Venturing Out (Closed)

Now that she'd had a few days of staying within the confines of her apartment and not doing anything other than cooing over Gracie and sometimes eating, Jen was ready to get out the house and do something interesting. Whether it was bungee jumping or a short shopping trip, it was more exciting than sitting around. Obviously she would bring Grace in her pretty new pram.

After a shower and a while deciding how to tame her mad hair and choosing the right dress (that didn't show her hideous leftover pregnancy fat) Jen put her daughter in the adorable pink baby socks, got her into the pushchair and strolled out of her apartment. It was pouring down with rain outside so she had made sure to wrap up warm and pile blankets on top of Grace. Perhaps it wasn't the perfect day for a trip into London but there was no way she would stay holed up there for any longer.

Her house was only a short walk from Covent Garden, so she quickly headed there and ended up in a clothes shop. She needed new clothes. She only had pregnant clothes and the old clothes, from when she had a reasonably sized stomach. The next half an hour she spent darting in and out of various shops. It was a lot harder now she had a stroller to manoeuvre through as well.

Jennifer was knocked out of her shopping daze when she felt her head snack something. A wall she hadn't noticed? No, a person. Someone familiar. It was that girl from her house and year at Hogwarts who she had never talked to. Didn't she work at the ministry too now? The blonde wasn't going to admit that it was her fault for not paying attention to where she was going so she just glared at the other girl coldly, pulling Grace's pram back towards her protectively.


This thread is closed to Ella Fontayne-Vega.

Ella's white cami fit her belly snugly and her lace shorts went mid-thigh. Her wedding ring glistened softly in the dimly lit sky and her hair hung slightly damp down her back. She carried a brightly coloured umbrella so as not to get wet.

Ella's immediate reaction when someone ran into her, was to put her hand protectively over her small, round belly. She glared at the girl she recognized as rude Jennifer Moss from Slytherin. It wasn't a shocker that she had a baby, Ella was also sure she didn't know who the father even was. Ella vaguely remembered talking to her during school. She may have hung out with her once or twice with the Malfoys, but never alone. She was sure they had nothing in common even.

Instinctively, as not to start anything with a former housemate, she said sorry and smiled slightly as the girl pulled back the baby. She was tired of carrying extra weight and she was even more tired of walking. She was sure that if she stayed here too long, Rhys would begin to worry about her. She was supposed to meet him so she could shop for maternity clothing at a certain time.

It didn't slip her view that Ella's hand went straight towards her stomach when Jen bumped into her. Now that she looked specifically, it did look as though the girl had put weight on. She had been so slim before. And it didn't just look like food fat, it looked like a tiny baby bump. Fair enough. Another preggers woman. No big deal. Which was why it was fine to ask about the child. "How far along are you?" she smirked, glancing at her stomach to make sure Ella understood what the hell she was going on about.

The other girl had disappointed her a bit with her response. She had expected her to be less boring than this, the way Wade used to speak so highly of her. Like, way back in first year sort of time. Jennifer didn't quite see what was so great about her. Just apologising, how polite. She was pretty though, she would give her that if nothing else.

"So. What have you been up to since Hogwarts?" She may as well try and make conversation. After all, she was supposed to be playing the part as a mature and responsible adult. Jennifer leaned forward to anxiously wrap Gracie up in another blanket. God, she was so overprotective. But this was a newborn daughter, that was probably okay in reality.

"15 weeks." Ella replied, noticing the girl was aasking about the baby. "15 weeks of hell so far." Ella laughed a little. She dreaded the next few weeks to come when the baby would grow even more. She was so used to being thin and now, well she wasn't going to be.

As the girl directed her another question, Ella replied, "Nothing really, training to be an Auror at the ministry and trying to adjust to being a wife and mother pretty soon." She looked down to where the baby laid. "How old is she? What's her name?" She had to admit, the baby was pretty adorable.

Jen nodded. She understood that completely. But fifteen weeks, that was nothing. Wait till she got to thirty or so. "It only gets worse," she said with a shrug. You got fatter, the baby got more impatient, you felt more like lying around and stuffing your face. Food helped. That was probably why she still had this ridiculous amount of leftover baby fat. She was so starting to diet soon.

Yeah, she thought she remembered Ella worked at the ministry. Another crime fighting auror wannabe with a hero complex who put their own lives in a lot of danger for trivial reasons. But whatever they wanted. "A wife?" Jennifer asked a little surprisedly. They couldn't have invited her to the wedding? "When did that happen?" It wasn't the sort of thing she expected from Ella. The girl had a lot of drama going on at school, none of which she knew much about. Anyway, getting married in the first year out of Hogwarts didn't sound like her. However, Jennifer didn't know her, so she couldn't really say that.

"Grace Amelia Moss," she smiled, pride in her voice. The full name was much better than simply Grace on occasions like this. "She's three days old." The little angel was asleep, cuddled up under many layers of blankets to keep her nice and warm.

"So I've heard. I already want it out." Ella looked down at her stomach just as another kick came to her gut making her shift her wait a little. She wasn't looking forward to the next 5 months where her stomach would get fatter and she'd get heavier. She was actually worried about being a mother, what if she wasn't good enough?

Ella watched as Jen seemed to scoff at Ella being a wife. "Yeah, a wife. It was actually not even planned. He sort of asked me one day and the next week or so we had a little tiny ceremony with close family, if even, there. It was on our second year after graduating." Ella remembered back to the wedding, the long white dress as she walked down the aisle past her sister, Aislinn, Andrew and Selene. She didn't even think any of Rhys' family was there. She remembered walking and watching him the whole time. His blue-green eyes focused on her, like always, twinkling as he smiled at his beautiful bride.

She snapped out of her flashback as Jen said something else. The babys name. "I like that." she smiled a little. "She's really cute and little." Ella looked down at the baby. She was sorta excited to see what the future held for her little one.

Ew, that was so stupid. It seemed like the man didn't really propose in a very grand way, since Ella didn't show off about it. Then they got married immediately, which was ridiculous because a wedding was an event which Jen always thought of as a huge spectacle, with much preparation put in to make it truly amazing. One planned in a week with very few people in attendance was not a wedding in her opinion, not at all. "Sounds nice," she smiled. In recent times she had become wonderful at lying for the sake of not making a scene. That skill would have helped her a lot at Hogwarts.

"Yes, me too." Grace meant "a gift from God" but she had chosen it mainly because it was a beautiful name. Gracie was going to grow up to be a beautiful graceful intelligent girl and make her mummy proud. She'd better. "She was about a week early so she's a bit small but not that much." Not so unusual that her daughter would be the size of a goblin. Just slightly undersized.

Jen hovered over Grace a little bit. She was very protective but always felt awkward in what to be doing. It usually just ended up in her staring at her daughter, caught up in her charm, like she was now. "How come you're here?" she asked in an attempt to keep conversation moving, standing up a bit straighter and pulling her eyes away from the pram.

Ella shrugged, she liked to think her wedding was, well okay, though others might not. However, she wasn't one for big weddings anyways, that would be Elita and probably Aislinn.

Ella listened to Jen talk a little more about the baby, who seemed to be sound asleep. It was obvious she had her mothers features, but Ella still wondered who the father was. Ella decided to keep her mouth shut however to not start anything. Jen was known for getting into things back in Hogwarts and she didn't feel like dealing with problems.

As Ella switched her weight over again, the baby gave her an elbow jab to the bladder. She remembered Jen was talking to her and replied, "Rhys wanted me to join him so we could shop for maternity clothes and baby stuff." She didn't know whether she was dreading it or excited. It all seemed overwhelming, motherhood. "I mean, he's going all out for this baby, you should see the nursery and I'm probably not even cut out to be a good mother." he said suddenly, wishing she would've shut up. Anyone else would say with the way she treated Ellie, she was a great mother, but she lacked confidence.

Oh, baby shopping. Sometimes Jen wished she had someone to go shopping with rather than wondering around London looking for baby socks by herself. Then she realised that was ridiculous and she was much happier alone. An annoying boyfriend - or even husband - would drive her totally mad and it would probably end in separation when she got too infuriated. "Have you got much stuff already?" By Ella's point in pregnancy, the blonde had most things she needed already and it was only a matter of birdbath and baby socks browsing.

Eugh, nursery. That reminded her, she needed to get around to the finishing touches on the nursery for Grace. It was almost done, but Jen had been too busy looking after Gracie and trying to catch up on sleep during naptime to be doing jobs around the house.

"Ella," she said, rolling her eyes. "If you're going to be all modest on me, I promise I will slap you." It wouldn't be like Jennifer to distinctly compliment her but to do it with a thread was more in character. What she was trying to say was that Ella would obviously be a great mother so she shouldn't be doubting herself so much.

Because it was really annoying.

Ella thought about what she had for the baby. She actually had nothing. She had the stuff for the nursery and that was literally it. It was actually pretty ridiculous. "I have the nursery, that's pretty much it." Ella confessed. She was so unprepared. She thought about beginning to buy diapers because she would need lots of those along with bottles.

Ella didn't even know where to begin with shopping. She wasn't sure about what she needed now and what could wait, she knew nothing. When her sister was born she was only 2 and she knew nothing of Aislinn.

There was the real Jen, the "don't be modest with me or I'll slap you" Jen. She was sure she was worrying for nothing but the life of a new mother was always nerve wrecking even to someone like Ella.

Nothing except a nursery. "Oh," Jen said, not bothering to try and hide her disproval. There was so much to buy for a new baby and starting early was vital so that everything was definitely ready for when it was born. Clothes, bottles, nappies, pushchairs, toys. And that was just the beginning. But if Ella wanted to leave things until it was too late, that was fine with her. None of her business, of course.

Gosh, had she been like this during pregnancy? Modest, worried, uncharacteristically quiet? No, that couldn't be so. Jen rolled her eyes. She didn't even get a response to her obvious compliment. Did she have to make it any clearer? 

She sighed. Just so they weren't standing awkwardly, this was for her own sake. "Ella, you are going to be a great mother. Your baby is lucky to have you and Rhys. Don't worry, everything will be fine." Her tone was a bit monotone but maybe sounded genuine? She paused. "I mean it," she added. "And if you're a bad mother, I'll be sure to tell you."

Ella noted the disappointment in Jen's tone. She knew she didn't have anything. She wasn't exactly parent material. What did spawn need anyways? A place to sleep, clothes and food right? That should be good. Did there nursery need to be warm and moist? Dry and cool?

She watched as Jen rolled her eyes then spoke up. She seemed to actually be genuine sounding when she said the baby was lucky to have her and Rhys as parents. Even the meanest girl in Hogwarts had an alternate side. Ella smirked when the girl told her that she'd tell if she was being a bad parent. "I'll make sure to hold you to that." Ella felt kind of glad to know someone else who was a parent. It didn't seem so scary now. "What was your reaction when you found out you were having a child?" Ella tried to keep conversation flowing to keep awkwardness away.