Author's Note:
Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It was much appreciated especially after my endless delay. Now that the seventh book is out, this isn't going to have anything to do with it but…oh well.
Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter. I just had to get the Zambinis invited. Blaise is one character that is so easy to make into your own. Thanks again. Please do review after this one!
Chapter 17
Saying that the invitation of the Zambini family was received with shocked silence is a bit of an understatement. Molly had quickly muttered that she needed to sit down. Charlie and Bill had hardly been fazed; yet again they had no idea who these two people were. Arthur Weasley had a vague idea that the tension of the evening was going to increase to an unbearable level. Percy's lips were yet again pursed though his anger wasn't as prominent as it had been previously. Ron's eyebrows had raised, yet as Harry had, he understood her reasoning for doing so. Fred and George however were infuriated.
"WHAT?!" They yelled, their little sister cowering slightly before drawing herself up.
"Both of you, grow up. I know you hated them and blah blah blah but Blaise and I were friends in his final year as was he with Draco and Hermione. I thought it fitting that Draco have somebody familiar apart from Hermione and myself present. Besides, Hermione is ecstatic as well."
Needless to say, Hermione was indeed ecstatic. She had turned to her husband with a brilliant smile on her face and her cheeks had become increasingly flushed. Her friendship with Blaise had continuously developed over the year and he had soon become as close to her as she was with Ron or Harry. Pansy had been a perfect delight to her too, never once trying to come between herself and Draco. She had realised at least half way through their sixth year that she didn't really care for Draco anymore, well not more than friendship, and her other male friend, Blaise Zambini, was just what she was looking for. In the end, Hermione had opened up to the girl who gave her advice on Draco while Hermione helped her to get the Zambini from the 'charm' of Sally-Anne Perks.
Draco grinned back at his wife. There was going to be another two people who he actually knew coming, and from the sounds of it the pair had gotten hitched. Kissing Hermione lightly on the cheek he turned to the rest of the family and though not too surprised, was quite taken-aback from the glum faces that met him.
"I still think you're bleeding mad." George muttered.
Ron grimaced. "Gin…quite frankly he's right. And I know that the Zambinis are close to Mione and Malfoy but inviting them here isn't the smartest thing." Ginny frowned; her usually slow and short-tempered brother was showing her up.
"Yes yes, well it's a bit too late for that now anyway. They'll be here any moment now."
Ginny had been quite correct in her assumptions as no sooner had they reasoned with the Weasley men to be kind to the family did the fireplace light a bright green colour and out stepped, or stumbled, seven grinning people.
Blaise's tanned face was lightly flushed with excitement, his sapphire eyes gleaming with anticipation. His raven hair had been tousled in the trip and he quickly flattened it before glancing around the room. His excitement diminished momentarily under the glares of the Weasley men but it was soon flared when he recognised a certain blonde man and his partner in the corner.
Pansy had stepped out beside him, her blonde hair messing up slightly. Her reddish yellow eyes gleamed out as she spotted the couple she was searching for. Together, the Zambini couple rushed forward. Pansy latched herself onto a laughing Hermione while Blaise grabbed his long-time friend in a crushing, shameless hug. Ginny grinned at her work, muttering 'poof' at the ex-Slytherins.
"Hey!" Draco exclaimed lightly while Blaise's eyes lit up.
"I'm no poof, love, though I'd be weary of Draco here. That hug was a bit too close for my comfort." He joked before turning and thanking Molly and Arthur for the invitation knowing full well that they had nothing whatsoever to do with them being there. Quickly he hugged Hermione warmly, kissing her cheek lightly as Pansy made her way over to Draco.
"I see you've been quite…busy." Hermione commented, glancing at the five children that nervously stood at the fireplace.
Blaise stepped back quickly, before moving back to his children. "Ah! Well Pans and I married shortly after the war so now it's been six years. Introduction time. Oldest to youngest; Raven Zambini, female, six years of age; Drew Zambini, male, five years old; Taylor Zambini, male, four years of age; Elliot Zambini, female, three years of age and last but most definitely not the least, the little one carried by her loving sister is Cameron Zambini, female, two years old. Quite fortunately, there will be no more products from the Zambini Company." He said, jokingly.
Charlie, Bill, Ron and even Percy smiled warmly at the man. "This fellow is hilarious!" Ron stated before marching up with a grin and a firm handshake. Molly smiled warmly, embracing the man and his wife before cooing over the children. They were all adorable. Surprisingly the boys all had their father's hair but their mother's golden red eyes. The girls on the other hand had blonde hair and eyes that shone like the blue stones they resembled.
Calling out loudly, Draco summoned the other children into the room. "Right. Well Hermione and I have three with another on the way. Aaliyah and Jayden are our twins; they're both four years old now. Liam-James is currently our youngest at just one and a half years. And we have a girl on the way. We'll call her Destiny."
Harry and Ginny in turn introduced their little twins, Lily and James, who flashed quick smiles before grabbing the hands of the new children and rushing away. Fleur introduced her and Bill's little daughter, Quiterie, the name which had belonged to her very own grandmother. Charlie proudly presented Frankie and Brian, his daughter and son. George had two sons, David and Peter while Fred had just one son, Thomas. Percy had three sons, more than any of the Weasley clan so far; Christopher, Nicholas and Alexander. Ron and Lavender hadn't yet had any children but were surprised and uneasy when they heard that they had triplets on the way.
Grinning lightly, the children all ran into the playroom calling their parents to come and join them. Pansy smiled lightly before turning to her friend. "So Mya, you need to fill me in on everything."
The beginning of the meal had been filled with the chatter of Blaise, Pansy, Draco and Hermione. The others had been either aware of the blatant tension or knew that speaking would result in them saying something wrong and hence quite a bit of chaos. By now however, the dinner table had fallen to complete and utter silence, the occasional word being spoken to Molly as a way of congratulating her on the scrumptious cooking. With a frustrated sigh, Hermione turned to the vivacious blonde woman that was seated across from her. "Katie, it is such a pleasure to see you again after such a long time! So you've married Fred, hey?"
Katie had put down her cutlery and quickly responded to the girl that had been her friend in school. Ginny sighed gratefully, having become frustrated with the near awkward silence and picked up a conversation with her friend's husband, on none other than the impending Quidditch World Cup. Before long, the women were happily chatting with someone, Fred and George glaring at the table as they ate quickly. Blaise was conversing brightly with Percy and Angelina (George's wife) about the affairs at the Ministry while Pansy, Pansy Parkinson of all people, was talking to their father and eldest two brothers about all sorts of Muggle equipment.
Something was dangerously out of shift here and whatever it was, they weren't all to pleased with it. Blaise glanced over and them before grinning lightly. "The Mischievous Twins…I've been wanted to see you guys after your spectacular exit with Umbridge but alas, the Fates have kept us apart." He stated, in his usual joking manner. His smile diminished when he noticed just how unappreciated his comments were. Raising his eyebrows lightly, he quickly turned back to his previous companions and resumed his discussion with them.
The table had fallen into a comfortable light chatter when a shrill yell came from the table that had been allocated for the children, "DADDY! DADDY!!!!!" Aaliyah was seated, staring angrily at her food, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "I CAN'T CUT MY MEAT!" She said, seeming quite upset. The table soon fell silent, the Weasley twins carefully studying the man. Hermione had said that he was a loving man now but the one that they had known would never put up with such 'insolence'.
Draco quickly put his cutlery down and placed his napkin to a side, before going to his waiting daughter. He rubbed her back gently, calming her down and removing the tears from her small face. Once he was sure that her sadness had ceased, he cut the turkey into small bite sized pieces before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "M-Mr. Malfoy?" A small and timid voice came from George's older son, David. "C-C-Can you cut m-mine too?" He asked shyly, his face a beet red colour. "I-I'm having a b-bit of tr-trouble."
George's interest in the happenings had increased tenfold as he almost fell out of his seat in concentration. He didn't want that man anywhere near his son and he most definitely didn't want him inflicting prejudices against the boy.
Draco smiled widely, ruffling the boy's already-messy hair. "Sure thing, kiddo. You don't need to be nervous to ask, it's very common for boys your age to be unable to cut their meat. I couldn't until I was eight!" He exclaimed, sticking up nine fingers into the air. His actions earned him small giggles from the children around him as they pointed out his mistake. "Oh no!" Draco continued. "Oh how silly am I!" The children giggled with him before David held Draco's hand and thanked him earnestly. "No worries, buddy. I'm here to help whenever you need it." He replied before returning to his seat.
The Weasley clan were all staring agape at the Malfoy man; though a man of his stature surely wouldn't act so harshly against a child his sudden change had caused them a lot of shock. Angelina and Katie both leaned over and grasped Hermione's hand. "You sure have a keeper, Mione! Gosh he's adorable and great with kids!" The former said, a great blush coming to Draco's face.
Katie grinned at his reaction before indicating to the twins. "I mean seriously, look at what we were stuck with." The table laughed lightly with them before falling into a comfortable chatter yet again. Glaring lightly at all the people around them, Fred glanced over at his twin to his right. George was already watching him. Grinning softly, they nodded once to each other. Nobody made a mockery of them and got away completely with it and the mockery was the fault of bloody Draco Malfoy.
Ron looked up, noticing the sneaky looks that his brothers sent to one another. He knew he really should've done something but nevertheless he would get endless entertainment from whatever the twins had up their sleeves and there was no way he could be blamed for it. After all, nobody knew that he was quite aware of the happenings.
"Ahem…Fred…could you please pass the potato salad?" Draco asked, his voice taking on a rather nervous tone. Fred grinned at the man, replying that he would delight in passing him the potato salad. George slipped him a small tablet, Fred slipping it in as he passed the bowl to the ex-Slytherin.
Molly smiled warmly. Her boys and the boy of Hermione's dreams seemed to be getting on well, finally. Later she would muse that the enthusiasm that Fred had shown was completely out of character as was the formality of his words and that it was easy to see that something was up. But the gaiety of the atmosphere of the dinner had pleased her and she wasn't thinking quite straight. "Draco dear, would you be a dear and pass the salad after you've done with it?" Draco quickly halted in bringing the bowl to himself, serving the elderly woman before scooping the salad into his plate. He noted with some discomfort the alarmed faces of the two twins.
Molly Weasley began to babble on how gentlemanly Draco's actions were in serving her first before him. It was the true signs of an elegant upbringing, she said, he was the perfect gentleman and the boys would do well to learn from him. Seemingly pleased with her short lecture, she took a spoonful of the potato salad and ate it. The Weasley twins fell silent as her face contorted strangely. "FRED! GEORGE! WHAT DID YOU PUT INTO THE SALAD?!" She yelled; her face turning a purple as the rest of her body became a blue hue.
The rest of the table fell to a complete silence as all the adults stared at the angry woman. A small giggle came from the kid's table, where Thomas was grinning softly. "Daddy going doooowwwwnnn!" He said with glee, clapping his hands together gently. This was accompanied by the comment of Bill's little girl; 'Nana's gunna kick your ASS!" The rest of the table fell into soft giggles, as the generation above them tried to stifle their smiles. That is, they all attempted to hide their smiles excluding of course Ron and Blaise who simultaneously burst into fits of laughter. Molly jumped from the table; "TWINS! FOLLOW ME NOW!" She yelled, storming from the room.
With a pathetic, mournful glance at the other occupants of the table, they followed their mother. Within seconds the table had followed the lead of Ron and Blaise and too had burst into laughter.
George and Fred had returned to the table rather sullenly, Molly storming in a while later her skin to its normal hue. Much to Draco's amusement, not only were their faces flushed slightly red but their ears were both a burning colour. Charlie let out a bark of laughter at their appearance before stuffing salad leaves into his mouth. This however didn't work and the leaves flew out of his mouth onto Bill's plate as he burst into laughter again. Fred and George scowled at their brother as did Bill, who was disgustingly flicking the salad leaves from his plate and onto the floor beside him.
Sparing a glare at her sons, Molly vanished the rest of the potato salad from the table. "I'm just glad that it wasn't you, Draco dear. I should've known that these two boys were up to no good! I'm utterly sorry." Draco smiled delicately at the infuriated woman.
"Oh no, Mrs Weasley. It's quite alright." He said, smiling softly.
"Alright?!" Blaise yelped out. "HAHA! That's the day. If it were Draco, the two boys would be in hospital by now." Yet again, Blaise yelped out but this time from the pain of Pansy jabbing her fork into his upper thigh. Smiling delicately at the occupants of the table, she continued on as if nothing had occurred.
Smirking at the pair, Harry smiled. "You know…I don't think this is going to be half as bad as I thought…actually it's turned out much better than I ever hoped for." Hermione gave her friend an amused glance, smacking his head lightly before turning back to Percy and starting up a quick conversation with him. Before long, the friendly calm had returned to the table…that is, save the two twins.
Near a half hour had passed without event and Charlie Weasley had accompanied his glee at the relative happiness of the evening with a lot of FireWhiskey. Needless to say, he was in extraordinarily high spirits. "What they say there in the Mintr-Minsee…no wait…Minsty is that the capabrity that is dipl-disgr…displad by a Mulg-Muggborn shows us highly of their detrimention…no…determinan that they've got in'em." He muttered happily to a highly amused bunch of people, stumbling over his words horribly.
The only two that were far from amused were Fred and George. Their eldest brother was making a fool of himself in front of three people that had blatantly seen themselves as far superior to him less than ten years ago, not to mention they barely knew these people. With a small glare, the two Weasley twins nodded to each other. George slowly rose from his seat. "If you're playing another trick, I will really hurt you George or Fred Weasley, whoever you are," his mother warned with her voice oddly low.
"I'm just trying to get the chicken, Mum! Jeez!" His voice held exasperation, causing not only Molly Weasley but her husband to believe him. Reaching gently past the plate of roast chicken as his twin diverted the attention of the others, he slipped a small tablet into Draco's goblet. It fizzed slightly, the pumpkin juice turning green for a split second. Smiling softly he grabbed the plate and brought it closer to himself. Draco turned to him and seemed to eye him suspiciously before shrugging. Giggling at Fred's antics, Ginny turned back to her food. She stuck her hand out, reaching for the goblet on her left.
Fred and George's eyes widened with alarm. They had thought that each goblet was to the right of the person. Glancing down the table, they noticed two goblets on Hermione's right; one hers and one Draco's…Meaning he added the tablet to the wrong drink! Fred thought with distress. He nudged George heavily, the other twin attempted to distract the table once again, but they were too late. Laughing at her brother yet again, Ginny held a firm grasp on the goblet, hindering any opportunity Fred might have had. She took a large swig from her goblet before placing it back onto the table. Her eyes widened, as she began to cough violently, choking on her drink. Draco looked concernedly at her, hitting her gently on the back. She seemed to choke before coughing up two fat slugs.
With an angry screech, Molly and Ginny jumped up. Arthur sighed angrily, his high spirits plummeting, before rising as well. "TWINS, NOW!" He yelled, storming out of the room with Molly and Ginny, the twins in tow.
As soon as they left, giggles arose from the children's table. "Mummy's going to KILL Uncle Georgy and Fred!" An excited Lily exclaimed. Taylor Zambini's eyes widened incredulously, "Will she REALLY kill them?!" She was quickly sedated by a reasoning James Potter who knew much better than to joke about death and killing, his dad hated it.
The adults however were paying no attention whatsoever. Draco stared bewildered at the slugs before turning to Harry who was seated opposite him. "Coughing Slugs; the Weasley Twins' latest treat…inspired by Ron's incident in our second year." He answered quickly. Draco coughed nervously, glancing over at his wife. Her face was solemn and annoyed.
"Come with me." She muttered angrily. "Harry, you and Ron too." Hermione grabbed Draco by the hand before whispering to Fleur and Lavender to make sure the children were preoccupied.
Author's Note:
Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter. The next one is definitely my favourite. Please review!