Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters you may recognize from the wonderful world of Harry Potter, they all belong to the revered JK Rowling; I just like to play with them a little.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
SPECIAL HUGS
The afternoon was passing slowly for Draco. He had spoken to all of Ginny's brothers, except Ron. He and Pansy had vanished sometime ago, probably to try and patch up the earlier argument Draco had instigated. Draco was currently sitting with Harry talking about Ginny and the children.
"How's things going with Gin?" Harry asked quietly.
"Good, I think." Things had been going well, even though they had not had any real time to themselves yet.
"You going to take her out or anything?"
"I have been taking her out, Potter," Draco answered a little incensed.
"I meant on her own - without the kids."
"Oh yeah, I suppose we should do that. Dinner maybe-"
Harry smiled warmly at him. "Well Mione and I will baby-sit, if you want."
"Thanks, Potter. Might just take you up on that." Draco offered a small smirk in return.
"Well anytime, just let us know." Harry rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He wasn't quite sure how to continue, he wanted Draco to know he could expect support from him as far as he and Ginny went, but how to say it without sounding like a sap.
"I'll do that, maybe sometime next week-" He'd like to take Ginny out to a fancy restaurant and spoil her a bit.
"Good. Umm- look, Malfoy, I think it's great that you're spending so much time with the twins and Gin, err-"
"But back off, right?" Draco cut in coldly, sneering at him.
"No. That's not what I'm saying. I think it's great you and Gin are getting yourselves together. She deserves some happiness and she does seem happy at the moment."
"Oh-" Draco uttered. He looked over toward Ginny, she was sitting with her sister's in-law laughing heartily at something Fred or George had just done - he couldn't actually tell them apart.
"Look, it's not like I actually like you or anything. I just think that this is good for Gin that's all." Harry told him, but his smile gave him away, perhaps he could get used to the ferret after all.
"Yeah, well it's not like I'm ever going to like you either, Potter, but Gin and the twins are the important ones here." Draco smirked back at him but it lacked the venomous look it once had in their Hogwarts days.
"So has Angel ordered her birthday present yet?"
"Yeah, she wants a white unicorn," Draco sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck.
Harry laughed. "She hit me up for a purple dragon."
"Yeah, she told me. So- what do I do about the unicorn?" Draco asked him seriously. Harry had been with the kids since they had been born, it would be foolish of him not to seek his advice, from time to time, and he had acted decently today - almost, as if he was happy to see him.
"Get her a stuffed one with one of those animation charms. She'll love it and see if Charlie can arrange a visit to Hogwarts for her to pat a real one."
"She'd be happy with that?" Draco looked at him incredulously.
"Yep, she's easy pleased."
"What you doing about the dragon order?" Draco asked curiosity getting the better of him.
"I've had a little practice at this - enchanted toy, the thing will fly, blow fake flames and roar," Harry told him confidently. "All I got to do now is find a purple one."
The two wizards laughed together, as if they were old friends instead of each other's school nemesis.
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Drake, Matthew and Beau had been playing near the stonewall at the back of the yard and were fast getting bored with their game. Their conversation turned to broomsticks and what they considered was the best.
"My dad says that the `Firebolt' is the best broom ever made," Matthew insisted.
"That's because when your dad played for Gryffindor he only had a `Cleansweep'. The best broom ever is a `Nimbus 5000'! My dad says so," Beau argued.
"Nope, you're both wrong. The best broom ever is a `Lightning Bolt 5000'. My dad has one and he let me fly it." Drake corrected them both.
"He did not!" Beau refuted.
"He did so, and it's here in the broom shed," Drake countered.
"Yeah, prove it! I want to see you fly it," Matthew challenged him.
"Okay, come on then." Drake accepted the challenge.
Beau started laughing. "Bet he falls off."
Matthew joined his cousin in laughter. "Bet it's not even a `Lightning Bolt'."
Drake knew he would have to do this carefully. If his mummy found out he wouldn't be able to sit for a year once she got through with him.
"Well, are two coming? We're going to have to sneak to the broom shed, cause Mummy freaked last time she saw me on Daddy's broom," Drake told them.
The three little boys snuck around the edge of the garden, toward the broom shed. They stopped every so often to hide, in case someone was watching them. As they approached the little building they huddled down in a nearby bush and watched it for a little while, as if they were expecting to see someone.
"What are you waiting for? Go get it and we'll wait here for you." Beau pushed Drake out into the open. All the adults were busy talking and laughing amongst themselves. Nobody paid the little boy any mind.
Drake walked to the shed quickly and cracked the door open just enough, so he could slip in. The window on the other wall of the shed provided enough light for him to see inside the little room. Once the door to the outside had closed totally, he cast a glance around and gasped at the sight that greeted him.
Fear of being caught was probably the biggest motivating factor in getting his feet to move as he gently pulled the door open a crack and slipped back through without being noticed. Once outside Matthew and Beau confronted him.
"Well, where's the broom?" asked Matthew.
"Told you he was lying," Beau sneered.
"I need to see my Daddy," Drake mumbled as he pushed past his cousins. He wasn't really sure about what he had seen, but he knew his dad would be able to tell him and if he couldn't, Grandfather might. They were the only two who had ever answered his questions about witches.
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Drake wandered slowly over to his father, who was sitting with his Uncle Harry laughing loudly.
"Umm- Daddy, I have to ask you something."
"Sure mate, what's on your mind?" Draco made an effort to stop laughing, and he sat up straighter in the chair.
"Daddy, you know how you said you don't need clothes for special hugs-"
At hearing this Harry's eyes just about fell out of his head and his mouth fell open. What on magical earth has he been telling him, Harry thought.
"Listen mate, this really isn't the time. Maybe we can talk about this later." Draco went bright red in the face. He did not want to have this conversation with so many people around to hear his inadequate answers.
"Daddy, I just need to know if you can have a special hug but only be half rude?" Drake persisted quietly.
At this comment Harry's control broke and he burst out laughing. He knew he should be angry at what he thought Malfoy had told Drake, but the way he was explaining it was hilarious and Malfoy had gone bright red - not a good look with his white blonde hair.
"What? Drake, I think you'd better start from the beginning." Draco was totally confused, but by the sounds of it he needed to sort this out now, before someone else was falsely accused of doing the deed in front of a child.
"I went to the broom shed to get your broom to show Beau and Matthew, cause they didn't believe me that I could fly it, but when I went in Uncle Ron and Aunt Pansy were in there-"
At this point, Harry fell sideways off his chair he was laughing so hard. He had put Drake's statements together and he knew exactly what his best friend had just been interrupted doing with his girlfriend.
Draco shot Harry a pointed look that most definitely said `shut it', but it was to no avail. Harry was too far-gone to even try to control his laughter. Unfortunately, for Draco, the noise Harry had made falling from his chair had attracted the attention of the other adults in the yard and all were listening intently to the conversation he was having with his son.
Draco sighed heavily. "Go on, Drake. Just ignore Uncle Harry."
"Well, Uncle Ron's pants were all the way down near his feet and Aunt Pansy's skirt was pushed up on her tummy and her blouse was opened and- and-"
"And what, Drake? Just tell me-" Draco sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.
"Well- Uncle Ron was doing something to Aunt Pansy with his- umm-" Drake couldn't say it but he indicated with his hand that Uncle Ron's `thing' was definitely located south of his nose.
"Yeah, I get the picture mate." Draco tried to stifle his laughter. He knew he shouldn't find this funny. His son had just witnessed his Uncle shagging his girlfriend, but he couldn't help it. Everyone present now knew where the couple had vanished to and what they were up to.
"So were Uncle Ron and Aunt Pansy making a baby? Cause they're not married and that's naughty, isn't it? Like Grandfather said you and Mummy were-" As Drake spilled all this out, Draco could hear Ginny gasp over all the laughter.
Looking around the yard, Draco noticed that the only two people not laughing were Molly and Ginny. Molly looked absolutely thunderous and Ginny looked horrified. Everyone else was laughing extremely hard - most were having trouble breathing by this time.
A short while later, not long after everyone had regained control of themselves, an extremely happy Ron strolled around the corner of the house with his arm around his girlfriend. As soon as they came into view, the laughter started again. First in small sniggers then it just grew from there, along with the comments.
Charlie snorted with laughter. "You look glowing there, little brother."
"More like relieved," Fred inserted.
"Never thought you'd come- back," George said.
Bill nearly choked as he tried to talk. "Thing's been looking up mate."
"What is wrong with you lot?" Ron looked around to everyone laughing. Well everyone, but Ginny and the look she was giving him was definitely deadly.
Molly had herded the children inside, as soon as she had seen Ron coming. While she was furious with both Ron and Pansy, the children did not need to hear what she was sure would ensue as soon as the couple got close enough to the rest of the family.
"Umm- mate, you got busted." Harry winked at him.
"Oh god!" Pansy shrieked and ran for the safety of the house.
"Nice little makeup session, was it?" Charlie continued sniggering.
"What?" Ron turned beet red, all the way to the tips of his ears.
"Mmm- makeup special hugs. They are good. Aren't they, Weasley?" Draco drawled.
"Who?" Ron demanded.
Everyone stopped with the cheeky comments immediately and looked at Draco expectantly. It was his son therefore it was his call.
"You?" Ron started to walk towards the blonde wizard. "What the bloody hell were you doing in the broom shed?"
"Actually, Weasel, it wasn't me who caught you at it," Draco said slowly. He was enjoying this far too much to hurry.
"Well, who couldn't keep their bloody mouth shut then?" Ron turned to face the rest of the family.
"That would be my son," Draco growled forcefully from behind Ron.
"What? Oh god- Drake saw us?" Ron didn't know what to do. Would Drake even understand what he saw?
"That's what he said."
"What did he see?" Ron was suddenly hopeful that perhaps he hadn't seen a whole lot and had just come to the wrong conclusion.
"Why don't we let him tell you?" Draco smirked arching an eyebrow at the embarrassed wizard.
"Draco?" Ginny looked very pointedly at him and shook her head.
"It's okay, Gin. Drake knows what he saw, and he's capable of telling Ron everything," Draco assured her. "I'll just go fetch him, shall I?"
Draco strode off into the house in search of his small son. He wanted to have a quick chat with Drake before going back outside and confronting Ron. What he wasn't expecting to encounter was Molly chastising Pansy, to the point where Pansy was in tears.
"I cannot believe either of you would do this! You're not even married yet! And you were seen, by a child!" Molly ranted at a very upset Pansy.
"I- I'm so - sorry-"
"Sorry, is not going to fix what Drake saw. Ginny and Draco are going to have to deal with that now. How do you think they feel - their son has been exposed to- to- that type of sordid behavior!"
Merlin, sordid behavior, you'd think she was a virgin the way she's carrying on, Draco mused.
"Umm- Mrs. Weasley, where might I find Drake?" Draco interrupted when the woman paused to take a breath.
"Oh dear, he's upstairs. He's quite upset about what he saw." Molly's tone had instantly become one of caring upon speaking to Draco.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's a little confused, but we're about to sort that out with Ron," Draco explained gently.
"You're taking him outside?"
"Yes, he and Ron are going to have a little chat. Just to clarify what he saw." Draco looked at Pansy and sighed. "Apparently, there is a chance he may have been mistaken. You do know he accused Ginny and I of the same crime earlier in the week."
He had to try and help Pansy. She was one of his oldest friends and if it weren't for her, he probably wouldn't be here now, so he owed her.
"Oh yes, of course, Ginny told me about that little incident," Molly replied dubiously.
"I think he may have gotten it wrong again. So, I want him to speak with Ron and get it sorted."
"Oh- I see," Molly answered absently. She was clearly thinking quite hard.
"Of course, both Harry and myself will be with Drake." Draco smiled at her. He knew that the Weasley matriarch trusted Harry Potter implicitly and Draco wasn't above using that to his advantage. "I think it may be a good idea if Pansy were present too."
"Well, if you think it's wise, dear," Molly said hesitantly.
"We have had a couple of chats this week. I think this might be the best way to get to the truth." Draco winked at her.
"I'll get Drake for you then." Molly turned and made her way upstairs.
"Oh gods! Draco, what am I going to do?" Pansy whined as soon as Molly was out of sight.
"Try keeping your knickers on for a change," Draco muttered under his breath.
Pansy started sobbing again. "She used to like me."
"Pans, pull yourself together. I'll try to play this down, okay?" Draco passed her his handkerchief. "I'm getting Drake out there more to humiliate Weasel than anything else. Plus he can answer Drake's blasted questions and save me the trouble."
"Trouble?" Pansy frowned at him through her tears.
Draco sighed heavily. "Alright not trouble. Embarrassment. Okay? Do you have any idea the types of questions he asks?"
"Yeah, I know." Pansy had been the victim of Drake's question time more that once before.
Drake appeared in the doorway. "Daddy, you wanted me?"
"Hey, mate. Listen, I want you to go out there and tell Uncle Ron what you saw in the broom shed. Okay?"
Drake sneered. "Why? He knows what he was doing."
"Well, he thinks that you might have been a little bit confused by what you saw. So, I suggested that you tell him yourself. I'll be with you, as well as Uncle Harry, alright?"
"Okay then," Drake agreed reluctantly.
"Coming, Pansy?" Draco arched an eyebrow at her.
"Daddy, what's Aunt Pansy coming for? This is `Secret Wizards Business'?" Drake whispered.
"I think she knows about it, don't you? She was the one doing it," Draco whispered back quite loud enough for Pansy to hear.
Drake sniggered. "Oh yeah."
The three walked back outside together. Upon seeing the state that Pansy was in, Ron rushed forward to take her in his arms.
"Love, are you alright? What happened?" Ron asked obviously concerned.
"I'm fine. It's just- your mum had a few things to say," Pansy told him very quietly.
"Oh- I'm so sorry." Ron pulled her in closer and held her for a few moments.
"It's okay- I'll be fine." Pansy's voice was uneven and she was still hitching for breath.
"Daddy, are we going to talk now?" Drake asked impatiently.
"Yeah, mate. Why don't we go down here and take a seat?" Draco directed him to the least crowded end of the table and sat down. "Harry, would you mind sitting close? I told Mrs. Weasley you were in on this."
"Not a problem. Wouldn't miss this for anything," Harry answered happily as he took a seat on the other side of Drake.
"Ron, when you're ready," Draco called.
They were seated far enough away from the other members of the family so that it may have appeared to be a private conversation, but Draco knew the rest of the family would be able to hear every word that was said. He didn't want to deny them, as them hearing would only serve to embarrass Ron more and he was sure that Drake could handle it. He was, after all, a Malfoy.
Ron and Pansy walked up and took the seats opposite the three wizards. Both looked as if they were walking through a flock of Dementors.
"Right, we're ready." Ron stated with determination.
"How do we keep that lot from putting their sickles worth in?" Draco whispered to his companions. He didn't need this to dissolve into a slinging match involving all the Weasley men, that wouldn't be good for Drake and it would probably give him more questions to ask.
"Oi- you lot keep it shut while we sort this out! Okay?" Harry called out to the family.
Several sounds of disapproval came from the Weasley men at the request.
"Now boys, you heard them. They want to sort it out and you lot won't be any help, so keep quiet," Arthur reiterated.
"Drake, why don't you start by explaining to Uncle Ron and Aunt Pansy what you saw in the broom shed," Draco said quietly.
"I went to the broom shed to get daddy's broom. I wanted to show Beau and Matthew I could fly it, `cause they said I was lying. I opened the door a little bit, `cause I didn't want mummy to see me, `cause she got mad at daddy last time," Drake started quietly. "You were in there and your pants were down." Ron's eye's bulged. "And your top was open and I saw-" Drake waved his little hand in the direction of Pansy's chest causing her to color deeply.
"Is that it? That's all you saw?" Ron stared incredulously at his nephew. If all this fuss was caused over just that, he might seriously considered throttling the blonde little boy.
"No, I saw more," Drake retorted indignantly.
"Drake, just tell them exactly what you saw," Harry said gently. He couldn't contain the broad smile that graced his features. Ron's facial expressions had been flickering from horror to hopefulness continually.
"Your skirt was up here-" Drake looked at Pansy and put his hands on his midriff. "And you were doing something with your-umm-" Drake pointed to his lap. "-to Aunt Pansy and she was making funny noises."
"Shit," Ron groaned as he ran his hands over his face. Drake had seen them shagging, there was no doubt. Pansy was too embarrassed to even look up.
"You're naughty," Drake whispered the accusation.
"Naughty?" Ron spluttered. It was one thing to have to explain the whole thing, but to be accused of being naughty by a four year old - that was bloody rude, in his opinion.
"You're not meant to give witches `special hugs' till you're married. Grandfather said so," Drake raised his voice.
"Special hugs? What the bloody hell are they?" Ron shrieked in confusion.
Draco cleared his throat to gain Ron's attention and then tried to silently communicate that it was exactly what they had been discussing. Ron was in no frame of mind to receive the silent message.
"Special hugs are what you give a witch when you have no clothes on and you want to make a baby, but you have to have a wedding first or you're naughty." Drake sighed as he explained this to his Uncle.
From time to time there had been small amounts of suppressed laughter drifting up from the other end of the table, but now, upon hearing the full explanation of `special hugs', the adults within earshot burst into loud gales of laughter.
"Look, Drake, you'll understand when you're older, okay?" Ron tried to wriggle his way out of a full explanation.
"I want to understand now!" Drake insisted, his voice growing louder each time he spoke.
"I think you owe Drake some form of explanation, don't you?" Draco told Ron pointedly.
"Look mate, your Aunt Pansy and I love each other and when two adults love each other sometimes they like to show each other with a- `special hug', okay?"
"But you're not married," Drake pointed out.
"You don't have to be married." Ron sighed heavily; this was really getting beyond a joke.
"But that's naughty!"
"No it's not!"
"Yes it is!"
"Why the bloody hell did you tell the kid that shagging before you're married is naughty?" Ron yelled at Draco.
Draco smirked at Ron's discomfort. "Wasn't me."
"Grandfather told me," Drake informed him. Draco thought he heard a hint of pride in his voice.
"Grandpa told you?" Ron said in disbelief.
"No, not Grandpa, Grandfather Malfoy." Drake corrected him with a roll of his eyes.
"Bloody hell! Why is it that I'm always bloody cleaning up after bloody Death Eater scum? Now I can't even get away from the bastards at home," Ron muttered as he stood up grabbed Pansy's hand and walked away with her in tow. He'd had enough of explaining himself to a child.
"Ronald Weasley!" Molly shrieked from the doorway.
Ron looked towards his mum. She was clearly furious and he would now have to face her wrath.
"I want a word with you. Now!"
"Mum-" Ron whined, but walked toward the house anyway.
"You all right, Drake?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yeah, I guess Uncle Ron doesn't want to talk anymore."
He knew his Uncle had a bad temper. He would often blow up and yell a lot, then later everything would be fine, but he had said some things Drake didn't fully understand. He had wanted to ask him about them.
"Why don't you go find your cousins and play?" Harry suggested.
"Umm- Uncle Harry, why did Uncle Ron say about Death Eaters?" Drake asked. After all, Uncle Harry was an Auror too and he knew all about bad wizards.
"Oh- look mate, your Uncle was just blowing some steam, okay?" Harry tried to dodge the question.
"Drake, we'll talk about that another day, alright?" Draco told him firmly, he did not want to get into a discussion with his son about his Grandfather's old alliances. Especially not here, surrounded by so many Weasley's. "Go and play with your cousins and we'll talk later."
Drake wandered off to find Beau and Matthew, not entirely happy with the way the discussion had gone, especially when he was left with even more burning questions.
"I don't think Ron's going to forgive me for putting him through that, you know?" Harry said smiling at Draco.
"He deserved it," Draco growled. He knew that what Drake had seen was just going to open up a whole realm of questions he was going to have to answer.
Later in the afternoon, as it had begun to cool the family had moved into the front room to where it was more comfortable. They were all sitting and chatting amongst themselves in the warm atmosphere, thoroughly enjoying each other's company. Ron and Pansy were quiet, but given the dressing down Molly had dealt them both, it wasn't surprising. Drake wandered over and climbed onto Draco's knee while he was talking with Harry, Fred and George.
"Daddy, can I ask you something?" Drake said quietly.
"Sure mate, what is it?" Draco replied. He was feeling perfectly comfortable around Ginny's family now and had surprised himself at having a good time today. For the most part, her family had been perfectly decent towards him. There had been a few promises of private chats to come from her older brothers, but he was sure that they were just talking about having a chat, not torturing him till he begged for mercy as he had imagined this morning. He'd put up with a bit from Ron, but he'd gotten vengeance and wouldn't be surprised if the Weasel was already plotting his next move. What surprised him most was how loving the entire family was toward each other - it was nice.
"What does shagging mean?" Drake asked. It was something Uncle Ron had said earlier and he didn't understand what it meant.
"Another word for a `special hug'," Draco answered absently as he was trying to concentrate on what Harry was saying.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah, mate," Draco muttered.
"When I saw Uncle Ron and Aunt Pansy in the broom shed, Uncle Ron's thing was really big."
"What thing?" Draco replied still distracted by what Harry was saying.
"You know, his thing it was bigger than normal," Drake said as he prodded Draco's groin softly with a finger.
Feeling the gentle finger prod at his nether regions Draco suddenly realized what his son had been on about.
"Oh god," Draco groaned as Harry, Fred and George fell about the place laughing.
How was he going to explain this-
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AUTHORS NOTES
For those who want to know what happened in the Broomshed between Ron and Pansy it can be found here - www.livejournal.com/users/dragonsangel68/14613.html#cutid1
Big hugs for everyone who reviewed :D
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