So I was in the mood to write a story with a lighter mood, to take my mind off of things. This story is fluffier and more comedic than my usual ones, but I really hope you like it! :)

Disclaimer: I am not J.K Rowling, therefore the characters in this story are not mine, only the storyline is.

Babysitting Duties

"You hold him, Granger, you're the bloody woman!"

"Oh that is so sexist, Malfoy!" Hermione huffed, crossing her arms impatiently. Meanwhile, the crying baby gave another loud wail, desperate for attention.

"Just do something about it already, won't you?" Draco demanded, wincing at the racket Teddy Lupin was causing.

Harry and Ginny Potter had dropped off a sleeping Teddy Lupin at their house earlier that evening, begging them to babysit him for the night.

"Well why don't you drop him off at your mother's place?" Draco said, referring to Mrs. Weasley.

"She's sick, Malfoy. We can't take Teddy there." Ginny replied.

"Your brothers, then?"

"All busy."

"Andromeda?" Hermione asked desperately in one last attempt.

"Out of the country." Harry replied.

"But we have no idea how to take care of a baby!" Hermione said, with Draco nodding fervently at her side.

"Oh that's fine, Hermione. Teddy's just taken his supper so he won't be up til' tomorrow morning." Ginny explained brightly.

"But-"

"Wonderful! See you tomorrow, then!" Harry said, pushing the stroller towards them and disapparating quickly with his wife before either Draco or Hermione could stop them.

The two looked at each other helplessly, not knowing how to react to the situation. Thankfully, Ginny was true to her word, and the baby remained asleep for the first part of the night, leaving Draco and Hermione free to more, er, amorous pursuits. But around midnight, the infant woke up and started bawling, yearning for his adoptive parents.

"I don't know how to handle babies, I was an only child!" Hermione said, wringing her arms impatiently.

"Well so was I!" Draco retaliated.

Hermione shot him an annoyed look and picked up a stuffed toy from beside the make-shift crib, waving it in front of the baby's face. "Oh I really don't know how to do this…" she whispered to herself.

"Here, Teddy, look! Mr. Dragon's here now, so you can stop crying!" she said in a falsely bright voice, trying to placate the infant.

"Mr. Dragon…really?" Draco scoffed, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I don't see you trying to help!" Hermione replied hotly.

With a sigh, Draco walked towards the crib and knelt down, staring at the turquoise-haired boy directly in the eye. Clearing his throat, he said, "Teddy…if you stop crying right now I will give you ten galleons."

Hermione burst out laughing. "That's your plan? Bribery?" she said. "I don't think the baby understands the concept yet."

But much to Hermione's chagrin and Draco's amusement, Teddy Lupin did stop crying.

"How…" Hermione sputtered.

"Guess he's a bit more Malfoy than anyone expected him to be." Draco said smugly.

The baby stared at Draco and gurgled, changing his hair color and mimicking Draco's platinum blonde locks. He grinned toothily at his shocked face and lifted his arms up, wanting to be carried.

"I think he's taken a liking to you." Hermione chortled.

Draco tilted his head sideways. "What does it want me to do?" he asked confusedly.

"Well it wants you to carry him, Draco." Hermione smirked at him.

"Oh no. No no no no no. I'm already giving it ten galleons, isn't that enough?" he said grumpily.

"Well think of it as practice for when we get our own baby." Hermione teased him, amused at her fiancé's awkwardness.

"Rest assured, you'll be handling any spawn we produce, Granger."

Hermione hit him in the chest. "I will not have you calling our children that!" she said in an affronted tone of voice. She made a move to hit him again, but he deftly caught her hand and pulled her closer.

"I'm only kidding. You're too fun to rile up, Hermione." he whispered huskily into her ear.

Hermione pushed him away gently. "Oh no, you're not getting off that easily, you little ferret. Just carry your poor cousin already, look at him, he just wants some attention." she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

"You carry him then." Draco muttered.

"Yes, because it's me he so clearly wants." Hermione laughed, referring to the baby's blonde hair and grey eyes, homage to his older cousin's appearance.

Draco stared at the infant, who once again lifted his stubby arms to Draco, and felt his heart warm a bit. He couldn't help but admit that the boy looked mildly adorable with his big grey eyes and his little pout. Reluctantly, he lifted his cousin from the crib and held him awkwardly towards him.

Teddy giggled, and tried to squirm towards him. Draco cradled him closer, surprised at how natural it felt. He gave the baby a little pat on the back, and was thinking at how angelic his little cousin was when...

"Ugh, that is revolting!" Draco shouted, putting Teddy down immediately and clutching at his shirt, holding it away from his body before the vomit could cling onto his skin.

Hermione had to bite her lips to keep herself from laughing.

"Don't you dare laugh, Hermione." Draco glared at her. Hermione was shaking with mirth, but it was impossible to contain her laughter when she saw the disgusted face Draco made as he glanced at his ruined shirt.

Draco removed the offending garment, flinging his shirt across the room to get rid of the rancid smell. "Oh you like laughing, do you?" he said, his eyes glinting mischievously as he launched himself towards Hermione, mercilessly tickling her.

"Dracooo!" Hermione screamed, laughing as he tickled her relentlessly. The two fell onto the bed as Hermione desperately tried to get away from him, to no avail.

"Okay, I concede!" she shouted, still laughing.

"Oh you do, do you?" Draco said smugly.

"Yeees, now stop it pleaaase!"

Draco did, and Hermione fell onto him, exhausted.

"Eww, you smell horrible." she said, giggling.

"My cousin is a menace." Draco said grumpily, and the two glanced at the crib at the foot of their bed, where another young blonde was staring right back at them, gurgling happily.

"Dra-co." Teddy Lupin said, grinning happily.

Draco and Hermione stared at each other, shocked. "Did he say what I thought he said?" Hermione whispered.

Draco nodded his head, still in a daze. "Potter's going to throw a fit. It's Teddy's first word, isn't it?" he said, a grin appearing on his face as he imagined what Harry Potter's reaction would be when he heard his godson's first word.

"Yes, I think so."

Draco stood up and carried his little cousin once more, who was staring at him adoringly.

"What did you call me, Teddy?" he asked him softly, wanting to hear his first word again.

"Dra-co." the baby cooed. "Draco!"

Hermione smiled widely, staring at the two blondes in wonder. They looked so alike at that moment that they could have passed for father and son. Her heart lurched as she studied Draco, who was gazing at Teddy, pride radiating from him as he listened to his cousin say his name non-stop.

"Hermione…I want one." he said quietly, his eyes brimming with happiness.

"What?" she asked him softly. Did she hear him right?

He turned to her, grinning as if there was no tomorrow. "I want to have a kid with you, to raise him up and hold him as my own. I want to be there as he rides his first broomstick, and see him off to Hogwarts…and…and…"

Hermione stood up and kissed him gently on the cheek. "I want that too, Draco." she said, and he wrapped one arm around her as he carried Teddy on his other arm. The baby had fallen asleep, and he was filled with an odd sense of peace as he held on to both the baby and his fiancée. It was as if everything had fallen into place in his life.

"What makes you think you'll have a son first, and not a daughter?" Hermione said suddenly, bringing Draco out of his reverie.

"Oh my darling fiancée, Malfoys always have sons first." he chuckled, slowly putting Teddy back down on his crib.

"Will you mind so terribly having a daughter?" she asked him, her expression perturbed.

"Of course not, love." he said, kissing her softly. "I want a daughter as well, preferably one with bushy hair and lovely brown eyes."

"And I want a son with blonde hair and grey eyes." Hermione smiled at him.

Draco chuckled. "Guess we'll both have to work hard to get what we want, then." he said, pulling her back into bed.

A year later, much to Draco's surprise and Hermione's amusement, Carina Malfoy came into the world, a bouncing baby girl with bushy brown hair and piercing grey eyes, who captured the hearts of everyone around her with her cheeky smile, which was so much like her father's.

"She's beautiful." Draco whispered, kissing his newly-born daughter gently on the forehead.

"Are you disappointed that you didn't get your son?" Hermione asked him.

He looked at her in disbelief. "Of course not, she's beautiful." he said, looking at his daughter adoringly. "So are you." he continued, kissing his wife with as much love as he could muster.

"I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Draco."

Aww hehehe. :) How'd you like it? Please please please leave a review and tell me! :)