September 11th, 1890 — Some Random Tea Party

Ellory wasn't her usual social self. In the past week or so, she was getting progressively more tired. She attributed that to her menstrual cycle. It was about time for her monthlies to come. She had an irregular cycle, so she didn't think much about it being late. It also wouldn't make for a fun 'could-I-be-pregnant' thread if her cycle worked with military precision. She attributed her symptoms of the seventh week of pregnancy, which I acquired with a quick search on the internet, to her period approaching. Her breasts felt huge and they hurt to the touch, she had some mild pelvic cramping. Just like with her period.

She was invited to a tea party. A quiet, low-key gathering. It wasn't mandatory that she attend, but Ellory thought it might help to leave the house. She hoped it'd make her feel better.

Instead, when the maid brought in a platter of fruit tartelettes and Ellory brought one close to her mouth, after the hostess had urged them to try them, Ellory felt her stomach turn around. She brought a gloved had to her mouth, as her tartelette fell dramatically on the plate bellow, tiny crumbs flinging around.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ellory said after the wave of disgust had passed. "I'm really sorry! It was so sudden, I couldn't help myself!"

  

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SET BY MJ

There was nothing like a small tea party to distract Hermione from her thoughts. More like worries these days: Rufina’s marriage, Beckett’s lack of a marriage, Beckett’s injury, Flora’s taste in pets. What she needed was some good company, enjoyable conversation, and some delightful sweets.

The new Mrs. Lestrange, although Hermione had known her since she was a child and was more apt to think of her as Ellory, was seated beside her as the discussion of fruit tartelettes came about. Hermione had always had a fondness for sweet things, but particularly fruited sweets. The cook had done an excellent job on these tartelettes. Beside her Mrs. Lestrange seemed to have a different opinion.

“Are you alright dear?” Hermione asked with quiet concern.

  

Thankfully, the hostess hadn't been offended by Ellory, or if she was, she hid it well. Instead, she showed concern for the redhead. Hermione Longbottom was no Lestrange, though. That family seemed to be friendlier and family-oriented, unlike the Lestranges who always kept decorum.

"I feel sick to my stomach," Ellory replied. "I mean no offense to the fruit tartelettes, Mrs. Longbottom, they seem lovely and I usually love such treats, but when I tried to eat it their smell somewhat bothered me." She must have eaten something spoiled. Or maybe Antigone had sneaked some vomit-inducing potion to her cooking staff. Ellory wouldn't be surprised, seeing that her and Tiberius' wedding gift had been cursed.

  

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SET BY MJ

Hermione listened sympathetically, certain suppositions that graced the mind about such matters after a wedding took place leaping to the forefront of her mind. But better to be gentle about it, rule out all other possibilities. “Oh, dear, have you not been feeling well recently?” Hermione asked gently. “Or was it just the smell of the tarts?”

She waved away a footman who had come around with the try of tarts again.. “I think that is enough tarts for now.” She ordered with a smile to soften the blow. She’d need to make her apologies to the cook later.

  

"I have been feeling tired recently," Ellory confessed to the other woman. "I suspect that it is usual womanly unwellness. I have been waiting for my curse, you see." Even though they were both women, Ellory had been taught to be very vague when talking about her monthlies. It was a crude subject to discuss but it would remove some worry from Mrs. Longbottom, who could attribute her feeling unwell to a different sickness. It was all because of her period, she was sure! It was late and it would taunt her before finally knocking on her door!

  

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SET BY MJ

“I see.” Hermione said carefully, grateful most of the other women in the room had returned to other conversations, giving her and Mrs. Lestrange a moment of confidentiality. “And do you normally feeling nauseous and tired when waiting for your curse?” She was trying to be as gentle as she could with the young thing. Poor dear probably had no reason that the rest of the room suspected the same thing Hermione did simply because she had been married several months no, not to mention the whole tart incident.

  

"Sometimes," Ellory replied. "You see, I could never pin down when my curse is due to come. There have been times when it's left me plenty of time of peace before visiting again." Sometimes her period came on time but there were times when it was late for a week or two. "It's been some time since it last came to visit, so I suspect it'll be particularly bad this time, to compensate for being late."

  

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SET BY MJ

“Have you considered, my dear,” Hermione began gently, “That you may be expecting?”It did certainly seem as if the girl might be, although with an inconsistent monthly course, it could be hard to tell. Hermione knew that from advising her own daughters. Besides she could hardly assume that as newlyweds they weren’t sleeping in the same bed and all that that entailed.

  

"Oh!" Ellory exclaimed softly. "To be honest, no. I haven't really put on any weight, nor do I crave any foods. I thought pregnant women want to eat everything all the time." With her limited knowledge of biology, Ellory assumed that was how babies grew in the womb. They were being fed by their overly hungry expecting mothers and they grew and grew until they were too big so they wanted out.

Even though childbearing was expected from women and she and Claude certainly partook in the activities that produced babies, Ellory hadn't thought that it could happen so soon. She couldn't think of herself as a woman. She didn't know what to do with children. A part of her still felt like a child, so it was hard to imagine herself as a maternal figure.

She wondered how Claude would take it. She had a feeling that he wasn't feeling like a father yet either. Then again, he was much more responsible and sensible than her, so he'd be better at the task. Would he be overly invested in the baby's gender? Ellory knew that her uncle Lucius wouldn't care about any grandchildren that weren't boys... Or metamorphmagi, she supposed, but what were the odds that she and Claude would have one? And what if her baby was a squib?

  

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SET BY MJ

The surprise was genuine on the girl’s face, which almost surprised Hermione herself. When she had first married she had waited impatiently for any sign that she might be with child, every cramp of her cycle, every odd smell, she had inspected and waited. It hadn’t long for the blessing to occur and every pregnancy from then on had been easier to detect. But the first one could be difficult.

“Oh dear, not all the time” Hermione reassured her with a chuckle. “I spent the first months of my pregnancies ill, barely wanted to touch food at all. It wasn’t until I was further along that the cravings and hunger came about.”

  

"But I'll have to force myself to eat, right? Otherwise the baby won't grow," Ellory asked the older woman. It was so nice of Mrs. Longbottom to give her advice! Had her mother been alive, she would have been the one to guide Ellory through the process. Thankfully, she had two older sisters who had had several babies amongst the two of them. Ellory preferred Mrs. Longbottom and Evey and Eloise to her late mother.

  

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SET BY MJ

“Oh, I doubt you’ll need to force yourself.” Hermione started calmly to attempt to explain such matters. “The babe will grow just fine regardless, you’ll just desire extra food as time goes on.” The older woman gave her a comforting smile, she could still remember her own worries during her first pregnancy. “I suspect you would have several months before you even needed to consider that.” Then again every pregnancy was different.

  

"I see," Ellory replied. "Is it true that food cravings are a sign of what the baby will be? I mean, I've heard that boys prefer savory tastes and girls prefer sweet ones." She had read an article about it, in Witch Weekly. Ellory was sensible enough not to take everything written in it as gospel, but if many people were saying it it might have been true. In any case, it would be nice if her first baby was a boy. It'd remove some pressure from her and Claude.

  

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SET BY MJ

Hermione chuckled, there were always stories of how to tell before hand, but half of them she had found were false. "I doubt it. When I was pregnant with my son all I wanted for sweets, and with first child it was just the opposite." Hermione had mistakenly been convinced that Annabelle was a boy until they had handed the baby to her after her delivery.

  

"I see," Ellory replied. It was a pity, she would have liked to know if she was having a boy or a girl. She was an impatient person by nature.

"Oh, this feels quite surreal, Mrs. Longbottom." Ellory then said. "Is it normal to not feel like a mother before you give birth?" She had been the baby of the family until deep into her teens. It was hard to imagine herself as a mother.

  

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SET BY MJ

It seemed as if the new Mrs. Lestrange had accepted this suggestion as truth, the thought which made Hermione smile. It was always nice to feel she could help sheppard new young ladies to such realizations.

Hermione’s musing were cut short by the girl’s next question. “Dear, it is quite normal to feel like you are not a mother even after you give birth.” She answered with a chuckle, placing a kind hand on the girl’s arm for a moment in reassurance before withdrawing it. “There were still times even after my daughter was born that I still couldn’t believe I was a mother.” That rather faded after the second or third child and was long gone by the time the seventh came around.