I'm sorry it took me a while to update. I was having trouble with my desktop and had to take it to the shop to get it fixed. It must have something to do with it being 8 years old now lol sadly i don't have the money to buy a new computer yet so y'all would have to tolerate with me and my old computer. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Read and review, my lovelies!
Draco's stare hardened upon spotting Ron Weasley stomping his way towards them. The other Weasleys were already gathering near them, getting ready for any altercation that may happen.
"What in the world is he doing here?!" Ron all but roared, making Bill's spine stiffen as he protectively swept Fleur behind him with a slight baring of his teeth. Ginny, being the fearless girl that she is, met Ron halfway and started yelling at him. Ron of course, yelled back and started waving his long arms around in a display of frustration. His eyes mostly came back to glare at Draco and Hermione who were now surrounded by the other Weasleys.
Hermione closed her eyes and focused on Draco's tension filled body, trying to drown out all the hurtful things Ron was currently yelling. Her arms instinctively clutched Draco closer as she whimpered I love you to him like a prayer, hoping that her voice would at least soften the words 'death eater' and 'traitor' that were being yelled by Ron for all the world to hear.
"Sorry mate. We didn't know he was coming over. He told us he had an auror assignment until tomorrow." Charlie's voice was silent. Draco only nodded and hugged Hermione closer to him.
Ron and Ginny's shouting match was still ringing in everyone's ears when Ron made the mistake of lightly pushing Ginny who was now a few inches from his face. This of course sprung Harry into action. He determinedly walked to the two of them and stepped menacingly between the two Weasleys. In a hushed voice, he started to talk to Ron whose face was getting redder and redder with every passing second. He was still widely motioning to Draco and Hermione while arguing with Harry.
"Maybe I should just go up to him and get this over with." Draco said, making a move to disentangle himself from Hermione.
"No! You'll get hurt!" Hermione shrieked, keeping her arms firmly around Draco.
"You don't have to do that, dear." Molly said with a placating smile that was somehow ruined by her worried eyes.
"It's not your fault my son decided to be an arse today. He really is much better than this, I promise." Her eyes had a shining quality to them that was a mixture of apologies for Draco and a worried expression for her son.
"He's a death eater! How can you trust him? I bet you any minute now his death eater friends will come barreling through our doors!" Ron shouted at Harry.
Harry's response was soft but firmly said as he was still trying to talk some sense into Ron.
Draco's whole body tensed at the accusations. It seemed like no matter what he did, who he loved or how much time had passed, his past will always come back and haunt him and the ones he love. Hermione's embrace once again squeezed him tight while her eyes now sought out his. But Draco refused to look down at her. This was all his fault. It's his fault that Hermione now needs to choose between her friends and him. Hermione squeezed him once again, still trying to get him to look at her.
"Maybe you should stop talking to me and instead talk to Hermione about being a stupid bint and letting a death eater inside my house! What's next? Is she bringing his devil spawn of a son to meet mum and dad?" Ron yelled.
Draco moved out of Hermione's embrace so fast that she bumped into Fred and George, who thankfully supported her weight and helped her steady herself. Draco purposely strode to Ron and planted a punch right on his nose which knocked him to the ground. The air was thick and the silence was heavy as everyone stood there stunned at everything that had occurred. Draco had moved so fast that no one had seen the punch coming. They all thought it was going to boil down to an exchange of words and spells but Draco surprised them all by knocking out Ron in a very muggle and traditional way. Everyone only started to run towards the two wizards when Draco punched Ron two more times after he tried to rouse and sit up.
"No one talks about Hermione and my son that way. Especially not you, Weaselbee. You don't get the right to judge anyone as stupid when we all know you're the stupidest bastard around here." Draco whispered into a knocked out Ron whose face was now bloody.
The Weasleys immediately carted Draco off Ron, pulling him away a couple of meters as the women tended to Ron. It took the twins, Charlie, and Bill to move him away from the scene and into a chair near the table where they were supposed to have a nice dinner. Draco watched Ron in disgust and unbridled anger as Hermione tended first aid onto his stupid bloody face. His fists clenching and unclenching every few minutes, just waiting for Ron to wake up once again and open his godforsaken mouth.
After a few minutes, Arthur levitated Ron's still body into the house with Molly in tow. Hermione on the other hand, quickly made her way to Draco and knelt in front of him. She gingerly took his hands and muttered a quick spell to fix his bloodied knuckles, "Does these hurt a lot?"
Draco shook his head and clutched Hermione's face with both hands, drawing her in for a kiss that they both desperately need at the moment.
"I'm sorry I had to run to him first, love. My healer instincts just draw me in to the one who's more physically hurt." Hermione said with a kiss to his bruised knuckles.
Draco only drew her in for another kiss and devoured her lips to release his remaining frustrations. Their kiss was cut short by Arthur who cleared his throat loudly a couple of times to get both their attentions.
"i'm sorry to interrupt you two, but - uh - my son looks like he might need some more medical attention and you're the only healer around here at the moment, Hermione. Do you mind checking him up?" Arthur mumbled awkwardly.
"Oh! Of course!" Hermione shot up from kneeling on the ground in front of Draco with burning cheeks and fled to the burrow with one last squeeze of Draco's hand.
Draco sighed and ran his hand over his face, willing his anger and stress to go away. The male Weasleys are still with him loitering outside, probably just waiting for him to snap and look for Ron to once again pummel him to the ground. He cant really blame them, they are after all, the stupid redhead's brothers. Draco buried his face in both his hands, trying to get a grip of his anger. He had no idea how much time had passed when he felt a calloused hand on his shoulder. Draco looked up and was surprised to see a gently smiling Arthur Weasley.
"Don't be too hard on yourself now, son."
Draco swallowed and couldn't help himself but look at Arthur with wild eyes. He was still processing how this man whose real son he just punched was now calling him his son and is even trying to make him feel better about it.
"I - I shouldn't have done that, Sir. It was disrespectful and I should've had a better control of my temper. I - "
"Do you remember that time when I had to drag you away from that bloke in Diagon Alley?" Arthur interjected.
"What? When was that?" Draco replied confused.
"You were beating up a reporter for saying some very rude things about your family, and I, together with about 2 more men, had to haul you away from the sorry bloke. I think you broke his face." Arthur reminisced with a smile.
"We even apparated together to Hermione's house, which come to think about it, should've given me a small clue as to what was beginning to develop between the two of you that time."
Draco's face lit up with surprise, "You remember that?"
Arthur smiled, "Of course I do, lad. It's not everyday I get to see a father beat up a person for his son in broad daylight. Merlin only knows what the gossip rags had written about you after that incident."
"They weren't pretty things I assure you." Draco mumbled.
"What you did here today isn't any different from what you did that time in Diagon Alley. You see, I cant really fault you for protecting your son. I should be the first person who understands your perspective, considering that I have a whole quidditch team of children. And it isn't really your fault as well that my son has the manners of a troll sometimes. The things he had said about you and your family were downright disrespectful, and to be frank, I'm a little embarrassed. I really thought we taught him better than that."
"I'm still very sorry." Draco said awkwardly, not really used to having these types of conversations with a father figure. Merlin knows Lucius would rather break his favourite cane than start swapping emotional stories with his son.
"Don't beat yourself up about it too much, son. I'd really appreciate it though if there wont be any more punches thrown around."
Draco's cheek turn a bit pink as he nodded.
"Make sure to stay for dinner! Molly's cooking ribs!" Arthur chortled with one last pat on Draco's shoulder.
Hermione anxiously watched as Arthur and Draco talked.
"What are they saying." she whispered.
"Probably something about you being a busybody and watching them from the window." Ginny snorted.
Hermione threw a towel at Ginny's head and plopped down on Fred's old bed beside the one Ron was currently lying on which is probably George's old bed.
"Don't go dropping your arse on the beds like that! There might be some leftover Weasley wizard wheezes experiment there that'll explode at any minute." Ginny warned.
Hermione straightened and cringed at the thought.
"Oh look, dad already left your boyfriend alone. I guess they're done with their man talk."
Ginny wasn't even done with her sentence when Hermione was already pushing her aside to take a good look from the small window.
"Do you think I should go down there?" She asked Ginny.
"Oh I don't know, Hermione. Why don't we ask my bruised arm from all your shoving!"
"You're right. Maybe I should wait a couple of minutes. I wouldn't want them to know that I was spying on them." Hermione nodded.
Ginny rolled her eyes and sat down on a rickety chair near Ron who was still unconscious. His cuts and bruises however are already healing, thanks to Hermione's healer knowledge.
"What are Fred and George planning? Why are they approaching Draco? Do you think they'll hurt him? I'm going down there." Hermione wheezed.
Ginny gripped Hermione's arm and rolled her eyes once again.
"Calm down, will you? Let Malfoy have some male bonding time."
"But that's Fred and George!"
"Do you or do you not want Draco to be a part of the family?" Ginny asked.
"You know I do." Hermione huffed.
"Well then let him spend some time with the family! He's gonna be ok. He's a big boy."
Hermione took a big breath and tried to keep her heart rate down.
"You're right."
"Of course I am, dear. You cant really grow up with a houseful of boys and not learn a few tricks." Ginny winked.
"I'm sorry but we are going to do what?" Draco asked incredulously at the twin Weasels who are both smiling at him like jackals.
"We're going to wrangle up the bloody garden gnomes that's what." George said with a leer.
"The garden gnomes?" Draco clarified.
"Yes, pretty boy. The garden gnomes." Fred rolled his eyes, swung a long arm around Draco's shoulder and led him towards the edge of the yard which led to a patch with untrimmed grass. "It's quite therapeutic really. This way, you can burn the anger away."
"Mom hates the garden gnomes. They steal all the vegetables she plants all the time so we usually get the task of getting rid of them." George shrugged.
"Won't Hermione object to this uh - wrangling of garden gnomes?" Draco asked.
"Nah she won't mind. She hates those little buggers too. She knows they're a pain in the arse to get rid of and I think they used to tamper with some of her muggle clothes." George and Fred chuckled. "She'd wake up and some of her clothes are caked with dirt, sometimes some of them would even have vegetables wrapped inside them. I think the gnomes 'borrow' her clothes to store their food."
Draco couldn't help but smile at that as he imagined a red faced Hermione cursing little gnomes while wearing a mud stained shirt, shouting at the top of her lungs as blast upon blast of spells terrorise the gnomes.
"So, what do you think? You in?" Fred smirked.
Draco smirked back and nodded.
"Here we are!" Fred declared, throwing his arms out and spinning like a little girl.
They were standing on a meadow of some sort that was an extension of the Burrow's yard. The grass was unevenly cut and there were multiple holes the size of small bowls scattered around the ground. George pointed to one of the holes, "Those are their homes. We'll be luring them out with this." He brought out a small sack from a bag slung over his shoulder and tossed it to Draco.
A horrible putrid smell immediately accosted Draco's senses the moment he caught the sack. His eyes started to water. His nose was immediately arrested by the smell that it was the only thing he could breathe in, and for a moment there, although he might not be sure, he thought he heard a preening wail of a mermaid pulsing from one ear to the next, the sound bouncing around his head giving him a headache.
"What in the world?!" he all but screamed and quickly dropped the sack to the ground.
Fred and George smiled, "You like it? It's the new Weasley Wheeze Dung Bomb or the WDB if you will." Fred announced proudly.
"I refuse to believe that that is a dung bomb." Draco wheezed with his hand on his knees, facing away from the sack as he tried to get in as much fresh air as he can.
"You're right! It's not! It's a Weasley Wheeze Dung Bomb. We were supposed to test it out on you during dinner, but because of some events that just happened, we think that it will be more beneficial to use it this way." George shrugged.
"You were going to test it on me?!" Draco shrieked. "What is inside that thing? Is it even safe?"
"Well that's why we were going to test it!" Fred replied gleefully at the same time that George listed some of the ingredients in the WDB, "We have some mermaid tears in there, a couple ounces of bundimun we collected from a goblin's decaying abandoned house, all kinds of dragon dung from Charlie, and those are just some of the things in there!"
Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the twins, "What in Merlin's name possessed the two of you to create such a thing as that? Isn't the normal dung bomb enough?"
"Malfoy, I'm sure you wouldn't understand us through the snooty prude perspective you're using to view our product right now." George smiled. "But consider this through an entrepreneur's eyes! You own a lot of business ventures don't you? And I'm sure you understand the need to stir the waters of your business from time to time. You must be a pioneer to succeed in the business world! You cant just follow your competitors, that's just stupid and you're probably setting yourself up for failure if that's all you do."
Draco blinked and stared at the twins. They're actually correct. The business world is a very brutal playing field where your competitors are always looking for ways to terminate you whether in front of your own eyes or with a stab delivered at your back, and sometimes the best way to destroy your opponents and ensure your profit is to do some pretty crazy things. And well, if this dung bomb doesn't count as a crazy thing well he doesn't know what does.
"You may work with stocks and finance and all that boring stuff while we get to work with the fun stuff, but the idea's the same, Malfoy. To establish our brand and be the best in the business." Fred added.
Draco smirked, "You're right. That's actually a very genius way of dominating the market."
George and Fred whooped. "Alright! that's more like it! You ready to test it out?"
The twins didn't even wait for his response as they both scooped up sacks upon sacks of the dung bomb from the bag. "Here's the plan, blondie, we're going to be hauling these sacks of WDB into the small holes and wait for it to stink the place up, of course the gnomes will be running away from the horrible smell and out into the open where we -" George pointed at himself, at Fred and then at Draco "-will be catching as much of the stinky lot as possible. After that, we'll gather them into this sack, but if you can't get a hold of them long enough to put in the sack, well, that's ok too. You can just throw them already!"
"Just make sure you throw them really far so they won't be able to come back immediately." Fred added.
Draco watched with amusement as the twins went on ahead and demonstrated their carefully crafted plan. They took turns gripping the gnomes by their stubby legs and swinging them to the far side of the yard all the while laughing and joking.
After a few delightful minutes of messing around with his twin, Fred looked back at Draco who was still standing at the edge of the clearing,
"Well come on then, pretty lad. Let's put that blonde wig to good use and start throwing!"
Draco could only smirk as he lightly jogged beside the twins.
It was already dark when Hermione and Draco apparated out of the burrow and straight into the manor. Hermione couldn't help but smile at Draco who had a permanent smirk stuck on his face and smelled suspiciously of soil and dung bombs.
"Did you have a good time with the twins?"
Draco only shrugged, making Hermione smile even more. Draco shook his head amusedly at Hermione and silently opened the doors for her.
"Daddy! Mummy! Daddy! Mummy!" Scorpius came barreling towards them, running as fast as his little legs can carry him. He stopped in front of them and immediately approached Hermione.
"Where you go this time?" he asked while hugging Hermione's knees. "You did not pick me up from school today? why? I looked and looked and looked for you but you weren't there! But then I saw Uncle Bles and we went to eat a lots and lots of ice cream and played brooms and he took me to the big boy office! Daddy you smell like poopy!"
"We met with some friends, little Dragon." Hermione replied while hauling Scorpius into her arms.
"Friends? Is that what Draco called them?" Blaise smirked as he appeared from the same direction where Scorpius came from. Smirking all the while as he winked at her.
Hermione only rolled her eyes at the two slytherin men, "Draco actually enjoyed himself today." she replied smugly as she released am already squirming Scorpius.
Draco only scoffed at that which in turn made Blaise guffaw.
Hermione glared, "Of course he's not going to admit that out loud!"
"You two are a riot! I just love it when you two aren't being all loveydovey in front of me."
This statement by Blaise of course prompted Draco to bend his head and capture Hermione's lips in a brief yet hot kiss, making Blaise gag.
"Ok I get it, I get it! That's my cue to leave."
Hermione blushed shyly at Draco's kiss and tried to get away from his embrace.
"Go wash your whole body with some wizarding soap, Malfoy! I don't think your girlfriend would want to roll around in bed with someone who smells like shit. I'll se you guys later!" Blaise shout of goodbye was muffled by Scorpius' giggles as Blaise tickled his tummy on his way out.
"Remember our secret, little man." he whispered.
Scorpius nodded a couple of times while covering his mouth, "I won't tell." he stage whispered. making sure to let Blaise know that he wasn't going to tell.
"What secret?" Hermione perked.
"Nothing!" Blaise answered while keeping an eye on Scorpius.
Hermione looked to Scorpius for clarification, pouting in an exaggerated fashion.
"I'll be really really sad if you don't tell me, little Dragon. Do you want mummy to be really sad?"
Scorpius' eyes widened at Hermione's words. "No! I don't want mummy sad!"
"So you'll tell me?" Hermione wheedled.
Scorpius looked back and forth at Blaise and Hermione before blurting out, "We eat lots and lots of ice cream and no lunch!"
Scorpius immediately ran back to Hermione and hugged her, as if his hug will soften the blow of his confession.
Draco laughed at the whole thing and moved to pat Scorpius' back. Hermione on the other hand, glared daggers at Blaise who had his hands up as if surrendering himself to her wrath.
"I'm very sorry, mummy."
"It's okay, my dragon. The important thing is that you didn't lie." Hermione hushed.
"Uncle Bles said it's ok to have small secrets." Scorpius sniffled.
"Oh I'm sure your Uncle Blaise said a lot of things." Draco guffawed, earning a glare from Hermione.
"I was educating your son about life, Granger. Aren't you happy he has someone like me?" Blaise snickered while making his way to the door. Hermione only rolled her eyes as Blaise placed a small kiss at her cheek that made Draco growl, making Blaise laugh as he shut the door.
"I'd punch him in the nuts if he isn't such a good businessman." Draco hissed at Hermione's ear.
Hermione only giggled as she walked past him and into the kitchen with Scorpius still in her arms, "So when are you going to admit that you didn't have a horrible time today with the Weasleys?"
Draco sputtered, "What? Me? I didn't have fun. You're delusional."
"Liar, liar pants on fire." Hermione sang.
"Liar, liar pants on fireeee!" Liar liar!" Scorpius joyfully imitated. His voice creating harmony with Hermione's giggles.
Draco only rolled his eyes at the two of them, "I'm tired and I'm going to bed." he muttered as he placed a kiss on Scorpius' head and gave Hermione's arse a slight squeeze before climbing the grand stairs.
Hermione only smirked as she spotted a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes flyer hanging from his back pocket.
Tell me what you think! Drop by and give me a quick message or a review! I really appreciate them. I already have an idea for my next story and i hope you guys will stay with me and read it after this story is finished!
Love lots,
The Malfoys