Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the story line...sadly. JKR owns everything - including the characters, spells, and the entire world of Harry Potter. I wonder if I could buy it from her for a dollar?
Thanks to my wonderful, wonderful beta - dragonsangel68.
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Chapter 7
"Merlin! Ginny! That IS GORGEOUS!" Hermione screeched from her side of the booth in the Three Broomsticks.
"Isn't it? I thought it was just the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen before in my life."
"It's just beautiful, Ginny. Have you told your parents yet? I'm sure they'll be thrilled. No, wait, have you told Ron yet? He's going to have a fit. It's all well and good when his little sister is dating Draco Malfoy, but I'm sure, in fact, I know that Ron thinks you'll grow out of this-oh, what does he call it? Oh yes, a `phase.' Yes, that's it. `Hermione, stop getting all teary eyed over Draco and Ginny. She'll have him out of her system soon enough. He's just a phase. When she does leave him, please don't cry over them breaking up, too.'" Hermione mocked.
"He really said that?"
"Yep, he said that at your party here yesterday. He's just being an arse because of issues he's having with Luna."
"Why is Luna being testy? Ron is such a git, but Luna is a little too-flaky, shall we say, to notice. I would have thought they would have ended up together if not just for process of elimination." Ginny stated logically.
"Honestly! She is dating your brother! One person can only take so much! Enough of that though, have you thought any about the wedding?"
Ginny pondered the question for a moment. "Well, I suppose Draco will go along with whatever I want, but I'm sure his mother will have to put her two cents in-and my mother will have to put her two cents in-is it too late to just elope? I'm sure we could run away to America. I'm also quite sure there is someplace in America that could marry two wizards in a quick and speedy ceremony."
"Of course there is! My cousin lives in America and she says there are these wedding chapels in-well, I can't remember where they are, but they will marry you for somewhere around $100 American dollars and it doesn't even take an hour. Oh! Please, Ginny, don't do that! I want to see you and Draco get married!" Hermione started to tear up. "See, see what you made happen! Now I'm crying! Damn hormones!" Hermione stared down at her stomach and blurted, "I can't wait until you come out of me! I'm tired of being fat and having stretch marks and blubbering at the slightest thiiinnnggg-"
"'Mione, it's alright. I'm not getting married in Muggle America! I'm going to get married here. You know I could never get married without all of my family and friends. It would kill my father if I didn't let him see him only daughter get married."
"Hermione? What's wrong?" Harry bellowed.
"Harry! What are you doing here? This is supposed to be a girl's only lunch." Hermione said.
"Love, I just wanted to check on you and see if you were alright. Obviously, you're not. Now, tell me why you're crying." he said while he slid into the booth next to his pregnant wife.
"I wasn't crying, Harry. I swear."
"Yes, you were. Now tell me why so I can fix it. Did your shoe come untied again? Or was it the fact that you don't have any knuts to spare the homeless wizard outside? Maybe it was that a piece of your evil hair fell in your face? Wait, Ginny, did you let her read the Daily Prophet? If you did, then we've got a whole other set of possibilities as to why she's upset."
Ginny was trying hard to contain her laughter at Harry and Hermione's exchange. One would think that Harry was patronizing Hermione, but he wasn't. He kept going on about how her hair just wanted to irritate her and how her shoe came untied just to spite. It was ridiculously cute. Harry obviously knew how to handle a pregnant woman.
"Alright, Harry. I'm fine. I swear. My shoes are tied, nothing fell out of my purse, and I haven't read any current event publications. I promised you I wouldn't do that anymore until the babies came. Honestly!"
"Then why were you crying?"
Ginny felt the need to save her friend. "Harry, she's crying because she thinks that Draco and I are going to run off to some town in Muggle America."
"Gin, why would she think that?" Ginny flashed Harry the ring Draco had put on her finger last night as soon as Harry finished his statement. "Whoa. That's a whopper there. Draco proposed, eh?"
"Harry, you don't look the least bit surprised." Ginny was slightly perturbed by this. Half the fun of telling everyone you were getting married was everyone being excited and aghast when they found out. Harry had just popped her proverbial bubble.
"I guessed."
"How did you guess, Harry?" Ginny stared at him pointedly.
"Because Draco Malfoy threw up while talking to Arthur Weasley."
"Ooooh! He told me that he'd tell me all about it later, but he never did. Actually, I guess he did in his own way." Ginny giggled. "Do you two want to come over to The Burrow later on tonight? I think I'll floo Mum and tell her to round everyone up."
"Sure." Hermione said. "Can you ask your Mum to make me some pumpkin pie? I've been craving her pumpkin pie."
"Sure, let me go floo her. Can you get the check from Madame Rosmerta and we can do a spot of shopping before dinner tonight?" Ginny asked.
"I'll get the check, you ladies go on ahead." Harry gave Hermione a peck on the cheek, a peck on her stomach, and a swat on the tush as she walked by him to follow Ginny out of the Three Broomsticks.
"Harry!" Hermione admonished.
"I can't help it. My wife is bloody sexy."
---
It had all started so innocently. Ginny had asked Hermione shopping after lunch and now it had come to this.
It was the weekend, and Draco was sitting in the flat reading one of his favorite novels enjoying having the open windows to let the uncharacteristically warm Spring breeze waft through the flat. He was momentarily disturbed when an owl he didn't know swooped in and perched on his armchair.
"What in the bloody hell-"
Draco opened the letter to find Ginny's neat handwriting greet him.
Draco-
Went shopping with Hermione. We need your assistance urgently. Please come to Flourish and Blotts. Please remember that I love you.
-Ginny
Draco pulled on clothes and headed out the door in record time. Ginny hadn't said what it was she and Hermione needed help with, but the possibilities were running through Draco's head at an astonishing speed. The most upsetting to him was that something was wrong with Hermione and they couldn't get a hold of Harry. What is something was wrong with the babies? His walk became a light jog as he rounded the corner of their flat and headed towards an Apparation Point to get to Diagon Alley.
--
He never could have imagined what lay in store for him.
Draco arrived at Flourish and Blotts only minutes after he'd left the flat. He looked around for Ginny and Hermione but was unable to find them.
"Ginny!" he yelled.
"Draco? We're over here!"
"Over where, love? Is everything alright?"
He saw Ginny come out from behind a massive pile of bag, boxes, and assorted containers apparently all from stores in Diagon Alley. His face went slack and his mouth dropped open. "Ginny, what is all of that?"
"It's stuff for the wedding, gifts for the bridesmaid's, a few things for the apartment, some cloth samples-things of that nature."
"Ginny, you've had access to the vaults for less than 24 hours and you've already cleaned me out?"
"I did not! Don't be so dramatic, Draco! I saved all the sales slips so you could see how much I actually spent just so I could prove to you I hadn't cleaned you out. Now, be the gentleman I know you can be and help take these packages back to the flat."
"Is that why you called me? Ginny, for the love of Merlin-why didn't you just have them delivered?"
"Because that would have cleaned you out! All of the stores wanted almost as much as I paid for whatever it was that I bought in order to deliver it!"
"Ginny, the delivery money is well worth it when you don't have a small army at your disposal to carry your packages back to the flat."
"We would have managed just fine, but Hermione got to feeling a little peaked and needed to go home and lie down. So, I couldn't very well carry all the packages myself, so Hermione went to send Harry along and I owled you. Gringott's let me use their owl. It's amazing what the Malfoy name can get you! Harry should be here momentarily."
--
A few minutes later, Harry arrived and Ginny loaded all of her and Hermione's packages into Harry and Draco's arms.
"Do they do this often?" Draco asked.
"Yeah, you just have to get used to being a pack mule, but they are usually very grateful afterwards. You just have to learn that part of your job is to carry the things they spent your money buying. Hermione didn't like to let me carry her things for her, but when we were moving into the house in Hogsmeade, she was trying to pull this box full of her books up the stairs. The box was really quite large. She finally got so exasperated with it I made her, and I mean MADE HER, let me help her. After I was done, she just gave me this smile. It made my insides warm up because, even if it was for something small and trivial, I was her hero. So, mate, what I'm trying to say is that it does no good to argue with them. I've taken to letting Hermione come fetch me to pick up her things rather than going with her. And, anyway, shopping with girls is exhausting!"
"Yeah, I agree. I just don't understand why she won't pay for delivery. I don't mind hefting her packages about, but she has access to the vaults and won't pay someone else to deliver her things. She and Hermione just hefted all of these packages around Diagon Alley all day!"
"Hermione did WHAT?" Harry shouted.
"Uh, nevermind." Draco said uneasily.
"I told her not to overextend herself. Merlin, why won't she just listen? Draco, get ready for this kind of thing. Hermione is willful and stubborn, but Ginny's worse. You're going to have it worse than I do when that one is pregnant."
"Aye. She's a handful, she is."
"She's lucky she married you, Malfoy. I think a Malfoy is the only one stubborn enough to stick around long enough to impregnate a Weasley. Women are naturally more patient creatures than men so it doesn't surprise me that even Ron found someone, but I have to admit I was a little scared about Ginny. I was afraid that she'd be too fiery for anyone to handle. You've surprised me, Malfoy. I'm glad it's you she's marrying. I won't have to worry about her anymore because she'll have someone that is more than capable of taking care of her himself."
Draco smiled a little smile. "Thanks, Potter. I appreciate that, but let's quit all of this mushy talk or we'll become the women. We're almost to the Apparation Point."
--
After sorting out which packages belonged to which female, Harry took Hermione's bags and boxes and Draco took Ginny's purchases while all three Apparated back to Hogsmeade. Harry waved goodbye as he went off towards he and Hermione's house and Draco and Ginny made their way back to the flat.
"I'm so tired!"
"You should be. You spent the Malfoy fortune all in one day. That is a feat my mother hasn't even accomplished."
"I did not spend all your money. Don't get me wrong, I spent money-but I didn't spend anywhere near all of it."
"Is there enough to take my lovely fiancée to dinner?"
"I'm sure there is but we already have plans-at the Burrow."
"Oh." Draco was not looking forward to telling all of Ginny's brothers he intended to marry their little sister. They were males. He knew they wouldn't think of it in terms of spending life together, they would think of it in terms of him violating their sister. He was going to get his arse kicked for something he hadn't even done! "Just perfect. Haven't even shagged yet and I'm going to be bloodied over it."
"Well, I don't want to go-you might have to convince me."
"Well, when you put it that way Mr. Malfoy-" she slid her arms around his neck and began kissing him.
After a few minutes of "convincing," Draco pulled back from Ginny. He turned around and headed straight into the loo. He didn't emerge for several minutes.
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Author's Note: I had real issues writing this chapter, so please be kind!
Thank you to my amazing beta,dragonsangel68. I appreciate everything you do for me. The next chapter will be the Burrow and planning the wedding! If y'all hold on for a couple more chapters, I promise some SERIOUS smut!
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