A Bill's Bill

Chapter 4: Brothers

Everything is owned by JK Rowling, all I own is the plot. Enjoy! - C

Unknown Forest, Sunday 7:00 PM

After what felt like an eternity Draco was tossed roughly out of the portkey and into what tasted like mud. He scrambled up wand out ready to defend himself. He paused to survey his surroundings. There were tall thin trees that were not familiar to his homeland, England. The trees were white and stood proudly amongst the many varying bushes with berries and some with small spiky purple flowers. Upon closer inspection of the flower, he realized it was actually a rare thistle commonly used in specific energetic potions. Professor Snape had privately shown his godson how to brew an energetic potion to help him stay awake during his fifth year at Hogwarts when his nightmares about the coming war had started. He still brewed the potion once a week. It wasn't the potion that bothered him, it was that he had to specially order the thistle from it's native Canada once a month. What the bloody hell was he doing in Canada?

Frustrated he kicked a rock and cursed to himself. After rubbing his toe, he looked up at the night sky he could barely see from between the trees and saw that the moon was high. He shivered and wrapped his robes tightly around himself. It was silent with no life around him, not magical or muggle. He bent down and picked up the bag for Weaselette. He would need to find them in order to deliver their dire medication. He flicked his wand to cast a Lumos, the light flickering through the darkness around him.

Homeo Revelio

Little lights swirled around him and then lit a path for him to follow. He stumbled while he walked trying not to get his robes dirty. He was exhausted and tired. He kept walking until he was thirsty and paused to burrow deep into the medicine bag hoping there was something to drink in there. Knowing Pip there was probably a full meal in there, and to his stomach's happiness, there was. He took a sip from the water in one of the many canteens and pulled out a pulled beef sandwich, his favorite. There was enough food under stasis to feed fifty people for several weeks. He leaned against the tree and paused to eat the sandwich. He was putting the canteen back in the bag when he saw a folded up letter addressed to him in his mother's elegant handwriting. He placed the bag gently on the ground between his legs before opening the letter.

June 10, 1980

To my dearest Draco,

Hello, my son, my love, and my life. I was watching you sleep peacefully on your cot when I realized that I had to pen this letter should anything ever happen to myself. You aren't even a week old and I know this letter is premature but it is of the utmost importance that it reaches you. Please, my son, do not panic. Sit and read this letter in its entirety before you react. It is imperative my son, that you not share the contents with anyone but yourself, me, and should I not be alive your Godfather, Severus. Should the contents of this letter be shared with the wrong ears it could mean the death of our family and everyone else in this letter. To date, your father is not aware of this letter or the secret I have been harboring from him.

You see, your father and I were an arranged marriage. It was not the most romantic of affairs but he was kind to me from the first time he met me and has never denied me anything I have asked him for, nor has he ever strayed from me. It is one of the reasons this secret I harbor weighs on my heart and my conscience. Before your father and I met your father was in love with another woman. It was before the war started. I hope you do not know of this war and that your innocent life is untouched by the death and misery of my time, my darling boy, but based off of the visitors in our home this morning I do not think the war will be over soon. The woman your father loved, she was a pureblood on the other side of the war. Her family was systematically killed because of their allegiances. The only reason she's alive is that your father would anonymously warn her Order of the Phoenix whenever she was targeted. He sent a warning to her this very morning thinking I did not notice. I did my love, when you get older Draco you will understand that we all make sacrifices for the ones we love. Some sacrifices are small like overlooking silly quirks or bad table manners and other are far greater with depth and consequences. I would commit the highest of treason for you and your father and he the same for you and me.

I am not ashamed of the fact that your father was in love with another woman. Since our marriage, he has never strayed from me and I don't think he ever would. Everyone has a past Draco and no one is perfect. This woman was married to another wizard several days before my marriage to your father. The morning of our wedding there were several incidents that had your father involved in. He was kind and compassionate when my family, the Blacks were not. It was the first time I had truly met him and to be honest I was quite taken with him. After he left my room I began to re-apply my makeup when a girl my age tumbled through the Floo in my room. I was going to scream but I could see the despair on her face and I held my tongue. I knew who she was, not in relation to your father, but I knew of her family. My sister Bella was outside the door so I put up several silencing charms. She sat down on my bed and began to cry. She told me of her love for my husband and how she broke his heart to protect him. She told me of her marriage several days earlier and that she had found out the morning of her wedding that she was pregnant with my fiance's child.

Yes, you have a brother, an older brother. She broke down in front of me and begged me to help her. She was terrified that her son would appear on the Malfoy tapestry or our ancestral books and that when it was discovered, your father would be branded a traitor and his life would be in grave danger. She was terrified that the Death Eaters would take her son and kill him. Before she had sat down I had resolved myself to ask her to leave until she cried about Death Eater's killing her baby. I know Death Eaters. I was raised around them and they would not hesitate to kill a baby, even that of a pureblood. My own sister was being turned rotten inside by her lack of ability to have children and it was a fear I held until the day you came into this world.

I sat down and promised to help her. Honestly, I don't really know what I was thinking but I felt fiercely protective over this small ginger pregnant woman. She said her husband knew and that she had told him before the ceremony shortly after she had found out. He had begged her not to leave him and wanted to keep the boy. He had made an unbreakable vow to raise the boy as his own and love him as his own. I was shocked when I heard this. Initially, I was planning to keep the boy. I had already planned on faking a pregnancy with your father and then taking the boy when he was born to live with us. The Malfoy's would have an heir whether I could produce one or not. This was what I told myself, but I had already fallen for your father and I did not want another father abusing my husband's child because he was not his by blood. But this man, this man was willing to name this boy as his heir and as his son, regardless of his heritage. I needed to meet him. I needed to verify this.

I asked Molly (that's her name) to get her husband and hurry back. His name is Arthur Weasley, a pureblood. I remembered him from Hogwarts. He had been a Prefect and he was always kind even to those of the Slytherin house. People used to tease him that he should have been sorted into Hufflepuff. We spoke for a while about their concerns. Molly was adamant that she did not want to tell your father about their son. There was no way he could claim him and it would only cause him heartache to know he had a son he could not see or approach. I understood where she came from and I truly wanted to help them. In the short time they were in my room they felt oddly like extended family. Molly had gotten a little worked up over details pertaining to safe houses so we had her rest while Arthur and I plotted the safety for the rest of their son's future. Molly's brother's had a safe house in Canada that had a few wards up that could keep their baby safe if ever the need arose. They had both been killed so the safe house had been turned over to Molly.

I agreed to go and ward the place properly several days after the wedding with Arthur. Molly was having a difficult pregnancy and Arthur and I agreed she should rest. We were running out of time and I needed to finish my makeup and fixing my dress that had been torn. We agreed we would need to speak again but in secret. Do you remember how I said there was a war and that we were on opposite sides? Well, you may not know this my love but you have an aunt. Her name is Andromeda, she married a muggle-born and was therefore removed from our family. She was my older sister, she taught me my first makeup charm. She taught me how to ride a broom. She was my sister and I loved her but I was forbidden from ever speaking to her from the day she ran away and eloped with Ted Tonks. Arthur told me that she and her husband were part of their Order and already had a daughter, Nymphy. They even left me with pictures that I glamoured as fashion magazines. I keep them on me at all times. Andy had an elf named Pip. We had agreed that Pip would be our go-between for us in case there was ever an emergency or for us to finish getting in touch about the safe house. Arthur had remembered how advanced I was at Wards and Charms and we decided that the two of us would go to the safe house and ward it properly. We also agreed on hidden portkeys in our home in case we needed to get away quickly and Pip was not available.

The last thing we had to fix was their son showing up on any tapestries or ancestral books. I appeased Molly that as a Malfoy I could change the Tapestry and ward Bill from ever being added or recognized. I had planned to do it that night after your father went to sleep, and I did. I had been writing out a letter to Andy when Bella started banging on the door. They left quickly after Molly fixed my hair and dress promising to see me soon. They hugged me and hurried out so I could pretend I had fallen asleep in my dress. When Bella barged in with my father you would never have known that they had been there just moments before.

Your older brother William Arthur Weasley (they call him Bill) was born on November 29, 1971. Molly gave birth to him in the hidden cottage in case he came out with your father's white hair. It was a trait that was only found in the Malfoy line and she was terrified that he would be born with it. He was miraculously born with the ginger hair that Arthur and Molly both had. He was an adorable baby like you. I would visit him and Molly in secret until he was about a year old. My sister Andromeda Tonks would come to the cottage as well. I could not meet little Tonks because although she was two she was very bright and her parents were scared she had an eidetic memory. I would never mind wipe a child and my sister agreed. Ted usually watched her during our visits, what I would have given to have met my niece. I did get to meet Ted several times when she was a friend's homes but never little Nymphy.

Your father was so busy with his death eater duties and running the Malfoy empire he barely noticed that I was missing. When he did notice my absence he simply respected my privacy and did not inquire as to my whereabouts. He has always been blindly faithful to me. It breaks my heart that I have kept Bill a secret from him but I cannot risk the fallout. Your father is an honorable man and it is often the wife's burden to help her husband 'behind the scenes' if you will. The reason I pen this letter is that I fear that the war your father and I are involved in will pass on to you. I fear that you will meet your brother Bill on a battlefield and I fear that one of you will harm each other. I fear that your father will hurt Bill. I fear other death eaters will. I don't think I could contain my reaction should something befall either of my son's.

Now, little Bill is ten and will be starting Hogwarts soon. He has five younger Weasley siblings all, like you who have been added to the wards that I put up around the cottage. I fear that this war will only get worse and that I will need to send you to the safe house to protect you not only from people that want to harm our family but from our friends as well. I hope there is an end though I do not see it. You are my shining light and my love. I know that you may be angry with me for keeping this from you and from your father as well. I have no excuses for what I did except that I did what I thought was right at the time. Should you be reading this letter it is either because I sent you into hiding for your safety or because the Dark Lord found out about your brother and wants our family punished. I beg you to stay until it is safe to return. You are the love of mine and your father's lives and we only want the best for you. I love you Draco.

Be discreet like the Malfoy in you and strong and brave like the Black that you are,

Love you always,

Your Mother, Narcissa Malfoy

PS.

Should you need Pip you can summon her even though she is Andy's elf. Arthur, Molly and myself are all bound to her. Should our family perish she would go to the Weasley's and watch over Bill since we already have Dobby to watch over you, my darling boy.

Draco's entire body was frozen in shock.

A Weasley. A damn sodding Weasley?!

Abruptly he felt his sandwich make a reappearance. After heaving the contents of his stomach into a nearby berry bush Draco leaned flush against a tree. His mind was jumbled and confused. He wrenched open the water canteen again and rinsed his mouth out before dumping the contents over his head. The cool water gave him some clarity and he was suddenly able to form coherent sentences.

Bill Weasley.

He had a brother? He had a brother.

Bill Weasley was his brother? Half Brother at any rate, but a brother nonetheless. A Weasley, it couldn't have been a Parkinson or Nott. It had to be a damn red-haired, freckled Weasley? His previously absent thoughts were now all shouting and swirling around his head as he tried to settle his mind so he could properly comprehend his mother's letter. Was it possible she was mistaken? Was this some trick or test from the Ministry? He sat down in the mud and began a series of spellwork that would put Curse Breakers to shame.

A half an hour later left him cold with sweat and shaking hands. It was real. His mother had spelled it to only be able to be opened and viewed by him. Anyone else would simply see a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake, a cake his mother detested, his mother had the oddest sense of humor.

He folded the letter and pocketed it into his robes. His abrupt evacuation from his home now made more sense as was the fact that he got a Patronus from Mr. Weasley in his home. A Patronus could not get past the wards, his mother must have added the Weasley's. At the time, he had been so concerned for his parents that he hadn't stopped to think that it was odd that Mr. Weasley's Patronus had not only made it through the wards but his mother had recognized it.

He was broken out of his reverie when he heard a loud thrum coming from above him and he ran for cover. As he waited the noise grew in pitch until the very ground rumbled in fear, the anticipation making Draco's heart beating so fast he wondered how it did not beat out of his chest. Panicking he stood up and ran. In a universe plagued with fight or flight, he chose flight. Blindly stumbling over roots and bushes trying to get away from whatever was coming after him. He tumbled down a hill and into the backyard of a small cottage where his little tracking lights had settled in front of.

He looked up to see a great silver winged monster flying over and passed him. Except it wasn't a monster. It was a great bird of pure silver that was leaving a trail of black firey smoke in its wake. He had never seen or heard anything so terrifying. It must have been a rare species of dragon indigenous to this mainland. He would research Dragons from Canada when he returned home. Shaking, he cleaned his robes off with his wand and let himself into a gated cottage. If he was about to meet his brother for the first time he wanted to make a good impression. He smoothed his hair as well and walked up the path to the front door.

He was almost at the front door when he heard it. Moaning and creaking. Repetitive moaning and creaking that Draco was oh, to familiar with.

"Fleur!" He heard a male voice shout.

Draco felt his face heat up. No... No... No...

"Bill" A feminine voice shouted. Draco bolted from the door terrified of being caught. Why did the most ridiculous things happen to him? First, he finds out he has a brother than not five minutes later, he gets invited to a front row seat to his brother attempting to make him an uncle. He grumbled as he went all the way to the front of the garden and sat down on a bench he conjured. He could still hear them but it was muffled by the distance. He sat seething at his life in general, trying to figure out where everything had gone ridiculously downhill.

He clenched his eyes shut as they got louder, in hopes that maybe Merlin was listening somewhere and would grant him a wish of temporary deafness. After several minutes of them still going at it, Draco remembered he was a bloody Wizard and put up a silencing spell. Honestly, at this point, he wasn't sure if he should be impressed or annoyed. He sat and began working on the details of the bench he conjured adding intricate designs and swirls into the dark wood. It was a good way to get his thoughts in order while keeping his hands busy flicking his wand back and forth. When he was satisfied that he was done and he no longer felt the need to hurl objects at people he removed the silencing charm. All was quiet so he walked up to the house and opened the door, his wand tucked safely up his sleeve.

Simultaneously, Bill and his wife jumped up their wands pointed at the blonde and well-dressed intruder. His stormy grey eyes peered around their refuge as if he was in some sort of animal pen. Bill squared his shoulder's to block the pale atrocity if he tried to make a go for Ginny or Victoire. Fleur had her wand pointed at him ready like he was, to kill for their family. The smarmy git hadn't even drawn his wand. Did he even have one? Of course, he did, how else would he have gotten passed the Wards. How the hell did he get passed the damn wards?

"How did you get in here?" He barked. Malfoy looked at the two of them his eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Same as you I suspect." He said in a bored tone as he inspected his perfectly manicured nails for dirt that was obviously not there. "You know my mother is quite the dab hand at wards. It surprises most people. It was the reason the Dark Lord stayed in the Manor during the war, he knew it was as impenetrable," He winked at them giving them the one over. "as they are at Hogwarts."

Fleur went scarlet and Bill had to physically stop himself from hexing the smirking ferret into an oblivion. His vision went red for several seconds and he felt his skin tingle as if he was about to change into a werewolf, even though he knew that it was impossible. Shit. Just how close was he to the full moon? He mentally counted in his head. Fuck Fuck Fuck. Tomorrow. The Full Moon was bloody tomorrow.

While he didn't actually transform during the full moon he had gained many lupine traits, enough that he generally stayed indoors and away from people close to the moon. He spent most of the time locked in his office doing a lot of work at home, either for Gringotts or the books for Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. Fleur called his mood swings 'Moodier zan ze Mad-Eyed Moody.' Since the smallest of things would set him off in a furious rage, like his papers messed up or finding Weasley Wizarding Wheezes products in his home before or after they combusted. Fleur always assured him she didn't mind the mood swings, she was used to them. She had gone to an only girl school and was used to raging hormones and mood swings once a month. He was generally a very passive person and never got violent unless he had no other choice. The war had been difficult on him, with every battle he felt like he lost a little bit of himself. When it was over he had regained quite a bit of his equilibrium back but he had developed an unhealthy habit. Whenever he was upset he would get quiet and isolate himself. It definitely wasn't a healthy tactic but Fleur had assured him repeatedly between his moods swings and his personality, he basically matched that of a fourteen-year-old girl, something she was very familiar with.

Still, no matter how many visits to Saint Mungos or how many times healers assured him he would not turn he was terrified that one time he would. He would turn and murder his whole family. The realization that he was essentially caged before and probably during a full moon in addition to the fact that he was on the run made him anxious causing him to disregard his usual calm nature. His fingers tightened around his wand itching to hex something or someone that wasn't a loved one. Fleur squeezed his arm in an attempt to calm him down. It worked, mostly.

"Monsieur Malfoy..." Fleur started. She stopped as Malfoy waved his hand dismissively at her.

"Draco, please. We're more than acquaintances at this point." Fleur's face turned a deep dark red and she stuttered, trying to get words out. Fucking Merlin, what had the slimy git walked in on?! Better question when had the git walked in?

"How long have you been here Draco?" The only reason he wasn't shouting was that he didn't want to wake Ginny or Victoire.

"An hour give or take." Draco shrugged. Bill swore colorfully and Fleur put her head in her hands cursing in French.

"I didn't see anything. I was walking up the path when I heard... well, I cast several impressive silencing charms and waited out outside." Fleur picked her head and sighed.

"Thank Merlin." Muttered Bill. He felt himself deflate a bit, he hadn't been going at it that long and if Draco had heard outside that meant that if Ginny was awake she might have heard. He rubbed his temples feeling a headache start.

"I conjured a lovely bench you might appreciate..." He looked pointedly at Fleur offering his hand.

"Fleur Weasley" She smiled reaching out her hand. He placed a chaste kiss on it and then let it drop. Bill was oddly amused and Fleur looked even more embarrassed than before.

"Thank you for discretion Draco." He nodded politely.

"I was raised better than what the War portrayed my family as." He said bluntly before walking over to the sitting chair and sinking gracefully in it. Bill sat down in the chair opposite him eyeing him warily. He was dressed for an upper society event, so he was probably just at dinner with his parents, and looked as tired as he felt. Bill sank into a chair opposite him trying to look at ease with what was essentially his half-brother. The two sat in silence staring at each other, while Fleur hovered. He wasn't sure when it dawned on him that Draco was his little brother but when it did he found himself staring at him with curiosity and a mixture of something else he couldn't identify.

Fleur excused herself to make tea. Combinations of grey and white and ginger and green stared at each other in defiant silence. They could not have been more different. The seconds ticked by as Fleur hummed to herself in the kitchen. Abruptly, Draco began to sweat and his face flushed as if something had just dawned on him. He jerked violently upright from his chair and began to furiously pace the rug. His face was covered in panic and Bill was honestly starting to get alarmed.

"Draco. What's wrong?" He stopped his pacing and stared at him blankly. He opened and closed his mouth twice but nothing came out. On his third try his voice was sharp and his words jumbled all together that Bill had a hard time making them out. After a patiently raised eyebrow, he repeated himself.

"You're a Malfoy." He choked out. He was standing in front of him, his feet planted evenly in front of him and his hands on his hips. It was a defensive stance.

"Huh?" He began to rise when Malfoy started to babble.

"A Malfoy. I mean, you're our father's son. So you are a Malfoy, not a Weasley. I am younger than you. You are older. You are not the Weasley heir, the other redhead is. You're the Malfoy heir, not me. I'm not the Malfoy heir. I'll be tossed out onto the streets with my mother. No one will take us in. We're twice a turncoat. How will we eat? Mother won't have cloaks or shoes or food or-" He bolted out of his chair and gripped the boy firmly by his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

"Draco! Calm down. No one is forcing you out into the street. Besides, I'm not a Malfoy. I'm a Weasley, I think." What was his family going to think when they found out. Oh, god. Ginny was never going to talk to him again. Charlie probably couldn't care less, George as well. Percy was always a coin toss. He rubbed his temples with his fingers, at least he knew Ron still loved him. He thought fondly to the letter and Ron's. He did not need to stress about this now. He needed to worry about Ginny recovering, keeping his family safe, and apparently stop this blonde kid from hyperventilating about his mother's apparent unhealthy shoe and cloak obsession.

"You think?" Bill raised an eyebrow at the boy. Really? He was going to pester him about family ties now? When he chose not to answer and simply raise an eyebrow Draco continued.

"Well," He said impatiently tapping his foot, "Which is it?"

"Why does it matter?" He replied calmly. "What are you trying to ask me?"

"Do you plan on taking my inheritance? The Malfoy name? What do you want?" Draco demanded.

"Why would I want to be a Malfoy?" Bill replied calmly.

"We have more gold than..." He smirked at his already angry brother.

"Don't finish that sentence. Besides, gold isn't everything." Draco looked at him with a puzzled expression. He backed away from Draco and collapsed into the armchair. He needed more fire whiskey.

"I lost my little brother in the war, Fred. No amount of gold can bring him back. Trust me. Gold isn't everything." He was aware his voice broke when he said Fred's name. It always did. Draco managed to gain some composure and to his credit, he actually looked mournful.

"I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better I spent most of my years at Hogwarts avoiding those two. Whenever our paths crossed I always walked away with some sort of catastrophe that usually got me in detention with no idea how or why I was there."

"Really?"

"Yeah, once I had green wax pouring out of my nose for a week, another time my eyes turned purple. Oh, the funniest was when he dropped something down Crabbe's shirt during detention. He had elephant ears for a month."

"Why is that the funniest?"

"No one noticed a difference." They both burst out laughing.

Fleur walked over to them a tray in hand, laden with tea and crackers.

"Sorry. This is all the food we have."

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot, here this bag had medication for your sister. Pip also put a ton of food in there too." He handed the bag to Fleur who put the tray down on the coffee table. After rummaging through the bag she removed some sandwiches and cakes and placed them on the table. Then she emptied the contents of the medicine bag onto the floor and took inventory of everything there. Swishing her wand she excused herself and disappeared into one of the last rooms with the potions floating ahead of her. They sat quietly drinking their tea and eating sandwiches, neither wanting to disturb the healthy silence that blanketed the cottage.

Several minutes later they heard quiet murmuring from the door Fleur had gone into and the door open. She slipped out quietly closing the door behind her. Bill leaned forward and reheated Fleur's cup of tea. She looked exhausted as she padded over to the carpet. Her long blonde hair had, at some point been in a bun but it had mostly slipped out and was lying down her back. Her clothes were rumpled and stained in places. It looked as if she had been cooking or playing in the mud before all of this had started. She settled down on the floor at Bill's feet with her tea and a sandwich that he offered her. Draco noticed that Bill had taken out all of the onions and pickles for her and had wrapped the sandwich in a napkin. She smiled appreciatively at them both as she ate. Once she was finished her sandwich she turned to Draco.

"How are you handling all of this Draco?" She asked kindly as she sipped her tea.

"Honestly, not well at first but thanks to," he gestured at Bill, "his endurance I had some time to think about it all. I have come to terms with most of the things, some things will just need time to settle."

Fleur nodded at him as they all sipped their tea in what had started in a comfortable silence. He noticed Fleur glaring at Bill over her teacup and rolling her eyes towards him. Bill squirmed for a bit and then started to splutter.

"So, umm..." Fleur glared. "how is umm..." Fleur put her teacup down and raised one eyebrow at her husband. "...work?" He threw his hands in the air and Draco laughed at how Fleur managed Bill. His mother managed his father like that and he hoped one day he found a woman who would boss him around.

"I'm a Malfoy, I don't work. I am, however, doing alchemical research as well as deciphering several alchemical manuscripts from a tomb in Egypt." The Weasley's both sat up, intrigued.

"You're looking into immortality?" Bill was leaning forward on his hands his eyes sparkling with interest. He wasn't being derogatory, he was genuinely intrigued.

"No. I am actually looking for a cure for an illness a close friend has. The mediwitches at Saint Mungos say they can't reverse the illness. I want to change that."

"I am sorry for your friend. I am trained in France's MediWitch practices if you need anything..." Said Fleur solemnly. He nodded at her respectfully.

"She's one of the kindest people I know." He whispered. His chest tightened and ached whenever he thought of Astoria. They had been at a gathering on Christmas at the Manor and after hearing one too many passive aggressive comments about the war from extended family members, he decided to seek refuge in their vast library. He had found her in the corner behind a seldom-used bookshelf on Gnomes sobbing into a bottle of firewhiskey.

He had grown up with her older sister Daphne who was reserved and cold. To say he was shocked with her contrasting behavior would be an understatement. He had gone over and sat down on the floor with her gently coaxing the bottle out of her hands. They sat together for a long time together as she cried about never being able to have children as a result of a familial curse. He spent the night sharing the bottle with her, listening to her fears, and swearing to never tell a soul. She had begun to lay her head on his shoulder as they sang silly lullabies to each other.

As the sun rose early that morning, he was contently holding her in his lap as her head rests on his chest, sleeping through her sniffles and drunkenness. He had surprised himself by not caring about her sobbing until his robes were soaked or that she was behaving unseemingly for a Pureblood witch. His only concern was not to move lest he wake her from her slumber. His mother arrived in the library at about seven and smiled softly before leaving again. She returned several minutes later with a blanket to cover them with and two hot cups of tea spiked with Sober Up Potions under stasis charms.

He had flooed her home later that morning and alarmed her entire family in their pajamas at breakfast. After reassuring her tense father that she had simply fallen asleep in the library and that no he was not offended by their lack of formal attire, he bid them a good day and went home. He had then spent the rest of the day and half of the wizarding world of Britain's parchment trying to ask her to tea. In the end, his mother had pity on him and sat down with him while his father smirked over their shoulders inviting her to tea the next day in Hogsmeade. She had been mortified and spent their entirety of the tea apologizing for her behavior. He had finally told her that he would forgive her behavior if she would go out with him again. She had blushed and kissed his cheek before hurrying back into her house. To both of his parent's amusement, he had whistled around the house the rest of the day.

They had begun to have tea weekly and corresponded daily. Sometimes the correspondences weren't anything of substance, often he would just send her a letter saying 'Hi' or 'Thinking of you'. Or she would send him a pretty flower she found or a new book on Herbology that she enjoyed. He had even contacted Longbottom to ask him some questions about gifts to purchase for a Herbologist. Longbottom had known immediately known it was for Astoria. He had made several suggestions for gifts as well as dates and wished him the best of luck. He had also revealed that Astoria confided in Longbottom about harboring a crush on him during school. He had already taken her to all the places that Neville suggested and then some. He enjoyed spending time with her and hearing her talk about literally anything. It was why two months ago he had made the trip to Egypt in search of scrolls pertaining to Alchemical cures for infertility and genealogical curse breaking.

It had taken him two and a half long weeks and he hadn't told anyone, even his parents why he had gone. When he arrived back home he had gone straight to her home to see her and formerly requested her hand in courtship. He had realized on his trip back that he didn't want her to think that he would only pursue a relationship with her if she could provide heirs. He had yet to tell her about the scrolls but he suspected she knew, that had correspondent almost every day while he was in Egypt. Everyone was very impressed at his 'random' find in the tombs in Egypt. His parents were simply glad that he had a hobby to occupy some of his time. It was something he could boast upon during social events. They had been throwing a ridiculous amount of social events in the Manor as of late. They were worried that his social status was on a decline because he was spending too much time with Astoria and his best mate Blaise and not any other members of higher society. The fact of the matter was that he genuinely cared for Astoria and he wanted to get to know as much as he could about her. The curse was something Draco invested a lot of time in because it upset her and he would do anything in his power to stop her from feeling the despair she did whenever she thought of her future.

His thoughts were halted like the Hogwarts Express when he saw Bill and Fleur with humongous smiles on their faces opposite him.

"What's her name?" Bill asked with a smirk that reminded him of his father. He gulped and lowered his eyes. In for a penny...

"Astoria." Even he could hear his voice soften at her name. The Weasley's looked like Christmas had come early. They were clearly enjoying the show.

"What's she like?"

"Kind... soft spoken, way too good for me." He laughed to himself. "She always has treats lying around if I had a stressful day. I swear I don't know where she pulls them out from." All three laughed.

"I am sorry for her illness. She sounds like a wonderful woman." Bill nodded respectfully.

"I would love to meet her someday, Draco." Fleur nodded and Draco nodded back. Bill and his wife were good people, he was lucky to have them.

"Do I know-" Bill started. A piercing shriek caused him to jump and to draw his wand. Neither of the Weasley's moved as he brandished his wand around the cabin searching for a clearly irate banshee.

"Victoire." They groaned simultaneously.

"Who?" asked Draco who had lowered his wand staring at them.

"It's your turn," Fleur said quickly.

"No, It's your turn," Bill said stubbornly arms crossing his chest.

"I went last time." She retorted.

"Yeah but I changed all of her nappies yesterday." Fleur rolled her eyes at her husband. At the second insistent shriek, Bill looked at his wife pleadingly.

"She's going to wake up Ginny."

"Rock, Paper, Scissor?"

"Not that muggle game again." Groaned Fleur at the next shriek Draco covered his ears. He quite literally had no idea what was going on.

"What in the bloody hell-"

"Oi!" Bill smacked him on the head as the shrieking persisted. "Don't use bad language around your umm... niece." Draco's hands dropped from his ears immediately.

"I have a niece?" He asked in shock.

"Yup. Why do you think we look so tired all the time. It's not the sex, I swear." Despite the ruckus she was making, they both smiled.

"Will she like me?" Both Weasley's both snorted.

"She's not even one and a half yet. If you take her out of bed and give her chocolate, she'll love you. Obviously not that she needs chocolate in the middle of the night, but generally speaking." Draco looked at them hesitantly.

"May I?"

"Merling, yes!" Bill shouted. "She's all yours. Especially between the hours of One AM and Seven AM."

Draco walked cautiously towards the room that the ungodly noise was coming from. He gently pushed open the door to see a little blond head standing up on the bars of a cot. Her eyes were blue and filled to the brim with tears. They quieted as soon as he entered the room. Unsure of what to do next he lit the candles around the room. He stared at her curiously wondering what he was supposed to do. He took a step towards her and she lifted her chubby wet fingers out for him. He had seen people holding children at the Hogwarts Express and he was frantically trying to remember the right way to hold the tot.

"Up Up," She said impatiently. Draco rushed over entranced by her sweet little voice. He gently placed his hands under armpits and hoisted her out of the cot. Her hands immediately went around his throat and he thought for a second she was attacking him. Then he remembered that she was a baby. She buried her wet face into his shirt cleaning her face. He could feel his heart melting with every wipe of her face.

When she was done cleaning her face she leaned her head against his chest. She was so tiny Draco was scared she would break. His heart broke for Astoria knowing what she had to go through. She had confessed to him that often when she slept the last thing she thought of before she went to bed was her dream for children and when she woke up the first thing she thought of was the same as before she had gone to bed. He had even seen her doodling the word barren several times on a paper once. He had incendio-ed the paper when she had gone to the loo.

Looking up at Draco, Victoire poked him in the chest.

"Yum. Yum." She demanded. He remembered Bill saying she liked chocolate. He summoned a bar he had noticed in the basket from Pip. He ripped open the top and gave her a piece. Her entire face lit up as they shared the bar. She giggled as he face and fingers quickly get covered in chocolate. She wasted no time sharing the smeared chocolate all over his face and his robes. He smiled and licked the chocolate she had spread all over his face.

"Yum. Yum." He laughed licking his lips for any leftover chocolate. She clapped her hands and copied him.

"Yum! Yum! Yum! Yum!" She shrieked with laughter and licked the chocolate off of her fingers.

"Draco! What are you doing in there? Did you drop her? If so, don't tell my Mum! She'll freak," He heard a chuckle, then a slap, followed by an impressive usage of French profanity from Fleur. It was hard to follow her sometimes, she slipped in and out of English so often. He was definitely glad his mother forced him to learn French. He cleaned off the chocolate from Victoire and tickled her belly, he had seen someone do this to a sibling at Platform 9 3/4s. She giggled and hugged him close. Carefully checking to make sure he didn't trip on anything while holding her he walked out of the room towards Bill and Fleur.

They were both sitting on the Fleur with several soft toys in front of them. He noticed that they had moved the couches and that there was a foamy blue residue on everything in the room with a sharp edge. The Kitchen and the fireplace had a gate and a repelling charm.

"We figured you gave her chocolate. Let her toddle around and burn off some energy."

"I should just put her down?"

"Yup. We covered anything dangerous." He looked around at the suddenly foreboding room. Why were the fireplace pokers left out so anyone could grab them? It was irresponsible that's what it was. He hesitantly set her down next to the toys earning an approving smile from her parents. After checking in with her parents she scurried off. They sat and watched her toddle around knocking her toys into things and giggling to herself.

It took all of ten minutes for her to get tired. After she managed to knock over two chairs, pull out mostly everything from the basket from Pip, throw all of her toys over the foam and into either the fireplace or the kitchen she retired to the rug where they sat. Bill was in the middle of the story of how he and Fleur met when Victoire's eyelids began to close her thumb firmly in her mouth. Bill smiled at her and picked her up snuggling her close. She opened her eyes and kissed her father.

"Mama" She yawned.

"Alright, Victoire. We're all done playing. Time for sleeping." She picked up the half sleeping toddler and hugged her close.

Fleur ran a hand along her husband's shoulders and kissed his cheek.

"I am going to sleep. Good night love. Good night Draco."

Draco stood and bid her good night. He only sat back down once she was in her room with the door closed.

"We should check the wards to see who else your mother added to them." He murmured. Draco nodded at him and followed him outside. The night was gone and the sun was rising over the treetops. They worked together silently repairing and adjusting the wards.

"You know I begged my parents every day until I was nine for a brother. Every damn day." He shifted Fleur's head and stared at Draco amusedly.

"Why did you stop?"

"My dad said I could make brother's at Hogwarts so I tried to get him to let me go to Hogwarts earlier." He shrugged as Bill smiled.

"I also begged to go to Hogwarts earlier but that was because I was trying to get away from siblings. Ironic really, I spent every day missing them. Mum was terribly worried because I wrote letters to everyone every day. It took until the fourth year for me to cut down to a week."

"Wow. I didn't realize you were so family oriented."

"They're my best friends as well as my family. I'm not sure how this is going to change everything but I love them as much as I did before I knew about any of this."

"I'm sorry," Draco said solemnly. He nodded in response.

"We should check on Ginny. She should be mostly healed."

"What happened?"

"She got splinched." Draco winced.

"Can I do anything, Bill?"

"No. Thanks though. Before Fleur moved here she was almost done her MediWitch training in France. I think she's fine."

"She didn't finish?"

"No, you need a sponsor for the last two years and she was hoping to make some money working in Gringotts before she could get a sponsor. She met me instead." He smiled happily to himself. "Can't say I'm disappointed."

"She never wanted to go back?"

"The war happened so quickly after that we never had a chance to discuss it. I think maybe when Victoire's a little older we can think about it." He nodded wondering if it was the time or the money that was a problem. When this was all over he would talk to his father about sponsoring Fleur and getting her some help with Victoire.

"So how do you feel about being an uncle?" Draco felt his face light up.

"She's..." He struggled to find words to describe the little creature. His mind flashed to sticky fingers, giggles, and wet hugs. He had just met her but he felt fiercely protective of her. He tapped his chest absentmindedly.

"I know. I feel it too." They smiled at each other and headed inside.