Entry tags:

!complete, char: pandora montgomery, char: persephone montgomery, location: other, time: 2009 03

RP: The Montgomery Sisters
Who: Dora and Persy
When: March 14, 2009
Where: Inside and Out
What: Sister time and furniture shopping
Warnings: Minor language

Dora had sent Persy a message about the lot from the estate sale coming in. She hadn't told Aunt Montgomery she was going to give Persy first dibs on any of it, but Dora generally did a good job sorting through the wizarding family relics and picking the stuff the shop either could strip and recharm or whose existing work would be good, and then selling off the rest through other dealers in a way that almost always netted them a profit, so it wouldn't really matter in the end.

Their cousin Elroy was manner the front desk, but he had instructions to send Persy on back if she came in. The stuff was stored in the back, not in the workshop proper at the back of the shop but behind even that, so Dora could sort it in between her charm work. There were several long benches with drawers and tops full projects, the areas relatively neat. Some were the general things, like the basic jewelry held glamors and stuff that tended to sell quickly, smaller things the shop generally stocked and she could get through at a pace.

The other stuff were her custom orders, which netted more money and took more work. Sometimes jewelry, trunks, tents, cabinets, any variety of things. But it managed not to be cluttered, really. There was even a large area she tended to do the tents in, since the fabric had to be spread out as she charmed it.

Today was a day she'd put in plenty of work (and a nap, yes, Ewan, a nap), so she wore a pair of fitting type yoga pants she'd discovered in the Muggle world years ago, and currently, a tank top, since working at made her warm and the blouse she'd worn over it had become a bit much. Her hair was pulled back in a braid that was starting to come a bit loose, and in such garb you could see the growing baby bump, though her clothing choices when she went out tended to hide it mostly because she wasn't prepared to discuss it with anyone who wasn't family or close friends.

While she waited for Persy, she nibbled on some fruit in an absent manner that hid just how much of it she was managing to eat.

***

Persephone loved her new flat, from the view down over Victory Road to the delicious scents that escaped from Sweet Nothings below. When ZJ had helped her move in, though, she'd come to realise just how little she owned. Currently, she was borrowing a few items of furniture from the Montgomery estate because she didn't think her mother would actually notice that they were gone. As well as furniture, she really wanted to find a flatmate because living alone was a peculiar thing that she just didn't think she could get used to. First, though, she was going to get herself settled into her new abode.

Once she had got a message from Dora that there were some pieces in that she could come and look at, Persephone was especially curious to see her sister at work. She had her own skills at charms, but Dora was on another level; with a wand in her hand, she was an artist. Arriving at the shop, she didn't have much of a chance to look around before Elroy engaged her in a polite conversation. He didn't seem to have changed at all since the last time she'd seen him, though it had to have been a couple of years.

Walking through to the workroom, Persephone smiled as she saw her sister. Naturally, she went in for a hug. "Panda! How are you?"

***

Dora hugged her tightly for that moment. As uncertain as she still was most of the time around her sister, she loved her dearly and wanted her to know it. As with Ewan, she couldn't make up the lost years, but she could certainly try.

"I'm all right. Tired and getting fat, but managing," she said with typical dry wryness. These days she was back to having to use tailoring charms on practically everything, something she was adept at but was quickly getting old since she was generally thrifty anyway and always did her own clothing, thus looking like she still had Montgomery money even though she didn't.

"What about you? Did the move go smoothly?"

***

Already devoted to her future niece or nephew, Persephone held her sister at arm's-length to get a good look at her. Weight gain was normal in pregnancy, but she would never have considered Dora fat, even with the tell-tale roundness that was forming around her middle. "I dunno," she mused. "It's a good look on you," she teased gently. Any children that Pandora or ZJ had were as close as she was going to get to having her own, so she felt fiercely protective.

"It was fine. Not much to move." Persephone pushed her glasses up. "It's weird living by myself, though. I'm used to having other people around. I think I'm going to get a flatmate."

***

In reality, Dora still had very little fat on her. She'd been on the almost too thin side to start with, and she still had a sharp lean quality to her despite the baby bump that was visible in this outfit. "I keep having to adjust my clothes," she said in a grumpy tone, but her pale eyes belied her bitching, glinting with amusement.

"Well, we can fix that. I've found a few sweet pieces through here over the years," she assured her. Of course it depended on what style Persy preferred, and it pained her to know that she didn't know what her sister wanted. "Aside from the ones with personality that is. That cabinet bites and that one throws dishes," she said, pointing to two different pieces in the workroom. "But they're practically pets at this point, I can't really bear to strip them or something."

In her experience, objects with enough age and spell work tended to develop personalities of a sort and especially with heirlooms this could be dangerous.

She wrinkled her nose faintly in sympathy. "I'm the opposite. I've lived alone so long that having someone always around is sometimes unnerving," she confessed.

***

Persephone smiled. "If only ye ken someone good at charms," she said dryly. Assessing Dora, she thought they might be around the same size. Persephone had a couple of inches on her these days, but she had a few pounds on her too. "I might have a few things you can borrow?" she suggested. "If you want."

Eyeing the biting cabinet with mild alarm, Persephone shook her head. "I think I want my furniture to be a little less... boisterous." She frowned. "I've never bought furniture before," she admitted. "I know I need a bed, a desk and a wardrobe, if that's a good place to start?"

***

Dora laughed. "Well at least that's not the problem," she agreed, her speech already starting to relax into a more comfortable brogue to match her sister's. "Might have to take you up on getting at least a couple of things til I can go shopping next."

Dora smirked. "There's a reason I don't take them home, but I can't really part with them either." She patted the biting cabinet fondly and it clicked a drawer at her with no real threat. She'd never had a pet, not really, owls didn't count; her mother had never really approved. The boisterous furniture and visits to the bestiary did her well enough for now.

"Ack, well, we can solve that now. I can't say it's proper shopping but I've got some stuff in the back." She gestured her sister to follow, fidgeting with a bracelet on her left arm absently. She'd finally replaced the glamor bracelet there, mainly for today's visit. Ewan had somehow gotten her used to not covering up her arm.

"Bed, desk, wardrobe and sofa," she recommended as she unlocked the back room with a wave of her hand rather than pulling her wand. She did the same with the lights in the back storage area, and they eased on to reveal a goodly (expanded) amount of space and various pieces of furniture from several sales that she'd not gotten through yet. "I wasn't sure what you prefer, so I did pull some of the older pieces I thought maybe you'd fancy? It's not a huge selection but I Kenned we could start here and narrow it down."

***

The back room was a veritable treasure trove, Persephone's eyes widening behind her glasses as she took it all in. Other people her age were married and starting families, but here she was shopping for her own flat for the first time ever. It was a bit daunting, but at least she had help from someone who dealt with the stuff all the time.

"I think I prefer plainer stuff," she said a little doubtfully. "Nothing ostentatious." After living in tents for years, her taste in belongings tended towards the austere and practical. She wrinkled her nose, uncertainty all over her face. "Maybe darker wood?"

***

"Plain. Hmmmmm." Antiques didn't always lend well to the austere but Dora remembered a few plainer pieces that she'd actually only kept because of the quality. Much of the wizarding world favored the ostentatious. She herself preferred something in between.

"There's this bed," she said, leading the way down a row. "Or wait!" She perked in an a ha kind of moment. "I remember getting several sleigh beds a couple months ago. Those tend to be quite simple and elegant." One of them might do for Persy. There were several though and she'd rather fancied the look but hadn't had a chance to charm any of them yet as beds weren't high priority.

***

The first bed that Dora suggest didn't really scream buy me to Persephone, but when she introduced her to the sleigh bed Persy couldn't help but reach out and touch it. "Oh, I like this," she said, bending over a little to take a closer look. It was a striking piece, almost masculine, and looked like it would last forever. She wanted to create her own little sanctuary in her bedroom and something like this might be a perfect focal point.

"It's not going to try to eat me or anything while I sleep, is it?" she joked.

***

Dora laughed and shook her head. "Nope." She fished out a tag she'd put on it after sorting it to refresh her memory. Some things stuck firmly in her mind and others flitted in and out, so she liked to make certain of what she was telling her sister.

"No, this one has no spell work currently and had none when it came to me. I can put some basic things - temperature control and such - on it, and it should take to it just fine. I think it might even have a matching dresser or chest of drawers somewhere." She set down the tag and stood up straight, clearing her mind for a moment before clapping her hands twice, firmly, saying, "Marco!"

A moment later from farther in the storage space came a muffled but present thump thump in reply. Her eyes glinted with amusement as she glanced over at her sister. "Summoning spells in here are dangerous if they work attached all," she confided in a low, pleased voice. "So I customed a finding charm a few years back." She always did it wandless, her intent and clapping enough to make it work, though not everyone would be able to do it thusly. "Want to see if you want that too?"

***

Persephone couldn't help but smile proudly as she witnessed Dora's charms at work. She was so talented and it was so damn unfair that she'd never been able to pursue a career as an Auror like she'd always wanted when they were young. Persephone was more of a list-following type, which worked for her as a Healer, but she didn't have creativity like Dora.

"Yeah, let's take a look." Following her towards the spot where the thumping had come from, Persephone asked, "How's Ewan? I hope he's not spending all his time worrying about you and the baby."

***

Dora gave Persy a Look. One of those, you know better than that sorts of looks that said more than words ever could. "Ewan, not worry?" She said dryly but with an overtone of fondness. "I'm pretty sure he's a gold medal winner of worrying. I wish I could find a way to reassure him that no, I'm not going to keel over and die at any given moment."

In fact she worried about his worrying. If anything he did more of it than she did and that was, in her mind, saying something.

"It's hard to reassure him when I have no idea if everything is okay or not," she said after a long moment of thinking, her hands automatically cupping her stomach.

***

Giggling, Persephone shook her head. It had been a stupid question and she knew it. Ewan was an expert worrier and he made Persephone's own foibles look like amateur attempts at being concerned. "I should get him a mug with World's Number One Worrier on it. Or a trophy!"

She gave her sister the sternest look that she could muster. "You're not going to keel over and die. I won't allow it, for a start. Everything's going fine as far as I can see."

***

"You should. He's definitely one up on me and I was the one with anxiety potions." She sighed softly. She was... managing, so far, without anything, while people looked into alternatives. Granted she'd been doing a lot of running and yoga lately, but hey, it helped. She should maybe gently encourage Ewan to go see about a potion or something though.

"I'm not worried about dying. Just about something happening to the ... it's what, cherry sized? The little cherry." She rolled her eyes at herself. "Because of me. Or because of nothing. But I'm not worried about me."

***

Persephone listened quietly. Dora's concerns needed to be heard and she understood how Ewan and his worrying might make it a little hard for him to be a good sounding board. "You're not the first expectant mother to worry about that and you won't be the last. You know you can ask me any time if you need something and I know Alicia will share any of her first-hand experience." She smiled reassuringly. "And I bet Nora will bring you back down to earth if you start to stress."

***

"Yes, well, most expectant mothers don't fuck up quite on my scale," she half joked. "You know I really appreciate you doing all this for me," she said quietly after a moment. "I know it's not what you expected when you came over that night." And she very much didn't want Persy to feel she was using her. Because she wasn't. It was however really nice to not be having to deal with another total stranger.

She clapped again and the thump was much closer this time, and she found the wardrobe that was supposed to go with the bed. She picked up the tag. "Uncharmed but perfect to expand on the inside," she recalled.

***

"Yeah, that was a bit of a surprise." The whole evening had gone topsy turvy very quickly and Persephone had learnt a lot more about her sister than she had expected. "But that's my niece or nephew in there and I'm looking forward to meeting them."

Opening the wardrobe, she peeked in. It looked like it would match the bed and she liked the idea that it was coordinate. Even without any charms, there looked to be enough room for both her work robes and regular clothes. "If I buy it as-is would you do charms later if I change my mind and want more room?"

***

"I'm pretty sure I've never been more surprised to be perfectly honest," Dora admitted with a bit of a laugh. "I honestly thought it was pretty much impossible." And she had. Between the charm and her health she truly hadn't believed it despite Nora asking her weeks before. "You're going to be a brilliant aunt."

She smiled. "Of course! Any of my skills are at your disposal at any time. Anything from hiding bodies to extensive charms work." She joked and winked. It was a case of her dark humor again, which she'd always sort of had but it had grown extensively since they'd been children.

***

"Well, I don't plan to have any of my own, so I'm going to give my all to being an auntie." Eventually, Persephone thought, she would probably tell Dora the real reason for that. Her curse was going to stay secret for now, especially while Dora worried about her little cherry. A family of her own would have been nice, but she wouldn't risk saddling a child of hers with a blood curse.

She closed the wardrobe. It smelled a little musty, but it was nothing that a freshening charm couldn't fix. "Hiding bodies?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Let me guess - you dismember them and Nora uses the remains as fertiliser?" Healers often cultivated a dark sense of humour too.

***

Dora did blink at her for a moment, genuinely surprised by the admission. "Oh. I suppose I'd always assumed you'd be the one with kids instead of me," she said. "Especially after... I dropped off the map." She flapped a hand, trying to wave past the mention of the things they hadn't talked over.

She was dead curious as to why Persy wouldn't be having anyone for her to spoil, but she also didn't know if her nosey questions would be welcome.

Her grin was quick and wicked and grateful that her sense of humor wasn't unwelcome. "That is but one of my fiendish schemes," she said. "I also provide Nora and Adrian with potions ingredients." Normally she might list Teddy among those people too but she was currently still very put out with him. She winked at her sister again.

***

Persephone's cheeks coloured a little. When she was younger, she'd always imagined having her own children, too, but she had thought about it a lot and didn't want to get swallowed up by the guilt of passing on a curse to someone else or even exacerbating her own and leaving a child without a mother. "After these last few years, I've decided I don't want any. But I do want to help other people have theirs!" she added, forcing a little chirpiness into her tone.

She snickered at Dora's joke. "Remind me to stay on your good side."

***

Dora studied her for a moment, head tilted in a familiar, almost birdlike fashion that she'd had since early childhood. It always put her better ear towards a speaker but it was a pose that would be very familiar. She knew that couldn't be the entire explanation at the very least. But something told her not to push now, and besides, Dora knew how to be patient. She was the Slytherin sibling after all.

So instead she sighed gustily. "I'm never going to get to be an auntie," she complained as she tapped the wardrobe with her wand so it could be transported. Considering the fact that Phillip barely talked to her, and never with their mother around, and she'd not talked to Peri in ages, well, she held little hope of any more blood kin, which was sad considering their large family. She wasn't even sure if Nora would consider having kids, which would be the only other option for having someone else's kids to spoil.

"And Ewan's too," she said with a smirk. "He keeps my heart in a jar on his desk. Totally evil."

***

"Ah, between Fiona, Kenzie, Lena and Alia I bet there'll be some cousins for your wee bairn." But it wasn't quite the same, Persephone knew. They weren't blood relatives. She tried not to feel like she was letting the family down by not having children, especially as Hyperion and Phillip could carry on the family name and that was probably the most important thing to her mother. Though... was Dora going to tell Eugenia Montgomery that she was going to be a grandmother. No doubt she'd find out eventually.

Persephone smiled fondly. She could never think of her sister as heartless, though she had probably done terrifying things in the past. "Oh, everyone knows he's had your heart since you were teenagers."

***

She sighed and nodded. "I know. I'm still nervous about seeing them all again." She'd done a rather good job of dropping off the map and not bothering the people she'd grown up with outside of some old school mates. And that was how she'd figured it, given the fallout from the war. She hadn't wanted to sully any of them.

"Well I hope they'll remember that when it comes out I'm expecting." Not that she gave a damn what most people thought. Those who knew her would know that Ewan and she had a history dating back to when they were wee. She frowned faintly as she turned and started them towards where she thought the sofas were. "I've not hardly told anyone. You and Nora and Alec and Ewan know. Alicia, since she graciously does most of my healers things. And Elroy. I haven't even told Aunt Montgomery yet though."

***

"Oh, I didn't know you hadn't seen them yet." Since Pandora and Ewan were living together and engaged, Persephone had just assumed that the Summerbys must have had some sort of celebration for them. She immediately felt bad that she hadn't known, but she hadn't exactly told her brothers that she was rekindling her relationship with Dora either.

"Are going to tell our mother?" she asked hesitantly, instinctively bracing herself in case the question riled her sister.

***

"I... have been a bit nervous,"she admitted after a moment. Ewan was just sure his family would be fine with her, but it had been just as long with them as it had been with him and Persy, and they'd known she'd broken his heart when she'd had to break things off with him for his safety. So she didn't know how they would react.

She hesitated and pressed a hand to the spot under her sternum, feeling the chronic feeling of nausea well up again. It wasn't unusual at all; it was the worst pregnancy symptom she was feeling still. Even feeling fat was nothing on the nausea. "I... probably should," she said reluctantly. "I'm honestly surprised she hasn't confronted Ewan yet. Especially after I had words with her at the ball they held after the election."

***

Persephone frowned. "She works a lot. I dinnae even think she realises that I've moved out." The Montgomery estate was just far too quiet these days, not like it had been when she was growing up. It was another reason she'd moved out. "If you do tell her, I can be there," she volunteered. She bet Nora would want to, too.

The selection of sofas that Dora led her too looked like they had varying degrees of comfort; she plopped herself down on one that was upholstered in a floral fabric. "This might be the most hideous sofa I've ever seen," she remarked, looking up at Dora wide-eyed.

***

Dora snorted. The awful part is she'd gotten that workaholic tendency from her mother and she knew it. "She probably realizes and doesn't want to admit it." She didn't know how her mother did it, alone, in that huge house. She loved the old house, granted, she had a lot of good memories there. But it would be hard to rattle around alone in it. "She's good at ignoring what she wants to."

And this time she giggled very quietly. "You just want to have an excuse to eat popcorn and watch drama," she mock accused.

"It's hideous but fuck if it isn't comfortable," Dora replied, flopping down beside her with less grace than usual.

***

"Och, she really is." If Eugenia Montgomery didn't want to pay attention to something, she was very good at cutting it out of her life.

Persephone made a noise of agreement. She hadn't expected the sofa to be so pleasantly springy. "This is nice." She leant over, resting her head lightly on Pandora's shoulder as she might have when they were children. "I was just going to be there to offer support," she said, careful to speak a touch louder since she wasn't facing Dora directly. "But if there's popcorn and drama, I can watch that too."

***

"I'm not much better at times," Dora admitted quietly. But she did make more of an effort. She wasn't sure her mother had much reason to, with children grown and her husband been missing over ten years now, legally declared dead at this point.

Dora put an arm around her sister, leaning lightly back into her. Gods above and below, she'd missed this. She'd always been close with Persy, growing up. "Well, at the ball they had for everyone after the election... I might have gone up to her and had words," Dora admitted not quite ruefully. "They'd drug both our names through the mud during the election and I wasn't best pleased. I've not had cause to see her since, though one of her aurors followed me through the Ministry when I went to visit Ewan the other day."

***

Persephone sighed deeply. "I didn't even know she'd run for office until after the election." Despite her own diligence at writing letters home regularly, their mother hadn't bothered to tell her about something so momentous. She wished she would have known sooner. Perhaps their brothers had thought she'd know, but Persephone was too kind-hearted to really think that they had purposely kept her in the dark for some unknown reason.

"She might be excited to be a grandmother." Persephone frowned. "Sometimes I think she's lonely."

***

Dora wrinkled her nose faintly and then sighed. "I think she was probably protecting you. The media couldn't get to you, and she didn't know if she was going to win anyway." It was a rather forgiving point of view, especially for someone who held grudges. But her mother was still her mother, even when she hated her.

Dora gently petted Persy's hair with the hand belonging to the arm around her shoulders, something she'd not gotten to do in years. It was soothing to her, at least, though she fully expected to be swatted away gently after a minute.

"Maybe. Or she might be appalled at me being a mum." Dora was still afraid she'd be a horrible one, a fear that wouldn't face any time soon. "You might be right. Being alone is hard." And she knew. She'd been alone for so long.

***

Persephone felt a small, warm glow of hope at Dora's words. She could easily have criticised their mother's actions, but instead she was excusing them. The hand on her hair was nice too, a reminder of more innocent times.

She hoped that they could all be a family again. Maybe she was an optimist, but what if this could bring them closer once more? It wouldn't bring their father back, of course, but he would want his girls to be happy, she was sure. Just thinking about it made her throat feel thick with emotion.

She let out a softer sigh this time. "I should probably look at more of these sofas," she said reluctantly.

***

Dora held a lot of anger at her mother still. Bitterness, too. But suddenly confronted with the fact that she would soon be a mother... maybe it was the hormones talking, but she thought maybe she could be a bit more forgiving. She was working on it anyway.

She pressed a careful kiss to Persy's hair. "Go ahead and try them out. I'm going to sit here and pretend I don't want to throw up again. And I can try to change the upholstery on this if you decide it's the most comfortable. We get all sorts of side tables and stuff too. I weed through it on and off. I'll be calling my Antiques guy soon to take what I don't want to keep for the shop at the moment. I can also ask him to keep an eye out for some things if you want."

***

This almost felt like those times before Persephone had been old enough for Hogwarts and she finally got to reunite with her big Panda when she was home for the holidays. She smiled and was almost tempted to just take the hideous sofa so that she could stay here chatting.

She let out a soft groan as she stood. "Yeah, you stay there. I'll put my arse to work." Persephone grinned. "Sitting down is hard work, but someone's got to do it."

***

Dora laughed and turned to stretch out on the hideously comfortable sofa. Yup, definitely a reason she hadn't gotten rid of it yet. "If you'd let me give you Ewan and Alec for moving, this is exactly what you could have done when you moved. Except there was alcohol involved for me then." A small pout and a sigh. "They wouldn't let me do pretty much anything." And that had been before she knew she was pregnant. Gods, she was going to be in for it as she got bigger, wasn't she.

***

"Poor you," Persephone teased as she sat down on a dark green couch that felt like it was made of cardboard. "All those kind, reliable men offering to do things for you. Sounds terrible." She smirked and moved to one of the other options, wriggling a little as she tested it out. "Must have been a nightmare."

Could she imagine coming home from work to this sofa? Maybe. It was on a par with the first one, but a great deal less ugly.

"I didn't have enough stuff to make it worth roping in lots of people."

***

"It was so terrible," she deadpanned. "Though honestly I'm not that breakable. Not spun glass. I might be a bit cracked and scarred but I can still help lift a bloody wardrobe." The bitching was mostly reflex though the complaint was real.

She wasn't sure at this point if Alicia has sat down with Persy and her very thick medical record yet. She wasn't sure she was ready to ask that.

"I sweetened the deal by turning up the heat though so they had to go shirtless. But shhh. Don't tell them. I've been denying it."

***

Persephone pulled a face. "I don't want to think about Ewan shirtless," she complained. He was as much a brother figure in her life as Hyperion. "But your secret is safe with me."

The next sofa she tried was an old chesterfield with a drop arm at one end. "I think this might be the one," she announced, twisting to put her feet up. It wasn't flashy or fancy, and it had a nice balance between comfortable and firm. "Yep, this one."

***

Dora was startled into a laugh, loud and bubbling. She'd always thought of Ewan as not a brother, not really, but a part of her and a part of her life. She loved how he looked. "Oh come on. He looks great." And to her the man did.

"I think that will look great," Dora told her. "If you need it color changed, I'm sure I can do it, or I know a decorator." Not that she used one, but she dealt with her sometimes. "Anything else for now, or should I just keep my eye out?"

***

"He does," Persephone relented. "He grew up well." And he cared about Panda more than anything, which was the most important thing. "I bet he makes beautiful bairns, too," she teased. Her niece or nephew was going to be just gorgeous.

Standing back, Persephone tried to look at the sofa critically. "I think I'll take it as it is." It looked like a good investment. She pushed up her glasses. "That's probably it for now. I'll see what this stuff looks like in the flat before I get anything else."

***

"He or she is going to be lovely. I hope the little one has his eyes." And not her odd, grey green, Lestrange eyes that made people look at her askance more often than not. "When can I find out the sex again?" For the life of her she couldn't remember. She was pretty sure she wanted to know what she was having, though. Just so she could use a pronoun really.

"All right. I think it'll look great. I can arrange for delivery with the service I usually use here at the shop." She pushed herself up and had to pause for a second when she got a head rush. She patted her stomach as if to tell the bairn to stop throwing mummy through a loop.

***

"From about twelve weeks," Persephone assured her. "You've decided to find out? That's exciting." Some people liked it to be a surprise, but others wanted to know the answer to that big question. Would Dora follow Montgomery tradition and go for a Greek name?

Persephone moved to help Dora when she looked wobbly for a moment. When it appeared that she didn't need any assistance, Persephone smiled. "Perfect. This feels like my first real grown up purchase."

***

"I'm honestly not sure I could take another surprise," Dora admitted dryly. "I would much rather know and plan for it than have to play guessing games." That way she could decorate. She'd been thinking about it a bit. She wasn't normally quite that much of a fussy person but she figured it was in part the hormones.

"Is there some point where these mood swings and such go away? I'm tired of upsetting Ewan with them." And feeling out of control. Like standing up and getting a head rush or crying over literally nothing.

She grinned. "You're an adult, Persy. Though goddess knows I still expect to look over and see a kid still. I'm sorry I missed so much."

***

Persephone smirked. "Things usually calm down once you're in the second trimester." Pandora might even worry a little less when that happened. Might. "Get plenty of rest and take a wee bit of time to do something fun and take your mind off pregnancy."

She shook her head. "We both missed a lot," she corrected. "But we'll make up for lost time. We have the rest of our lives ahead of us."

***

"Oh thank the gods. Because even I'm tired of me right now. And he tiptoes around me and I hate that." Granted she could be an absolute bear sometimes and she completely acknowledged that. "Like what? Drinking's totally out." And a lot of her fun times revolved around it, unfortunately.

Dora slipped her arm back around Persy. Affection came easily towards her sister, at least. "Ah, optimism. There's my sister. Come on, I've got to go pee and then I'll tag you out and arrange delivery."

***

"I don't know, um..." What did Dora do outside of drinking? Persephone didn't exactly have any hobbies either. "Watching Quidditch? A spa day? Karaoke?" That had been fun when she went with ZJ.

She smiled sunnily. "Perfect. Thanks so much for helping me, Panda."

***

She perked slightly. "Quidditch might be nice. It's been forever since I've been to a game. Maybe Terence can get me discount tickets or something." One of her Slytherin friends anyway. There were a lot of Quidditch players from that house. Ewan would love that. "Otherwise I'd say dueling but that's out for now too. And apparently stuff I do for my job doesn't count for my hobby as well," she said wryly.

"Always, darling," she said. She wasn't even about to tell her that the pieces would be a gift. She didn't make great money, no; bit she saved the shop a ton of money by sorting through things and she'd more than make up the difference that way, especially if she did a couple of enchanted cabinets or something in her off hours.