The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

Chapter 16: Friendly Interactions

After the conversation at the Leaky Cauldron, things had gotten much better between the roommates. Percy had become even more affectionate than he'd always been, kissing Hermione on the forehead or the cheek every morning before he left for work, at bedtime, and almost any other time they were going to be apart for more than five minutes.

But even with the kisses coming in abundance, Percy never kissed Hermione on the lips again. After the last time, it wasn't even an option. And while Hermione wished that Percy would actually kiss her, take her into his arms and whisper sweet nothings into her ear all night long, she knew it wouldn't happen. Even though she loved him, Hermione had no plans to say that to Percy, so she'd just make do with his friendly affections.

Hermione had more problems to deal with. She had been away from work for two weeks, and she was going out of her mind with boredom. She had put the final touches on the nursery, redone those twice, organized the kitchen, read and re-read every baby book she owned, and that had taken less than a week. Her career had been a major part of her life, and with it being gone, there was nothing to do.

Sighing, she practically slammed her book down on the table. Boredom and restlessness were a dangerous combination, especially if you were Hermione Granger. Suddenly, she was hit with an idea. She silently stood up from the couch, sneaking to her bedroom and pulling the door to; shutting it would make too much noise.

Quietly, Hermione crept to her briefcase, which Percy had made her put up in the closet. He had insisted that she not even think about work on her maternity leave. She had promptly given him a rather rude finger gesture, a blazing row following over the amount of work she could do 'in her condition' as Percy had so delicately put it. Eventually she had given in, due to sheer persistence on Percy's part.

Grabbing several pieces of parchment, Hermione began to write a report on Nundu Defense Orders, something she'd meant to do for weeks. However, something felt wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was bugging Hermione. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end, as if she was being watched.

Reloading her quill, Hermione rubbed her arm nervously, trying to calm her nerves. Before she could even begin to write, a large hand came down on her shoulder, a deep voice speaking. "And just what do you think you are doing?"

Hermione jumped almost off of her chair. She quickly swiveled around to come face to face with a disapproving Percy. "I- uh, I was just…"

"Doing work?" he questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No!" Hermione insisted, "I, um-" Percy gathered the papers from her desk and placed them in the briefcase, using a powerful locking spell.

"I can't believe I have to do this, Mione," he said disappointedly. He walked out of the room, and Hermione quickly followed him, all the way into his bedroom where he placed it high up in his closet.

"Oh, come on, Perce," she said pleadingly, "Just let me do one report. Please?"

"No," he said firmly, shaking his head. "You aren't to do anything stressful, Amelia said so."

"My work isn't stressful!" Hermione told him urgently, "Come on, Percy, please." She then commenced to give him her sweetest smile. But even that couldn't fizzle Percy's resolve.

"I don't think so," he replied.

Grumpily, Hermione sat down on his bed. "Fine! You figure out something for me to do, then!"

Percy looked thoughtful as he sat down beside her. "How about a nap?"

Hermione scowled. "Not even!"

"Read one of the baby books?"

"Been there, done that, bought the tee shirt," she said uninterestedly.

Sighing, Percy put up an offer that appeased her. "Well, would you like to help me work?"

Hermione sat up happily. "Okay!" she said, sounding very much like a little girl who had been told Christmas had come early. She headed out into the living room with Percy, sitting beside him on the couch.

"Alright, now, I've got to read through these reports and summarize them," he said, picking up a large file. Hermione nodded, beginning to read alongside Percy. She soon began to question his sanity as he went over page after page, reading with rapt attention. If this was better than his old department, he must be crazy!

Shifting closer, Hermione rested her head on Percy's shoulder. "And this is what you do every day?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yes, well, it pays the bills, right?" Percy said shrugging. He slipped an arm around Hermione's waist, his hand resting lightly on her swollen belly. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, and she snuggled even closer to him.

"Maybe I'll rethink that nap thing," she said, closing her eyes.

"Thank you," Percy sighed, laying his cheek against Hermione's hair. She laughed softly before letting sleep take over.

******

Hermione grinned at Percy as they moved down the sidewalk in Muggle London, hand-in-hand. "You know, you really don't have to do this," she said.

"But I want to!" Percy said excitedly, trying to pull her faster. An idea had hit Percy a few days before, and they had made big plans for that Friday night. He was going to take Hermione to dinner and a Muggle movie, both his treat, as a sort of a friendly date. Hermione was now just over eight months into her pregnancy, and she loved Percy's constant attempts to keep her spirits up.

"You know, I think you just might be turning into your father," Hermione commented, tugging on Percy's hand to slow him down.

"Yes, well, we all have to turn into our parents sometime," he said. He was positively beaming at the prospect of seeing a movie, something Hermione knew he'd done twice before.

"No, no," she said, shaking her finger, "We'll become parents… just not our own." Percy let out a laugh, once again moving down the walk. They were going to a theater that played older movies, and Percy was very excited by the idea, seeing Muggle movies from an earlier genre.

Stopping in front of the theater, the posters immediately caught Percy's attention. "Woah…" he breathed, admiring the pictures and titles. "Hey, what about this one?" Percy pointed out a black-and-white poster featuring the title 'Dracula.'

"Ooh, no," Hermione said, stepping back with a shudder. "I saw that one when I was a little girl, and it gave me nightmares for weeks!"

"Why, is it very scary?" he asked grinning.

"Yes," she replied, eyeing the poster carefully to assess that Bela Lugosi wouldn't jump off of the paper and bite her neck. Even though she lived in the magical world, and had actually met vampires, Muggle movies with preconceived notions of terror were often scarier.

"Well, why don't you pick one?" Percy suggested. Very carefully scanning over the choices, Hermione smiled when she came to a particular one.

"Gone With the Wind," Hermione said softly.

Percy frowned. "What kind of movie is that?"

"Well," she said, "It's a romance, but there's plenty of war scenes, as well." Hermione smiled, and she knew Percy had given in when he sighed.

"Alright," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'll see it."

"Thank you, Percy," Hermione said sweetly, kissing his cheek.

"Yes, yes," he said, waving with his free hand. Hermione then led Percy into the lobby, to the refreshment stand.

"What can I get for you?" a smiling woman with gray hair asked. Studying the menu, Hermione finally decided, choosing plenty of sweets, an overlarge bag of popcorn, and a bottled water.

As they left the counter, Percy frowned. "You know, Mione, it might not be a great idea to send me to the poorhouse right now. We do have about eighteen years of major spending ahead of us." Hermione looked at the small popcorn and soft drink he was carrying, compared to the rather large supply of treats she had.

"Oh, right," she said sheepishly, color rising in her cheeks. She and Percy quickly made their way to the balcony seats, sitting in the first row. Hermione quickly checked through her purse, pulling out the small packet of tissues she kept.

"What're those for?" Percy asked, munching on one of Hermione's chocolate candies.

"You'll see," she said with a knowing smile. Before long, the lights dimmed, and the classic movie began to play. And just as Hermione predicted, she needed the tissues very soon.

She felt Percy's arm slide around her shoulders and she leaned against him, grateful for his comforting presence. Gone With the Wind had always done that to her, and it just happened to be one of her favorite movies. Scarlet O' Hara was such a heroine.

"And with God as my witness, I swear I shall never go hungry again!" Scarlet called. This only served to fuel Hermione's tears. And as the lights came up and the credits to the movie were played, she was glad to see she wasn't the only one in tears. The theater would have made a killing had they sold boxes of tissues.

Looking over at Percy, Hermione let out a small laugh. His eyes were damp, and he looked as if he was fighting a great internal battle. "Percy, are you crying?"

"No!" he insisted, turning away and wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket. "Just a bit of dust in my eyes, is all." The catch in his voice told Hermione otherwise.

"Alright," she said, sniffling. "Come on, let's go to dinner."

"Don't tell me you're still hungry," Percy replied, motioning to the empty candy boxes.

"Well I am pregnant," she said defensively.

Percy chuckled. "I'm just teasing, Hermione; I'm sorry." She simply stuck her tongue out at him, taking satisfaction at the redness of his eyes. It was definitely something to tell his brothers about!

******

Hermione sighed as she turned on her bed for the seventh time in a half-hour. She'd been unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep since eleven, and she was feeling very agitated. The insomnia was getting to her greatly.

Finally, she sat up. "Percy!" she called, crossing her arms over her chest. When she received no response, she tried again. "Percy!" This time, a definite noise was heard. Hermione listened to the heavy footfalls as Percy walked through his bedroom and down the hall. He pushed the door open, leaning against the frame.

"What, Hermione?" he asked rubbing his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"I can't sleep," she moaned.

Percy looked at her incredulously. "Do you mean to tell me that you woke me up at-," he glanced at the clock, "three AM to tell me that you can't sleep?"

Hermione blushed slightly. "Yes," she replied with a frown.

Shaking his head, Percy turned around. "Goodnight, Hermione."

"Wait!" Hermione said urgently.

"What is it?" replied Percy.

Her face now completely red, Hermione stared at the ground near Percy's feet. "Well, do you think you could sit with me for a while?" Percy sighed, but he nodded, moving to sit on the bed. He leaned back against the headboard and pulled the covers around him.

"It's bloody freezing!" he said, rubbing his hands together to warm them.

Hermione, of course, took offense. "Well it's not my fault I'm having hot flashes!"

"I didn't say it was your fault," Percy replied, wrapping an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"Hmph!" Hermione said, turning her head away from him. She knew she was being immature about it, but she couldn't help herself. But even while she was feeling supreme irritation towards Percy, she couldn't help but notice how good his arm felt around her.

"Please, Mione, I'm sorry," he said pleadingly. Hermione moved down in the bed and turned on to her side, away from him. Percy faithfully followed, his other arm going around her as he, too, laid down.

"I'm very sorry, Hermione," he said sincerely.

Hermione hid her smile in the pillow. "Well, I guess I'll forgive you this time," she replied, feeling herself getting sleepy.

"Good," Percy yawned, moving closer to Hermione. Inwardly, she sighed happily. "Night, Hermione," he said, kissing her hair.

"Night, Percy," she replied, drifting off to sleep, a hint of a smile on her lips. Had she turned around, she would have seen that Percy had one that matched hers.

******