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Chapter Five, Just Do It
"I've seen your inside--you stay inside,
And I won't go for that.
I've seen your quarters,
Seen your crooked sacred pictures on the wall.
Concede and believe me,
I won't give up - I won't give out on you.
Concede and believe me,
I won't give up - I won't give out on you..." -'Concede', Sister Hazel
Tomorrow came far too quickly for Draco's liking - it always had, and he figured it always would. There was no changing the number of seconds in a minute, or how quickly they passed. But the odd thing was that they always seemed to pass more quickly when things were good, or when something bad was coming. He knew nothing gold could stay, but really - did it have to all die that quickly?
He stayed in his new bed with his eyes closed, willing sleep to return, despite the pitter-patter of feet outside his door. He knew if he didn't get up soon the kids would tear the whole house apart before they even got it all set up, so he sighed and sat up.
He looked around the room, Ginny had apparently already gotten up, which was good. Then maybe they wouldn't get around to destroying the house...
The room was pretty much what he'd gotten used to over the years. It wasn't too large or ornate, like Malfoy Manor had been all those years, but it was more like their house in New Jersey - comfortable as opposed to formal. Not too large, but not really small. At the moment it was pretty deserted - there were two dressers, two closets, two bedside tables, and stuff strewn all over everywhere. That's pretty much how the entire house looked - lone pieces of furniture in a sea of stuff.
Draco knew that, beyond all the other crappy days he'd ever experienced in his life, if he could choose one day to not wake up on - today would be that day. He would really have preffered not going to meet an army of angry redheads who didn't like him in the first place. But Ginny needed to see them. For whatever reason, she liked them. He figured it was some sort of unwritten code for normal families - you have to like them no matter what. He knew that if Isabelle disappeared for twelve years he'd want to throttle her. That thought really didn't help his mood.
He stood up, unconsciously rubbed his left forearm, and slipped on a pair of slippers.
He walked out into the hallway and looked around. He would need a few days to get used to the new layout. They'd put Damon and Emma on the third floor together - there were two rooms and a bathroom, and while they were at school it would be easy to maneuver around. Izzy and Alex shared a room, separated mostly by a wall, but connected by a door. Julia had a smaller room off to the side of the master bedroom, which had its own bathroom. So all in all, six bedrooms and three bathrooms. Not too bad for such short notice.
He walked down the stairs and looked around. There were one or two rooms which they hadn't designated a purpose for yet, but mostly things were laid out. They'd stayed up pretty late just organizing everything. There was a living room, dining room, kitchen, den, and a few others, including a furnished basement. All in all, a pretty big house.
He walked into the kitchen to see a few tired faces sitting at the table. He looked over and saw Ginny standing over the stove, working on something that smelled like bacon.
"What's going on?" He asked, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Hey sleepyhead," She said, turning around and smiling. He smirked, and looked at the kids, who were all giggling. Everyone was up except for Damon and Emma.
"Where are the twins?" He asked, moving over next to her.
"They're still upstairs. Emma's working on a list of things she wants in her room, and she's making Damon help her, so I promised I'd save him some breakfast." Draco smirked - that was just like them.
"Why didn't you wake me up? I could've made that stuff." He said, gesturing to the bacon in the pan, noticing that next to it was a pan of eggs, some toast on a plate, and a small jar of strawberry jam. Ginny just smiled at him.
"But you always make breakfast," She said.
"I always make everything, Red," he interrupted with a smirk.
"And since we're going to visit my family today, I figured I'd let you sleep in." She finished. He wasn't really sure whether or not to smirk at that. Visiting her family was...well, odds were it wasn't going to be a pleasant experience.
"Yeah, well..." was all he got out before he was shooed to the table. He helped Julia gather her Cheerios on her high chair, while trying to keep Izzy awake long enough to smell the bacon.
Finally, breakfast was served, and not too much later, Damon came storming into the kitchen, followed grumpily by Emma.
"Good morning," Draco greeted them with a smirk. Damon sat down with force, which made Emma roll her eyes and sit down next to him. "Everything alright?" He asked casually.
"It is now." Damon muttered.
"Shut up!" Emma exclaimed.
"No!" He yelled back.
"Yes!" She shouted.
"Alright!" Draco interrupted, "That's enough. Today's a pretty big day, you hear me? And I won't have you two bickering the whole time."
"What're we doing today?" Alex interrupted. Draco looked at him, and for the first time, realized how much like Wease-- Ron, he looked. Ginny's older brother. The resemblance really was striking. It sort of threw Draco offguard for a moment. "Dad?" Alex repeated.
"We're going to go visit your grandparents." He said shortly.
"Huh?" Alex replied. Six year olds could be so articulate at times.
"Your mother's parents, we're going to go visit them." He said calmly. Ginny had come over to the table, and was now sitting at the other end. They exchanged glances before continuing.
"We never visited them before because we lived so far away," Ginny explained, "but today you get to meet them." The kids just sort of sat there, stunned. Well, most of them, anyway. Izzy was fiddling with a piece of bacon that just wouldn't go onto the fork, Julia was trying to fit a handful of Cheerios into her mouth, and Damon and Emma were exchanging meaningful glances and gestures that only they could understand. So really, Alex was the only one paying any attention, but Draco figured that the older ones would be polite, and the younger ones would follow Alex's lead, so they'd be ok. At least, he hoped.
There really was only one way to deal with this situation. And that was to just get over it, and get on with it. So he did. After breakfast, he and Ginny helped the kids get ready with their new robes - which Damon and Alex were not happy with - and eventually were ready to leave.
"Are you sure about this? Maybe I should go alone first, and then you can come...bring the kids later on...I didn't exactly...mention you all in the letter..." Ginny said worriedly. Draco just took a deep breath and gave her a serious look.
"Trust me on this one - it's better this way." Her look didn't change, and he could see a few little kids getting very antsy out of the corner of his eye. "Really. Just trust me." He then opened the front door and let everyone out. Looking at them fall into line he couldn't help but smile. He used to torment the Weasleys for having so many children - laugh at and scorn them. And now look at him. Just like a Weasley. Except blonde.
"Hey! Whoa! Dad, where'd that come from!" Damon exclaimed, pointing at their car. Draco smirked and opened the car door for them.
"Magic." Was all he said.
They had decided to drive to The Burrow, hoping that their assumptions were correct. Ginny couldn't imagine her parents living anywhere else, so they figured that was their best bet.
As they drove up the long driveway, Draco saw Ginny visibly stiffen out of the corner of his eye. The kids were all bickering in the back, but he figured it best to ignore this one - sometimes, that was just what you had to do.
"Don't look so scared, they're your relatives. If anyone should be scared, it should be me." He said with a smirk. She returned a timid smile, and he just looked ahead as he parked the car. He took a deep breath, and willed himself to calm down. While they were away, he rarely had to use his guard. No one was after him, no one wanted to humiliate him, no one wanted to kill him. Unfortunately, though, that wasn't the case anymore. He needed to regain the composure he'd had as a teenager. The calm, cool, collected shell despite the chaotic world around him.
He shut his eyes for a second before turning around.
"Listen up," he said loudly, "You are all to be on your best behavior. I will not tolerate any misbehavior today, got it?" He saw the stunned faces of the three oldest kids, Izzy's confused face, and Julia's toothy grin. He sighed and got out, opening the door for them all.
They filed out quietly, and he knew they were feeling unsure of the entire situation. He rarely emphasized such good behavior - which surprised him, now that he thought of it. Growing up a child of high society - all that had been emphasized was good behavior. But that wasn't important in the Muggle world. At least, not where they'd been.
Now they were all standing in front of the door. Draco kept his breathing slow and even, calm. The kids were gathered in front of him, and Ginny was right in front of the door. She glanced back at him again, and he gave her an amused smirk, urging her forward.
She took a deep breath, her nervous energy affecting them all. He wanted to tell her to calm down, if not for herself for the kids, who seemed to be scared stiff at this point, but he knew it was better if he stayed quiet and just let fate run its course.
She knocked hesitantly on the front door, and they all waited.
The door cracked open, and a little boy peeked out. He had brown hair, and looked to be about Alex's age.
"Can I help you?" Ginny gave Draco a startled glance, but turned back to the little boy.
"Hi, I was just wondering --"
"Gideon, what are you doing?" An older woman's voice came from behind the door.
"Mum, there are people here." He said, turning around and looking up. Draco barely had time to see the hand grab the door before it opened, revealing an average sized brunette, who looked oddly familiar. She must've recognized something, though, because her entire face froze in mute horror when she saw Ginny.
The woman's eyes slowly traveled to Draco, at which point she put her hand over her stomach, and then to the kids. She didn't say anything, even though she looked like she wanted to, she just gaped at Ginny. Draco knew he should know her, but all the Weasleys were redheads...and Ginny had been the only girl.
"Gi...Ginny?" The woman squeaked out breathlessly, her eyes fixed on Ginny, who nodded. Immediately the tears started flowing from both women, and Draco shifted uncomfortably. They embraced and held each other for a moment. When she pulled back, she looked at Draco again, who tried to convey an air of cool, but thought he was failing miserably.
"You...you're...Draco Malfoy?" Draco smiled awkwardly, and stuck out his hand. She just stared at it, and so he withdrew it a moment later. Without saying anything she turned around,
"Molly! Molly, come quick! It wasn't a hoax!" She squealed. The little boy - Gideon - seemed to slink away, back to where ever he'd come from.
All the kids seemed to shift uncomfortably, and Emma even tried to sit down on the step, but a stern look from Draco stopped her in her tracks. Ginny turned around to look at Draco, with a nervous grin on her face, and tears streaming down her cheeks. Draco smiled at Ginny, who seemed to heave a sigh of relief.
The woman stepped out of the doorway to reveal an even older, graying woman, who looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Well, maybe that wasn't exactly the best analogy these days - Muggles just weren't as used to seeing ghosts as wizards, and Draco had picked up a few of their mannerisms.
The older woman reached out and leaned on the younger woman for support, looking as though she were about to fall over.
"Hi, Mum," Ginny squeaked. Suddenly the entire doorway seemed to explode with cries from all three women, tears and exclaimations, and even a group hug. Damon glanced up at his father for reassurance, but all Draco could do was shrug. Women would be women, and no man could help that.
After a few minutes, the loud exclaimations seemed to calm down, and the women separated.
"Come in! Come in! Come in!" Molly repeated, making Draco smirk a bit. When her eyes finally rested on him, though, they hardened a bit.
"Mum, stop," Ginny interrupted, "I'll explain inside." Molly let them in, and as they walked into the kitchen, Draco moved up next to Ginny.
"Who's the other woman?" He asked quietly, so no one else would hear. Ginny just grinned,
"Don't you remember Hermione?" She said. A switch in Draco's brain flipped and his face twisted into a surprised smirk.
"Mu --" he began affectionately, but didn't get the chance to finish, because Ginny smacked him on the arm. Hard.
"Draco Malfoy, I swear to God, if you even think about uttering that word in this house you are sleeping outside tonight." She said seriously. He put his hands up innocently, and then they realized how quiet it had gotten. When they both turned around, they saw four very amused kids and two very surprised women.
"I was afraid you'd say that," Molly whispered in disbelief while Emma and Damon snickered uncontrollably. Ginny shot them a glare, and they tried to control themselves, but they had trouble with it.
Draco looked up at the two strange women and smirked; Neither of them looked very happy to see him.
Molly poured three cups of tea, and the three women sat down. The kids looked up to Draco in confusion, looking for something to do, something to say - but he, too, came up short. They all just stood around, except, of course, Julia, who was trying to run around impatiently, every few minutes being stopped by one of her older siblings. Draco decided it was time for parental intervention, so he reached down and picked her up.
"C'mon, we gotta be good today," he whispered into her ear. She looked at him with her bright brown eyes and smiled. He smiled back at her, and she put her hand on his cheek, somehow realizing that her small hand was just as large as his cheek. He chuckled, and looked down at the other kids. He just shrugged, and Damon and Emma went back to their form of silent communication - it really was weird how they could communicate like that.
"Daddy, when are we goin home?" Izzy asked, fiddling with her robes.
"Not just yet," He replied.
"Why not?" She asked.
"Because we just got here." He said seriously. It wasn't until that moment that he realized that no one else was talking - they were all staring at him. Ginny in adoration and love, Hermione and Molly in surprise and something that almost looked like horror. "What?" He asked them, confused. Ginny just laughed and shook her head. Julia squirmed in his arms, and he just looked at her with a smirk. "Stop it," he said quietly. She looked at him, wide-eyed and curious, and just smiled again.
An awkward silence took over the room, and the kids took to fidgeting. Draco figured they really couldn't help it, but really wished that they had the patience of an adult. Izzy decided she didn't feel like standing up, so she sat down on the floor.
"Isabelle," Draco warned. Izzy just looked up and gave Draco an innocent smile - his stern look didn't seem to phase her at all.
"Isabelle?" Molly asked Ginny with tears in her eyes. Ginny smiled and nodded.
"Damon and Emma are eleven," Ginny said quietly, trying to control her breathing. Damon stepped forward a little and smiled, but Emma didn't until he pulled her next to him. "Alex is six," Alex followed his older brother's suit. "Izzy is four, and Julia is just over a year." She finished quietly.
"And they're...his?" Hermione squeaked. Both Draco and Ginny laughed.
"What? You don't think they look like him?" Ginny said with a quiet smile. Hermione blushed, but Molly was less than amused. She cleared her throat.
"Would you kids like some...biscuits? I made some for breakfast this morning." She said, trying obviously not to cry. Damon's eyes lit up and Alex shrugged. They both stepped forward, following Molly, who just stood up. Emma looked up at Draco, who nodded in permission, and she followed them. Molly led them to the other side of the room, and into the living room, where Draco watched them gather around a coffee table and dig into a plate of biscuits.
He turned back to the table, Molly had since come back, and just stood in the background.
The three women sat there for a few moments, anxiously stirring their tea.
"So...Professor Weasley...is that...is that you?" Ginny asked timidly, looking at Hermione. She blushed and smiled before nodding. "That's great...what do you teach?"
"Transfiguration," Hermione said quietly. Ginny nodded in understanding.
"That's great..." she repeated quietly. Draco shifted again, trying not to be noticed, but Molly did notice, and eyed him with an unidentifiable look on her face. It was now his turn to clear his throat and try to smile awkwardly.
Tears started streaming down Molly's face, and she just kept wiping at them with her hand. Ginny looked back up at Draco, unsure of what to do, and he just tried to convey some sort of sympathy. Thank Merlin he wouldn't have to go through this.
"Have...have you two...been together this whole time?" Molly asked through her tears, before choking on laughter. "Of course you have, Damon and Emma are so old..." Ginny blushed and hung her head.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked quietly, but pointedly.
"We...we lived as Muggles." Ginny replied. Molly nearly choked again, but caught herself.
"Muggles? How did you manage that?" She asked.
"Well, Draco worked --"
"He what?" Hermione interrupted, her eyebrows practically shooting off her forehead. Draco couldn't help but smirk.
"He worked - cooked --" Ginny tried to finish,
"He what?" Hermione interrupted again. Draco tried to supress his laughter, but he ended up just smirking again.
"Stop smirking," Ginny said. Draco's eyes bulged as he looked at the back of her head. He was standing behind her - there was no possible way she could've seen him, and yet she knew. She always knew when he was smirking - it was creepy. "Yeah, I know." She said, as if reading his thoughts.
"Merlin," he muttered, "I'm going to go check on the kids." He said, rolling his eyes. Molly and Hermione eyed him, but Ginny nodded. he retreated into the living room to find Izzy running all over the place, Damon and Emma playing a game on the couch, Alex sitting on the floor sulking, and Julia nowhere to be found.
"What are you four doing?" He demanded. They all froze and looked up at him. Izzy immediately turned around, though, and went back to what she was doing.
"Playing!" She replied. Damon, Emma and Alex, however, knew it wasn't that easy.
"Over here." He said firmly. "Now." Izzy made her way over to him slowly, and Alex stood up. "You guys need to behave, hear me? Where's Julia?" He heard a giggle come from behind the couch, and he leaned over. Sure enough, she was crouched by the end of the couch, and giggled delightedly when she was found.
"I'm sure that if we asked, Mrs. Weasley could get you some pumpkin juice --"
"I don't like pumpkin juice." Emma announced.
"Well then, you might have a hard time at school." Draco replied.
"I changed my mind. I don't want to go to this school. I want a Coke." She said decidedly.
"Emma, we're here now, and we can't go back. You can have a Coke sometime after your Mum goes shopping, before you go to school, but you're going to have to learn to like new things."
"But I like my old things!" She cried.
"I know," Draco said seriously, "but sometimes we need to move on and get new things." Emma sighed dramatically and sat back down on the couch next to Damon, who hadn't moved. He gave her a look that said she'd invaded his personal space, but she didn't seem to notice. "Now," Draco said, turning to Alex, "are you alright?" The little boy looked down at his feet and shuffled them a bit. He shrugged and looked his father in the eye.
"I dunno," he mumbled.
"Don't mumble," Draco corrected him, "I can't hear you."
"I said 'I don't know'." Alex repeated, annoyed.
"Well, what's wrong?" Draco prodded. Alex just looked around at his siblings, then back to his feet and shrugged. "Do you want to come in and sit with us?" He offered. Alex's eyes shot up and searched Draco's face.
"Sure," he said, obviously trying to contain his excitement.
"Alright, can you two watch Isabelle and Julia? The grown-ups need to talk for awhile, and Alex is going to come with us." Draco said to Damon and Emma, who nodded.
"Hey, Dad?" Damon began. Draco looked at him, "Can I have some pumpkin juice?" Emma made a retching noise, but Draco shot her a stern look just as Damon elbowed her, and the combination seemed to make her stop. She busied herself trying to get Julia out from behind the couch.
"Sure," Draco said, before walking back out, Alex in tow. The women immediately hushed as they walked into the kitchen, Molly and Hermione turning to stare at Draco and Alex, Ginny with a soft smile on her face. Alex went to stand by her, and she put her arm around him. He decided not to sit down, though. Draco felt the same - very much like a stranger, but wasn't going to say anything. Draco stood there awkwardly for a second before asking for Damon's pumpkin juice. Molly quickly obliged, taking it into him herself. Draco watched her go, and tried to warn her about Emma, but she'd already left.
"Be careful of what?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Emma hates pumpkin juice," Draco smirked. Ginny giggled,
"Oh boy," she said quietly. Hermione just took a deep breath and stood up.
"I have to go check of Gideon and Fabian, I'll be back soon." She said stiffly.
"Gideon and Fabian?" Ginny asked with a sad smile. Hermione just looked at her with a smile and nodded before wandering off.
"Mom, who's that?" Alex asked quietly as Draco took a seat next to her.
"That's your Aunt Hermione."
"Hermione's a weird name." He said matter-of-factly.
"Alex," Ginny said sternly, "I need you to be nice today, alright?"
"I know, I know," he said defensively.
"So what happened in there?" She asked. Alex just looked across the room.
"Nuthin." He said quietly. "I miss home." Draco marveled at Ginny's ability to illicit a reaction out of that boy. He couldn't do it if he tried, but she just had to ask one simple question. She gave him a hug.
"I know, me too. But we'll go back at Christmas, ok?"
"But that's all the way in December," he pointed out. She nodded.
"I know, but we gotta stay here. I'm sorry,"
"Where's home?" Came a sad voice from the doorway. Draco looked up to see Molly standing there, just watching the scene. Alex quickly moved out of the hug and stood up straight, and Draco moved to stand up, too. "No, no," Molly said, waving her hand at them, "Sit where you like." Draco hated being there. It was way too uncomfortable, and soon enough the males would be back, and probably for his blood.
But he sat back down. He smirked at the thought of what they would try to do if they all saw him sitting at their kitchen table...
"Thanks, Mum." Ginny said quietly. Draco took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. The kids were all there, and Weasleys liked kids, therefore...they wouldn't kill their father, right? Right. Plus, Ginny liked him. And they liked Ginny. Merlin, Mike's math skills were rubbing off on him...
"So you...you took good care of her?" Molly asked Draco quietly. Draco shifted uncomfortably. Normally he'd scoff, but...well, this was an honest question, and if he scoffed at that he'd probably get smacked - or worse, she could curse him now that they were back in the Wizarding World.
"Yes, Mum, he took good care of me," Ginny said with an amused smile. Molly wasn't as amused, she just sort of stared around and sighed, until her eyes rested on Alex.
"So you're Alex?" Molly asked the little boy quietly. He looked up to Draco for some sort of encouragement, and Draco nodded slightly. Alex turned back to his grandmother and nodded. He wasn't the most outgoing of the kids, and so he didn't say anything when the silence took over the room.
"I wonder where Hermione went," Molly said, clearing her throat and looking around.
Just then, Draco hearda few loud cracksand a few pairs of feet stomp in.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE!" Came a voice from the door to the kitchen. Draco whirled around and stood up to see a very tall, and very angry redhead glaring at him.
"Hello, Ron." Was all Ginny said.