in an ill-tempered voice.

"Oh, you know you love me," Percy replied jokingly, jumping up and heading towards his new bedroom. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some unpacking to do." Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled, picking up the papers on the coffee table, reading through the latest report on Flobberworms, written by none other then Rubeus Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts. Hermione also worked very closely with him when dealing with Magical creatures.

As she read through the report, Hermione could feel her eyes starting to droop. She was completely exhausted from the day's move. She forced herself to continue reading, trying, in vain, to stay awake. Before long, she was snoozing with her head resting on the arm of her chair.

She was still asleep a half-hour later when Percy came into the living room. He gave a lopsided smile at her sleeping form, approaching her chair and setting the report on the coffee table. He gently lifted Hermione's unresisting form from the chair, cradling her against his chest.

Percy quietly carried Hermione to her bedroom, carefully placing her on top of her coverlet. He grabbed a blanket from the edge of her bed and placed it over her, bringing it up to her shoulders. Percy placed a soft kiss on Hermione's forehead, gently brushing a curl behind her ear.

"Good night, Hermione," he whispered quietly, smiling as he pulled the door to.