Baby Draco

Chapter 4: What A Day!

NOTE: 'italic' = Draco's thoughts

"Come on, Ron!" urged Ginny. Ron took a deep breath, looking at the baby helplessly. Draco clenched his jaws and trying to cross his fingers only to find them too short to do that.

Suddenly, someone knocked the door and George's head popped in.

"Hey, are you going to bathe the kid, Gin?" he asked. Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"Well, I'm asking Ron to try it since he said it's not easy," she explained. George pushed the door ajar and Draco could see his twin trailing behind.

"How in the world does ickle Ronniekins know anything about bathing babies?" teased Fred.

"Yeah," George added, grinning. "Ronniekins, have you got a baby we don't know about? Been getting it on, have you?"

'Ickle Ronniekins? So that's what they call Weasel at home... Blearrgh. Getting it on?! WEASLEY?! That's disgusting!'

"Apparently, he has soft spot for babies," informed the youngest Weasley with a grin, getting in the words before Ron could open his mouth. Ron's ears went pink.

"I was flipping through the book and that particular information happens to stick in my head," he informed them, sounding somewhat prim. Fred walked over to the baby and started patting his head gently.

"So kiddo, do you want Ronnie to bathe you?" he asked playfully. Draco scowled. Fred chuckled mildly. "Oh, no you don't. Good choice, kiddo!"

"By the way, we happened to find out that his parents called him 'Dragon'," informed Ginny. The twins turned their head to their sister, gaping, and looked at Draco again before finally bursting into laughter.

"Gracious Merlin! Your parents must be close to the Malfoys," George exclaimed in between his laughter.

Draco could feel hot blood rushing to his head. He was boiling mad, but it would be a dead giveaway if he showed that he understood every word they said.

"You know, Gin, I think we'll save Ron from helping this Dragon bathe," said Fred. Draco heaved a sigh of relief.

'Thank goodness for that! I don't want Weasel's filthy hands roaming all over my body.'

"We'll help him instead," George summed. Draco gasped, his eyes widening. The twins pulled out their wands and Draco swallowed hard.

"With the help of some magic, of course. It will be much safer," Fred winked at him, as if he were trying to assure Draco that everything would be all right. But knowing the reputation of the twins as the greatest pranksters in the history of Hogwarts, safety was the last thing in his mind at the moment.

'Merlin, Slytherin, God (Is that what the Muggles called him?), whoever can help me, please HELP!'

Draco looked at the Weasley girl with the best puppy-dog eyes he could manage, but she only shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, then. Just don't do anything funny or jeopardize his life. I'll have a shower myself," she said as she went to her wardrobe to get her clothes. "George, here are the wash and shampoo."

Ginny tossed the two bottles to her brother, who looked down at the bottles in his hands. "Gin, these look like your stuff--"

"Yeah," Ginny said, pausing in the middle of the doorframe. "They should be fine, though; I normally use baby products anyway." That last bit of information would have normally resulted in a Malfoy's snort and insult, but Draco was too aghast by the sight of Ginny pulling clothes from the wardrobe to even notice what she was saying. She was really leaving him!

With a flick of his wand, Fred removed all pieces of clothing from the baby and he levitated the horrified Draco into the bathtub. A surprised shriek was heard, attracting Ginny's and Ron's attention before they left the room. She stole a last glance from the corner of her eye. She did not see anything suspicious, however, so she proceeded to the shower, leaving the twins and Little Dragon in the room.

Draco felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as the door closed with a definite click. He shut his eyelids tightly, feeling the warm water lap at his body as it poured over his head. It was very strange to bathe without using his hands or even other people's hands. He could only feel the sensation of soapy bubbles everywhere on his skin. A pleasant scent of apple filled the room.

'Well, at least they're not molesting me. You can't be too sure with the Weasleys.'

"Good thing Ginny gave you the apple one. I can't imagine a little boy like you smelling of floral fragrance," George commented, swishing his wand at the same time.

"You really need to wash your hair. It's damn stiff! I've never seen a baby using hair gel, and I bet you use a pot each day," Fred complained.

'I'd rather look neat than messy like Scarhead. You Weasleysreally don't know how to look presentable!'

"It will work nicely with clean hair," added George.

'Oh well, at least I get to wash my hair today even though it'll look messy afterwards...wait, WHAT will work nicely with clean hair?'

Water poured out of Fred's wand tip, drenching Draco. When the downpour finally ended, he blinked his eyes and shook his head to get rid of the water droplets. With a wave of a wand, the bathtub was suddenly empty. Draco shivered as he felt the coldness creep over his small body. George quickly sent a small yellow towel flying towards him. Draco closed his eyes again as the towel dried his hair and eventually enveloped his small body.

At the moment, the Weasley twins were applying the baby powder on him. He felt a ticklish sensation in his nostrils.

"Achoo!" Draco rubbed his little nose.

"Not too much, Fred!" said George. Draco was being levitated to Ginny's bed and not long after, he was clothed with one of the worn rompers. Strangely, the baby clothing felt very comfortable and soft against his sensitive skin.

"Okay, you're all ready to go, Little Dragon!" Fred announced with great enthusiasm. Feeling sated and warm, Draco slowly opened his eyes. He found himself looking at a strawberry blonde baby with a baby blue romper sitting on the bed.

Draco blinked. 'Who the hell is that?'

He blinked a lot before he felt the blood draining from his face.

'Oh, shit!'

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

A loud, shrill cry pierced through the tranquillity of the Burrow.

Ron's eyes sprang open, suddenly feeling wide-awake.

Ginny dashed into her room wearing only her pink bathrobe, her towelled hair still wet. She took one look at the baby before her chocolate brown eyes widened in horror, imitating the baby's expression.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!" Her voice boomed throughout the house, sounding eerily similar to her mother's own cry. Ron winced at Ginny's roar, shaking his head as he heard sounds of snickering from his position on the uneven staircases. He had no idea what could cause such a commotion except...

"Bloody hell!" Ron blurted when he was presented with another bizarre experiment of his twin brothers, earning him a sharp glare from his sister.

"Don't curse around the baby, Ron!" she snapped before turning her full attention to the older twins. "What in the world were you both thinking?!"

Fred sniggered and elbowed his twin, urging him to explain. George cleared his throat.

"Let me introduce you to the newest Weasleyin the family." He paused and looked down at Draco. "Well, the result isn't as good as we expected, but he can pass as a Weasley." Ginny scowled at George darkly. Draco was too dumbstruck to think of a reply.

"Gin, what if we have to take him out to buy baby supplies?" Fred suggested hastily, seeing the look on his sister's face. "If he's totally blonde, people will be suspicious and think we kidnapped some rich bloke's kid to get ransom money."

"And that, my dear sister, will be end of the Weasleys!" George ended dramatically.

'I wonder why you all never thought of that before. You'd be much better off than you are now--impoverished and having major credit problem in Gringotts.'

"Yes, and what will people say if we bring him outside without Mum and Dad?" Ginny's voice trembled as she tried to control her flaring temper.

"Easy, they'll think he's your kid!" Fred quickly answered that question.

"They know the Weasleys are as fertile as rabbits," added George with a grin.

"HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MINDS?!" Ginny stormed furiously. The twins just shrugged their shoulders.

"You're no fun, Gin."

"You're starting to sound like Mum,"

Suddenly, Ron chuckled and played with a few strands of Draco's hair. Draco immediately pushed his hand off him.

'Don't touch me, Weasel!'

"Well, I think this is how your kid would look like, Gin...if you marry ferret-boy."

"Or if you marry Pansy Parkinson, Ron!" Ginny replied heatedly while she shook her head, "if I didn't know you any better, I'd think you were obsessed with Draco Malfoy!"

'Weasel obsessed with me?' Draco shuddered at the verythought.

"Obsessed with Malfoy?! You..." Ron paused, his face hardening. "Yes. Who wouldn't be obsessed with killing him? Harry would say exactly the same thing if he were here!" Ron replied, sounding as hot-tempered as his sister.

'Tsk, tsk, tsk. The feeling's only mutual, Weasel.'

"Oh, shut up, Ron!" Ginny dismissed him irritably. Every time Harry's name was mentioned, she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable, and she did not want her ignorant brother to know that. She heard the twins snickering. Apparently, they were not as dense as their younger brother. Her brown eyes shot daggers at them, signalling them to shut their mouths. "And now, change his hair back, please!"

Draco looked at them expectantly, hoping that the horrible bad-hair-day could be ended as soon as possible. But the twins' expression became blank.

"Can't do that, Gin. We used a potion instead of a charm. It'll only wear off after a week or so," Fred explained.

'What?! You mean I have to go around in this horrible Weasley hair for A WEEK?'

Ginny sighed, "I don't know what his parents will say if they come to get him tomorrow or anytime soon."

"Erm, we'll try to make the antidote if they come earlier."

Ginny massaged her temple, feeling drained after scolding her brothers. She could not imagine her mother going through that - and more - every day of her life. "Please leave the room now. I need to change and get a good night's rest."

"Don't be mad, Gin! It'll come in handy one day--you'll see." George grinned and said good night in unison with his twin before leaving her bedroom.

Ron stared at her sister, feeling reluctant to leave the room on bad terms. Ginny looked at him and smiled sadly.

"Sorry, Ron. I just lost it. It's...err...you know, that time," she admitted sheepishly. Draco blinked.

'Ugh, thank God I don't have a sister! Must put up with 'this kind' of problem eh, Weasel?'

"Yeah. I'm sorry too, Gin. I've been such a prat," Ron said, smiling good-naturedly.

"Goodnight, Ron!"

"You too. Sweet dreams and thanks for taking care of the baby for us."

'That was fast! If I were you, I wouldn't have forgiven him so easily. Oh, hell with forgiving Weasel--I wouldn't have even asked for forgiveness. It wasn't even your fault! The Weasel has insulted me, Draco Malfoy, in such an unimaginable way...'

Draco's train of thoughts were cut off when he saw the Weasley girl starting to remove her bathrobe. Eyes transfixed on her, Draco's jaw dropped and saliva dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

'Merlin, I'm the luckiest wizard on earth... Oh yuck, what is it with this stupid baby mouth? Drooling all over the place... never stops...'

He wiped away the fluid with the back of his hand disgustedly and turned back to resume the voyeurism, only to feel suddenly uneasy. The voice of his almost non-existent conscience niggled at him from the back of his mind, compelling him to stop. So Draco tried to divert his attention from the unsuspecting girl by plucking the nubs out of the worn white chenille bedspreads. Now he could imagine two small winged creatures, one dressed in black and the other in white, hovering over his shoulders.

Angel: Don't look up!

Devil: She took off her bathrobe, and for all you know, she might not be wearing anything underneath.

Angel: Draco, you have better things to do than to stare at a Weasley.

Devil: Hey, don't steal my line! You're supposed to be all nice and angelic, not cynical!

Angel: I'm Draco Malfoy'sangel, stupid! What else d'you expect? I've got to be persuasive, too, you know.

Devil: Draco, if you're a true blue Slytherin, you won't miss this chance. Don't tell me that one day with those Gryffindors has turned you into a goody two-shoes!

'Me, goody two-shoes?!' Draco shook his head violently attempting to banish the two imaginative creatures. 'Oh, to hell with conscience!'

Draco peeked under his lashes and smirked. The girl was clad in a green undergarment that fit snugly from breast to hip, leaving nothing to the imagination. A silver dragon print was right in the middle of her panty.

'How Slytherin of you, Weasley! I thought Gryffindors hate our colours.'

She was not as scrawny as he thought she would be under those hand-me-down robes. Well, he had experienced that first hand when she was holding him, but he did not really trust his judgement in that small baby form. However, looking at her from his present angle certainly confirmed his suspicion: she had grown in all the right places. She may not be as voluptuous as Pansy Parkinson, but Draco had never really liked extreme cases. In other words, he had to admit that the Weasley girl was not bad at all.

'Too bad I've just missed the good part of the show...ah, but I still have plenty of time for a rerun.'

"Hey, what are you smiling at, Dragon?" she asked, poking his left chubby cheek right on the spot where a faint dimple showing.

'Smiling? I thought I was smirking the Malfoy smirk...and stop poking my cheek!'

He grabbed her index finger in an attempt to stop her from poking him, but Ginny seemed to enjoy having his small hand wrapped around her finger. She brushed his knuckles endearingly with her thumb, admiring his cute little hands.

"I'm sorry about the hair. I shouldn't have left you with them and trusted them not to do anything to you," Ginny said softly. Her warm brown eyes bored into his bluish grey.

'Erm, it's not your fault, really...err, I mean, it IS your fault! Everyone knows that those Weasley twins are dangerous. As their sister, you should know better!'

Draco suddenly could not stop himself from yawning.

"You must be very exhausted. It's time for you to sleep." She picked him up from the bed, placing him lovingly into the crib. "Good night, Li'l Dragon!"

Then, Ginny dropped a gentle kiss on his milky cheek and pulled the yellow chenille blanket over his body. She turned her back too quickly to see the baby gaping.

Impulsively, Draco brought his hand to wipe off the kiss from his cheek, but he stopped halfway.

'Oh well, I guess this is what you'd get from being an irresistibly cute Draco Malfoy. Girls fawn over you.' He sighed and closed his eyelids, waiting for the darkness to engulf him.

But it did not come. Even after half an hour of trying to get to sleep, he was still very much awake.

'Damn, must be that stupid kiss! I've always known that Weasleys are infected with diseases.'

His opened his eyes and watched the Weasleygirl from behind the bars of the crib. If looks could kill, she would have been dying a horrible death at the moment for causing him a restless night.

However, the scene before him was unexpected - almost touching. The girl was sitting on the bed, poring over the Muggle parenting books that Ron had pronounced as 'boring to the point of tears.' Her reading light was dim--maybe because she did not want to disturb the baby--but of course Draco did not want to admit that and thought that she was a stupid Weasleyto spoil her own vision. She was yawning heavily every minute.

Ginny furrowed her brows, taking down notes on a parchment. "Potty training can be started when babies are as young as 18 months? That's odd! His parents must have trained him well," she muttered softly.

Draco noticed her head started bobbing involuntarily, but she quickly recovered and continue reading determinedly.

"Teething starts around 6-10 months," she mumbled.

So Draco continued to watch her reading until his eyes became heavy and he drifted to sleep, forgetting to wipe away the trace of that damned kiss.

===================TBC====================

A/N: Ah, there I gave you all a small taste of D/G action. Up next: Draco's having a day out, Ron the lady killer, a horrifying experience with an unexpected Slytherin *wibbles*, and could it be...Potter?!