Unofficial Portkey Archive

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 THIRTEEN

NIGHTMARISH QUALITIES

Draco took a deep breath as he surveyed the scene before him. His children, the traitors, had taken off into the sea of redheads the moment their feet touched the ground, and the same sea of redheads was slowly swallowing his wife. If he could just make it to the table without being attacked by an over-excited redhead he'd be happy. That, of course, was a challenge, but if he walked at just the right pace and didn't make eye contact with any of them he should make it. Before trying his luck, Draco examined the large group to ascertain which would be the safest side to pass. It terrified him a little to realize that this wasn't the whole family. After determining that it was probably better to stay as far away from the kitchen door as he could, due to the constant comings and goings through it, Draco strode off at a measured pace.

"Oi, Malfoy, you owe us dinner!"

Draco stopped his journey, cursed mentally and frowned across the yard at his youngest brother-in-law. "What?"

"You promised us dinner and you didn't deliver," Ron elaborated as he strode across to Draco.

"No, I didn't."

Ron folded his arms over his chest like a petulant child. "Yeah, you did."

"Thursday night," Harry clarified.

Draco frowned. "That was Ginny's birthday."

"And you were organizing a dinner party for that night," Ron reminded him. "Remember?"

"Our plans changed," Draco hissed. "Shut it."

"What's this about a dinner party?" Ginny asked.

"We ran into Draco at lunchtime, and he said he was going to organize a dinner party for your birthday," Ron told her.

Ginny frowned. This was the first she'd heard about a dinner party. "What day was this?"

"Thursday."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ginny scoffed. "No one can organize a dinner party in a few hours."

"Well, if he'd remembered-"

"Weasley," Draco snarled viciously.

"Remembered what?" Ginny asked, looking between the two men.

Draco narrowed his eyes on Ron, daring him to answer honestly and suffer the consequences.

"Good to see you're still breathing, Draco," Fred said, slapping his only brother-in-law on the back.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Draco inquired haughtily before he could engage his brain and get his mouth to shut up.

"Ron said you for-"

"Is there anyone you didn't tell?" Draco snarled at Ron, effectively cutting Fred off before he could spill the beans.

"Yeah, well I didn't tell Percy."

"Tell me what?" Percy asked, joining the growing gathering.

"Draco forgot Ginny's birthday," George supplied.

Percy started to chuckle to himself. "And he's still standing?"

"Miracle in itself, that is," Fred pointed out.

"Could be because she didn't find out," Harry mentioned, noticing the look Ginny was now giving her husband. "Until now."

Draco took a few steps away from the group. "Why don't I just go around the other side of the house and do away with myself?"

George looked at the blond in confusion. "Why would you do that?"

"Because that way none of you will get any pleasure from my demise," Draco hissed.

"You really forgot?" Ginny asked, disbelief clear in her tone.

Draco closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. The moment of truth had arrived. It occurred to him, very briefly, that it would be less painful if she just hexed him and got it over with. When he opened his eyes she was standing right in front of him with a pained expression on her face that was bordering on hurt. "I didn't mean to, love. We've been so busy, and I lost track of the date by a week. I really wanted to make your birthday special, and I think I did manage to do that for you, at least that's the impression I got on Thursday night."

"You did," she whispered. "I just can't believe you did all of that in such a short time."

"I had a little help," Draco admitted reluctantly.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. "Let me guess? Your mother?"

"I told Mother what I wanted to do for you, and she talked me out of it, because she thought you'd appreciate a private celebration given how busy we've been lately," Draco explained. "Then she offered to help me plan the perfect evening for you."

Ginny nodded slowly. "Did you do anything?"

"I bought your gifts," Draco replied in a whisper, feeling thoroughly ashamed of himself for taking the credit for his mother's hard work.

"Anything else?"

"No, Mother arranged everything else."

"I see."

Draco waited for what seemed an age for her to say something else, anything else. He'd have settled for a curse or a painful hex right about now, because it would have been less torturous than standing there watching a multitude of emotions flow over her face. A glance over Ginny's head told him even more family members had joined the audience. They were talking in hushed tones, but not so low that he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"What's going on?" Bill asked.

"Shh, she's about to kill him," Ron whispered excitedly.

An expression of interest passed over Charlie's face. "Why?"

"He forgot her birthday," George supplied.

Charlie nodded. "I know. Ron told me."

"How did she find out?" Bill asked curiously.

"Ron." George chuckled to himself. "He can't hold his water."

"What? Don't look at me like that!" Ron protested. "I didn't mean to."

"What are we going to do if she does kill him?" Charlie inquired.

Ron shrugged. "Dig a hole?"

"Remind me to tell Pansy next time he forgets something important," Bill murmured.

"Yeah, last time I'll help him to put things right, so she doesn't kill him," Charlie mentioned, giving his youngest brother a look of disgust.

"Nice to know I can rely on my brothers," Ron grumbled.

"Looks like we can't rely on you," Bill pointed out.

"He's not... In-law... he's a bloody in-law!"

"Dare you to say that around Mum," Fred challenged.

Ron looked at his brothers incredulously. "Do I look suicidal?"

Draco refocused his attention on his wife, who still seemed to be struggling with her emotions. Whether or not Ron was feeling suicidal today was irrelevant, though he rather hoped the man had tendencies, because it would save him the trouble of killing him later. At least he knew he had Bill and Charlie for support. He just hoped it extended to saving his life if Ginny decided to follow through with that murderous glare that kept flicking across her eyes.

"Say something, please," Draco pleaded, unable to tolerate her silence any longer.

"I don't know what to say," Ginny whispered.

"You did have a nice night, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Then does it really matter that I didn't remember until Ron and Harry reminded me?"

"It's not that."

Draco sighed. He knew where this was leading. "Mother?"

She nodded.

"I was at work, love. As it was, I dropped everything to find you gifts that I thought you'd appreciate. It took me most of the afternoon to do that. Mother made the offer and I accepted, but only because I wanted it to be a special night for you, and I knew she'd do her utmost to make sure it was perfect." Draco paused, not only to catch his breath, but also to see if she had anything to say about his reasons so far. He knew he was embellishing the truth a little, even now, but if she knew he'd gone running to his mother for help there was no way she'd forgive him. "If you'd like a party or a fancy dinner party with your friends, then I'm more than willing to arrange that for you. All you have to do is say the word."

"No," she uttered.

"The offer is there if you change your mind." Draco bravely reached out and stroked her cheek. "Love, would you have had any idea that you married someone with an appalling memory if Ron hadn't tattled on me today?"

"No, everything appeared as though it had been arranged for weeks."

"One of Mother's many talents." Draco grinned hopefully at her. "Nothing ever appears last minute with her."

"I just wish you'd told me."

"I didn't want to spoil your day."

Ginny nodded her understanding.

Draco noticed her expression starting to soften. "Am I forgiven for being a forgetful prat?"

"You're forgiven." Ginny smiled gently.

"I promise I won't ever forget an important date again," Draco muttered as he leaned down to seal his vow with a kiss.

Ginny looked at him skeptically, but didn't bother to dispute his promise. "I have to get to the lav."

"Hurry back," Draco encouraged as she rushed off in the direction of the house.

Before Ginny had reached the door the other men had gathered around him, all with disbelief written on their faces.

"How did you get out of that?" Fred asked with admiration.

"I promised to never forget another important date again."

Bill cringed. "Making promises you can't keep?"

"You know the next time you forget something she's going to pay out double on you," Charlie informed him.

"I can keep such promises," Draco stated confidently. "I'll simply supply my secretary with a list of dates I need to remember and instruct her to begin daily reminders a fortnight prior."

George slapped Draco on the shoulder. "You know, you should be thanking Merlin that you're still breathing."

Draco's gaze wandered over the men, turning icy the moment he came across the one person responsible for his pain. "No thanks to someone."

"Yeah, well..." Ron fidgeted on the spot before lifting his chin and meeting Draco's stormy gray eyes. "You still owe me dinner."

"Somehow, I think he'd let you starve to death before feeding you again," Bill said, giving his youngest brother a pitiful look.

Charlie cleared his throat to garner everyone's attention. "Now that the crisis has been averted, I think we should take the time to celebrate Ginny's birthday properly."

Draco looked at Charlie incredulously.

"Awful thirsty work watching you worm your way out of trouble," Charlie explained with a cheeky grin and a hearty slap to Draco's shoulder. "Mead?"

Draco nodded absently and followed the men to the table. The women were already starting to place large platters of food along the table. A few of them sent him disappointed looks, and he tried his best to keep his features stoical, because he had a feeling that if he showed just an ounce of guilt it would be open season.

Charlie placed a bottle of Mead in front of Draco with a generous tumbler of Firewhisky next to it. "Get that into you. You still look a bit pale."

"You're fighting a losing battle there, Charlie," Harry said.

"Yeah, don't waste good booze on him. He's always pale," Ron added.

"Perhaps we should reconsider your share of the booze this afternoon?" Bill pondered aloud. "After all, you did commit an unforgivable."

Ron looked affronted. "I paid for the booze today!"

"So?" Fred posed.

George sniggered, and then added, "It doesn't mean we're going to let you have any."

"I don't believe this! I'm your brother ... your blood. And you lot are siding with him." Ron threw his arms in the air and stomped into the house, almost colliding with Angelina as she entered the yard with a stack of plates.

"What on earth is going on?" Angelina demanded.

"Too easy," Fred said gleefully.

"He's such fun to play with," George added.

"Are you two tormenting Ron?" Angelina asked sternly, looking directly at the twins.

"Us?" George looked innocently at his sister-in-law.

"Would we do that, darling?" Fred asked his wife.

Angelina's gaze sharpened on the two known troublemakers.

"That's just lovely," Fred expressed, shaking his head in disgust.

"Haven't you heard of innocent until proven guilty?" George huffed.

Fred nodded emphatically. "Just because Ickle Ronnikens goes running to you lot-"

George held his hands up to his eyes dramatically. "Sobbing his heart out-"

"Doesn't mean we did anything," Fred concluded.

"For goodness sakes, stop talking like that! You know I hate it." Angelina held her hands to her head and glared at her husband and his troublesome twin.

"You'd think-"

"She'd be-"

"Used to it-"

"By now."

The twins burst into laughter as the back door slammed behind an infuriated Angelina.

"You two are either very brave or brain dead," Bill said gravely.

"She'll get over it," Fred told him confidently.

George nodded his agreement. "And if she doesn't, Fred will just have to give her a little tickle to distract her."

"Oi! There's nothing little about my tickle."

"I think a change of subject is in order," Percy expressed.

"Please," Bill uttered, turning his eyes to the sky, as if begging.

"There's nothing little about mine either!" George stated, standing up and reaching for his belt.

Fred immediately followed suit, determined to prove his size as well.

"Put them away!" Pansy ordered as she all but slammed a bowl of salad onto the table. "There are women and children here, and we have no desire to see what you have lurking in your pants."

The twins sat down again, not willing to risk their lives, given her dangerous tone.

"Right now, you." Pansy poked Draco in the shoulder. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself for blaming Ron for your pitiful memory."

"I assure you, Pansy, I do not and did not blame Ron for my lapse in memory." Draco kept his voice even and controlled, because he knew she would have only been supplied with half the story. "I do, however, blame him for Ginny finding out."

"Draco, this whole situation is your fault," Pansy pointed out. "If you hadn't forgotten in the first place there wouldn't be a problem."

"I know," Draco hissed.

"Well, why are you blaming Ron?"

"Regardless of anything he may have told you, Ginny was completely happy and totally unaware of my gaffe until he opened his mouth. So, he is solely responsible for upsetting my wife."

"Do you mean to tell me that after her birthday you didn't think to tell her of your near miss?"

"Do I look stupid?"

"Looks can be deceptive," Pansy sniped as she flounced back to the house.

"That was a bit rough," Fred commented.

Draco shrugged, not all that bothered by anything Pansy had said. "She's all bark."

Charlie looked at the back door with concern etched on his handsome features. "Depends on what a certain little brother is telling her."

"I might put a stop to this before he gets us all in trouble," Bill announced.

"You don't have to on my account," Draco said.

"It's not for you," Bill assured him. "God only knows who's hearing what in there."

"If we're not careful Mum will be out here boxing our ears in before we know it," Charlie reminded everyone.

"Or Dad," George noted as a not too happy Arthur entered the yard.

"Right, you lot, I want you to cut it out now," Arthur said sternly, planting his hands on the end of the table. "The women are starting to get restless, and it's only a matter of time before they start looking for some blood to spill."

"It's not our fault," Fred countered.

"Ron was the one who got Draco in trouble," George supplied.

"Be that as it may, Ron is in there telling anyone who will listen that you're a bunch of prats and why."

Fred looked horrified. "Dirty rotten-"

"Traitor!" George snarled.

"Dad, Bill's gone into straighten him out," Charlie said. "We had a feeling he was telling a few tales when Pansy came out."

Arthur shook his head. "You know you could have ribbed him all you liked, but to refuse him a drink-"

"We were joking, and he took off before-" Charlie sighed. "Well, before he figured it out."

Arthur shook his head. "It was a low blow."

The men all looked at each other, but kept their silence and no one met the Weasley patriarch's eyes.

"You all know how stressed he is at the moment, and when he's like that he has a tendency to over-react." Arthur looked at each of the men as he spoke.

"That isn't our problem," Percy pointed out coldly.

"Perhaps not, but you are his brothers, so you're expected to be supportive." By his tone, Arthur Weasley did more than expect support from his sons for their brothers.

Percy snorted. "Like he's supportive of us?"

Arthur pinned his third son with an uncharacteristic hard look. "You know, as well as anyone, that Ron would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it."

Charlie stood up, grabbed three bottles of Mead and headed inside.

A small smile played around Arthur's lips. On the rare occasion that he had reason to take his boys to task it never took too long to get them to see reason.

"Draco, did you manage to sort out your trouble with Ginny without this lot sticking their two Knuts worth in?" Arthur asked, sitting in the chair Bill had previously occupied.

"Yes, I think so."

"You might want to make certain that's the case when you get a chance, because with the women getting all hot under the collar she could very well arc up again, and you'll be back at square one without even realizing."

"Thanks." Draco smiled tightly at his father-in-law.

"You're welcome," Arthur answered casually and smiled.

Draco rolled his eyes and groaned to himself. He could really string Ron up by his toes for this. At that moment, the man in question walked back into the yard flanked by his two oldest brothers, looking a little uncomfortable in the eyes, though his body posture was relaxed.

"Come and sit down, Ron," George invited enthusiastically.

"There's a seat right here for you, little brother," Fred pointed out.

"If you two think I'm sitting between you then you're barking mad," Ron snapped.

George sniffed affectedly. "Nice to be trusted."

"I trust you," Fred assured him.

"Thank you, Fred." George embraced his twin. "I have one brother who loves me."

"Give it a rest," Ron demanded grumpily, as he sat next to Harry. "I don't want to lose my appetite."

"Is that possible?" Draco asked dubiously.

"Yeah," Ron answered defensively. "Occasionally."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Draco muttered.

"Don't worry about it too much," Charlie said. "I doubt any of us will live to see the day."

All of a sudden the yard filled with people. The women were all arranging food on the table, except for Ginny, who was told repeatedly to sit down. Just as the last of the platters hit the table the children emerged from the back field. It was as if they had some sort of sixth sense.

"Eat up, everyone. Come on, while it's hot," Molly encouraged. "Draco dear, Ginny told me what you did for her birthday."

Draco braced himself for a telling off. "Oh?"

Molly smiled sweetly and kissed the top of his head. "Well done. She said it was her best birthday ever."

"I-err-" Draco cleared his throat lightly and gathered his thoughts. Molly's words were the last thing he expected. "Thank you."

Bill frowned down the table at the blond wizard. "What did you do?"

Draco glanced at the other end of the table where the women were gathered. "I'll tell you later."

"I'll hold you to that," Bill promised.

Draco acknowledged him with a confident tilt of his chin. With Molly's words still ringing in his ears, Draco was convinced, when he explained what he did for their sister, they'd all be impressed.

Lunch was the normal fare for a birthday meal, though Draco could tell that his sisters-in-law had helped with the cooking, because not everything tasted as good as it usually did when Molly cooked everything. Conversations at the men's end of the table were confined to safe subjects and making Ron feel better for reasons unbeknown to Draco, but which he made a note to discover.

The men sat back, letting their lunch digest as the women cleared the table and the children ran off to play again. More than one of them had an infant in his arms, so conversations were somewhat subdued for the time being. Angel wandered up, eyeing each of the men carefully before making a beeline for her godfather.

"Hello, princess," Harry expressed as he lifted the strawberry blonde witch onto his knee.

"Hello, Uncle Harry," Angel responded in a bored tone.

"Are you having fun with your cousins?" Harry inquired.

"I suppose." A glint of excitement suddenly lit up her gray eyes. "Guess what we did yesterday?"

"Let's see... you cleaned the stables?"

Angel looked positively aghast. "No."

"Oh." Harry appeared to think deeply for a short while. "You painted the manor purple?"

The little witch rolled her eyes expressively. "No."

"You'd better tell me then," Harry said.

"Daddy took us to Blackpool!"

"That is exciting," Harry exclaimed for his goddaughter's benefit. "Did you go for a swim?"

"Yep, and the beach was really crowded, and I had to hold onto Daddy really tight."

Harry couldn't help but look across at Draco, who had a smirk on his face that suggested his daughter was telling the entire truth. "You do have to hang on tight when you're in the ocean."

"The water tasted funny too." Angel's nose wrinkled in disgust at the memory. "I like our lake better."

Harry nodded seriously. "What else did you do?"

"We went to the zoo and saw the animals," Angel informed him earnestly. "And we had lunch with the Muggles."

"Really?" Harry looked a little disbelieving at that last claim. After all, Draco Malfoy was hardly known for his tolerance of non-magical people.

Angel nodded ardently. "It was fun."

"I'm sure it was," Harry uttered.

"I'm going to play with Courtney now," Angel announced, sliding off Harry's lap.

Harry frowned. "Just Courtney?"

"Britany's being nasty." The little girl sniffed affectedly before turning on her heel and disappearing into the house.

Harry shook his head as the back door slammed closed behind her. "What's the real story?" he asked Draco.

"She was terrified of the ocean and ended up getting a lung full of seawater, then refused to go back in," Draco responded.

Harry laughed. "That sounds more like the Angel we know."

"Are you boys playing Quidditch?" Hermione asked.

"That's a silly question," Fleur commented.

"I know, but they might surprise us one day," Hermione responded.

"There haven't been any reports of hell freezing over," Ginny quipped.

Charlie sat up straight in his chair, looking like a conscientious student. "To confirm your thoughts, ladies, we are playing this afternoon, so if you'd like to see a most excellent display of athleticism-"

"We'll go elsewhere," Anya interrupted.

"Just lovely," Charlie expressed. "You torture yourself every Sunday squeezing into your school Quidditch britches and your own wife doesn't even appreciate your efforts," Charlie said, mostly to himself.

"You wish you could still fit into your school britches, Charlie Weasley," Anya retorted.

"Now there's a vision that would send us running in the opposite direction!" Ginny quipped.

The women erupted into laughter.

Charlie huffed and tossed his nose in the air. "I'm going to get changed."

"I'll join you," Draco said, making his way towards the house.

Charlie stopped at the doorway. "Anya love, do you know where my gear is?"

"It's sitting on the end of the bed."

"Thank you."

While Charlie had blocked the entry into the house, most of the other men had joined him in a quest to change for the game, so there was quite a queue behind him when he finally entered the house.

Draco picked up his Quidditch gear from the front room, where Ginny had left it for him, and headed upstairs, looking for somewhere to change. With Charlie and Anya staying here at the moment, he didn't feel it proper to enter a room they or their children were using during their stay. He wandered up to the second floor, keeping a keen ear out for any sign of the other men.

"Draco!"

Startled a little, Draco turned in the direction of the voice.

"You can change in here," Charlie said, sticking his head out a door.

"Thanks, I wasn't sure what rooms you were using."

"Anya's not likely to come up at the moment, so we're safe," Charlie assured him.

Draco entered the bedroom to find Bill standing by the window in his boxers and Charlie pealing his shirt off by the bed. Draco placed his things on the end of the bed and started undressing.

"What do you think Ron's going to do?" Bill asked.

"Don't know, but Pansy's going to rip him a new one if doesn't make a decision soon," Charlie advised.

Bill nodded seriously. "I think he's mad for even thinking about it."

"What's wrong with him?" Draco asked curiously.

Bill and Charlie exchanged a look that Draco couldn't quite decipher and Charlie nodded.

"We're glad you asked, Draco," Bill started. "You might just be the right person to get our little brother to see sense."

Draco quirked an eyebrow curiously. "About?"

"Pansy's father wants to give them a house, and Ron is being stubborn about accepting the offer," Bill supplied.

"The thing is, Pansy's getting a bit antsy with the baby due in a couple of months and the fact that they don't have anywhere to live," Charlie added.

Draco looked at the men skeptically. "And you think I could convince him?"

Bill sighed. "We've all tried."

"You could tell him that it's a tradition for the parents to house their kids in family properties," Charlie suggested.

Draco shrugged. "It is in most cases, but it's usually the groom's family who take on that responsibility. Though, I can see why the Parkinsons made the offer." Draco looked around the room he was standing in. "There's no way he'd be able to afford to house Pansy the way she's accustomed to."

"We just think it's too good an offer to refuse," Charlie admitted.

"They'd be set for life," Bill pointed out.

"I agree. It's how families like mine retain our wealth." Draco smiled as confusion logged on both men's faces. "We own properties, and they've been owned for generations, so we never have to worry about housing costs."

"What about maintenance?" Bill asked.

"House elves." Draco smirked.

The surprised expression on Charlie's face was unmistakable. "He'd get a house elf in the bargain?"

"Probably not. I can't see Parkinson being that generous," Draco determined.

"So, you'll talk to him?" Bill prompted sanguinely.

Draco sighed and looked at the two men. He was sure if anyone stuck their head into the room they'd wonder what was going on, because they were all standing there in their boxers looking expectantly at one another. "I'll try, but he'll probably tell me to piss off."

"It's not like you listen to him, so just pay no attention to him," Charlie said with a broad grin.

Bill rubbed his neck, looking a little uncomfortable for a moment. "Just do one more thing for us-"

Draco braced himself. "What?"

"Make sure he knows it wasn't Pansy who asked you to talk to him," Bill continued.

"All right," Draco agreed slowly.

"She doesn't need the grief he'd serve her at the moment," Charlie explained.

"Apart from refusing Parkinson's offer, has he done anything to secure housing for them?" Draco inquired.

"Yeah, he's been looking at a couple of places, but according to Pansy they're dumps," Bill supplied.

Draco nodded thoughtfully as he pulled his britches up over his thighs.

"I went past one of them," Charlie said. "Just so you know, Pansy's not being fussy. The place was a dump."

"That answered my next question," Draco replied. "Don't Aurors make pretty good money?"

Bill nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, but the property market is booming."

"So it's becoming-" Charlie started.

"Unaffordable for the average wizard," Draco finished.

"Yeah and rental prices are going through the roof as well, not that it matters, because he's got it into his head that he has to buy a place," Bill added.

"Look I'll try, but I doubt he'll listen to me," Draco agreed.

"Thanks," Bill replied.

"Are you three coming or should we give you a bit longer?" Fred asked cheekily from the door.

"We're coming," Charlie answered.

"We just had a chat with Draco," Bill informed him.

Fred looked expectantly at his older brothers. "He going to talk to him then?"

Charlie grinned. "Yes."

"Good stuff." Fred nodded in Draco's direction. "Knew we could count on you."

"I'll try," Draco mumbled, suddenly feeling as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

"Harry!" Fred bellowed down the hall. "Draco's going to talk to your stubborn, pig-headed mate."

"Excellent! Merlin knows I've run out of words." Harry poked his head around the doorframe. "Just one word of advice: when he tells you to piss off, ignore him and keep talking."

"I'll keep that in mind," Draco uttered as he pulled his boots on.

"He's really only waiting for the right person to talk him into it, because deep down he wants the big house, but he knows he'll never be able to do it on his own."

Draco acknowledged Harry's advice with a noncommittal grunt and pulled his other boot on. All he wanted to do right now was escape from the room before some other family member happened along and the whole discussion started over again.

"Ready?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, let's go play some Quidditch," Draco said, glad to be moving out of the room.

As the men filed back into the yard, the women threw a few ego-stroking comments their way, to which the men preened shamelessly. Draco looked over at Ginny. She had a decidedly hungry look in her eyes that had nothing to do with lack of food. He decided that such an open wanton expression couldn't go unmentioned, so he started to head over to her. Not two steps into his journey, he encountered a roadblock in the form of three little boys, all kitted up in their Quidditch gear and holding their broomsticks.

"We're ready, Daddy," Drake informed him confidently.

Draco frowned. He knew he hadn't given Drake permission to play today, but he wondered if Bill and Charlie had said anything to their sons. "Are you boys playing?"

"Yeah!" all three boys answered in unison.

"All right then," Draco answered a little hesitantly.

Loud cheers erupted from the three little wizards and they started towards the back field.

"Beau, where are you going?" Bill called after his son.

"We're playing too!" the excited little boy replied.

Bill frowned at his son. "Are you?"

"Uncle Draco said we could," Beau informed him.

Upon hearing Beau's claim, Draco swung around, and he was instantly sorry that he did. All the men were looking at him with decidedly displeased expressions, especially Bill and Charlie. "I thought one of you ... They acted like they already had permission."

Harry's mouth began to twitch first, and then Ron tried to disguise a snort of laughter with a cough, after that the rest of the men gave into their amusement. Bill and Charlie walked over to Draco.

"You should see your face," Charlie managed between his own hilarity.

Bill slapped Draco on the back, nearly knocking the air from his body. "You have just been had."

Draco gaped at his oldest brother-in-law. Had? How could he, Draco Malfoy, be had by a few little wizards? "How could-"

"It wasn't all that difficult," Pansy said casually.

"What do you know about it?" Draco snapped.

Pansy tried her best not to smirk at him. "I overheard them plotting their attack."

"Go on," Draco urged, knowing full well he was going to regret it.

"First they identified the softest target." Pansy smiled sweetly at Draco.

"Me?" Draco looked thoroughly offended. "I'm not soft!"

Pansy looked at him questioningly. "No?"

Draco snarled.

"Then they decided who would be best to do the talking," Pansy continued. "Of course, Drake got the job, because he knows how to get you to agree to anything. And the rest, they say, is history."

"Conniving little buggers," Bill grumbled.

Charlie shook his head disbelievingly. "We're going to have to watch them from now on."

"Why me?" Draco whined.

"That's not hard to figure out," Charlie said.

"Charlie and I would have checked with each other," Bill informed him.

"Fine, next time I'll check," Draco ground out. "What are we going to do about today?"

"We should tell them they're not playing," Charlie responded.

"I'll do it," Draco offered. He was looking forward to seeing their little faces fall with disappointment.

"You can't do that," Fred objected.

"That's rubbish," George agreed.

"Got to give them something for being clever enough to outsmart you," Fred went on with gusto.

"Admiration!" George puffed his chest out. "That's what I've got for them."

"They deserve to play," Fred concluded.

Bill rolled his eyes at his twin brothers. "How about we send all three of them to stay with you a week?"

"We'd take them gladly," George stated.

"They'd probably come back with a load of new tricks to torment us with," Charlie reminded Bill.

"Let them play, boys," Molly interrupted. "It'll do them good to burn off some energy."

"Mum, they-"

"I know what they did," Molly said. "But it won't work again, will it?"

"No."

"Let them think they've won this time, and then when they try the same trick again-" Molly let her voice trail off as the men began to grin coldly and nod.

"That could work," Charlie uttered.

"Might be fun," Bill agreed.

"So, they're flying today?" Draco asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, let them fly," Charlie concluded. "Did anyone get the ball crate?"

"Got it," Harry replied.

"You know it's going to be easier when they're actually old enough to play with us," Bill said as the men picked up their broomsticks and headed for the field.

"The only thing we'll have to worry about then is if we're going to get ousted out of our positions." Charlie laughed as he stepped over the stone wall.

Drake, Matthew and Beau were already in the air showing off to each other and whoever else was watching.

"They're all getting good," Ron said, admiring his nephews.

"They have no fear," Charlie reminded him.

"Yet," Bill added. "Gather around, everyone, so we can work the teams out. Harry, can you give the boys a yell?"

"No problem." Harry jogged over to stand closer to where the boys were flying and bellowed at them to come down.

When everyone was close enough to hear, Bill turned to Charlie. "Who do you want?"

"I'll have Matthew, George, Harry and Ron," Charlie said decisively. "You can have everyone else."

"No problem." Bill examined his team for a moment. "Draco, you're our Seeker. Drake, Beau and I will be Chasers. Fred, you're our only Beater, and, Percy, you're Goal Keeper."

"You lot ready?" Charlie asked.

"We're good," Bill answered.

"George is playing Chaser and Beater."

Bill nodded to acknowledge the claim. "Fine with us."

As the game got under way, Arthur appeared in the field. He was levitating a heavy comfortable chair, which he set down in the shade of a large tree. Molly and Ginny soon followed with a blanket that Ginny spread out next to the chair. Before long the other women followed with the rest of the children.

"Are all the lunch dishes done?" Molly asked.

"Yes, Molly," Anya answered.

"And everything is put away properly?" Molly continued.

Anya's smile was brittle at best. "Of course."

"I just like to check that it's all done properly," Molly informed them all.

"I know," Anya ground out almost silently.

"Is she driving you nutters?" Ginny whispered.

"Insane," Anya replied in a lowered voice. "Everything has to be done her way."

Ginny patted her sister-in-law's hand. "She's set in her ways."

"I know." Anya sighed. "It just makes it hard for anyone trying to help her."

"If you need me-" Ginny began.

Anya's eyes popped wide open. "Don't go there!"

Ginny looked at her sister-in-law with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Think about what happened last time we tried to look after her together," Anya reminded her.

"Okay, but the offer is there. Even if you want to take a day off or something," Ginny continued.

"That I might do." Anya smiled warmly.

Ginny reached over and squeezed Anya's hand comfortingly. "Just let me know when."

"Oh goodness! Ginny, is that Drake?" Molly shrieked.

Ginny looked skyward just in time to see her son execute a steep dive at top speed. She kept her eyes glued to her son, willing him to remain on his broom. It wasn't until Drake pulled out of the dive that Ginny remembered to breathe again.

"Are you all right?" Katie asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Ginny smiled for everyone's benefit. "It's just a bit scary watching him."

"He's only a baby! He shouldn't be flying like that," Molly expressed most definitely.

"Drake flies like that all the time," Angel said casually. "He's really good."

"Ginny, how could you let him?" Molly inquired.

"It's not like I can stop him once he's in the air." Ginny rolled her eyes, though it was well out of Molly's vision.

"Harry said he's a natural," Hermione added, trying to be helpful.

"Natural or not, he's going to kill himself," Molly determined.

"The boys are keeping a close eye on the little ones, Molly," Anya said. "There's no way one of them would hit the ground, if they fell, with so many watching them."

Molly clasped her hands and held them just below her ample breasts, then sat back in her chair with a very discontented expression on her face.

Ginny rolled her eyes again. She knew that stubborn expression well and wisely didn't say anything to re-engage her mother in the discussion about Drake's or anyone else's flying prowess.

As the game progressed, Drake dove at every opportunity he possibly could. Each time Molly tutted and fussed, but the only one who paid her protests any heed was Angel, who gave her grandma delightfully detailed descriptions of the sort of antics her twin was known to attempt on his broom.

It didn't help matters when Beau and Matthew started flying with the same abandon that Drake had been since the game started. The women watching from the ground really had no need to strain their necks to see the game, as Molly was giving everyone a running commentary.

By the time the Snitch made its appearance, Molly had worked herself up into quite a state. The girls had been discreetly trying to figure out how to get her back to the house without upsetting her further, but now that Draco and Harry were racing through the air at breakneck speed there was no way she was going to move until she knew everyone had landed without incident.

Ginny held her breath as the two Seekers closed in on the Snitch. Harry and Draco were flying shoulder to shoulder, both of them trying to bump the other off course. The three underage wizards were hovering about twenty feet off the ground, watching raptly as the final play of the game unfolded.

All of a sudden Fleur screamed. The Snitch had flown through the three little boys and the two men chasing it were bearing down on them at a terrifying speed. Panicked calls for the boys to get out of the way filled the air.

Time seemed to slow down as Ginny watched her son and nephews hover indecisively in the air. Her heart leapt into her throat as Harry and Draco went around the boys with no room to spare.

"Thank goodness." Anya released a relieved sigh.

"That was close," Ginny uttered, her heart hammering against her ribs.

"Too close," Fleur agreed in a shaky voice.

"Arthur, get those boys down," Molly ordered in a shrill voice.

"Yes, dear," Arthur answered.

As Arthur wandered over to stand under the playing area, Harry let loose a triumphant cry and all the men began to descend. There was no celebrating from the winning team as the men gathered around the three boys, all asking if they were all right. Draco pushed his way through the crowd, eager to reach his son.

"Drake," Draco uttered, kneeling in front of the boy. "Are you all right?"

Drake nodded, his eyes as big as saucers and fear still very much evident in his face.

"Listen, if that ever happens again, you're to stay perfectly still." Draco paused to look at the other two boys. "That goes for all of you. It's easier for a Seeker to go around someone who's not moving."

"I just told them that," Charlie said.

"It bears repeating."

The men started to disperse as the women pushed their way to the boys. Ginny, Fleur and Anya claimed their sons in rib-breaking embraces.

"They're just a bit shaken," Bill said, sounding a little shaken himself.

"You should have made sure they were safe," Fleur scolded, as she held a now struggling Beau.

"We're sorry," Charlie mumbled.

"Sorry wouldn't have saved their lives if there had been a collision," Anya barked.

"Let's just get back to the house," Bill suggested. "I'm sure the boys need a drink."

"I know I do," Charlie added under his breath.

No one had noticed Molly standing behind them, but the moment they turned to make their way back to the house she made her presence heard.

"What were you thinking?"

"Mum, they're-" Bill tried.

"They could have been killed!" Molly shrieked.

"They weren't," Charlie dared to utter.

"You should have made sure they came back to the ground," Molly insisted.

"We-" Bill started.

"And you!" Molly turned her accusing eyes on Draco. "You should have stopped!"

"There wasn't time," Draco muttered. Not that Molly heard him as she continued railing at them.

The Weasley matriarch assaulted their ears for another five minutes, during which time the three boys seemed to recover from their ordeal enough to find their grandma's reaction funny.

"Why didn't you stop or something?" Fleur whispered to Draco on the way back to the house.

He glanced ahead at Molly. There was no way he wanted to start her off again, so he slowed his pace and indicated to Fleur to do the same. When there was enough distance between them and Molly, Draco looked at his sister-in-law. "There wasn't enough time. If we'd tried to stop the most likely result would have been loss of control and that would have been disastrous. Harry and I decided to keep going, so we had control of the situation."

"But you didn't know if the boys would move," Fleur pointed out, her tone still tainted with fear.

"We just had to hope they wouldn't or they'd move slowly to give us time to adjust our course a bit more." Draco paused, running a still gloved hand through his hair. "Look, we know, probably better than anyone, how close that was. We could hear you lot screaming at them to move, and all we could do was hope that they were listening to us instead, because we were bellowing at them to stay still."

"We didn't-"

"Yeah, I know." Draco sighed. "You've got to remember that we're in the air, and we need to control what's going on up there."

"We were so frightened," Fleur whispered in an uneven voice.

Draco looked around, only to discover that he was quite alone with his French sister-in-law. A sister-in-law who appeared ready to cry at any moment.

"You've just got to trust us," Draco answered uncertainly. "Err-Don't do that... The boys are safe."

With a strangled whimper Fleur collapsed onto Draco's chest. Her shoulders shook silently for a short time, and then she drew a haggard breath. Contrary to Draco's hope that she was pulling herself together, Fleur let loose an almighty wail and her tears began to flow in earnest. He patted her back awkwardly and made the perfunctory hushing noises, and prayed for Bill to notice his wife was missing. When it seemed that no one was going to rescue him, Draco knew he had to act.

"Fleur, why don't we go back to the house?" Draco tried gently. "A cup of tea would make you feel better, I'm sure."

At first he didn't think she'd heard him, but then she nodded against his chest. Even though she'd agreed, Fleur made no attempt to move of her own volition, leaving Draco to coax her along step by step.

As family members came into view, Draco fought the urge to call out to them. To alert anyone to his situation would bring it to an end sooner, but it seemed a little desperate, and he didn't want anyone thinking that of him.

His patience paid off eventually. Penelope spied him helping Fleur across the yard, and suddenly Bill appeared out of nowhere, striding towards them with concern etched firmly into his usually cheerful face.

When Bill got close, Draco stopped and began to peel Fleur away from him. As he handed the woman to her husband Bill gave him an unmistakable questioning look.

"We were talking about what happened and she just-" Draco's voice trailed off as he waved his hand at the distressed witch.

"Thanks," Bill murmured, leading Fleur away.

Draco stood alone for a few minutes, watching the family fuss over Fleur. He could hear Molly telling everyone that it was delayed shock, and what she needed was a cup of tea and some rest.

"Are you all right?" Ginny asked, wrapping her arms around him.

Draco blinked blankly at her a couple of times, wondering where she had come from so suddenly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is Fleur-"

"She'll be all right." Ginny smiled softly. "Of course, it might be some time before Beau sees his broomstick again."

"Poor kid," Draco uttered.

"Bill will handle it," Ginny assured him. "Are you coming over here? Mum wants to do the cake."

"Of course."

Once Molly had made certain Fleur was okay, she ordered that Ginny's cake be brought out. It wasn't long before the discordant chorus of 'Happy Birthday' filled the yard and Draco started cringing privately. He still couldn't fathom how a group of people could sound so awful singing such a basic tune.

Molly tried to serve the cake, but Ginny sent her to sit with Fleur, claiming that Fleur needed another woman at the moment. While Ginny set about slicing the huge cake Molly had determinedly made, the other women started distributing the cake to the family, starting with the children first.

Draco was about to sit down when he spied Ron going into the house. Confident that everyone else was outside, Draco decided that it was a good time to have that chat with Ron that he'd promised he would.

"Draco, don't you want some cake?" Ginny asked.

He stopped mere feet from the door, his mind working overtime to come up with a good reason why he was sneaking into the house. "I have to-to go to the bathroom."

"I'll put a piece aside for you."

"Thank you, love," Draco muttered before entering the house.

Ron was nowhere to be seen on the ground floor, so Draco climbed the stairs. He checked the bathroom and found it empty. A noise from somewhere above him answered his question about where his youngest brother-in-law might be.

Draco headed straight to Ron's bedroom, thinking it was probably better if they have this discussion in a private setting where no one was likely to walk in accidentally.

As he approached Draco noticed that Ron's door was open. What he was going to say was floating across his thoughts, and he was trying to come up with an opening line that would make the man more conducive to what he had to say. Before he even realized it, Draco was standing in the open doorway. He was frozen to the spot; even his mind had shut down, as he struggled to comprehend what his eyes were telling him. It wasn't until Pansy let a stream of expletives pour from her mouth that Draco's brain re-engaged, and he hurried back to the stairs.

He didn't stop until he'd reached the front room, and then only to compose himself before rejoining the family. While he was curious about how some activities were performed with a pregnant woman, the practical demonstration was something he'd like erased from his memory, preferably before it sent him insane.

Outside the house the rest of the family were laughing and joking around in their typical fashion, completely oblivious to what was going on inside.

"Are you all right, Draco?" Ginny asked, placing a hand gently on his arm.

"Err-yes, yes I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Ginny frowned at him. "You look a bit pale."

"I'm sure," Draco said strongly, hardly believing he could sound so confident when his mind was screaming at him that everything was most certainly not all right.

"All right," Ginny said slowly. "Would you like your cake now?"

"That'd be good, love." Draco let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as his wife left his side.

"Are you going to stand there all afternoon?"

Draco glanced over to an expectant looking Ginny, holding his rather generous slice of cake. He walked over and accepted the plate. "No, I'll find somewhere to sit."

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Ginny probed again.

"Positive." Draco smiled for her benefit, though it felt forced, even to him. "Thanks."

He moved around to the other side of the table, before she could question him further, and he gave into the temptation to vent his disgust verbally. There was a vacant chair next to Charlie, so Draco made a beeline for it.

"Someone's getting spoiled," Charlie expressed as Draco put his plate on the table.

Draco looked up quizzically. "Excuse me?"

"You do realize you've got twice as much cake as anyone else got."

"I have?" Draco glanced at the portion on the plate and wondered briefly if he had the stomach to eat all of it. "What can I say? My wife loves me."

Bill slumped into the chair next to Draco and sighed heavily.

"Is Fleur okay now?" Draco asked politely.

"Yeah." Bill nodded. "Look, thanks for before. If I had any idea she was going to lose it like that I would have hung around."

"It's fine," Draco responded a little uncomfortably. He really didn't want to get into the whys or whatevers, he just wanted to know that the woman was feeling better.

"I saw you go into the house after Ron before," Charlie mentioned quietly. "Did you get a chance to have a word with him?"

"Umm-No, it wasn't the right time."

Bill frowned. "What do you mean 'not the right time'? Time is growing short for him."

"I mean he was-he was busy."

"Doing what?" Harry asked from across the table.

"I'd rather forget," Draco growled.

The men exchanged confused glances, but didn't push the blond to reveal anything further, as he was quite obviously not willing to share.

"I'll ask Ron what happened," Harry mouthed across the table when Draco was busy looking at his plate.

Bill wisely changed the subject by asking Charlie whether or not he'd been preparing for the upcoming school year. The Hogwarts Professor launched into a detailed rhetoric about the animals he planned to have his students study. Charlie's descriptions had them all cringing, and Harry even mused aloud that he thought Charlie might be worse than Hagrid when it came to his inexplicable love of dangerous creatures.

Draco managed to lose himself in the conversation. As horrific as the beasts that Charlie was intending to inflict upon his students were, it was better than thinking about what he had witnessed. His efforts to put the horror behind him were proving successful until Ron and Pansy returned to the yard.

Visions of Ron's lily-white arse once again filled Draco's head and he could feel his face contorting in disgust.

"What's-" Charlie looked from his brother-in-law to his overly cheerful youngest brother, and then he burst into laughter. "Oh, you didn't."

"Please don't," Draco begged.

"Have we missed something?" Harry asked, looking a little confused.

"Take a good look at your best mate," Charlie instructed. "What do you think put that expression on his face?"

Harry chuckled. "There's only one thing that makes him glow like that."

"Remember when Draco said he couldn't talk to Ron earlier, because he was 'busy'?"

"Yeah," Harry answered casually.

Draco watched Harry's face carefully, waiting for him to connect the dots.

"Oh-oh-" Harry burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Bill cleared his throat, but appeared to be struggling to keep his composure. "So how much did you see?"

"Enough to give me nightmares," Draco snarled.

"You know you could-" Bill's control escaped him, and he too burst into raucous laughter.

"Sounds like you lot are having fun," Ron said, resting one of his hands on Draco's shoulder. "What have I missed?"

Draco's face contorted into an expression of revulsion as he eyed the hand sitting, uninvited, on his shoulder while trying not to breathe. Just the thought of where he'd last seen that hand had his stomach rolling. With no subtly he reached up and plucked Ron's hand from his shoulder with two fingers.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, his face now a mask of confusion.

"I doubt you washed your hands," Draco hissed.

Ron's confused expression doubled. "What?"

"He saw what you were doing with your hands," Bill mentioned.

When Ron showed no sign of having any idea what they were on about, Charlie added, "Upstairs."

"Upstairs?" Ron repeated, still frowning deeply. "But I was-"

"We know what you were doing upstairs," Bill interrupted.

With that Ron's face went from happily flushed to a furious magenta. His mouth was working, but only nondescript sounds were coming out much to the amusement of those at the end of the table. "What the bloody hell were you doing perving on us?" Ron finally spluttered.

"Your door was open," Draco growled. "It's not like I would have deliberately subjected myself to-to that."

"My room is the only one up there," Ron pointed out.

"And I thought you were alone."

"That doesn't explain why you were there."

"I wanted a word."

"About what?"

Draco weighed up his options. Ron was obviously not in a receptive mood right now. "We'll talk later."

"No, we'll talk now," Ron argued.

"Someone might over hear us," Draco whispered harshly, throwing a well-timed glance towards the women.

"Right then, we'll talk later," Ron answered seriously. "Is there any cake left? I missed out."

"No, you didn't," Harry teased.

"Shut it," Ron snapped. "She'll think I told you."

"You don't have to say anything when it's written all over your face," Harry informed him.

"It helps if certain people keep their mouths shut." Ron glared at Draco.

"Draco didn't say a word," Bill corrected. "He said you were busy, and it was only when we saw your face that we guessed how busy you were."

"You really need to control that happiness, little brother, or everyone will know exactly what you're doing, when you're doing it," Charlie advised.

"Wouldn't want Mum catching onto what that expression means," Bill warned.

A stricken expression took over Ron's features as he glanced over to where his mother was sitting. He sat down at the end of the table and cradled his head in his hands.

Harry patted his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, mate, we won't say a word."

"Thanks," Ron uttered sarcastically.

"Why don't you have some cake? You know that'll make you feel better," Harry suggested.

Ron looked up hopefully. "There's some left?"

"Of course there is. None of us can eat as much as you."

Ron ignored the jibe at his appetite and made his way to the other end of the table, where the left over cake was sitting. There were several slices already cut for anyone who desired more, so Ron helped himself to three of the pieces.

"Did you get enough?" Draco asked a little disgustedly as Ron sat back down.

"I'm hungry," Ron defended. "I always get hungry after-"

"I don't need to know," Draco ground out.

"I was going to say Quidditch." Ron rolled his eyes. "You need a good shag."

"Excuse me?" Draco choked out.

"A good shag would stop you thinking about it all the time," Ron informed him matter-of-factly.

"Would it please you if I bent your sister over the table right now?"

The youngest Weasley brother, who simply rolled his eyes again and leaned over with a serious expression on his face, ignored the protests from the other Weasley men in earshot. "No, not like that. You've got to take your time, you see. Build up the tension until you can't stand it any longer and she's begging you."

"Really?" Draco feigned interest as best he could. "It didn't look like you were taking your time upstairs."

"That was different... A quickie." Ron looked expectantly at Draco.

"So there's a difference?" Draco inquired with an amused smirk.

"Absolutely!"

"Good to know." Draco nodded as if confirming the idea.

"We're going to have to have a serious chat if you don't know that," Ron stated gravely.

"Not necessary. I was just curious about the difference, because quickies aren't in my repertoire." Draco paused and leaned towards Ron. "You see, your sister prefers it if I take the time to make her scream."

Ron drew back from the table with a horrified look on his face. "That's enough."

Draco smirked. "Are you sure? I could tell you how much she likes it when I-"

"NO!" Ron clapped his hands over his ears. "I don't want to know."

"If you're positive," Draco said casually, leaning back in his chair.

"We're positive," Bill and Charlie responded in unison.

Draco laughed.

Charlie leaned forward in his chair and pinned his brother-in-law with a stern look. "Talking like that is-"

"Bad for my health," Draco finished for him. "I know."

The men were silent for a few seconds, and then they burst into laughter.

Charlie ruffled Draco's hair good-naturedly. "And you lot thought he wasn't trainable!"

A renewed bout of hilarity went around the end of the table. It was only the sudden appearance of Beau, Matthew and Drake that sobered the men.

"Dad, can we go flying?" Beau asked hopefully.

"You've been flying today, and I really don't feel like getting back on my broom," Bill answered.

"Just us," Beau insisted. "Me, Matthew and Drake. You don't have to come."

"I don't know about that, mate," Bill responded slowly.

"You lot are a bit young to be flying on your own," Charlie said.

"We won't be alone," Drake corrected. "We'll be with each other."

"You need an adult with you," Bill insisted.

Matthew frowned. "Why?"

"If you fall or hurt yourself-" Charlie started.

"We promise not to fall," Beau said earnestly.

"Boys, just five us a couple of minutes," Bill instructed.

"Okay," Beau replied excitedly, pulling his two younger cousins away.

Draco waited until the boys were a fair distance away before turning to Bill. "What are you playing at?"

"What age were you when you started flying alone?" Bill inquired.

"It was the summer before I started Hogwarts," Draco answered.

Bill and Charlie exchanged knowing glances.

"I'll rephrase it then: how old were you when you started sneaking out for a fly?"

Draco cringed. "About Drake's age, maybe a bit older, but not much."

"I started about the same age," Bill admitted.

"And I was younger, thanks to a generous big brother," Charlie added.

"Generous?" Bill questioned. "More like caving to your blackmail demands."

Charlie grinned and shrugged. "Either way I got to fly."

"So what are you saying?" Draco asked cautiously.

"I'm saying that they're going to do it eventually, if they don't already, so I think it might be an idea to let them go up occasionally without us," Bill explained. "We're just here if anything happens."

"We'd have to set some ground rules first," Charlie insisted.

"Of course," Bill agreed. "Draco, what about you? Are you willing to trust them?"

"Drake does fly well," Draco conceded quietly. "I suppose we have to trust them sometime."

"We'll lay down the law to them and see if they can behave themselves," Bill said.

"All right," Charlie agreed. "What do you think their height limit should be?"

"Top of the goal hoops?" Bill suggested.

"Sounds fair," Charlie concurred.

"That's a bit high considering they'll be unsupervised, isn't it?" Draco queried.

"We don't want to make it too low or they'll breach it for sure," Bill argued.

Draco nodded. "Good point."

"No diving," Charlie added.

"There's no point in Drake even going up then," Draco said. "All he does is practice dives."

"How about no doing any dive or maneuver they haven't done before?" Bill asked.

"Sounds fair," Charlie concurred.

"Anything else?" Bill looked at both men.

Charlie shook his head. "Can't think of anything."

"No," Draco answered.

"Boys!" Bill called loudly.

Within seconds the three excited little boys returned to their fathers. They listened to the rules carefully and didn't raise any objections, for fear they wouldn't be allowed to fly at all.

"Remember, we'll still be watching you," Charlie reminded them.

"There's just one more thing before you go," Bill said as the boys turned to run to the field. "If any of you end up in St. Mungo's, we'll kill you after your mothers have finished killing us."

Three pairs of excited eyes widened momentarily, and then they relaxed when they realized Bill was joking.

"Go on," Charlie urged. "Have fun."

With that the boys ran to the back field, stopping only to collect their broomsticks on the way.

"Where are they going with their brooms?" Ginny inquired.

"Flying," Draco responded.

Ginny's eyes opened wide. "On their own?"

"We gave them permission and laid down some rules," Draco explained calmly.

"Draco, they're not old enough!" Ginny protested fervently.

Bill leaned over to Draco and whispered, "Ask her how old she was when she started sneaking my broom out of the shed for a ride."

Draco quirked an eyebrow at Bill and the older man nodded. "How old were you when you started sneaking Bill's broom out of the shed?"

"That's beside the point," Ginny snapped. "And for you information, it was Charlie's broom I used."

"The point is we can still keep an eye on them, and they think they're flying alone, so it's a win-win situation," Bill explained, trying to stem his sister's obviously rising temper.

"How is that going to apply if one of them hurts himself?" Anya asked seriously.

"In that case, you'll win and we'll lose," Bill answered.

"Girls, they'll be fine," Arthur insisted. "They just want to be boys."

"Dad, they're just-" Ginny started.

"About the same age you were," Arthur finished. "Let them be themselves. Nothing every happened to any of you."

"Bill, I don't want Beau up there," Fleur said in a tone that brokered no argument.

"After what happened they all need to get back up there, but on their own terms, so they chase away any doubts that might have crept in," Bill justified evenly.

"I'd rather them have the doubts," Fleur snapped.

"If you're not confident on your broom, you're more likely to fall," Harry pointed out.

"I just-" Fleur began.

"They'll be fine," Bill assured her as he knelt beside her. "They need to do this."

Fleur met her husband's eyes intently. "If anything happens-"

"We'll deal with it, but nothing is going to happen." Bill patted Fleur's arm and kissed her forehead soundly before returning to his seat.

"Did we do the right thing?" Draco whispered.

"Yeah." Charlie glanced down the table at the women who were nattering away. "It's not the boys who need to work through their fears."

As Draco nodded he cast a worried glance in Ginny's direction. The women needed distraction, something to take their minds away from the fact that their baby boys were in the back field on their broomsticks completely alone.

"So, you promised to tell us what you did for Ginny's birthday," Bill said, changing the subject.

"I did." Draco grinned confidently. Before he could even begin his tale the men who hadn't been sitting close by moved in so they could hear. He wondered, just briefly, if the Weasley brothers were capable of communicating without actually talking.

"Go on," Charlie urged.

"We had an intimate dinner in the grounds of our home."

"Is that it?" Ron asked disgustedly, still dirty that he'd missed out on a free meal.

"Not quite." Draco smirked. "A horse-drawn carriage picked us up from the house and conveyed us to a very secluded location on the outskirts of our property, near the lake, where we had dinner-"

"A picnic?" Percy interrupted.

"No," Draco responded patiently. He knew none of them could be this creative, and he was feeling rather smug at the moment, despite the fact that his mother had planned the evening. "We had a three course meal under a marquee at a properly appointed table."

Percy sniffed pretentiously. "I see."

"After dinner we-err- did some stargazing," Draco finished in a hurry.

"Stargazing?" Bill questioned, his eyes holding his open disbelief.

"Never heard it called that before," Charlie admitted with a wry grin.

Draco smirked to confirm Charlie's definition of 'stargazing'. They'd all, apparently, caught on, if their expressions were anything to go by. "And after that we went back to the house."

Harry cleared his throat loudly. "It sounds like quite an evening."

"Ginny enjoyed herself," Draco said, glancing in the direction of his wife. He immediately noticed that she and the other women were staring in the direction of the back field with worried expressions on their faces. "They need distraction."

"Yeah, they do," Charlie agreed, frowning at the other end of the table.

"I have an idea," Draco whispered.

"Don't keep us in suspense," Bill insisted.

"Come and help me with Ginny's birthday presents. If they're oohing and aahing over girly stuff they won't be thinking about the boys."

"I don't think it'll work, but it's worth a shot."

Between the three of them they had all the gifts transferred in one trip.

"You'll have to call the boys back," Ginny insisted. "They'd be so disappointed if I opened them without them here."

"Ginny, the boys aren't going to care what you get."

"I'd still like-"

"Open your gifts," Draco said evenly.

"Here, start with this one," Ron encouraged. "I'm dying to know what I got you."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Ginny said as she read the card.

"It shouldn't," Ron answered simply. "Open it!"

Ginny rolled her eyes and began tugging at the wrapping. Under the pretty paper she found a box of products to pamper herself with. "Thank you, Pansy. I'm going to enjoy these."

"I thought you could do with a little personal pampering," Pansy responded in a pleased voice.

Ron peered over Ginny's shoulder. "It's just girlie stuff."

"Which is great, considering I'm a girl," Ginny responded.

"Yeah, but it's not very interesting," Ron argued.

"Ignore him, Ginny." Pansy pushed another beautifully wrapped parcel her way. "Open this one next."

Ginny shook her head at the disgusted sound Ron made and plucked the card off the gift Pansy was pushing at her. She smiled over at Percy and Penelope when she read their names. After removing the wrapping paper she ignored Hermione's delighted squeal that announced the gift as a book and forced a smile onto her face. "Thank you."

"I'm sure you'll find it useful," Percy commented superiorly.

"What's the title?" Hermione asked, leaning forward eagerly in her chair.

"Umm-Pointers in Politesse for the Modern Witch."

"Oh-" Hermione sent Ginny an understanding look. "Well, I'm sure it will be an interesting read."

Ginny looked around at the men. "Has anyone checked on the boys?"

"I'll go," Ron offered.

"Be discreet," Charlie whispered as his youngest brother brushed past him.

Draco watched Ron cross the yard. He was torn between staying with his wife and following his brother-in-law to have that chat while the man's fiancée was otherwise occupied.

"Now would be good," Bill whispered in Draco's ear.

"I was thinking the same thing, but I should be here with Ginny," Draco returned.

"Do you really care anymore than Drake?" Bill asked.

"Not really." Draco sighed. "All right, I'll go, but if she notices me missing-"

"We'll cover for you," Bill promised. "Just talk some sense into him."

"I'll try," Draco promised.

Draco crossed the yard quickly and entered the back field. His eyes went to the sky first. The three boys were having the time of their lives. A proud smile slipped over his mouth when Drake showed the other two a dive he'd been working on, and when they tried, they were unable to complete the maneuver.

"What are you doing out here?"

Startled, Draco jumped a little. He had failed to notice Ron standing in the shadow of one of the large trees close by. "I thought we might have that chat now."

"What about?" The reluctance in Ron's tone was all too evident.

"Your brothers think you're making a huge mistake by not taking the property Parkinson is offering," Draco started. "And, frankly, I'm inclined to agree."

"You can all mind your own business, because I can look after my family myself."

"No one is saying you can't, but refusing an offer like this is madness."

"Yeah... well... No one asked for your opinion."

"On the contrary. Bill and Charlie did, and Harry told me to just keep talking when you told me to piss off."

"What do they know? They've got houses."

"They know, if they had the same opportunity you have, it would have made their lives a whole lot easier."

Ron grumbled inarticulately under his breath.

"Look, apart from the fact that you're insane for refusing this offer, you're also dicing with tradition."

"What are you on about now?"

"In families of a certain wealth it's traditional for the parents to house their offspring in one of the family properties. Why do you think we have so many large houses?"

"If that's the case, why are you still living at home with Mummy and Daddy?" Ron asked aggressively.

"It's the other way around actually; they're living with me." Draco paused to see if Ron understood, which he clearly didn't, given the incredulous expression on his face. "When I married, I became the master of Malfoy Manor. The same will happen when Drake marries - the power or command of the house transfers automatically."

"So you're the head of the family?"

"Yes, technically speaking."

"And your dad is all right with that?"

"He doesn't have a choice. It's an ancient charm that one of our ancestors placed on the house centuries ago. What it does is ensure that the main house goes to the rightful heir and no wizard is in control of the family fortune for too long."

"So if you'd never found out about the twins and you'd married someone else, when Drake got married you'd have lost command of the house?"

"There's more to it than that, but very basically, yes, that would have happened."

"What if Drake's not your oldest son?"

"Given how old I was when he was conceived, and the fact that I was completely faithful to your sister when we were together, it's highly unlikely that I'd have another heir running around. Plus, your sister is probably the only woman in the world who wouldn't try to claim my fortune, because I got her pregnant, and there have been no further claims against my Gringotts vault."

"Yeah, Ginny never wanted you to know."

"That's beside the point," Draco said quickly, not wanting to dwell on painful memories. "The fact is that you're denying Pansy and any children you have together their rightful home. The home they should have, as has been tradition for more generations than we can account for." Draco paused to allow what he'd said to sink in a bit. "By rights, it's Pansy's house you'd be living in."

"I get all of that, but it just doesn't sit right with me," Ron expressed in a frustrated tone. "It feels like a hand out."

"It's not. I assume you're not being offered the main house."

"No, it's another one. I can't remember what it's called, but I've seen a photograph."

"So, if you don't take the house it will continue to remain vacant until... Well, probably forever."

"I just wanted to make my own way."

"Just think of everything you'll be able to do for Pansy, and your children, without the burden of housing costs. Your children will be in line to inherit the Parkinson estate, but if you start messing with tradition there's no telling how that might affect their future wealth."

"What do you mean?"

"Parkinson could write Pansy out of his will and, subsequently, any children she may give you."

"Yeah, but it's the bloke's responsibility to house his family."

"It is, and you'd be negligent in your responsibilities if you didn't take the house."

Ron appeared to be waging an internal war. His face was contorted into an expression of deep concentration that was only marred by a hint of irritation.

"You earn good money, but from what I've heard the property market is a bit thin at the moment, so anything you can afford is best described as a dump." Draco stopped as Ron's face hardened, but when he didn't refute the claim he continued. "Just think of the life you could give her. What you could spend the extra Galleons on that would otherwise be going towards keeping a roof over your head."

Ron grunted discontentedly.

"Look, I'm not going to keep prattling on. I've had my say. All I ask is that you consider Pansy's feelings in this as well. She might want, or even need, the familiar surroundings of a family property at the moment."

Without waiting for a response, Draco headed back to the rest of the family. There was nothing more he could think of to say that would encourage the man to make the right decision. He did understand where Ron was coming from though; the Weasleys were very proud people, and to accept such an enormous offer went against Ron's nature.

"Any luck?" Charlie asked in a lowered voice as Draco neared the table.

"I don't know," Draco admitted honestly. "I think I've got him considering it a bit more seriously, but who knows what decision he'll come to."

"Let's just hope it's the right one."

"Yeah," Draco answered absently. "Did Ginny finish opening her gifts?"

"Ages ago," Charlie said.

"Did she notice I was gone?"

"Yeah, she did, but we told her you went to check on the boys, because Ron hadn't returned."

Draco nodded. That was a perfectly feasible excuse for his absence.

"Draco, are the boys okay?" Ginny asked the moment she noticed her husband had returned.

"Yes, love, they're having fun."

"Good. When you went after Ron we thought-" Ginny's voice trailed off, too scared to put her thoughts into words.

"I think Ron was quite mesmerized by how well they all fly," Draco fibbed.

"He's probably dying to join them," Pansy said.

"Most likely," Draco answered. "What else did you get for your birthday?"

"I've packed it all up now, so I'll show you at home," Ginny promised. "I think you'll be pleased with at least one gift."

"Oh?"

"He'll be more than pleased," Pansy insisted with a wicked grin.

"Will I now?" Draco grinned. "You might just have to tell me about this gift."

"You can wait," Ginny insisted.

"Who was it from?"

"Fred and George."

Draco cast a wary glance at his wife's twin brothers.

"It was the least we could do," Fred said.

"Especially after we looked after you on your birthday," George added.

"What did they get you?" Draco asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry," Ginny assured him. "It was just some lingerie that I know you're going to love."

"Lingerie?" Draco began to smirk.

"Yes, you know, lacy things that barely cover anything."

"Excellent."

All of a sudden, Ron strode through the yard and into the house with a determined look on his face. Everyone stopped speaking as the back door of the house slammed behind him. In seconds Bill and Charlie were at Draco's side.

"What did you say to him?" Bill demanded.

"I talked to him just like you asked."

"Talked to him about what?" Pansy inquired.

"Just something we-" Charlie's voice failed him under the sharp eyes of the black-haired witch.

"Nothing import-" Bill physically cringed as her eyes turned on him.

"Men's business," Draco said firmly. He knew she was raised not to question such a statement, but that didn't necessarily mean she wouldn't, so he braced himself for her glare.

Pansy turned her dark eyes on her old friend and raised one eyebrow in a challenging manner.

"Don't look at me like that, Parkinson, you know it won't do you any good," Draco informed her.

Pansy opened her mouth to retort, but the sound of the back door slamming again distracted her.

Ron marched over to her and put her handbag in her hands, then placed her cloak over her shoulders. "We have to go."

Pansy looked at him in bewilderment. "Why?"

"We're having dinner with your parents," Ron said in barely a whisper.

At that point several large hands landed on Draco's back in what he thought was meant to be a congratulatory manner. However, he felt as though they were trying to push his spine through his breastbone. By the time Draco had recovered enough to draw his next breath, Ron had spirited his fiancée away, and the family had begun to gossip about what he was likely to do at Pansy's parents' house.

Not long after Ron's shocking departure, other family members began to say their goodbyes and gather their children for the journey home. It wasn't until Molly started to show signs of fatigue that Ginny decided it was time to leave. The Weasley matriarch had done well to keep going for as long as she had today, considering she still hadn't made a full recovery from her recent illness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When they arrived home Draco saw to the twins' baths while Ginny packed away her gifts. A light family dinner was followed by some quiet time in the parlor before Drake and Angel were marched up to bed, with only a few token protests being made for effect.

Once the twins had settled down, Draco and Ginny retired to their own rooms for the remainder of the evening. While Ginny put some of the products Pansy had given her to good use in the bath, Draco took a quick shower and then settled on the bed with a book. He hardly glanced up as his wife crossed the room wrapped in her bathrobe an hour or so after he got comfortable.

Ten minutes later the sound of a lightly cleared throat disturbed his peace. Draco glanced up to the doorway of Ginny's dressing room to find her leaning in the doorway, clad in a mere wisp of black lace and satin.

"Do you like my brothers' taste in frilly things?"

"They have exceedingly good taste," Draco conceded with an appreciative smirk. If all his blood wasn't thundering away from his brain it might have occurred to him that the gift wasn't entirely an appropriate item to give their sister, but as it was his thoughts were solely focused on how wonderfully the fine fabric caressed her ivory skin. "Coming to bed?" Draco asked in a throaty voice.

"That depends on whether you're going to put your book aside."

Draco pushed to tome off the bed. "What book?"

Ginny walked over to their bed slowly, noticing the way his eyes didn't stray from the sway of her hips. She climbed onto the end of the bed and crawled towards him. The effect she was having on him was measured by just one glance at his boxers.

Draco reached for her as she neared his grasp. When his hands got within an inch of her torso he received a painful shock. "Oww."

"What's wrong?"

"You stung me!"

"It's probably just static."

"Mmm..." Draco reached out again and once again he withdrew in pain. "What's going on?"

"I don't know."

"Just take it off, because I can't touch you without it attacking me."

Ginny laughed. "You're being ridiculous. It's just a piece of clothing."

"No, I'm not! This isn't static. There's something wrong."

"Fine, I'll take it off." Ginny sat up and turned her back towards Draco. "Can you at least untie the laces?"

Draco reached out a tentative hand and tried to grab hold of one of the laces holding the item on her body, but when his fingers got close he received another shock. "Oww... Bloody hell."

"What?"

"It attacked me again."

"Draco-"

"Look, I know how ridiculous it sounds, but I'm not kidding."

"Just get me out of this."

"All right," Draco said with determination. He reached out and took one of the ties between his fingers. The pain was almost unbearable, but he held on long enough to give the lacing a couple of sharp tugs. "Fuck!"

"What?"

"Look at this." Draco held out the fingers that had tried to untie her lingerie to show her two seriously blistered fingers.

"Oh my goodness! How did that happen?"

"Those are the fingers that were touching the bloody laces."

Ginny cradled his injured hand in hers and raised it to her mouth to kiss the tender flesh. "I'll take it off."

"Good and then it can go directly into the fireplace."

"Why?"

"It burned me, so I'm going to burn it, with undeniable pleasure."

Ginny rolled her eyes as she reached around behind herself to release the laces. She pulled lightly at first, and then a little harder, but nothing happened. "Draco, I left my wand in the dressing room. Can you get it for me?"

"It won't release, will it?"

"I did it up with magic, so perhaps I need to release it with magic."

Draco leaned over to his nightstand and retrieved his own wand. "Let me try."

"All right." Ginny turned her back on him again.

He tried every charm he could think of to get the lingerie to release its claim on his wife's body, even a severing charm, to no avail. At one point the sparks created by the charm he was using flew back at him, causing Draco to roll off the bed in an effort to avoid further injury.

"This is not lingerie," Draco snarled. "It's a bloody chastity belt!"

"I'll Floo them and ask them how to get it off," Ginny said climbing off the bed and going to retrieve her bathrobe from her dressing room. "I'm sure there's a simple solution that only those two would find amusing."

Draco sat on the bed cursing the very existence of his twin brothers-in-law and vowing to make them pay for their lack of good judgment. "I'll Floo them," he growled as Ginny emerged from her dressing room.

"It might be better-"

"I'm Flooing them," Draco reiterated, determinedly negating any argument she had before storming into their sitting room.

Ginny followed him, watching from a distance as he grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the bowl and slamming it back to the mantle with a bang loud enough to make her jump.

Draco threw the Floo powder into the hearth and emerald flames erupted in the empty grate. He practically yelled Fred's address and then almost threw himself into the flames. The sickening swirl of the Floo Network did nothing to help his demeanor, nor did finding Fred's house vacant and in darkness. Draco withdrew from the fireplace and reached up blindly for the Floo powder, knocking the bowl off the narrow mantle. His string of expletives was lost in the sound of the crystal bowl exploding on the marble hearth.

"Draco, are you all right? You're not cut, are you?"

"I'm fine," Draco ground out, sinking his hand into the largest pile of Floo powder without thought. "Oww! Shit!"

Ginny's eyes opened wide when she saw the blood dripping from her husband's hand. "Let me heal you."

"Don't come over here, there's crystal everywhere," Draco warned, conscious of her bare feet.

Ginny extracted her wand from her bathrobe pocket and pointed it in the general direction of the dangerous mess. "Reparo."

Fragments of crystal flew from all directions to meet a foot or so away from Draco. He sustained a few shallow grazes as pieces of sharp crystal forced their way from between his legs, which he complained about profusely.

"Stop whining and show me your cuts," Ginny ordered.

Draco proceeded to point out each and every little nick or graze.

Ginny healed the minor injuries quickly, but the cut on his hand was deep and full of Floo powder. "This needs cleaning first."

"Just heal it, so I can find one of your brothers."

"It'll get infected if you don't clean it. Now come to the bathroom and wash it out."

Draco grumbled unintelligibly about wasting time. All he wanted to do was get his hands on Fred and George, or either one of them, and throttle them.

"You have to stay still," Ginny instructed, after finding a sizable piece of crystal buried in the wound.

Draco snatched his hand away. "Oww that hurt!"

"For goodness sakes, it's not going to tickle, but if you keep moving it's likely to come out of your ear instead of your hand." Ginny grabbed his hand and held it in the basin. "You're a bigger princess than Angel."

"I am not!"

"Well, prove it!" Ginny challenged. "Hold still."

She could feel him shaking slightly under her touch, but went ahead anyway, lest they be there all night. With a steady hand, Ginny held her wand over the open wound and summoned the fragment.

"That hurts, Ginny!"

Ginny held his hand as still as she could with one hand, but it was inevitable that the crystal would take the most direct route out of his flesh and, in doing so, increase the size of the wound, not to mention the volume of the squeals. Once she had dropped the offending shard into the sink, Draco's hand was once again unceremoniously pulled under the running water, dried magically and then healed.

"All done," Ginny announced.

"Did I ever tell you that you're brutal?"

"And you're a big nancy boy," Ginny retorted. "Now, if you don't go and Floo my brothers I'm going to, because the sound of running water did nothing for my bladder."

"I'm going now," Draco promised, examining his newly healed hand.

"Thank you." Ginny smiled as her husband wandered out of the bathroom. She gave the basin a quick rinse and then joined Draco in the sitting room.

He was trying to scrape enough Floo powder off the floor to make a call, but it had been scattered virtually all over the room.

"I'll get you some more Floo powder," Ginny offered.

"No, don't worry about it. There is enough here." Draco looked around the room with a hint of despair. "I just have to get enough of it into my hand."

"Well, I wish you'd hurry," Ginny said a little desperately. Now that she'd voiced her need to use the bathroom the urge had increased tenfold.

"I'm trying." Draco scraped around for another few minutes. "I think this should do it."

"Good," Ginny said in a strained voice from her perch on the edge of a chair.

Draco gave her a tight smile, swore a painful vengeance on the twins and threw what Floo powder he had collected into the hearth, demanding to be connected with George Weasley.

Luck was finally starting to turn his way. Not only was the kitchen of his brother-in-law's home fully lit, Katie and Angelina were sitting at the kitchen table, which meant the twins were together.

"Draco?" Katie said.

"Katie, where is you husband?"

"He's off with Fred."

"Where?"

"The shop, I think." Katie turned back to the table. "Did the boys say they were going to the shop, Angelina?"

"Yes, they had some experiment or something to check."

"Look, if they arrive home, and they haven't spoken to me, can you get them to Floo me urgently?"

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yes. Now if you don't mind I've got to try and catch them at the shop." With that Draco withdrew from the hearth. "I need more Floo powder. They're at their shop."

"Millie!" Ginny called.

"Mistress did-" Millie started the second she appeared in the room.

"We need more Floo powder urgently."

"Yes, Mistress."

"How are you holding up?" Draco asked when the servant had left to do their bidding.

"If I move I'm going to be in trouble."

Millie reappeared in the sitting room with a bowl of Floo powder. Draco snatched it out of the servant's hands. He threw a handful into the fireplace and gave the address of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

The moment the back office of the store appeared in his vision Draco bellowed for the twins.

"Draco!" Fred and George answered in unison.

"What a surprise," Fred added.

"We didn't expect to hear from you tonight," George continued.

"I think you did," Draco snarled. "What the fuck were you two thinking?"

"No idea." George shrugged.

"What's he on about?" Fred asked his twin.

"Don't know," George admitted.

"Don't start that shit!" Draco yelled. There was only one thing that could make his head spin worse than the Floo network and that was when the twins got started. "Tell me how to get the bloody lingerie off."

"Didn't you read the instructions?" Fred asked.

"Instructions?" Draco frowned. "Hold on a moment." He brought one of his hands through the network to keep the connection open while he asked Ginny a question.

"Did you find them?" Ginny inquired anxiously.

"Yeah, they asked if you read the instructions."

"What instructions? There weren't any. If I'd seen instructions I would never have put it on," Ginny responded angrily.

Draco stuck his head back into the emerald flames. "There were no instructions," he snarled at the twins.

"I'm sure we put them in," George expressed thoughtfully. "We did, didn't we, Fred?"

"We did," Fred confirmed.

"You didn't," Draco roared. "Tell me how to get it off now!"

"Just give the laces a spray with the release potion," George said simply.

"What release potion?"

George turned to his brother. "You put it in, didn't you?"

"Me? I thought you did," Fred countered.

"Nope." George shook his head.

Fred looked back at Draco. "We'll have to bring over the potion to-"

"Just get over here!" Draco growled.

"Where did we put the fabric-"

"Find it and get over here," Draco snarled. "Your sister is pregnant and needs to use the lavatory, but she can't because she's stuck in that bloody thing."

"On our way!"

When he withdrew from the fireplace, Ginny was looking more uncomfortable than before. "They're on their way," Draco assured her.

"Thank goodness."

"Millie!"

"Master did-"

"Get down and watch the front doors. Mrs. Malfoy's brothers will be arriving momentarily. See that they are escorted up here without delay."

"As Master wishes."

The hurried Disapparition of the house elf caused a cloud of Floo powder dust to rise. As Draco drew in a deep breath to steady his temper he immediately began to cough. A lung full of Floo powder was the last thing he needed right now, and it only added to the growing list of reasons why Fred and George must die a painful death.

"Draco, are you all right?"

"Water," Draco rasped out.

Ginny looked at him with a pained expression. There was no way she could even think about going near running water without the risk of embarrassing herself.

"I'll get it myself," Draco choked out.

Ginny smiled tightly at him as he disappeared into their bedchamber. She wasn't game enough to even adjust her position on the seat anymore. Fred and George were going to pay for this very dearly indeed.

Just as Draco stepped back into the sitting room looking a little more relaxed, but still flushed, Millie entered the room through the other door. Before the house elf could announce the new arrivals Draco dismissed her.

Fred and George stepped into the sitting room. Both were staring at the mess, though their amusement was clearly displayed in their eyes.

"Get it off her now!" Draco demanded.

"A bit underdressed to be receiving visitors, aren't we?" Fred commented, looking Draco up and down.

"Don't you lot usually dress up all fancy when you're expecting someone?" George asked with more than a hint of mischief.

"Fred, George, this isn't funny," Ginny told them in a clearly pained voice. "Please."

"Right O, let's get you out," George announced.

"Just hurry," Ginny pleaded. She'd worry about killing them after she'd relieved herself.

"Show us the laces," Fred instructed, taking a bottle from George.

"Hang on!" Draco snatched the bottle from Fred and turned it over in his hands, but there wasn't a thing to say what the bottle contained. "There isn't anything in here that could harm them, is there?"

"Of course not!" George answered in a clearly incensed tone.

"What does he take us for?" Fred asked his brother.

"Anyone would think we weren't trustworthy," George exclaimed indignantly.

Draco glared harshly at both of them. "If anything happens-"

"Nothing is going to happen," Fred assured him, taking the bottle of potion back. "If you don't count Ginny wetting herself."

"Which I'm about to do! Hurry up!"

"Show us the laces, Gin, and we'll have you out of there in a jiffy," Fred said.

Ginny lowered the back of her bathrobe, exposing the neat bow she'd created an hour or so beforehand. A freezing blast of liquid landed squarely between her shoulder blades, and then she felt a tug on the bindings. When she realized the suit was becoming loose on her body she gathered her bathrobe around her, pushed the men out of her way and ran to the bathroom.

Draco waited for the bathroom door to slam, but the sound never came. Curious, he stuck his head inside the bedchamber and noticed that both the doors leading to the bathroom were wide open. He was about to withdraw when he heard the unmistakable sound of a relieved sigh.

"Well, we'll let you two-" Fred started.

"Resume you activities," George finished with a wicked grin.

"Not so fast, you two," Draco growled. "I cannot fathom how you could do such a thing to your sister - your pregnant sister."

"It was just a joke," Fred defended.

George look affronted. "Ginny's always appreciated our sense of humor."

"Somehow, I don't think putting her in a situation where she very nearly humiliated herself will be appreciated, and that doesn't take into account the physical injuries your little prank is responsible for," Draco informed them ruthlessly.

Fred and George looked at each other, and then at Draco to question in unison, "What injuries?"

Draco held his hand up to display the enormous blisters on two of his fingers. "I got these trying to get that thing off her."

"It mustn't have occurred to him to let go when it stung him," Fred mused.

"Couldn't have," George agreed. "Mind you, any normal bloke would have let go when it hurt."

"She was starting to panic," Draco hissed. "What you did was inexcusable!"

"What do you call this ridiculous contraption?" Ginny demanded as the lingerie landed in George's face.

"Do you feel better, love?" Draco asked, fussing over her.

"Much." Ginny smiled for his benefit, and then turned a steely glare on her brothers. "What is it?"

"We call them, Pure Prudent Pretties," Fred announced proudly. "What do you think?"

"I think you two need your heads examined," Ginny exclaimed.

"We're working on something that will do just that," George told her.

"You wouldn't want to lend us your thoughts, so we can test our progress, would you?" Fred inquired earnestly.

"Believe me, you don't want to know what I'm thinking right now," Ginny promised.

"Do I detect a hint of malice in your tone?" Fred asked, stepping backwards.

"Oh, there's more than a hint," Ginny assured them with a cold smile. "I'm just having a hard time deciding what would be the most humiliating, painful way to deal with you two."

"Come on, Ginny, thoughts like that will only lead to long, lonely years in Azkaban," George told her in a soothing tone.

Ginny took a step towards the pair of jokesters. "It would be worth it," she whispered in a low voice.

"You know, Fred, I think she's serious."

"I don't think you're mistaken, George."

"Shall we?"

"It's the only decent thing to do," George agreed.

Draco and Ginny were so distracted by the twins' banter that they failed to notice George's hand slip into his cloak. The next thing they knew the entire room had turned pitch black.

"Bloody hell," Ginny cursed. "I'm going to kill them!"

"You wound us," floated in from the corridor.

"What have they done?" Draco asked as he tried several times to use Lumos.

"It's Instant Darkness Powder," Ginny growled. "You're wasting your time trying to light your wand. Just see if you can find the bedroom door."

After several minutes of feeling his way around Draco finally found a doorframe. He hoped it led to the bedchamber, because the absolute darkness had disorientated him quite a bit. "Ginny, I found a door."

"Is it light beyond the door?"

"Yes! It's a bit murky at the start, but it's normal after that."

"Great! Keep talking, so I can find-oww- I'm going to kill them!"

"Watch the table," Draco warned, albeit too late.

"Yeah, thanks it's a bit hard in this light," Ginny barked sarcastically.

Draco growled in the back of his throat. If they ended up having an argument tonight he was going to seriously kill them. After all, once all the facts were presented to the Wizengamot he felt confident that they'd excuse him from any wrongdoing.

"Draco, talk or something."

"Sorry, love, I got a little lost in plotting your brothers' demise."

"A painful one I hope."

"Most painful," Draco promised just as her hand brushed his chest. At least he hoped it was her hand, because he couldn't actually see her. He reached out, seizing the hand and she gradually emerged from the blackness. "There you are."

"Where does the black end?"

"Come this way." Draco guided her further into their bedchamber.

"Oh, that's better," Ginny said as she sat on the edge of their bed. "My eyes actually hurt from trying to see."

"There's something wrong with those two," Draco snarled. "How can they think any of this is amusing?"

"They've always had a warped sense of humor."

"Ginny, you could have fallen over trying to get to some light just then, and Merlin only knows what would have happened if they'd stuffed up that antidote or whatever it was." Draco's stormy eyes met hers. "We don't even know if any of this will have side effects."

"Draco, calm down. You're not achieving anything by yelling at me." Ginny kept her voice even. "We won't be able to do anything about them until tomorrow, so just leave it for tonight."

"There's another thing: what if one of the children need us during the night? How are they supposed to get through the sitting room safely?"

"They'll walk through and probably not even notice."

"Why are you so calm now?" Draco asked in frustration.

"I'm not really, but it's late, I'm tired and my stomach muscles hurt. There's nothing we can do until morning, so I'll save my energy for then." Ginny paused to yawn widely. "I'm going to bed now, so I have the energy to do some serious damage to my misfit brothers tomorrow. Are you coming?"

Draco snarled and grumbled under his breath as he wandered around to his side of the bed. Not only had they been to hell and back this evening, that yawn had all but told him they wouldn't be resuming their activities. He dropped onto the bed with his back to Ginny and dragged the covers up over his shoulder.

"Goodnight, darling."

Draco grunted a response. He could hear the amusement in her tone and that did not please him at the moment. She should have been raging, plotting some form of revenge and otherwise making him feel better about the situation. Draco lifted his head, punched his pillow several times and almost threw his body back down. Ginny's hand crept over him and came to rest on his chest. The warmth from her touch was soothing and before he could finish planning the ultimate revenge his eyes drifted closed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thanks to Rainpuddle13 for her fantastic beta skills!

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