A/N: Written for HSWW (Challenges and Assignments)
Assignment #7: Muggle Studies Task 2: Write about someone who has an important task/mission/calling (Restriction: don't use Harry or the prophecy)
Haunted House: Write about someone making a mess; Prompt: (word) nothing
Count Your Buttons: Towel (object), "I don't hear anything" (dialogue), Daphne Greengrass (Character)
Black Cat: The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland): (emotion) amusement
Around the World in Thirty-One Days: 82. Israel - Dialogue: "I was not a troublemaker. I was just..." / "A pain." / "A free spirit." / "A handful." / "A [insert last name]. It's a family trait."
Showtime: Genetic Emancipation - (character) Draco Malfoy
Word count: 1,644
CRASH!
"This is not going to be good," someone said, running their hands through their dark brown hair.
SPLAT!
"It's a slaughterhouse in there…" trailed off someone else. A snort emitted from another person beside them.
"One of you lot get to be the lucky one to go in there because it's not going to be me."
A laugh come from behind the person that made the last statement. "Trust me when I say this, Draco: no one would have expected you to volunteer."
Draco cut his eyes to the guy. "I don't believe anyone asked for your opinion, Blaise."
Blaise chuckled and clapped his hand on Draco's back. "You made the comment, opening up the floor for opinions, mate. It's on you this time."
The blonde gave a harsh snort before looking back into the window that were standing in front of in the daycare center. There were sounds of giggling and shouting coming from the other side of the window along with the sounds of things smashing and splashing.
"Where are the bloody workers in this place?" Draco demanded with an annoyed expression. He turned to one of the other males. "Oi, Adrian, how about you take one for the team?" Draco asked.
The dark brown haired man turned to Draco with an incredulous look. "I'm not going in there. Blaise can do it."
Blaise raised his hands up in surrender. "I'd rather jump on a live grenade."
In that moment, something sticky slapped onto the window, causing the three men to grimace with disgust. The other figure with them began to back away slowly.
"Yeah, I'll take the live grenade," Blaise said, blinking at the mush sliding down the window.
"This is all your fault," Adrian protested. "It was your suggestion so you should be the one to do it."
Blaise huffed and folded his arms. "I didn't bring the troublemaker. That was all Draco."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked with an offended expression. He scoffed and placed his hand on his chest. "I did not bring the menace here; look at Adrian."
"I beg your pardon!" Adrian exclaimed. "It came from you, Draco."
"I was not a troublemaker," Draco remarked. "I was just…"
"A pain," Blaise said.
"A free spirit," Adrian added.
Blaise smirked. "A handful."
Draco narrowed his eyes at Adrian and Blaise. "A Malfoy. It's a family trait." He grinned slyly and raised a finger. "I may have a solution."
"Damn right," Blaise muttered, shaking his head when Draco mentioned a solution. "What's this idea?"
Adrian raised a brow, interested in this solution; he winced when something slammed into the window. "Oh?"
"Why don't we have the one person who's yet to voice their opinions do it." Draco whipped his head in the direction of the person who was trying to slip away. She was almost gone when all eyes were trained on her and her hand on the door knob. "Going somewhere, Daph?"
Daphne cursed under her breath before clearing her throat and dusting her shirt. "Gentlemen."
"I think someone was trying to run," Adrian commented.
Blaise nodded. "I believe she was."
Daphne scoffed and shook her head. "I was not! I had an important call and–"
"Important call my arse," Adrian retorted, "you're just trying to run!"
Draco pointed a finger at Daphne. "Since you volunteered to step away from us, you're volunteering to get the children."
"W-What?" Daphne demanded. "I'm not going in there with those terrors!"
"One of those terrors happens to be your child," Blaise pointed out.
"And the others are ours," Draco said. "I am offended."
"I don't see either one of you wanting to go in there!" Daphne argued.
"I was not the one to orchestrate this playdate," Adrian said.
"Nor was I the one to leave them alone in the playroom," Blaise continued.
"And I'm not doing anything period," Draco said. "So that leaves you, Daph."
Daphne glared heatedly at the three men before shaking her head. "Fine! I can do this...I can handle them and their messes."
As soon as the blonde said that, one of the kids planted their face in the window. The child's wide, blue eyes shined in comparison to the blonde hair and face that was smothered in shades of orange the adults hoped to be paint.
Blaise stepped to Daphne and patted her back. "I believe in you, Love."
Adrian took a step back with a thumbs up. "You're doing a big service here. I owe you."
Draco clapped his hands. "Chop, chop. Scorpius has a tutor arriving later this evening."
Daphne reached forward to slap the other blonde; instead, she took a deep breath and began flexing and closing her fingers into a fist. Releasing the breath, Daphne went forward to the door of the playroom where the children were destroying everything within the distance.
"I'm going in…" she opened the door and went inside swiftly. When the door closed, Blaise, Draco, and Adrian watched from the window.
"Felix, stop this instant!" Daphne commanded to the small, raven haired boy running with a bowl of dry cereal. He tossed the bowl at Daphne, covering her with cereal.
Adrian winced at the display before shaking his head. "Blaise, that's your child."
The man in question turned his head away. "I don't hear anything," Blaise replied before wincing at the scream Daphne made. "On second thought, are we sure this was the best idea?"
Draco made a grunting noise. "Of course it was. She's the woman here, and she's very much capable of handling a child." None of them paid attention to the boom that came from inside the playroom.
"There's five children in there," Adrian pointed out.
"No one told you to get Pans knocked up twice."
"No one told you to be such a prick."
"He was born that way, mate" Blaise said with an amused expression. Draco snarled at Blaise. "Again, no one asked for your opinion."
"Again," Blaise said, "you made the comment and opened up the opportunity for me to give my opinion."
Huffing, Draco turned his attention back to the window where Daphne was working on the children. His eyes bugged out when the window was completely covered in the mysterious substance and no sound was heard.
"Please tell me we didn't send Daphne to her death?" Adrian asked.
"Let's not forget these are our kids," Blaise said.
"I'm afraid that my poor child had to endure such monstrosity," Draco commented.
Blaise shook his head while Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're...we're going to ignore you now."
"Oi!"
The door to the playroom opened, and Daphne walked out with her chin up. The children were following her in a single file line; each of the children looked as if nothing had happened in the time before that.
The children grinned and ran to their fathers while Daphne picked up the blonde that smashed their face into the window earlier. He had given a toothy grin and played with the towel draped around Daphne's waist.
"See," Draco said smugly as he took Scorpius' hand, "I told you that she could handle it."
Adrian was too busy ruffling his daughter's and son's hair to be bothered to respond to Draco. Blaise was lifting his daughter into his arms, whose curly brown locks of hair were falling in her face.
So it was Daphne that responded to Draco with, "I'm glad that you acknowledge that I'm superior to you in a field, Draco."
Draco snorted before giving them all nods. "With that taken care of, Scorpius and I are off." He turned on his heel and left from the room with his son.
Blaise hugged his daughter before nodding at Adrian and Daphne. "Thanks, Love," he told Daphne, "I owe you one." He then left the room with his daughter.
Adrian turned to face Daphne while his children smiled at her and their playmate. "I don't know how much longer we would have waited until we had gotten them cleaned and out of that room. Thank you," he said, leaning to kiss her cheek before taking his children's hands.
Daphne chuckled and shook her head. "You know what they say: you can't send a man in to do a woman's job," she said; her lip turned up into a sly grin.
"Can't argue with that," he mused before taking his children out of the room.
Daphne let out a breath in relief and looked into her son's blue eyes. "Now Kaleb, my little ringleader, Mommy did such a good job today with you all and deserves a reward. What should Mommy get?"
The young boy giggled and caressed his mother's face. "Sundae!" he exclaimed.
Daphne chuckled at Kaleb and gave him an eskimo kiss. "That's a big prize I don't think I can make alone," she said, "are you going to help me again?"
Kaleb nodded vigorously with a large grin. "Yes!"
"Since you helped round up the others, I think you deserve one too," she continued as she walked near the exit. "Even though I'm taking some of your scoops away for starting the mess in the first place."
Kaleb made a small noise of protest but didn't verbally argue because he knew better. Instead, he nodded and nuzzled his head into his mother's shoulder. Daphne smiled triumphantly at Kaleb's acceptance of his punishment and kissed his hair, leaving the area of the daycare.
She had done her job and cleaned the children, but the room...that'd be some poor worker's problem.
