Disclaimer: Harry Potter etc… owned by JKR, etc…
From last time: Tansi is a Native American name that means "flower" (usually spelled Tansy)
Nani is named thus because it sounds like Nanny, which is her primary function.
A/N: This chapter is a bit lighter than the others. Please tell me if it seems too out of place.
Chapter Seven: The Smiths
Ron had no sooner pulled his head from the floo and turned toward the bedroom to change his clothes before he heard the whoosh of flames. Turning back, he thought Malfoy might have changed his mind but was surprised to see an all together different blond git's head sitting upon his hearth.
"Ron, Mate! Thank goodness you're here. I don't know what I'd have done and I only have a few minutes. She's going to scream as it is…"
"Zach. Zach! Calm down. Speak slowly. Is it Ginny? Has she had the baby?"
" She's having the baby, but the midwife thinks she's in a breech presentation. Your mother and the midwife have begun preparations to take her to St. Mungo's. I have to meet them there, but first I needed to find a place for the kids."
"Zach, listen, it's not really a good time right now"
"No! You can't say no. None of your siblings can take them without dividing them up. There are just too many. Please, I'm begging. Ginny has given me exactly a quarter of an hour to take care of this. I don't even want to think about what she might do to me if I mess up!"
Ron looked around for an excuse, any excuse to get out of it, but ultimately, thinking of his poor sister, saddled with the Imbecile Smith, he nodded. He made a mental note to floo Malfoy and postpone their meeting.
"Thanks Mate! You're a life saver! They're still in their pajamas, just transfigure them to day robes…and they haven't had any breakfast, of course…just feed them whatever…I'll send you an owl as soon as we know something. Ready? I'm sending them through!"
The flames grew in height and width as the Smith brood filed through. Ron shook his head smiling as he greeted each of the red-haired hooligans. Zacharias Smith didn't seem to have a single dominant gene in his entire being. He nodded at them as they passed. "Zach," met with a nod. "Zelda," met with a grin. "Zephyr and Zefram," met with identical evil glints in the eyes. Lastly, their father came through, carrying Zarek, who was sleeping soundly. He put the baby on the sofa and kissed each of the children on the head, admonishing them to behave and threatening the twins with severe punishments if there were any "shenanigans", before disapparating with a crack.
The room immediately erupted into a cacophony of noise, which woke Zarek, who proceeded to spot Crookshanks, who decided to make a run for it. The older children yelled for him to come back, while chasing him toward the bedroom. Zarek giggled, Crookshanks hissed and spat, running all the while, before leaping into a furious, claws-out ball of fur upon the bed where Hermione was resting.
Ron could hear Zelda explaining why they were there in a loud voice that barely masked the shrieks of the cat and the howls of both Hermione and the other children. He grinned and prepared himself to enter the fray as Hermione came out, her hair worse for the tumble with the cat, carrying Zarek, who was crying "want kitty!" over her shoulder. The others followed behind her, but upon entering the lounge all began talking at once. "Unca Won! Can we hab panpates?" "My mum says the twins are not to have one bit of sugar, Auntie." "Can we play football?" "Want Kitty!" "Potty!" That one word, voiced by three-year-old Zefram, sent both adults into a panic.
"Ron! Take him!"
"Hermione, please I'm rubbish at Potty Duty! You take him!
He was met with a withering glare from his darling spouse, before giving in and hoping he'd get out with minimal damage. "Does anyone else need to go?" He asked, praying for "no's". It was not Ron's lucky day, however, as both girls raised their hands into the air.
Coming out of the bathroom a good time later, Ron found the lounge already a mess. "Zarek" he muttered. Hermione was chasing the toddler, who was attempting, it seemed, to break every fragile thing in the room. Meanwhile, seven-year-old Zach, was busy taking books off a shelf to make a fort. Upon entering, the other children each chose a corner of the room to destroy. "Hermione? Can't you control them for five seconds?"
"Me?" she bellowed, you're the one dawdling in the loo, to keep from having to work!"
"Going to the loo with this lot IS work!"
Just then, Zefram discovered the wicker trunk which housed Ron's collection of sporting goods. The football Hermione's parents had given Ron for his birthday went flying. Zach was instantly on his feet chasing the ball. Zelda and Hermione were yelling, in identical know-it-all voices, about the dangers of playing ball indoors. Zarek took the opportunity to make his way back to the bedroom, where he was attempting to coax Crookshanks out from under the bed. Ron yelled, Hermione yelled, everyone yelled, but they were all brought to a screeching halt by the clearing of a throat. Draco Malfoy had just stepped, in all of his impeccably tailored glory, out of their floo.
Everyone stopped what they were doing except for Zephyr, who screamed "'afessor Mafoy!" and made a mad dash for him, wrapping her arms around his legs.
Ron raised his eyebrows in question at Malfoy, who calmly picked up the little girl and asked "Have I come at a bad time?"
"No" Hermione replied "right now, we can use an extra pair of hands. But the question or questions beg to be asked: How do you know Zephyr? And what are you doing here?"
"I was invited by your ...ah…Weasley invited me to…talk. As for my friendship with the Junior Weaselette, I have business dealings with Smith. It is inevitable that I see him at home, occasionally. When I do, he is normally saddl…rather… accompanied by several offspring."
"Yes" Zephyr put in, "'Afessor comes to see us at home and we make tea for him while Daddy fetches his things. He knows all the best stories! The Mad Hippogriff is my favorite!"
Ron raised his eyebrows in Malfoy's direction again. What "business" could his daft brother-in-law possibly have with the Potions Master? Zach's family had an old name but no money. Ginny was very particular about keeping the funds Harry had left her separate from her family's finances. She said she was saving it for the kids, but Ron thought she secretly didn't trust her husband to invest it. Smith worked for the twins, managing their warehouse and that didn't require any financial acumen. He decided to ask, but Hermione beat him to it. "Business? With Zach? Are you certain we're talking about the same person?" Now, Malfoy was a cool character, but Ron noticed a definite shift in his posture when Hermione questioned him. If he was interrogating him, he'd think he had something to hide.
"Nothing much" Malfoy replied "Our mothers were friends in childhood and wanted us to continue the connection, so I give him tips sometimes, to help him make ends meet."
"Well" Hermione said, suddenly seeming shy "As you so clearly stated, it's not a good time to talk"
"Yes, well…I thought you said you needed an extra set of hands?" Ron couldn't help but think Malfoy was looking for an excuse to stay.
"We can handle it" Ron said, confidently
"Obviously" Malfoy replied, looking around the messy room
"They do seem calmer since he arrived" Hermione said.
Ron grimaced. His intent in flooing Malfoy was to avoid just such a thing. He wanted him as far away from his wife as possible, but if he turned down his help with the children, Hermione would be furious with him.
"You're hardly dressed for babysitting" a still pajama-clad Hermione observed.
"Easily remedied" and with a swish of his wand, Malfoy was wearing muggle trousers and a white, broadcloth shirt, rolled up at the sleeves. Ron's eyes immediately went to the ugly scar on his left forearm. Glancing at Hermione, he thought she might be deliberately trying not to look. The children, now that Malfoy had decided to stay, seemed to be returning to their previous activities, but the stern teacher was having none of that.
"Sit" he commanded, in a booming voice. Wide-eyed, they sat, all in a row, upon the sofa.
"Now, what is the first order of business?" he asked
"Breakfast!" Zelda answered.
"Panpates!" yelled Zefram.
"Fine. If your Aunt would be so…"
"Oh no, Draco. Ron is the cook" Hermione said as she gestured to her frowning husband.
Ron was growing very irritated. He didn't like Malfoy giving orders in his home, even if it was to a bunch of rowdy brats.
"Right. I'll get breakfast going and Zelda can help, if she likes. Hermione can get everyone changed (casting a significant look at Zarek and thanking every saint in Christendom he would be spared that particular torture) and you…you can direct the clean up" Ron ordered, deciding finally to take charge. Malfoy smirked at him and Ron wanted to curse, realizing he had given his rival the perfect opportunity to spend time with his wife while he was sent off to the kitchen like a house elf.
As he angrily waved his wand and sent eggshells flying toward the bin, narrowly missing Zelda's head, he listened intently to the conversation in the lounge.
"What is this odd contraption?" Malfoy would ask and one or more of the children would explain about cricket bats or computers or some such. After a while, the question was answered by a resounding chorus of "Football!"
He could hear Zach speaking a mile a minute about the small white ball covered with black pentagons and the game associated with it.
"Well, I, for one, think we should all go out to the park and learn to play after we've eaten" Malfoy suggested. Ron made a gagging motion with his finger, which made Zelda giggle.
"You don't like the professor, do you?" she asked
"Not particularly" Ron answered.
"Auntie likes him though" she said
"Yes, well, Auntie also likes Kreacher" he grumbled in response, to which the little girl laughed again. The Smith children knew Kreacher very well, as he refused to leave Grimauld Place, even after Ginny set him free. He constantly begged them to lop off his head and add it to the wall with those of his ancestors. He was so old now, he could hardly climb the stairs, but Ginny refused to turn him out, despite the wicked deeds in his past.
Half an hour later, as Ron was levitating their breakfast from the kitchen to the transfigured sofa table, the sight meeting his eyes as he entered the lounge caused a lump in his throat and his heart to actually skip a beat. The children were sitting on the sofa, quietly listening to a story. Hermione sat in a newly-conjured rocking chair with Zarek sitting on her lap, reading Where the Wild Things Are. She looked so natural, smiling and gesturing as she created voices for the monsters and the little boy in the story. The children laughed, but not too loudly as they were sure to miss something if they didn't give Auntie their undivided attention. He, for the first time, felt it might be worth it to ask for Malfoy's help. Speaking of ….he looked around and found the git-in-question leaning against the arch next to Hermione's study nook, with a fond, dreamy look on his face that Ron thought might have mirrored his own.
"Who's hungry?" Zelda called out behind him. Malfoy may have called Zephyr the Junior Weaselette, but in Ron's opinion, the five-year-old was much more like her mother than her sprite-like sister.
The children ate heartily and after another half an hour, were helping put away the dishes, but in need of another wardrobe change. Hermione was busy conjuring supplies they might need, most notably, a method of containing Zarek. This left Ron in charge of getting the brood presentable.
"Need help?" Malfoy offered
Ron glared at him, but was struck by inspiration. "Yeah. I'll clean up the girls, you take the boys." A smug smile graced the redhead's face. Let's see how Malfoy likes changing Zarek's famous "noxious nappies".
Ron scourgified the girls, but left them in the same clothes Hermione had conjured, sundresses with sandals. He nearly choked, however, when he turned to find Malfoy had put the boys in football kits….green and silver football kits. If that wasn't bad enough, Hermione thought it was cute and asked Malfoy to change the girls' outfits as well. As if Ron weren't capable of such creativity.
Ron suggested they have two teams for a proper match. Malfoy smirked at him before giving not only the girls a scarlet football kit, complete with gold ribbons for their hair, but Ron too.
Hermione shot Malfoy a glare and he waved his wand again, leaving all three adults in track suits: Ron in Gryffindor Red and himself and Hermione in Slytherin Green.
"Not fair" observed Zach "The teams are lopsided. Besides, Zarek can't really play. He'll pick up the ball and run away."
"I know the rules best. My dad's a football fanatic and since he had no sons, he used to take me to the matches. So, I'll do the officiating" Hermione said as she waved her wand, transfiguring her tracksuit to yellow and black and conjuring a whistle."
"Right then" Ron said, "Let's head out. Everyone get a buddy and stick together!" Hermione was pushing Zarek in a stroller and held Zefram by the hand. Zephyr immediately seized Malfoy's hand, asking to be carried and Zach insisted he was old enough to walk on his own. Sighing, Zelda took Ron's hand and discreetly made the gagging sign she'd seen her favorite uncle make in the kitchen. Ron chuckled and closed the front door behind them.
TBC
A/N Ginny's Children:
o Zacharias Jr., seven, named for his father
o Zelda, five, named for Zelda Fitzgerald (Famous American Socialite and wife of novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald)
o Zefram, three, named for Zefram Cochrane (The father of modern space flight from Star Trek)
o Zephyr , also three, named for the west wind
o Zarek, one, named for the last king of Babylon
o Zoe, the newborn, her name means "life" in Greek