Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

**The Facts of Life – Weasley Style!**

**Chapter 1 – Hermione**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, just live in their world.**

"Hermione dear could you come into the kitchen? I need your help." Mrs. Weasley said brightly.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Weasley" Hermione replied, closing her book. She knew it wasn't another cooking lesson; Ron would be present for those. Over the past two weeks the two teenagers had received culinary training from Molly since as Ron had put it, Hermione's cooking was rather poor and his was absolutely pathetic. They planned to camp again while searching Australia for the Grangers and he thought that they should learn to make proper food, to help keep their spirits up. Hermione had eagerly agreed to this, but she did think she wasn't that bad of a cook. Harry on the other hand….

"I'll help too!" Ginny said

'No dear, not this time, I need Hermione, alone." Molly said slowly, but still with a light tone.

The two girls exchanged a puzzled look as Hermione made her way to the kitchen, her curiosity starting to rise.

" I thought it would be best for you to make this potion and I sort of supervise so that you can do it on your own if needed. While it's simmering, I'll explain everything to you. Sound good?" Molly stated, with a slight smile. Her eyes seemed to dance.

"Sure" Hermione nodded and took a small piece of parchment from Molly. All the ingredients were on the table and a small, black cauldron was set up, a smokeless blue fire burned underneath it. Hermione read the instructions. It was quite a complex piece of magic. She had no idea what she was making, since there was no title on the paper. She got down to work cutting up, measuring and mixing the various items; black junipers, spruce resin, star anise, bluetails etc.

As she worked, Mrs. Weasley would check what she was doing. She was amazed at the young witch's work. "Excellent dear, that's right three half turns with your wand. Good." She was quite pleased with Hermione's skills.

Finally it was time to let the murky blue potion simmer in the cauldron for twenty minutes. Hermione set a small timer and sat down at the table for a cup of tea. Maybe now, she would get some answers.

"What am I making?" she asked the older witch.

"A contraceptive potion" Molly replied, her face going slightly pink.

Hermione face went white; her eyes were the size of saucers.

"What?" She mumbled, her face now turning a shade of pink. She nearly dropped her tea, her hands shaking. She looked at Molly, then past her to the fading yellow wallpaper and then to the bubbling cauldron, her stomach lurching. Slowly her eyes retuned to Ron's mother.

"Oh, why?" Hermione asked weakly. She sure wasn't sounding like the brightest witch of her day. She sounded about as sharp as a sack of hammers… She knew darn well why!

Molly smiled. " We know, Arthur and I, that you and Ron have moved beyond being just good friends and are now something more. Right Hermione?"

Hermione nodded, the bubbling cauldron seemed to be staring at her. She shifted her gaze back to Molly and swallowed slowly.

"We're so happy for the two of you. We just knew you two were meant to be. You are all Ron talks about. We know you love each other and we don't want to know how far you two have gone in your relationship…"

"Mrs. Weasley, please… I assure you, Ron and I…"

"Shh dear" Molly stopped the girl and placed a hand on Hermione's. The poor girl was trembling with embarrassment, almost shrinking away. " We're not questioning your virtues and we expect Ron to behave like the gentleman he was brought up to be. But you are a beautiful young woman and Ron is a fine young man. Sometimes a kiss can lead to much more and that more although beautiful and precious, can lead to a potentially…. awkward situation. Especially when those two young people are alone and need to depend on each other." Molly stumbled a bit on the last part as she tried to weave her words carefully. She rubbed her apron for support.

Hermione let the words sink in and suddenly found the wallpaper very interesting again, particularly the small series of scorch marks around the window, evidence from one of the twin's many pranks?

Hermione raised her eyes and looked back at Molly. The older witch was still smiling and that brought a real sense of relief to the understandably uncomfortable younger witch. Molly's red hair spilled around her face in its typical way.

"Hermione dear. We are so proud of you and Ron. We trust you, both of you. We know that when the time comes you two will make the right decision, the right decision for both of you. This," She pointed to the now bright blue potion, " is a just in case thing."

The timer sounded its little ring.

"What's next to do dear?"

Hermione snapped back into reality of the kitchen and of the potion.

"It must be decanted and left to cool," She said automatically, remembering the instructions.

"Shall I do that dear?"

"No Mrs. Wealsey, I'll do it. I should finish the potion myself." Hermione said firmly. As she decanted the bright blue liquid into the six clear vials she thought about what had just happened. Mrs. Weasley had done everything possible to raise and protect her children. She had fed them, mended their clothes, fixed their hurt hearts and taught them how to be responsible, how to be loving people. This potion was just one more way for her to keep her children, and now her, safe. Hermione felt a strong feeling of admiration for Ron's mother.

'If I'm half a good as her when I'm raising our children (Yes she hoped Ron and her would have children, after they had married), I'll be fantastic." She thought.

"You need to apply two drops of the liquid on your tongue each day for the potion to work. It's a day potion. I assume you know what that means?"

Hermione smiled and said quickly, "It only works for one day at a time, no matter how much of the potion is drunk."

"Excellent, dear"

"Now I'll place these in a safe spot to cool and this here", she held up a small sack that had come from her apron pocket, "is a complete set of the ingredients in case, for some reason you need to make more. I'll place them, with the cooled vials in your room so Ginny won't ask about them."

'Thank you Mrs. Weasley, I imagine that this was really hard for you to do…" Hermione replied firmly, looking Molly in the eyes, her own eyes somewhat back to normal but still with a slight shock to them.

"You're welcome dear and Hermione, just because I've done this with you doesn't mean I'm giving you my permission. I do hope you and Ron will wait until it's the right time." Molly stated, her face going that all to familiar Weasley red. "Oh and if it's any consolation, Ron's getting the talk too from Arthur and Ginny AND Harry will be given the same talks next week, after you and Ron have left. Now why don't you go out for a bit? You seem awfully pale."

The thought of Ron, Harry and Ginny getting the talk too, made Hermione feel a whole lot better. She left the kitchen and made it back to the chair she had been reading in and flopped down.

"What did you do in there?" Ginny asked, her own eyes wide. Hermione looked like she had been hit with a Bludger.

"Oh nothing, just trip preparations that's all."

Ginny wasn't completely satisfied with that answer but Harry and Ron came in at that moment. Ron, too, looked like he had been hit by something big. He slumped into chair opposite from Hermione. He seemed to mouth something to her. She smiled weakly and nodded.

"Ginny, how about a walk by the pond?" Harry asked, hopefully, trying to get out of the ever increasingly uncomfortable room.

"Sounds great"

The two teens headed out, hand in hand. Ginny gave Harry a quick but full kiss, once she thought they were out of sight.

"Mom and dad may have to give those two the Talk before they think they have to." Ron said flatly, his pale complexion seemed almost ghostly green.

Hermione gave Ron a half smile and nodded, her eyes were still rather wide, her face still rather pale.

**Reviews?**

**I'll post Arthur and Ron's Talk later on this week. I hope. I hope you liked this chapter! Cheers**.


	2. Chapter 2

The Talk – Weasley Style – Arthur and Ron

**I don't own these characters, just live in their world.**

The Burrow

Arthur found the boys at the picnic table, down by the pond chatting and enjoying some of Molly's excellent iced tea. They were both rather filthy, covered in stone dust, odd bits of wood, and dirt. They had spent the morning at Hogwarts helping rebuild the school. Even with a hundred witches and wizards, the work was progressing slowly. The Dark Magic used on the building needed to be charmed and scoured away. He knew that the boys needed something to take their minds off of the recent events and of the upcoming ones too. He smiled; Ron was of course talking about Hermione.

It was just wonderful that Ron and Hermione had finally discovered each other's true feelings. Feelings that everyone else had suspected or flat out known for a long time. He watched Harry grin and nod as Ron told some fact about Hermione that Harry had probably known and heard already.

"How was the work, lads?" Arthur asked, his ruddy face shining in the sunshine.

" Bloody awful dad! They had Harry and I down at the bridge trying to rebuild it. When Neville and Seamus blew it up, they did a great job of it. It must be in a million pieces and the mud…" Ron groaned but there was no denying that he was enjoying the experience. Harry nodded in agreement, his eyes flashing in the sun.

"How are you sir?" He asked politely.

"Good Harry, thank you. Harry, do you mind if I borrow Ron for a few minutes? I have something I need to show him in the shed."

'"No trouble at all."

"Come along Ron. This won't take long."

Ron got up with a quizzical look on his face and followed his dad to the Weasley shed.

Once they were inside the small battered wooden building, Arthur turned to face his son.

"First off Ron, let me tell you how proud we, your mother and I are, of your decision to go with Hermione to Australia to find her parents." Arthur said calmly, looking into his son's blue eyes, eyes that were a mirror of his own. Ron blushed a little and gave a small grin.

"Well… I…" Ron tried to say something.

"You love her, don't you son?"

Ron simply nodded, his ears turned pink.

"It's clear that she loves you too. We know that you and Hermione have moved a bit beyond just being best friends. Right Ron?"

Again Ron only nodded. It seemed safer than trying to explain the way he felt when he was with her, when he kissed her. He looked at the walls of the old shed lined with shelves covered with odd-looking Muggle things like blenders, radios, telephone parts and who knows what else.

" Ron, you know how your mother and I feel about Hermione. We expect you to treat her with respect and kindness and to be brave for her. We expect you to be the gentleman you were raised to be."

"Of course dad. I wouldn't do anything to harm her ever, ever!" Ron said nervously and forcefully. He was a bit concerned with his father's tone. It was so rare for Arthur Weasley to sound so serious.

Arthur sensed his son's concern and gave Ron a relaxing smile. He knew his son's intentions were honourable. Still…

"Relax son. Molly and I don't know and don't want to know how far along the two of you have progressed. I'm not here to pry, but I imagine I don't need Occlumency to know that you and Hermione have been having …thoughts about each other." Arthur's own ears redden just a bit. Ron didn't notice, he was too busy trying not to faint, his face white as a ghost, his eyes the size of dinner plates. He felt very uncomfortable, since his dad's words were true. He looked to a dirty wall that had several cracks in it from indoor Quidditch practices, and then back to his dad.

"It's natural son. She's a beautiful young woman and you're a fine young man. You're both of age. Molly and I hope that the two of you aren't too hasty about acting on some of those thoughts. But we're not naïve. We want both of you to be responsible and think of the possible consequences. And we do mean the both of you, neither one of you should be pressuring the other into doing anything that he or she doesn't want to do. Understand?"

" Yes dad, I couldn't. I wouldn't. I love her too much to do that…" Ron's voice was a small whisper, but it was firm and steady. He looked his dad in the eye, his resolve clearly imprinted on his face.

"Good. That's nice to hear Ron, but I feel that I have to be at least somewhat realistic." Arthur took a small breath and went into the information he had shared with all his sons and would have to now share with Ron and soon with Harry too.

"There are potions that can be taken to prevent pregnancy. They are quite complex to make and to be honest your Potions marks weren't stellar and the potion works best on the female witch. I know that Hermione could make it, but it shouldn't have to be her responsibility alone, Ron. Do you know what these are?" He handed Ron a small box. He took it as if it was a grenade or a box of spiders. Ron looked at the box, looked like he was going to pass out, but nodded.

"Do you know how to use these Muggle things correctly?"

Ron shook his head, his ability to speak temporarily gone.

" OK. Good. Let me explain. First you take it out of the packet…" Arthur said, trying to be cheerful.

The next few minutes were probably the most uncomfortable of Ron's life. In his later years, when he was having the same talk with his own son, he would just shake his head and smile. Right now, he was doing all he could to stay standing.

"Well Ron, do you have any questions?"

Ron shook his head, his face white, red, pink, and green all at once. The shed felt really small. He needed to get out of the building. The air seemed to be hot, still, almost mocking.

"You can pick these up at any of the Muggle chemist shops when you need them. Ron, please remember your mother and I are not giving you our permission. We hope you and Hermione will wait until it's the right time. We trust you, the both of you. OK?"

"Yes dad. Thanks" Ron said softly. He squirmed but felt relieved that he still had his parents trust. That meant the world to him.

"Oh and Ron, if it's any consolation, Hermione is getting the Talk from your mother and Harry and Ginny will be getting it next week after you leave for Australia."

The thought of his mother telling this stuff to Hermione made Ron go even whiter, his stomach churned. He wanted to take her in his arms and just hold her and apologize.

"Are you going to be OK? You're awful pale son?" Arthur asked, a small grin on his face. Inside, Arthur was quite proud of his son. Percy had fainted during his talk; the twins had been unsettled for days. It looked like Ron was going to be all right.

"Yeah…yes dad. I think I'll head in for a bit. Maybe get a bite to eat." Ron tried to sound normal. He wasn't feeling too good at all.

Ron was silent as he and Harry headed into the living room of the Burrow. Harry knew better than to try to get any information out of his friend. If it were important, Ron would tell him. They had no secrets.

Ron looked like a large truck had hit him or that he had faced an Acromantula. He saw Hermione sitting stiffly in the armchair.

"I'm so sorry" he mouthed to her.

She smiled and nodded.

"Ginny, how about a walk by the pond?" Harry asked, hopefully, trying to get out of the ever increasingly uncomfortable room.

"Sounds great"

The two teens headed out, hand in hand. Ginny gave Harry a quick but full kiss, once she thought they were out of sight.

"Mom and dad may have to give those two the Talk before they think they have to." Ron said flatly, his pale complexion seemed almost ghostly green.

Hermione gave Ron a half smile and nodded, her eyes were still rather wide, her face still rather pale.

**Reviews?**

**A Big thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter!**


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Harry Potter, Family