Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I would hire two people to do my homework for me, so I would never have to do it ever again. Yes, two people because I have so many freakin' papers it's insane and there is no way one person could do it all on their own. (Well, if I didn't procrastinate...but still, it's a lot of work).
IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you are looking at this chapter, and you don't remember the words in italics, it means you haven't read chapter 17. Well, that is, the new chapter 17, because I went back and deleted chapter 2, you know, the chapter that originally just held the disclaimer for chapter 1 (which still stands, by the way). But now, every chapter has been pushed back one. Just to clear things up. So if you don't remember the words in italics, read chapter 17. Again. Because it's not really chapter 17. Confused yet?
Thanks to boogah, Liz and ranneh and to Tulips and Jill, ice faerie, and MnM1803, and my sincerest apologies it took so long to up date.
Did you get that? I'm sorry it took so long, please don't be angry, this darn chapter just wouldn't write and the stupid teachers have given me too much homework and I have to give a speech on Tuesday….ewwww. So yeah. Here it is. Enjoy.
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Draco did the worst thing possible, the one thing that would forever undermine any attempts he would ever make to deny the allegations. He snarled and in one fluid, graceful motion was off of the couch and heading for the door, ignoring Blaise's shout of "Drake!" He was running. But his path had him run straight into Snape who was returning from Hermione's room.
His godfather halted his flight with pale hands on his shoulders. Sev's black eyes took in the open-mouthed group in the circle and then Draco's clenched jaw and melted grey eyes in one sweeping gaze.
"Deep breaths, Draco," said Snape softly so only Draco could hear. "You are a Malfoy; you do not run."
Draco shook his head. "The article," he whispered back, not meeting his godfather's intense stare. "They know." The Potions Master understood in an instant.
"It doesn't make any difference," said Sev. "You can't keep it buried forever."
"I don't want their pity."
"Then show them you don't need it," said Snape. "Look at me, Draco." Draco dragged his eyes to Sev's and saw only pride and affection mirrored there. Pride and affection for him, and he took a deep breath, ridding his face of any stray emotions.
"Are you calm again?" asked Snape.
Draco slipped his mask back up and nodded.
"Good," said Snape, and then loudly so he was addressing the group, "The media tends to exaggerate for more sensational stories," he said smoothly, turning Draco around and pushing him in the direction of the couch. Draco took his seat, sprawling out slightly to show he didn't care, and lifting his chin, daring anyone to meet his gaze. They didn't look at him.
"Mr. Weasley," Snape continued, "your wife is perfectly fine; it just seems that this is going to be a rather long labor. You may go see her now."
Ron nodded and practically ran down the hall to his wife. Snape crossed through the circle, his robes billowing out as usual and reclaimed his seat next to Harry. For a few moments no-one spoke though the entire circle started sneaking quick glances at him. There was an uncomfortable silence broken by Draco's cell phone ringing.
He left the circle and walked to the corner of the room, flipping open the phone. "Malfoy," he said into the mouthpiece. He listened to the trembling voice for a minute, feeling all of his frustration and anger threatening to make him snap and go crazy. He hung up and returned to the circle, his fingers aching to chuck the phone at a wall and watch it shatter. He knew from experience that it was a great relief. Instead he ran a hand through his hair and started tugging.
"Bad news?" asked Harry.
"You could say that. We're down another .4 points," said Draco.
"That means nothing to us," said Harry. "What language are you speaking now?"
"Economist," said Bill. "He's talking about the economy. It's on a point system. The system considers factors such as employment rates, pay rates, how much debt the average family is in, how much debt the businesses are in, how much trade is happening and so on."
"Is .4 big?" asked Faye.
"Yeah," said Draco. "Normal fluctuations are any where between .05 and .1 points, .4 is quadruple that." He sighed, muttered 'damnit', and continued pulling at his hair, but a small hand caught his.
"Stop that," said Ginny. "You'll pull your hair out."
He sighed again, but let his hands drop. Then he stood. "I'm going to go find some coffee," he said, making his way to the door.
"I'll come too," said Ginny.
He didn't know why, but he waited for her as she found her shoes and then joined him. She, having been to the café, knew where it was and she led the way.
"The dinner was nice," she said. "Thank you."
He shrugged and they entered the large, white and blue cafeteria that was completely empty. There were a few large coffee and hot water tanks and some sandwiches and pre wrapped cookies lying on a buffet table while the three others lay empty. Draco went straight to the coffee, put a few coins in the cup dispenser, grabbed the cup that came up, and filled it to the brim with the caffienated beverage. He sat at one of the empty tables and watched Ginny stir a hot chocolate mix into the hot water she had in her own cup. She joined him, sipping on her drink and wincing.
"Burnt my tongue," she said, settling back into the chair and fastening her bright eyes on his face.
He didn't respond, but took a sip of his own. It was hot and awful, but it was disgustingly strong so he took a larger gulp.
"You want to talk about it?" Ginny asked.
"About what?" he retorted, knowing full well what she meant.
"About what happened in the waiting room."
"Nothing happened in the waiting room," said Draco.
"Alright, what happened when Pansy touched you? Is it normal to react like she was about to punch you?"
"I was startled," said Draco.
"Right," said Ginny. "Why did you run then?"
There was no way he could brush that off so he settled for an offensive tactic. "I don't want your pity."
"You have my sympathy," she countered.
"Same thing," said Draco, and then he frowned. "We've had this conversation before."
"Only this time I'm going to tell you exactly what the difference between pity and sympathy is," said Ginny. "Pity is what you feel for a bunny caught in a snare, or for a puppy that broke a leg. It's a cutesy shallow emotion where people say 'Awwww, that's so sad' and they don't do a damn thing about it. Sympathy is for people, people who aren't shallow, people who try to feel what the other person is feeling. Sympathy is an understanding of an emotion, and sympathy is where real people step in and try to help that person heal. And that's what I, what we all, feel for you Draco. We're proud that you made it so far, but now, we're going to help you make it the rest of the way."
She was serious; he could see it in her eyes. She meant every word she said and part of Draco wondered if having their sympathy wasn't a bad thing. He didn't answer her, but rather looked down at his coffee and watched the ripples he caused when he squeezed the Styrofoam slightly.
"Your family's really big," he said, changing the topic. She let him.
"Yeah, it can be a little overwhelming at times," Ginny agreed. "And having six older brothers isn't the ideal situation, but I love them anyway."
She got up and retrieved two plastic lids in the container next to the dispenser and handed one to him. He narrowed his eyes as she put the lid on her cup.
"Where are we going?" he asked warily, but putting the lid on his none-the-less.
"Back upstairs," she said. "I've figured we've given them enough time to talk and gossip about you."
He couldn't help but laugh and then followed her up out of the café and back into the waiting room.
They were indeed talking about him. He knew because as soon as he entered all conversation stopped and several of the members flushed guiltily. He shared a smirk with Ginny and then returned to his seat next to Pansy who was looking at him in concern.
"So, Draco," said Charlie, once an awkward silence fell that caused every one but him to squirm. "You're trying to get the economy back up, right?"
Draco grimaced. "Trying being the operative word there," he said. "I think I'm just making things worse."
"How worse?" asked Bill, who, it seemed, had an actual working knowledge of economics.
"Is it possible to get a negative score?" asked Draco. "Because if things keep falling the way they are falling, we might be below zero by tomorrow morning."
Bill winced. "That bad?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Draco, taking a gulp of his coffee.
"Maybe it's like a virus," said Mrs. Weasley. "And it has to get worse before it gets better."
"In that case I infected it with the plague and killed it," said Draco dryly. Harry snorted.
"I'm sure you'll straighten it out," said Mrs. Weasley kindly.
"Like he straightens his hair every month," said Blaise cheerfully.
Draco blinked, set his coffee down on a side table, and then slowly turned to stare at his friend who was grinning unashamedly at him behind Pansy.
"Wait, what?" demanded Harry from across the circle.
"You have curly hair?" Ginny asked.
"Malfoy?" sang Fred.
"With curls?" trilled George.
They both got twin mischievous gleams in their eyes as every gaze turned to Draco, who felt his cheeks flush.
"Draco, can I-," Ginny started.
"No," said Draco flatly.
"You don't even know what I was going to say," said Ginny.
"No, you cannot see my hair curly," said Draco. From her pout, he knew that he had hit exactly what she was going to say.
"I have baby pictures," volunteered Snape.
Draco turned to his godfather completely aghast. "You're supposed to be family," he accused.
Severus smirked. "I want a pay raise."
"Draco," said Ginny, "can I please-,"
"No," said Draco. "Why on earth do you need a pay raise?"
"It's not the fact that I need a pay raise, it's more of the fact that I can get one," Severus admitted to the laughter of the circle.
"I can have you fired," said Draco.
Snape shrugged. "I've been planning on retiring for a while now," he said. "Merlin knows I have enough. You, on the other hand, have several cute photos I'm sure the ladies are all dying to see. Now, Molly," he said, addressing the red-haired mother, "do you remember that picture of Charlie you showed me? The one where he is running down the hall with nothing but a nappy on?"
"Mum, you showed him that?" groaned Charlie.
"Well," Severus continued, "I have one of Draco just like that one."
Draco groaned as well and buried his face in his hands.
"How curly is his hair?" asked Faye, obviously amused.
"Loose curls," Blaise chimed in. "The kind you see on cupids."
There was a series of "Awww's" from the women and Fred and George.
"Draco, come on," said Ginny.
"No!" said Draco. He turned to Blaise and Severus. "I can't believe you two. You're a bunch of back-stabbing snakes."
"I plead Slytherin," said Blaise, shrugging. "You admitted yourself that's what we are."
"And I was Slytherin's Head of House," said Snape. "You can't expect me to make allowances."
"I see," said Draco. He then gave a slow smirk. "But you've forgotten that I am Slytherin's Prince, and I give better than I get."
Blaise looked severely disconcerted and Snape frowned. Draco gave them both an innocent smile, picked up his coffee and took a long draught.
"Draco," said Ginny in a sweet voice.
"You are like a thestral that smells blood," said Draco, exasperated. "You just won't let it go, will you?"
"Nope," said Ginny.
"Too bad," said Draco.
"I'll get those baby pictures Snape is talking about and I'll post them all around the office," said Ginny.
Draco turned his gaze up to the heavens, or in this case, the bright ceiling lights. "Why me?" he asked.
"I don't pity you in the least," said Charlie. "Working with her."
"Hey!" said Ginny. Draco snorted. Bad move, she immediately turned her attention back to him. "Come on Draco."
He sighed, pulled out his wand, and tapped his head with it. He could feel his hair spring back to its original curling mass and Ginny squealed.
"Awww," she said, grinning sweetly at him just to annoy him. She reached out a hand and gently ran her fingers through the soft locks. He realized with a start that Pansy was playing with his hair too and he couldn't help but make a face. Harry laughed outright at him, Sev was hiding a smile, the women had that kind of goofy beaming expression they got whenever they spotted a particularly adorable baby, and the men were smirking at his predicament.
"Oooo," said Blaise in an overly cutesy manner. "Let's all play with Draco's hair!" He reached out to muss Draco's hair, but Draco ducked out of the way.
"Alright," he said. "Enough." He waved his wand again and his hair returned to its usual straight style. He reassured himself that it was back to normal by running a hand through it and breathing deep in relief.
"How do you get it so straight?" asked Faye.
"Edmin's Straightening Solution," said Blaise for him. "It's a month long formula."
Draco glared and then his phone rang again. He pulled it out and answered in a rather testy greeting.
"Malfoy," he snapped. He listened for a moment then responded in an aggravated, biting manner. "Oh, so you think now, do you? Well, do me a favor: don't call unless you have something definite to report. I don't care what you think, I don't care what you suppose, I want the facts so unless it is without a doubt that something is happening, I don't want you to call, do you understand that? Good." He slammed the phone closed, turned, and hurled it at the wall before remembering that there was a rather amused audience watching him.
"Angry much?" asked Fred.
"Or just really good news?" asked George.
"Ginevra," said Draco. "Can I borrow your phone?"
She dug around in her purse and then gave it to him. He dialed maintenance at his office where there was always someone on duty. "Hello. Yes, this is Malfoy. I need a new cell phone with all of my contacts in it within the hour. I'm at St. Mungo's." He hung up and handed it back to Ginny who put it away.
"Two in one day, Draco," she said. "Going for a record are we?"
"Merely keeping the phone company in business," he responded, brushing her teasing comment to the side.
Beside him Pansy yawned and got up. "I'm going to be sleeping on that couch over there," she said, gesturing to a couch by the far wall and headed over, Blaise following her, leaving Draco the entire sofa.
Faye yawned as well and snuggled in next to Charlie. Draco noticed that Penny and Percy were already asleep in their chairs and Fleur was leaning against Bill in a half awake stage. Conversation slowly died out.
Harry abandoned his chair in favor of a slightly more comfortable one a little ways apart and Mrs. Weasley moved to Harry's vacated spot where she and Sev struck up a quiet dialogue. Fred and George amused themselves by juggling the Translator Toffees, but they kept it quiet out of respect for those sleeping, which Draco found surprisingly decent.
Draco observed the group for a while and then pulled out his laptop and checked his email. To his disgust, two pages were full of the electronic messages, but he started answering them right away. There was no use in putting it off for tomorrow when he could just do it now, but after a while he got fed up with it and gave up. An owl delivered his new phone and he made sure the ring was on vibrate and slipped it in his pocket. Ginny joined him on the couch.
"Working?" she asked looking over his shoulder at the screen, laughing when she saw it. "Pinball, Draco?"
He grinned guiltily but was completely unashamed. "Want to play?" he asked. "It has a two player option."
"I warn you, I play a mean game," she said.
"Practicing at the office, Ginevra?" he asked.
She laughed. "No, but I did at the French Ministry. You keep me far too busy."
"Then you're out of practice," he said. "Do you want to be first player or second?"
"You first," she said, sliding over closer and actually leaning an arm against his shoulder so that she could watch his progress. Like he would be able to concentrate on the game when she was leaning up against him like that. Her sleeves were rolled up and his shirt was thin linen, the only boundary between their skin, and her warmth seemed to scorch his flesh, but he wouldn't want her to move for the world. He could feel her soft breath on his neck and he suppressed a shiver and forced himself to concentrate on the computer game.
It was easier to concentrate on the game when it became apparent that she was quite competitive. She won two games and he won one, then they went on to solitare where she beat her game going through the deck only once while his took five times. He made up for it by thoroughly trouncing her in Minesweeper. They were on their second round and it was his game when he realized that she had fallen asleep. A check on the laptop clock showed that it was one in the morning and a glance around showed that everyone else was asleep as well.
She shifted in her sleep, muttering something that sounded like French oaths under her breath making him smile. Her head came to rest on his shoulder and he froze, not sure what to do. He then noticed that she was curling up, obviously chilled and he carefully reached down and snagged his long coat from the floor by the couch. He draped the thick material gently over her and his lips turned up in a very real smile. He bent over her and pressed a feather-light kiss on the top of her head then pulled back. He returned to his computer but happened to catch the gaze of black eyes watching him. Sev raised an eyebrow at him, and then closed his eyes and settled back into his chair again.
Draco froze for the second time that night. He had kissed her. He had kissed her, Ginevra, no, he kissed Ginny. What did that mean? Did he have feelings for her? He couldn't have feelings for her, it was impossible. She was the last girl he would fall for, that was why he had hired her, to prevent this from happening. But did he seriously fancy her? Part of him, deep down, knew it was a lot more than a case of infatuation, and fear took a grip deep down in his heart.
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He awoke disoriented with a buzzing on his thigh. It took a few seconds for him to realize he had fallen asleep in the hospital and that his phone was vibrating in his pocket. He moved and then stopped short when he realized that he was half stretched out on the couch and that he had a sleeping Ginny Weasley practically on top of him. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.
"Malfoy," he said quietly. He listened. "Wait, what?" he asked, feeling for sure he had misheard in his sleep. His brain tried to wrap itself around the message the person on the other end of the line was saying. "You sure?" he asked. "It's steady? You positive, absolutely positive?"
"Draco, what's wrong?" whispered Ginny sitting up, concern in her voice.
He held up a hand. "Yes, alright. Thank you." He hung up and turned to Ginny, just looking at her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"We're up 3.2 points," he said in an awed whisper. "We have been since midnight, and they say we're going to keep gradually creeping up."
"Are you serious?" Ginny asked.
"They just called. Said they didn't want to call me until they knew for sure, but they say the market is open for the day and that it's on the news. What time is it anyway?"
Ginny glanced at her watch. "Four-thirty," she said. "Up 3.2 points. You know what that means, right?"
He nodded at her, a smile spreading across his face. "We beat it," he said. "The depression is ended."
For a moment they just smiled at each other stupidly, two people who had just received the news they had been striving to hear for the past weeks, and now they didn't know what to do. Then Ginny let out a whoop, much like the one she had at the carnival riding Harry's broom, and she threw herself in his arms. He caught her, stood up, and twirled her around, the two of them bursting into laughter. He set her down, still holding onto her and grinning madly.
"Blaise," he called, not caring that he was waking up everyone else in the process. "Blaise, wake up you lazy bastard." He pulled out the phone and chucked it at his friend, hitting him on the head.
"The hell, Drake, what's going on?" Blaise asked, disentangling himself from Pansy and sitting up.
"Is the baby born?" asked Pansy. Her question was echoed by the others who were also beginning to stir.
"Nope, but history is in the making," said Draco. "Blaise you will forever remember this day."
"What is wrong with you?" asked Blaise. "It's bloody four in the morning. And why are you smiling? You are never smiling in the morning."
"That's because it is a beautiful day," said Draco. "We did it."
"What?" asked Blaise, understanding the meaning of Draco's cryptic statement and getting to his feet.
"Up 3.2 points since midnight," said Draco.
Blaise stared at him in shock and then burst into laughter. He ran over and pulled Draco into a bone-crushing hug. "You did it!" he shouted, causing those who weren't awake to be rudely thrown back in consciousness.
"What's going on?" groaned Bill.
"Has the baby been born yet?" asked Mrs. Weasley anxiously.
"Nope," said Ginny, "but something just as exciting." She walked over to the radio on the wall and flicked it on.
"-just in," the announcer was saying. "The market now reads at 9.4, that is up 3.3 points from yesterday and up .1 points from its last check at midnight. I believe that we can now say that the depression is over."
The rest of the words were drowned out by a cheer from those in the waiting room and Draco found his hand being shaken and his back patted by the entire 'family'.
"Well, Draco," yelled Blaise over the celebrations. "You just single-handedly stopped the depression, what are you going to do next?"
"I'm going to Disney World," Draco shouted back at him. Those around him frowned in confusion and he couldn't help but laugh at their expression. "It's an American thing," he said between laughs.
"Poor bloke," said Fred shaking his head.
"They've really corrupted him," said George.
"What's going on out here?" asked Ron, emerging from the hall to investigate the source of the sudden noise.
"Victory!" called Charlie, and his shout was taken up by Fred and George.
"What?"
"The depression is over!" said Bill. He swung Fleur into his arms and kissed her soundly, Percy and Charlie followed his lead. Blaise outdid them all by dipping Pansy so low her loose, blonde hair brushed the floor before kissing her.
"Mr. Weasley!" yelled the doctor from down the hall. "Come here now. The baby is coming!"
Ron bolted down the hallway as the family cheered again, Draco along with them. A half hour later and a very relieved looking Ron Weasley stepped into the room again. "Girl," he said.
"Yes!" said Fred.
"Bill, Charlie, you owe us five galleons," said George.
"Hush," said Mrs. Weasley. "How big?"
"Seven pounds three ounces. Nineteen inches long. Her name is Victoria Dawn; we thought it was fitting."
Draco grinned at that.
"I suppose you can all go home now," said Ron. "Hermione's sleeping, so is Vicki, but you can all come back in a couple of hours and see them. I'm gonna stay with Mione, so I'll see you all later. Thanks for coming by though." He gave a huge yawn and headed back to the room.
"Well, then," said Draco. "Who's up for breakfast at my place?"
"Your place?" asked Bill.
"Yeah," said Draco. "We can eat there, and then you guys can crash until your kids wake up."
"Are you sure?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "We don't want to intrude."
"You won't be intruding," said Draco.
"Yeah," said Blaise. "There's no one for you to intrude on except your own children."
"Well, all right," said Mrs. Weasley answering for the lot of them.
"Grand," said Draco. He led the way to the fireplaces in the main entrance and threw a bit of Floo powder in. "Malfoy Estate," he ordered and stepped into the flames.
He arrived in the marble entrance hall and waited for the others to show up. They stepped out of the fire with looks of amazement on their faces.
"You live here?" asked Charlie. The group started as Rolly appeared with a pop.
"Master has brought a party!" squealed the elf. "And you did not let Rolly know to prepare." If it was possible to sound aggrieved and joyous at the same time, Rolly pulled it off.
"It's just for breakfast, Rolly," he said, handing the elf his coat and briefcase. "Please alert the kitchens that we would like a meal and then tell the staff the guests require rooms for sleeping afterwards. It's been a long night."
"Of course, sir. Rolly will let Master know when breakfast is ready. Will you be wanting tea before?"
"No, we're fine. Thank you Rolly."
The elf disappeared with a pop! and Draco turned to the rest.
"Would you like the fifty cent tour before breakfast?"
There were nods of agreement, and Draco led them down the east wing. "There are two wings of the house," he said. "The East and West Wings."
"Very original names," said Harry.
"Yes, Faustus Malfoy was known for his great skills of imagination. Before he named them, they were simply known as the guest wing and 'our' wing," said Draco drolly. "The East Wing holds the guest rooms on the upper floor and the Claret Library, which is here."
He let them examine the room and then led them around the downstairs thorugh the East Wing lounge, the drawing room, the Blue and Sun Parlors, the ballroom, the main dining room, the formal dining room, the large library and the large parlor. And lastly the music room. He pushed open the door and led them into the polished, wood floor room.
Draco liked this room. There were two upright pianos against the wall, an organ, several other instruments on mahogany shelves in ebony cases, a harp in the corner, and a grand piano in the middle of the room.
"This is where I learned piano," he said.
"You can play?" asked Ginny.
"Yeah," said Draco.
"Would you play something for us?" asked Faye.
"Normally yes," said Draco, "but I wouldn't want to deprive you pleasure of having a world famous musician play for you right now. It might be the only time you get to hear him."
"Who?" asked Fleur.
"My teacher," said Draco. "He's also my godfather."
Everyone turned to the dark haired man who was glaring at Draco so vehemently it reminded him of how Sev looked at Harry in their school days.
"Come now, Severus," said Draco, smiling innocently. "Turn about is fair, and speaking of fair, did you know that Blaise plays the harp?" He smirked at his best friend. "Well, perhaps they can entertain you while I go freshen up; I'm afraid I have to go in for work today." He gave them all a nod in farewell, shot one last triumphant smile at Blaise and Sev in parting, and left.
He went to his rooms and took a quick, but soothing shower, then dressed. Rolly popped in- literally- to see if he needed anything and he had a cup of coffee sent up. He was nearly finished doing his hair when Rolly informed him breakfast was ready. He gave his hair one last brush, straightened his shirt, which was such a dark shade of red it was nearly black, and his pants, which were his customary black dress pants, and threw on his black dragon hide shoes. Feeling much more awake after his coffee he joined the family in the dining room. They had already started eating when he arrived and he quickly slid into his seat at the head of the table.
"Sorry I'm late," he said. "I trust you were fully entertained in my absence." He grinned cheekily at Sev, who glowered and muttered something about 'If he wasn't my godson'.
"I swear, Draco," started Blaise.
"Do anything and I'll kick you out of my house," finished Draco. He helped himself to a platter of eggs and then snagged a piece of toast off of another tray. His mug by his plate was already filled with coffee, thanks to the house elves who knew what he drank.
"How can you look so good at five in the bloody morning?" asked Penny is disgust.
"Sickening," agreed Faye.
"It's called coffee," said Draco. "A wonderful thing."
"Bloody American," said Charlie smiling widely. "Have any more?"
"Oh, no," said Faye. "I want to sleep after breakfast and once you drink that you're positively hyper for the next three hours."
"You have a beautiful house here, Draco," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Thank you," said Draco, "though I admit I don't do anything with it. I just keep the house elves happy."
"How many do you have?" asked Bill.
"Five," said Draco. "And this place is so huge I really need them. I've been thinking about selling it, but…," he trailed off with a shrug and pushed his plate away from him, done with breakfast.
"You should eat more," said Mrs. Weasley. Draco looked up at her in surprise and then looked down at his plate. He'd only eaten half a piece of toast and a few bites of eggs.
"I'm not really hungry, I guess," he said.
"You guess you're not hungry?" said Fred.
"You don't know if you're hungry?" asked George.
He'd never been a big eater; mealtimes were uncomfortable when he was a child and he had gotten into the habit of only when eating was a necessity.
"I'm not hungry," he said more affirmatively.
"Nonsense," said Mrs. Weasley. "You haven't eaten anything. Here," she passed him a dish of hash browns. "At least have some potatoes. It will stick in your stomach better."
Draco hid an exasperated sigh, for goodness sakes he was twenty-three and could take care of himself, and yet at the same time he felt a pleasant warmth knowing that she was nagging at him because she was concerned about him. He blinked, wondering if this was what having a mother felt like. He did as Mrs. Weasley commanded.
"Dear Merlin," said Charlie. "She's found another surrogate son. Draco, I'm sorry."
"Deepest sympathies," said Fred.
"And heartfelt condolences," said George.
"May you not see her too often," prayed Percy.
"And if you do," said Harry.
"Run," said Bill. "Very quickly in the opposite direction."
Draco noticed that though they said these things, they were all looking at their mother, in Harry's case 'adopted' mother, very fondly.
"Welcome to the family," said Ginny laughing as Mrs. Weasley began scolding her boys.
Draco looked down the table and couldn't help but smiling at everyone deep in debates, laughing and conversing loudly, trying to out talk everyone else. He couldn't help but think that this was how things were supposed to be.
After breakfast was over, he helped them all get settled in their rooms, telling them to stay as long as they needed; he even gave Ginny the day off, saying that all he would be doing was checking over the budget, taking a stop at Gringotts, and giving press conferences. She took it without protesting which showed him that she really was tired.
"Don't work to hard now," said Mrs. Weasley as he showed her the room she would be staying in. "And come back when you feel tired."
"Yes, ma'am," he promised, feeling that frustrated but grateful emotion again.
"Good," she said, and gave him a quick, motherly embrace.
Once he was sure they were all situated, he returned downstairs to grab his coat and briefcase. It was going to be a long day.
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Once again, sorry it took so long, and sorry for making things confusing with that whole deleted chapter, but noting was in it, so I decided I should just remove it. Sorry if you got confused, but don't let that stop you from reviewing. The little "Go" button is just calling your name, can't you hear it?