A/N: Baby's POV/Thoughts will be preceded by an (*) so there is no confusion, although, a dogs thoughts are confusing, aren't they?
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Baby woke up to the sound of her mum moaning.
* "Something must be wrong," she thought.
Baby had been under the weather, and had been to the vet that very day. The horrible, painful, shot seemed to be wearing off, and she got up from her futon to investigate. That man was here again. That no-good, despicable, unaffectionate, man who was always around, was here somewhere. When Baby had fallen asleep, her mum and that man were lying cuddled up on the sofa. They were whispering, but Baby was a dog after all, and could hear every word.
Feeling disgusted with all their romantic ramblings, and being yelled at for barking, Baby had gone to bed in frustration. But now, Baby heard her mum say the mans name, and pushed open the bedroom door to see what was going on.
* "He's attacking her!"
He was lying on top of her mum, and he was hurting her, she was crying out for help! Baby hopped from the hope chest, onto the bed, and growled at the man, biting down on his ear as hard as she could, trying to drag him away from her mum.
"Baby, stop!" Ginny yelled, mortified.
Draco didn't know what the hell was going on. One minute he was making love to his girlfriend, and the next he was having his ear bit off by that damn dog. Draco rolled to the side of the bed and grabbed his ear. When he looked at his hand, it was covered in his own blood. Draco growled back in frustration at Baby, and went to the bathroom. Baby followed barking, before Ginny grabbed her, trying to calm her down, and her put her outside the bedroom door, going to see Draco in the bathroom.
Draco was running the cold water and wincing as he put a washcloth to his bleeding ear. Ginny came in and grabbed the cloth, standing in front of him, and taking over his care. Draco tried to be brave, but when Ginny made a face at the condition of his ear, he decided to use this to his advantage. "Oww…Is it horrible? Will it scar, do you think?"
Ginny shook her head, and continued to clean up Draco's chest and face. "Oh,…I think you'll live." Ginny kissed his cheek and tried to apologize for Baby. "I think that she thought that you were trying to hurt me."
"I told you we should have used the Lullaby charm, it's completely harmless."
Ginny sighed.
"All I am saying is that the Lullaby charm is as safe as can be! Practically no side effects. Come on Gin! Your mum and dad must have used it dozens and dozens of times on your brothers…I mean how do you think you got here?"
Ginny narrowed her eyes, and told him to apply pressure to his wound while she went to grab her wand.
Draco wasn't quite finished pleading his case.
"You know your parents must have used it a lot, especially on Ron, I bet they were trying for a girl. In that git's case, kind of explains things…"
She returned and repaired the damage to his ear in quick time; the only evidence that remained was the bloody towels. Draco got up close to the mirror to judge her handiwork, and raised his eyebrows in admiration.
Baby could still be heard in the hall, and Draco snatched Ginny's wand, striding toward the door, his intent clear.
"Draco…"
Draco opened the door, mumbled something at a growling Baby, then, complete silence.
Draco opened the door, tossed Ginny's wand over his shoulder and picked Ginny up and carried her to the bed. Ginny tried not to smile, or let the laugh that wanted to bubble up escape. She was so happy with Draco, but he and Baby just didn't get along. She loved Baby, and she wouldn't live without her. She loved Draco, and everyday that went by she was realizing she couldn't live without him either.
"What are you thinking about that's got you looking so serious?" Draco brushed the hair away from her temples and leaned over her, looking at her with that smile that made her want to tell him every secret she had.
"I, I was thinking, about you."
Draco smirked, and gave her his cockiest grin, "Of course you were, thinking about me. About how lucky you are perhaps?" Draco flexed his muscles and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "You get to shag this, lucky girl."
Ginny rolled her eyes, but smiled despite herself. She and Draco had been 'Seriously Dating' for almost four months. It had been that long since the night they had first made love, and they were closer, and more committed to making their relationship work. Ginny traveled less, and Draco made more of an effort to get along with Baby. The only complaint that Ginny had was that Baby had to be knocked out every time Draco stayed the night. Draco always gave her the same speech, about how safe the Lullaby charm was, but she always felt guilty.
"I know that look," Draco sighed, kissing her neck, and placing small kisses along her shoulder. "You're feeling guilty about Baby, but you shouldn't, she's fine, sleeping like a, a, well, a baby. But you, Miss Weasley," Draco began to kiss a path lower, down her chest, "Are not going to get much sleep tonight."
Ginny rolled her head to the side of the pillow, and sighed, "Draco, I do want you, but poor Baby, she-"
Draco looked up at her and frowned, "Have you forgotten what she did to my ear than?"
"So, this is sympathy sex?"
"Ginny! We don't have sex…We make love." Draco nibbled on her ear, sending shivers through her body.
"What about that broken lamp from the other night?"
"That, was, well, making love, with a sense of urgency."
Ginny smiled, as Draco kissed her and pulled the covers over their heads.
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Ginny woke up to the buzz of her alarm and smacked her hand on the large snooze button, its best feature, in Ginny's opinion. It was a Saturday, and normally, she wouldn't have set an alarm, but she was going shopping with her mum in Diagon Alley for an anniversary party for Ron and Luna, and her mum suspected, a new baby gift. Ginny looked over at Draco, and cuddled up against him again. She tried waking him up by kissing his chest, and his neck, and making her way up to his cheeks.
"Draco…Draco…Come on darling, wake up sexy." Ginny ran a hand over his shoulders, and down his arms, but Draco just shivered and snuggled closer. Ginny drummed her fingernails on his chest, and knew he was awake when he grabbed her hand and laid it flat, groaning and pulling her closer. Ginny bit his earlobe, but he only groaned again, and squeezed her. Ginny started poking Draco on the shoulder, and leaned her elbow on his chest to reach the alarm when it went off again.
"Draco, wake up, please…My mum is going to be here soon. You have to go home." Ginny continued poking Draco's shoulder, but he didn't budge. Ginny grabbed his face and squeezed his cheeks. "Draco! Up! Let's go-"
Ginny stopped when she thought she heard something. "Draco? Did you hear that?"
Draco lifted his head, eyes closed, mumbled something unrecognizable to Ginny, then tried to go back to sleep.
"Ginny! Good Morning Dear!"
"Oh Merlin! My MUM!" Ginny jumped out of bed, pushing against Draco and grabbing her robe. Draco scrambled to the end of the bed, and grabbed the sheet, trying to wrap it around himself. "Where's my wand?!" he whispered.
Ginny was looking for it, but in the pile of quickly discarded clothes from the night before, it was impossible to find. Ginny motioned to the closet, but Draco shook his head. Ginny pushed him toward the closet doors. "This is like one of those horrid Muggle movies you make me watc-"
"Sshh! If you had gotten up when I told you to!" Ginny slammed the French doors closed, smashing Draco's foot, and hearing him yell out. She shushed him again as she shoved the clothes under the bed.
Molly appeared in the doorway just as she was straightening up. "Ginny? Didn't you hear me calling you?"
Ginny tied her robe tighter around her waist, and brushed her hair out of her eyes.. "Sorry mum, I didn't want you to see my messy room." Ginny used her foot to push Draco's protruding shoes under her bed.
"Where's Baby?"
"Oh, well, she was barking so much last night, I had to put the Lullaby charm on her."
"Goodness, dear. What was she barking at?"
Ginny had a mental picture of Draco, and his injured ear, but didn't dare mention it. "Oh, you know how sensitive she is to…Noise."
Molly smiled at her daughter and asked if she was going to shower before they headed out for the day.
"Well, wouldn't it be better if I met you their mum? I woke up so late, and I don't want to keep you waiting while I shower and dress." Ginny used all her willpower not to glance at the closet where Draco was hiding.
"Don't be silly! "It will give me a chance to make you breakfast like I used to…I miss doing those things for you." Molly hugged her daughter and cupped her cheek. "Besides," she said measuring Ginny's wrist with two fingers, "You look like you could use some home cooked meals, you are far too thin!"
Ginny knew it was pointless to argue, so she smiled and headed to the shower and her mum headed down the hall to the kitchen. Ginny poked her head out of the bathroom door when she thought the coast was clear, but her mum stuck her head around the corner.
"Did you need something dear?"
"Forgot my Splash soap…"
"I'll get it dearest." Molly went into Ginny's bedroom and asked which soap she wanted. Ginny answered, keeping the frustration out of her voice, and accepted the soap, deciding to shower as fast as she could, then help Draco. Her mum was far too clever.
Draco's heart was hammering in his chest. So, it had come to this…He was twenty three years old, and hiding in his girlfriends closet. Part of him wanted to come out and great Mrs. Weasley, they were adults after all, how bad could things get? But then he thought about Ginny's temper, and knew that her mum's was rumored to be twice as fierce. He remembered that howler that Ron had received second year…Draco was contemplating his situation when the doors opened, and light flooded into the closet.
"Good Morning, Draco."
Draco swallowed hard. "Good Morning, Mrs. Weasley."
Molly kept her smile in place as she stared at him, looking over his ensemble of Ginny's sheet.
Draco couldn't stand her hard stare very long. He cleared his throat to get his voice to work. "I, I have been meaning to come by the Burrow…To have a talk with you and uh," Draco cleared his throat, "Mr. Weasley, about Ginny, Ginny and I about our future…together."
Molly hadn't moved a muscle. She nodded her approval, the slowly closed the closet doors. Draco let out a big breath when he heard the bedroom door close.
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Draco had decided to go to the Burrow that night to speak with Mr. Weasley. He told Ginny that her mum had found him in the closet, but that she had reacted rather well.
"Rather well?!" Ginny had just gotten out of the shower, and was appalled that he was eating breakfast at the table as her mum hummed, and used her wand to dust.
Draco took the calm approach, and kissed her forehead as he headed out, putting his plate in the sink, and whispered to Ginny, "I've got to go home tonight, ton of work to do, but I'll see you for dinner tomorrow, alright?" Draco gave Ginny a quick kiss, then said loudly, "Good day, Mrs. Weasley, thank you again for breakfast, it was delicious. You ladies have fun today."
Draco apparated home, before Ginny could argue. What Ginny didn't know was that Draco had planned on proposing, he just didn't plan on asking her parents permission beforehand. But, he would do what would please her family, if it would please Ginny in the end. Draco knew that Ginny was the woman he wanted for his wife, for the rest of his life, he didn't have any doubts.
He didn't feel this way about the other women he'd dated, nor had he ever considered marriage before. He had dated women better suited to him, but Ginny was the most amazing woman ever created, as far as he was concerned…He tried to think of all the things he wanted to tell Mr. Weasley, he was sure that he would be agreeable to their union, after all, Ginny would be marrying into a wealthy family, an ancient respectable, if somewhat tarnished wizarding family.
The Weasley's should be grateful, this shouldn't be difficult. Draco talked himself out of the nerves he was feeling, and got some work done before apparating to the Burrow. He was welcomed at the door by a shocked looking Molly. "Draco! Dear, what a surprise!" Molly winked and ushered him inside.
Draco entered to see Mr. Weasley in a chair in front of the fire, and Ginny's brothers Fred, George, and Ron around the family room, chatting with him. Draco suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
Ron stared at Draco as Molly patted him and gave him a few words of encouragement. "NO!" Ron yelled, standing up quickly. "No, no, no!"
All eyes in the room turned to him. Ron's daughter, who was asleep on the couch, woke up and yelled for her daddy to use his "Inside voice."
Draco smiled and shook everyone's hand as he entered their turf, feeling like a trapped animal, being sent into a lions den. He chatted for a moment with Ginny's brothers, ignoring Ron's attempts to get his attention, as his daughter tried to teach her father manners about interrupting.
Draco stopped in front of Mr. Weasley, and asked if they could speak privately for a moment. Fred, who was sitting in the chair across from his father, stood up, vacating the spot, and motioning with a grand gesture for Draco to sit.
Git. He was already nervous, and now one of those clowns was making it worse. Then there was Ron, who was being restrained by his wife, who had come from upstairs, and his mum, and daughter. They were all trying to calm him in their own way, Luna was stroking his hair, Molly was trying to feed him, and his daughter was bringing him books to read, hitting his legs quite hard with the things.
Draco would have found this funny, but the twins were staring at him, leaning against the table, arms crossed, extendable ears clearly visible, trying to hear the conversation between Mr. Weasley and himself.
Draco looked at Mr. Weasley, who was glancing sideways at him, a stern look on his face. "Good evening, sir."
Mr. Weasley didn't respond.
Draco cleared his throat and continued, trying to ignore his audience, and the chaos that was Ron and Luna. "Well, I am sure you are wondering why I am here, and so I will get right to the point. I would like to," Draco swallowed hard and noticed the entire family was looking at him, silent and waiting.
"I would like to marry Ginny."
Mr. Weasley narrowed his eyes even more as Luna gasped and hugged her daughter, while Ron sneered, and Mrs. Weasley came to stand behind her husband's chair.
"Arthur-" Molly began.
"Isn't it a bit too soon?" Mr. Weasley asked.
Well, at least he spoke….But that was not what Draco wanted to hear. He thought that he would get a yes, and then leave. The twins looked at each other, eyebrows raised, waiting to see what Draco would do.
"It has been over six months sir, I know that may not seem like a long time to some, but I can tell you for me and Ginny, six months is more than enough time to know that this is the woman that I want forever." Merlin, why did he have to have an audience for this?
"She's my only daughter."
He had him there. He couldn't argue with that, but he could try and put his other potential concerns to rest, before he brought them up, otherwise, they might be there all night.
"I understand your reservations, but I love her, and I will love and protect her the rest of her life. I plan on arranging my estate to ensure that when I am gone, Ginny, and any children we have-"
Arthur sat up in his chair, and leaned forward. "Do you have something else to tell me?"
Ron cracked his knuckles, and ran two fingers across his neck, and across his crotch, and Draco resisted the urge to flee this family, and take Ginny away.
"No, no sir. I just meant to say, that when the day comes, that Ginny and I have children, into the future…" Draco cleared his throat, and continued. "As I was saying, I plan on ensuring that Ginny and any possible, future children, that are not yet conceived, will be well provided for."
"Well, I suppose that-"
"Oh Arthur! All of our children married!" Molly threw her arms around her husband's neck, squeezing him tight. Arthur tried to point out that he hadn't actually consented, but Molly and Luna began making wedding plans, and Fred and George came over to shake Draco's hand.
Draco shook Arthur's hand, as he told him in a quiet voice, "Welcome to the family."
Ron looked like he was ready to cry, and Draco tried to hide his smile.