It's Hard to be a Monster

Title: It's Hard to be a Monster
Name: rainpuddle13 (rainpuddle13 at gmail dot com)

Web: littleyellowduck @ yahoo groups & rainpuddle13 @ livejournal
Rating: Not Naughty
Characters/Ships: Draco/Ginny, Liam
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Notes: For Calla because she could use some cheer. *hugs*

Summary: An afternoon outing for the young Malfoy family.

It's Hard to be a Monster

Draco felt near to bursting with pride as he watched his young son playing with another little boy in the small courtyard between shops in Diagon Alley. The afternoon sunlight was unusually warm for mid-November, and Liam seemed to be intent on making the most of it as he chased a pile of leaves that swirled into the air every time the breeze got up a bit.

“Liam,” he called just as the little boy went to drop his jacket on the ground.

His son looked at him, blinking in the bright light. “Yes, Da?”

“Don't drop your jacket on the ground. Bring it to me.”

“But-” Liam motioned at the pile of leaves.

“No, buts. Bring it here.”

For a moment, Draco thought that Liam might defy him and drop it anyway, but instead he made of show of trudging over and handing over the small navy blue wool jacket. “Thank you,” he said, idly picking a few leaves out of his son's baby fine blond hair.

“You're welcome,” Liam replied with a toothy grin. Draco was very pleased that Ginny's hard work was starting to pay off - they were going to have a polite child if it killed her. “Where's Mummy? She's been gone forever!”

They had retired to the little courtyard to await Ginny while she went off in search of a lavatory. That had been nearly thirty minutes ago, which apparently happened to be the exact length of time before their son's patience wore out.

“I don't know,'' Draco said, opting for honesty since Liam was quite adept at ferreting out any lies his parents told him.

“Why not?”

“Forever is a long time to be in the loo,” Liam said thoughtfully. “What could she be doing?”

“Something in a shop window probably caught her eye on the way back,” Draco said quickly in an effort to steer his son away from the path his mind was trying to go down.

“I always get shouted at when I stay in too long.”

“Yes, well, your mother doesn't try to flush toys down the toilet either.”

Liam gave him a very sheepish look before running off to play with the little dark-haired boy who beckoned to him from the other side of the small fountain. They were having the time of their young lives tossing in anything they could find on the ground that would make a splash. Draco just shook his head that their peels of laughter after a particularly spectacular shower of water, thinking he'd never understand a little boy's fascination with tossing things, anything really, into water.

His grumbling stomach reminded him that his wife was missing-in-action, and he was starting to get a bit worried. She'd said she'd be right back, but then again she'd been a bit scattered as of late, so there was no telling what she might have gotten up to. Whatever it was, he was sure it was costing him hundreds, possibly, thousands, of Galleons. And speaking of his wife, she had just entered the courtyard looking unabashedly pleased with herself.

“Draco,” his wife purred as she took a seat next to him, snuggling close and tangling her fingers with his, “I think I've found the perfect cot for the baby!”

“Really? I thought we were going to use Liam's old cot.” He admired her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes, and couldn't help thinking that being pregnant really did become Ginny. They were expecting their second child come early spring. Her stomach had started to round in the past few weeks.

“No, silly,” she giggled before giving him a sound kiss. “He might want to use it for his own children one day.”

“Mummy!” A little blond bundle wrapped in a tiny dark green Weasley jumper launched himself into her lap.

“Oomph,” she breathed heavily, catching Liam awkwardly before he could crash land on her mid-section.

Draco scooped him up quickly, admonishing, “Liam! You have to be careful! Remember? We talked about having to be careful with Mummy because there is a baby in her tummy?”

His son just blinked up at him for a moment, looking very confused. It worried Draco that Liam hadn't yet acknowledged the baby. He just seemed to ignore the fact he was going to be a big brother. Ginny tried to assure him that Liam would eventually understand; it was just difficult for him to grasp the concept when he couldn't see any evidence of a baby.

“Can I have Gustav?” Liam asked, reaching for his mother's purse.

“No,” she said firmly, sliding the bag out of his reach, “what do you say first?”

He gave the question a fair amount of thought before answering in a soft voice, “please?”

“That's more like it.” She handed over the very much loved, stuffed, soft yellow duck. “Now can Mummy have a kiss?”

“Yes!” He flung himself at her again, but this time she was ready for him, smothering him in her arms while showering his face in kisses before he grew tired of the attention and wiggled free.

She shook her head, bemused, as he ran off to show Gustav the wonders of the fountain. “To have so much energy,” she said, caressing her barely-there baby bump.

“Tired?” Draco asked, sliding a hand over hers and matching her movements.

“A little.”

“Do you want to go home?”

“No, what I want is some lunch. The baby is hungry.”

“Oh, he is, is he?” he teased.

His wife gave him a very dubious look. “She would like a spinach and strawberry salad on the side of poached salmon and maybe sparking water with lime.”

“I see you've given this a good bit of consideration.”

“A girl wants what a girl wants.”

“And what if it's what a boy wants?”

“Don't say things like that!”

“Like what?” he said silkily just before attacking her neck with his mouth.

“You know what,” she said, pulling away and crossing her arms.

Draco smiled, brushed a kiss against her cheek. “You know I'm only teasing you.”

“Uh huh,” she mumbled, making a show of giving him a cold shoulder. “Liam, come here, baby. We're going to go have a bite to eat!”

The little boy ran immediately to his mother's side. He didn't even put up a fight when she insisted on him putting his jacket back on. He just waited patiently, talking softly to his duck, while his parents got their act together.

Draco stood, holding a hand out to Ginny and when she twined her fingers with his again and they started on their way, he said, “So, tell me about this cot you were raving about.”

Ginny immediately brightened. “Ooh, it's so lovely! It's round, and can be custom painted to match any decor we decide on for the nursery.”

“A round cot?”

“Yes,” she went on excitedly, “it's all the rage with Muggle mums.”

“I see,” he drawled slowly.

“It's a custom order…”

“And you're going to give in and find out the sex when you see the Midwitch tomorrow despite saying you wanted to be surprised?”

She gave him a small smile. “Yes, I think so!”

“Good,” he said with a grin, “the not knowing would have killed me.”

“Who says I'm going to tell you?”

“It's a boy, I'm sure of it.”

“I want a brother,” Liam said, interrupting their playful banter.

Ginny stopped in her tracks. “What?”

“I want a brother.”

“What if you get a sister instead?” Ginny asked.

Liam wrinkled his nose, distastefully. “I don't want no sister.”

“But,” Draco said, picking his son up and placing him on his hip, “what if your mum wants you to have a sister?”

“The baby is a brother,” Liam insisted.

“And just what makes you so sure of that?” Ginny inquired, kissing the top of their son's head.

“Cause I am.”

“Well, I guess that settles it, Gin. It looks like we're having a boy,” Draco said.

“We'll see,” was all she said on that subject.

Draco could not believe how affable the afternoon was spent with his wife and son. He would have to skive off work more often in the future if all days could be spent with Liam who was being so good that it almost made him question whether or not he was really his child. It had been a pleasant surprise to spend time together as a family, and actually have a conversation with Ginny where every other word was not “Liam!” or “stop that!” or “no!”

After a lunch where Ginny slightly embarrassed him by ordering a second meal and eating every mouthful of fish and salad put before her, they leisurely strolled along the winding streets of Diagon Alley, window shopping. He had to admit after seeing the cots in Wee Wares for the Wee Wizard & Witch that they were more than worthy of his wife's desire, but he refused to proclaim them the most adorable things he'd ever seen much to her chagrin. He had to draw the line somewhere; however, he supported her decision to place an order as soon as she made a decision about the nursery.

It never ceased to amaze him how much of his hard earned Gaellons Ginny could spend on their son in an afternoon. Liam managed to obtain three new storybooks; a pile of coloring books and fancy new ever-sharp crayons; a pair of boots; dragon bath toys; two new sets of flannel pyjamas; and a new outfit to wear to Sunday afternoon dinner at the Burrow. Of course, his wife was no slouch either, putting in an order at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions for a full range of winter robes, including evening wear, and two cloaks to accommodate her burgeoning mid-section. His head hurt from contemplating her trips into the shoe store and the lingerie store while he and Liam cooled their heels in Quality Quidditch Supplies for well over an hour. Instead of afternoon tea, they splurged, at his wife's insistence, at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor because the wee one really wanted a chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts sundae. He had a feeling he'd be doing a lot of things at the whim of is unborn child this go around.

Ginny ended up falling asleep on the sofa shortly after they'd arrived home later that afternoon. Draco removed her shoes and laid a soft cashmere throw blanket over her before taking Liam outside to give their new Quidditch equipment a go before supper.

As he gave Liam his bath before bed, Draco thanked his lucky stars that his wife had insisted they be hands-on parents. He couldn't imagine not having moments like trying to tempt his son to play with the new dragon bath toys instead of the old rubber ducks. He helped the little boy into a set of new pyjamas before settling down to read a story.

“Read it again!” Liam demanded just as Draco shut the book.

“I've read it twice already, Liam,” he sighed. He had grown to rue the day Ginny made the mistake of purchasing Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie. Despite new books purchased that day, his child had insisted upon the well-worn book that was never far from his bedside.

“Peas!” Liam begged, batting his big grey eyes up at him.

“Oh, all right,” Draco said, unable to resist such a sweet plea. “You just love to torture me don't you, little monster?” He read it again, his eyes barely registering the words on the page because he'd practically memorized the book ages ago.

He put the book away after he sped through it for the third time. “That is enough for you, young man. Now it's sleepy time for you!”

“Awah, just a little while longer! Peas!” Liam giggled.

“No, you've been good all day so let's end the day that way.”

Sensing defeat, his son sighed. “Okay.”

Draco tucked him under the covers, and brushed a kiss against his forehead. “Thank you for being so good for your mummy today.”

Liam just gave him a very sly smile in response.

“He was good because I asked him to be,” Ginny said from the doorway.

He turned to see his wife standing there wearing her favorite apple green silk pyjamas, the bottom two buttons left undone to accommodate her bump. Draco thought she'd never looked sexier. “I thought you were soaking in the bath?”

“I wanted to say goodnight to Liam,” she said.

“Well, you're just in time,” Draco said, getting up to give her access to their baby. “I was just thanking him for being good today.”

“I heard.” She made sure the covers were tucked up tight then she made her goodnights. “Liam is always good when I ask him to be.”

“He's never good when I'm around,” he pouted.

“That's because,” Ginny purred, standing and snuggling up against him, “because he's just so excited to see his Da, and besides, you never ask.”

“So, you'll be good for me if I just ask, Liam?” Draco asked, not daring to hope for his wife's results.

“Uh huh, Da,” Liam giggled, “cos it's hard to be a monster all the time!”

~*~

Notes:

Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie is Calvin's favorite book that he insists his father read him over and over and over in the brilliant Bill Watterson comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes.

Much thanks to my dear Nokomis for the beta!

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