Disclaimer:

Me: Do I own it?

Severus: No.

Me: Can I pretend I own it?

Severus: No.

Me: I'll make it worth your while... ::Winks seductively.::

Severus: Get away from me you idiot girl before I take your fate into my own hand. And I am not a very nice master.

Me: That's okay. ::Wiggles eyebrows::

Severus: Crucio.

Me; Writhes in pain Fine! I don't own it.

Kasey

Chapter 2

Hermione felt the familiar pull behind her naval and sighed in relief. Severus had to go and throw her a curve ball, didn't he? After six years, the last thing she expected was a proposal from his mouth, especially while she was drunk. She had thought they were quite comfortable, living together. What made him want marriage now? After all that time, what made him shake her up this way with a proposal?

As her feet hit the ground right outside the gates of Hogwarts, she wasted no time in Apparating over to the Burrow. The comfortable house had often been her safe place whenever she had fought with Severus. Molly loved having anyone over to mother anymore, and ever since the death of her mother, she appreciated the gesture.

As soon as she got to the doorstep, however, Hermione stepped back in shock. She'd forgotten that Molly had mentioned to her that she had the grandkids over this weekend... all of the grandkids. In the past few years, the Weasley family had exploded to more than triple its previous size, and Molly and Arthur were currently the proud grandparents of fifteen children, with two more on the way. Never satisfied with just having her family to fuss over, however, Molly had begun to fuss over Luna and Neville as well, and delighted in the fact that their baby was due soon too.

The house appeared to have exploded with children. There were children in the backyard, children running around the path to the door, and children in the window. Raising her hand hesitantly to knock on the door, she jumped back in surprise when the door swung open as soon as the noise was made. "Hermione!" Molly's voice exclaimed, and she was enveloped in a hug before she even had time to react. Molly pulled her inside and shut the door, turning to smile at her 'daughter'.

"What's the matter, dear? Another fight?" Molly ushered her toward the kitchen and pushed her into a seat, piling a plate full of food without even glancing at Hermione's face for a rejection.

Hermione, out of habit, began to eat the delicious treats without thinking. It seemed that the portkey trip had settled her stomach and sobered her up a little bit, because she no longer felt much like lauging or puking. "He proposed."

"Oh, that's great honey!" Molly began, and then her attitude deflated a little upon seeing the dark look on the young girl's face. "Not great?"

"No. Not great. We agreed that marriage was not what we wanted, Molly. I was perfectly happy with the way things were."

"Maybe he wasn't."

Hermione sighed and set her fork down. "But why not? He knows I love him. Isn't that enough?"

Molly cast a few cleaning spells around the kitchen. "Why don't you want to marry him?"

Hermione stood up and looked out the window where Arthur had a group of children enthralled in a game of muggle football. He appeared to have gotten the rules all wrong, since he had the ball gathered up in his arms and was currently running down the field toward the goal.

"It's not that I don't want to marry him, Molly. I don't want to marry at all. It's just not what I've planned for my life. Marriage is so... final."

Molly joined her at the window, smiling at her husband as he threw the ball in the goal and his team began cheering and dancing wildly. "You're not sure you want to be with him forever?"

"Oh, no. I know I do. It's just... I don't know. What if he decides he wants a family and I don't? Or vice versa. Those things seem so much simpler when we're not married. And, think about how we solve our problems. We fight, I leave, he comes over, we break up, and then ten minutes later we apparate back home and... make up." Hermione was slightly uncomfortable talking about sex with her best friend's mother, no matter how often she came here to hide.

"Sweetie, you two are practically married already. All you need is the ceremony. You may as well have changed your name already. Being married isn't going to change you two."

"Then why does he want it? Why can't he be happy with just me?"

"I don't know, Hermione. That's something you're going to have to ask him. Now, since you're here, there's no reason for you not to stay for dinner, you hear? You can help me by gathering the troops and then washing up. You're going to earn your keep around her." Molly smiled and gave Hermione a tender hug, and then swatted her toward the backyard. "Go!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled open the door, watching as one of the kids threw the ball at another one, bouncing it off their heads. "Hermione!" Arthur yelled, blowing the whistle around his neck and putting the game on hold. "What are you doing here? Another fight?"

"Long story Arthur. What are you guys doing?"

"Football!" Arthur's face shone with pride, and Hermione didn't have the heart to tell him that what the were playing was decidedly not football. Shaking her head, she hugged Arthur and looked out at the group of children staring at her.

"You've got quite a clan here, Arthur. What will you do with all of them?"

Arthur shook his head. "I have no clue. There's more inside, and a couple in the front yard with one of the house-elves. Only, you can't tell the difference between the short kids and the house-elves anymore." He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Don't tell me all of these are yours!"

Arthur laughed and shook his head. "No. Molly had the bright idea that we could make the weekend a party. These are our grandchildren, a few of the Bones children, a few of Molly's friends' grandchildren, and there's a couple that I'm not even quite sure who they are. I think some of them are neighborhood children. Only about half of them are ours."

"You guys are crazy." Hermione laughed.

Arthur nodded. "You know, Molly keeps raving about how she can't wait until one of these little things will be yours. She's already talking about where the library will go in the house." He looked at Hermione as if weighing her reaction, which she had no doubt he actually was.

Hermione laughed. "She's got a while to wait, I'll tell you that." Arthur just shook his head at her, and she decided to change the subject. "Molly said to gather up, that dinner's ready."

Arthur nodded. "The tables are set up out back. We're going to have enough problems finding enough drawers to stuff these children into, let alone packing them into that kitchen."

Hermione shook her head at him again. "I told you. Crazy."

He only wrapped his arms around her again and then turned to get the children together.

Dinner was a chaotic affair. After searching every room for children, and a headcount to make sure that at least most of them were there, Molly brought out the masses of food and set them on the table. Hermione watched it go quickly, and some of the younger children needed some help. Hermione felt like the food lasted all of five minutes before it was gone and conversation started, with screaming from some ends of the table as one child pulled the hair of another and Ron and Lavender's oldest child stood up to wave at her. Shaking her head at the antics, she headed to his end of the table.

"Hello, Billy," she said, reaching out to tweek his nose. The five-year-old smiled.

"Mione!" He thrust his arms out for a hug, and Hermione complied, before noticing that at least eight other pairs of arms followed, and by the time she was finished hugging children, she swore that she didn't know half of them.

"Are you being good."

Billy nodded, them paused and shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, be nice to Grandmum Molly, okay? She's got a lot to do."

Billy smiled. "What about Grandpa Arthur?"

Hermione leaned in close to him as if whispering a secret into his ear. "Tickle him once for me, okay?" Billy nodded his head so hard Hermione thought it was going to fall of, before pointing to the boy next to him.

"He's quiet."

Hermione looked at the little blond boy questioningly for a second. He hadn't said a word. "Yes he is." She moved over the two inches it took before she was right in front of him. "What's your name, sweetie?"

The boy looked at her questioningly, before opening his mouth wider than was totally necessary. "Kasey," he told her matter-of-factly, with a drawl that she recognized from somewhere before. She looked into his deep blue eyes.

"Kasey what?"

The boy fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um..." he tugged at a lock of his hair and pulled at his robes before answering. "Malfoy."

Hermione stood up quickly. "I'll be right back..." What was Draco's son doing here? She was sure that Arthur would have mentioned that. Draco had sworn neutrality in the war after his father tried to push him into the Dark Lord's circle. He had fought in the final battle against the Death Eaters, but denied it venomously and had basically become a hermit in the years since then.

The boy stood up. "No! Don't send me home! Please? Daddy never likes to play, and Mommy's sick!"

Hermione looked down at him sadly. His mother, a pretty muggle woman, was possibly the sweetest thing to have ever entered Draco's life. She'd heard that the young girl was ill, and knew that it must be tearing Draco up in side. "Do they know you're here, Kasey?"

Kasey looked away. "No. But... can I stay please? I'll be good! I won't even tickle Mr. Weasley! And I'll clean up after myself like Daddy tells me to do when I'm a guest! And... and I'll have Daddy pay Mr. and Mrs. Weasley back. He says they're in a rough spot and can't afford to have all of these rugrats running around. I'll member everything I eat and use and Daddy'll know how much it costs. I'll pay them back even if it has to come from my own piggy bank!"

Hermione looked at the boy sadly. She could see that all he wanted was some friends, and she felt a stab of pity flow through her, remembering her own lonely childhood. She put out her hand. "Come on, Kasey, we're going to go talk to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, okay?"

Kasey nodded and took her hand, looking up at her in fear.

A/N: Chapter 2 is done! Phew. Okay, so, still not all that funny... but it will get funny soon, I promise. (I hope.)

Five reviews for chapter 3? I'm not above bribing, as you can tell.