Disclaimer- You know, I really can't come up with anything witty to say here. So, let me just say, I don't own it, and you should know that by now.

The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

Chapter 20: The Consequences of Alcohol and Depression

Hermione had really wished that she could have slept late in the morning, but it was not to be done. Nicole had woken her up after only about four hours of sleep, demanding to be fed. But even though sleep was definitely a good thing, it was still a symbolic treasure to watch her child drink her fill. And while Percy had left the room the first time, looking away the second time, he (not to mention Hermione) had felt much more comfortable with breast-feeding after it had occurred a few more times. He'd even been able to watch the beautiful scene around the fourth time, and that surprised Hermione. She was a very modest person, but having Percy watch the private act wasn't at all embarrassing.

Hermione knew how exhausted he was. He had been up even longer than she had, after all. Hermione watched as Percy's head drooped down once again, and she knew he was struggling to stay awake.

"Percy?" she called. Immediately he looked up, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"I was just resting my eyes for a moment," he explained.

"Percy, why don't you go home and get some sleep?" Hermione suggested.

Percy shook his head rapidly. "No!" he argued, "I'm fine! I don't need any sleep."

"Oh, come on, Perce, you're about to drop!" she said. "Just go get a few hours sleep, and then you can come right back."

"No, I don't need it," he said firmly, standing up to prove his point; the corresponding swoon proved Hermione's instead.

Hermione sighed. "Well, why don't you go get some lunch, then? You haven't eaten in quite a while." When a rather audible growl was heard from Percy's stomach, Hermione knew he'd agree to at least that. Even she had gotten to eat breakfast.

"Well, maybe…" he said, looking to the door. "But I don't want to leave you alone."

"Send in Ron and Harry, then," Hermione said, "Just go, Percy, and I don't want to see you back here for another hour."

"Half hour," he haggled.

"Fifty minutes."

"Forty-five."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine, forty-five minutes. But it doesn't start till Ron and Harry are here!"

"Agreed." Hermione pointed to the door firmly, and Percy chuckled. He kissed her forehead before he left the room, Ron and Harry arriving a few moments later, smiling at the sleeping Nicole. Ron took up Percy's abandoned seat on the sofa while Harry sat in the rather hard chair beside the bed. Both were beaming at her.

"What?" she asked, watching the two men suspiciously.

Ron grinned. "It's just weird to think about all of this. Great, but weird."

"How so?"

"Well, Ron and I were talking about this a few minutes ago," Harry said, "I mean, think about it. I'm engaged, Ron's married, and you've just had a baby. It's just so strange to think about."

Hermione smirked. "It is, isn't it? We've all three really grown up."

"Now that's a scary thought!" Ron said. "Who would've imagined us here six years ago?"

"I sure wouldn't have," Hermione said. "I mean, at seventeen, I pictured that I'd be a writer, have a steady boyfriend, and that I'd be living with you guys."

"Whatever happened to those plans?" Ron questioned.

"What happened to them?" Harry repeated incredulously. "You went and moved in with Draco a week after we graduated!"

"And Harry and I couldn't find a place cheap enough for the two of us to live on my Ministry Intern and his Reserve Seeker salaries, so Harry stayed with Sirius and I moved into that cheap one-bedroom till Ginny graduated," Hermione said.

"Oh, right!" Ron said, grinning. "Good times, those were."

"Yeah, because you and Draco were staying in Malfoy Manor!" Hermione said indignantly. "You had it great, living in that mansion." Ron simply smiled brighter.

"Like you lived in such poverty," Ron shot back, "Your parents paid for your rent and bills and food. You got to save your money up to get a nicer place."

Harry scoffed. "Ron, you guys couldn't save up because you spent every Knut you both earned on racing brooms."

"Oh, that doesn't matter!" he argued. Hermione chuckled, feeling the nostalgia of the discussion washing over her. Just like old times at Hogwarts, with not a care in the world.

"You know," she said, "It's times like these when I really feel like we're still kids. I love you both so much."

Ron sighed happily. "I love you guys, too."

"And I love you both, as well," Harry replied. Hermione held her arms open, and the three best friends shared a rather large, funny looking hug.

"I don't know what I would've done with out you guys for the past eleven years," Hermione said, shaking her head with a sad smile. "You've helped me through so much."

Harry smirked. "We try," he said smugly; Hermione slugged him on the shoulder.

"Man, talk about arrogance," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, "Draco would be so proud of you right now."

******

Hermione had fallen asleep just after Percy had arrived back from his lunch break. He had tried to sneak in ten minutes early, but Hermione had gotten Ron to bar the door, a trick he used when he took criminals in to the Ministry. She had even kept him out for the full hour she had wanted. While Hermione appreciated everything that he was doing, he needed a break every now and then.

As tired as she was, Hermione only slept for a good hour. When she awoke, a very soft sound could be heard in the room. She opened her eyes just a tiny bit, feeling an outpouring of emotion at the sight. Percy was standing near Nicole's crib and holding the tiny bundle that was their daughter, rocking her gently. He was murmuring a soft lullaby, and Nicole seemed to be very relaxed. While he didn't have the best voice, Hermione loved the melody anyway.

She watched as Percy continued singing, Nicole falling asleep as the quiet song soothed her. He gently set her down in her crib and pulled up her soft yellow blanket. Molly had taken the trip to their flat, gathering a few of the new baby things for Nicole.

Percy turned around after a moment, barely catching Hermione watching him. "Did you, er, hear that just now?" he asked nervously.

Hermione nodded. "I thought it was sweet," she said, waving him over.

Percy sat down on the bed beside her, softly stroking her arm. "How are you feeling now?" he asked gently.

She searched for a sarcastic comment to make, but when she looked up into Percy's deep blue eyes, seeing how much care and concern were present, she decided against it. Well, that, and the fact that she had already made pretty much all of them already and didn't want to be repetitive. "I'm starting to feel better," she said instead, giving him a lopsided smile.

"I'm really glad," he replied in a whisper.

Hermione frowned, trying to remember something that had been bugging her for a while. When Harry and Ron had been with her, she'd had a vague memory of… something, but she couldn't remember just what. When Percy smiled, a familiar, sad smile, it hit her.

"Say, Percy, what was it you were trying to tell me just before I went into labor?" she asked, raising herself into a sitting position on the bed.

Percy looked positively nervous at the question. "Oh, that… um, well, maybe it should just wait."

"No, go on," Hermione insisted, taking his hand in hers.

"I- I think we should wait a couple of days on this, till we get home, you know," he said, looking anywhere but at Hermione. His entire face was very red.

"Percy," she said firmly, "Tell me." He sighed, giving a small nod.

"Okay," he said. He turned to face Hermione, holding her hand tightly. "Now, like I said, if you remember, this is just so hard for me to tell you. I'd hoped to get it all over and done with at once, but I guess it just couldn't happen that way." He smiled, sadly still. "Now, I told you that you are really special to me, and you really are. But, as more than just my best friend."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, wondering what he was talking about. She had an idea, one that spread a warm feeling through her, but Hermione didn't think it possible. There was just no way… "What do you mean, Percy?" Hermione held her breath as she waited for an answer.

Percy looked down at the blanket for a long moment, taking a deep breath as he looked up, his blue eyes meeting her brown. "Hermione, I love you." Hermione slowly exhaled.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked tentatively.

"I mean," he said, "that I love you. But not just as my friend, even though I do love you like that, as well. I mean that I'm in love with you." Sighing, Percy continued. "I'm really sorry. I know how insanely awkward this is going to make things between us, but I understand that you don't have feelings for me. I'm just fine with that. We can just go on as we have been, and I won't ever mention this again. But I had to get this off my chest, and tell you. I just had to let you know."

As he spoke, Hermione felt the tears stinging her eyes. She had never thought that Percy could have felt that about her. In the entire time she had been falling in love with him, feeling so awful about it, he'd felt the same way. Hermione let out a choked sob, raising a hand to her eyes.

"Oh, see, I knew I shouldn't have told you!" he said, "I mean, I've gone and upset you now. I am so sorry, Mione, please don't cry." Hermione simply shook her head, willing her tears to stop, or at least slow down so she could explain.

"No, Percy," she said, raising a hand to his face, slowly stroking his cheek, "That's not it; you don't understand."

"Oh, what's there to understand? You're crying because I told you that I love you, and I've gone and ruined everything," he said, giving a small sigh and looking at the blanket. Hermione simply smiled.

"There is a lot to understand," she said, making Percy look up. He opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione cut him off. "Percy, I…"

Percy raised an eyebrow, his mouth open in shock. "Hermione, what?" he asked urgently.

Hermione steadied herself, but she couldn't get her voice above a whisper. "I love you, too." She closed her eyes tightly to block the tears, but she knew it wasn't to be. Her hormones were going wild, and she was going to cry if she liked it or not.

"Y- you love me?" Percy asked shakily. Hermione nodded softly, completely unsure of what else to do at that moment. She felt Percy's hands lift to her face, his fingers gently wiping away her tears. "Please don't cry, Hermione," he repeated.

Hermione chuckled. "I can't help it," she replied. She felt Percy's thumbs stroking her cheeks, and she realized she still had a hand on his face. A sudden impulse hitting her, she slowly moved forward. Percy's eyes widened for a moment before he, too, inched forward. Hermione's eyelids slid shut just instants before she felt the returned pressure of Percy's lips on her own.

The kiss was very light and gentle, but Hermione's heart burst with happiness. Percy loved her! He was kissing her! Hermione's tears fell even more, but she could have cared less about that.

When Percy pulled back a few moments later, he smiled hugely. "I love you so much," he said.

"I love you too," Hermione replied, "More than you'll ever know." She raised her other hand up to his face and pulled him down into another, deeper kiss, feeling the love flowing between the two of them. She moved her hands again, putting them around Percy's neck while he slid his down to rest lightly on her waist, the kiss deepening. But suddenly, a shrill cry came from the bassinet. Hermione and Percy broke apart, breathing heavily, looking over to their now-awake daughter.

Percy gave a small chuckle, moving over and lifting Nicole from her bed. "I think she's hungry," he said, placing her in Hermione's arms. She nodded and began to feed the child, smiling warmly.

As Nicole began to slow down her drinking several minutes later, signaling that she was almost full, Hermione shook her head. "You know, its funny to think that these are all just the consequences of alcohol and depression."

Percy nestled himself down on the bed beside her and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'd say they're pretty good consequences, wouldn't you?"

"You got that right," Hermione agreed.

******

(A/N- oh, yay, the happy confessions! FLUFF ALERT! Isn't it grand? I'm all happy now! Um, yeah… Anyway, I realize that it's a little uncreative to title the chapter the Consequences of Alcohol and Depression, but seeing as it was the pinnacle of all the consequences, I'm leaving it!

And, once again, the chapter was late. I know, I know. But I was planning on posting, like, two days ago, and FF.net wouldn't work. And I hadn't felt like posting two before that because I was really rather depressed. I'd just gotten the news that my grandfather had died, and I really didn't feel like it. I attended his funeral today, but I'm alright now. I'm getting over it. So if you feel like flaming for the lateness of the chapter, I'm using my deflector ray and you're going to get nice and charred!

Now to my Uber-cool reviewers:

FairLady- well, you got the romance! Did you like it?

Lulu-Chan- I know, I had an immense amount of reviews for chapter 19; like, fifty! And I've started on the Percy/Oliver story (just to remind you that it's the slash you asked for!). No promises when that'll be out, though.

Silver Moon Serpent- oh, no, I love Herm/Draco fics! Some of my favorites have been Draco and Hermione! I think I'll go check yours out next chance I get

fang-gurlie- yes, it is definitely not a good idea to slap the monitor! I've done it before, and it is not too comfy… j/k!

XxSleepyGirlxX- wow, addicting? That's great! Well, maybe not so much great… *gulp* Um, never mind… thanks!

Loran- man, I need to see Two Towers again… I've only gone once! But with my family's evil health problems, I haven't had a chance *runs to theater, regardless of her grandma's yelling* Hehehe…

wiccianwolf- oh, wow, you cried? I'm flattered! Thanks a bunch (and thanks to your Mom!)

delila-malfoy- oh, Nicole cries, but I didn't write about it. I mean, sure, she's the reason for the fic, but I'd rather leave out the messy, fussy baby parts… for now

melanija- it should be interesting, but I won't say anymore… you'll just have to wait a few days!

snickerdoodle- oh, thank you! And power to the Fluffy- Romance Addicts! *hands out power bars*

Mayhem- YEAH! That could work! Fleur just lost her accent… Anyway, thanks a bunch!

dracos-baby-gurl- I'll try to go check out your fics ASAP! And I'm glad that you don't think slash is bad anymore. I didn't really like it too much before I started writing CoAaD, but now, I think it's alright

Rebecca Anne- thank you! Glad you like the Ron/Draco part!

Maren- oh, a Mary-Sue is a character based on the author, or an original character that is a complete copy of a real person. And I am from Texas, here in the south US.

PhoenixRae- exactly, I enjoy getting the proper reactions! Thanks a bunch!

Sneezy Mouse- yes, that's it! Fleur's just grown out of it! And I can't remember exactly what I'd had planned, but I believe that she and Bill have been together for… seven years, I think. Oh well *shrug* And I really enjoyed the new chapter! Let's just get to the next one… just kidding, take your time!

takari4ever7- no, Nicole doesn't have a godmother… yet. I haven't decided, but I don't know if she will. Kind of odd, I know, but hey, it works for me!

gohansfollower- NOOOOO! Don't eat the baby! Hehe, just kidding! Oh, and I believe it's spelled suspicions (ah, the joys of spell check!) BTW, was it soon enough? Probably not…

pippin- well, you know, you've got to have mush! I mean, without mush, there's only… well, non-mush! Thanks, by the way!

ruffled owl- thanks a lot! Yes, much must come before fanfics, and my evil family just won't leave me alone…

Jasini- have you stopped dying now? I do hope so… Did you like it?

springroll27- thanks! And you get thanks from all of the characters, too!

sanguinans- oh, don't worry, you haven't heard the last of me! Believe me, I've still got a lot up my sleeve!

Taryn- sarcasm noted! But your 'patience' *snort* did pay off!

allee kat- oh, the laziness excuse is still one of my most usual ones, but I really have had lots of plausible reasons for not updating! And your story sounds really good! You'll have to let me know if you get it posted!

Freak like me- oh, thank you very much! Glad you like Draco!

Tara- well, it wasn't really soon, but at least it wasn't two weeks!

HPFFG- what are the gross images of which you speak? …on second thought, I don't want to know…

Yukito Forever- oh, I might just have to whack my computer with a machete, too! *whacks computer with own machete* Ahh, that's better!

yoriko sakura-chan- Granger isn't in Nicole's name because… well, I don't really know, but it seems sweet to me! Thanks!

pamela_potter_24- yeah, the magical baby explanation is what I'm using… it just seemed like the baby should have had Hermione's eyes for the moment, you know?

Clare- thanks! And I understand you not liking the whole Ron/Draco issue, those are your beliefs, and I wouldn't try to change them, or anyone's for that matter.

Elena Guidry- oh yeah, Nicole's gonna be like her parents… but not totally… um, I'm not saying anymore there…

Skye Rocket- thanks! And there, all your rooting paid off!

Alli-Baby- ha, feelings have been realized! YAYAYAY! Sorry, but I'm still happy that it finally got worked out! Thanks!

padfoots girl- thanks! The next one, I hope, will be out sooner!

carleen- thanks a bunch!

Silver Dragon Princess- yep, Nicole's got her dad's hair and her mom's eyes… so sweet *sigh* And I think I'll join you: "AWWWWWW!"

Grytherin14- oh, very good combination there! My sister had the exact same thing happen to her, but she decided she was a Slytherin anyway… And this story had only one chapter left, so not too far!

Hermione18- thanks a lot! And yes, family must come before everything, and I think I have way too much family!

Philyra- thanks for both reviews! And no, I wouldn't have Draco looking like an angel… he's too much of a bad boy for that!

hasapi- …wow… You must be the first (and only, probably) reviewer to review each and every chapter of CoAaD at once. Thank you so much! I mean, it really means a lot that you'd take your time to do that! And maybe a good word to describe Ron and Draco getting married would be… oh, what about adorably rugged? Yeah, maybe not…

Kirelee- rats, you caught me! Yeah, I guess I kinda own Chelsea… if I must. Really, as much as I didn't like her whole place in the story, I do claim her as my own original character, and thanks for catching that slip-up in the disclaimer!

joybear- yes, there you go, romance (fluff!). Did you like it?

kazza- well, as long as it's not saccharine sweet. I mean, that stuff can give you cancer! Hehehe… thanks a bunch!

Lady Lynet ep Evyn- thank you very much! Glad you think it isn't too far OOC

Sarah-Anna- oh, black hair is cool! I wish I had black hair… or red… or even blue! Okay, I like my brown hair, but I still think black would be niftier.

Now, just one chapter left! I know, very sad, and all that. But at least we'll get to have the happy ending!)