"Never again am I ever volunteering to help Hermione shop," Ginny hissed out as she walked into the Manor short of breath and red in the face. "Ever."
She slammed the main door closed, as a house elf appeared to take Ginny's coat.
"Thank you Lily," came Ginny's automatic response.
Lily quickly bowed and popped right back out of existence. Ginny shook her head and smiled at the thought of the little creature. It, well rather she, had never gotten used to Ginny's kindness. Not even after nearly two years of being the "Mistress" of the manor.
Ginny walked out of the main entrance and into the main hall, instinctively heading towards the nursery. She could never leave her new baby girl on her own for too long. Even if Arianna was constantly surrounded by family members that would do anything for her at the drop of a hat, Ginny still felt uneasy leaving her side.
On her way to the nursery, Ginny passed by Draco's study, noticing the absence of a frustrated looking Draco sitting behind his desk with a furrowed look on his face and a hand buried deep in his beach blonde hair.
"Must still be at the ministry, " she whispered to herself as she looked down at her wrist-watch. "Yup, still at the ministry." It was too early for him to be home, so that didn't surprise her.
As she reached the nursery, Ginny saw her mother sitting on a chair further down the hall, a few doors away from the nursery, knitting a small pink…something.
"Mum, why aren't you inside? Is something wrong? Is she hurt? Did you call a Mediwitch? Is everything okay?" She rushed to Molly Weasley's side, hurling questions at her without giving her mother enough time to answer.
"Ginny, Ginny dear. Calm down. Everything's fine. Arianna is perfectly okay," Mrs. Weasley patted her daughter on the back, letting her catch her breath.
"Then why are you sitting out here? Did you leave Arianna inside on her own?!" And before Mrs. Weasley could sternly tell her daughter that she'd had more than enough experience with children that she knew how to take care of them, Ginny had already reached the nursery and pushed open the door.
And what she saw inside made her heart stop. And then swell into the size of a dragon's nest.
There, on the small bed, Ginny saw her husband holding their little daughter close to his chest. She was thankful that the bed faced the window, as she stood there, watching her husband being more attentive than she'd ever seen him with their daughter, completely oblivious to her presence.
Ginny Malfoy née Weasley leaned against the doorframe as she watched her husband.
His careful movements were achingly sweet, as he slowly stroked Arianna's cheek with his finger. She then saw his lips start to move, as he started to sing. She guessed it was some sort of lullaby, but couldn't hear anything from where she was standing. After all, this was a Malfoy Manor nursery. It was only logical that the room is five times the size of the Burrow.
As she walked into the nursery and slowly edged closer to the bed, Ginny began to hear Draco's low melodious voice, singing a song in a foreign language. It was too soft a sound to be German, and the words didn't have the distinct nasal sounds to be French, so she suspected it was an Italian lullaby.
The singing continued as Draco started to sway back and forth, cradling his daughter closer to his chest.
Tears were gathering at the edge of her eye, as Ginny approached the bed and sat by her husband's side. Amazingly, he didn't seem to be too surprised by her presence. He simply carried on singing and, still holding his now sleeping daughter with one arm, wrapped the other around his wife.
At the door, stood forgotten, Molly Weasley smiled to herself as one single tear rolled down her cheek.
"That boy," she shook her head and walked back downstairs towards the fireplace to floo back home, "he's a good one."