Periods at Hogwarts

Ginny Weasley

It was a winter's day in November 1993, and Ginny Weasley was having some alone time in her dorm room, of which she had all to herself - getting the single dorm room at the back was definitely a good idea. She hadn't been acting herself at all that day, so she had decided to go and calm herself down before dinner. Ginny knew she had to be there since she had 4 older brother's patrolling her every move, and there would be no way that they would dismiss something like this. She didn't know why she had been acting like this - she'd been snapping at people, even her own brothers! Ginny had no sense of the attitude, but dismissed it off as a lack of sleep, since she hadn't slept all too well the night before. She had been having some random stomach aches, they didn't hurt too much and it wasn't all the time, but it was annoying when they came, especially during class.

Soon enough, it was time for Ginny to leave for dinner. She was about to leave the common room, when she heard a familiar voice shout her name. ''Ginny, wait up!'' Hermione called from behind her, speeding up her steps to get closer to the 1st year. ''Hey, Hermione.'' Ginny answered quietly, not wanting to bring attention to herself. Hermione raised her eyebrows in concern ''Gin, what's wrong?'' Hermione asked, leading her and Ginny into the great hall, sitting down next to Harry and Ron. ''I-I'm fine'' she said, stuttering. The throbbing stomach pain was back, but this time, it was worse. Ginny held her stomach with her hand and winced in pain. ''Come on, Gin, let's go'' Hermione whispered, ''I'll take your food to your dorm for you''. The duo left the room, Ginny almost running to her dorm and splatting herself on the bed. ''Ginny, why didn't you tell me?'' Ginny pulled a confused face, 'About your stomach ache, we didn't have to go if you didn't feel good'' Ginny's face winced, and Hermione noticed this, quickly lifting her up and placing a pillow behind her head. ''Maybe you should get some sleep, Gin. It's nearly 7pm.'' Hermione suggested, beginning to leave the room when Ginny stopped her. ''Stay with me, please'' she pleaded, with puppy dog eyes that even Hermione couldn't deny. ''Okay, but I need sleep too'' she agreed, and smiled. Hermione got under the covers, whilst Ginny got changed in the bathroom, and then the duo cuddled next to each other.

Ginny fell asleep soon enough, Hermione wedged around her back and gently walked out of the room, heading to her dorm. She changed into her usual nightdress, a white and red striped one, and got into bed for the 2nd time. Hermione was sound asleep in no time, and was having an amazing dream, until a scream from the room next door startled her, waking her up. Hermione groaned, looking at the clock next to her bed, and said ''Ugh, It's 3 in the morning'' before hearing the scream again. This woke her up fully. ''Ginny?'' She shouted, hoping she would hear her. ''Help!'' Ginny shouted, biting her lip with worry, while she sat up in her bed. Hermione immediately got up, and ran to Ginny's room. She ran in and saw her, then the covers, and then the bedsheet.

It was covered in blood. ''Oh, Ginny'' she whispered, patting Ginny on the back. She was attempting to comfort her, but it didn't work, because Ginny was still crying. ''I'm dying'' Ginny whispered, sobbing into Hermione's shoulder, wetting her nightdress. ''No you're not, Ginny'' she reassured her, ''Look, this hasn't happened to me yet, but I'm 100% sure you just got your period, Gin'' Ginny looked up at the girl, her brown eyes glistening in the moonlight. ''Really? What's that''

''It's a thing all people who are born as females get, it just means you can have a baby'' Hermione explained, and Ginny's eyes widened. ''I don't want a baby!'' To this, Hermione let out a small giggle ''You don't have to have a baby now, when you're ready'' Ginny's face relaxed, and she slowly let go of Hermione, choosing to sit in front of her now. ''Okay, but what do I do about this?'' She said, pointing at the blood all over her nightdress and bedsheets. Hermione got up from where she was sitting, leaving Ginny by herself. ''I'll be right back'' She shouted, running down the corridor to the girls' lavatory. She grabbed a handful of pads from the tub next to the sink, and ran back to Ginny. ''Here'' She said, holding out pads with different coloured wrapping. ''What are these, and why are they different colours?'' Ginny questioned Hermione, picking up one of the pads and examining it.

''These are pads, they're like these things that you put in your underwear, and it soaks up the blood, kind of like a nappy'' Hermione explained, ''And there's different colours depending on your flow, and whether you want wings or not'' Ginny looked confused, ''What wings?'' Hermione gestured to Ginny to open the pad, and she did. She opened it and immediately noticed the wings. ''These are the wings, right?'' she pointed at the long strip and the two oval-shaped things popping out of it. Hermione nodded, ''You're going to need the blue one, it's a night pad, and it has two sets of wings'' Ginny didn't really understand it, but she nodded anyway. ''Well, go on then.'' Hermione said, gesturing to the bathroom ''Put it on''

Ginny headed towards the bathroom, shutting the door and sitting on the toilet. Ginny realised she had no idea what she was doing. ''Uhm, Mione?'' Ginny said, embarrassed she had no knowledge on the subject. ''Mhm?'' Hermione answered, too concentrated on doing her homework to answer properly. ''Uhm, I don't know how to use this, and also, I don't think it's a good idea to stay in these clothes'' Ginny blushed, she didn't know how to say it so she just said it as blankly as possible. ''Oh, right.'' Hermione blushed too, ''I'll get you some more clothes, and I can put it on for you'' This whole situation may have gotten too embarrassing for the girls, since they were only 11 and newly 13. ''I'll be right back, okay'' Hermione shouted, going to her room to get a new nightdress for Ginny, since she only had 2 and Ginny had already used those. She grabbed a red and blue one, that was a little small for her so she was sure it would fit Ginny. She tip-toed back, grabbing a pair of underwear from Ginny's drawer and placing it on the bed with the others. ''Ginny, pass me the pad in your hands'' She asked, opening the door just enough so Ginny could slip it through. Ginny quickly passed it and she put the pad quickly on Ginny's underwear, sliding it and the nightdress through the crack in the door. ''Thanks, Mione'' Ginny muttered, quickly slipping on the clothes. She looked back at the toilet to flush it, when she got a sneak peek at the mess that was coming ''Ew'' she said, clearly disgusted and washed her hands before leaving the bathroom. ''Get used to it'' Hermione advised, ''This is gonna happen every month'' Ginny groaned, ''Why? If I don't want a baby now, then why do I need my period, now?'' Hermione got sassy, ''I don't know, why are you asking me? I haven't even got mine yet'' Ginny death glared Hermione. ''Anyway, I'm going back to bed.'' Hermione said, but then looked at the bedsheets, ''Scorgify'' Ginny smiled at her, ''Goodnight. Ginny'' and Hermione left the room.