A Not So Simple Kind of Life

CHAPTER TEN

UNCLE DRACO

Draco placed his quill in its stand and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face tiredly. It had been a hellish week and, if he was to be completely honest, the following week wasn't shaping up well either. It was infinitely unfair, in his opinion, that he was forced to come to the office on a Saturday just to catch up on what he'd missed during the week. He should have been spending this time with his wife and children. Not that Ginny was at home. She was at the hospital, as usual. In fact, she was at the hospital all the time, regardless of what the visiting schedule dictated. By Thursday Draco had seriously considered asking Healer Wilson to arrange a second bed in Molly's private room, so Ginny could just stay there twenty-four hours a day.

He had, of course, dutifully visited his mother-in-law as scheduled, often staying far longer than intended, and always taking her something small to brighten her day, which impressed his wife immeasurably. On Wednesday he'd taken a beautiful arrangement of flowers, which were only outdone by the enormous display Narcissa had sent the Weasley matriarch. Thursday Draco had ordered his secretary to track down some of the finest chocolate in the wizarding world, and Molly had boasted to everyone about how delightful it had tasted. Friday had been a basket of exotic fruit, and today he had a package of some popular reading material for her with a few delicacies to enjoy while she peruses the magazines.

A light knock at his door interrupted his thoughts. "Enter."

Draco's secretary slipped into the office. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Have all my appointments been entered into my diary for next week?"

"Yes, sir, I'll get it for you."

Draco muttered his affirmative acknowledgement as she left the room. His thoughts wandered to what he had left to do for the day: a visit to the hospital and then pick the twins up from wherever they were at the moment. While he didn't really want to visit Molly again, there was the added bonus on knowing Ginny would be at the hospital.

"Here it is, sir."

He took the offered diary from his secretary and opened it to the forthcoming week. It was thankfully light on meetings so far. However, one entry made him curious. "Why is next Saturday blocked out?"

"Mrs. Malfoy instructed me to reserve the entire day and night."

"That's odd." Draco frowned and tried to remember if Ginny had said anything about an engagement the following weekend. "Not to worry. I'll ask her about it when I see her. You can leave. I'll see you Monday."

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice weekend."

Again, Draco grunted his acknowledgement of her comment as she left. He looked around his desk for a few minutes, and then decided that there was little else he could do here today. After collecting his cloak and the gift for his mother-in-law Draco went directly to St. Mungo's.

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

When he reached the ward the first thing Draco noticed was Charlie leaning on the wall across from Molly's room.

"Is everything all right?" Draco asked the wizard as he approached.

Charlie's head snapped up, startled. "Yeah, I'm just taking a break for a few minutes. She had a bit of a bad night, so she's a bit irritable."

Draco raised an eyebrow skeptically. If there was one thing he'd learned over the past four days it was that Molly didn't get 'just a bit irritable', she became down right ornery. Thanks to his small offerings, he hadn't experienced her bad mood personally, but he had witnessed her take apart more than one person with her sharp tongue.

"Did you bring her something again?"

"Just some reading material and a few treats."

"You are aware that you're making all of us look bad, aren't you?"

Draco snorted. "If you lot aren't smart enough to come bearing gifts, then more fool you."

"The way she gushes over you--"

"Don't go there," Draco warned seriously. Molly's reaction to his gifts was embarrassing at times, not that it would stop him bringing her a little something each day to cheer her up -- it gave them something to talk about if nothing else.

"You love it," Charlie teased.

Draco snarled at his brother-in-law. Of all the Weasley wizards, it was Charlie who kept him on his toes the most. "Are you coming in?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss Mum telling all and sundry how bloody wonderful you are for the umpteenth time this week."

Draco rolled his eyes derisively. It really isn't worth reacting, he told himself. When he opened the door of Molly's room the first person he looked for was his wife. She was leaning over her mother, seemingly trying to fluff the older woman's pillows. "Afternoon, ladies."

"Is it afternoon already?" Ginny squeaked in surprise.

He pulled his timepiece from his breast pocket and glanced at it. "No, not quite, love."

"Thank goodness. I don't know where the time is going these days," Ginny said, kissing his cheek hurriedly on her way to the other side of the bed.

"Hello, Molly. How are you feeling today?" Draco asked as approached Molly's bedside. He gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek and remained still while she hugged him.

"I want to go home," Molly responded petulantly.

"Mum, we've been through this," Ginny interjected impatiently.

"Perhaps this will take your mind off home," Draco said smoothly, placing the gift he brought with him on Molly's lap.

"Oh, you are so sweet," Molly crooned. "Isn't he sweet, Charlie?"

Charlie grinned mischievously. "Sickeningly so."

"Away with you," Molly scolded. "Draco always looks after me."

Draco grinned smugly at Charlie. He knew he was now in a position where he could commit cold-blooded murder, and his loving mother-in-law would proclaim his innocence while she buried the body in the field beyond the Burrow's yard, so he wouldn't get dirt under his nails.

"One wonders what you'll try next," Charlie commented exaggeratedly. "I suppose that depends on what the next chapter suggests."

"Excuse me?"

"You know... In that book you're reading," Charlie prompted. "How to Delude Your Mother-in-law Into Thinking You're a Good Bloke."

"Just because I have the common decency to think of Molly when I'm away from the hospital," Draco retorted haughtily.

"Ah, but I'm actually here a lot more than you," Charlie pointed out with an amused smirk.

"You are--"

"If you two are going to start comparing shoe sizes, could you at least take it out of the room," Ginny snapped.

"Don't blame me," Charlie defended himself. "It's your husband who has to--"

Ginny spun around pinning her older brother with a look that would have turned a mere mortal to stone. "You're just bored, and you think that stirring Draco up is a fun way to pass the time."

Draco sniggered quietly.

"And you." Ginny turned to face Draco, not adjusting her glare at all. "Do you really think it's constructive to react to his stupidity? You're just giving him exactly what he wants. A good laugh!"

"Sorry, love," Draco muttered, swallowing his urge to laugh even more. It wasn't easy when Charlie was standing behind her pulling silly faces.

"Charlie, do me a favor and act your age!" Ginny sniped, without turning around.

As she strode over to the other side of the room the two men came together.

"She's turning into Mum," Charlie whispered.

Draco's eyes shot to the bed and then to his wife. Mild panic began winding its way through his veins. Charlie was right. Ginny was exhibiting more and more of her mother's traits. He wondered if there was anything he could do to curb this behavior before it became a part of her personality forever. "She is not," Draco hissed, despite his own observations.

"Mark my words, before you know it those eyes in the back of her head will be permanent."

"Shut it," Draco growled.

Charlie slapped Draco playfully on the back. "Denial is such a lovely place this time of year, isn't it?"

Rather than encourage his brother-in-law to continue feeding his nightmares, Draco quickly went and sat down beside Molly's bed. The older witch had unpacked all that Draco bought her and was more than ready to start thanking him for each individual item. At least while he was having his ear bent by Molly, Charlie couldn't effectively torment him.

After thirty minutes of answering appropriately each time she complimented him or commented on a certain item, Draco decided he'd head off to spend some time with the twins. He bid Molly and Charlie goodbye, and waited for Ginny to walk him to the corridor.

"You look tired, love. Are you sure you don't want to come home with me?"

"I'm fine," Ginny insisted.

"You still have to bake that cake for Harry," Draco reminded her.

"I know. It won't take long."

"Where is everyone today?"

"The twins have taken Dad to lunch, because he's hardly left the hospital. Bill got called into work. Ron and Harry are both working. Percy and Penelope should be here soon. Anya is at the Burrow with the kids. Fleur, Angelina and Katie are shopping and cooking for tomorrow. Pansy and Hermione are both visiting their own parents, I think."

"Is that everyone?" Draco asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, I don't know." Ginny sighed tiredly.

"You need to come home and rest," he said gently. "Percy and Penelope will be here soon, so leave Charlie with your mother and come home with me."

"I can't--"

"Sure you can," Draco insisted. "Just think about it... You could have a long, luxurious bubble bath and a nice relaxing nap. I'll look after the twins, so you needn't worry about them or we could leave the twins with Millie and spend some quality time together."

Ginny dropped her forehead onto his chest. What he was suggesting sounded exactly what she wanted to do, but she couldn't. "Stop teasing me."

"I'm not. It's all yours, if you come home."

"I really can't. Charlie wouldn't know how to handle Mum."

Draco groaned to himself. She was speaking the truth. Charlie had been hiding in the corridor when he arrived, because Molly was being a bit difficult. He would be lost if she started, and he had to deal with her on his own. "All right, but think about coming home early. You need some sleep."

"I will. If someone else, other than Percy and Penelope, makes it in this afternoon I'll come home."

"Good, because I miss you."

"I miss you too."

Draco kissed her deeply and rested his forehead on hers. "Where might I find our children today?"

"At the Burrow."

"Right, I'll call in and pick them up, and then I'm going straight home."

"Okay, I'll see you later then."

"Yes, but not too late."

"I promise."

Draco kissed her one more time before leaving her in the corridor. He was already making plans for the remainder of the day, knowing full well Ginny wouldn't come home until she was kicked out of the hospital. Perhaps they'd take the brooms out for a while, and the horses hadn't been ridden all week, so they would have to be exercised.

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

Utter chaos was the only apt description of the scene that greeted Draco when he arrived at the Burrow. There were, quite literally, children everywhere--very noisy children. If he didn't have to collect the twins, he'd have Disapparated immediately. As it was, he had to swallow his abject horror and find Anya as fast as he could to let her know he was taking his children and then get out of there quickly. Draco made his way towards the house as inconspicuously as he could. The last thing he needed was to be mobbed by Merlin only knew how many children. Just as he was reaching to open the kitchen door it flung open, and a harassed looking Anya burst into the yard bellowing at the top of her lungs, with an unhappy baby tucked under one arm.

"Matthew, Beau and Drake, leave Britany alone! Give her back her doll right this minute!"

Draco unconsciously took a step back. A myriad of emotions flowed through him in the seconds between the witch appearing and her noticing him. First there was pity for Charlie, some shock, and then raw fear of the woman now looking at him.

"An--"

"Thank God you're here, Draco! Take Pippa. Henri is screaming up a storm inside, so I've got to see to him," Anya blurted as she shoved the tiny baby into Draco's arms and turned to enter the house again. "Oh, she needs her bottom changed, if you don't mind."

Draco blinked a couple of times at the now closed back door. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but he was suddenly in possession of a wriggling, screaming infant, and he had no idea what to do with it.

Anya reappeared at the door with a wailing baby over her shoulder. "Don't just stand there, Draco, she'll get a rash if you don't change her."

"I--err--"

"Her bag is the pink one hanging on the cloak hooks and make sure you use lots of powder, she likes her powder," Anya advised as she rushed away again.

"Pink bag," Draco repeated vaguely, entering the house and leaving the immediate racket from the yard behind. The infant in his arms had begun to scream like someone was pinching her, and Draco's head had begun to throb.

"For Merlin's sake, Draco, change her nappy and she'll quiet down," Anya snapped irritably.

"Isn't there anyone else who could--"

"No! It's just you and me, and I have my hands full."

"It's just--I've never--"

Anya rolled her eyes at the stammering blond standing just inside the kitchen. "Well, you're about to learn! Get her bag and come into the sitting room."

He didn't dare disobey the frazzled witch. God only knew what she'd do to him if he refused. Draco glanced at the cloak rack. It held four baby bags, and he could clearly see the one he required, but getting it was going to be a problem; after all he had a tiny baby in his arms.

For several minutes he stood in front of the rack trying to work out which arm he should use to pick up the bag. He tried to lift one arm away, but even before he lost contact with the little one's bottom fear flooded his system.

"Draco, are you coming," Anya called from the front room.

"I can't get the bag," Draco responded.

"What do you mean? It's right there on the rack."

"I know where it is! I can't pick it up."

"Why?"

"I have a baby in my arms," Draco stressed.

"So?"

He jumped, not expecting her to answer from right behind him.

"Move aside," Anya ordered. She moved in front of the cloak rack and adjusted her hold on Henri. "See how I'm cradling him fully with my arm? He's perfectly safe like that."

Draco watched on in mild horror as Anya casually reached out and took the bag from the rack.

"Are you coming?"

If it hadn't been for the fact that his hands were full, he'd have reached out to support the baby she was carrying so carelessly. Draco was convinced she was going to drop him. It was only his concern for Henri that made him follow the witch into the front room.

"Put Pippa on the baby blanket," Anya directed.

Draco knelt carefully and placed Pippa on the fluffy yellow baby blanket a few feet from the hearth.

"Now get everything you need from the bag." Anya laughed at Draco's worried glance towards the baby. "Don't worry, she's not going anywhere."

He dragged the bag towards him, not wanting to move away from the infant just in case. After retrieving a clean nappy and the small container of powder from the bag, Draco looked at Anya expectantly.

"Do you know the charm to clean her bottom?"

Draco's face screwed up in revulsion. "She hasn't--"

"I don't think so, but you never can tell with Pippa. She's a sneaky one."

"Great," Draco muttered inarticulately.

"Anyway, I can do the charm from here." Anya withdrew her wand from between the cushions on the chair. "Now you need to undress her," she instructed slowly.

Draco sighed heavily as he examined the little dress Pippa was wearing. It had the tiniest buttons he'd ever seen down the front, but he couldn't seem to figure out how to get them to release. It wasn't until Anya started laughing that Draco realized he must have been doing something wrong. "What?"

"They're just for decoration," Anya managed to get out. "The ones that open are on the back of the dress."

"How the bloody hell do I--"

"Turn her over," Anya said, her eyes dancing with merriment.

Draco groaned to himself as he went back to concentrating solely on the little one in front of him. Very carefully, Draco picked the baby up and turned her over. "Now, what do I do?"

"Put her on her stomach." Anya sniggered.

"Fine," Draco mumbled to himself. Her incessant giggling was beginning to get on his very last nerve. As he reached for the tiny buttons the witch on the chair let out a whoop of laughter. "What?"

It took several minutes for Anya to bring herself under control despite the fact that Draco was glaring at her and the two infants in the room were screaming. "She's wearing a dress, Draco."

"And?"

"You don't have to take it off to get to her nappy."

"You told me to undress her!"

"I meant take her wet nappy off."

Draco began to mutter to himself, not quite game enough, or foolish enough, to tell his sister-in-law what he thought of her sense of humor to her face. He carefully turned Pippa over again and set about taking off her sodden nappy. The moment the wet cloth fell away from her, the little girl stopped bawling and started gurgling happily.

"I'd be quick if I were you, or she'll piddle all over her pretty dress," Anya warned.

Horror stricken again, Draco wasted no time reaching for the fresh nappy. If he could have reached, he'd have kicked his own backside for not realizing the clean nappy hadn't yet been folded. "How do I?" He held the nappy up for Anya to see.

After five minutes of intensive instruction Draco had a perfectly, well almost perfectly, folded nappy in front of him. His pleased expression didn't last long, for when he turned to put the nappy on Pippa he discovered that she'd wet the blanket and her dress.

"Now you'll have to take her dress off," Anya said.

Someone hated him. That was all there was to it. He must have offended the Gods or someone important somewhere along the line to have this happening to him. "Look, I can't do this, Anya."

"You're doing fine."

"No, no I'm not. What if I take that one--" Draco pointed to baby Henri still screaming in Anya's arms. "--and you take care of this one."

"You'd prefer a screamer?"

"Quite frankly, yes."

"Be my guest! And if you can get him to shut up for two minutes I might even make you a cup of tea."

Draco scrambled to his feet and took the screaming little wizard from his sister-in-law. "This is Bill's one, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's Henri."

"Good, he likes me."

"When he's got a belly ache he doesn't tend to like anyone."

"Nonsense! Henri and I get along famously."

"If you say so," Anya mumbled as she turned her attention to Pippa.

"Hello, Henri," Draco started. "Come on, little mate, let's stop all this noise now."

"You might want to try to get his wind up," Anya advised, without taking her eyes off Pippa.

"Yeah," Draco answered absently. He'd seen the women do this and it didn't look all that hard.

After a few moments of awkward movement, Draco had successfully deposited his nephew on his shoulder, and while conducting a very one-sided conversation with the distressed infant he patted his back lightly.

"Just a little harder," Anya said as she sat on the couch next to Draco with a now fully dressed and quite happy Pippa.

"I don't want to hurt him."

"You won't, I promise, but doing it like that is useless. Henri likes to hold onto his wind, so you have to get a little forceful with him."

"Fine," Draco muttered under his breath. He began patting the baby's back vigorously and was surprised when Henri's wailing slowed.

"You've got a real talent for this," Anya commented.

"Hardly," Draco murmured.

"You're going to--" Anya stopped dead as screams from outside filled the room. "For goodness sakes, what are they doing now?"

Before Draco could even move, Anya had left the room. He wished he could get out of a chair with that much ease when he had a baby on his shoulder. As quickly as he could, without endangering Henri's well being, Draco rose and followed the noise to the yard.

Anya was giving the older children a good dressing down. It sounded terrifying to Draco, but when he looked at the little faces surrounding her it seemed she hardly had their attention, let alone their respect.

"That lot are going to drive me around the bend," Anya groaned as the children dispersed and resumed exactly what they'd been doing before she appeared.

"Well, I'm willing to take two of them off your hands," Draco offered. "That should upset the dynamics a bit."

Anya snorted. "It would be better if you took all of them."

Draco's opened his eyes wide in horror.

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Anya continued, her mood beginning to brighten. "You could take the older ones to your place, and I'll look after the babies here."

"I don't think that's a good--"

"Of course it is! Look, all you need to do is watch them when they're playing and make certain they don't spill blood everywhere if they decided to kill themselves."

"I--you--"

"Look, Draco, I know it's weak of me to not be able to handle this, and Molly would be horrified, but the kids are going feral this afternoon and I can't watch them constantly with eight babies under the age of two in the house as well," Anya explained desperately.

"Surely if I take Drake and Angel the dynamic will change," Draco responded weakly.

"Draco, please! I am begging you now. I can't handle this and I know that's failure on some level, but I just can't do it."

"I--" Draco groaned mentally. He could feel himself starting to weaken and he couldn't allow that to happen. He felt sorry for Anya, really he did, but he was inexperienced in the childcare department and he certainly wasn't up to looking after a whole horde of Weasleys. "I don't think I'm the right person to be entrusted with so many children."

"Sure you are! You're a brilliant dad. It's not like I'm asking you to take the babies, just the older ones, and they're all toilet trained," Anya said brightly. She conveniently left out the fact that Declan and Colin still had the occasional accident, because they were often too busy playing to be bothered going to the bathroom and that a few of the others weren't quite there yet.

Draco's eyes popped open in horror at the thought of being left with so many babies. "I couldn't take care of the babies," he blurted before he could stop himself.

"Of course not, just the older ones." Anya patted his arm and beamed brightly at him. "Kids! Come in here."

Draco frowned at the witch next to him, wondering just what she was doing now.

"I want everyone to get their bags and whatever else they brought with them today," Anya instructed.

"Why?" Drake asked, his expression matching his father's confused frown.

"Because everyone is going to your house," Anya announced happily.

"Everyone," Draco choked out. "Umm--NO! No, I don't think so."

"You'll be fine, Draco," Anya assured him.

"I can't handle this many," Draco growled. "No way."

"I will be left with the five babies you know."

"And I'll have--" He tried to do a head count, but it was impossible with so many little bodies moving about. "Too many!"

"Nonsense."

"Anya, I hardly know what I'm doing with my own kids, let alone God knows how many others that don't belong to me," Draco hissed. Pure desperation made him admit to this near failing.

The witch regarded the terror stricken wizard in front of her. There was no denying Draco's genuine panic, it was almost palpable, but she simply couldn't continue like this. After all, she was only one person. "I'm afraid one of them will get hurt, because I can't supervise their play and look after the babies at the same time."

"I understand that, but--"

"All right, here's what we'll do then: I'll keep all those aged two and under, and you take all the older ones. You'll only have to watch them while they play, so there's nothing that could possibly go wrong."

Draco sighed heavily. He wished he didn't understand or care about her plight, but the truth was he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to the any of the children. "All right, but if I need you--"

"Just Floo me and I'll tell you what to do."

"And not a word of--of this to anyone."

"Consider my lips sealed." Anya smiled warmly at him. "Right, listen up everyone. Drake, Angel, Beau, Courtney, Matthew, Colin, Declan, and Britany, get your things. You lot are going with Uncle Draco. The rest of you are staying with me."

"I thought I wasn't taking the little ones," Draco said.

"You're not. They're all three or over."

"Merlin help me," Draco groaned.

"You'll be fine." Anya patted his back as she walked away to help the children find their belongings.

"Umm--Anya, just how am I supposed to transport so many children at once?"

"Floo Network! They're all quite accustomed to traveling that way."

"I'm not," Draco grumbled.

By the time Draco wandered inside, the eight children he was taking with him were standing in front of the hearth, with their belongings, ready to leave. The ache in his head instantly increased tenfold. How he was going to get through the rest of the afternoon was beyond him. All he could do was hope that nothing went wrong.

"You'll need to go through first, and then get ready to catch them as they arrive," Anya suggested. "Some of them haven't quite mastered stopping or remaining on their feet."

"Fine."

"Is it just 'Malfoy Manor' that they need to chant?" she asked, placing Pippa on the floor next to a selection of brightly colored toys.

Draco passed Henri to Anya and stepped into the oversized hearth. "Yes."

"I'll give you a couple of minutes, and then I'll start sending them through. When I've sent the last through I'll Floo you just to make sure they all made it."

As the heatless green flames engulfed him, Draco wondered if it was wrong to hope that one or maybe six of them got lost along the way. By the time he tumbled out of the hearth in one of the front parlors at the manor, he'd decided that it was probably better that they all arrived safely, otherwise they'd be searching every grate between the manor and the Burrow looking for them, before their respective parents could discover their carelessness.

Moments later the hearth came alive and Drake stumbled into Draco's arms. Draco had barely enough time to instruct his son to stand well clear and not touch the furniture when Angel arrived. The first thing the little witch did was let out a howl of disgust.

"My dress! I'm dirty!"

"It's all right, princess," Draco responded quickly, kneeling before her and extracting his wand quickly. "Scourgify."

Before he had the chance to sheath his wand, a solid bump in his back sent him flying forward. Draco landed face first on the rug with a loud grunt. He had just lifted himself to his knees when another shove, in his backside this time, sent him sprawling on the floor again. Not wanting to risk permanent damage to his now aching nose, Draco scrambled forward as quickly as he could and then lifted himself off the ground. Beau and Matthew stood before him, covered in soot, looking very pleased with themselves. This afternoon was going to be hell on earth, of that he had no doubt.

Over the next few minutes Courtney, Colin, Declan and Britany arrived at the manor, and then Anya's head appeared in the hearth. After confirming that he had all the children, she wished him luck with an insidious grin and disappeared.

Draco regarded his charges gravely. He had to maintain control or this lot would walk all over him. "Everyone hold still while I clean you up." A few flourishes of his wand over each child later, Draco looked at his heir. "Drake, lead everyone to the playroom."

The children left the parlor in a group, chattering loudly amongst themselves. Draco ran his hands through his hair and questioned his sanity for perhaps the hundredth time in fifteen minutes. He was more than a little tempted to go straight to his study and start drowning his sorrows in a rather large bottle of Old Odgen's best. Fear of what would happen to him if any of the children came to grief while under his care got his feet moving towards the playroom. As he walked, none to eagerly, towards the playroom, it occurred to him that he had no idea how long this torture was going to last; Anya had given him no indication of when the parents of the extra children he had been lumbered with were due to pick them up.

"Ahem."

Draco was torn from his personal torturous thoughts as he head snapped up. "Father."

"I presume you know these two."

Much to Draco's horror two of his nephews scuttled out from behind his father and hid behind his legs. "Err--Yes."

Lucius raised a questioning eyebrow.

"They're Weasleys," Draco supplied.

"They're a bit young to be here to play with the twins," Lucius observed.

"They are a bit."

"Then why?"

"Anya had been left with all the children and she wasn't coping, so I've got some of them until their parents are finished whatever it is they're doing."

"How many?"

"I lost count," Draco admitted with a grimace.

"So they're turning you into some sort of nanny?"

"No, Father, I was simply asked to look after some of the children to allow Anya to take better care of the infants."

"And you agreed?"

"Begrudgingly," Draco mumbled. "She was beside herself, so I didn't really have a choice."

Lucius' nostrils flared. It was a sure sign that he didn't like what he was hearing. "Would you have missed these two had I not found them wandering through one of the formal parlors?"

"Most likely, not right away," Draco responded honestly. The first thing he had to do was a head count and hope that they were all there when he did it. "Now, I should check to see if the rest made it to the playroom without incident."

"I sincerely hope they did," Lucius ground out, none too happy with having his home invaded by Weasley children.

Draco nodded and smiled tightly at his father. "Come on, you two."

As he strode off down the corridor, the two little boys hurried after him, each attaching their little hands to one of his. He was startled at first, but then figured if he had hold of them they couldn't wander away.

It wasn't until he turned into the corridor that the playroom ran off that Draco realized it probably wasn't terribly wise to allow that many children to be in one room at the same time unsupervised. The noise emanating from the room made Draco's headache impossibly painful within seconds. When he stepped through the door, none of the children appeared to notice or care, for that matter, that there was now an adult present. The two little boys attached to his hands quickly disentangled themselves and ran to join the others in their rowdy play. There wasn't a child in the room who wasn't yelling, screaming or squealing. Draco knew he had to do something quickly or there'd be tears for sure, and he feared they'd be falling from his eyes, not theirs.

"QUIET!"

He may as well have bellowed at a stone wall for all the good it had done. The children were either oblivious to his presence or deliberately ignoring him. Ideas flowed freely through his head, but all were dismissed instantly as being useless. Draco had lost control the moment they arrived and he had no idea how to regain it again.

Conscious that he had to do something, Draco ventured into the fray. He managed to grab Beau's arm and hold him tight. Next he secured Drake's attention in the same manner. "Stand over there against the wall and don't move."

As he let go of the boys, something told him he was making a critical mistake in judgment, but for the life of him Draco couldn't identify what that might be. It was mere seconds before his question was answered. The little boys took only two steps in the direction they were told to take before a taunt from Matthew sent them back into the group with amazing speed. Draco didn't know which way to turn first. He tried to follow them, but was surrounded by the other children the moment he got close enough. Within seconds they had somehow made him sink to the floor and were jumping all over him. If he could have drawn a full breath, Draco would have pleaded for mercy, but as it was he was unable to get enough oxygen to fill his lungs to breathe, let alone speak. The noise in the room rose to an unparalleled level.

All of a sudden there was an earsplitting explosion and everyone froze.

"Drake, where is your father?"

"Under," Drake answered in a small voice.

Draco could feel the little bodies moving away from him and suddenly he could breathe again. After a few cleansing breaths, he realized Lucius was standing over him with a disgusted look on his face.

"What is going on in here? I could hear the noise clearly from my study."

"The children were just... playing," Draco answered weakly, trying to gain his feet. "They're a little overexcited to be here."

Lucius regarded his disheveled son with contempt. "You are supposed to maintain control."

"I was trying," Draco hissed.

"Not hard enough," Lucius snapped.

"Oh my, what is going on?"

Draco groaned quietly. The last thing he needed was his mother to witness how inept he was at caring for children. "Mother, we have guests for the afternoon."

"Everyone has come to play, Grandmother," Drake informed the shocked blonde witch enthusiastically.

"Play? Is that what you call it?" Lucius drawled derisively.

Drake nodded uncertainly at his grandfather and averted his gaze immediately.

A little sob in the lull drew everyone's attention to the corner of the room. Draco was already on his way to the upset child before he even thought about why he was going to him.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, kneeling in front of the small boy.

"I--I bumped my--my elbow."

"Oh--" Whatever Draco was going to say was cut short by a loud howl from the child as his small head landed on Draco's shoulder. "It's all right, mate. We'll have a look at it and see if we can't fix you right up," he continued awkwardly.

A helpless glance at his mother was all it took to spur Narcissa into action.

"Bring him over here." Narcissa indicated to the small sofa near the fireplace.

Draco picked the little wizard up and followed his mother's instructions without question.

"What is his name?" Narcissa asked quietly.

He knew he'd been told at some point, but his mind was a complete blank at the moment. For the life of him he couldn't remember. Draco shrugged at his mother helplessly.

Narcissa shook her head at him and muttered disgustedly, before turning her attention to the upset little boy on the sofa. "Come now, darling," she soothed gently. "What's your name?"

"Colin," the little boy uttered.

"I'm Mrs. Malfoy." Narcissa smiled warmly at him. "What exactly did you do to your elbow?"

"I bumped it."

"Can I see?"

Colin sniffed loudly and nodded to show his assent.

With great care, Narcissa turned the little boy's arm over. There was a large red welt on his elbow and the child whimpered loudly when she tried to straighten the joint. "I think we'll get Millie to have a look at this."

"Who's Millie?" Colin asked curiously.

"She's a house elf and she has very powerful house elf magic," Narcissa informed him impressively.

"Oh."

"Millie!"

"Old Mistress did summon--" The aging house elf trailed off as she noticed just how many children were in the playroom.

"We seem to have had a minor accident here. Colin has bumped his elbow," Narcissa stated. "Colin, this is Millie and she's going to take care of your arm."

The little redheaded wizard looked at the old servant with wide eyes. He nodded hesitantly and almost withdrew his arm when Millie reached for him with her gnarled hands.

"It's all right, darling," Narcissa cooed. "Drake, perhaps you could afford your cousin some comfort?"

Drake frowned at his grandmother in confusion, but moved to her side just the same.

Draco leaned down and whispered in his son's ear quickly, "Just tell him it's all right and that Millie knows what she's doing."

The small blond wizard nodded once and smiled encouragingly at his younger cousin. "It's okay, Colin, Millie fixes me up all the time and it never hurts when she does it."

"Really?"

"Yep, whenever I fall off my broom Millie puts cold charms on my sore bits." Drake perched himself on the sofa next to Colin. "Are you going to use cold charms, Millie?"

"Little Master needs to not talk to Millie while Millie is seeing the problem," the servant muttered.

"Cold charms are really good. They tickle a bit, and then your whole arm goes really cold," Drake continued. "And it doesn't hurt anymore! It just feels really cold."

"Is there anything broken?" Narcissa whispered.

Millie shook her head, making her large ears flap from side to side. "Just a bump, Old Mistress. Millie will use the cold charm to make little boy feel better."

Colin's eyes almost popped out of his head when a soft white glow enveloped his arm. He twitched a couple of times, as if he wanted to pull away, but didn't quite have the courage.

"Little boy should feel better soon," Millie concluded.

"In just a few minutes your pain will have disappeared," Narcissa assured Colin. "Try moving your arm around slowly."

Colin followed the older witch's instructions, though he did so with no enthusiasm.

"Does it feel better?"

"A bit."

"Wonderful!" Narcissa exclaimed joyously. "Now, Millie, you will stay with Draco to assist him with caring for the extra children, so we don't have anymore little mishaps."

Millie's eyes flicked to Draco and then back to Narcissa. "As you wish, Old Mistress."

"Well, we'll leave you to it, Draco," Narcissa said as she rose gracefully.

"Thank you, Mother."

"Do try to maintain control," Lucius sniped.

Draco glowered at his father. It wasn't as if Lucius could have done a better job of looking after so many children. In fact, he probably would have run away at the first mention of being in charge of this many.

The moment his parents exited the playroom the noise level began to rise. He knew he had to do something to keep them all busy or there were going to be more bumped body parts than Millie could fix at once.

"Right, everyone take a seat," Draco ordered.

"Where?" Matthew inquired.

"Anywhere," Draco snapped.

Matthew and Beau shrugged at each other, and then each picked up a chair from the small table on the other side of the room. It wasn't until they were on their way out the door that Draco caught on to what they were up to.

"Where are you two going?"

"You said to take a chair anywhere," Beau informed his uncle with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

"We were just doing as you said," Matthew confirmed.

Draco took a deep breath and reminded himself that, despite how good it would make him feel, hexing the boys would most likely be frowned upon by their fathers. "Take the chairs back in and sit down near the sofa."

The little boys set off towards the sofa muttering amusedly between themselves about uncles who just didn't know what they wanted.

A small snarl escaped Draco's throat. He would have to watch those two closely or they were going to make his life hell. When it looked as though all the children were settled Draco made his way over to them.

"Right, what do you want to do this afternoon?"

"Go flying!" Drake answered quickly with murmurs of approval from Beau and Matthew.

"Mate, I can't watch all of you in the air, so we can't do that today."

"We could have a tea party," Angel suggested.

Disgusted grumbles came from the boys.

"Settle down, you lot," Draco said. "I won't make you sit around drinking 'tea' all afternoon, but if you keep going, I might be tempted to agree with Angel and make you dress for the occasion, just for extra punishment."

The threat, as hollow as it was, seemed to be enough to convince the boys that arguing wouldn't be good for their dignity. Each of them shut their mouths and looked expectantly at Draco.

"It looks like we're not going to come to any sort of agreement on an activity for everyone to enjoy, so what would you usually do at the Burrow?"

Drake shrugged. "Play outside."

"Play what?" Draco pressed.

"Aurors, Quidditch, Duels--" Drake looked to his two oldest cousins for more input.

"Loads of things," Beau confirmed.

"All outside?" Draco asked.

"Yep."

"If you boys are happy to do that then off you go outside, but remember the area is warded, so don't try to escape."

Within seconds Draco was left with three little girls all looking at him in anticipation.

"Are you happy to have a tea party?"

Angel nodded excitedly and began ordering Millie to fetch everything she required to host a tea party.

"Millie, you stay with the girls, and I'll watch the boys," Draco called over his daughter's insistent voice.

"As Master wishes."

Draco escaped the playroom quickly. He wouldn't have thought that just three little girls could make quite so much noise and in such a high pitch that his ears felt ready to burst. Outside, he found the boys running around making just as much noise, but in a tone far better suited to the human ear. They each had a stick in their hands and were brandishing them like wands. He took a seat on the patio and watched them playing. From what he could ascertain, Beau, Matthew and Drake were Aurors, and the other two were Dark Wizards.

All of a sudden the three older boys surrounded the two younger ones, snatching their 'wands' away from them.

"Give up or we'll hex you clear into next week," Beau demanded.

"Never!" one of the little boys shouted as he tried to make good his escape between Beau and Matthew.

"I'll get him," Drake bellowed, pointing his 'wand' at the small boy and following through with some fictitious hex that Draco couldn't quite make out from his position.

Much to everyone's surprise the little boy flew back several feet and landed on his backside.

Draco was on his feet and half way across the grass before he even realized he'd stood up. He paused in his travels, torn between checking on his nephew and congratulating his son on a fine display of natural magic. A howl of pain and indignation made his mind up instantly and he flew to Drake's side, mostly to hold him back. Declan, the recipient of the unintentional magic, had recovered enough from his shock to jump up and kick Drake in the shin as retribution. Drake was in the process of launching himself at the smaller boy just as Draco grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Drake!"

"He kicked me!"

"I know, I know, and I'll deal with him," Draco assured him. "How's your leg?"

"Sore."

"Go and see Millie. Tell her what happened."

"Why?"

"You need some treatment."

"No I don't. It's only a bump." Drake lifted his chin and looked directly at Colin. "I'm not a baby, like some people."

"Fine, don't go then, but don't complain later." Draco ran a hand through his hair. At any other time, Drake would have been a screaming mess on the ground insisting that his leg had been severed. "What's this one's name?"

"Declan," Drake snarled.

"Declan, go up to the patio and wait for me there," Draco instructed firmly. "We're going to have a little chat."

He waited until the boy was well clear of the group before turning back to Drake. "That was a brilliant display of magic, son."

Drake shrugged nonchalantly. "Happens all the time."

"When?"

"All the time," Drake answered evasively.

"All right, we'll have a chat later." Draco patted his son's back before standing up and striding to the patio. He got the distinct impression that Drake didn't want to talk about his talent in front of his cousins.

Declan was waiting for Draco with a decidedly unhappy expression on his face. The moment he stepped foot on the patio the little wizard's chin began to tremble.

Bloody brilliant, Draco thought irritably. "Don't start crying," he snapped, more harshly than he intended.

The floodgates opened and the little boy started howling.

Draco stood there staring at the boy with undisguised horror. He didn't know what to do now. There was no way he could reprimand the boy for kicking when he was bawling like he was, nor could he think of any way to calm him down without giving him the false impression that he was happy with his behavior. "Just go away and don't do it again," Draco muttered, waving his hand towards the yard.

As Declan wandered miserably back to the group of boys, Draco sank into a chair. He was certain he'd just made a mistake, but there was little he could do about it when he had no idea what the protocol was. All he could do now was keep a close eye on them and hope there'd be no more dramas.

It proved to be a futile effort, because as soon as Declan drew level with the boys an almighty brawl broke out. By the time Draco reached them, the three older boys had Declan and Colin pinned to the ground and were spouting threats they weren't old enough to carry out.

"Break it up!" Draco yelled, grabbing Drake and Beau by the back of their shirts and trying to shake them loose of their victims. "Matthew! Get off them NOW!"

Matthew complied begrudgingly. He stood just a little apart from the twin three-year-olds, snarling at them if they dared to look at him or whimper too loudly.

Draco placed the other two boys on their feet, away from the rest of the boys and gave Matthew a shove in the shoulder to move him away from the younger boys. "Right, you lot are not playing together anymore. You three, go and find something to do." Draco pointed to the other side of the warded yard. "You two, can go inside. There are plenty of toys in the playroom to keep you occupied and safe."

"They're not touching my Quidditch stadium!" Drake snarled.

"Don't touch the Quidditch stadium," Draco instructed. It wasn't worth the grief he'd get from Drake to allow the little ones to play with one of his most prized possessions.

With the boys all following his orders, Draco suddenly found himself standing alone. He'd wait a while to make sure the three older boys were playing nicely and then he'd check on the younger boys. How on earth Anya survived for as long as she did with the babies as well was quite beyond him. He wandered slowly back to the patio, feeling far wearier than he should have at this time of the day.

Drake, Beau and Matthew were playing together within minutes, and Draco hoped it would remain that way. The last thing he needed was for them to start ganging up on one another. If they did, he had no idea what he was going to do with them.

When he was certain they weren't going to cause each other immediate death, Draco wandered inside to check on the younger boys and the little girls.

The twin boys had all but emptied every toy in the room onto the floor, much to Millie's disgust, and were wading their way through the piles playing with toys that caught their eye for a moment or two before moving on. Angel had the other two little witches seated at her tea table and was conducting the tea party with all the pomp and ceremony that Narcissa would host a similar event.

"Pastry?" Angel offered a plate of small pastries to her guests politely. "They're made in France you know."

Draco bit the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing aloud at how like his mother his daughter sounded. Something told him that the two little Weasley witches couldn't care less where the pastries were made and, judging by the speed with which they presented themselves, the two little wizards in the room didn't care either. They'd, apparently, heard the offer of food and decided they deserved some pastries as well.

"You can't have any," Angel scolded them haughtily. "You're not at the tea party!"

Draco watched, not entirely certain if he was horrified or amused, as the little boys exchanged cheeky looks and promptly pulled up chairs to the table. One of them picked up the little china plate in front of one of the girls and held it out to Angel.

"NO!" Angel shrieked. "Go away!"

"No," the boys answered in unison.

"We want to have a tea party too," Declan continued.

Three little witch heads came together instantly and a short whispered conversation ensued. Draco shuddered to think what those three were coming up with.

Angel sniffed affectedly. "Very well, you can stay, but you must do everything properly."

The twins grinned at each other happily.

"The first thing you have to do is sit properly," Angel instructed. "You've got to keep your back straight."

Draco had to move away from the door before he gave into the urge to laugh. Whatever the boys thought they had gained was going to be short-lived by the time the girls got through with them. He consoled himself in the knowledge that neither boy would leave the table without first learning how to hold a teacup properly.

Outside the older boys appeared to be still playing together peaceably, and Draco allowed himself to relax for the first time since arriving home. If things kept going this way, he'd get through the rest of the afternoon without any problems or bloodshed.

By the time the sun began to set, there had only been a few minor incidents that required Draco's intervention. The worst of which was Colin pouring his cup of 'tea' over Angel's head after she called him a heathen for the way he was slurping the beverage. Her screams were still ringing in Draco's ears hours later.

When the complaints about rumbling stomachs reached critical point, Draco led the children into the dining room and told them to sit quietly while the house elves served their meal. He may as well have spoken to the bust of his great-great-grandfather in the corner for all the good it did. The taunts started right away and lasted throughout the meal, despite his best efforts to stem the flow.

Just as the children were finishing up their dessert, Percy stalked into the dining room, obviously not happy with someone.

"Percy," Draco intoned politely.

"It would have been polite to inform me that you were taking my daughter away from the Burrow," Percy snapped.

"Well, it would have been more considerate to not dump her on Anya in the first place," Draco growled. "She had all the children. Did you know that?"

"Mum always watches Britany on Saturdays."

"Your mother, if you hadn't noticed, is in hospital and subsequently is not available to baby sit." Draco advanced on his brother-in-law with determination.

"I did visit her today."

"As did I," Draco countered. "Tell me, how long did you stay this time? Five minutes?"

"I--you--"

"You know, the Ministry won't fall apart if you don't go there every single day."

"You have no idea what responsibilities I carry," Percy answered pompously. "Britany, come along. It is time we were going home."

Rather than follow through on the urge to snap his brother-in-law's neck with his bare hands, Draco turned to the little girl, who had scampered to her father's side. "Goodbye, Britany. I hope you had fun today."

"Thank you for having me, Uncle Draco," Britany responded politely as if it was a well-practiced line.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Draco promised with a wink. He might not feel exactly warm towards the child, but he knew his conduct was getting right up her father's upturned nose. "I'll get a servant to show you out, Percy."

Percy nodded his understanding.

"Millie, show our guests out, and then return immediately."

"As Master wishes." The elderly house elf tugged on Percy's hand to get him moving towards the door.

Draco didn't watch them leave, instead he turned back to the table and joined in the conversation his son was having with Beau and Matthew.

"You don't like Uncle Percy, do you, Uncle Draco?" Matthew asked seriously.

"I wouldn't say--"

"My dad says he's a git," Beau told everyone.

"My dad says he's a--" Matthew paused and looked around the table with big eyes.

"Are you allowed to say words like that?" Draco asked with a smirk. He could well imagine what Charlie's description of his younger brother might be.

Matthew shook his head and looked down at his plate.

"I think we can guess what your dad thinks of him," Draco assured him. "Why don't we--" Draco trailed off as he thought about what to do with the children next. He knew his kids usually had baths around this time and began preparing for bed, if they hadn't already.

"We could go and play again," Drake suggested hopefully.

"Yeah, go back to the playroom for now," Draco responded distractedly.

Within seconds Draco was the only one left in the dining room, save for the servants clearing away the mess created by the children. He knew he had to get the twins ready for bed, but he couldn't very well insist they bathed and not the rest of the children--it simply wouldn't be fair. Then again, bathing that many children scared the living daylights out of him. There was no way on magical earth that he could keep on eye on all of them at once, even with help from Millie.

"Master does want Millie to fill the baths?"

Draco blinked at the house elf standing in front of him and rubbed his hand tiredly over his face. "No, they'll have to bathe later... After their cousins go home."

"Mistress likes Miss Angel and Little Master Drake to bathe right after dinner," Millie insisted.

"Well, I can't bloody well watch all of them at the same time," Draco snapped.

"Master has help."

Draco snarled and stalked out of the dining room. Their evening routine had been so disturbed this week that he wondered if it was beyond restoration. Just as he reached the playroom door Draco stopped dead. A thought had occurred to him: Millie could watch the others while he sorted the twins out for bed.

"Millie!"

"Millie is right here, Master," the servant answered from directly behind Draco.

He ignored the fact that she'd obviously followed him. "You watch the other children and I'll take care of Drake and Angel."

"Yes, Master."

Pleased with himself now that he'd thought of a solution to his problem, Draco entered the playroom. The children were, once again, making enough noise to wake his ancestors. "Drake! Angel!"

At the sound of his voice everyone stopped.

"Upstairs for a bath," Draco instructed. His eyes almost left his head when all the children started towards the door. "No! No, just Drake and Angel."

"But I want to have a bath with Courtney," Angel whined.

"Courtney doesn't have her pajamas here," Draco countered, congratulating himself on thinking so quickly.

"Yes, I do, Uncle Draco." The little girl nodded emphatically at him. "They're in my bag."

"Oh, well... I suppose you two can have a bath together," Draco agreed reluctantly. One more wasn't going to make a difference anyway.

"What about Beau and Matthew? We want to have a bath together too," Drake said.

"Mate, I can't watch all of you if you're in three different places. What am I supposed to do with Colin and Declan?"

Drake shrugged, not really caring what happened with his two younger cousins.

"Little boys can have bath first and Millie can watch them after," Millie suggested quietly.

Draco frowned with irritation. "What?"

"Master can bath children, but only a few at a time. Take littlest boys first, then girls, then bigger boys," Millie elaborated. "Millie will watch children not in bath."

He could feel all the children's eyes on him while he considered what Millie had just suggested. To say no, now that she had voiced a solution, would more than likely invite a rebellion that he had little chance of surviving. "All right, we'll do that. Colin and Declan, get your bags and come upstairs with me, and the rest of you play quietly... I don't want complaints from the portraits on the third floor about the noise."

With a three-year-old attached to each hand, Draco left the playroom just as the noise level had reached its previous crescendo. It was a waste of breath telling them to keep it down at the moment. He could only hope that after their baths they would settle down for the night or their parents might think to pick them up.

It didn't take Draco long to run a bath in Drake's bathroom and assist the little boys out of their play clothes. While they were splashing about in the bubbles Draco examined the contents of their bags and discovered that they hadn't brought any sleepwear with them at all. He considered putting them back in their dirty clothes, but upon closer inspection Draco discovered that what they'd been wearing could quite possibly walk on its own. A quick search of Drake's dressing room delivered two pairs of pajamas to Draco's hands. Although the clothes would be too big there was little he could do about it at this hour.

After ensuring both little boys were clean, Draco helped them dry off and don their older cousin's pajamas. Once he'd left them in Millie's care, Draco escorted the two excited little girls upstairs.

Angel headed straight for her rooms, but Draco called her back. "Angel, you can use Drake's bathroom tonight."

"I don't want to!"

"The bath is already drawn," Draco explained patiently.

With a huff and a look that told him she was less than pleased, Angel stomped through her brother's suite and into his bathroom. Draco rolled his eyes to the heavens and begged the deities to go easy on him.

"Ewww! I'm not getting in there!"

"What's wrong?" Draco asked as he entered the bathroom to find both little witches staring at the large bathtub in disgust.

"The water is yucky," Angel responded petulantly.

Draco looked into the tub and had to agree. Who'd have thought a pair of little boys could make the water that horrid. "All right, we'll change the water."

"I want to use my bath."

"Fine, use your bath," Draco answered wearily. "I'll be there in a minute."

As the girls left the room, Draco waved his wand in the direction of the bathtub, emptying the dirty water. A very distinct ring around the marble where the water had been sitting was left behind. He debated summoning Millie for a moment, but decided to just give the bath a quick rinse with hot water instead. When Ginny got home, if he remembered, he'd tell her that this particular tub needed a good cleaning.

By the time he got into Angel's bathroom, both little girls had undressed and were waiting in bathrobes for the tub to be filled.

"Hurry up, Daddy," Angel implored him.

"The water only goes in so fast," Draco reminded her.

"Magic it!"

"Angel, just wait patiently." Draco reached for a large bottle of bubble bath on the counter.

"Not that one! We'll have the special one in the purple bottle," Angel instructed.

"Fine," Draco ground out, replacing the blue bottle and finding the purple bottle. He didn't know what the difference was, but obviously it was important to the girls. As he uncorked the bottle and poured the thick liquid into the bath it occurred to Draco that he'd come across this fragrance before. "Where did you get this, Angel?"

Angel tossed her head haughtily, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Grandmother gave it to me."

Draco nodded. At least he knew where he'd smelled the bubble bath before. His mother had been using this particular solution for as long as he could remember. "Right, in you both go. Courtney, you did bring pajamas upstairs, didn't you?"

"Yep, they're in my bag," Courtney answered as she clambered into the deep tub.

"Good," Draco muttered as he left the bathroom.

The last thing he wanted to be doing was scouring his daughter's overfull dressing room for a simple pair of pajamas. True to her word, Draco found Courtney's pajamas in her bag. He decided that it was probably easier to allow Angel to get her own pajamas out, than it would be to choose them for her.

When he poked his head into the bathroom, Draco found the girls soaking in the bath with bubbles up to their necks. They looked every bit the princesses they thought they were. "Girls, I might go down and get the boys moving up here."

Angel's eyes widened and she sat up with a rush. "They're not getting in here!"

"They won't be, princess," Draco assured her quickly. "They can use Drake's bathroom."

"That's all right then," Angel sniffed as she settled back into the bubbles.

"I'll be back soon, but if you need any help before then just yell for Millie."

"Yes, Daddy." Angel waved a dismissive hand at her father as her eyes slipped closed.

As he wandered back downstairs the knowledge that Angel was going to give him hair to match his eyes became all too comprehensible. If she was dismissing him so professionally at the age of five, he shuddered to think what she'd be like at fifteen. The noise emanating from the playroom invaded his nightmarish thoughts, pushing them aside to be considered at a later date.

"Boys!" Draco stood just inside the doorway surveying the mess. Toys were strewn all over the floor again and how the boys were still running around without causing themselves injury was a mystery to him. "Drake, Beau and Matthew! Upstairs for a bath now."

Draco waited until the boys had left the room before turning to Millie. "The girls are still in the bath. I'll send them down when they get out. Try to get these two to sit down quietly. Maybe read them a story or something."

"As Master wishes."

"If you could get this mess cleaned up before Ginny gets home as well--"

"Of course, Master." Millie snapped her fingers and the toys began putting themselves away instantly.

"Colin and Declan, you're both to listen to Millie. If you don't, I'll have no choice but to put you both to bed."

The little boys nodded their understanding.

Again Draco made the all too familiar trek to the family quarters and his son's rooms. On the way back, Draco began thinking about when he might be relieved of baby-sitting duty and decided that after he finished bathing all of them he might just have to Floo the Burrow to see what was going on. The notion that Bill and Charlie could be over there sitting back, relaxing at his expense entered his head and refused to leave.

"Get ready for a bath, boys," Draco announced as he crossed the bedchamber on his way to the bathroom. "The bath won't take long to fill."

Although the filthy ring the younger boys had left was no longer visible, Draco gave the bathtub another rinse with hot water before beginning to fill it. He added a generous splash of bubble bath before heading back to the bedchamber to see how the boys were getting along.

Beau and Drake were undressing themselves while they chattered excitedly, but Matthew was still standing in the middle of the room, seemingly lost in his thoughts. The small boy, who hadn't seen Drake's bedroom before now, was looking at everything in awe.

"Come on, Matthew, get a move on," Draco encouraged.

Matthew blinked vacantly at his uncle and moved slowly to the side of the bed. "Is this really your room, Drake?"

Drake frowned at his cousin. "Yeah."

"Wow," Matthew responded breathily.

"Wait until you see the bath," Beau told him. He had had the grand tour last time he'd visited and the pleasure of having a bath in the enormous tub in Drake's private bathroom. "It's like a swimming pool!"

"How about a little less chatter and a little more getting ready?" Draco suggested with a grin. "You three are like a coven of old hags."

His suggestion was met with much amusement from the three little boys.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you lot. You're starting to sound more and more like your mothers and aunts," Draco warned.

The giggling from the boys increased tenfold at that idea. Draco had a chuckle himself as he wandered back to check the level of the water in the bathtub. He had thought the boys might be horrified at being compared to their female relatives, but it seemed they were too young to be offended by the notion.

"Come on, boys, the bath is ready for your filthy little bodies," Draco called.

He was infinitely glad he'd not approached the door as he beckoned them, because only seconds after the words left his mouth three naked little wizards came charging through the door, heading for the tub in a great hurry.

"It's a little deep, but I'm going to trust you three to behave yourselves in there and not drown each other," Draco instructed, not that the boys acknowledged his words. "Boys!"

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Be careful in there. It's a bit deeper than you'd normally have it, and I don't want to have to explain to anyone with red hair why one of you drowned," Draco explained.

"Yes, Daddy," Drake agreed sincerely, or as sincerely as he could while defending himself from being drowned by a large splash of water.

"Beau, that goes for you too," Draco warned. "No splashing! I don't want to break my neck when I come back in here." He eyed the three little boys in the water. There was definitely some mischief afoot, despite their overly innocent expressions. "I'm just going to check on the girls. I'll be back soon."

The evil giggles that followed him out of the room didn't settle the nagging feeling Draco had in his gut that those three were up to no good. Still, it didn't change the fact that he'd left the girls for some time and he did need to check on them sooner rather than later. In the corridor he came to the conclusion that bathing the boys at the same time as the girls probably wasn't the best decision he could have made, but it was too late to do anything about it now.

Silence greeted him as he walked into Angel's suite. It was enough to quicken his pace towards the bathroom. When he arrived he found the girls lying back in the bath, enjoying their soak and the peace.

"Is everything all right, girls?"

"Yes, Daddy," Angel muttered without opening her eyes.

"How about you wash yourselves, so you can get out soon?"

"Soon," Angel promised.

"I'll be going between here and your brother's bathroom, okay?"

"Uh huh."

"If I'm not here and you need me, just call out."

"Okay."

Draco's spine stiffened as he heard what sounded like a war cry coming from Drake's bathroom. "I'll be back," he called over his shoulder as he took off in the direction of the ever-increasing noise.

Mild panic took over his thoughts, and he failed to register that it would be wise to not run into the bathroom. As a result, the moment one of his feet hit the marble floor it went skating away from him, dragging the rest of his body with it on pure momentum. Draco stopped with a dull thud when he collided with the vanity. Before he even turned around to view the mess his nostrils were flaring with fury.

"Didn't I tell you lot not to splash?" Draco growled, surveying the floor, which was entirely covered with water and bubbles, for good measure. "I trusted you with the deeper water and this is how you repay me?"

"Sorry," one of the boys mumbled.

"Are you ready to get out?"

"We haven't washed ourselves yet," Beau answered bravely.

"Right, well... you have five minutes to wash yourselves from top to toe and then you're getting out." Draco turned on his heel and tried to walk across the slippery floor with some dignity. The moment he cleared the doorway, his hand went to his hip and gave it a much needed rub. There was going to be a nasty bruise there, if he wasn't mistaken.

Before getting the boys out he decided to make certain the girls were washing themselves. With luck he'd be able to get everyone out and into pajamas, and then back downstairs to hopefully do something that was quiet.

"Angel, Courtney, are you two washing yourselves yet?"

"Daddy, can't we just soak?"

"No, you can't. I've got to watch five boys, as well as you two, so I can't stay up here all night."

"Send Millie up."

"Millie is busy at the moment," Draco reminded her. "Start washing yourselves now or you'll be getting out dirty."

Angel mumbled to herself discontentedly as she sat up and reached for the large sponge on the side of the bath.

Satisfied that his orders were now being followed, Draco made his way back to the boys. Even though they were still making enough noise to lift the roof, he hoped they were at least cleaning themselves while they were doing it.

"Are you lot--" An unmanly scream filled the bathroom as Draco slipped in a particularly deep puddle of bubbles and landed on his back.

Draco lay on the floor with his eyes closed trying to take stock of what he thought might be broken or damaged. He could hear someone groaning and wondered distantly if one of the boys was injured.

"Daddy," Drake whispered uncertainly.

"Is he dead?" Beau asked.

"Don't know," Matthew answered.

"Draco? What on earth are you doing down there?"

"Ginny?" Draco cracked open one eye and saw his wife standing in the doorway. "Don't come in... slippery."

"Yeah, I can see that. What happened in here?"

"I bathed the boys."

"Okay," Ginny answered slowly. "And then you decided to wash your robes on the bathroom floor?"

"The little--they splashed water everywhere."

"They tend to do that when there's more than one."

"Someone should have warned me," Draco complained.

"I'm pretty sure you did know that," Ginny pointed out. "Can you get up?"

"Yeah, I'll try." Draco groaned loudly as he rolled over onto his side. It felt like every bone in his body had shattered on impact. Rather than try to gain his footing on the slippery floor, he crawled to the doorway. "When did you get home?"

"Just in time to hear you scream," Ginny replied with a grin.

"Yeah, well you'd scream too if you--" Draco mumbled unintelligibly.

"I was just going to get changed and go down to the kitchen to bake Harry's cake."

"Why don't you just order one?" Draco asked plaintively.

"We've been through this," Ginny responded.

"Your mother would never know and it's not like Harry cares," Draco pointed out for perhaps the hundredth time that week.

"Mum would find out and besides I promised her I would take care of it. The last thing she needs right now is to be disappointed by her family."

"Fine, it was just a suggestion." Draco ran a hand through his hair in frustration and realized that he'd have to clean up himself before going back downstairs. "You wouldn't have happened to have heard from your brothers over the course of the afternoon?"

"Bill called in to the hospital on his way home from work and I haven't seen Charlie since he left the hospital this afternoon." Ginny smiled amusedly at her husband. "How is it that you ended up with all the kids this afternoon?"

"When I got to the Burrow Anya was just about fit to be tied. She really couldn't cope with all the kids and the babies, and somehow instead of leaving there with two I left with eight."

"Eight?"

"Colin and Declan are downstairs with Millie, Angel and Courtney are in the bath, and there's three in there." Draco pointed to the flooded bathroom. "Percy came by while we were eating to pick Britany up, and he's not happy that she was here instead of at the Burrow."

"So they've had dinner and they're in the bath? I'm impressed!" Ginny patted his chest affectionately. "Don't worry about Percy. He'll get over it, not that any of us really care whether he does or not."

"I'm sure he'll vent his displeasure tomorrow when he's got a larger audience."

"The boys will tell him exactly what he can do with his displeasure and hopefully there won't be any kids around at the time, so they can be rude about it."

"I wasn't exactly polite to him," Draco admitted.

"You were probably a whole lot more polite than his brothers would have been," Ginny assured him. "Well, I'll leave you to it. I need to get on with this cake."

"Love, before you go, do you think you can dry the bathroom floor for me?"

Ginny grinned and whipped out her wand. It only took a couple of masterful flicks over the marble floor to improve the situation greatly. "Be careful."

"I've been trying to be careful," Draco retorted as she left the room.

As much as he didn't want to, Draco took a deep breath and entered the bathroom again. Three little boys stared up at him from the bath. He could see just a fine sliver of fear in their eyes and decided to use it to his advantage. "Right, step out onto this towel, dry yourselves off and get into your pajamas. When you're dressed, wait in the sitting room."

Draco stood back and watched them step out of the tub. Once they were all safely standing on the bathroom floor, he went to issue the very same orders to the girls. There was a little ray of hope that the boys would be dressed by the time he got back to them. That tiny drop of fear in their eyes should get them moving without further need to berate them.

"Angel, Courtney, it's time to get out," Draco said as he stepped into the bathroom.

"But we're not finished," Angel complained.

"You are now," Draco responded in an uncompromising tone. "I did warn you, and I wasn't joking."

"Uncle Draco, can you help me out?" Courtney asked, standing up to follow his instructions without question.

"I'll just get a towel for the floor, so you don't fall," Draco answered. He was thankful the girls hadn't made any mess on the floor as he moved across the room to the cupboard where he was certain the servants kept the spare towels.

When a large fluffy towel was in place by the foot of the tub, Draco lifted Courtney from the water and wrapped another towel around her. "Dry yourself quickly and go into the bedroom to get dressed."

Courtney gazed up at him with soulful eyes. "Can you dry me?"

"Err--I'm sure you can manage," Draco answered uncertainly. It was one thing to help his own daughter, but quite another to assist someone else's daughter. "You're a big girl now, right?"

"Sometimes I don't dry myself properly," Courtney informed him expressively.

"Okay, umm--what if I get Aunt Ginny to help you?"

Courtney nodded, happy with the suggestion.

"Good. Angel, are you right to get out of the bath on your own?"

"Yes, Daddy, I do it every night."

"Of course," Draco muttered. "I'll be right back."

Draco hurried down to his own suite, hoping that Ginny was still there, because he didn't feel confident leaving the children for as long as it would take him to walk to the kitchen and back. Just as he reached for the door handle it opened, startling him out of his thoughts with a jolt.

"Is everything all right, Draco?"

"Yeah, umm--Courtney asked me to dry her."

"She's only four."

"Yeah, but I thought you could--"

Ginny sighed wearily. "Where is she?"

"Angel's bathroom."

"Okay, I'll get the girls organized. You take care of the boys."

"Sorry, love, I just didn't--I know I wouldn't like it if--"

"It's fine, Draco," Ginny replied as she entered Angel's room.

Draco stood in the corridor for a couple of minutes. If he'd thought the afternoon was mind boggling, it really had nothing on bath time. All was quiet from within Drake's rooms and that struck him as unusual, especially with three boys in there, or at least he hoped they were still in there.

He only made it as far as the sitting room. All three boys were sitting there, fully dressed, waiting for his return. Draco masked his surprise expertly.

"Everyone's dressed," Draco stated. "I'm impressed."

"Are you all right, Uncle Draco?" Matthew asked concernedly.

"I'll live," Draco responded evasively.

"Are you sore?" Beau inquired.

"A bit," Draco admitted. He couldn't very well lie about that, because no one could hit the floor with that much force and escape injury. "Well, I'd better go and get changed before we go downstairs. Can I trust you lot to keep sitting quietly while I do that?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Mummy is in Angel's room, so I'll know if you got up to anything," Draco warned good-naturedly.

The boys laughed as he left the room, but it lacked the earlier mischievous tone it held. Draco hurried down to his rooms and changed quickly. While their demeanors promised no mischief, he didn't really trust them not to grow bored and start plotting some heinous torture for him.

On his way back to collect the boys, Ginny stepped into the corridor with two dressed little girls right behind her.

"Boys, we're all ready to go downstairs," Draco called through the doorway.

They didn't have to be told twice, appearing within seconds in the corridor. For the next few minutes the hallway was full of noise as the boys greeted Ginny enthusiastically. Draco stood aside and allowed the boys to make a fuss of his wife, until she'd had enough. At that point Draco stepped in, explaining to the boys that Ginny had a birthday cake to make. It was a mistake of mammoth proportions. All the children instantly began begging to help her at the top of their voices. Somehow Ginny escaped, leaving Draco to deal with five disappointed children.

In an effort to distract them, Draco began to usher them downstairs. Before they made it to the playroom they had extracted promises from Draco for extra slices of cake the following day and several other special treats that he would have to deliver or suffer their wrath.

Millie had the two youngest boys sitting quietly looking at picture books. It seemed like a grand idea to Draco, so he sent Matthew and Courtney to the generously stocked bookshelves in search of a book each that Draco could read aloud to all of them.

With Millie's help, Draco finally got all the children settled in chairs or on the floor with pillows. It took some maneuvering, but finally everyone appeared to be happy with their position and comfort. Draco sat in the armchair he'd reserved for himself and opened the first book. He instructed Millie to remain close by, in case the children required anything.

Colin and Declan drifted off to sleep before the end of the second book. With the children not only remaining quiet, but beginning to drift off to sleep, Draco had Beau choose another book. He didn't mind reading to them, if he was honest with himself. It was actually quite relaxing.

"Will you look at this, Bill? Not only is he the best son-in-law to ever draw breath, he's now an expert babysitter."

Draco's eyes snapped up in the direction of the disturbance. Charlie and Bill were leaning in the doorway, looking entirely too amused for Draco's good. Unable to retort the way he wanted to, because of the youthful ears around him, Draco simply glowered at the pair.

"Daddy," Courtney uttered drowsily.

"Ready to go home?"

The little girl shook her head tiredly groggily. "Uncle Draco hasn't finished the story."

"I think you've invaded Uncle Draco's sanity for long enough today."

"How is your sanity about now?" Bill asked.

"What sanity?" Draco ground out.

The two men chuckled and after a few minutes, Draco joined them. Now that he'd admitted it openly, he really did feel as though his sanity had taken a holiday.

"Daddy, can Courtney sleep over?" Angel asked sweetly. "We'll be good, won't we, Courtney?"

"Well, I don't--"

Angel pouted and looked at her father from under her lashes. "Please, Daddy."

Draco sighed. He couldn't see any reason why not. One extra wouldn't make any difference to them. "If it's all right with Uncle Bill."

Both girls shot hopeful looks in Bill's direction. Draco could tell, even before Bill offered his opinion, what his response was going to be.

"Only if you're sure, Draco," Bill answered.

Drake sat forward and looked at his father. "If Courtney's staying then Matthew and Beau get to stay as well!"

"I--umm--" If everyone hadn't been looking at him so hopefully, including Bill and Charlie, he might have actually been able to spit out the 'no' that had caught in his throat, but as it was Draco couldn't quite refuse. "Sure, why not?"

"They must have done something to him," Charlie whispered loudly to Bill.

"Confunded perhaps?"

Charlie nodded thoughtfully as though musing the most important of thoughts "We'll figure it out tomorrow."

"Yeah, may as well wait until then," Bill agreed. "No point in wasting a good Confundus charm."

"I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Draco," Charlie said.

"We'll meet you at the Burrow in time for lunch," Bill assured him.

"Hang on," Draco blurted, trying to get to his feet. "What about these two?"

The two Weasley men looked in the direction that Draco was waving his arm. Two sleeping three-year-olds met their gaze.

"What about them?" Bill asked cheekily.

"I'm not keeping them as well," Draco answered indignantly.

Charlie rolled his eyes comically. "Fine, we'll wake them up and take them home then."

"Good," Draco responded.

"You know, I hate waking them up once they're asleep. They get so grumpy," Charlie griped, glancing at Draco to check his reaction.

"If you're trying to make me feel guilty--"

"Not at all," Charlie answered. "Just stating the facts."

"Facts that aren't going to change my mind," Draco stated firmly.

Bill shook his head repentantly. "I'm going to have to get Beau to work on strengthening his Confundus charm."

"Yeah, then we'd be able to offload the whole lot onto any unsuspecting victim." Charlie's smug grin was coupled with a quick glance at his blond brother-in-law.

Draco was beginning to regret agreeing to allow the other three to stay over. If he had just said no then he wouldn't be getting subjected to this bizarre form of torture. He watched the two men pick the sleeping boys up in their arms.

"We'll see you all tomorrow then," Bill said. "You lot behave yourselves."

"Thanks, Draco," Charlie intoned genuinely. "Anya was about to lose her mind when you showed up this afternoon."

"Yeah, well--" Draco muttered. "See you tomorrow."

With final goodbyes and warnings to behave, the two men left the parlor with the little boys. Draco turned around and looked at his charges, wondering just how they'd managed to get him to agree so easily.

"Are you going to finish the story, Daddy?" Drake asked hesitantly.

"Come and sit down, Daddy," Angel offered warmly.

"No, I think it's time for bed," Draco said firmly.

The avalanche of protests started immediately, but Draco remained firm and steadfastly refused to meet the pleading gaze of any one child, especially his own daughter. With Millie's assistance he managed to get all five children tucked into bed and settled down within half an hour. He knew they'd most likely talk and giggle for a little while, but he found he didn't care just as long as they stayed in bed.

He left Millie in the corridor between the twins' rooms, just in case someone got out of bed or needed assistance. Safe in the knowledge that the children couldn't escape, Draco wandered down to the kitchen. His stomach had been rumbling for some time, and he decided that it was probably about time he ate dinner, as he had chosen not to indulge when the children ate. Before he even reached the doorway he could hear Ginny issuing orders to the servants, mostly to the tune of removing themselves from her space.

Rather than barge on in, Draco paused in the doorway. Ginny was up to her elbows in flour and there was an endearing smudge on her forehead. The servants were milling about her legs, waiting for any indication that she might need something from them. They were certainly uncomfortable with her active presence in the kitchen, but she took no notice of them or was deliberately ignoring their obvious distress.

"You look like you're having fun," Draco commented, letting his presence be known.

"I just want to get it done, so I can relax." Ginny didn't look up from her task. "Has everyone been picked up?"

"Well... You see--"

"What, Draco?"

"We have some house guests for the night," Draco admitted quietly.

"How many?"

"Three."

"Let me guess: Beau, Matthew and Courtney?"

"Yeah."

Ginny nodded wearily. "At least they're not any trouble."

"Have you had dinner?" Draco asked, changing the subject. He had no desire to inform his tired wife just how much trouble her nephews were.

"I got something at the hospital."

"A cup of tea and a stale scone?"

"Something like that," Ginny admitted with a wry smile.

"That's two for dinner," Draco instructed the nearest servant.

"As Master wishes."

All the servants abandoned their efforts to assist Ginny in favor of preparing a meal for their master. Draco strolled up to where Ginny was doing unimaginable things, in his mind, to flour and milk and whatever else she had in the enormous mixing bowl. His arms went around her from behind and he leaned against her back, placing a lingering kiss on her neck. "You're going to stop and have dinner with me," he whispered into her ear.

"I can't stop until it's in the oven," Ginny said distractedly.

"Fine, but then you're stopping and eating something decent."

"Okay, but can you just--"

Draco didn't need to be told he was limiting her movement and probably annoying her, so he stepped back before she'd even finished asking.

"Master will be eating in the dining room?" a servant inquired.

"No," Ginny answered immediately. "You can set two places at the other end of the table."

Draco shot an appalled look at his wife, but wisely did not protest. He nodded at the servant, sending it on its way. It had been well over a decade since he'd last eaten in the kitchen; the last time being while he was still a student and he'd snuck down for a snack after not finishing his dinner.

"How was your day?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Fine. I finished everything at the office. I would have liked to have spent the afternoon just with the twins, but it didn't work out that way."

"Thank you for helping Anya out. I had no idea she'd have all the kids today."

"She was pretty close to losing it when I got there," Draco admitted.

"I just hope Mum gets out of hospital soon." Ginny sighed tiredly.

"Has Wilson said anything about when he might release her?"

"No, not a word, but then she's not well enough to even consider being at home yet."

"I think we should have a meeting with him early next week, just to check on her progress and what his prognosis for release might be."

"That's a good idea," Ginny agreed.

"I'll set it up on Monday."

"Thank you."

"Oh, why did you tell my secretary to block out all of next Saturday?"

"We're having a dinner party," Ginny replied with a frown.

"Is there an occasion for this dinner party?"

"To thank our attendants from the wedding."

"I thought I was helping you--"

"And just when were we going to have it then?"

"Well, all you had to do--"

"Is plan it and make certain your secretary blocked the day and night off."

"The impression I got from you was that you didn't know how to--"

Ginny put down the large spoon she'd been stirring the cake mixture with and pinned her husband with a look that might have been deadly had she not been exhausted. "I decided I couldn't wait for you to step up and help me or we'd be hosting it sometime around our tenth anniversary, so I went ahead and made my own plans. I figured that it's our thank you to our friends, so I could make it what I wanted rather than conform to whatever it is you think is a dinner party."

"Love, whatever you want is fine with me." Draco held his hands up in surrender. "I just thought you wanted help."

"I did to begin with."

"I'm sorry, I should have helped you plan it when you first asked."

"Yes, you should have."

"You know, I think it's better that you did it yourself though."

"Why?"

"Like you said, it's our thank you to our friends, so it should be personal and not just another version of my mother's dinner parties." Draco smiled warmly at her, hoping that his words of encouragement would be enough to quell her irritation. "I've a feeling everyone is going to have a brilliant time next Saturday."

"I hope so."

"Is there anything I can do to help at this late stage?"

"Yes." Ginny smiled wickedly. "Don't even think about working that day."

"I won't, I promise."

"Master's dinner is ready. Master should eat while food is hot," a servant interrupted.

"Ginny, leave that for now and come eat."

"I want to get it in the oven first."

"How long?"

"A few minutes."

"Cast warming charms over our meals," Draco instructed the servants.

When Ginny was happy with the consistency of the mixture, she upended the bowl into a large rectangle pan. Draco watched the chocolate batter spill out of the bowl with great interest. It had been years since he'd watched a cake being made from scratch and he found the process quite fascinating. After she had placed the pan into the large oven at the end of the kitchen, they sat down at the preparation table to finally eat dinner. He hoped that he'd be able to convince her to come to bed after they'd eaten, not to do anything other than sleep, because he was exhausted himself, but the idea of holding her while he slipped into a slumber to rival the dead was most appealing.

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

Draco dropped into a chair at the table in the garden of the Burrow. He'd all but ignored the varied greetings from the family as he made his way from the sitting room to the yard. All he wanted was five minutes peace and quiet; just enough time to gather his thoughts without someone giving him an order or asking him a question or, god forbid, screaming in his ears. The morning had been horrific in ways he'd not ever contemplated existed. One would think that the addition of a few extra children and the absence of his wife wouldn't have made that much difference, but his experience told a different story.

Ginny had, according to the note she'd left him, eaten an early breakfast, put the finishing touches on Harry's birthday cake and left for the hospital to check on her mother. She also informed him that he was to meet her at the Burrow with the cake, gifts and the children. At the time Draco saw no problem with this, but in hindsight he should have known that he simply wasn't equipped to deal with everything on his own.

The inclusion of Beau, Matthew and Courtney into their Sunday morning routine had elevated the noise level five-hundred percent and had diminished Draco's patience to non-existent. His ears were still ringing from Courtney's delighted squeal at breakfast when she discovered the house elves would prepare whatever her heart desired, within reason, for the morning meal. It was a regrettable error in his generally excellent judgment to inform her of that. The antics of the boys -- all three of them -- even had Millie shaking her head in disgust and muttering under her breath about wicked little wizards.

It wasn't until after breakfast, when it was time to get dressed for Harry's birthday lunch at the Burrow, that Draco realized just how bad things could get. Draco was accustomed to Angel fussing and he knew very well the sort of attire Ginny preferred her to wear to the Burrow. He was prepared to do battle as he entered her suite, but to his utter horror Courtney had found her inner princess overnight and had decided that throwing a temper tantrum, in stereo with Angel, was likely to get her what she wanted. Both little girls had gone through Angel's entire wardrobe, stripping it of everything before each settled on a dress that would have been more at home in a ballroom than in the backyard of their grandparents home. He had immediately said no, and, looking back, that was probably where he went wrong -- they started crying at that point.

Draco had wandered onto Angel's balcony, just to take a break from the god-awful sounds that were assaulting his ears in the bedchamber, when he spied the boys. From where he stood, it looked as though they'd raided the house elves stock of clothing, thrown it on and ran outside to find the first patch of mud to roll in.

While he was admonishing the boys and sending them to Millie for a bath, the girls had decided to get ready to leave -- in the ball gowns, complete with a generous layer of Ginny's makeup and more than a heavy splash of expensive perfume. The only thing he could be grateful for were the security charms on Ginny's jewelry cases--at least the girls hadn't gotten into those.

In the end, he'd allowed his frustration to evolve into anger. The boys were threatened, in no uncertain terms, that any further misbehavior would result in three very unhappy little wizards. When he went to deliver the same message to the two little misses down the hall, Angel and Courtney burst into fresh tears. Draco immediately took refuge in his own rooms and sent Millie to ensure they were cooperating.

An hour later Draco was standing by the hearth in the parlor with five children, a cake large enough to feed the student body of Hogwarts, a large gift-wrapped box, two smaller gift-wrapped boxes and his Quidditch gear, including his broomstick, for the game they were sure to have this afternoon, wondering how on earth he was supposed to get everything to the Burrow in one piece.

He'd started by sending the children through the Floo Network, and then Millie had happened upon him staring at all that had to be taken with a deep frown. After a little encouragement the wise house elf had suggested he leave the cake to her and she'd made certain it was delivered in perfect condition. Then he passed the parcels through the Floo, following as soon as he was certain he'd not forgotten anything.

People had begun to spill into the yard with increasing regularity and he knew his peace was going to be short lived. Draco remained in his chair, pretending he wasn't really there in the hope that everyone would just leave him alone for a bit longer. It was fruitless, of course. He heard them before he saw them: his brothers-in-law -- all of them together. A plot to run away as fast as he could began to form, but he hadn't quite sorted out the finer details when the chairs surrounding him started to become occupied.

"Did the kids give you a hard night, Draco?" Bill asked curiously.

"No."

"Must have been the morning that got to you then," Charlie commented smugly.

Draco looked around at the expectant, but amused faces surrounding him. Another plan began to form in his mind. It was better than the first one and should see him left in peace and quiet for the rest of the day if it worked. He leaned back in his chair, forcing a confident smirk onto his features. "Actually, it was the in between."

Ron frowned. "The what?"

"Didn't the kids sleep well?" Bill asked, reiterating his initial question.

"I hope they did," Draco answered vaguely. "I'd hate to think what they might have heard if they were awake."

"Heard?" Percy posed.

Draco leaned forward and rested his arms on the table, as if he was going to tell them a grand secret. "You see... your sister... she gets a bit vocal at times."

"Wasn't she impressed with the kids sleeping over?" Charlie inquired.

"She didn't care, as long as it didn't disturb our activities, and it didn't," Draco responded with a cheeky smirk. "I just hope she didn't wake any of them."

"Exactly what might they have heard?" Bill asked, even though his expression told Draco he didn't really want to hear the answer.

"Well, if the kids start asking questions... Just tell them that their Aunt Ginny wasn't dying or in pain, and God doesn't reside in our chambers."

"I didn't need to know that," Ron muttered.

"Are you trying to tell me that Pansy is leaving you alone now?" Draco asked, diverting the attention away from himself now that he'd planted a seed of disgust in their minds.

"No... Well--" Ron's eyes went to the back door as his fiancée came into view.

"Sweet Merlin!" Draco blurted without thinking. He hadn't really taken any notice of Pansy's changing shape last time he saw her. It wasn't as if he didn't expect to see her body changing with pregnancy, but it looked as though she'd shoved a Quaffle under her dress. "How on earth do you manage?"

Ron flushed beet-red to the very tips of his ears and began to stammer something unintelligible.

"Forget I asked... I don't want to know," Draco interrupted, suddenly realizing that his mouth was operating without permission from his brain.

"Are you sure, Draco? I can give you a stroke for stroke description if you'd like," Pansy offered nefariously as she wandered towards the men.

"Err--no, thank you." Draco cursed himself mentally for not only voicing such a question, but also for doing it loudly. The last thing he wanted was to know what his brother-in-law got up to behind closed doors or how he got up to it.

Pansy laughed at his mortified expression. "Oh, darling Draco, you're going to have to start getting a little more creative yourself soon enough."

"The difference is I won't feel a need to share such information."

"I was only offering to answer the question you asked," Pansy responded innocently.

"It was a rhetorical question," Draco replied with a hint of haughtiness. "You ought to know the difference by now."

"Bollocks! Your mouth ran away from you again," Pansy chided. "You ought to know that you can't fool me, I've known you way too long, Draco Malfoy."

"I--umm--I need a drink," Draco muttered, leaving the table quickly. Her laughter echoed in his ears all the way across the yard, reminding him that she did indeed know him too well.

"Draco, you snuck in quietly."

"Oh, Harry, umm--Happy birthday." Draco offered his hand to the other wizard.

"Thanks. Is everything all right?"

"Yes, of course."

"There you are! Go and sit down. I'll bring you your drink," Hermione ordered as she ushered Harry off in the direction of the rest of the men. "Hello, Draco. Is Ginny coming or is she staying with Molly?"

"I--err--" Draco's eyes were firmly focused on Hermione's belly. Bloody hell, how do they manage to shag, his brain inserted, rendering him effectively speechless.

"Draco?" Hermione touched his arm, a light frown creasing her brow.

Angelina crept over to stand beside Hermione. "Is he all right?"

"I don't know," Hermione whispered.

"Draco, why don't you come and sit down," Angelina suggested calmly, placing her arm around his shoulders comfortingly.

He looked slightly to his left, but there was just another pregnant belly there -- one that was even bigger again. It's a conspiracy. They were sent over here to mess with my head, Draco thought, none too calmly. His mind fought to remember what to say in this situation. There was a phrase that was always related to pregnant women -- one that was guaranteed not to offend. Sunny... flowers... NO! Draco tried to focus, but it was impossible. How do they do it? "I'm fine," he eventually ground out.

"Are you sure?" Angelina pressed concernedly.

Draco nodded, forcing himself to avert his gaze away from the two women. He felt as though he was beginning to lose his mind.

"If you say so," Angelina responded skeptically.

He breathed a sigh of relief as they walked away together. Now all he had to do was refocus his thoughts, preferably somewhere far away from the bedrooms of certain family members, and he'd be able to get through the day, he hoped. A drink was what he desperately needed at the moment, preferably something that would obliterate those nasty visions that had popped into his head. Draco picked up a bottle of Mead, draining its contents without breaking for air, and then picked another up to take back to the table.

Draco only got a few steps away from the table when he saw Ginny appear in the corner of the yard. Relief flooded through him when he saw that she was still the same size as she was the evening before -- just showing a small bulge to prove his child existed within her body. He diverted his course when she made a beeline straight for him.

"Hello, love." Draco greeted her with a soft kiss. "How's your mother this morning?"

"She's less grumpy than she was yesterday," Ginny responded with a grin. "Did you get everything here?"

"Yes, the cake, the gifts and all the children."

"The cake made it here undamaged?"

"It did."

"How?"

"Millie," Draco mumbled into his bottle of Mead.

Ginny arched an eyebrow at him.

"Millie suggested that she take the cake so it made it here unscathed," he explained.

"Good." Ginny smiled knowingly. "I was worried you might try to take it on your own."

"You mean you would have used--"

"Of course! Draco, I don't have to tell you that house elf magic is stronger than ours."

"No, of course not."

"How did this morning go with the children?"

"Fine," he lied.

"Really?"

Draco nodded absently, fixing his gaze just above her left shoulder, just in case she'd begun to read him well enough to detect the little white lie.

"Wonderful. Now, where's Harry? I should wish him a happy birthday before we start lunch."

"He's sitting at the table."

Ginny threaded her arm through Draco's, insisting he walk with her to the table. It wasn't until Draco started overhearing odd comments from his brothers-in-law as his wife greeted them that he regretted his earlier attempt to gain some peace and quiet.

"You really ought to let a bloke get a good night's rest, Ginny," Fred scolded.

"Poor bloke was knackered this morning," George told her.

"If my kids start asking funny questions, I'll be sending them straight to you," Bill warned his sister.

"That goes double for me," Charlie added.

"The least you can do is tell him not to tell us," Ron uttered crossly.

"What on earth are you lot on about?" Ginny inquired, obviously confused.

"He told us--"

"They're just teasing you, love," Draco cut in quickly.

"I'm deadly serious," Bill said firmly.

"Why don't you head into the kitchen? I'm sure the women in there will appreciate an extra pair of hands," Draco suggested, trying to usher Ginny away from the table.

"I'm sure they can do without me for another few minutes," Ginny said, standing her ground.

"They'll want to know how your mother is today," Draco insisted, a note of urgency slipping into his tone.

"They can wait. What did you tell the boys?"

Her deliberate gaze was starting to burn him. He was trapped and there was no way out. All he could hope to do was minimize the damage at this stage. "I just told them what we did last night," he answered as casually as he could.

"What we did? It wasn't terribly exciting." Ginny frowned when her brothers started sniggering.

"They must have boring home lives," Draco whispered, in an attempt to put an end to any further explaining.

Ginny laughed. "Oh, boys, if you think baking a cake, eating dinner and then lying awake listening to Draco snore for half an hour before drifting off is exciting, then you're all in need of help."

"I think you forgot something," Charlie said with a wicked grin.

"Nope, I don't think so. I got home from the hospital, helped Draco finish bathing the girls, baked Harry's cake, ate dinner, showered, and went to bed," Ginny listed.

"So we don't have to worry about any-- noise the kids might have heard?" Bill asked awkwardly.

"Noise? Merlin no! We were in the kitchen."

"The kitchen!" Ron looked disgusted. "Remind me not to eat any cake."

"Says he who thinks the broom shed has another purpose," Draco retorted without engaging his brain.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm the only one talking about baking a cake here?" Ginny asked, looking to each of the men.

Draco stepped between his wife and her brothers, effectively blocking her view. "Love, it's just their depraved minds twisting what I said earlier. Just ignore them. Their foolishness isn't worth worrying about," he whispered. "Go into the kitchen. The girls were asking after you earlier, wondering when you were getting here."

Ginny looked around Draco at her brothers, all of who appeared to be almost bursting with restrained laughter. Draco was right; she didn't have the patience or the energy to deal with their silly interpretations. "All right, I'm going."

He waited until Ginny was safely inside before turning back to the table. "Are you lot trying to get me killed?"

"We weren't to start with--"

"But now that you mention it--"

Draco shot a withering glare at the twins. "Ask yourself what your spouses would do to you if they thought you'd been bragging about activities not generally discussed in polite company."

Much to Draco's aggravation a few confused looks bounced around the table after his outburst.

"Forget it," Draco snapped irritably, dropping himself into his chair. "Just bloody well forget it!"

"Come on, mate," Charlie crooned amiably. "We would have pulled her off before you stopped breathing."

Draco folded his arms across his chest and did his level best to ignore the men around him. He had no one to blame but himself, but that was beside the point. They should have had enough sense not to speak about such things in front of their sister, especially when it could cost lives -- namely his.

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

"Good morning, everyone," Ginny called as she walked through the kitchen door and hung her cloak on a hook.

Through the bustling activity half a dozen greetings reached her ears.

"Ginny, that cake is amazing," Hermione exclaimed, hugging her friend briefly.

"It was nothing," Ginny responded modestly. "Now, what can I do to help?"

"There's a chicken casserole in the oven that needs checking," Anya said as she walked past with her arms full of dishes.

"Consider it done!"

Ginny had just decided that the casserole could do with another ten minutes or so when a wail came from the sitting room. "I'll go."

"If that's Henri, can you take him out to Bill?" Fleur requested as Ginny rushed to the upset infant's side.

"Okay," Ginny acknowledged, scooping Henri into her arms and trying to calm him down. "You are making a big fuss, aren't you, little man?"

"Is he all right?" Fleur poked her head through the door.

"I think he might be hungry," Ginny responded over the noise her nephew was filling the room with.

"I'll get him a bottle," Fleur offered.

"While your mummy's doing that I think we might change your bottom, just to shut you up before you wake up anyone else," Ginny crooned in a singsong voice.

Within minutes Henri settled down, quite happy to kick his little legs around, sans nappy. Ginny watched him while she waited for Fleur to prepare his bottle, not wanting to upset the baby by dressing him right away.

"Here you go." Fleur handed the bottle to Ginny.

"You should sit down for a few minutes and feed him yourself," Ginny said.

"There is too much to be done. Bill can feed him."

"All right, I'll dress him and take him out."

"Thank you."

After dressing Henri, Ginny delivered her unimpressed nephew to his father's arms. Draco's demeanor didn't escape her attention.

"Is everything all right, Draco?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?"

"I was just curious."

"I'm fine."

"Okay, I'll just leave you alone then."

"Thank you."

Ginny frowned as she wandered back inside. "Does anyone know what the boys did to upset Draco?"

"I think it was more a case of what he did to upset them," Pansy answered.

"What did he do?"

"It backfired as far as I can tell."

"What backfired?"

"Well, they told you didn't they."

"Told me what, Pansy?"

"About how you got really loud last night."

"Doing what?"

Pansy rolled her eyes with exasperation. "You and Draco in bed... He warned the boys that if the kids had any questions--"

"In bed? The only noise that came from our bed last night was his snoring! He started before his head even hit the pillow."

The women in the kitchen started laughing.

"Oh, it's all starting to make sense now." Ginny nodded. "I thought there was something odd about their comments. He told me they'd just twisted his words with their filthy minds."

"He definitely told them," Pansy assured her.

Ginny sank into a chair at the table and put her head in her hands. "What am I going to do?"

"Let them believe what they want," Anya told her.

"Then punish your fantasizing husband mercilessly when you get home," Angelina suggested.

"No, she can punish him here," Pansy insisted. "After all, we deserve some entertainment."

"Oh no, humiliating won't be enough." Fleur shook her head. "He needs to pay for talking like that."

"Mmm... Something shiny ought to make you feel better, Ginny," Katie suggested. "A couple carets at the very least."

Ginny raised her head just a little. Her sisters-in-law were all looking at her with amusement dancing in their eyes. "I could really kill him."

"Go on then," Pansy encouraged. "I'll hold him down, if you want."

"You're really blood thirsty," Hermione commented, giving the black-haired witch a wary look.

Pansy shrugged casually. "It's the hormones."

Ginny laid her head on the table and started laughing. The whole situation was ludicrous.

"Lunch is ready to be served," Anya announced, pulling the last dish from the large oven. "Maybe if we put food in front of them they'll refrain from telling stories."

The kitchen came alive once again with movement. All of the women were accustomed to serving for the entire family and within minutes everything was on the table outside, ready to be devoured.

Ginny had deliberately headed straight for Draco with an enormous platter of chicken pieces, and as she leaned over him she whispered in his ear, "We're going to have a little chat later."

"Yes, dear," Draco grumbled. He didn't have to be told that she knew what he'd done; Pansy was grinning at him in a manner that made his blood run cold.

For the time being, Draco pushed aside the feeling of dread that had settled in his belly and distracted himself with the feast the girls had prepared. Even he had to admit they'd outdone themselves. It was as if Molly Weasley had overseen every morsel of food that had landed on the table for their consumption.

"Draco, can you help the twins please?" Ginny asked as she filled two plates with food.

"Aren't you serving them?"

"No, I'm making up plates for Mum and Dad."

He grabbed two more plates and began selecting what he thought they might eat without a fuss.

"Ginny, you should have made Dad come home for lunch," Bill said.

"I tried, but he wouldn't budge," Ginny admitted. "I'll take these to the hospital this afternoon and show him what he missed."

"Can't someone else take them?" Draco snapped irritably.

Ginny looked up, her eyes wide and her mouth open ready to respond in kind.

"I mean, you've spent just about every waking moment at the hospital this week, Ginny. I think it's time you devoted an hour or so to your own family," Draco rushed on.

"Mum is my family."

"What about your children?" Draco hissed across the table.

"Pansy and I can take the food in," Ron offered quickly. "We haven't seen Mum this weekend."

"Haven't you got dinner plans?" Ginny questioned.

"Yeah, but we can go before dinner," Ron assured her. "Harry, you don't mind if we drop by the hospital, do you?"

"Not at all," Harry responded with a smirk.

Ginny shook her head. "No, I want them to have it for dinner and you'll get there too late."

"We can leave early, Ginny." Harry winked at Ron. "Anyway, I've got to go and see Molly today or she'll string me up."

Draco watched the conversation curiously. He wasn't positive, but he thought that Ron might have just saved his neck for some unknown reason. Once he'd delivered a plate of food to each of his children, along with orders to eat everything, Draco resumed his seat. He looked across the table at his youngest brother-in-law, who was grinning at him knowingly.

When Ginny had moved to the far end of the table, Ron leaned over the table towards Draco and whispered, "Well, say thank you."

"What for?" Draco asked a little haughtily. The thoughts may have been present in his mind, but it didn't mean he had to admit to it.

"I just saved your skin."

"I am perfectly capable of fighting my own battles, Weasley," Draco drawled.

"That's a bit hard to do when she's removed your balls, Malfoy," Harry scoffed in hushed tones. "Which she was seconds away from doing, I might add."

"Even I know when not to push her," Ron scoffed.

Draco grumbled to himself. To be seen as needing help was undignified, even if it was the truth. "Fine! Thank you," he hissed.

Ron beamed across the table. "You're welcome."

"Anytime!" Harry slapped Draco on the back heartily and started eating his lunch. "Just think of us when you're enjoying your time with Ginny this afternoon."

"I find thoughts of either of you rather damaging to my performance," Draco quipped.

"Not another word!" Ron dropped his cutlery and clamped his hands firmly over his ears. "I don't want to know!"

Draco smirked. Some of the balance in his world had been restored. He had Ron fearsome of what he might hear again, and Harry was concentrating so hard on his food that he might never emerge again to bother him. All he had to do now was put things right with Ginny.

He hadn't meant to snap or sound so hard-hearted, it had just come out that way. It was probably because he had been feeling a bit abandoned this week, not that Draco would ever admit that aloud. There was no doubt in his mind that Ginny was worried for her mother, and he'd been as supportive as he could -- going beyond the call of duty many times -- more so than some of her brothers, but he did crave some of her undivided attention for a few hours at least.

A solid plan was what he needed to crawl his way back into his wife's good graces. They would certainly have to spend some time with the children, but perhaps he could convince Ginny to have an intimate dinner with him, and then spend the rest of the evening relaxing in each other's company or entertaining themselves with more energetic activities if she preferred. Still, he had a few hours to sort out the details and form a solid strategy for attack before they returned home. If he got the opportunity, he could even start softening her up before they left, but only if none of the other men were around to see him work his magic. After all, he couldn't have them knowing the secret to the Malfoy charm.

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