DISCLAIMER: The universe of Harry Potter does not- and will never- belong to me...or you...unless you're JK Rowling in which case: "Heyyyyyyyy," ;)
RATED: T (Mentions Periods & whatnot...pretty much all that stuff you learned at twelve in those SexEd classes)
PAIRING(S): None (unless you count Hermione/Ron... but you won't be seeing much lovey-dovey interaction)
LENGTH: 3900 words
SUMMARY: Whilst searching for Horcurxes with Harry and Ron, Hermione finds herself in a bit of a predicament when her period arrives and she's out of 'feminine products'...embarrassing situations ensue!
[A lot of this chapter is taken from Chapter Fifteen, page(s) 234-235 from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I added in my own bits and mixed the conversation around a tiny bit, however if this One-Shot confuses you in any way, shape or form, you should be able to easily start at the start of Chapter Fifteen (Deathly Hallows) so that you can see where this Fanfic 'fits' into the time-line.]
"But you can make a brilliant Patronus!" protested Ron, when Harry arrived back at the tent empty-handed, out of breath, and mouthing the single word 'Dementors'.
"I couldn't...make one," he panted, clutching the stitch in his side. "Wouldn't...come."
Harry's pallid face became downcast and he sighed, walking limply over to one of Perkins's old armchairs and sinking low into the plush cushions.
"So we still haven't got any food," said Ron irritably, his face reddening slightly in frustration.
His manner infuriated Hermione to an almost indescribable extent. Usually, she could deal with Ron. She could easily put up with his constant whinging and his negative demeanour, however lately, she found herself gritteing her teeth in anger each time he opened his mouth.
"Shut up, Ron," she snapped, loosening her clenched fists slightly as she felt her nails dig into her palms.
So what if Harry had come back empty handed? Yes, it did set them back slightly because they would now have to go out scavenging for food and even then there was no guarantee that they would find anything, but regardless, it hadn't been his fault. He had at least tried to produce a Patronus and for some reason it just wasn't working...
"What?" Ron snarled at her, kicking a chair leg in disgust, "I'm starving! All I've had since I bled half to death is a couple of toadstools!"
Harry looked up then with a hurt expression pulling at his features, "You go and find your own way through the Dementors, then,"
"I would, but my arm's in a sling, in case you hadn't noticed!" Ron yelled, barely containing his anger.
"That's convenient," Harry bit back, his eyes darkening dangerously.
"And what's that supposed to-"
Hermione was so sick of the two boys being constantly at each other's necks and she found herself biting the inside of her cheek painfully to keep from snapping at them again. Why would they even bother arguing in this sort of situation? They would only have each other's company for Merlin knows how long- shouldn't they at least be trying to get along?
Although, she admitted to herself that she was also guilty of arguing. Hadn't she snapped at Ron just before?
At least I have some semblance of an excuse!
And that was it...that tiny factor that she hadn't even truly considered when she was packing back at the Weasley's.
Her period that was due any day now...
When Harry had come back empty handed, she had been rather upset. Had Harry managed to bring back some form of food, she would have at least known that she could go back to the village at some point in the next couple of days and pick up some feminine products for herself so that she wouldn't have to resort to using unreliable spells that she was still rather uncomfortable with.
She could transfigure a piece of bark...no, that wouldn't work because the spell wouldn't change its function as much as was needed for a pad or tampon.
If only she hadn't focussed so much on only packing clothes and books!
The two boys were still arguing heatedly and Harry looked as if he was on the brink of snapping, which was so unlike Harry. It was almost as if...wait- it was almost as if someone or something was influencing him...
"Of course!" she cried, clapping a hand to her forehead and earning herself strange looking glares from the two boys who looked as if they both had been about to break each other's necks had she not intervened. "Harry, give me the locket! Come on," she said impatiently, clicking her fingers eagerly at him when he didn't react right away, "the Horcrux, Harry, you're still wearing it!"
How had she not figured this out before? Harry was usually a lot less hot headed than when he was not wearing the piece of Voldemort's soul around his neck. Oh Merlin it was so obvious!
She held her hands out and Harry gingerly lifted the locket from his neck, still perplexed by her sudden burst of enthusiasm.
She placed it gently around her own neck and watched with satisfaction as Harry visibly relaxed and rubbed his neck softly.
"Better?" she asked, smiling with delight.
"Yeah, loads better!"
Suddenly, she felt as if a bucket of ice cold water had been poured down her back as she contemplated a terrifying scenario...
"Harry, you don't think that you've been possessed do you?" she asked in a small voice, barely keeping the raw worry out of her words.
Oh what if he was being possessed? It certainly wouldn't be out of the question, considering what had happened to Ginny back in second year. That had been a Horcrux as well! From the same person, no less!
"What? No!" he said defensively, disbelief colouring his tone. "I remember everything we've done while I've been wearing it. I wouldn't know what I'd done if I'd been possessed, would I? Ginny told me there were times when she couldn't remember anything."
Harry certainly had a point there, she admitted.
She fingered the heavy locket and traced the snake design with her eyes, "Well maybe we ought not to wear it, then. We can just keep it in the tent..."
"We are not leaving that Horcrux lying around," Harry stated firmly. "If we lose it, if it gets stolen..."
"Alright, alright," She relented, looking back down at his face, "but we'll take turns at wearing it , so nobody keeps it on for too long."
It was then that she felt a painful tightness in her abdomen and felt her face drain of colour.
No, no, please not now!
"Hermione..." asked Harry worriedly, leaning forwards slightly as if to scrutinise her.
"I-I'll be right back," she managed to say, quickly turning on her heel and walking over to where the bathroom was.
Distantly, as she was hurrying to the bathroom she heard Ron say, "Great, and now we've sorted that out, can we please get some food?"
She didn't hear Harry's reply though, because she had already closed the bathroom door and was tentatively pulling down her knickers and a sigh of relief escaped her mouth as she saw that the cramps she had felt seconds before were nothing but 'warning' craps. Although she probably only had about two days until she was actually bleeding, she was immensely relieved at the thought that she didn't need to come up with a solution right on the spot.
What in the world would she do?
She could probably roll up some toilet paper and use that for a while...but it would be rather uncomfortable and highly unsanitary. Plus, she would probably feel bulky and need to change every half hour or so which was certainly not an ideal situation to be in whilst you were constantly running from danger.
She could use- no; she would most certainly not be using a sock, although it would be a lot better than using toilet paper. No, using a sock just seemed...gross.
She shuddered, imagining what Harry and Ron's reactions would be if they found out that she'd been using a sock as a feminine product.
Sighing- this time out of exasperation- she walked back out of the bathroom to find the two boys relatively as ease. Ron was sitting at the table with his forehead resting on his palm and Harry was still laying back in the arm chair with his eyes closed, however they opened upon her arrival.
"We've decided that we'll go somewhere else and find food- there's no point in staying where we know dementors are swooping about." said Harry, standing up and removing his wand from his side pocket.
"I agree, it's certainly not safe here," she replied, taking her wand as well and Accio-ing objects back into her pouch that had the undetectable extension charm placed upon it.
Ron stood up as well and made his way outside, taking his wand and attempting to remove some of the defensive spells that had kept them hidden.
"It's okay, Ron! I'll come out and do that in a minute..." she said, knowing full well that he wasn't very good with those particular spells.
He halted and his shoulders slumped as he replied, "Whatever, Hermione. I'll just do this then," he grabbed the pouch out of her hands and roughly began packing all of the small objects.
She grit her teeth in response and decided not to grace his statement with a reply.
Merlin, he was infuriating.
.
It was only a couple of hours later than they had settled themselves in another place (a far flung field belonging to a lonely farm) where they had managed to obtain some eggs and bread.
Hermione had felt rather uncomfortable with taking the food and had worried excessively over the fact that she could possibly be stealing part of someone's livelihood.
Ron had told her that she worried too much, and Harry had agreed, nodding serenely over his freshly cooked eggs and slightly burned toast.
Ron was right, though, she did tend to get stressed out over the most basic of things to the point of exhaustion. She just needed to relax.
Of course, it was extremely hard to relax when she had so much weighing on her mind.
She was constantly worried about the Horcruxes and was always searching her mind and books for the answers, all to no avail. Then, she found herself stressing out immensely over the small thing that was her period.
She still hadn't had a chance to pick up any products (not that she honestly assumed she would have found any, anyway) and it was for that reason that she was seriously considering using socks.
The idea was rather disturbing in its nature and she hated the fact that she was so desperate as to actually be considering it- but she needed something. At least socks would offer more in terms of absorption than what toilet paper would, and at least she could simply scourgify them when she was finished.
But still...socks?
Surely, surely she could find something else! She shouldn't have to be reduced to using bulky, scratchy socks that had been worn on her feet.
She glumly lifted another forkful of egg to her mouth and further contemplated her situation with an air of conviction.
She would be getting her period in the next couple of days- that was a given- and the best solution to her problem she had come up with was using socks.
She sighed and popped one last spoonful of egg into her mouth and started getting up and out of the seat. Scourgify-ing her plate, she said goodnight to Harry and Ron who were chattering aimlessly and made her way to the bunk beds. She was way too tired to stay up any longer.
Hermione woke up the next morning with a sticky feeling between her legs and a horrible twisting and clenching in her abdomen.
.
No, no, no, no!
Her eyes snapped open and she lifted her blankets so that she could see if the stickiness was what she thought it was and sure enough, upon inspection, she discovered that her period had, in fact, decided to make an appearance.
Quickly scourgify-ing her sheets and pyjama bottoms, she leapt out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, trying not to wake Ron who was snoring loudly in the bed above hers.
She was careful not to alert Harry to her sneaking around as he was still sitting up at the front of the tent, watching the fields that surrounded them.
Quietly shutting the bathroom door behind her, she pulled her knickers down and stared worriedly at the sticky redness that had soaked right through them.
What was she to do now?
She pointed her want at her undies muttered a quick scourgify and watched with fear as only a small amount of the blood was removed.
Great, she thought darkly to herself, now I have stained knickers!
Her situation was less than ideal and she found herself stressing over the fact that she would definitely have to use socks now. There was no way that she could use toilet paper when her period was already this heavy.
With a sense of conviction, she opened the bathroom door slightly, making sure to keep her body behind it, and muttered a quiet "Accio loose sock".
"What-" came a disgruntled voice from somewhere in the other room.
She blanched as she peeked around the door and saw that Harry was standing in the middle of the room holding a white sock that was struggling to get away from in between his fingers.
What would he say when he realised that she had summoned a sock from behind the bathroom door at six in the morning?
He seemed to have noticed her, though, because the next thing she knew Harry was walking toward the bathroom door, still holding the struggling sock.
"This yours?" he asked as he got nearer to her.
"Y-yeah," she muttered, keeping her eyes from his face for fear of further embarrassment.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" he started, worry painting his face. "D-do you need to talk at all?"
Merlin! He's more embarrassed than what I am...
"I'm fine Harry, but thank you," she said, accepting the sock that he had held out to her. She slowly shut the door on him and looked down at the sock that was in her hands.
She was rather embarrassed over the fact that Harry had witnessed her summoning a sock into the bathroom at such an early hour. Then again, for all he knew, she could be getting dressed and simply forgot her socks...yeah, that's what she was doing in here. She was simply getting dressed!
The embarrassment seemed to leak from her system as she magically stuck the sock to her knickers and pulled them up and boy, did it feel horrible.
The sock immediately made her feel bulky and when she looked in the small mirror; she saw with displeasure that it looked bulky too. In fact, it looked positively disturbing. Even with her baggy pyjama bottoms, you could still tell that she was hiding something.
What would she do when she actually had to put on her jeans? They would definitely notice that something was in there!
But what else could she do? It wasn't as if they happened to carry any feminine products with them at all times in fact, she had an inkling that they barely even knew what feminine products were...
What was she to do?
If she was at Hogwarts and had announced that she needed help, everyone would have offered her something and she would be saved!
Oh what am I supposed to do?
She sat down upon the bathroom floor and laid her head on her knees.
It was far too embarrassing to walk out there with a bulge in her pants and face the boys. She couldn't possibly tell them that she had her period, was out of tampons and was using a sock as a temporary pad. No, that was simply wrong to put her two best friends through that. No doubt they would feel incredibly awkward afterwards- not mention extremely grossed out over the fact that she was using a sock of all things.
Suddenly, she heard a startled yell from the other side of the door and without a second's hesitation; she leaped up to her feet and burst into the next room with her wand at the ready, preparing for attack.
Instead, she found herself in a situation that was positively humiliating.
There stood Ron, face pale and expression twisted into that of horror. His mouth was opening and closing that gave one the impression of a fish out of water and was pointing with one trembling hand toward the covers on Hermione's bed.
Oh this can't be happening!
She had forgotten to pull her blanket covers back over the small recently-scourgified stain that graced her sheets and now, Ron was pointing at it, obviously horrified.
"Ron what-"began Harry, walking toward Ron with a worried expression on his face; had his best mate gone mental or what?
Somehow finding his voice, Ron let a tumble of words fall from his trembling lips, "You kept watch last night, didn't you? You didn't fall asleep? Someone took her! Harry, there's blood on her sheets! Someone took Hermione!"
Harry suddenly looked rather confused and walked over to the bed to inspect the stain.
"No, Ron, she's here. I saw her just a second ago in the bathroom..."
"How is there blood on her sheets then? Harry, she's been hurt somehow!"
"Ron, I don't think-"
Suddenly unfreezing, Hermione took a tentative step out of the bathroom and decided to let them know that she was okay and that she wasn't hurt in the slightest. Honestly, she would feel so guilty if she led them to believe that she was hurt. It simply wasn't fair on them. But Merlin was this going to be embarrassing...
"I-it's okay...I'm here," she said weakly, walking toward them, fully aware of their eyesight as they both simultaneously looked at the bulge in her bottoms.
Her face flushed a deep crimson and she struggled to meet their eyes.
"What is-" started Ron, still looking pointedly at her crotch area with a weird expression on his face.
Oh I can't believe that I'm doing this!
"It's a sock," she said quickly, cutting him off and keeping her head down. She couldn't believe that she had just said that! She kept her eyes downward as she fought the desperate urge to run.
"Hermione," begun Harry, taking a small step toward her, obviously trying to ease the tension. "Why have you got a sock in your pants?"
Oh very subtle Harry!
She took a deep breath and fought back silly tears. This was it, she was going to tell them that she was on her period and they were going to treat her differently! Oh this was going to be so humiliating!
"Idon'thaveanypadsortampons," she said in a rushed whisper, not daring to look up at their faces.
"I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"I said: I don't have any pads or tampons," she said slowly, cringing as she felt the blush burn in her cheeks. She had really just said that. She had honestly just admitted to her two best friends that she was on her period. She could practically feel their embarrassment!
She didn't dare move for fear of somehow making the situation just that bit more embarrassing.
Get a grip, Hermione! She thought angrily to herself, somewhat coming to her senses, It's only a period! Really, you're a woman and it's time that they bloody well realised it!
The silence was broken by Ron who thought that it would be a decent move to speak.
"So that on your bed it's..." he said warily, inching away from the bed as if it had some sort of fungi growing all over it.
And that was the breaking point for Hermione.
What did he think that the blood could do to him? It wasn't as if it was bloody contaminated! How dare he stand there and think that something like a period was gross! How dare him! Just because he had the intelligence of a troll and couldn't get his head around the fact that she was a seventeen year old girl! How dare he just stand there and act like her blood- her blood- was something disgusting! Sure, it did look a bit off but he didn't need to act so childishly over it! She was a woman and these things happened to women! It was about time that he wrapped his fat head around that fact!
"Yes Ronald, that is actually a period stain," and upon looking at his shocked expression at her admission, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "What? Never heard of a period before? When you see Ginny next, why don't you ask her about them? No doubt she has hers!" he just started at her with that same shocked expression on his face. It was as if he couldn't believe what she was saying! "Oh for goodness sake, Ronald! It's just a period for crying out loud! Get over it!"
She then stormed past the two boys and made her way into the kitchen, taking a small pot and filling it with water. The boys still hadn't moved and that irritated her more than anything.
Yes, somehow in those small minutes, she had inadvertently come to accept the fact that periods were not something to get all embarrassed about. Yes, they were inconvenient, but they marked her as a woman, and for that very reason she was going to embrace it, no matter how uncomfortable it made her two friends who still hadn't moved.
"Oh grow up, you two!" she huffed, already pouring the tea into her cup. She heard soft footsteps behind her and saw that it was Harry who had moved. He was pouring himself a cup of tea and had taken a seat beside her at the kitchen table which left Ron-
"Sorry, Hermione," he whispered, patting her hand briefly with his own. He then took a sip from his cup, looking at a single spot on the table.
Warmth flooded her chest as she smiled at him and knew in that moment how lucky she was to have a friend like Harry.
"It's alright," she said, glancing toward Ron who- believe it or not- was still standing like a statue in the middle of the room, as if still contemplating what had happened-
She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind but Harry stopped her and whispered, "Just leave him...he needs time to get the message through his big head,"
Hermione chuckled at that and smiled at her best friend.
Yes, she was currently using a sock as a pad (which was rather uncomfortable) and yes, she had just told her two male friends whom she was stuck with she was on her period, but for the first time in ages, she felt stress free as she laughed with Harry.
Maybe things always do turn out alright in the end...
Twenty-One years later
A sobbing Rose Weasley lay on her bed with her exhausted looking mother rubbing her on the back carefully.
"Honey come on," started Hermione, trying to sooth her only daughter, "It's only a period and it's completely natural. These things happen..."
"N-no Mum!" cried Rose, hiccupping slightly as she spoke to her mother with a muffled voice, "These th-things d-don't just happen! Sc-scor saw it all!" she started sobbing harder than before and put her hands on her head, as if she were about to rip her hair out.
Finally getting fed up, Hermione said, "Oh stop being so melodramatic, Rose. It's not the worst thing in the world-"
Lifting her head up in anger and starting at her mother with a blotchy face she cried, "Maybe not in your world! But to me it is! It's Scorpius we're talking about!"
She then broke down into another round of sobs and shook her head.
"So you honestly think that him seeing a small splotch of blood on the back of your pants is embarrassing?" asked Hermione, an idea forming at the back of her mind.
"Yes!" cried Rose, hiccupping slightly.
Taking her daughters hand and looking at her face, Hermione said soothingly, "Let me tell you a story about one of my most embarrassing periods, Rosie. I had never been so embarrassed in all my life..."
It's needless to say that Rose never found her period drama's embarrassing ever again.
Fin.