The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

Chapter 9: Showers and Stories

As time went on, Hermione began to enjoy having Percy as a roommate. He was perpetually neat, as was Hermione, so she the flat was never messy. He didn't have nearly as many articles of clothing as Ginny, and Hermione marveled at the space she had in her closet now that she got it all to herself.

One night, around four months into the pregnancy, Hermione woke up just after midnight, hungry. A new craving was hitting her this time. "Mmm, pickles and marshmallow cream," she said, licking her lips. Hermione quickly slipped on her bathrobe and slippers, walking quietly as to not wake Percy.

As it turned out, she didn't have to worry about it, as Percy was already awake. "What are you doing up, Mione?" he asked, slowly sipping a mug of warm milk.

"Hungry," Hermione said simply, patting her now expanding belly. She quickly gathered the jar of pickles from the refrigerator and the marshmallow cream from the cupboard. Sitting down at the table, she was subject to Percy's interested gaze.

"New craving?" he asked knowingly.

"Yep," she replied as she bit into her first cream-covered pickle. "Yeah, that hits the spot." Percy chuckled at her. "So why are you up?"

"Couldn't sleep," he replied, shrugging. "Guess this'll be something we both have to get used to pretty soon. You know, being up all night."

"Yeah," Hermione said thoughtfully, biting her lip. That was something she had been thinking about lately. Once the baby was born, neither of them would get much sleep, waking at crazy hours to feed the baby.

"Are you... well, looking forward to this?" Percy asked.

Hermione thought for a moment. "Yes and no," she said slowly. "I mean, I am not looking forward to giving birth, getting fat, having my ankles swell, and all of those thing, but there are just so many good things to counter those."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Well," she said, a small smile appearing on her face. "First off, baby shopping; getting to actually hold her in my arms after she's born; watching her grow up; sending her off to Hogwarts..."

Percy got the dreamy smile for a moment, as well, until a puzzled look struck him. "She?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione froze; she hadn't realized she'd been referring to the baby as 'she'. "Well, I, um, kind of want a girl. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love a boy just as much, but a girl..."

"You do?" Percy asked curiously.

"Yeah," Hermione replied truthfully. "Why, do you want a boy?"

Percy shook his head. "I actually want a girl, too," he said quietly.

"Really?" she asked. "You want a girl?"

Percy blushed slightly and nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "I mean, I don't know why, but I've always wanted a girl. Something about having all of those brothers growing up and wanting a change." Hermione gave Percy a small smile and reached over the table, gently squeezing his hand.

******

Hermione and Ginny got together at least three times a week to chat and catch up. It was hard at first to adjust to not seeing each other as often as they had, but they got past it eventually.

One Saturday, the girls decided to start going shopping for the baby. They went to a new shop in Hogsmeade, called 'The Baby Spot.' As they walked through the doors, both Hermione and Ginny were in awe. Ever single shelf, cupboard, and display was covered with all sorts of different things for parents to buy for their young children, from clothes to toys to highchairs to bottles.

"Oh, how cute is this?" Ginny squealed, picking up the nearest article of clothing, a frilly pink dress.

"Aww," Hermione said softly, gently fingering the material. She quickly snapped from her nostalgia. "But we aren't here to buy clothes. We just need to check out a few things today, and maybe buy some cheap furniture."

"But I thought you said you and Percy would be able to cover the expense," Ginny said as they began to walk through the store.

Hermione bit her lip. "We will, it's just that we don't have anything saved up yet. We're going to wait to buy the less important stuff until we have to." Ginny's eyes suddenly lit up, making Hermione very nervous. Whenever Ginny got a look like that, it generally meant trouble. "What?" she asked tentatively.

"Oh, nothing!" Ginny replied brightly, practically skipping down the aisle. Hermione glared at the girl momentarily before going back to comparing prices on strollers.

When the two women left the store an hour later, they were empty-handed. Ginny, for some reason, had talked Hermione out of buying anything, not giving her any real reasons.

"Alright, Mione," Ginny said, giving Hermione a quick hug, "I've got to go talk to Mum. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Gin," Hermione replied, waving. She quickly Disapparated, reappearing in her living room. Percy was sitting in an overstuffed chair beside the fire, shuffling through some papers.

"Hi, Hermione," he said, looking at her over the top of his reading glasses. "Find anything good?"

"Yeah, but Ginny was acting really weird," she replied, turning towards the kitchen, "I'll tell you about it in a minute." She quickly marched over to the fridge, pulling out the leftover container of vegetable soup she'd cooked the day before. Hermione made sure to add plenty of black pepper and hot sauce before she warmed it, as she was now craving spicy things.

When the bowl was steaming and she had plenty of crackers, Hermione slowly walked back into the living room, carefully sitting the bowl on the coffee table. "Okay," she said, "We found this really great store in Hogsmeade."

"Did you get anything?" Percy asked, once again watching her over his glasses. After Hogwarts, he had gone to see a Muggle optometrist, getting contact lenses. He now only wore his glasses when reading.

"See, that's where Ginny started acting funny," Hermione said, "She didn't want me to buy anything."

"Any idea why?" he asked curiously. Hermione shook her head as she swallowed a spoonful of soup.

"She wouldn't say anything," she said, shrugging. "Knowing Ginny, it could be anything."

******

And Hermione discovered the 'anything' exactly two weeks later as she and Percy walked into the Burrow. Molly had told them to be there at eleven o' clock, on the dot.

"SURPRISE!!!" yelled twelve voices as they were pelted with a variety of pastel pink and blue confetti. Hermione's jaw dropped. Ginny's idea had been for a baby shower.

"What's all this?" Percy asked as he shook the bits of paper out of his crimson hair.

"A baby shower!" Ginny said excitedly, almost jumping up and down. The other occupants of the room were Molly, Harry, Ron, Draco, Fleur, Angelina, Sarah, Amanda, Parvati, Padma, and Lavender.

"Oh, you guys!" Hermione said happily, tears springing to her eyes. She began to sob quietly, bringing a hand to her face.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked concernedly. She nodded, biting her lip.

"Just my stupid hormones," she said tearfully. Percy quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and helped her sit down, grabbing a tissue.

"She'll be getting mood swings for a while," Molly explained to Ron, Harry, and Draco, who had no knowledge of such things. Hermione's sobs lessened slightly, and she couldn't help but feel warm where Percy's arm was still around her shoulders.

"Okay, I'm fine, now," she said, smiling apologetically.

"Alright, let's get to the presents!" Angelina said, grinning. She, Padma, and Lavender all gathered the group of wrapped boxes and decorated bags from behind the couch, placing them on the floor in front of Hermione and Percy.

"Open this one first," Parvati said, indicating a large purple box on the top. Percy gently took it from the pile and handed it to Hermione.

"Here, you do the honors," he said, nodding towards the box. Hermione smiled as she gently pulled off the ribbons and paper, revealing a handmade yellow baby blanket.

"Oh, Parvati..." Hermione said, pulling the blanket from the box.

"I've been working on it for a month," Parvati told her, smiling proudly.

"Thank you!" Hermione replied, gently folding the blanket back into the box. All in all, she and Percy received several little baby outfits (to which all the girls cooed), many bottles and pacifiers, a great stuffed lion from Harry ("For the little Gryffindor," he had said), a huge collection of assorted stuffed animals, cloth diapers, picture books, teeny tiny shoes, a stroller, a set of maternity robes, and to top it all off, several books of childcare for the studious parents.

"This is really great," Percy said as he carefully piled all of the gifts on the floor beside him when the last package had been unwrapped a while later.

"Thank you all so very much," Hermione said, looking fondly at a fluffy yellow stuffed duck that was seated on her lap.

"It's no problem," Molly said, smiling.

"Come on, Mum, let's hear some of your stories about being a mother," Ginny said. "Let Hermione know what she's getting herself into with Percy's kid." Percy shot her a look playfully.

"I'll have you know I was an excellent baby," he said, raising his chin.

"Well..." Molly said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Actually, you weren't all that good or the first couple of months. You would always get very fussy whenever you weren't on a perfect schedule." Ginny and Ron both snorted very loudly, attempting to conceal their laughter. Hermione simply smiled at Percy, sympathetically patting his arm.

"Now, now," Hermione said, "We all know that Percy was quite an exceptional child when he got a bit older." Percy nodded appreciatively at her.

"Yes," Molly agreed, "Percy was quite agreeable when he got around six months. Now, for a troublesome toddler..."

Angelina interrupted her. "Let me guess, Fred and George?"

"Actually," Molly said thoughtfully, "They didn't start acting up until they were around five. Ron gave me the most trouble as a toddler!"

"I did not!" he cried indignantly. Draco sat up and looked at Molly questioningly, a huge grin on his face.

"What did he do?"

"Well, he didn't like to share his toys, he wouldn't eat any vegetables, oh, and he did not like to keep his clothes on."

"Oh really?!" Draco asked gleefully, turning to Ron, who was now bright red. The entire room burst into laughter.

"How about Bill?" asked Fleur (A/N- I don't do accents, so just picture it in your head, okay?).

"Well, Bill was a very sweet boy. Always wanted to help me in the kitchen, he kept his room tidy, and he would just jump at the chance to go to town."

"And Charlie?" Amanda inquired.

"Charlie was Quidditch-crazy from the word 'go'. His first word was 'snitch'. When he got to be a bit older, the only time you wouldn't find him on a broom, he was playing with his dragon toys."

"What about Ginny?" Harry asked slyly, placing an arm around her waist.

Molly sighed whimsically. "Ginny was a little angel. She was a surprisingly feminine child for having six brothers. Always liked to have tea parties and play dress up with my clothes."

"Aww, Gin," Harry said, softly kissing her temple. "That's so cute!"

"Although it was a lot cuter when Ron would play with her," Molly said, once again making Draco grin, Ron blush, and the entire group laugh hysterically.

******