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 FORTY ONE
A PRIVATE WORD
Draco stood on the front porch of Ginny's family home, noticing his hand was trembling slightly as he raised it to knock on the wooden door. He drew a deep breath in an effort to calm what felt like a hundred loose snitches flying around in his stomach; he was nervous and didn't mind admitting it (to himself at least). After a moment, he rapped on the old door with conviction and waited.
As the door swung open, Draco was relieved to see Arthur Weasley standing in front of him; Ron was not someone he wanted to come across on this visit to the Burrow.
"Mr. Weasley." Draco offered his hand in greeting.
"Draco," Arthur shook the young wizards hand. "Where are Ginny and the children?"
"I came alone, sir. I wondered if we could have a private word?"
Arthur looked at the young man standing on his doorstep and smiled knowingly-he knew this day would come soon. "I see, well you had better come in then."
"Thank you."
"Draco, how lovely to see you dear," Molly exclaimed with delight.
"Mrs. Weasley."
Molly looked past Draco and frowned. "Is Ginny with you?"
"Molly, if you could give us some time, Draco came alone to talk to me."
Her eyes glittered with the broad smile she directed at Draco. "Oh … of course, I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything … anything at all."
Molly turned and left the front room, pulling the door almost all the way closed. Both men watched her leave and both noted the partially opened door.
"If I close it fully, she'll make some excuse to walk through and reopen it, so if you don't mind, I think it's easier if we just leave it as it is," Arthur whispered.
"It's fine."
"Take a seat, son."
"Thank you."
Arthur sat in the chair opposite Draco's, leaning back into the worn fabric. He smiled perceptively. "Well, do I need to ask what you're here for?"
"I think you have a fair idea, sir."
"Why don't you start then?"
Draco cleared his throat and looked the older wizard in the eye. "Mr. Weasley, I love your daughter very much, she means everything to me and I have come to the realization that I can't live without her. Sir, I would like your blessing to ask for Ginevra's hand in marriage."
"I thought so … I know you can give her all the material things in life, but I know my daughter and that will not be enough for her, she is accustomed to a close loving family."
"Sir, I have no intention of keeping her from her family. Personally I think that the relationship you and Mrs. Weasley have with all your children is wonderful and the way you've both welcomed me into your home, well … suffice it to say should you grant your permission, we certainly won't be strangers."
"You've not been together for very long, how can you be certain that your feelings will not change?"
"Sir, we were together in Ginevra's sixth and seventh year at Hogwarts, my feelings for her have not changed since then. I love your daughter and always will."
"Where do you intend to live?"
"Malfoy Manor."
"Do you truly believe Ginny will be comfortable living with your parents?"
"The Manor is large sir, we would situate ourselves in the opposite wing to my parents and need not see them on a daily basis if that was what Gin wanted."
"I see."
"If Gin really objected to living at the Manor, we could open one of the other family homes, but I don't believe she will object. She appears to get along with my parents quite well. I don't see it as being a problem, but I'm willing to do whatever makes her happy."
"Good, our daughter's happiness is paramount to me and Mrs. Weasley."
"As it is to I, sir."
Leaning forward in his chair, Arthur looked Draco in the eye. "Why are you asking now?"
"It seems the time…"
Arthur cut Draco off swiftly and informed him seriously, "Son, I want you to think very carefully before finishing that sentence-it would not be a good start to be caught in a lie."
"I don't follow you, sir."
"I have a large family Draco, it didn't just happen overnight and I have witnessed a lot of witches in the process of this expansion."
Draco sighed heavily; he had hoped he wouldn't have to bring this into it, but Arthur had already noticed the change in his daughter.
"She's pregnant."
"I thought she might be."
"She was sick this morning, I got a Medi Wizard to come, and he confirmed it… She's about six weeks along."
"And you thought it was a good time to marry her?"
"I assure you, sir, I am not marrying her because of the baby or the twins, I had her ring commissioned sometime ago and it's been sitting in my Gringotts vault since. The news of the baby has just confirmed my desire to spend the rest of my life with your daughter."
"And I am just meant to believe you?"
"Umm… I… I told Ron at the twins birthday party, he can confirm that the ring had been commissioned," Draco blurted.
"Calm down, son; Ron told me in the week following the twins birthday of your plans."
Withdrawing the black velvet jewelers box from his robes, Draco passed it to Arthur. "This is her ring."
Arthur opened the box carefully and withdrew an exquisite ring of white gold with a one-caret solitaire diamond and three smaller emeralds set into the band on either side.
"Impressive. Are you sure Ginny would like something this flashy?"
"It is a traditional family design, only Malfoy brides can wear-I'm sure she will appreciate the traditional value."
"You may be right there," Arthur replied, his smile making his eyes twinkle as he returned the ring to Draco.
Taking a deep breath, Draco steadied his voice and asked again, "Sir, do I have your blessing?"
"What would you do if I said no?"
"I… To be truthful, sir, I hadn't thought about it but… I would ask Gin to marry me anyway. She means too much to me not to at least try."
Arthur regarded him for a moment before renewing his smile. "Draco, you have my blessing."
"Thank you, sir," Draco responded perhaps a little too enthusiastically, making the older wizard chuckle.
"When do you plan on asking her?"
"Tonight when I get home."
"Good luck."
Draco's eyebrows knitted together as he frowned and looked to his future father-in-law. "Sir?"
"If she thinks you're asking just because of the baby, you realize she will say no."
"I intend on letting her know that is not the reason I'm asking; rather, it has prompted me to ask sooner than I had originally planned."
"When had you originally planned?"
"I was going to wait until I thought Gin was ready."
"What about yourself?"
"I could have asked her the day I walked into your kitchen to be completely honest."
"I see, well good luck." Arthur extended his hand to his future son-in-law.
Draco smiled genuinely and firmly grasped the older wizard's hand. "Thank you."
"And we'll expect a few announcements tomorrow at lunch."
"Yes, sir, I'm well aware of your family traditions, and while I'm not looking forward to making such announcements with all your sons present, I won't not do it either."
"Good, and don't worry about the boys, Molly has an uncanny way of keeping them in check."
Draco grinned at the older man. "Thank you, I'm relying on her ability to get me out alive."
"Well, it seems you have some business to attend to this evening, you'd better get back to her."
"Yes, I want to get back before she wakes up."
"Wakes?"
"Gin went for a nap this afternoon, I'm not sure if she was tired or was desperate to escape my mother. Anyway she needed a rest after this morning's events."
"I see, well, it's good to know you're looking after her that way."
"Good bye and thank you."
Slapping him on the shoulder, Arthur responded, "You're welcome, son, and we'll see you tomorrow."
"Of course."
Draco made to move toward the door but paused as he heard his name called from the kitchen doorway.
"Draco," Molly shrieked excitedly, "this is so wonderful. You and Ginny settling down at last… a wedding, it's going to be simply beautiful."
Molly threw her arms around Draco and embraced him in a tight motherly hug.
"Umm… she hasn't said yes yet, Mrs. Weasley."
"Mark my words, she will. She loves you."
"Err… I…"
"Off you go, you have a very important evening ahead of you," Molly told Draco as she shooed him out the door.
"Umm… yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."
As soon as the front door had closed behind him, Draco let out a large breath and relief flooded through him. Smiling smugly to himself, he withdrew his wand and Apparated to the manor, hoping Ginny would be awake when he arrived.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco went directly to the parlor where he had left his parents with the children earlier in the afternoon.
"Father, Mother."
"Draco, darling," Narcissa acknowledged him with a smile.
"Draco, I trust your endeavors were successful?" Lucius enquired with interest.
"Yes, thank you, Father. Quite successful."
"Good."
"Is Gin awake?" Draco asked eagerly.
"I believe she is dressing for dinner," Narcissa offered.
Draco's face took on a thoughtful expression as he began to mentally go through the best place on the estate to ask her the most important question he would ever pose to anyone; it had to be somewhere memorable, somewhere beautiful.
As if reading his mind, Narcissa cut into his thoughts, "The rose garden is splendid at this time of year."
"Yes… yes it is," Draco agreed absently. "I might take a walk."
"When Ginevra appears, shall I tell her you wish to see her in the rose garden?"
"Yes," Draco replied, his tone not quite certain. "Thank you, Mother."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco wandered aimlessly around the rose garden for some time, his thoughts swirling. Trying to decide on the best way to ask the woman he loved to spend the rest of her life with him was proving difficult. The one thing he knew for sure was that the first announcement he wanted to make tomorrow at lunch was their impending marriage, hoping if would soften the blow when he announced to all her brothers that they were to become uncles to yet another little Malfoy. He was under no illusion that the Weasley brothers might allow this second mishap to go unpunished.
"Hey you, do you always mumble to yourself?" Ginny asked as she walked toward him.
Bloody hell I hope she didn't hear anything, Draco thought; he had been going over what he planned to say to her and hadn't even realized that she had entered the garden.
Draco grinned foolishly and replied, "Always, it's one of my crazy idiosyncrasies."
Ginny wrapped her arms around his waist. "I see."
"Feel like taking a walk?"
"That would be lovely."
With his arm slung around her shoulders, Draco slowly led her in the direction of the gazebo, stopping along the path every so often so she could admire Narcissa's roses. Reaching the ornate wooden structure just as the sky turned from shades of rose to violet and the first stars were beginning to twinkle in the early evening sky, he placed a small kiss on the top of her head.
"I have to talk to you."
"You do?"
He released his hold on her and walked to the other side of the gazebo. With his back to her, he grasped the railing in an effort to organize his thoughts.
"Yeah… I… Gin, …"
"Draco, what is it?"
Why does he sound so nervous? What have I done? Oh gods, he doesn't want the new baby! Ginny's thoughts were drowning her.
"Before I continue, I want you to know that this has nothing whatsoever to do with the twins or the new baby-it's totally to do with me and you only, okay?"
Fighting to keep her voice steady, Ginny replied, "All right."
Draco turned to face her. "Good, as long as you understand that much."
"I do. Please, Draco, just tell me." She cringed mentally as she heard her voice sound desperate.
Draco approached her and reached out to take her hands in his. "Gin, you know I love you more than I've ever loved another person in my life and as I told you this morning I want you-forever."
"Go on."
"I… Gin, will…" Draco released her hands and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I have to do this right," he murmured, reaching into his robes for the little box that contained her ring.
Ginny missed seeing the small box as he extracted it from his breast pocket because her attention was focused on the intensity of his eyes, wondering what he was feeling to cause that look.
Taking a deep breath, Draco took hold of one of her hands again; hidden in his other hand was the box that would allay her fears. A small, tense smile formed on Draco's lips as he sunk to his knee and looked up into her face as she gasped.
"Ginevra Weasley, will you do me the honor of agreeing to become my wife?"
Draco had managed to open the little box with one hand and held her ring up for her approval.
"Oh… I…" she stuttered, totally unprepared for the words that had just flowed over her.
"Gin?"
"Oh my…"
"Love, now would be a good time to give me an answer."
Ginny stared at him, her face held clear surprise, disbelief and, if he was not mistaken, elation.
Unconsciously licking his lips, Draco barely whispered, "Please… marry me Gin?"
"Yes," she whispered in return, as her smile grew brighter by the moment. "Yes!"
Draco took her into his arms, lifting her feet from the ground as he swung her around and muttered into her hair, "Thank Merlin."
Placing her feet back on the ground he brought the jewelers box into view once more. "This is yours… forever," he told her softly as he removed the ring from its box and slid it onto her finger before lifting her hand to his lips to kiss it soundly.
"It's so beautiful."
"So are you," he whispered before leaning in and capturing her lips in a sensuous kiss.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lucius strode the halls of the Manor with purpose; Narcissa had disappeared soon after she had given Ginevra the message from Draco, but he was certain he knew where he would find her. Reaching the doorway of the library, Lucius paused momentarily to confirm his suspicions before continuing into the darkened room.
"Dearest, what are you doing in here?"
"Shhh… he's about to ask…"
"Cissa, you shouldn't be spying on them," Lucius admonished as he came to stand behind her.
"He looks nervous."
"Of course he's nervous, it's not every day a man proposes marriage."
"Oh… darling he's gone to his knee…"
"Really, Narcissa!"
As they stood in front of the window watching their son propose to the woman he loved Lucius' arms wove their way around her waist and pulled her back against the length of his body.
"Do you remember?" he whispered into her hair.
"Oh yes, I've never forgotten."
"I love you, Cissa."
"And I love you, Lucius."
Narcissa frowned and peered intently out of the window. "Why is he not getting to his feet?"
"Perhaps she has not answered yet."
"But she should have."
"Maybe he is going the long way around."
"How long does it take to say the words `marry me'?"
"Narcissa, he will do this his own way."
"Did he speak with you beforehand?"
"No-this is something a man has to do himself."
"Oh… is he moving? Oh yes, she must have said yes!"
Smirking at his wife's fervor, he responded evenly, "It would seem so."
"The ring, he hasn't given her the ring."
"Patience, Cissa."
"There it is… he's sliding it on… and he sealed it with a kiss."
"Grandmother? What are you looking at?" Drake asked, strolling into the room and looking out the window to see if he could find the subject of interest.
"Where is Angelique?" Lucius asked.
"She's coming- ewwww! They're snogging again!"
Narcissa sighed happily before replying, "Yes, they are."
Drake's frown changed swiftly into a look of disgust when he noticed his grandfather's arms holding her so tightly.
Turning his gaze back to the window, the young wizard muttered, "Can't anyone keep their hands to themselves in this house?"
Lucius responded with a light chuckle, "Apparently not."
A loud groan from Drake only served to add to Lucius' humor.
"Dearest, shall we go to dinner?" Lucius enquired once he had ceased laughing.
"Shouldn't we wait for Draco and Ginevra?"
"I'm inclined to think they will be a while."
"Very well, I suppose the children need to eat soon."
"I'm getting rather hungry myself." Lucius admitted as they moved toward the door.
"Drake, darling come along," Narcissa called to the little boy who was still staring fixedly at his parents in the garden below.
"Yes, Grandmother," he muttered, moving slowly away from the window.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lucius and Narcissa along with the children had just begun to eat when Millie, the house elf, popped into the dining room.
Bowing low, she addressed Lucius, "Master, forgive Millie this intrusion, I has a message for Master from Little Master Draco."
"Go ahead."
"Master is most gracious. Little Master said to tell Master that he and Miss will be having themselves a private dinner in chambers, they will collect Little Master Drake and Miss Angel after."
Lucius waved his hand dismissively at the servant and Millie popped out of the room instantly.
"I bet they're shagging, that's why they're missing dinner," Drake muttered grumpily.
"Drake," Lucius warned grimly.
"Well they were snogging, and whenever they start that…"
"Drake-what your parents do in the privacy of chambers is their business, and I will not tolerate you making such comments at the dinner table. Do you understand?" Lucius cut him off with a low dangerous growl.
"Yes, Grandfather."
"Good," Lucius snarled at him before turning his attention to Narcissa. "Well I'm certainly glad we did not hold dinner for them."
"I can't imagine why they would not want to join us," Narcissa responded in a blatantly disappointed tone.
"I imagine they have quite a lot to discuss, dearest."
"Yes… yes…"
"Now, now, Cissa, you will see them when they collect the children."
"I simply wished to congratulate them," she responded sulkily.
"What for, Grandmother?" Angel asked curiously.
Lucius cut in before Narcissa could answer. "I think perhaps it would be best to wait until your parents tell you, Angelique."
"Why?"
"It is their place to inform you, not ours," Lucius responded giving Narcissa a pointed look at the same time.
"But…"
"No buts, Angelique, you will have to wait for your parents."
"I won't tell them you told me if you tell me," Angel assured him conspiratorially.
Unable to help himself, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "No… neither your grandmother or I will be telling you anything."
Angel sulkily returned her attention to her meal. Lucius could barely contain a chuckle when he glanced down the table-Narcissa and Angelique sitting next to one another both sporting identical sullen expressions.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
While a house elf served their dinner, Draco and Ginny gazed amorously at each other across the intimate table. As soon as the servant had popped out of the room, Draco reached across the table and picked her hand up in his.
"Have I told you how much I love you?"
"Mmm… not for at least five minutes."
Smiling he kissed her knuckles before releasing her hand and picking up his cutlery. They ate in relative silence, each lost in their own thoughts. When they had finished their meal, Draco had the house elf clear their dishes so they could talk before retrieving the children.
"I want you to move in with me," Draco stated resolutely.
Flicking her eyes away from his face, Ginny faltered, "I…"
"Gin, we're getting married… I want you living here with me."
"Here? With your parents?"
"Yes here, at the manor. Love, we can take the entire southern wing, it would be just like having our own house and Mother would be close by to help you with the kids."
She glanced at his hopeful face and drew in a deep breath. "I think my family would be happier if we waited until we were married. As it is, mum thinks I haven't… We haven't… umm…"
Quirking an eyebrow at her, Draco prepared to argue his case carefully; he didn't think it would simply be a matter of asking and having her agree to move in straight away.
"That illusion will be destroyed tomorrow, won't it?"
"Yeah, I guess… I just always thought I'd be at home until…"
"It's all right, if you want to wait until the wedding then that's fine," he muttered in an unmistakably disappointed voice.
"I'm sorry… I just think it would be… better."
"It's okay, I simply wanted you and the kids with me... to start living as a family."
"I want to be with you too."
"Then what's really stopping you, Gin?"
"I'm not sure… well…"
"Gin?"
"I guess it's because we're not married, and it's just not `the done thing' to live together beforehand."
"Seems to me society is already frowning upon us for having children out of wedlock and now with another on the way..."
"I know, I'm the one who's incurred the snide remarks and nasty glares for the past five years."
"Hey… I just want to put an end to all of that. If you're here, I can protect you from it better."
"I don't need…"
"Protecting? I know, but I want to protect you and the kids."
Ginny looked into his eyes as she sighed heavily. "Can I think about it?"
"Of course you can, take all the time you need, love."
"Thank you."
"Now, should we discuss the wedding?"
"I guess we should… No doubt my family will have questions tomorrow, and it's only a matter of time before Narcissa starts quizzing me."
"What type of wedding do you want?"
Ginny frowned slightly, "Type?"
"We could have a small personal wedding or we could do the whole society wedding thing that Mother is likely to want."
"Umm… I don't think I'm up for the whole society bit. Do you think your mother would be terribly upset if we kept it small?"
"She'll be upset, but it's what you want that's important-it's your day, not hers."
"It will be our day."
"Okay it will be our day and I'm happy with anything you want."
"This is about what you want too, Draco."
"The only thing I want is you, I don't much care how we get there just as long as we do. Merlin I'd elope tonight if that's what you wanted."
Grinning cheekily at him, she mused aloud, "Now there's a thought…"
"Actually… that's not such a good idea," Draco negated the idea with a shake of his head.
"And why not?"
"Not only would it upset my mother, it would upset your mother as well, and I do not have a death wish."
"Mmm… she can be a bit scary at times."
"Yeah, I never want that temper directed at me, thank you very much!"
"Okay, so a small personal wedding it is. When?"
Draco hesitated slightly before putting forth his wish, "Well… I would like to get married before the baby is born."
"All right… but I don't want to be walking down the aisle," she paused and cringed, "fat!"
Draco smirked, reached for her hand and brought it to his lips before responding, "Then it's settled, we get married as soon as it can be arranged."
"Yes."
"And meanwhile, you'll think about moving in here?"
"I promise to think about it."
"Great! Are you ready to tell the twins?"
"Yes, we had better do it now otherwise they'll be too tired to talk to, and I don't want to do it in the morning."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AUTHORS NOTE
Thanks to my wonderful beta gainfared
Hugs to all who took the time to review :D
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