The Asparagus Fic: Christmas at the Weasleys
Note: One day, Jonah did not know what to write, so I designed a 'challenge fic' for her. I compiled a list of random events for her and her job was to write a fic that included each of the events. After staring at the list, I thought it would be neat to try my quill at it, so we're both going to post our different versions of the challenge fic, codenamed "The Asparagus Fic". The list of criteria is included at the bottom of this fic so I don't spoil anything for anyone. :) Enjoy!
Draco stood at the door to the most uniquely designed house he had ever seen. He shifted uncomfortably and took his hands out of his pockets only to stuff them back into the same pockets moments later.
Curse nervous habits.
Under normal circumstances, he keeps his hands inside his pockets whether he's nervous or not, but he kept taking his hands out today since his pants just didn't feel right. There was an obvious explanation for this-- he was wearing a pair of Muggle jeans. Not only that, but he wore a black button-up dress shirt and nice black boots. The cuffs of the shirt were unbuttoned as always, and he'd made it a point to unbutton a couple extra buttons for show. The shirt wasn't tucked either. His outfit was somewhat comfortable, but he felt a bit sloppy in it. Then again, Muggles are sloppy… and so are the Weasleys... so he shrugged off the odd feeling of insecurity.
To finish the outfit was his necklace. It wasn't really a necklace, per se, but more like a black cord with a silver medallion dangling from it. The emblem was a cross with a serpent wrapped around it. Draco clutched it with his left hand—couldn't forget the Slytherin pride!
He stood still in front of the door until he heard a choking noise. Startled, Draco stumbled backward only to discover a freckle-faced Ronald Weasley not trying too hard to hold back his laughter.
"Daydreaming about Harry again, Malfoy?" Ron jested.
Last year, his sixth year at Hogwarts, Draco had tried placing a Cupid's Curse charm on Harry so that he'd fall for Hermione, ultimately causing Ron and Harry to fight since Hermione was Ron's girl. However, the charm had gone awry since Harry ended up following Draco everywhere he went, scarring Draco's reputation considerably for a few weeks.
Harry walked up from behind Ron and made a seductive growling noise from the back of his throat. "Aye, Draco, you're looking might fine and sexy! You'll room with me, won't you?" He smirked and ran a finger down the part of Draco's chest that was visible. The whole ordeal obviously hadn't bothered Harry.
Draco made a motion with his arm, but Harry quickly moved out of reach.
"Draco, is that you?" A tiny voice called through the house.
This made all three young men freeze and straighten up and just as they did so, yet another head of red hair popped up from underneath Ron's arm. Her straight hair lay lazily over her delicate shoulders. She wore a long-sleeved light pink shirt, flares, and pink bunny slippers on her feet.
"Ginny," Draco breathed at the oddly pleasing sight of her.
At that, Ron snorted, Harry grinned and both boys instantly went into a silent fit of giggles.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Ron!"
"What?"
"Really! You're so immature." She quickly shifted her gaze to the other giggle box. "You too, Harry. Now help Draco with his things."
"Can we put them in my room?" Harry asked enthusiastically. The inside joke caused Ron to burst into laughter and Draco's eyes to widen.
Draco slung his bag over his shoulder. "I'll handle it, Gin, just show me to my room if you will."
Ginny moved aside and allowed Draco into her home. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Ron and Harry before she followed him in.
"They're more alike than I thought!" Ron scoffed.
* * *
Ginny opened the door to the guestroom and invited Draco in. The room was the size of Draco's closet at home, but it would suffice. He spotted the bed with the sagging mattress in the far corner and was glad he had brought his own sheets.
But even before Draco put his bag down, he asked the question that had been plaguing him the whole while. "Gin? Mind if I ask something?"
"You just did, but go ahead, you can ask something else," Ginny smiled.
If it had been Harry or Ron who had said that, Draco would've slugged either of them upside the head; however, Ginny had a way with words. Her words were always well chosen and always spoken with the right tone. He felt good inside. She was just like him.
"Why did you ask me to wear these Muggle rags?"
"First, Draco, those are not rags," Ginny said, referring to Draco's ensemble. "I think you look handsome." Draco's temples became a rosy color that clashed horribly with his lurid complexion. That was probably because he almost never blushed. "But anyway," Ginny continued, "We invited some Muggles over for Christmas dinner—"
Draco's eyes were plates on his face. "Why would you do a thing like—" Draco stopped mid-sentence and faked his pleasure at the news, causing his face to look awful and screwed up. "Oh? Muggles? That sounds marvelous! Shall I make gingertoast cookies?"
Ginny frowned. "They're gingerbread cookies, and yes, you will make some with Ron and Harry. And we've invited them over because they happen to be Fred and George's wives."
"Those blokes got married?" Draco said aghast.
"Yes. They also moved to Texas, of all places, and are visiting us. They'll be over tomorrow for Christmas dinner and it's the first time the family is meeting them as well."
Draco laughed. "You mean they don't know? About… magic?"
Ginny ignored Draco's outburst. "The thing is, we don't know if they know or not, so mum is forcing everyone to wear Muggle clothes. Harry's helping us be accurate about it all, but it looks like you won't need any help with the outfit." She grinned and pecked a kiss on Draco's cheek, a move immediately silencing Draco's sniggering.
There was a pregnant pause and Draco broke it when he spotted something in the corner of the room. "Ginny, dear, why are those attached to the bed?" He asked making a face.
Ginny turned around to find Draco staring at a set of shackles attached to the bed. "Er… I'm not quite sure about that… but use them however you like." She smirked. "Maybe you and Harry could—"
Draco growled.
"I'm just kidding!" She laughed as she threw her arms around Draco.
"I can't see how I like you so much," he muttered.
Ginny gave him her puppy eyes at that and Draco returned the look with a healthy grin and a kiss on her forehead.
* * *
"GINNY!"
It was early the next morning and everyone had been asleep… until Draco's shriek woke everyone up.
Ginny dashed through the house and was the first to the guestroom. "Draco, what's wrong?"
"You never told me you had a cat!" He whispered frantically.
Ginny burst out laughing and why wouldn't she? The scene was worthy of a good laugh.
Draco Malfoy was crouched in a ball at the corner of the bed, which was at the far corner of the room. His arms were around his legs and there was a rip on his black satin pajamas near his left shoulder.
"You never told me you were afraid of them!" Ginny said.
"I hadn't counted on you needing to know!" He replied back crossly.
"Come here, Princess!" Ginny called.
At that, a tiny, pure white kitten with soft green eyes and a long furry tail jumped into Ginny's outstretched arms.
"Princess, I'd like you to meet my prince!" Ginny said, giggling. "Draco, this is Princess. She's a purebred Turkish Angora and she's about three months old right now.
"The pleasure's all mine," Draco snapped as he crept out of his corner, thankful no one else had seen him crouched like that.
"Draco!" Ginny whined, slightly upset to see him bitter about her pet. "Don't tell me you've never had a pet!"
He didn't say anything.
"You have had a pet before, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have," Draco said with a sudden change of tone. "He was a falcon. I'm not quite sure what kind of falcon he was or how purebred he may have been since I had him for two days."
"Just two days? Were you watching him for someone?"
"No, I found him in our yard. Then my father saw me tending to it and killed the falcon and forced me to eat it for dinner that day." He paused. "I was eight then and haven't had anymore pets after that for some odd, definitely not coincidental, reason." He crossed his arms.
"Oh, Draco," Ginny trailed off. She raised an arm to put on his shoulder when he suddenly uncrossed his arms and began digging through his bag of clothes.
"So, what's for breakfast?" Draco asked in an eccentric, chipper tone.
Ginny stuttered. "Well, I'm not too sure—"
Draco had his clothes draped over his left arm and he briskly walked over to Ginny and kissed her on the forehead. "Right then, I guess you could go find out while I take a shower and change into these?" He held his beloved leather pants and yet another black dress shirt.
"All right," Ginny said a bit unsure.
Draco wore an incredibly fraudulent smile and nodded and kept nodding until Ginny was out of sight.
* * *
"Mum, what's for breakfast? I think Draco wants to know," Ginny asked in her quiet voice.
"Well, Draco brought me some homemade banana nut muffins yesterday so I thought we'd eat light and have those and some coffee since we'll have a large dinner tonight."
"Okay, I'll tell him—"
"Oh Draco, dear, you look darling like that! Just look at him, Ginny!"
Molly Weasley shrieked, rushed past her daughter, pinched Draco's cheeks, hugged him tightly and winked at Ginny whilst pointing at Draco's pectorals.
Ginny's face now matched her hair.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," Draco muttered.
Mrs. Weasley immediately embraced him in a yet another tight hug and gave his wet hair a friendly jostle. Draco had obviously just finished his shower. He had his satin pajama bottoms on and was barefoot as well. When Mrs. Weasley finally let go of him, Draco began patting his hair back into place as best as he could. "Ginny, I came to ask if you've seen my hair care products."
"I didn't know you had any," Ginny said uncertainly. "I mean, do you mean, like, your brush?"
"No, I mean the whole bag that I brought with me. The comb, the brush, the gel, my shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, scalp treatment, hairspray, scissors—"
Draco's listing was interrupted by a large guffaw from up the stairs.
"I know! That was the best!" Ron said as he and Harry came down the stairs. "I wish we were in first year again…"
"Oy! You two clowns!" Draco called.
Harry and Ron stopped in their tracks. "Are you talking to us?" Ron asked, arching an eyebrow.
"You answered," Draco said.
Sensing a fight, Ginny stepped up. "Er… Draco just wanted to know if you've seen his hair care products."
Harry and Ron stared back.
"Well?" Ginny asked.
"Well what?" Ron asked.
"Have you seen them?"
"No!" Ron said, completely disgusted.
"Can't he just borrow a brush from someone?" Harry asked.
"Most certainly not from you," Draco spat. "Wouldn't want to get fleas."
"Now Draco," Mrs. Weasley intervened. "Let's be nice!"
Draco's left eyebrow began twitching ever so slightly and he smiled. "Sorry, ma'am. I suppose I'll manage for now." He snapped his fingers and his wand flew down the stairs and into his hand. "If you'll excuse me please?" Draco went back up the stairs to tend to the necessities of his hair.
"What a goon," Ron said after Draco was out of earshot. He picked up a banana nut muffin and bit into it. "Really Ginny! Why couldn't you go for Neville or Creepy Creevey or something? At least they're sane and have regular hair!" He rolled his eyes.
"Colin's not exactly sane," Harry reminded him thoughtfully.
"Oh yeah," Ron frowned as he took another bite of his muffin.
Ginny simply smiled at her brother.
"What?" Ron protested.
"Go ahead and talk about Draco behind his back. If you were a real man, you'd tell him all this to his face." Ginny said.
"Yeah, missy? I tell him all this to his face and behind his back!" He stuffed the rest of the muffin into his mouth.
"I'm just saying you'll get what you deserve sooner or later."
Ron shrugged his shoulders. "Mum, is there anymore coffee? Oy! Harry, want some coffee?"
"Yes please," Harry chimed in.
Mrs. Weasley scratched her head doubtfully, served both boys coffee, and didn't say anything more.
* * *
"BLOODY HELL! MUUUUUUUUUM!"
Molly Weasley was in the process of cleaning up the kitchen and winced slightly at her son's screaming. "What is it, dear?" She said a bit guiltily.
"I am it!" Ron shrieked as he ran into the kitchen, Harry hurrying behind him.
"Oh my," she trailed off.
"What's wrong with me? I'm huge! I look like… like…"
"Dudley?" Harry suggested.
Ron scowled.
"Oh, Ron! You look simply disgraceful!" Ginny walked into the kitchen almost on cue. "Something you ate?" She smiled angelically.
Ron thought back to breakfast. It was all he had eaten for that day. Nothing abnormal ever happened to coffee—"The muffin!" He burst out.
Ginny wore a devilish smirk on her face and refused to make contact with Ron's eyes.
"Mum! What was in those muffins?" Ron asked furiously.
"Those were banana nut muffins, dear. Delicious, weren't they?"
Ginny couldn't help but giggle.
Ron mouthed wordlessly at his younger sister. "Why didn't you tell me they were banana nut? You know I'm allergic to peanuts!"
His mother looked to Ginny for that answer.
"Draco made those muffins for us!" Ginny proceeded in skipping out of the kitchen before Ron stepped in front of her. "They're homemade, too!"
"Ginny!" Ron growled, getting ever more swelled. "This isn't funny!"
"Oh, cool your engines. In case you forgot, I'm going to become a MediWitch." She rolled her eyes and performed the counter curse. Ron returned to his normal, lanky size and Ginny touched the tip of her want to a few other places where the seams of Ron's clothing had come close to busting. "Teaches you a lesson, doesn't it?"
"Yeah! Never eat muffins while Malfoys lurk around the house."
Ginny grinned. "Malfoys? Did you mean to say that plural?"
"You're as bad as him! He's rubbed off on you! It's the same thing! Why don't you go upstairs and ask him how to get yourself one of those wondrous Dark Marks? Then you'll be official!"
The whole kitchen went silent.
Ginny was the first to speak. "In case you've forgotten, Draco isn't who he used to be. He does not have a Dark Mark, he never had a Dark Mark and as far as he's concerned, he'll never have a Dark Mark. Just because you two have had a bitter rivalry for the past seven years does not make it okay for you to walk all over his or my good name! And just so you know, you're the only one here giving off evil vibes."
"Gin, you know I didn't mean—"
"I don't know what you meant, Ron! But whatever you think you mean isn't what you really mean. Why don't you go think about it or something? Just leave me alone!" She threw up her arms and walked around Ron and Harry to get out of the kitchen.
Ron turned around and grabbed Ginny's arm. "Ginny—"
Before Ron could say anything, his sister twisted her arm out of his grasp. She narrowed her tear-filled eyes and snarled, "Let go of me!" And she stormed out of the house.
* * *
Draco was once again thankful for knowing magic. For if it hadn't been for his knowledge of magic, his hair would've looked awful today.
Today, Draco wore another black button-up dress shirt, which was not tucked, of course, and the cuffs of which were unbuttoned. He wore his favored black leather pants, the pockets of which were absolutely perfect for stuffing his hands in and he wore the same black boots as he had yesterday.
Yet again he was thankful for magic. This time, he was glad the Weasleys knew of it. They had put some kind of enchantment on the Weasley grounds so the winter snow storm visiting the rest of England wouldn't touch the perimeter of these grounds. Instead, it was sunny and a gentle breeze blew through the land. His boots were safe and dry.
Draco was walking on the quiet Weasley grounds this morning when he suddenly stopped, crossed his arms, and clutched his amulet around his neck— yet another habit.
The Weasleys actually had quite a significant amount of land, and it was good land at that. So why would they insist on living in such an old, broken down house, if one could even call it that?
He stood there very still for a moment, thinking about the trifle matter, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a small noise from behind him.
Draco turned around to find his Ginny sitting on a log with her back to him. She had destroyed a number of flowers— their petals scattered all about her. She wore a white, three-quarter shirt with a light pink, flower-print skirt and light brown cowboy boots. On her head sat a crown of dandelion stems.
Draco could see Ginny wasn't in the best of moods, but he was never really considered an icebreaker, so he just stood there until—
"Hello, Draco," Ginny's tiny voice called out.
Caught off-guard, Draco jumped. "Ginny! Right, I just came to say I'm going to wear my leather pants until the Muggles come over and yeah, I just needed to know when they'll be over so I know when to take my pants off. I mean, so I'll know when to take my pants off and change into the Muggle pants."
"They'll be here around five this afternoon," Ginny said, her back still to Draco.
"Oh, okay," he trailed off. And he simply stood there after that. He tried many times to say something and often times he almost did say something, but he never actually said anything. And right when he was about to say something—
"Draco, am I immature?" Ginny suddenly asked. She twisted around to face Draco now. "Are we immature? And are we wrong and illogical?" Ginny stared at Draco, waiting for some sort of answer. He scratched his head and finally decided to sit down next to his girlfriend. "Yes and no," Draco answered.
Ginny gave him a look that seemed to ask, "What?"
"Yes, we are immature," Draco explained. "I don't mean to say we're stupid, but I mean to say we've much more to learn about life in general. I most certainly don't think I know everything I need to know after seventeen years of living and you shouldn't think so either after sixteen years."
Ginny rubbed her eyes. "Draco, I meant us. Not just me or you, but us… together," she clarified.
"Oh," Draco said thoughtfully. "Er… is this, by any chance, Ron's fault?"
Ginny frowned. "Yes and no." She answered Draco with his favorite answer to questions.
"Thought so," he replied. "But if this has anything to do with that clown of a brother of yours, then you're being awful silly crying over it." Draco put his arm around Ginny and rested his chin on her head. "I like you and you like me. Don't think people I know haven't approached me about dating a Gryffindor Goody! They have! And sure, what we've got going is as illogical as it gets, but it's working fine for the two of us right now and that's what's really important, don't you think?"
Ginny sniffled in reply.
"Really, do you do everything to impress Ron?"
Ginny smiled. "For the past half year I've been doing everything I can to impress you."
Draco let go of Ginny and chuckled. He ran his fingers through her hair. "We've an expert here!" He exclaimed and then smirked. "'Cause whatever you did, sure as hell worked—"
Ginny had suddenly knocked Draco backwards. His eyes flew open in surprise just as Ginny's lips were on his. She giggled and continued kissing her shocked boyfriend. After a straight minute of snogging, Ginny finally rolled over and lay next to Draco in the tall grass, yellow from needing cutting. "I'm glad I found you," she finally said, staring deep into the light blue sky.
Draco smirked and licked his lips. "Well, I'm impressed."
* * *
Ginny was in her room brushing her hair when she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" She called out.
"It's me," she heard Ron answer.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Come in if you must."
The door opened and Ron stepped in. He was already dressed for Christmas dinner. He wore fancy brown shoes, copper-colored pants and a white-collared long-sleeve shirt that had stripes of brown, beige, and burnt-orange.
"Gin, I came to apologize."
Ginny turned to face her brother and crossed her arms. "Oh, really? Go on," she demanded.
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry I've been so hard on you and Malfoy—"
His sister glared at him.
"—On you and Draco," he corrected himself. "If you two like each other, then good for you. I should be happy for you and your… your boyfriend," he finished with a face. "Oh yeah, sorry about the Dark Mark thing, too."
Ginny furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you done?"
Ron stuttered. "Yes?"
"Good," Ginny said as she got up and hugged her brother. "Thank you for the apology, which, by the way, I accept." She stepped back from her brother. "I'll see you at dinner, I guess," she said as she nearly shoved Ron out the door. "Remind Draco for me to change into his jeans!" And she shut the door.
Ron scrunched up his nose and scratched his head. "Women!"
"I heard that!" Ginny yelled.
Moments later, Ron was hit on the back of his head by a pillow his sister had thrown through the door.
* * *
Harry walked out of Ron's room, dressed and ready for dinner. He wore khakis and a navy sweater. His hair was being uncooperative, as usual, so that couldn't really be helped.
He spotted his best friend. "Did you get everything sorted out between you and Ginny?"
Ron massaged a spot on the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess," he trailed off.
"Cool," Harry said. "Anyway, we're due downstairs. Your mum asked me to make cookies and I said I would and frankly, I've never made cookies before, so I'm volunteering you for the job, too," he said sheepishly.
Ron laughed. "Fine, I'll teach you, but I gotta go tell Malfoy to change into his Muggle threads, first."
"He'll remember," Harry said. "He's a bright guy, you don't have to keep after him."
"I don't want to keep after him. Ginny told me to remind him." Ron explained with disgust.
"Oh," Harry simply said. "I'll meet you in the kitchen then," he said with a nervous laugh. And with that, he trotted down the stairs and Ron went up the third flight of stairs to the guestroom.
Ron finally got to Draco's door and decided not to knock. Why would he need to knock? It was his house, after all, so he was rightfully allowed to open a door without knocking. Plus, the bathroom wasn't connected to the guestroom, so if he was changing, he'd be in a bathroom and not in his room. Hopefully. So Ron barged in.
"Malfoy, Ginny wanted me to—"
"ARP—!"
Ron stopped in the middle of his sentence and his eyes widened.
Draco sat sprawled in the middle of his room, hunched over a large object. It was obvious he was trying to hide something.
"Bloody hell! What're you doing?" Ron asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Can't you knock?" Draco snarled.
Ron scoffed. "And miss this? What do you have there, Malfoy?"
"None of your sodding business! Now please leave!"
"Please?" Ron mimicked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the doorframe. "Such manners!"
Draco was struggling to keep hidden whatever it was he was hiding. "What do you want?" he growled.
"Well, I was supposed to remind you to change into your jeans, but it's a good thing you've already done that, because now I want to know what you're hiding!"
"Just leave!" Draco said through clenched teeth.
Ron got his wand out from his back pocket. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
And now two things floated before him. One, a half confused and half astonished Draco Malfoy, and two—
"A puppy?" Ron goggled.
"Yes! Now put me down!" Draco snapped.
Ron swished his wand and Draco instantaneously landed on the floor with a thud. Now Ron stepped over Draco and took the puppy in his arms. "Such a cute fellow!" Ron cooed. "What're you doing with a nasty tike like him?" He asked the puppy, 'tike' referring to Draco.
Draco got up off the floor, brushing imaginary dust off his clothes. "It's a Black Labrador, for your information—"
"He's Ginny's Christmas present, isn't he?" Ron narrowed his eyes. "She's already got a cat, I'll have you know!"
"I know she has a cat, and no, it's not her Christmas present. He's mine."
"Are you not allowed to have a puppy? Because it's awful snitchy of you to hide him up in the guestroom," Ron said a bit uncertainly.
"Unhand him, if you would," Draco ordered, grabbing the animal out of Ron's arms. "I found him lurking around Malfoy Manor," he explained as the puppy proceeded to lick off the bottom of Draco's chin.
"Okay," Ron said.
There was a silence and Draco took it as a sign to carry on. "Loads of big, dangerous animals lurk around there, and it being the holiday season and all, I brought him with me. You lot would know about him if I hadn't discovered your cat." He frowned.
"How thoughtful," Ron said. "But Ginny's dead scared of dogs, I'll have you know. So is mum."
"So?"
"So now you know!" Ron exclaimed. "Anyway, you better put him back wherever you've been keeping him. We're baking stuff downstairs and mum's bound to call you down, too," he said as he made his way out the door.
"Hold it!" Draco yelled. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Ron swore right before his body froze up and he landed on the floor with a thud.
"Settles that score," Draco muttered. He dragged Ron back into the room and performed the counter spell to unfreeze Ron. "You didn't have to tell me that," Draco said.
"Tell you what?"
"That someone would probably be up here to call me downstairs," Draco clarified. "But you did. I know you better than you think and you would like nothing better than for things to go amiss for me. So why did you tell me?"
"I already told you!" Ron shouted. "Ginny's afraid of dogs and you like Ginny and she likes you and it'd be an awful shame if you broke her heart 'cause you had a stupid mutt!"
"Pfft," Draco sighed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. Just leave, will you?"
Ron got up and walked out of the room. "It's what I was doing!" He shouted.
"And knock next time you want to come in!" Draco hollered after him.
Seconds after Draco put his puppy in a kennel under the bed, Mrs. Weasley poked her head into the room.
Can't anyone bloody knock in this house? Draco thought to himself. But he simply smiled at Mrs. Weasley's presence.
"Draco, dear, the boys are making cookies downstairs. Wouldn't you like to join in on the festivities? They're gingerbread cookies!" She exclaimed.
"Sure," Draco stammered. "I'll be right down."
Mrs. Weasley winked at him and left a half confused and half astonished Draco Malfoy in his room.
* * *
Harry and Ron were preparing the cookie dough when Ginny pranced down the stairs. She wore a crimson turtleneck sweater with flares and black boots. Her hair was tied back in a low ponytail.
"Mum, do you need any help preparing for dinner?"
"No dear, the turkey's almost finished—"
"We're having turkey?" Ginny exclaimed. "Like, the bird kind?"
"That's the only kind there is, dear," her mother answered.
"We can't have turkey for dinner!"
"And why not?" Mrs. Weasley asked, quite confused.
"Because it's a bird!" Ginny explained frantically. Everyone in the kitchen was staring at her and Ginny quickly explained to her mother about Draco and his first pet.
"Oh," Molly Weasley said softly.
"Draco's dad is kind of gross," Harry said, his stomach clearly not having enjoyed the story.
Ginny ignored the remark and opened the refrigerator. "Mum, help me find some more food!" Ginny opened the freezer and tilted her head when she saw over twenty cartons of— "Whipped cream? Mum, why do we have so much of it?"
"Uh…" Mrs. Weasley stuttered. "Not quite sure on that one!"
Ron arched an eyebrow and eyed Harry. Harry shrugged and continued stirring the dough.
After ten minutes of searching through the kitchen, Ginny and her mother rounded up—
"Cinnamon, banana nut muffins, eggs, salt, pepper, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, vanilla extract, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, baking powder, baking soda, flour, milk, butterbeer, coffee, tea, butter, molasses, toppings for the cookies, and asparagus." Ginny listed off.
"And a turkey," Harry reminded them. He was ignored, however.
"What happened to all the food?" Ron complained.
"I guess we ate it all and I forgot to get some more in the madness of this holiday!" Mrs. Weasley said, appalled.
"So we're having asparagus for Christmas dinner?" Ron asked, making a face.
"Not unless you want to see Malfoy barf while we all enjoy turkey." Harry said cheerfully.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mum, are you sure we can't make anything else? Because honestly, what kind of Christmas dinner does asparagus make?"
"An unwanted healthy one," Ron groaned.
"Just imagine what the two new Mrs. Weasleys will think!" Harry laughed. Everyone glared at him. "Just a thought," Harry said in a tiny voice.
"I'll try to think of something," Mrs. Weasley said reassuringly just as Draco came down the stairs. "Draco!" She exclaimed. "Boys, are you done with the dough?"
Harry nodded. "Just finished!"
"Good! Ginny, would you get the cookie cutters, please?" Mrs. Weasley asked her daughter.
Ginny found the cookie cutters and lay them on the counter near Harry.
"All right, I need to go to the market to do a last minute errand," she eyed Ginny. "Boys, you'll be in charge of the cookies. Ginny, please go upstairs and make sure the rooms are prepared for our guests."
Everybody nodded and set out to do their assigned tasks.
* * *
Ding-dong!
"They're here!" Molly Weasley shrieked.
"I hope it's Hermione!" Ron gasped and blushed.
Christmas dinner settings had been ready for an hour already, so everyone had been lounging in the den until now. The moment the doorbell rang, everyone sprang up and ran around crazily.
Draco simply stood where he was and stared at the commotion. Then he walked to the door and hollered over the din, "How about we just open the door?"
The whole room went quiet.
"Why yes, what a nice idea, Draco, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, straightening out her dress.
"What a guy!" Mr. Weasley said, hugging his daughter.
Ginny immediately put her hand to her forehead and avoided eye contact with Draco even though she knew he hadn't heard the comment.
Draco turned the doorknob and a collective gasp from all the members of the house could be heard.
The door opened.
"Ribbit!"
Ron walked out from the corner he was standing in. "Trevor?"
"Isn't that Neville's toad?" Ginny asked.
"Why is he here?" Harry asked.
"Trevor!" A lanky boy came running at the door and tripped over the threshold. He had the toad in his hands and looked up sheepishly.
"Longbottom? What're you doing here?" Draco sneered.
"I should ask the same of you," Neville piped up as he got back to his feet. "A butler? You? Who would've thought?" He said, faking his astonishment.
Ron arched an eyebrow, surprised at Neville's new backbone.
While Draco and Neville stared one another down, Mr. Weasley said, "Would you like to stay for dinner, young man? We're having a marvelous—"
"Food!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted. Her husband stared at her. "Yes! The food is marvelous! You'll stay, won't you?" She asked, suddenly out of breath.
Neville huffed at Draco before he looked kindly in Mrs. Weasley's way and nodded, "Thank you for the invitation, but I'm visiting my cousin for the holiday and must be on my way. Sorry for barging in, but you know, Trevor," he trailed off, avoiding eye contact and scratching the back of his neck.
Harry was about to ask how a toad had managed to ring the doorbell, but Ron muttered, "Automatic doorbell— Dad installed it," before he could even ask.
Neville bid his farewells and was soon on his way.
"Goodness, Ron! Wasn't that the darling little boy who flew into my mandrake garden last summer?" Mrs. Weasley asked right after he left.
"Yeah, the one who had to spend a week here since the mandrakes were nearly matured when he ran into 'em. His name's Neville Longbottom."
"Wow, he sure did go through you-know-what!" Mrs. Weasley giggled, nudging Ginny.
"Mom!" Ginny whined completely embarrassed.
Ron guffawed. "What do you think, Butler?"
Draco clenched his fists and almost said something he might've regretted when—
Ding-dong!
A loud intake of breath as everyone stared at Draco, waiting for him to open the door since he was closest to it.
Draco rolled his eyes and opened the door.
"Hermione!" Ron said, turning completely red the instant he saw whom it was. "You—" 'look gorgeous,' 'look amazing,' 'look beautiful,' 'look stunning,' were among lines he would've liked to say. Alas, all he could muster was, "You're here!" He stared at her with star bespectacled eyes.
Pleased with Ron's reaction, she smiled and invited herself into the house.
Hermione wore a beautiful dark lavender evening gown that lay against her body and accentuated her young female frame. Her hair was down and straight.
"Your hair looks so nice!" Ginny squealed.
"Thanks!" She laughed. "I ran into Percy at the train station, did you know?" Harry looked around to see how the mentioning of the name would affect the Weasleys, but it did not. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just looked at Hermione kindly, waiting for her finish speaking. "He put a straightening charm on my hair! Said it was the best present he could assemble at a second's notice." She averted her gaze. "Like it, Ron?"
Harry elbowed Ron in the ribs. "Yeah!" Ron exclaimed.
Draco shut the door now and Hermione turned. "Oh! Draco, I didn't know you were here."
"He's the butler," Harry informed her.
"Oh," Hermione said, a bit uncertainly.
"Shut your trap!" Draco yelled at Harry.
Ginny intervened. "He's with me, Hermione."
"Oh," Hermione said again, only this time with much for flavor. She winked at Ginny and was then invited to sit in-between Harry and Ron.
And soon after the Muggle dilemma had been explained to Hermione, yet another ding-dong was heard and everyone knew who was at the door this time.
"Everyone ready?" Mrs. Weasley called out.
Draco had found a seat to sit in— away from the door and Ginny sat on his lap. Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat on the loveseat, and Mr. Weasley stood next to his wife at the door.
"Ready!" Ginny spoke for everyone.
"Wait!" Mrs. Weasley yelled in hysterics. "Arthur, you forgot to turn off the Weather Distorter! It's supposed to be snowing!"
Mr. Weasley slapped his forehead. "Forgot! Sorry! I'll be one second," he said as he ran into the kitchen. "Okay!" He announced when he came back to his wife's side. Instinctively, everyone felt slightly chillier at the news.
Mrs. Weasley opened to door and everyone gawked at four snow-covered figures. "Thanks for that, dad," one of them said sarcastically.
"George!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, hugging her son who towered a foot above her. "Come in! I'm so sorry about the weather!" She said, wincing.
"England weather! Sure can be unpredictable!" Mr. Weasley put in with a fake chuckle.
"Right, dad," Fred groaned as he peeled a wet coat off his back.
"Oy! Libby, hold still for one second! Okay, let me get my wand out!" George told his wife. And with a swish of his wand all four of them were dry.
"Thanks," Fred and his wife said in unison.
Mrs. Weasley put her arms on her hips. "They know about magic?"
"Yeah," Fred said, nodding his head as if this were the most obvious thing.
"Why didn't you say anything?" His mother asked.
"We thought it was a bit obvious," George answered. "We told you they owned a magic shop, too! What, did you want us to send you one of our toilet seat telegrams or something?"
"Don't you be smart with me, mister!" And George cowered under his mother's stare. "You and your brother told us you were bringing Muggles home with you!"
"Muggleborns," Fred corrected. "May I introduce you all?"
Mrs. Weasley stopped yelling and finally noticed the two young beauties at either side of her sons.
The woman next to Fred was almost as tall as he was. She had long, dark black hair and dark eyes to match. Her fair skin was illuminated by her beautiful hair, which twisted into an intricate braid down her back. She had a medium frame and wore a fuchsia colored gown that ended halfway down her shins and let way for black cloth that finished the rest of her dress.
The woman next to George had his exact red hair and wore the exact same gown as Fred's wife, except for the fact that her dress was a dark cyan. She was significantly shorter than George even with her high heels on. Her large turquoise eyes went well with her current ensemble and her crooked smile looked friendly.
"Mum, this is Nannette," Fred turned to his wife. "Nannette, this is Molly Weasley, my mum!"
"Sure is nice to meetcha, ma'am," Nannette said with a heavy South Texas accent, offering a hand to her new mother-in-law.
Mrs. Weasley ignored the hand and embraced Nannette in a tight hug. "It's a pleasure to meet you, dear! Have a seat!" She insisted. She then pointed her wand to an empty spot on the floor and moments later, a large sofa appeared. Fred then escorted Nannette to the couch where they both sat down.
"Mum, this is Olivia," George said, pointing to his redheaded wife. "Libby for short. Libby, this is my mother, Molly Weasley." He grinned as his mother hugged Olivia just as she'd done with Nannette and then directed both of them to the sofa.
"It's great to finally be acquainted, ma'am!" Olivia said in the same accent as Nannette. "Your sons have told us so much about you and the rest of the Weasleys. But say," she did a quick redhead count, "I thought there was s'posed to be nine of you folks!"
"Ah, yes," Mr. Weasley agreed. "Our three oldest sons were caught up with work and couldn't make it down this holiday season, though they'll be here in spirit, I'm sure. But Harry, Hermione, and Draco are here with us!" He smiled and introduced the three teenagers.
There was a nice, warm silence.
"Did Fred and George tell yall?" Nannette suddenly said. "Libby and I are sisters!"
Draco was completely floored at this and would've said something rude which was just about to leave the tip of his tongue, had Ginny not pinched him and reminded him to stay quiet and be polite.
"No," Mrs. Weasley stuttered, "The boys never told us that."
"It's the weirdest thing ever, mum! They were our competition, and now they're our lovers!" George laughed.
"Yeah, they own the magic shop across the street from our joke shop. Both of our stores are high up where sales are concerned, but still, competition is competition!" Fred explained.
"But then the weirdest thing happened," George took over. "They called us one day! And do you know how?"
"How?" Ginny asked, completely enthralled.
"They found our names in a Wizards Listing!"
"Well, I'll be!" Mr. Weasley declared.
"We all had a good laugh when we found out the four of us were Magicfolk," Nannette grinned.
"And we just clicked together after that," Olivia finished.
"And by 'clicked,' we really clicked," George said while Fred nodded. "We merged both our shops, so now we really are the most popular shop of our kind!"
Everyone laughed and Draco took this chance to excuse himself quickly. When he returned, everyone laughed again and Draco's cheeks turned rosy. He had gone to change out of his Muggle pants and had come back with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather trousers.
Ginny jumped up and pecked a kiss on his cheek. He grinned a toothy grin and Mr. Weasley announced, "I think it's high time for dinner, don't you, dear?"
"Why, yes!" Molly stammered. As soon as everyone was gathered around the table, she waved her wand and a dish as long as the table appeared before them. "Asparagus casserole," she announced. "Dig in, everyone!"
"I thought we were going to—"
"Dig in!" She repeated sternly to her husband.
"Yes! Asparagus!" Fred hollered as he did a victory dance.
"Fred!" His mother yelled.
And though Draco, Hermione, Nannette, and Olivia found asparagus casserole for Christmas dinner a bit strange, they enjoyed the hearty meal. Afterwards, was dessert. Vanilla ice cream and homemade gingerbread cookies… though the cookies looked a bit interesting on the tray.
A cookie resembling Harry (the scar gave it away) looked quite clueless at the corner of the tray. Next to him was a redheaded cookie with far too many freckles standing next to a cookie with far too much brown frosting for hair. Hermione, perhaps? A blob of green frosting resembling mistletoe was between them. Yes, perhaps. And on the next row of cookies, a gingerbread man dressed all in black with yellow frosting for hair stood next to a redheaded girl cookie, who looked as though she was in a trance or under some spell the black cookie was putting on her. Next to them was a double-sided cookie resembling Fred and George. Lastly, there was one more cookie under that row that resembled Harry once again— except for the fact that it had a mischievous glint in his frosting eyes, which were clearly staring in the direction of the Malfoy cookie above it. Thankfully, the rest of the cookies looked 'normal'.
Draco didn't remember seeing that last cookie when he, Harry and Ron were making them before and the instant he saw it, Harry flashed him a daunt smile. On cue, Draco snatched the cookie and bit its head off.
Just as their dinner came to a close, Mrs. Weasley got up to open the kitchen door and direct the dirty dishes into the sink. However, she gasped aloud in surprise when she opened the door.
Everyone got up and when Draco reached the door, he closed his eyes in utter shock. His puppy had found a way out of the kennel and was now gnawing on a whole turkey! Draco briskly walked in, grabbed the puppy by the scruff of his neck and proceeded in taking him upstairs before Ginny saw.
Too late!
Ginny squealed. "Draco!"
"I know! I'm sorry! I'm taking him upstairs!"
"But why?" Ginny whined.
Draco stopped halfway up the stairs. "Because you're afraid of dogs," he said bluntly.
"No I'm not," Ginny said confused.
Draco eyed Ron who looked clueless to the matter. He understood then. For some odd reason, Ron had decided to be nice before when he'd discovered the puppy. There was no particular reason— he just wanted to be nice.
Draco dropped his puppy on the ground and it ran into Ginny's arms.
One last thing he needed to do. Draco flicked his wand behind his back. "Oy, Weasley!" He called. "Happy Christmas, you intolerable dork!"
Draco was looking at a spot above Ron's head. Ron followed his gaze and turned completely red when he saw what Draco had done.
"That's mistletoe, Ron," Hermione said, looking up as well.
And before Ron could even look back at Hermione, she had pressed her lips against his and he soon melted into the kiss.
Ginny let go of the puppy and crept behind Draco. She softly flicked his wand, the last spell still burning on the tip of the wood, and a tiny mistletoe sprouted above them.
"Happy Christmas too all," Ginny whispered in his ear.
Draco looked up and spotted the mistletoe. "And to all a good night!" He smirked.
Author's Note: This is the longest Harry Potter-related ficlet I've ever written. Actually, it's the only ficlet I've ever written, but usually, chapters for my other fics are about seven to eight pages long (Microsoft Word, 10pt, Times New Roman, single-spaced). This one turned out to be seventeen and a half pages long. ^^; I hope it wasn't too mushy-gushy or Mary-Sue (with the addition of Fred and George's wives at the end, even though they didn't really do anything). Also, sorry for the slightly out-of-character Draco. It's how I imagine him acting if he and Ginny ever really do hook up. ^_~ Anyway, I hope everyone will have a happy and safe holiday season. Yay! And stay warm! :)
Personal Note: Sorry, Eri! I converted to R/Hr! But at least know Eiko didn't drug me and brainwash me… it was my own choice. ^^;
Criteria: This is the list of criteria that had to be included in this ficlet:
- Draco in leather pants (easy)
- Shackles... >8D
- Whipped cream
- Draco has a cute puppy
- D/G (duh)
- Draco is afraid of cats (and the Weasleys have a cat)
- Draco loses his hair care products in the Weasley home... XDDD
- Make someone eat asparagus!!
- Make Ron allergic to peanuts (make him swell up or something after accidentally eating some)
- Dress Draco in cute and designer (modern-day) Muggle clothes and describe with detail
- Make Harry randomly compliment on Draco's sexiness >8D
- Percy puts a straightening charm on Hermione's hair
- Fred and George come to Texas
- Neville's toad runs away
Note: One day, Jonah did not know what to write, so I designed a 'challenge fic' for her. I compiled a list of random events for her and her job was to write a fic that included each of the events. After staring at the list, I thought it would be neat to try my quill at it, so we're both going to post our different versions of the challenge fic, codenamed "The Asparagus Fic". The list of criteria is included at the bottom of this fic so I don't spoil anything for anyone. :) Enjoy!
Draco stood at the door to the most uniquely designed house he had ever seen. He shifted uncomfortably and took his hands out of his pockets only to stuff them back into the same pockets moments later.
Curse nervous habits.
Under normal circumstances, he keeps his hands inside his pockets whether he's nervous or not, but he kept taking his hands out today since his pants just didn't feel right. There was an obvious explanation for this-- he was wearing a pair of Muggle jeans. Not only that, but he wore a black button-up dress shirt and nice black boots. The cuffs of the shirt were unbuttoned as always, and he'd made it a point to unbutton a couple extra buttons for show. The shirt wasn't tucked either. His outfit was somewhat comfortable, but he felt a bit sloppy in it. Then again, Muggles are sloppy… and so are the Weasleys... so he shrugged off the odd feeling of insecurity.
To finish the outfit was his necklace. It wasn't really a necklace, per se, but more like a black cord with a silver medallion dangling from it. The emblem was a cross with a serpent wrapped around it. Draco clutched it with his left hand—couldn't forget the Slytherin pride!
He stood still in front of the door until he heard a choking noise. Startled, Draco stumbled backward only to discover a freckle-faced Ronald Weasley not trying too hard to hold back his laughter.
"Daydreaming about Harry again, Malfoy?" Ron jested.
Last year, his sixth year at Hogwarts, Draco had tried placing a Cupid's Curse charm on Harry so that he'd fall for Hermione, ultimately causing Ron and Harry to fight since Hermione was Ron's girl. However, the charm had gone awry since Harry ended up following Draco everywhere he went, scarring Draco's reputation considerably for a few weeks.
Harry walked up from behind Ron and made a seductive growling noise from the back of his throat. "Aye, Draco, you're looking might fine and sexy! You'll room with me, won't you?" He smirked and ran a finger down the part of Draco's chest that was visible. The whole ordeal obviously hadn't bothered Harry.
Draco made a motion with his arm, but Harry quickly moved out of reach.
"Draco, is that you?" A tiny voice called through the house.
This made all three young men freeze and straighten up and just as they did so, yet another head of red hair popped up from underneath Ron's arm. Her straight hair lay lazily over her delicate shoulders. She wore a long-sleeved light pink shirt, flares, and pink bunny slippers on her feet.
"Ginny," Draco breathed at the oddly pleasing sight of her.
At that, Ron snorted, Harry grinned and both boys instantly went into a silent fit of giggles.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Ron!"
"What?"
"Really! You're so immature." She quickly shifted her gaze to the other giggle box. "You too, Harry. Now help Draco with his things."
"Can we put them in my room?" Harry asked enthusiastically. The inside joke caused Ron to burst into laughter and Draco's eyes to widen.
Draco slung his bag over his shoulder. "I'll handle it, Gin, just show me to my room if you will."
Ginny moved aside and allowed Draco into her home. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Ron and Harry before she followed him in.
"They're more alike than I thought!" Ron scoffed.
Ginny opened the door to the guestroom and invited Draco in. The room was the size of Draco's closet at home, but it would suffice. He spotted the bed with the sagging mattress in the far corner and was glad he had brought his own sheets.
But even before Draco put his bag down, he asked the question that had been plaguing him the whole while. "Gin? Mind if I ask something?"
"You just did, but go ahead, you can ask something else," Ginny smiled.
If it had been Harry or Ron who had said that, Draco would've slugged either of them upside the head; however, Ginny had a way with words. Her words were always well chosen and always spoken with the right tone. He felt good inside. She was just like him.
"Why did you ask me to wear these Muggle rags?"
"First, Draco, those are not rags," Ginny said, referring to Draco's ensemble. "I think you look handsome." Draco's temples became a rosy color that clashed horribly with his lurid complexion. That was probably because he almost never blushed. "But anyway," Ginny continued, "We invited some Muggles over for Christmas dinner—"
Draco's eyes were plates on his face. "Why would you do a thing like—" Draco stopped mid-sentence and faked his pleasure at the news, causing his face to look awful and screwed up. "Oh? Muggles? That sounds marvelous! Shall I make gingertoast cookies?"
Ginny frowned. "They're gingerbread cookies, and yes, you will make some with Ron and Harry. And we've invited them over because they happen to be Fred and George's wives."
"Those blokes got married?" Draco said aghast.
"Yes. They also moved to Texas, of all places, and are visiting us. They'll be over tomorrow for Christmas dinner and it's the first time the family is meeting them as well."
Draco laughed. "You mean they don't know? About… magic?"
Ginny ignored Draco's outburst. "The thing is, we don't know if they know or not, so mum is forcing everyone to wear Muggle clothes. Harry's helping us be accurate about it all, but it looks like you won't need any help with the outfit." She grinned and pecked a kiss on Draco's cheek, a move immediately silencing Draco's sniggering.
There was a pregnant pause and Draco broke it when he spotted something in the corner of the room. "Ginny, dear, why are those attached to the bed?" He asked making a face.
Ginny turned around to find Draco staring at a set of shackles attached to the bed. "Er… I'm not quite sure about that… but use them however you like." She smirked. "Maybe you and Harry could—"
Draco growled.
"I'm just kidding!" She laughed as she threw her arms around Draco.
"I can't see how I like you so much," he muttered.
Ginny gave him her puppy eyes at that and Draco returned the look with a healthy grin and a kiss on her forehead.
"GINNY!"
It was early the next morning and everyone had been asleep… until Draco's shriek woke everyone up.
Ginny dashed through the house and was the first to the guestroom. "Draco, what's wrong?"
"You never told me you had a cat!" He whispered frantically.
Ginny burst out laughing and why wouldn't she? The scene was worthy of a good laugh.
Draco Malfoy was crouched in a ball at the corner of the bed, which was at the far corner of the room. His arms were around his legs and there was a rip on his black satin pajamas near his left shoulder.
"You never told me you were afraid of them!" Ginny said.
"I hadn't counted on you needing to know!" He replied back crossly.
"Come here, Princess!" Ginny called.
At that, a tiny, pure white kitten with soft green eyes and a long furry tail jumped into Ginny's outstretched arms.
"Princess, I'd like you to meet my prince!" Ginny said, giggling. "Draco, this is Princess. She's a purebred Turkish Angora and she's about three months old right now.
"The pleasure's all mine," Draco snapped as he crept out of his corner, thankful no one else had seen him crouched like that.
"Draco!" Ginny whined, slightly upset to see him bitter about her pet. "Don't tell me you've never had a pet!"
He didn't say anything.
"You have had a pet before, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have," Draco said with a sudden change of tone. "He was a falcon. I'm not quite sure what kind of falcon he was or how purebred he may have been since I had him for two days."
"Just two days? Were you watching him for someone?"
"No, I found him in our yard. Then my father saw me tending to it and killed the falcon and forced me to eat it for dinner that day." He paused. "I was eight then and haven't had anymore pets after that for some odd, definitely not coincidental, reason." He crossed his arms.
"Oh, Draco," Ginny trailed off. She raised an arm to put on his shoulder when he suddenly uncrossed his arms and began digging through his bag of clothes.
"So, what's for breakfast?" Draco asked in an eccentric, chipper tone.
Ginny stuttered. "Well, I'm not too sure—"
Draco had his clothes draped over his left arm and he briskly walked over to Ginny and kissed her on the forehead. "Right then, I guess you could go find out while I take a shower and change into these?" He held his beloved leather pants and yet another black dress shirt.
"All right," Ginny said a bit unsure.
Draco wore an incredibly fraudulent smile and nodded and kept nodding until Ginny was out of sight.
"Mum, what's for breakfast? I think Draco wants to know," Ginny asked in her quiet voice.
"Well, Draco brought me some homemade banana nut muffins yesterday so I thought we'd eat light and have those and some coffee since we'll have a large dinner tonight."
"Okay, I'll tell him—"
"Oh Draco, dear, you look darling like that! Just look at him, Ginny!"
Molly Weasley shrieked, rushed past her daughter, pinched Draco's cheeks, hugged him tightly and winked at Ginny whilst pointing at Draco's pectorals.
Ginny's face now matched her hair.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," Draco muttered.
Mrs. Weasley immediately embraced him in a yet another tight hug and gave his wet hair a friendly jostle. Draco had obviously just finished his shower. He had his satin pajama bottoms on and was barefoot as well. When Mrs. Weasley finally let go of him, Draco began patting his hair back into place as best as he could. "Ginny, I came to ask if you've seen my hair care products."
"I didn't know you had any," Ginny said uncertainly. "I mean, do you mean, like, your brush?"
"No, I mean the whole bag that I brought with me. The comb, the brush, the gel, my shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, scalp treatment, hairspray, scissors—"
Draco's listing was interrupted by a large guffaw from up the stairs.
"I know! That was the best!" Ron said as he and Harry came down the stairs. "I wish we were in first year again…"
"Oy! You two clowns!" Draco called.
Harry and Ron stopped in their tracks. "Are you talking to us?" Ron asked, arching an eyebrow.
"You answered," Draco said.
Sensing a fight, Ginny stepped up. "Er… Draco just wanted to know if you've seen his hair care products."
Harry and Ron stared back.
"Well?" Ginny asked.
"Well what?" Ron asked.
"Have you seen them?"
"No!" Ron said, completely disgusted.
"Can't he just borrow a brush from someone?" Harry asked.
"Most certainly not from you," Draco spat. "Wouldn't want to get fleas."
"Now Draco," Mrs. Weasley intervened. "Let's be nice!"
Draco's left eyebrow began twitching ever so slightly and he smiled. "Sorry, ma'am. I suppose I'll manage for now." He snapped his fingers and his wand flew down the stairs and into his hand. "If you'll excuse me please?" Draco went back up the stairs to tend to the necessities of his hair.
"What a goon," Ron said after Draco was out of earshot. He picked up a banana nut muffin and bit into it. "Really Ginny! Why couldn't you go for Neville or Creepy Creevey or something? At least they're sane and have regular hair!" He rolled his eyes.
"Colin's not exactly sane," Harry reminded him thoughtfully.
"Oh yeah," Ron frowned as he took another bite of his muffin.
Ginny simply smiled at her brother.
"What?" Ron protested.
"Go ahead and talk about Draco behind his back. If you were a real man, you'd tell him all this to his face." Ginny said.
"Yeah, missy? I tell him all this to his face and behind his back!" He stuffed the rest of the muffin into his mouth.
"I'm just saying you'll get what you deserve sooner or later."
Ron shrugged his shoulders. "Mum, is there anymore coffee? Oy! Harry, want some coffee?"
"Yes please," Harry chimed in.
Mrs. Weasley scratched her head doubtfully, served both boys coffee, and didn't say anything more.
"BLOODY HELL! MUUUUUUUUUM!"
Molly Weasley was in the process of cleaning up the kitchen and winced slightly at her son's screaming. "What is it, dear?" She said a bit guiltily.
"I am it!" Ron shrieked as he ran into the kitchen, Harry hurrying behind him.
"Oh my," she trailed off.
"What's wrong with me? I'm huge! I look like… like…"
"Dudley?" Harry suggested.
Ron scowled.
"Oh, Ron! You look simply disgraceful!" Ginny walked into the kitchen almost on cue. "Something you ate?" She smiled angelically.
Ron thought back to breakfast. It was all he had eaten for that day. Nothing abnormal ever happened to coffee—"The muffin!" He burst out.
Ginny wore a devilish smirk on her face and refused to make contact with Ron's eyes.
"Mum! What was in those muffins?" Ron asked furiously.
"Those were banana nut muffins, dear. Delicious, weren't they?"
Ginny couldn't help but giggle.
Ron mouthed wordlessly at his younger sister. "Why didn't you tell me they were banana nut? You know I'm allergic to peanuts!"
His mother looked to Ginny for that answer.
"Draco made those muffins for us!" Ginny proceeded in skipping out of the kitchen before Ron stepped in front of her. "They're homemade, too!"
"Ginny!" Ron growled, getting ever more swelled. "This isn't funny!"
"Oh, cool your engines. In case you forgot, I'm going to become a MediWitch." She rolled her eyes and performed the counter curse. Ron returned to his normal, lanky size and Ginny touched the tip of her want to a few other places where the seams of Ron's clothing had come close to busting. "Teaches you a lesson, doesn't it?"
"Yeah! Never eat muffins while Malfoys lurk around the house."
Ginny grinned. "Malfoys? Did you mean to say that plural?"
"You're as bad as him! He's rubbed off on you! It's the same thing! Why don't you go upstairs and ask him how to get yourself one of those wondrous Dark Marks? Then you'll be official!"
The whole kitchen went silent.
Ginny was the first to speak. "In case you've forgotten, Draco isn't who he used to be. He does not have a Dark Mark, he never had a Dark Mark and as far as he's concerned, he'll never have a Dark Mark. Just because you two have had a bitter rivalry for the past seven years does not make it okay for you to walk all over his or my good name! And just so you know, you're the only one here giving off evil vibes."
"Gin, you know I didn't mean—"
"I don't know what you meant, Ron! But whatever you think you mean isn't what you really mean. Why don't you go think about it or something? Just leave me alone!" She threw up her arms and walked around Ron and Harry to get out of the kitchen.
Ron turned around and grabbed Ginny's arm. "Ginny—"
Before Ron could say anything, his sister twisted her arm out of his grasp. She narrowed her tear-filled eyes and snarled, "Let go of me!" And she stormed out of the house.
Draco was once again thankful for knowing magic. For if it hadn't been for his knowledge of magic, his hair would've looked awful today.
Today, Draco wore another black button-up dress shirt, which was not tucked, of course, and the cuffs of which were unbuttoned. He wore his favored black leather pants, the pockets of which were absolutely perfect for stuffing his hands in and he wore the same black boots as he had yesterday.
Yet again he was thankful for magic. This time, he was glad the Weasleys knew of it. They had put some kind of enchantment on the Weasley grounds so the winter snow storm visiting the rest of England wouldn't touch the perimeter of these grounds. Instead, it was sunny and a gentle breeze blew through the land. His boots were safe and dry.
Draco was walking on the quiet Weasley grounds this morning when he suddenly stopped, crossed his arms, and clutched his amulet around his neck— yet another habit.
The Weasleys actually had quite a significant amount of land, and it was good land at that. So why would they insist on living in such an old, broken down house, if one could even call it that?
He stood there very still for a moment, thinking about the trifle matter, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a small noise from behind him.
Draco turned around to find his Ginny sitting on a log with her back to him. She had destroyed a number of flowers— their petals scattered all about her. She wore a white, three-quarter shirt with a light pink, flower-print skirt and light brown cowboy boots. On her head sat a crown of dandelion stems.
Draco could see Ginny wasn't in the best of moods, but he was never really considered an icebreaker, so he just stood there until—
"Hello, Draco," Ginny's tiny voice called out.
Caught off-guard, Draco jumped. "Ginny! Right, I just came to say I'm going to wear my leather pants until the Muggles come over and yeah, I just needed to know when they'll be over so I know when to take my pants off. I mean, so I'll know when to take my pants off and change into the Muggle pants."
"They'll be here around five this afternoon," Ginny said, her back still to Draco.
"Oh, okay," he trailed off. And he simply stood there after that. He tried many times to say something and often times he almost did say something, but he never actually said anything. And right when he was about to say something—
"Draco, am I immature?" Ginny suddenly asked. She twisted around to face Draco now. "Are we immature? And are we wrong and illogical?" Ginny stared at Draco, waiting for some sort of answer. He scratched his head and finally decided to sit down next to his girlfriend. "Yes and no," Draco answered.
Ginny gave him a look that seemed to ask, "What?"
"Yes, we are immature," Draco explained. "I don't mean to say we're stupid, but I mean to say we've much more to learn about life in general. I most certainly don't think I know everything I need to know after seventeen years of living and you shouldn't think so either after sixteen years."
Ginny rubbed her eyes. "Draco, I meant us. Not just me or you, but us… together," she clarified.
"Oh," Draco said thoughtfully. "Er… is this, by any chance, Ron's fault?"
Ginny frowned. "Yes and no." She answered Draco with his favorite answer to questions.
"Thought so," he replied. "But if this has anything to do with that clown of a brother of yours, then you're being awful silly crying over it." Draco put his arm around Ginny and rested his chin on her head. "I like you and you like me. Don't think people I know haven't approached me about dating a Gryffindor Goody! They have! And sure, what we've got going is as illogical as it gets, but it's working fine for the two of us right now and that's what's really important, don't you think?"
Ginny sniffled in reply.
"Really, do you do everything to impress Ron?"
Ginny smiled. "For the past half year I've been doing everything I can to impress you."
Draco let go of Ginny and chuckled. He ran his fingers through her hair. "We've an expert here!" He exclaimed and then smirked. "'Cause whatever you did, sure as hell worked—"
Ginny had suddenly knocked Draco backwards. His eyes flew open in surprise just as Ginny's lips were on his. She giggled and continued kissing her shocked boyfriend. After a straight minute of snogging, Ginny finally rolled over and lay next to Draco in the tall grass, yellow from needing cutting. "I'm glad I found you," she finally said, staring deep into the light blue sky.
Draco smirked and licked his lips. "Well, I'm impressed."
Ginny was in her room brushing her hair when she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" She called out.
"It's me," she heard Ron answer.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Come in if you must."
The door opened and Ron stepped in. He was already dressed for Christmas dinner. He wore fancy brown shoes, copper-colored pants and a white-collared long-sleeve shirt that had stripes of brown, beige, and burnt-orange.
"Gin, I came to apologize."
Ginny turned to face her brother and crossed her arms. "Oh, really? Go on," she demanded.
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry I've been so hard on you and Malfoy—"
His sister glared at him.
"—On you and Draco," he corrected himself. "If you two like each other, then good for you. I should be happy for you and your… your boyfriend," he finished with a face. "Oh yeah, sorry about the Dark Mark thing, too."
Ginny furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you done?"
Ron stuttered. "Yes?"
"Good," Ginny said as she got up and hugged her brother. "Thank you for the apology, which, by the way, I accept." She stepped back from her brother. "I'll see you at dinner, I guess," she said as she nearly shoved Ron out the door. "Remind Draco for me to change into his jeans!" And she shut the door.
Ron scrunched up his nose and scratched his head. "Women!"
"I heard that!" Ginny yelled.
Moments later, Ron was hit on the back of his head by a pillow his sister had thrown through the door.
Harry walked out of Ron's room, dressed and ready for dinner. He wore khakis and a navy sweater. His hair was being uncooperative, as usual, so that couldn't really be helped.
He spotted his best friend. "Did you get everything sorted out between you and Ginny?"
Ron massaged a spot on the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess," he trailed off.
"Cool," Harry said. "Anyway, we're due downstairs. Your mum asked me to make cookies and I said I would and frankly, I've never made cookies before, so I'm volunteering you for the job, too," he said sheepishly.
Ron laughed. "Fine, I'll teach you, but I gotta go tell Malfoy to change into his Muggle threads, first."
"He'll remember," Harry said. "He's a bright guy, you don't have to keep after him."
"I don't want to keep after him. Ginny told me to remind him." Ron explained with disgust.
"Oh," Harry simply said. "I'll meet you in the kitchen then," he said with a nervous laugh. And with that, he trotted down the stairs and Ron went up the third flight of stairs to the guestroom.
Ron finally got to Draco's door and decided not to knock. Why would he need to knock? It was his house, after all, so he was rightfully allowed to open a door without knocking. Plus, the bathroom wasn't connected to the guestroom, so if he was changing, he'd be in a bathroom and not in his room. Hopefully. So Ron barged in.
"Malfoy, Ginny wanted me to—"
"ARP—!"
Ron stopped in the middle of his sentence and his eyes widened.
Draco sat sprawled in the middle of his room, hunched over a large object. It was obvious he was trying to hide something.
"Bloody hell! What're you doing?" Ron asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Can't you knock?" Draco snarled.
Ron scoffed. "And miss this? What do you have there, Malfoy?"
"None of your sodding business! Now please leave!"
"Please?" Ron mimicked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the doorframe. "Such manners!"
Draco was struggling to keep hidden whatever it was he was hiding. "What do you want?" he growled.
"Well, I was supposed to remind you to change into your jeans, but it's a good thing you've already done that, because now I want to know what you're hiding!"
"Just leave!" Draco said through clenched teeth.
Ron got his wand out from his back pocket. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
And now two things floated before him. One, a half confused and half astonished Draco Malfoy, and two—
"A puppy?" Ron goggled.
"Yes! Now put me down!" Draco snapped.
Ron swished his wand and Draco instantaneously landed on the floor with a thud. Now Ron stepped over Draco and took the puppy in his arms. "Such a cute fellow!" Ron cooed. "What're you doing with a nasty tike like him?" He asked the puppy, 'tike' referring to Draco.
Draco got up off the floor, brushing imaginary dust off his clothes. "It's a Black Labrador, for your information—"
"He's Ginny's Christmas present, isn't he?" Ron narrowed his eyes. "She's already got a cat, I'll have you know!"
"I know she has a cat, and no, it's not her Christmas present. He's mine."
"Are you not allowed to have a puppy? Because it's awful snitchy of you to hide him up in the guestroom," Ron said a bit uncertainly.
"Unhand him, if you would," Draco ordered, grabbing the animal out of Ron's arms. "I found him lurking around Malfoy Manor," he explained as the puppy proceeded to lick off the bottom of Draco's chin.
"Okay," Ron said.
There was a silence and Draco took it as a sign to carry on. "Loads of big, dangerous animals lurk around there, and it being the holiday season and all, I brought him with me. You lot would know about him if I hadn't discovered your cat." He frowned.
"How thoughtful," Ron said. "But Ginny's dead scared of dogs, I'll have you know. So is mum."
"So?"
"So now you know!" Ron exclaimed. "Anyway, you better put him back wherever you've been keeping him. We're baking stuff downstairs and mum's bound to call you down, too," he said as he made his way out the door.
"Hold it!" Draco yelled. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Ron swore right before his body froze up and he landed on the floor with a thud.
"Settles that score," Draco muttered. He dragged Ron back into the room and performed the counter spell to unfreeze Ron. "You didn't have to tell me that," Draco said.
"Tell you what?"
"That someone would probably be up here to call me downstairs," Draco clarified. "But you did. I know you better than you think and you would like nothing better than for things to go amiss for me. So why did you tell me?"
"I already told you!" Ron shouted. "Ginny's afraid of dogs and you like Ginny and she likes you and it'd be an awful shame if you broke her heart 'cause you had a stupid mutt!"
"Pfft," Draco sighed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. Just leave, will you?"
Ron got up and walked out of the room. "It's what I was doing!" He shouted.
"And knock next time you want to come in!" Draco hollered after him.
Seconds after Draco put his puppy in a kennel under the bed, Mrs. Weasley poked her head into the room.
Can't anyone bloody knock in this house? Draco thought to himself. But he simply smiled at Mrs. Weasley's presence.
"Draco, dear, the boys are making cookies downstairs. Wouldn't you like to join in on the festivities? They're gingerbread cookies!" She exclaimed.
"Sure," Draco stammered. "I'll be right down."
Mrs. Weasley winked at him and left a half confused and half astonished Draco Malfoy in his room.
Harry and Ron were preparing the cookie dough when Ginny pranced down the stairs. She wore a crimson turtleneck sweater with flares and black boots. Her hair was tied back in a low ponytail.
"Mum, do you need any help preparing for dinner?"
"No dear, the turkey's almost finished—"
"We're having turkey?" Ginny exclaimed. "Like, the bird kind?"
"That's the only kind there is, dear," her mother answered.
"We can't have turkey for dinner!"
"And why not?" Mrs. Weasley asked, quite confused.
"Because it's a bird!" Ginny explained frantically. Everyone in the kitchen was staring at her and Ginny quickly explained to her mother about Draco and his first pet.
"Oh," Molly Weasley said softly.
"Draco's dad is kind of gross," Harry said, his stomach clearly not having enjoyed the story.
Ginny ignored the remark and opened the refrigerator. "Mum, help me find some more food!" Ginny opened the freezer and tilted her head when she saw over twenty cartons of— "Whipped cream? Mum, why do we have so much of it?"
"Uh…" Mrs. Weasley stuttered. "Not quite sure on that one!"
Ron arched an eyebrow and eyed Harry. Harry shrugged and continued stirring the dough.
After ten minutes of searching through the kitchen, Ginny and her mother rounded up—
"Cinnamon, banana nut muffins, eggs, salt, pepper, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, vanilla extract, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, baking powder, baking soda, flour, milk, butterbeer, coffee, tea, butter, molasses, toppings for the cookies, and asparagus." Ginny listed off.
"And a turkey," Harry reminded them. He was ignored, however.
"What happened to all the food?" Ron complained.
"I guess we ate it all and I forgot to get some more in the madness of this holiday!" Mrs. Weasley said, appalled.
"So we're having asparagus for Christmas dinner?" Ron asked, making a face.
"Not unless you want to see Malfoy barf while we all enjoy turkey." Harry said cheerfully.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mum, are you sure we can't make anything else? Because honestly, what kind of Christmas dinner does asparagus make?"
"An unwanted healthy one," Ron groaned.
"Just imagine what the two new Mrs. Weasleys will think!" Harry laughed. Everyone glared at him. "Just a thought," Harry said in a tiny voice.
"I'll try to think of something," Mrs. Weasley said reassuringly just as Draco came down the stairs. "Draco!" She exclaimed. "Boys, are you done with the dough?"
Harry nodded. "Just finished!"
"Good! Ginny, would you get the cookie cutters, please?" Mrs. Weasley asked her daughter.
Ginny found the cookie cutters and lay them on the counter near Harry.
"All right, I need to go to the market to do a last minute errand," she eyed Ginny. "Boys, you'll be in charge of the cookies. Ginny, please go upstairs and make sure the rooms are prepared for our guests."
Everybody nodded and set out to do their assigned tasks.
Ding-dong!
"They're here!" Molly Weasley shrieked.
"I hope it's Hermione!" Ron gasped and blushed.
Christmas dinner settings had been ready for an hour already, so everyone had been lounging in the den until now. The moment the doorbell rang, everyone sprang up and ran around crazily.
Draco simply stood where he was and stared at the commotion. Then he walked to the door and hollered over the din, "How about we just open the door?"
The whole room went quiet.
"Why yes, what a nice idea, Draco, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, straightening out her dress.
"What a guy!" Mr. Weasley said, hugging his daughter.
Ginny immediately put her hand to her forehead and avoided eye contact with Draco even though she knew he hadn't heard the comment.
Draco turned the doorknob and a collective gasp from all the members of the house could be heard.
The door opened.
"Ribbit!"
Ron walked out from the corner he was standing in. "Trevor?"
"Isn't that Neville's toad?" Ginny asked.
"Why is he here?" Harry asked.
"Trevor!" A lanky boy came running at the door and tripped over the threshold. He had the toad in his hands and looked up sheepishly.
"Longbottom? What're you doing here?" Draco sneered.
"I should ask the same of you," Neville piped up as he got back to his feet. "A butler? You? Who would've thought?" He said, faking his astonishment.
Ron arched an eyebrow, surprised at Neville's new backbone.
While Draco and Neville stared one another down, Mr. Weasley said, "Would you like to stay for dinner, young man? We're having a marvelous—"
"Food!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted. Her husband stared at her. "Yes! The food is marvelous! You'll stay, won't you?" She asked, suddenly out of breath.
Neville huffed at Draco before he looked kindly in Mrs. Weasley's way and nodded, "Thank you for the invitation, but I'm visiting my cousin for the holiday and must be on my way. Sorry for barging in, but you know, Trevor," he trailed off, avoiding eye contact and scratching the back of his neck.
Harry was about to ask how a toad had managed to ring the doorbell, but Ron muttered, "Automatic doorbell— Dad installed it," before he could even ask.
Neville bid his farewells and was soon on his way.
"Goodness, Ron! Wasn't that the darling little boy who flew into my mandrake garden last summer?" Mrs. Weasley asked right after he left.
"Yeah, the one who had to spend a week here since the mandrakes were nearly matured when he ran into 'em. His name's Neville Longbottom."
"Wow, he sure did go through you-know-what!" Mrs. Weasley giggled, nudging Ginny.
"Mom!" Ginny whined completely embarrassed.
Ron guffawed. "What do you think, Butler?"
Draco clenched his fists and almost said something he might've regretted when—
Ding-dong!
A loud intake of breath as everyone stared at Draco, waiting for him to open the door since he was closest to it.
Draco rolled his eyes and opened the door.
"Hermione!" Ron said, turning completely red the instant he saw whom it was. "You—" 'look gorgeous,' 'look amazing,' 'look beautiful,' 'look stunning,' were among lines he would've liked to say. Alas, all he could muster was, "You're here!" He stared at her with star bespectacled eyes.
Pleased with Ron's reaction, she smiled and invited herself into the house.
Hermione wore a beautiful dark lavender evening gown that lay against her body and accentuated her young female frame. Her hair was down and straight.
"Your hair looks so nice!" Ginny squealed.
"Thanks!" She laughed. "I ran into Percy at the train station, did you know?" Harry looked around to see how the mentioning of the name would affect the Weasleys, but it did not. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just looked at Hermione kindly, waiting for her finish speaking. "He put a straightening charm on my hair! Said it was the best present he could assemble at a second's notice." She averted her gaze. "Like it, Ron?"
Harry elbowed Ron in the ribs. "Yeah!" Ron exclaimed.
Draco shut the door now and Hermione turned. "Oh! Draco, I didn't know you were here."
"He's the butler," Harry informed her.
"Oh," Hermione said, a bit uncertainly.
"Shut your trap!" Draco yelled at Harry.
Ginny intervened. "He's with me, Hermione."
"Oh," Hermione said again, only this time with much for flavor. She winked at Ginny and was then invited to sit in-between Harry and Ron.
And soon after the Muggle dilemma had been explained to Hermione, yet another ding-dong was heard and everyone knew who was at the door this time.
"Everyone ready?" Mrs. Weasley called out.
Draco had found a seat to sit in— away from the door and Ginny sat on his lap. Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat on the loveseat, and Mr. Weasley stood next to his wife at the door.
"Ready!" Ginny spoke for everyone.
"Wait!" Mrs. Weasley yelled in hysterics. "Arthur, you forgot to turn off the Weather Distorter! It's supposed to be snowing!"
Mr. Weasley slapped his forehead. "Forgot! Sorry! I'll be one second," he said as he ran into the kitchen. "Okay!" He announced when he came back to his wife's side. Instinctively, everyone felt slightly chillier at the news.
Mrs. Weasley opened to door and everyone gawked at four snow-covered figures. "Thanks for that, dad," one of them said sarcastically.
"George!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, hugging her son who towered a foot above her. "Come in! I'm so sorry about the weather!" She said, wincing.
"England weather! Sure can be unpredictable!" Mr. Weasley put in with a fake chuckle.
"Right, dad," Fred groaned as he peeled a wet coat off his back.
"Oy! Libby, hold still for one second! Okay, let me get my wand out!" George told his wife. And with a swish of his wand all four of them were dry.
"Thanks," Fred and his wife said in unison.
Mrs. Weasley put her arms on her hips. "They know about magic?"
"Yeah," Fred said, nodding his head as if this were the most obvious thing.
"Why didn't you say anything?" His mother asked.
"We thought it was a bit obvious," George answered. "We told you they owned a magic shop, too! What, did you want us to send you one of our toilet seat telegrams or something?"
"Don't you be smart with me, mister!" And George cowered under his mother's stare. "You and your brother told us you were bringing Muggles home with you!"
"Muggleborns," Fred corrected. "May I introduce you all?"
Mrs. Weasley stopped yelling and finally noticed the two young beauties at either side of her sons.
The woman next to Fred was almost as tall as he was. She had long, dark black hair and dark eyes to match. Her fair skin was illuminated by her beautiful hair, which twisted into an intricate braid down her back. She had a medium frame and wore a fuchsia colored gown that ended halfway down her shins and let way for black cloth that finished the rest of her dress.
The woman next to George had his exact red hair and wore the exact same gown as Fred's wife, except for the fact that her dress was a dark cyan. She was significantly shorter than George even with her high heels on. Her large turquoise eyes went well with her current ensemble and her crooked smile looked friendly.
"Mum, this is Nannette," Fred turned to his wife. "Nannette, this is Molly Weasley, my mum!"
"Sure is nice to meetcha, ma'am," Nannette said with a heavy South Texas accent, offering a hand to her new mother-in-law.
Mrs. Weasley ignored the hand and embraced Nannette in a tight hug. "It's a pleasure to meet you, dear! Have a seat!" She insisted. She then pointed her wand to an empty spot on the floor and moments later, a large sofa appeared. Fred then escorted Nannette to the couch where they both sat down.
"Mum, this is Olivia," George said, pointing to his redheaded wife. "Libby for short. Libby, this is my mother, Molly Weasley." He grinned as his mother hugged Olivia just as she'd done with Nannette and then directed both of them to the sofa.
"It's great to finally be acquainted, ma'am!" Olivia said in the same accent as Nannette. "Your sons have told us so much about you and the rest of the Weasleys. But say," she did a quick redhead count, "I thought there was s'posed to be nine of you folks!"
"Ah, yes," Mr. Weasley agreed. "Our three oldest sons were caught up with work and couldn't make it down this holiday season, though they'll be here in spirit, I'm sure. But Harry, Hermione, and Draco are here with us!" He smiled and introduced the three teenagers.
There was a nice, warm silence.
"Did Fred and George tell yall?" Nannette suddenly said. "Libby and I are sisters!"
Draco was completely floored at this and would've said something rude which was just about to leave the tip of his tongue, had Ginny not pinched him and reminded him to stay quiet and be polite.
"No," Mrs. Weasley stuttered, "The boys never told us that."
"It's the weirdest thing ever, mum! They were our competition, and now they're our lovers!" George laughed.
"Yeah, they own the magic shop across the street from our joke shop. Both of our stores are high up where sales are concerned, but still, competition is competition!" Fred explained.
"But then the weirdest thing happened," George took over. "They called us one day! And do you know how?"
"How?" Ginny asked, completely enthralled.
"They found our names in a Wizards Listing!"
"Well, I'll be!" Mr. Weasley declared.
"We all had a good laugh when we found out the four of us were Magicfolk," Nannette grinned.
"And we just clicked together after that," Olivia finished.
"And by 'clicked,' we really clicked," George said while Fred nodded. "We merged both our shops, so now we really are the most popular shop of our kind!"
Everyone laughed and Draco took this chance to excuse himself quickly. When he returned, everyone laughed again and Draco's cheeks turned rosy. He had gone to change out of his Muggle pants and had come back with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather trousers.
Ginny jumped up and pecked a kiss on his cheek. He grinned a toothy grin and Mr. Weasley announced, "I think it's high time for dinner, don't you, dear?"
"Why, yes!" Molly stammered. As soon as everyone was gathered around the table, she waved her wand and a dish as long as the table appeared before them. "Asparagus casserole," she announced. "Dig in, everyone!"
"I thought we were going to—"
"Dig in!" She repeated sternly to her husband.
"Yes! Asparagus!" Fred hollered as he did a victory dance.
"Fred!" His mother yelled.
And though Draco, Hermione, Nannette, and Olivia found asparagus casserole for Christmas dinner a bit strange, they enjoyed the hearty meal. Afterwards, was dessert. Vanilla ice cream and homemade gingerbread cookies… though the cookies looked a bit interesting on the tray.
A cookie resembling Harry (the scar gave it away) looked quite clueless at the corner of the tray. Next to him was a redheaded cookie with far too many freckles standing next to a cookie with far too much brown frosting for hair. Hermione, perhaps? A blob of green frosting resembling mistletoe was between them. Yes, perhaps. And on the next row of cookies, a gingerbread man dressed all in black with yellow frosting for hair stood next to a redheaded girl cookie, who looked as though she was in a trance or under some spell the black cookie was putting on her. Next to them was a double-sided cookie resembling Fred and George. Lastly, there was one more cookie under that row that resembled Harry once again— except for the fact that it had a mischievous glint in his frosting eyes, which were clearly staring in the direction of the Malfoy cookie above it. Thankfully, the rest of the cookies looked 'normal'.
Draco didn't remember seeing that last cookie when he, Harry and Ron were making them before and the instant he saw it, Harry flashed him a daunt smile. On cue, Draco snatched the cookie and bit its head off.
Just as their dinner came to a close, Mrs. Weasley got up to open the kitchen door and direct the dirty dishes into the sink. However, she gasped aloud in surprise when she opened the door.
Everyone got up and when Draco reached the door, he closed his eyes in utter shock. His puppy had found a way out of the kennel and was now gnawing on a whole turkey! Draco briskly walked in, grabbed the puppy by the scruff of his neck and proceeded in taking him upstairs before Ginny saw.
Too late!
Ginny squealed. "Draco!"
"I know! I'm sorry! I'm taking him upstairs!"
"But why?" Ginny whined.
Draco stopped halfway up the stairs. "Because you're afraid of dogs," he said bluntly.
"No I'm not," Ginny said confused.
Draco eyed Ron who looked clueless to the matter. He understood then. For some odd reason, Ron had decided to be nice before when he'd discovered the puppy. There was no particular reason— he just wanted to be nice.
Draco dropped his puppy on the ground and it ran into Ginny's arms.
One last thing he needed to do. Draco flicked his wand behind his back. "Oy, Weasley!" He called. "Happy Christmas, you intolerable dork!"
Draco was looking at a spot above Ron's head. Ron followed his gaze and turned completely red when he saw what Draco had done.
"That's mistletoe, Ron," Hermione said, looking up as well.
And before Ron could even look back at Hermione, she had pressed her lips against his and he soon melted into the kiss.
Ginny let go of the puppy and crept behind Draco. She softly flicked his wand, the last spell still burning on the tip of the wood, and a tiny mistletoe sprouted above them.
"Happy Christmas too all," Ginny whispered in his ear.
Draco looked up and spotted the mistletoe. "And to all a good night!" He smirked.
Author's Note: This is the longest Harry Potter-related ficlet I've ever written. Actually, it's the only ficlet I've ever written, but usually, chapters for my other fics are about seven to eight pages long (Microsoft Word, 10pt, Times New Roman, single-spaced). This one turned out to be seventeen and a half pages long. ^^; I hope it wasn't too mushy-gushy or Mary-Sue (with the addition of Fred and George's wives at the end, even though they didn't really do anything). Also, sorry for the slightly out-of-character Draco. It's how I imagine him acting if he and Ginny ever really do hook up. ^_~ Anyway, I hope everyone will have a happy and safe holiday season. Yay! And stay warm! :)
Personal Note: Sorry, Eri! I converted to R/Hr! But at least know Eiko didn't drug me and brainwash me… it was my own choice. ^^;
Criteria: This is the list of criteria that had to be included in this ficlet:
- Draco in leather pants (easy)
- Shackles... >8D
- Whipped cream
- Draco has a cute puppy
- D/G (duh)
- Draco is afraid of cats (and the Weasleys have a cat)
- Draco loses his hair care products in the Weasley home... XDDD
- Make someone eat asparagus!!
- Make Ron allergic to peanuts (make him swell up or something after accidentally eating some)
- Dress Draco in cute and designer (modern-day) Muggle clothes and describe with detail
- Make Harry randomly compliment on Draco's sexiness >8D
- Percy puts a straightening charm on Hermione's hair
- Fred and George come to Texas
- Neville's toad runs away