16 September 2011

Someone Else's Happy Ending, Chapter 9

Saturday November 1st [24 w 5 d]

"Dracooo, feel sorry for me. I've officially accepted that I don't walk anymore, I waddle."

"Oh love, come on. You don't waddle."

"Oh yes I do!" He just shakes his head as I ramble on about how fat I'm getting, how I can't see my feet, how I haven't shaved my legs in weeks, and on and on.

"Let's hope you don't break Promfrey's eardrums." I shoot him a look as I pass him through the hospital wing door. Draco and I walk down to the end of the room. I hoist myself up on one of the beds and sit, waiting for Madame Promfrey. She hurries out of her office in her usual business manner.

"Well hello dear, how can I help you?" I unconsciously place my hand on my stomach.

"I've been kind of worried lately. I've read a few books and they all say that I should feel movement by at least 24 weeks. I'm almost 25 and haven't felt anything at all yet."

"Hop back on the cot for me and we'll take a look." I lay back and she taps my stomach, muttering the same spells that she did all those weeks ago. It feels like forever that I was laying here. She waves her wand and a curtain snakes around us and the bed. The grey screen is projected onto the curtain and I can see my little girl.

"Why can't I feel her move? She's moving on the screen."

"It's not common but not all unheard of to not feel anything this far along. I'd start to worry if you're closer to 30 weeks and haven't felt anything at all." She moves the tip of her wand around. "Still looks to be a girl. Nice, healthy heart beat. She's right on track. No need to worry, dear, she's perfectly fine." I sigh in major relief.

"That's great, thank you." Draco nudges me. "Oh! I was wondering if you could tell me the due date? I'll be 25 weeks on Monday."

"Well dear, you just add 15 weeks from Monday. So that means your estimated due date would be on February 16th. Of course, she will most likely pick her own day to show up." I nod and rub my belly, watching her on the projection. Her little legs are moving and kicking around.

"Madame Promfrey?!"

"Sorry dear, I've got to go. Come back around 30 weeks if you still haven't felt anything or sooner if you have any other concerns." She rushes off to help someone else, leaving Draco and I to sit there alone.

"So, are you worried anymore?" I look down at my belly.

"Not as much as before now that I've seen her moving around. Thanks for coming with me, Draco." He gives me a small smile.

"No problem, Bella." There's an awkward pause where he looks like he wants to say something else, but Madame Promfrey beats him to it.

"I'm sorry, but I need to use this bed. Quidditch injuries, you know."

Thursday November 20th [27 w 3 d]

Draco and I are in the library studying. Well, I'm supposed to be studying, but I just can't be arsed to do it. I'm almost falling asleep as he's reading a Quidditch magazine. The library is our choice hang out lately since it's been cold outside and I won't let him in my common room. He's offered his but I've refused. Currently we're sitting on one of the two couches in the library. Most people know by now to bug off if I wanna sit here. He's absently rubbing my calves while reading and I'm dozing off, one hand on my stomach.

I'm just about to fall asleep when I feel a little bump in my stomach. I jump a little and sit up, looking down at my belly. Draco looks quickly at me. "What's wrong, Bell?"

"I think.. I think I just felt her kick." A smile spreads across my face as I feel another little bump.

"Really?" I nod.

"Yeah. Give me your hand." I grab his hand and place it on my belly. "Just wait.." It takes her a few minutes, but she kicks again, this time against Draco's hand. "Did you feel that?" He nods. "This is amazing." We sit with his hand placed on my tummy for a few more minutes.

"Do you have any names picked out?" I shrug.

'Not really. I haven't really thought about it too much. I kind of like Elizabeth, but I don't like Lizzie."

"Are you going to think of any boy names?" I shake my head.

"Naw, probably not. I mean, if Madame Promfrey changes her mind and decides the baby might be a boy, I might think of one. But probably not. I think I'll have enough trouble thinking of a girl name." Draco nods and takes his hand back, going back to his magazine. He's got that look on his face again, where it looks like he wants to say something else but is stopping himself. I frown but don't push him. He'll tell me when he feels like it.

I feel another little kick, this time on what feels suspiciously like my bladder, and almost pee myself. "Oh, crap. Draco, help me up."

"Hmm?" I smack his shoulder. "Hey-"

"Like now, Draco. Or else I'm going to pee on you." He gets up and heaves me off the couch then grabs my bag as I waddle from the library and down the corridor to the bathroom.

"I'll just.. wait out here for you, shall I?" I hurry into a stall and don't even bother locking it, just rip my pants down and sigh a huge breath of relief that I made it to the toilet.

As I'm washing my hands I look down at my belly and sigh. "We still have 12 more weeks to go, you and I. Throwing up is one thing, but peeing my pants is not something I'd like to do. Ever. Got that, little lady?" I swear she actually listened, cause there's a small bump when I end my little speech. I pat my belly and smile. "Good girl. Now, let's go get us something to eat."

Mind Over Matter, Chapter 13

"I'm a Telepath." Zee's eyes widen a little and his cheeks darken slightly. I smile and raise an eyebrow.

"Uhm, have you been listening the whole time?" I chuckle and shake my head.

"Nah, it doesn't work like that." He is obviously relieved. Why, I have no idea.

"How does it work then?"

"It's.. hard to explain. I can't read anyone's mind at any given time. I have to be connected to them first. And that's kind of complicated."

"How so?"

"Well, I have to be thinking the exact same thing as another person to connect with them, at the exact same time."

"Thinking what?" I shrug.

"Anything, whatever. Could be a colour or a word or a picture." Zee grins.

"Do it to me."

"What? Why?"

"I wanna see what it feels like. Do it." I narrow my eyes a little.

"Once I'm in there I can see whatever I want and for as long as I want. The connection doesn't end unless I end it." His grin fades a little.

"Hm, well maybe another time then." I laugh a bit and grab another bread roll. "Do you ever accidentally link with someone?"

"It happens all the time. School was the worst, with everyone in the class thinking the same thing like during a test or something."

"That sounds like it sucked."

"You have no idea." I stand up and stretch. "So, what do you do?"

"I'm a Telekinetic Pyro."

"Whew.. And I thought mine was cool." Zee laughs and leads me to the common room. Will is playing a video game. I flop down on the sofa and look back at Zee, who sits beside me.

"It's not that cool, really. I'm not that good yet, but don't tell anyone. I came here mostly to control it." He blushes. "I got into a little trouble earlier this year."

"I hardly call burning down your house a little trouble." My eyes widen at Will's back and I look back at Zee, who is scowling.

"I didn't do it on purpose, all right, pretty boy? You know that." Will snorts.

"Wait, do you two know eachother?" Zee nods sadly.

"Unfortunately." I turn back to Will.

"So what do you do?" This time Zee snorts.

"Shut it, Golding." Will pauses his game and turns to look at me. There's an expression on his face I can't read. "I can levitate."

"Really, why don't you give us a show." Will closes his eyes and for a few minutes nothing happens. Then, he raises a few inches off the floor and falls back onto his ass. Zee cracks up laughing.

"Some ability you got there, Cedar. You can raise yourself a couple inches, good job!" I give Zee a sideways look.

"I bet he can do more than that, can't you Will." He doesn't say anything, just unpauses his game and ignores us. I roll my eyes and lay back against the couch, setting my feet on Zee's lap. He goes to grab for one and I kick his hand. "I warn you, I am ticklish, and I don't fight fair."

"Relax, I was just gonna massage them for you." I raise an eyebrow but after a few seconds I set my feet back down and he takes one in his hands. "The trick is to make firm movements. Any light touches will tickle the person because they aren't expecting it." I think he's crazy, but he successfully gets through an entire foot massage, both feet, without tickling me once.

"Amazing. No one's been able to do that, ever."

"I could tell. You carry a lot of tension in your feet and your shoulders."

"My shoulders?"

"Yep. I can tell just by looking at them." He moves to position me so I'm sitting in front of him, but I stand up and back away before he can. He gives me a questioning look and I shrug.

"I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna go up to my room. I'll see you tomorrow." I turn and exit the common room, heading up the stairs and straight into my room. I close the door behind me and try to lock it, finding out there's no lock. Great. I sit on the bed and lay back against the pillow. I suddenly have a terrible sense of homesickness. I reach into my bag for my cellphone and wait for it to load, only to find that there's no service out here. Just great.

I stuff it back in my bag and sigh. I'm also suddenly really tired, even though it's only 8 PM, and would only be 5 back home. I undress and find a big t-shirt in my bag, pull it on and get under the blanket. The pillow is squishy and the blanket is itchy and I almost miss my own bed in my own room.

No, Gemma, it's not your room anymore, remember? This is your room now. This is your house and your life now. I do something I haven't done since I was 8. I cry myself to sleep.

12 September 2011

Someone Else's Happy Ending, Chapter 8

Friday October 31st [24 w 4 d]

I swear, if she makes me try on one more dress I will kill her.. Leona and I are in a Maternity store in Hogsmeade and she's made me try on 10 dresses in the course of two hours. It's been very hard lately to try and hide my belly and apparently she thinks tonight is "the night to tell everyone." Right now I'd rather stick a spork in my eye and pop out my eyeballs. "Bell, that looks awesome on you!" I suppress another eye roll.

"You've said that about every single dress I've tried on. And count them, there's ten of them. I'm done, pick whatever dress you want, I just don't care anymore." She looks a little disheartened and I instantly feel horrible. "God, Leona, I'm sorry. I'm hot and sweaty and that sales lady is really getting on my nerves."

"No, Bell, don't worry. I've kinda taken this a little overboard, haven't I?" She holds up the first dress I tried on and the third one. "It's gotta be one of these." I survey the options.

"The first one. Wish I had known I was gonna pick this one nine dresses ago." She gives me a smile and goes to flag down the sales lady while I dress back into my regular clothes. Before the dresses I'd tried on a bunch of maternity clothes. I've now got lots of clothes to last me until the end of my pregnancy. That word still feels weird to me and I'm more than half way through.

"Okay Bell, we're finally done! The dress is a gift from me, so you don't have to worry about it. Now we can go up to the school and get ready for later."

"You're too good to me." She waves my comment off as she helps me with the bags. All 5 of them.

**

"Hold still, I'm not done." My patience is getting shorter and shorter as she redoes my hair and makeup. I don't really want to do either of them, but Leona's so excited that I couldn't say no.

"Just hurry up. If you thought this afternoon was bad, then you're in for a surprise."

"Done! Go look." I waddle over to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror, and despite my best efforts, my eyes travel directly to my growing stomach. I place my hands on my tummy, wondering what the hell I'm getting myself in to. I guess it's too late to wonder that now, though. "What do you think, Bell?" I barely glance at my face as I exit the bathroom.

"It looks great. I can't wait for this day to be over. I got November's worth of moving done in one day, lucky me." She goes through the bags until she finds the dress she bought for me. I groan as I slip it on. It doesn't hide my huge stomach at all.

"You look fabulous! Just give me a few minutes and I'll be right down." I slip on my shoes and make my way down to the common room, sliding down on to one of the couches. There's a few people left in the common room sitting at the tables. Probably cracking down on this weekend's work.

As I'm waiting for Leona I place both my hands on my stomach, trying to see if I can feel something. All the books have said I was supposed to feel movement by the time I was at least 24 weeks and I haven't felt anything at all. I'm beginning to get worried.

I decide Leona's taking too long and make my way down to the great hall on my own. I get lots of stares and a few people even point at me. I ignore them all, holding my head high. Phoebe would be proud of me. I spot Draco standing near the entrance and walk up to him. He looks me over and gives me a warm smile. "Bell, you look wonderful." I blush deeply.

"Leona made such a fuss over me. We spent 4 hours in this store, I tried on about 100 articles of clothing." He laughs as he takes my arm, guiding my into the great hall. "It's not funny, Draco. The sales woman was an airy old woman and she got on my nerves by just looking at her. I was going crazy by the time we left. I spent 50 galleons and came home with 5 bags!" He leads me to a silver table with 4 chairs. "I can't sit here, this is a Slytherin table."

"Oh please. Sit down and I'll get you a drink. What do you want?"

"Punch is fine. Make sure it's not spiked, huh?" He walks off in the direction of the drinks table. I sit down and try to make myself comfortable on the little wooden chair. Not so easy going considering my ass is too big for the damn chair. I sigh and give up. Draco walks back with two cups in hand. He sets one in front of me and I take a sip. "These chairs are ridiculous! How is anyone supposed to sit on them." He chuckles and I throw a sugar cube at him.

"So how have you been feeling Bella? We haven't had much time to talk lately." I nod, taking another sip.

"I've been all right, I guess. Still no movement which is really getting on my nerves. I'm going to see Madame Promfrey tomorrow, make sure all's good."

"How big is she now?"

"I haven't had time to check lately but in week 23 the book said she was supposed to be about one pound and just over 2 inches."

"Have you figured out when you're due yet?" I shrug.

"Naw. I'll ask Madame Promfrey tomorrow."

"Want me to come?" I smile inwardly.

"Sure, if you like."

I spend the rest of the night chatting and catching up with Draco. I get more stares and more people point at me, but it doesn't bother me anymore. I've decided that the baby is going to be a good thing. And no matter what happens, she's gonna have more love than she'll know what to do with.

Mind Over Matter, Chapter 12

Instead of unpacking my clothes, I head down the hall to the bathroom. After an entire day of plane, and then car, travel, I'm feeling pretty gross. I lock the door and strip down and take a long, hot shower. As I'm drying up there's a knock at the door. "Yeah?"

"Uhm, Gemma?"

"Yeah. What?"

"Dinner is in 10 minutes and I'd like to use the bathroom."

"Okay, just give me another minute." The voice stops but doesn't move far from the door. I tug my clothes back on and open the door, coming face to face with a girl. She smiles when I catch her eye.

"Hi, I'm Tessa."

"Gemma. I'll just get out of your way." I side step her and head back to my room. I decide to change my clothes as well and brush my hair, braiding it to one side. When I'm done I turn to see Tessa standing in my door way.

"Would you like to walk down to dinner with me?" I'd decline, but I don't know where the kitchen is yet, so I nod in agreement. I've never really gotten along with females, or anyone really for that matter. Becca was a rare find. I should probably say something to Tessa, but nothing comes to mind, and I'm not one to fill silences with chatter. She seems content to stay quiet anyway.

As we come to the main floor I hear steps coming down the stairs behind us. Apparently I'm not moving fast enough because some guy, who I assume to be William, rushes past us and almost runs to the middle door on the left. I glance at Tessa. "That's Will." Thoughts confirmed. I feel an arm on my shoulder and turn to my right to see Zee in between Tessa and I.

"Yeah, Mr Personality himself. He can be okay most of the time, but don't get between him and his food."

"So what's with the nickname?"

"Don't be hatin' on the name, okay?" I smile.

"Never said I was hatin', just asking where it came from." Zee grins as Tessa slides from under his arm and walks a little ahead of us.

"Well, like I said earlier, I used to get beat up a lot. Guess most guys didn't care for such a sophisticated name. Anyways, the summer I was 13 I moved and decided to come up with my own name. I also buffed up and grew a few inches."

"But why Zee?"

"I thought Admiral sounded a little cheesy. And Z is the last letter of the alphabet and I was 13 and thought it sounded cool, all right." He opens the kitchen door and sits at the table, motioning that I sit beside him. I sit. "After that, it just stuck, so now I'm Zee."

"Huh."

"How'd your parents come up with Gemma?" He takes a bread roll from the centre of the table and bites into it.

"Well you nailed it before. My mom wanted to call me Jewel, but my dad hated it, so they settled on Gemma. I think he wanted to name me Francine after his mom. So glad they decided otherwise." Zee snorts into his bread.

"Okay, everyone, listen up for a minute." I look over at Liz. "I'd like to welcome Gemma Slate. You've already met Lawr.. Zee Golding, Tessa Packard, Samantha Que, and William Cedar." She points to each person in turn. "Tomorrow after everyone's rested up I'll give you a tour of the labs where we'll begin our testing."

"What kind of testing?"

"It differs for each ability. You'll learn more about that tomorrow." I take a small bite of my bread roll. Suddenly I'm not so hungry. I knew they were doing studies and research, but I'd never really thought about how they do those studies. Obviously, they test our abilities and study us. I wonder if we're being studied right now. "After dinner everyone can do their own thing again for the night. As always, lights out at 10 sharp." I almost groan out loud. We have a bedtime? How old do they think we are, 12? I catch everyone's faces and assume they've already thought this. Oh well, just because it's lights out doesn't mean they can make me sleep.

After that, Liz leaves us alone to eat. Zee and I do most of the talking, simply because both Will and Samantha retreat out of the kitchen as soon as they're done. Tessa stays a little to talk, but soon leaves as well. Zee turns to face me. "So, what do you do?"