Summary: Hermione tries to break it to her mother gently. Oneshot. Short short. Humour.
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe is not of my own design. I am merely borrowing it, and I assure you, no money is being made out of this.
The Facts of Life
How could she not have seen this before?
Hermione Granger lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. She visibly cringed at the one thought plaguing her mind and covered her face with her hands. Her fingers curled, and her nails dug into her skin as if desperately trying to claw out a bad memory.
Did the girls notice? Hell, did the boys notice!
She groaned and turned on her side, burying her head deep into the soft pillows.
Her mother had tried to tell her that this would happen, but truth be told, she kind of hoped that it wouldn't. But now… well, it doesn't seem so bad now, except she didn't know exactly what to do about it.
Okay, Hermione. You're a logical girl. You can figure this out. Just lay out the facts.
Lay out the facts. Right. She would do just that.
She is a girl. True.
But she doesn't have much in common with other girls. Also true.
And so, she spends most of her time with boys. Uh-huh.
And the boys look at her as one of them. Very true.
Because she can do anything most boys can. Of course!
So if they realize that she is, in fact, a female, they'd probably freak. Sadly true.
Because boys are supposed to be afraid of girls. True… according to other girls.
So since neither Harry nor Ron freaked out before the summer, that must mean that they didn't notice the change in her. Possibly true.
Because the Hogwarts robes are dreadfully unflattering. Definitely true.
But again, the question begged to be answered: Did they notice?
Hermione rolled off the bed and stood to stare at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She looked pretty much the same since she first entered Hogwarts. Fair complexion. Smooth skin. Huge teeth. Big hair. 20/20 vision despite all the late night reading she had done.
But still… A blush crept slowly onto her cheeks.
She sighed in resignation as she finally realized that she would have to talk to her parents about this. Wait. Her parents? Talk to her father about something this personal? Merlin, no! Her mother would do. Yes, her mother would understand.
Squaring her shoulders, the brave, little muggle-born witch marched downstairs and walked into her parents' study. Mentally thanking the Fates that her mother was alone, she stiffly sat down on a chair opposite her mother's and opened her mouth.
"Mother," she began, and then paused to think of the best way to phrase her predicament.
Her mother bit back a smile and raised an eyebrow instead. "Yes, dear?"
"I need… That is to say, I think that it is…" It's what? Required? Necessary? Essential? Brilliant. "…essential that you… ah…" Okay. Backtrack. This is not going well, at all.
"What is essential dear?" her mother prompted.
Round two. "You see, mother, in school, there are boys and then… well, and then there are girls, obviously. And there are certain things that distinguish… er… that is, there is a distinction between the two genders, you see."
"Of course, dear."
She's patronizing me! Merlin, this is embarrassing!
"Hermione, dear, is this about boys?"
Hermione squeaked, "No! I mean… ahem… it may be indirectly related to that, but no."
Pull it together, girl. You can do this. Weren't people always saying that she's a really intelligent witch? Besides, she would be spending the rest of the summer with the Weasleys, and everyone knows that the Weasley household is teeming with male life forms! Add to that the presence of her two best friends… There would be no unflattering school robes to hide her this summer. Harry and Ron would certainly notice…
Hermione Granger let out a groan into her hands.
Her mother leaned forward, looking worried. "Hermione, you know you can tell me anything. Just tell me what you need."
Deep breath, then spit it out.
"I need a bra."
The End.
A/N: This is set during the summer between the trio's second year and third year in Hogwarts. Although there is not much to review, all kinds of reviews are still appreciated. Flames not included. Thanks for reading!