The shrill cry of a baby broke through the usual noises of the Burrow.
"You woke him up Draco," Dromeda said casually, "You can bring him in here."
"Me?" Draco glanced around worriedly, "I've never held a baby before. What if I hurt it?"
"Teddy is a 'he', not an 'it'," Dromeda clarified, "Support his head and you'll be fine."
Narcissa smiled at him, "Get going," she encouraged, "Dromeda always had a fast wand if you didn't obey instructions."
Draco knew better than to ignore his mother. He pushed himself to his feet and followed the sounds of an annoyed baby screaming for attention. A banshee made less noise.
A small pair of brown eyes peered up at him. Draco reached toward the baby, only to freeze when the eyes changed to a pale grey. For a moment he wondered what was wrong with the child until he remembered that Dromeda's daughter had weird hair so there was probably an explanation.
The small patch of brown hair on Teddy's head caught his attention. A strand developed a spot of pale blonde which slip along to the tip. Within seconds the baby was looking up at him with a head of pale blonde hair.
A Metamorphmagus. At least he wasn't turning into a werewolf like his father.
"Do you want some help?" Hermione asked from behind him.
Draco didn't bother turning around, "Please. Babies are weird."
With a giggle she reached in to lift Teddy into her arms. Draco noted that she kept one hand under his head.
"Hold your arms like this," Hermione instructed. Draco obeyed hesitantly.
As she shifted the surprisingly heavy bundle into his arms and repositioned his hands.
"Relax Draco," she said with a smile, "He won't explode."
"They do you know," Draco argued, "All sorts of gross stuff comes out of both ends."
Hermione giggled at his ridiculous statement and turned him toward the kitchen.
Teddy stared up at him with his own eyes and hair colour, which was seriously creepy.
"Has Potter held him yet?" Draco asked curiously.
"Yes, he's the Godfather."
"Does he end up with a scar on his forehead too?"
Hermione nodded.
"Poor little guy," Draco mused, "No taste at all."
He kept his pace very slow as though a slight jostle would kill the strange little person he was holding.
"What took you so long?" Dromeda asked with a smile, "Were you waiting for him to walk on his own?"
Draco held the baby out to his aunt and sighed in relief when she relieved him of the burden.
"Teddy isn't Voldemort," Narcissa laughed, "No need to be scared of him."
Dromeda noticed the appearance of her grandson and laughed. She angled her arms so her sister could see too.
"A little Draco," Narcissa sighed, "You were that cute once."
"Was I that loud?" Draco wondered.
"Worse," Narcissa replied, "The House Elves needed ear plugs."
Molly smiled at Teddy before moving to the doorway to the living room and yelling for Harry, Ron and Ginny.
"This should be entertaining," Hermione muttered.
"You don't need to yell at us mum," Ginny complained, "We didn't DO anything."
Hermione cringed, and a moment later Draco understood why.
"GINERVA WEASLEY, I DON'T CARE IF YOU 'DIDN'T DO ANYTHING'! YOU HAD A BOY IN YOUR ROOM WITH THE DOOR SHUT! I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THAT!"
Suddenly Draco understood why Molly Weasley had been able to take on Bellatrix Lestrange and kill her when so many others had failed.
"Harry," Molly redirected, her voice not as threatening, "I love you as a son but I cannot tolerate my daughter engaging in sexual activities with anyone while she still lives here. I won't have her returning to Hogwarts pregnant."
Hermione giggled into her tea while Harry spluttered like a toad which had been stepped on. Draco managed to make out something like, "We haven't, not yet, um" before Potter was interrupted.
"You were sleeping with dad during your final year of Hogwarts!" Ginny yelled at her mother.
Hermione shook her head and even Narcissa shared a smile with Dromeda.
"He had proposed and I was wearing the engagement ring!" Molly thundered.
"And a stupid ring would change anything?" Ginny demanded.
Before Molly could reply Ginny squealed. Hermione jumped out of her seat and raced for the doorway. Draco was not as frantic in his movements but he did follow her.
Potter was kneeling on front of Ginny while Ron, Molly and Ginny stared at him.
"Will you marry me Ginny?" Harry managed, "I don't have a ring, we can go buy -"
"OF COURSE I WILL!"
Harry was spinning Ginny around within seconds. Ron dodged out of the way as her feet narrowly avoided his stomach.
Hermione surged forward to throw her arms around the young redhead. Harry was grinning so widely Draco was sure his face would hurt in a few minutes.
"Congratulations!" Hermione offered with scary enthusiasm. She let go of Ginny and pulled Harry into a tight hug.
Draco frowned at the image, even though he knew there was nothing to be jealous about.
Ron was still staring at the happy couple in shock, "Marriage? Blimey Harry, are you sure?"
"Shut-up Ron," Molly Weasley said, suddenly crying. Ginny threw herself into her mother's arms. Molly quickly pulled Harry into her embrace too.
Hermione hugged Ron and shoved him forward to offer his congratulations. The youngest Weasley brother was rather pale.
Draco offered his polite congratulations and withdrew. He sat next to his mother while the commotion continued in the next room.
"Young love," Dromeda sighed, "I just don't have the energy for it anymore."
Narcissa smiled at her sister, "I am sure the drama associated with it drained you more than anything else."
Dromeda nodded, "Somehow I don't think young Ginny needs to worry about being ostracised by her family."
Ron wandered into the kitchen wearing a confused expression. Draco had trouble thinking of him as 'Weasley' as the label could be applied to multiple people in the house, especially when his brothers dropped by.
Linna was happy to present him with food, which he inhaled at an impressive rate.
"Has Harry asked you to be the best man Ronald?" Dromeda asked with a smile.
Ron nodded without pausing in his gorging. Draco wrinkled his nose at the poor table manners.
Molly and Potter returned to the kitchen within minutes. Thankfully Potter was fully dressed.
"We'll head to Diagon Alley first," Potter decided, "If Gin doesn't find anything she likes we can expand from there."
He was still wearing the stupid smile. Draco was happy for him, though unable to show it. Weaslette would definitely be able to keep Potter in line.
"Do you want to come too Ron?" Potter asked.
Ron shrugged, "Sure. Geez, you're engaged. Shit Harry you're not even eighteen yet."
"Language Ronald," Molly admonished.
"Sorry mum. Half the school will think she's pregnant already," he pointed out.
"Who cares?" Draco replied smoothly, "By the end of the year when there is no baby most of them should figure it out."
Ron nodded and with the tact he was legendary for he added, "And they'll probably be more interested in you trailing after Hermione anyway."
Draco remembered why he had gone out of his way to insult this Weasley so often; he was an idiot.
"I'm sure it will be quite an adjustment," Narcissa said regally, "I'm sure you will make every effort to defend Draco from unjust hatred though Ronald?"
Weasley blushed, "Um, sure."
Across the table Dromeda just smiled.
Hermione reappeared a few minutes later dressed for a shopping trip.
"Come on Draco," she badgered, "I have to treat your back before we go."
"How bad is it?" Dromeda asked worriedly, "Cissy mentioned a wound but wouldn't elaborate."
Draco knew he wasn't going to be able to escape from the table without his aunt seeing the mess the Death Eaters had left. He stopped near the doorway to the living room and turned his back to show her.
The gasp of shock was expected though he still resented knowing he was going to be receiving pity every time someone saw it.
"Those bastards," Dromeda growled, "That is going to scar badly."
Draco shrugged, "We all have our scars," he replied blandly, "I prefer the ones on the outside. At least this one doesn't have a bloody snake on it."
"And you don't have to look at it," Hermione added.
He followed Hermione to the lounge where she was pulling out the vial again. He was glad that he didn't have to take the shirt off.
"Once I accused Ron of having the emotional range of a teaspoon," Hermione said as she applied the potion confidently, "I think you are worse than he ever was."
"I have them," Draco offered, "I was trained to never express them."
"Why?"
"It's harder for people to manipulate you if they think you're a sociopath."
Hermione frowned at the back of his head, "No wonder you lot had to resort to arranged marriages; no woman wants to marry a robot."
"What's a robot?"
"A suit of armour that can talk."
Hermione recorked the vial and took a long second to let her eyes wander up to his shoulders. The skinny little boy she had met in First Year had definitely filled out.
"From what I had read, Veela are not good at controlling their emotions," Draco admitted quietly, "I fear what I will say or do if my self-control is suddenly removed."
"You can sit up now. It's not healing as well as it should. I'll drop by St. Mungo's while we're out. I would ask you to come to but we might be out past the, ah, deadline."
Draco nodded at her, knowing he was not going anywhere while the transformation was looming so soon. He stood up carefully and wondered when she had started using charms on her hair to make it curl nicely rather than explode on her head.
"You know, you can show your emotions to me," Hermione offered seriously, "You can be an arrogant arse around others but I will need to see what's really there."
"If I turn into a blubbering mess this evening, remember it's what you wanted," Draco said darkly.
Hermione shook her head at him, "I can't imagine you ever being a blubbering mess. Maybe if you were really drunk?"
"After this afternoon, anything is possible. Getting wasted might be the perfect thing to do."
"Right, I'm sure that won't mess with your self-control at all," Hermione replied sarcastically.
"Have fun at Diagon Alley," Draco said.
"Do you want me to get you anything while I'm there?" Hermione offered.
"A Time-Turner?" Draco suggested, "I'd like to go back and stop myself from being such an arse for so long."
Hermione wanted to hug him to reassure him that she didn't hate him. Instead she offered him an uncertain smile and put the vial away. While she had her back turned Draco disappeared back into the kitchen.
Molly was beaming over her cup of tea. Clearly the unexpected proposal had solved all of the problems in the Burrow.
"That went rather well," Narcissa commented.
"Suspiciously well," Dromeda agreed, "Did you plan to put the idea of marriage into the conversation or was it a happy accident?"
Molly watched Draco sit down politely as Linna brought him another cup of tea.
"Ginny is as stubborn as I was," Molly said lightly, "When my mother yelled something similar at me, Arthur proposed the next day. Harry was obviously quicker on the uptake."
Dromeda turned toward Draco and he quashed the impulse to run. He lowered the cup of tea in case her words made him inhale int.
"Since you have a year to bond with Miss Granger, do you plan to propose before you return to Hogwarts?"
Draco frowned at her. "Thus far the plan is to not scare her this evening. Beyond that, I have no idea."