Disclaimer- JK Rowling is the owner of Harry Potter. The characters are her intellectual property, and most of the monetary profits go to Warner Brothers. After all, who doesn't love a sellout? (I am JUST KIDDING!!! I LOVE JK Rowling! That one comes from my sister, who was being bitter and resentful!)
Early A/N- if you are reading this, please take note that you should THOROUGLY read the A/N at the bottom of the page when you are done with this chapter. It will help a lot!
DEDICATION- This chapter is dedicated to Kori Bischoff, who was my 200th reviewer! YAY!! *FIREWORKS*THEME MUSIC*NOISE MAKERS*
The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression
Chapter 13: Why Secretaries are Evil
"That's the one," Ginny said reverently. She, Hermione, and Molly were in the kitchen at the Burrow, discussing wedding plans. There were various bridal magazines scattered around the room, and the day's objective was to find Ginny a gown. She had decided, just a few days after the selection of the bridesmaid dresses, to wear a Muggle gown.
After searching for hours and hours, looking through many stores and magazines, Ginny had finally found the dress. It was a white, floor length satin gown with a full skirt. The top was a tight-fitting sleeveless bodice, quite plain, but innately beautiful.
"It's gorgeous," Hermione said, sighing wistfully.
"That dress will be perfect on you, love," Molly said, reaching across the table and grasping Ginny's hand.
"It's gorgeous!" Ginny told them happily. "I can't believe I'm going to get married in the perfect dress. Though I wonder what Harry will think of it."
"You'll have to ask him tonight," Molly said.
"No!" Hermione interjected, "Harry can't see the dress!"
"Why?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well," Hermione said with a shrug, "It's a Muggle tradition that the groom doesn't see the dress until the ceremony. Since you are wearing a Muggle gown, I think you should carry through with it."
"Those Muggles sure have some strange traditions," Molly commented, still looking admiringly at the model turning around in the catalogue.
"Well, strange as it sounds, I kind of like the idea," Ginny said thoughtfully.
"You really are going to look beautiful, Ginny," Hermione said sincerely.
"So will you," Ginny reminded, "Those dresses for the bridesmaids are gorgeous, too."
Hermione snorted. "Please, I won't even have lost all of the baby weight by the wedding! You're going to have to stuff me into my dress."
"Don't worry, Hermione, there are six months between your due date and the ceremony," Molly said reassuringly. Hermione was still worried. Even with six months, she knew it would be hard work to lose the weight with a baby to care for. And if she could ever fit into her regular clothes again, there was still the issue of stretch marks! Hermione wasn't a vain person, but at twenty-three years old, it was a sad thing to think that she'd never have her body back exactly. (A/N- yes, twenty-three! She did have to have a birthday sometime, although I didn't write about it as it had nothing to do with the plot line!)
Hermione sighed sadly, nodding. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Believe me, its not as hard as it seems. Running after a baby is plenty of exercise," Molly told Hermione with a nostalgic smile.
"See, I'm worried about that part," Hermione informed her, biting her lip. "I mean, I've never done this before. I only babysat three times while I was younger, and I had no brothers or sisters."
"Well Mione," Ginny said, grinning, "You seem to forget how many babysitters you have! An entire family of us."
"Yes, another thing I'm worried about: with all of you wanting to see my baby, I'll never get any time with it!" The three women laughed, barely hearing the person who walked through the door.
"What's so funny?" Ron asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"Oh, nothing," Ginny said, suddenly back to business- wedding business. "I found the dress," she told him, grabbing the magazine from the table and showing it to her brother.
"Wow, Ginny, its beautiful," he commented as he sat down. "Did you show Harry, yet?"
"We're not going to," Ginny informed him, "We're going to go by that Muggle tradition."
Ron shrugged as he reached for a cookie on the plate that sat in the midst of the bridal magazines. "By the way, Mione, Draco loved your idea."
"What idea?" Molly asked.
"Our vacation for our anniversary," Ron said, "We couldn't decide, and then Mione suggested Greece, and we both absolutely loved it."
"Well I'm glad," Hermione said, "When are you leaving?"
Ron frowned, not meeting Hermione's eyes. "Now, Mione, you probably won't like this, but… February seventeenth."
Hermione shot Ron a puzzled look, an eyebrow almost meeting her hairline. "What's so bad about that?"
"Well, it's only a week after your due date," Ron told her sheepishly. "Me and Draco both wanted to be here for a while after the baby came, but it was the only time we could both get off work for two months to come."
Hermione chuckled. "Ron, that's fine with me. Honestly, its not like you are the father or anything!"
"Are you sure you're fine with it?" Ron asked tentatively. Hermione reached over the table and grasped his hand.
"Its fine," she told him with a grin.
"Well, glad we've got that sorted," Ginny said, "But back to the dress, if you will!"
******
Checking the clock for the fifth time in an hour, Hermione was glad to see she only had ten minutes before she could go home. The day had been long and tiring. Even though her job could be stressful, however, Hermione knew she would really miss it when she went on maternity leave two short weeks later.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Hermione called, surprised. Chelsea walked through the door, twisting her hands together. "What's up, Chelsea?"
"Um, well," Chelsea said, sounding nervous, "I was just wondering if it would be too much of a bother if I took off a bit early today. See, there is something that I kind of need to do."
"Uh, sure," Hermione said, shrugging. There were no splinters from her wand if her secretary left early.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Chelsea cried happily. With a quick smile, she turned and went and gathered her cloak and purse. "Could I go now?"
"That's fine," Hermione said, nodding. Chelsea gave a last grin before she Disapparated. Hermione sat back down at her desk and settled in for the last ten minutes, fully loading her quill in ink.
And as she signed her name to the last parchment, Hermione smiled wearily. Placing all of her paperwork in the 'out' box, Hermione quickly gathered her cloak and purse, Apparating directly into her kitchen where she started making a very large turkey sandwich.
As she was adding the tomatoes a few minutes later, she heard a soft 'pop,' meaning that Percy had arrived home. He came walking into the kitchen after a moment, smiling nervously at Hermione as he sat down.
When he continued smiling for several moments, Hermione began to feel apprehensive. "What?" she asked defensively.
"Um, nothing…" Percy replied noncommittally. "How was your day?"
"Long," she replied as she sat down across from him.
"Oh, that's too bad," he said, still using the nervous smile.
"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked again, frowning at his behavior.
"Nothing, nothing!" Percy said quickly, holding his hands out in front of himself in a sheltering gesture. After a moment, he looked down at the table. "Well…"
"Spit it out, Percy," she said, now a full glare adorning her face. Hermione was in no mood for games.
"Well, you see," he told her, "I was just about to leave work today, when I had someone stop by. Your secretary, Chelsea."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Okay…" she said slowly.
"Um, she kinda sorta asked me if maybe, uh, I'd like to go out sometime," he finished. Hermione's jaw dropped very slightly. If she'd known that's what that tart had wanted to leave work for, she'd never have agreed to it.
"And what did you say?" Hermione asked, once again speaking slowly.
"Um, well…" Percy replied in a stalling manner. At Hermione's glare, he began to speak normally. "I, um, kinda told her that I would… but if you don't want me to, I'll tell her tomorrow morning that something came up."
Hermione blinked rapidly. It wasn't so much that it was a rejection from Percy, as she'd never even presented herself, but it still hurt. The man she'd been falling for over the past four months, the father of her baby, had just informed her that he would be going out with her secretary. Not exactly a shoot down, but it wasn't a great ego booster, either.
Hermione shook her head once, looking down at the table. "No, that's fine," she said, blinking back the tears in her eyes.
"Really, you're sure?" Percy asked uncertainly. Putting on her most charming smile, Hermione looked up.
"Really, its fine with me," she said, letting out a small laugh. Percy shot her a grin in return.
"You know, that's great, Mione. I'm glad you're okay with it," he said, softly taking her hand in his.
Still using the forced smile, Hermione squeezed Percy's hand in return. "Percy, I have one question, though."
"What is it?" he asked pleasantly.
"Well, why Chelsea? If you don't mind me asking."
Percy looked thoughtful for a moment. "I dunno, really. I mean, she seems nice, and she's pretty. And you know, it has been nearly a year since I've dated anyone. I just figured it would be fun to get out there again, try to forget about a few relationship problems I've had."
Hermione nodded slightly. "That sounds reasonable." Despite her calm demeanor, she was still on the verge of tears. Releasing Percy's hand, she stood up. "I think I'll go have a bath, okay?"
"Don't you want your sandwich?" Percy asked.
Giving him one last, fake smile, Hermione shook her head. "Not anymore."
******
(A/N- ooh, I put in some angst! As for the title of the chapter, don't any secretaries yell at me! I happen to like secretaries, but Hermione currently wishes hers would cease to be! That is the only reason I named it that!
The whole 'No splinters from her wand' thing I came up with out of nowhere, so don't ask. Kinda like 'No skin off my nose.'
Also, before anyone starts flaming about Percy and his going out with the secretary, the reasons for that will be revealed later. NO YELLING AT GWEN! Really, it's rather important to a scene coming up. And please don't start telling me how 'It seemed like Percy had feelings for Mione, so why did he agree to date the secretary?' Like I said, that will be revealed later!
And to everyone who had something to say about the names, I'd just like to say that this is my story, and I enjoy the names. Nicole and Thomas happen to have very special meaning to me, which I won't go into now, but nonetheless, that is why I chose them.
Here is a nice little plug: Rebecca Anne, great reviewer of CoAaD, has this really cool website, the Harry Potter Writer's Guild. For all of you writers, go to her site and post your stuff! Here's the address: http://bec917.com/harry Go there, everyone!
As always, here are the thanks to the reviewers:
Taryn- oh, thanks very much! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Allison Lane- ooh, great! I love it when Percy/Penelope shippers read this! Get a different POV on the relationship, you know. Thank you very much!
Thalia- don't worry, all my evilness has a purpose in the end. And I do believe that you'll enjoy that purpose…
SilverMoon- keep asking, and here is the answer you shall receive: eventually. I mean, its quite obvious to everyone now that they will get together, but not quite yet.
sanguinans- yep, I'm fifteen (with no idea about all this pregnancy bull!) And thank you very much!
PhoenixRae- did you enjoy that one? I know, I'm evil. Darth Gwen! Hehehe… Sorry, Star Wars Geek Gwen took over for a moment. But believe me, it will be worth it in time (the evil, not the Star Wars, as it has nothing to do with the story) And thanks for all the reviews!
Loran- *sigh* You got to see Tom… again. You're lucky. I envy that!
Clare- let's see, at this chapter Herm is… about six and a half months. And I know it seems a bit unlikely that the Ministry would kick her out two months before the two date, but I think that they offer a long maternity leave for some reason. And on the Percy thing, we might see some of that later, in an idea I had… well, I won't say anymore, as that would give away all surprises. And I think that I'll be able to email you about the update, but with my evil ISP, who knows?
Skye Rocket- yeah, could be. I mean, it is a good restaurant. And, like I told reviewer Allison Lane, I do love to get other Percy shippers to read this. Not to convert or anything, but so I can hear their point of view.
Megzzie- aww, thanks! Sorry if this didn't help with the bad days…
gohansfollower- yeah, best not to rush important things, like fanfics. Heehee! Anyway, thanks mucho!
ferretgirl101- Did you really? I can't wait till I can have that discussion with the man I'll marry (in another ten years or so… my sister still yells at me about talking to boys!)
FairLady- wow, you want to write like me? Hmm, I must be better than I think… anyway, thank you very much!
Rebecca Anne- thank you! Glad to see someone liked my names!
keeperfan726- Jeremy is a jerk! Yay! Mione should start the 'I Hate Jeremy' Club! Ewie guys are the worst!
Jade Straight- thanks for the sites, I'm going to check them out, but like I said, Nicole and Thomas have special meaning for me. And that's kind of why she hates herself, but its more that she's been falling for him, and that line of things… well, it's just a mix of most everything.
flutegirl- thank you very much!
Elena Guidry- I'll try to check your story out soon! Yeah, I think she'd kill him if he was all 'sportsy'. Heck, I would!
Lady of Werewolves- heehee, glad you hated him! I do too!
HPFFG- naw, I'd never put my own name in there, except as maybe an animal… oh, wait, I already did that!
kazza- oh, no we saw the last of that jerk! I wouldn't do that, it would mess up the ending for everyone!
dracos-baby-gurl- hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this chapter! Thanks a lot!
Aglaia- yeah, I know it's a lot of money (I figured it worked out to roughly around that much), but baby stuff is darn expensive! I priced with my oldest sister this weekend (she and her husband are going to start trying for a baby soon), and if you buy everything you need, it gets pretty hefty! Remember, they have been saving, and my Ministry of Magic pays quite well!
Sneezy Mouse- ack! NOOOOO!! Don't sneeze on me! Hehehe… sorry, but it'll have to happen. You know I'm evil (mwahaha!)
Robyn- sure I missed you and your wonderful reviews! And on the Mione thing: I have this really cute scene written in my head, where Ron and Harry call Hermione 'Mione', and it ticks her off. But they keep at it, and eventually, it sticks. That's why I call her Mione.
Kori Bischoff- I know they do! I mean, I'm just plain evil! It's that evil villainy side taking over! I'm drinking that Hatorade!
Yukito Forever- more Jeremy hating! Yay! Thanks very much, BTW.
Melissa- yeah, Chelsea's pretty evil and mean, isn't she? She needs to just back off of Mione's man!
Harry Potter- thanks for the fuel! I could always use some more (hint, hint). Sorry bout Perce and Chelsea, but it did have to be done!
summerthyme- well, there is still some confusion with me if it'll be a boy or girl, but note this: it will not be surprise twins! Those have been done so much, and I don't consider myself good enough of a writer to pull it off (silverphoenix can do it, and make it work with every pairing but not me). And yellow was the color I had as a baby! I still have my blanket, packed away in a drawer somewhere…
And, until next time, please don't flame about Percy in this chapter. And big news to anyone who cares about the great saga, Star Wars. I just got Episode II on DVD last night at midnight, and it's even better than I remember it! I just happened to be the first to purchase it at my friendly, local Hastings!)