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Chapter Eight: More Babysitting

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Draco couldn't believe that he'd been duped into babysitting once more. He wasn't very fond of the idea that he might flunk out on his classes because he was stuck babysitting pumpkin turned babies. But the strangest thing was, he didn't really mind. Dare he admit it? He liked taking care of the babies. They were so… cute. He chuckled at the idea of finding babies cute. But yet there he was, watching them as they played on a little rug. Aric and Leander were dressed in just their diapers, playing with toy cars and blocks. Lily of course sat by herself in the corner, stacking up blocks only to knock them down once more. Though the task was simple, Draco couldn't help but wonder how amused she seemed to be. He got up from his sitting spot, walking over to the little girl. He sat himself across from her, watching her as she continue to play. She stopped briefly just to look at him, gurgle, then go back to what she'd been doing before.

"Aw," Draco said quietly as he took her little hand in his. It didn't seem to matter that she came from a pumpkin. Draco couldn't help but notice the similarities between the infant and her "parents". She gently squeezed his finger. The action caused him to laugh lightly, genuinely and he was unable to stop himself from smiling.

From out in the hall, Ginny was making her way back to their little hideout. She looked around the hall cautiously before pushing open the giant doors. She stopped in the doorway, picking up on the sound of laughter. She peeked from where she was standing to find Draco seated on the floor, head thrown back as he laughed, Lily in the air while the two other infants clung to his legs. Ginny smiled, tilting her head to the side as she watched the scene before her. She'd never seen him looking so carefree before. She had to admit though, the whole thing puzzled her. Seeing him looking so… Normal and not hateful was strange. She could feel the heat rising to her face. She was about to step back when she realized that he'd stopped laughing and was now looking at her.

"Uh, hi," she cleared her throat as she walked into the room, setting her bag down onto the floor next to the door. He set the children down, walking over to the sofa to sit back down.

"Shouldn't you be in class, or something," he asked, his cold icy voice surprisingly warm.

"Well, when I found out that you got stuck babysitting again, I decided to help you out. I'll take over and you can attend your afternoon classes," Ginny replied as she whipped out her books to set them on the table.

He frowned at her. She frowned back. She knew he was trying to figure out if there was a catch to her generosity. I don't even know why I bother, she thought as she rolled her eyes at him.

"What, I can't be nice?" she asked him. "Don't worry Malfoy, this niceness isn't for very long."

He seemed to be mulling it over as if still unable to believe she was being kind enough to take over his babysitting shift. It wasn't really that he was surprised. He wasn't. He knew just how kind the redhead was if she wanted but he never once thought she'd be nice and kind to him. After all, he did nothing but torment her, not to mention insult her family. It felt… Nice.

"Why are you being nice, anyway? No one asked you," he sneered.

"Because, unlike some people, I'm capable of showing compassion, even to those who are complete total jerks."

Though it was routine for her to insult him, to call him names, a part of him felt hurt at her comment. He found himself frowning, the feeling wasn't going away. Granted, he was an ass towards them, but after all, he had a reputation to uphold.

"I'm a jerk," he couldn't believe how much of a baby he sounded. Of course, he should have known that Ginny would instantly pick up on this. She snorted with laughter before staring at him.

"Aw, did I hurt wittle Malfwoy's feewings?" she mocked before laughing some more. He glared at her, his hand immediately taking hold of his wand. He stopped, took a deep breath and swallowed whatever anger he was feeling.

"I'm going to class," he snapped curtly before grabbing his backs and walking out of the room in a hurry.

Ginny stood where she was, staring at his back as he disappeared from her view. The smile on her lips instantly died. The feeling of pure elation that she'd felt when she walked into the room was now gone, replaced with anger. Did she really hurt his feelings? But it seemed so impossible. He was mean, he was a bully, he loved insulting her… So why did she feel so bad? Not wanting to think about it, she decided to toss her thoughts aside and play with the babies.

***

Draco found himself having a difficult time concentrating. He could hear Snape's voice going on about what ingredients to use for a deadly potion. Normally he would have been paying eager attention to such a lesson (who wanted to miss out on the opportunity to learn a deadly potion?)but today he couldn't seem to focus. Well, he was focused but not on the lesson, but on a certain redhead that was caring for his child. Okay, so it wasn't his biological child but still… He couldn't seem to take his mind off the fiery redhead. He struggled to push thoughts of her away, but they came back every time. It wasn't his usual thoughts either of plotting ways to get her or torment her, but thoughts of her caring for that little baby. They'd only had the assignment for a small amount of time but it was clear to see that Ginny was (and would make) a wonderful mother.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape's stern, irritated voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," Draco mumbled, his eyes going back to his paper.

He found himself wandering the courtyard, trying to figure out what was going on with him. Why he felt the way he felt when he thought about what Ginny had said. A jerk. She called him a jerk. That was a normal occurrence so why did it bother him so much? Why did he care so much?

The sound of children's laughter brought him out of his well of thoughts. He looked up, looking around, the sound being familiar to his ears. He followed the sound, finding himself near the Forbidden Forest. He continued to follow the sound, finding himself hiding behind a giant boulder as he looked on at the pumpkin patch. There, with the three children, was Ginny, laughing merrily as she let the children roam on the grass. Though the idea of letting them run wild in the yard of Hogwarts for everyone to see, Draco didn't seem to care much that his child was rolling around in dirt. He couldn't keep his eyes off the redhead as she watched them, played with them, laughed with them.

Then suddenly his cheeks were burning up, the temperature suddenly becoming higher. He found himself grinning as he watched her play with them. She seemed to be a natural. Not wanting to be caught watching her from behind some bushes and be given the wrong idea, he pulled himself away from the scene, ready to head back to the castle. It was then he felt his foot hit a twig, snapping it in half. The noise wasn't noticeable, usually but the grounds were so quiet that it caused Ginny to look up. She frowned, walking over toward him. Desperate for a hiding place, Draco quickly stumbled back, only to fall on his butt. He looked up at the redhead who seemed to be trying to figure out what he was doing on the ground in the first place.

"Malfoy," she asked with a frown. He blinked at her extended hand. Reluctantly, he took it, letting her help him up. "Are you alright?"

He didn't look at her, not wanting her to see just how red his cheeks were now. He hadn't even let go of her hand yet. He cleared his throat, brushing himself off. He pretended to look around for the children while she remained standing there, staring at him like he'd just crawled out of a spaceship. He looked… Different.

"Well? Are you okay?" she asked once more.

He simply nodded. "Wh-where are the kids," he asked, playing aloof.

"Don't worry they're safe, playing in the pumpkin patch," Ginny replied. It felt so awkward to be with him without the others. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class now?"

"I should be, but I'm not," he retorted. He calmed himself. "I just… I was checking up on you. Look, it's…" he quickly shoved his hands in his pocket. "It's my turn to watch the kids so… Go attend your classes, alright? Potter got me fair and square so, it's only right I do my part."

She blinked at him. "Are you… Being nice?" she drew away from him.

"Yes I'm being bloody friggin' nice. What's it to you?" he snapped. He sighed. "S-sorry…" for the strangest reason he didn't want to hurt her, or upset her.

"Well," Ginny found herself smiling. "I admire the chivalry, sir, but… it's alright. I can handle three munchkins on my own. Besides…" she looked away, shifting from one foot to the other, "I wouldn't want you to flunk out."

He blinked at her. Now it was his turn to smile. "My, Weasley, I swear if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're concerned about my grades, which means you're concerned about my well being?"

"Oh shut up," she rolled her eyes. "We already established that earlier!"

And they found themselves cracking up. It was halfway through when Ginny realized that Draco was laughing, a genuine laugh. She stopped abruptly, listening to him. As much as she would have hated to admit it, she loved the sound of his laughter. She'd never heard him laugh out in good spirit so to hear it for the first time was mind boggling. She watched him. His eyes were scrunched up, his hand on his knee as he was slightly hunched over, body trembling with laughter. Realizing that he was the only one laughing now, he stopped. He looked at her, surprised to find her smiling at him widely. He straightened up, putting on his usual scowl.

"What?" he demanded.

"You should laugh more often, even smile," she said quietly.

He blushed, looking away. "Whatever," he stared hard at the floor.

"Aw," Ginny cracked up once more, poking Draco on the side, causing him to twitch and move away. Though she couldn't see, he was clearly trying not to smile.

***

"Look at 'em Harry, it's disgusting," Ron nudged his best friend as they watched the scene not too far from them. They had gone back to the room of requirement after classes only to find it empty so they had set out to find them. They had been expecting Draco to be there with the children, not Ginny. So when they saw them together, Ron found himself baffled while Harry looked on amused. He shook his head. "What's that prat think he's doing anyway? Trying to make a move on my sister is strictly forbidden, I mean, really! He's a Slytherin for crying out loud."

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a bunch Ronald," Hermione's voice said from behind them. "It's quite… Cute."

Oh, great. I've had to deal with these two make moon eyes at each other, now I have to watch my sister and that prat do it to each other, Ron made a face. "Disgusting."

"So, what are you two doing here anyway?" Hermione inquired as she peered over their shoulders at the redhead and the blonde. "Aw."

"No, no! Not "aw"! It's "gross"!" Ron ranted.

"Oh lighten up," Harry replied with a smile. "He's not so bad, you know…"

"Not so bad? NOT SO BAD? How can you say such—"a hand clamped over his mouth and he looked up to find Hermione glaring at her.

"Keep it down or you're going to get us caught!" Hermione snapped at him.

"But…" he whined as soon as her hand lifted off his mouth.

"Hey, Ron," Harry cut in, "they've got desserts in the great hall. Why don't you go take a look?"

And before anyone could say anything else, Ron bolted off. Hermione laughed only to stop suddenly when she found Harry staring at her.

"'Mione…" he said uncertainly, "since Ginny's got the kids… Maybe you could help me study for my potions test tomorrow?"

"Of course, Harry," Hermione said with a grin. "I'd love to!"

And the two left the other two to sit in the pumpkin patch and enjoy their time alone together.

Author's Note:

Can you believe this? I've updated! It's been almost a year, once more. And I'm keeping my promise. I WILL finish this story! So anyway, I thought the story was lacking in one on one moments so I figured I'd add some. What do you think? I hope I haven't lost half my readers (though I probably have) but I promise I will update again soon. PROMISE!!

Now... ONTO NEW STORIES!

Please leave a review.

Thank you.