Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. I do however am in possession of an ever growing mound of homework that really needs to get done. Do I do it? Of course not, I write a chapter instead! Wish me luck for tomorrow will be stressful. But, at least I got this chapter done right?

Okay, so the last chapter I expressed my fear that I was losing readers and that nobody really cared if I updated or not and I got an overwhelmingly positive amount of reviews. Thanks everyone, you made me really happy. I hope I get as good a response for this one too!

Without further ado,

Chapter 20

Draco POV

I knew what I had to do, what I'd wanted to do for so long now. It would be the perfect Christmas present to Ginny and the best gift I could receive would be her answer. I was going to ask Ginny Weasley to become my wife, my partner for life. I wanted to be her husband, her rock, her provider. I wanted to officially be Stella's father, not just by love but by law. I wanted her to be the first of many children we'd have. I wanted to marry Ginny.

But, I knew I had to do this right. I would have to face her parents and tell them my intentions. I would have to ask Arthur Weasley for his daughter's hand in marriage. Now, he was a kind man, not all that intimidating on a normal basis. But I knew Ginny wouldn't want to get married without his blessing and so it was up to me to gain that. And that simple fact right there made him more intimidating than Voldemort himself ever was.

But I couldn't just trot on down the way to the Burrow. Ginny would surely wonder why if I did. It would be a complete surprise, so even this little meeting with him had to be kept quiet. I didn't want Ginny to catch on to what I was planning. It would ruin the whole surprise. And what a surprise it would be if I could pull it off.

So, I began to plan. I had to wait for the perfect moment though and that moment came a few days after we decorated the cottage for Christmas. Ginny was lying on the couch, a book in hand and Stella playing on her lap. She looked utterly exhausted, for Stella had been keeping both of us up the past few nights. She'd begun cutting teeth and only us holding her seemed to calm her heart wrenching cries.

"Ginny, go take a nap," I ordered softly, picking Stella up off her lap.

She jerked a bit, having begun to drift off. "No, Draco, I'm fine. Really, I am," she assured me, sitting up and shaking herself. "I've got to get lunch started soon anyway."

I sighed and brought her to her feet with my free hand, the other holding Stella to my hip. "Lunch can wait," I told her firmly, guiding her back towards our bedroom. "I'll take Stella out and you just sleep, alright?"

"Oh, I couldn't do that!" she protested halfheartedly as I pushed her gently onto the bed. "Surely you're just as tired as I am."

"I'm not the one falling asleep while reading," I said with a chuckle as she lay down, despite her words. "Besides, it just means you'll get the first turn with Stella tonight. How's that?"

"Are you sure?" she asked, even as I pulled the covers around her shoulders and her eyes drooped shut.

"Sleep, my love," I said, placing a gently kiss on her forehead. "Stella and I will be fine."

"Love you," she murmured, already half asleep. Her soft snore filled the room before I even got to the doorway.

"Love you too," I whispered back to her sleeping form. Walking from the room, I quietly pulled the door shut. Letting out a triumphant grin, I looked down at Stella. She was currently playing with the watch on my wrist. "So, how would you like to go visit Grandma and Grandpa Weasley, huh?" I asked, earning a wide grin from her.

As I readied her for a trip in the cold, for it wasn't that long of a walk from here to the Burrow, Stella began to babble on and on happily. She cooed and pulled her socks off when I turned to grab her shoes, giggling when I turned back to fine her bare feet and socks flying to the floor.

I grinned down at her as I summoned the socks. "Now, you cooperate little one," I said with mock firmness. "I've got to ask Grandpa a very important question so I can make Mummy very happy. I can't do that if you keep pulling your socks off and keep us from going."

Soft brown eyes crinkled with laugher, she giggled as I talked. This time, I got her little boots on without problem. Finally, adding a heating charm to both of us, I put on my cloak. Settling her on my hip once again, we started out. Stella loved the snowy landscape around us, constantly trying to get out of my arms to play with it.

It wasn't too long of a walk, just the short trot to the town and then turning down a seldom used road towards the Burrow. Lulled by the rhythm of my smooth strides and protected from the cold by the many warm clothes and heating charm, Stella fell asleep in my arms. I shifted her to lie against my chest, her tiny head resting on my shoulder. She didn't even stir at the movement.

I enjoyed the rest of the walk in silence, reveling in the small child asleep on me. It was moments like this that my love for my little daughter grew even more, if that was possible. It was moments like this that I knew I was truly her father. In the beginning, I'd simply hoped that Ginny would let me take the place that should have been filled by Harry Potter. I loved this little girl more than life itself. From the moment she was born, she became mine. From the moment Ginny had named her Wynstelle, our little Stella. It was time we became an official family.

With that thought reverberating through my mind, I walked through the gate of the garden at the Burrow. I rapped my knuckles on the door, loud enough to gain attention but soft enough not to stir Stella who still lay sleeping on my shoulder.

"Coming!" I heard Mrs. Weasley's motherly voice from inside call. I could hear a clatter in the kitchen and guessed I had interrupted lunch preparations. I smiled to myself. I hadn't planned specifically to show up in time for lunch but the prospect of Mrs. Weasley's cooking, from which Ginny had learned everything she knew in the kitchen, had my mouth watering. Of course, my appetite was all but nonexistent at the moment and would be until I could pose my question to Mr. Weasley.

The door swung open to reveal the motherly woman who I hoped would soon become my mother-in-law covered in flower. "Oh, hello dear!" she greeted warmly, smiling at her granddaughter asleep on me. "Where's Ginny?"

She stepped aside and let me in, closing the door firmly behind me against the cold wind blowing. "She's home sleeping," I said, handing the still sleeping Stella to her grandma. "She really needed to get some sleep. Stella has begun teething and nights are hard. Neither of us have gotten much sleep lately."

"Oh, the poor dear," Mrs. Weasley said, gently taking off Stella's many layers until she came to her normal clothes. "Teething is always a hard time for babies. I'll teach you a few spells to ease her pain before you go."

"That would be much appreciated," I said, taking my cloak off and hanging it on a hook by the door. Walking over to where Mrs. Weasley stood, I brushed Stella's dark hair from her face. She looked like a little angel when she sleep, much like her mother. I smiled at the thought of waking up with my two angels for the rest of my life.

"You're just in time for lunch," Mrs. Weasley said, handing Stella back to me gently. "I was just about to put a second batch of biscuits in the oven. Everything else will be ready in a few minutes. I'll make something for Stella too. Arthur is in the living room if you want to wait in there with him. Then you can tell us what brought about this unexpected call."

From the look she was giving me, I think she suspected what my visit was about. Instead of satisfying her curiosity right away though I smiled and thanked her before heading into the living room. Mr. Weasley was sitting in one of the several armchairs, an instruction manual to some muggle device in his hands. "Hello, Mr. Weasley," I greeted, drawing his attention as I walked into the room.

"Draco," he said in surprise, looking up abruptly. Standing slightly, he reached over to shake my free hand, the other supporting Stella. "Is Ginny in the kitchen with Molly?"

"No sir, she's actually at home sleeping at the moment," I repeated what I told Mrs. Weasley a few moments ago.

He gave me a look and sighed at me. "Draco, how many times do I have to ask you to call me Arthur? No Mr. Weasley business and no sir. We're practically family; you don't have to be so formal."

"I'm sorry," I said, laughing softly. Both he and Mrs. Weasley had been insisting I be less formal with them, but from the way I was raised made it feel so disrespectful.

Stella stirred against me, rubbing her tiny fists against her eyes as she began to come around. "Morning, angel," I whispered softly, running a hand up and down her back. She looked up at me with half lidded eyes and let out a yawn. "Not quiet awake yet, are you? Well, Grandma Weasley is making you some special food for lunch. Are you hungry?"

My words seemed to wake her up a bit more. It would seem anyone with Weasley blood perked at the mention of food, no matter how big or small they were. Looking around, she spotted her grandpa grinning at her from the chair nearby. "Ack!" she cried with a wide smile, reaching out to him. We were over here usually once a week so she knew her grandparents very well.

I handed the babbling infant over to the older man. He took her with the practiced skill that bespoke of a lifetime around children. "So, what brings you over today?" he asked once Stella was settled onto his lap and playing with the buttons on his shirt. We both laughed as she pressed her face to his stomach to put one in her mouth. She put everything in her mouth nowadays.

"Lunch is on the table!" Mrs. Weasley called from the other room.

In just a few moments we were all settled around the table. Mrs. Weasley had set Stella up in a high chair next to her and proceeded to feed her so I could focus on feeding myself. In the year that I'd known the woman, she'd been constantly trying to get me to put on some weight. She insisted I was much too skinny.

"Are you going to share with us what brought you over today?" Mr. Weasley asked again when he noticed me hardly touching my food.

I took a deep breath and let my gaze settle on each of them in turn before looking Mr. Weasley straight in the eyes. "I came to ask you for permission to marry your daughter," I said without preamble, deciding not to beat around the bush.

Mrs. Weasley smiled knowingly, nodding her head as she continued to feel Stella, a difficult task as more seemed to end up on her chin than in her mouth. Mr. Weasley, on the other hand, seemed a bit surprised. "I guess I should have been expecting this," he said with a small sigh, a smile tugging at his lip. "You two have been close for a while now."

"Yes, sir," I nodded. "I love her with everything I am."

"And what of Stella?" he asked, fixing me with a serious look. "You and Ginny would have children who would be yours biologically. What would Stella be to you?"

I let my gaze fall on the little girl currently smearing puréed green beans all over her face. I couldn't help the smile that came to my lips. She was the most precious thing in my life. She was my daughter. "I couldn't love her any more than I already do, even if she were of my own flesh and blood. From the beginning of my friendship with your daughter, I knew I wanted to be there for her though the tough time in her life. It was only later that I realized I wanted to be more than just that ever dependable friend. I realized I love her."

I fixed my eyes Ginny's father. "I've loved Stella too, since before she even came into this world. She's my daughter, if not by blood, by love. There's a bond there that will never be broken. Any more children Ginny and I have together will be loved as much as she is, but never more. She will never be pushed aside because of who fathered her. I cannot imagine a love stronger than I feel for that little one. Nothing will break that."

"It doesn't bother you that Harry is her father?" he questioned.

I shook my head without having to think about it. "He's not her father," I said firmly. "It takes more than getting a woman pregnant to become a father. Yes, it was he and Ginny who created her but no, it doesn't bother me. Stella wouldn't be Stella any other way. But that doesn't make her his daughter. It was I who helped Ginny through her pregnancy. It was I who sat by her side at ever appointment. I was the one to help her though the past months. We are the ones raising Stella, not the two of them."

"Alright, I understand. I was just making sure your love was for both of them," he said, nodding at my explanation.

Stella started making bubbles with the food in her mouth, drawing our attention and causing laugher to erupt from all of us. It alleviated the solemnity of the conversation. It was with a smile on his face that Mr. Weasley turned to me and said the words that I'd been hoping to hear. "Yes, you have my permission to marry Ginny."

"Thank you, sir," I said with a relieved sigh, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Now all I had to do was buy a ring and pop the question. Finally, I turned to my plate of food, my appetite returning. "This was really good, Mrs. Weasley," I commented after the dishes were cleared and Stella was cleaned up. "Thank you, thank you both."

She clucked her tongue at me as she handed a bundled up Stella to me as I prepared to head back home. "Please, no more Mr. and Mrs. Weasley business. Call us Mum and Dad." Mum and Dad. I had a feeling my little family just grew exponentially.

Well, there you have it. Draco is finally going to pop the question! How do you think he should do it? I have a few ideas, but nothing firm as of yet. Suggestions are welcome! What would seem, to you, the perfect Christmas proposal?

Now, the last chapter I also posed the question: Lemon – yes or not? It wasn't until I got a review from one of you guys that I realized maybe not ever knows exactly what a lemon is. Well, a lemon is a nice way to say a sex scene. For those of you who are new to fanfic, there you go. You know a new world! That being said, again on the question: Lemon or no?

And remember, a happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!