Title: The Road Less Traveled
Author/Artist: rons_pigwidgeon
Beta(s): songquake
Pairing(s): Ron/Draco
Summary: Ron's path in life may not have lead him down the road he expected, but he couldn't be any happier with his destination. His family has doubts.
Word count/Art medium: 4,536
Rating: PG
Warnings: mpreg
The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to the wonderful mind of Ms JK Rowling, we make no profit from playing within it.
Author's notes: Thank you to my lovely beta, who was as thorough and helpful as always! I owe you home-made cookies!
"I've decided not to join the Aurors with Harry and Neville," Ron announced, nervous but a little excited at being able finally to voice what had been on his mind for days. The family near him all looked between him and his mum in confusion, while the others further down the table who hadn't heard him kept up their own conversations.
Molly was distracted by serving Victoire her peas and only gave Ron an indulgent smile as she answered, "Is that right? And what on earth do you plan to do instead? I'll not have you lounging about here all day, that's for certain."
"I've had an offer to work for the Potions Control Department as an apprentice investigator."
The supper table went silent. Molly stared at him as though he had just informed her he was joining the Death Eaters. "I didn't think you liked Potions, dear. Wouldn't it be more sensible to go into a job you like?" she asked.
"I won't have to know much about the potions themselves. I'll be hunting down illegal potions makers and tracking fraudulent shipments, that sort of thing. I think it will be really interesting, and the benefits package is the same as an Auror's would be, so I'll still be able to move out with Harry. I just won't be working with him. And actually, Aurors team up with PCD investigators all the time, so I might get to work with him."
"I think it sounds wonderful, Ronald," Fleur said, smiling bright enough to make his insides go a little gooey with veela flutterings. Bill and a few others chimed in, smiling encouragingly, but the general reaction hadn't been as excited as he had hoped, and his mum only barely smiled.
"I'm happy if you're happy, Ron. I just hope you aren't making a decision you'll regret later on."
"I'm not, Mum."
"We've finally managed to recruit a new Potions Master to team with you, Ron. He's fresh out of school, so you'll have to train him up a bit on how things work here, but I think he's going to be an excellent addition to the department. He's smart and thoughtful, and he has a lot of enthusiasm for the job," Jacobson informed Ron as he entered the office one morning.
Ron had been with PCD for five years now and had recently become the youngest person in the department's history to reach lead investigator. His last Potion Master, Georgiana, had left to have a baby six months before, and he had been working on his own ever since. He was worlds better at understanding Potions than he had been at school, but it was a relief to know he'd have a Potions expert at his side again. "Excellent, where is he? I can't wait to meet him."
"He's in the lab, getting acquainted with the set-up."
Ron followed his boss to the potions lab, where they were confronted with the most perfect arse Ron had ever laid eyes on, covered in expensive-looking black trousers, poking out of a supply cupboard and accompanied by a long string of curses for whomever did such a poor job organizing ingredients. At the sound of their approach, the bottom shuffled out of the cupboard and its owner turned around, smiling, only to freeze upon laying eyes on Ron. Ron found himself momentarily unable to move as well.
"Ron Weasley, meet Draco Malfoy, your new Potions Master. Draco, Ron is the lead investigator you'll be working with."
Ron's school-time nemesis looked even more gorgeous than he had in school, his hair cut short on the sides with the front twisting up and away from his forehead. His face was not scrunched up in its usual look of superiority, and the look in his eyes was of pleasant shock and not disgust. It did things to Ron's insides that Ron didn't want to acknowledge. Draco blinked out of his stupor and smiled at Jacobson. "Thank you, Tom. We've met before. Hello, Ron, it's nice to see you again."
Ron swallowed the fifteen inappropriate things his brain suggested he say and forced a smile. "Nice to see you, too. Trouble finding something?" He stepped up to the cabinet Draco had been rifling through to help, pushing aside all negative thoughts until at least his boss had left the room.
"Well, it looks like I'm not needed for introductions, then. I'll leave you to it. Let me know if anything goes wrong."
"Thanks, sir," Ron said over his shoulder. Draco had turned towards him, and his smile didn't even look forced.
"I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here. I thought you would have become an Auror and spent your life following Potter around," he said without sarcasm.
"I liked this job better. I'm surprised you're working at all. Shouldn't you be running the family estate or something?"
"I did for a while, but I didn't feel like I was doing any good, even giving half the fortune away to charity. So I hired an estate manager and took a Potions apprenticeship. I like to think I'm living up to Severus' memory."
Ron didn't know what to say to that. This wasn't the Draco he was used to, not by a long shot. "And now you work here."
"And now I work here. With you, apparently. And given that we will be working—I assume rather closely—together, would you be opposed to us starting over with a fresh parchment? I regret the majority of what happened during the war, and I am no longer the nasty, petty, pathetic boy of my youth. I would appreciate it if you forgot that that boy ever existed and we started afresh. What do you say?"
"I… yeah, sure. We have to work together, after all. Why not? Draco Malfoy, I'm Ron Weasley. It's nice to meet you." Ron held out his hand, which Draco promptly shook, smiling from ear to ear.
"Ronald Weasley, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
They shook hands for a touch longer than was strictly necessary before Ron cleared his throat uncomfortably and turned to the cupboard. "Right, what were you looking for? Maybe I know where it is."
"Nothing in particular. I was only organizing the supplies and taking an inventory, so I know what I need to order. The shelves aren't even alphabetized and a few of the more volatile ingredients are set next to each other, which is outrageously dangerous. Who has been working in here? I can't imagine any Potions Master worth her title would tolerate such a horrid state."
Ron felt his ears warm and knew he was blushing. "That might have been me. I'm still learning about the potions side of things. I didn't know any of it couldn't be set next to one another."
Draco flashed him an annoyed look and stepped in front of him. "I shouldn't be surprised. You've never been particularly well-organized. I shall just have to teach you the proper way of things." He glanced at Ron over his shoulder as he picked up ingredient bottles. "Unless you have more important things to do, that is?"
Ron's heart gave a flutter. "No, nothing more important. We can talk about procedures later."
"Right, then. For start, essence of belladonna should never be stored next to rook feathers, or even in the same cabinet. The rook feathers tend to shed onto their containers and if even a trace of feather reaches the belladonna, it will explode. So, you take this and put it on the counter, and we'll store it elsewhere." Draco handed him a large container of rook feathers and gave him a look that brooked no argument. Ron didn't plan on giving any.
"I bet you'll never guess who my new partner is," Ron said as he took a seat next to Dean at the pub.
"Imelda Sullivan?" Hermione guessed with a twinkle in her eye. Dean had had a thing for her for a few years out of school and had talked about her incessantly until he'd driven everyone mad. Dean perked up and turned to Ron, hope written all over his face.
Ron had never really seen the appeal and made a face to demonstrate his opinion of her. "No, try again." Dean scowled at him and hunched over his beer, moping.
"One of the Rochester twins?" Neville guessed hesitantly. He was the only one at the table who looked like he was really thinking about it. Ron shook his head.
"Tell us, then. We're not bloody psychic," Harry said.
"Fine, fine. Draco Malfoy."
They all stared at him. "That's rotten. Are you sure you can't get re-assigned? No one should have to work with a bastard of his rank," Dean said, patting him on the back in sympathy.
Ron frowned at him. "I like working with him. He knows what he's doing, and he's incredibly clever. And he isn't a bastard anymore. He's… nice. Friendly."
"I can't imagine Draco Malfoy ever being 'friendly'. He's probably kissing up so you won't find a reason to get him fired," Harry said.
"No, I don't think so. He said he wanted to make a fresh start, and I believe him."
"And you think you can work with him?" Hermione asked. Her expression showed how little confidence she had that he would get along with Draco.
Ron only smiled, thinking about his very lovely arse in well-tailored trousers. "Yeah, I do."
Ron enjoyed watching Draco work more than he cared to admit. Hunched over a cauldron, Draco's arse looked even better than usual, and he had a tendency to stick his tongue between his teeth when he concentrated. It made Ron want to kiss him, an urge he had been fighting for a good six months. Ron had been sitting on a stool off to the side for an hour, looking through the file for their latest case, but really spending his time sneaking glances instead, when Draco threw down the stirrer he was using and cursed under his breath. "This is never going to work. I can't figure out what this lunatic used to stabilize the base. I could bloody scream."
"Probably a bad idea. Someone might think I was murdering you or something."
Draco flashed him a crooked smile. "Or something." The comment came with a heated look that left Ron all melty inside, but only lasted a second before Draco was hunched over the counter again. "God, I'd give my right arm for a cup of tea," he muttered. Ron stood up, ready to help in the only way he could. Anything was better than sitting there, fighting the urge to sexually harass his coworker. Draco certainly never let him help with the brewing, and the tension was threatening to drive him mad. He went down the hall and made two cups of tea.
By the time he came back, Draco was on the other side of the room, chopping some sort of root and muttering to himself. Ron set the tea at his side, and Draco looked up at him like he'd just handed over the cure for Dragon Pox. "Thank you. I could kiss you right now; you don't know how much I needed tea."
"I know, and I wouldn't object if you did," Ron murmured, half-hoping his partner wouldn't hear him.
"What, kissed you? I thought you might, actually." Draco's eyes flashed to his lips hesitantly.
"Frankly, if you don't soon I might go mad," Ron said, stepping closer, hope fluttering in his chest. Draco looked up at him for a moment as though judging his seriousness, but Ron grew too impatient to wait and did what he'd been wanting to do for months. Draco moaned softly against his lips, pressing his hands to either side of Ron's head and kissing him back for all he was worth.
When they finally pulled away, Draco laughed softly and brushed Ron's temples with the backs of his hands. "I got kaua root in your hair."
"Is it likely to cause permanent damage?" Ron asked, half-distracted by the redness of Draco's well-kissed lips.
"No," Draco answered, pausing in his movement to look at Ron.
"Then I don't care." With that, he pulled Draco to him more firmly and got back to kissing him. It turned out Draco didn't mind a little sexual harassment after all.
"Ron's bringing someone to Christmas dinner. Did he tell you who she is?" Molly asked her husband, hunched over the open oven door checking the turkey.
"I didn't know he was bringing anyone. How do you know it's a woman?"
"Of course it's a woman. He told me he wanted to introduce us to the love of his life. He sounded very excited over the Floo. I haven't seen his eyes sparkle so brightly since he made prefect at school."
"That's nice. Our Ronny in love," Arthur said, smiling at the turkey.
"But what if it isn't a girl?" Ginny asked from the corner where she was making minced pies with the help of little James, still barely tall enough to reach the counter even standing on a chair.
"What do you mean? Of course it's a girl. Ron would have said if he was a… homosexual." Molly hesitated over the word.
"I don't know. He's so quiet about all that, you know?"
"Well, you would be too if you're whole family did nothing but try to meddle," Harry offered from the doorway. He had baby Albus in his arms and was feeding him a bottle. Molly walked over to coo at the baby, who smiled around the bottle and kicked his feet in delight.
"We do not meddle. We just want to make sure that he's happy."
"And also that he eventually marries Hermione," Ginny quipped with an impish smile. It earned her a scowl from her mother and a loud snort from her husband.
On the front porch, a conversation of a different kind was taking place. "This is a terrible idea. They all hate me. Bringing me to Christmas isn't going to change that, Ron," Draco insisted, biting his lip nervously. He had been jittery all day, double- and triple-checking his hair, changing his clothes fifteen times before he finally settled on a fitted black jumper and emerald green corduroy trousers that showed his arse off to Ron's supreme satisfaction.
"Stop thinking like that. They haven't seen you in eight years. You were a different person then. You just need to give them a chance to get to know who you are now, and they'll fall in love with you just as much as I have." Draco gave him a look that was much less effective than Draco probably would have liked. "You're right. No one can love you as much as I do. But I think they'll try." Draco rolled his eyes, but smiled when Ron leaned down for a kiss.
"I love you, too, but I still think this is a terrible idea."
"Don't worry. They'll love you. And if they don't at first, they'll have to learn if they want me around, and I know they do." Ron opened the front door without letting Draco argue any more. He was assailed by a tiny body of blonde hair before he even stepped through the door.
"Uncle Won! Uncle Won, Uncle Won, Uncle Won!" Domnique chanted, jumping up and down while simultaneously clinging to his legs. Ron grinned and picked her up, swinging her onto his hip and kissing her cheek until she giggled.
"Happy Christmas, princess. How are you?"
"There's pwesents, Uncle Won! And cake! And pwesents!" She pointed at the Christmas tree, piled high with brightly wrapped gifts. When she turned back to him, she caught sight of Draco and frowned. "Who dat?" She pointed at him uncertainly.
Ron shifted around to face Draco, grinning. "Dominique, I would like you to meet my very special friend, Draco. Draco, meet my niece, Dominique."
Draco took her tiny hand and kissed it, bowing to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dominique."
She stared at him in fascination. "Awe you a veewa?" she asked.
Draco laughed. "Sadly no, but I understand that you are." He leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, "I'm very jealous."
She laughed and squirmed out of Ron's arms, running away to the kitchen shouting, "Uncle Won and his vewy special fwiend awe hewe!"
Draco immediately grabbed Ron's hand and squeezed until it hurt. Ron shook his head and pressed a kiss to Draco's temple. "Don't worry, love. It'll be all right. Dominique likes you." He led Draco through the living room, only to be confronted by Harry and Molly standing in the doorway to the kitchen, their expressions both of curiosity until they got sight of Draco. Both stared openly without saying a word. Draco squeezed tighter to Ron's hand.
"Happy Christmas!" Ron said cheerily, grinning at them. "Mum, Harry, I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Draco. I know you've both met him before, but not like this." He looked hesitantly between his stunned mother and best friend and his lover.
Draco took a deep breath and smiled at him before stepping forward with his hand out. "It's a pleasure to meet you both again, under much better circumstances. Ron talks about you non-stop, and I'm happy to get the opportunity to get to know people who are special to him." He stood waiting for Molly to shake his hand, false confidence and a shaky smile his only armor against her disbelieving stare.
She turned from staring at his hand to look at her son before cautiously accepting the handshake. "I… don't know what to say."
"Merry Christmas works," Ron said, stepping a little closer to bolster Draco's visibly shaky confidence.
"I know I haven't always been the most pleasant of people, but I am no longer the person I used to be, and I hope that you will give me the benefit of a second chance. I love your son very much, and I want to be a part of his life."
Molly's eyes flickered to Ron, who only smiled and rested his hands on Draco's shoulders. Her eyes moved back to Draco. "I suppose we could… start over. It is Christmas, after all."
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."
"Yes, well, I need to get back to dinner…" She smiled and turned back into the kitchen. She was immediately replaced by Ron's niece.
"Merry Christmas!" Victoire called, squirming under Harry's elbow to greet her uncle. She stopped in her tracks at the sight of Draco. "You look familiar. Who are you?" she asked him.
"Victoire, meet my boyfriend, Draco. Draco, Victoire."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear. You're as lovely as your uncle has been telling me you would be. Merry Christmas." Draco leant down to kiss her hand as he had done her sister.
"Nice to meet you, too." She eyed him as though he were strange for the courtesy and wormed her way past to hug Ron. "Happy Christmas, Uncle Ron," she said into his chest.
There was an awkward moment as Ron greeted his oldest niece. Draco looked at Harry, only to focus on baby Albus. "Is this Albus?" he asked.
Harry grinned down at the little baby, sleeping against his shoulder now that he'd been fed and burped. He was too small to do much else yet. "This is Albus, yeah."
"He's gorgeous. Ron told me you named him after Severus, as well? It's a fitting tribute. He would have been proud to have had a grandchild of Lily Potter named after him." Draco paused, scrunching his nose up. "No, he would probably be annoyed, but he was ornery. I think it's lovely. Could I… possibly… hold him, later?"
"I… yeah, I guess. I didn't think you liked kids," Harry said, surprised.
"Draco loves babies," Ron informed him.
"I do. I want an army of babies," Draco confirmed, beaming. He glanced back at Ron, who only shook his head in amusement.
"Isn't that going to be… hard?"
"I'm working on a potion. I think it will be ready by the time we need it."
"Several years from now," Ron insisted. He wanted children, but not until they were married.
"Yes, yes, of course." Draco rolled his eyes.
"I KNEW IT!" came Ginny's triumphant voice from behind Harry's shoulder. The shout woke the baby up, who started crying immediately. Harry gave her an annoyed look and stepped around Draco and Ron to settle little Albus down again. Ginny took his place in the doorway, grinning like a loon, completely oblivious to having woken her baby. "Mum kept insisting you were bringing a girl, but I KNEW you were gay!" She paused in her gleeful speech to look Draco over, who was looking both annoyed and vaguely worriedly over at Harry, still shushing Al. She didn't look impressed. "I wouldn't have guessed you'd think bringing Malfoy for Christmas was a good idea, though. Mum's going to have kittens."
Draco clenched his teeth momentarily before composing himself. "She has agreed to give me a second chance in the spirit of Christmas. I do not intend on letting her down. I hope you will give me the same."
Ginny just raised an eyebrow before turning to Ron and kissing his cheek. "Merry Christmas. I've got to check on Jamie before he dumps the flour bowl over his head or worse." She stuck her head around Ron's shoulder to smile sheepishly at Harry. "Sorry ducky; Mummy loves you." She blew them both a kiss before disappearing back into the kitchen. There was a loud crash, followed by, "James! I told you to wait for Mummy!"
Ron was still standing with his mouth open in shock, unable to process the exchange. He blinked rapidly at Draco, who was still turned to nervously watch Harry try to settle the baby. Draco's eyes flicked up to his, and he smiled and kissed Ron's mouth closed. Ron pulled away grinning from ear to ear. "I guess Ginny's fine with this, then." He frowned in confusion. "How did she know I was…"
"She probably caught you staring at other blokes' arses."
"But I only stare at yours," Ron insisted, leaning in to kiss Draco's neck and squeeze said arse. Draco only batted at his shoulder and pretended to pull away, muttering that he was a Neanderthal.
The rest of the family introductions did not go as terribly as Draco had feared. George teased him, but didn't give him too difficult a time, and Fleur made a point of kissing his cheek and asking after his parents. Bill was a little stiff, but he wasn't rude, so Ron counted it as a win.
"Are you sure about this, Ron? You aren't just marrying him, you know. You're marrying his family, as well," Hermione asked, looking worried as she tied his tie for him.
Ron sighed in exasperation. Three of his family members had already had this conversation with him that morning, and it wasn't even 10:00. He had to deal with Hermione now, too? Why couldn't they just accept that Ron was happy with his choice? He loved Draco more than he had ever thought it possible to love another human being, and there was nothing in the universe that was going to stop him from spending the rest of his life with Draco. "Yes, I'm sure."
"I just think—"
Ron cut her off before she could continue. "I know none of you understand this, but Draco is my everything. I can't survive without him. When I'm not with him, I feel like my leg has been cut off. I want to build my life with him, create a family of our own, grow old with him. I have never been as sure of anything as I am of him. Does that mean my kids are going to be raised partly in Malfoy Manor? Probably. But Narcissa is pretty fantastic when you get to know her, and prison did a lot of mellow Lucius out. He's not half-bad most of the time now, and he's stopped hating me completely, so at least there's that." He shrugged with a sheepish smile. "I know you worry, but you don't have to. I'm happy, and I'm about to marry the man I love in front of all our friends and family." His smile turned impish. "And when I do, I'm going to kiss him so hard his knees are going to buckle."
Hermione groaned loudly and smacked his shoulder. "Ugh, don't! I don't want to know about it. I might be able to tolerate you marrying Draco Malfoy. I might even be able to like him…" She made a face. "Some day. But do we really need to see you snog him silly? This is a wedding, not a pub."
Ron just grinned and shook his head good-naturedly. This was only the second time Hermione had seen Draco since they were eighteen, and Draco hadn't had a chance to talk to her at their New Years party. Ron hadn't wanted to stop dancing with him long enough to let him. A part of Ron regretted not letting one of his best friends see that his fiancé was a different person before his wedding, but the rest of him was too excited about seeing Draco in his wedding robes to care.
When the priest pronounced them husband and husband, Ron didn't hesitate to pull his new husband in close and kiss him so thoroughly that Draco had to hold onto his arms just to stay upright. He playfully smacked Ron's shoulder when they pulled away, chastising him for impropriety at their wedding, but he was grinning as he did it, and he didn't push Ron away when he went in for seconds.
"I don't understand it. How can he be happy with a Malfoy?" Bill whispered to Fleur as they both watched Draco curl up in Ron's lap across the room from them, the new addition to the Weasley/Malfoy household cradled in his arms. Ron wrapped an arm around Draco's waist and tickled the baby's tummy with his free hand, looking every bit the besotted father. The baby's shock of red hair confirmed she was a Weasley, but she had the makings of the pointed features of a Malfoy, and since Draco had been very pregnant the last time Bill had seen him, there was no denying who the baby belonged to.
"I think they are sweet together. They look at each other like there is no one else in the world, and just look at the babe. She's so beautiful, and they dote on her so well. How could you question Ron's happiness? How did you feel when your family did not think you and I would be good together? And they were wrong, weren't they? You should give him a chance. Ron's been with him for nearly a decade, after all." Fleur's look was gently scolding.
"I just want what's best for my brother."
"And I think he has found what is best for him. And if he had not, you would not have an adorable little niece from him, no?" She patted Bill's knee and kissed his cheek, before standing up and crossing the room to Ron and Draco's chair to coo at the baby. Ron caught Bill's eyes, and his face was so full of joy and pride that Bill had no choice but to silence the doubting voice in his head. In the end, it didn't matter what he or anyone else in the family thought. The only thing that mattered was Ron's happiness, and anyone with eyes could see that he already had that.