Author’s note: Thank you So Much! To all those who reviewed, it really makes me feel good to know that you enjoy my story. Thank you, to whoever it was who pointed out that owner would be a better word than runner in my last chapter, I changed it. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last. I’m so sorry it took me so long to update, but I couldn’t find a BETA, so you all have Natasha to thank for this chapter ever seeing the light of day. But it’s finally finished, so I hope you enjoy this.
~{}~
Draco stared wildly around, not really thinking about where he was going, his mind only focusing on one thing, and one thing alone. It was like a mantra, repeating continuously in his head:
Is he mine? Is he mine? Is he mine? …
Suddenly, it hit him. He rushed up to the ‘Help’ desk.
“Do you happen to know where I can find Hermione Granger please?” He only knew the woman worked here because Blaise had met her while going to see his girlfriend (whom neither of them had liked very much) a few years ago. Draco distinctly remembered getting an owl saying:
‘She was great, one of the few girls that I’ve ever met who can keep up their own end of a conversation, but she was married, and so damn busy. She was way too devoted to her work, which I can’t understand. She has the most monotonous job I’ve ever heard of, record keeper for the ministry.’
”She’s on the fourth floor sir, second door to the left, but she’s seven months pregnant, so she may have taken a day off.”
Draco didn’t even pause to say thank you, just sprinted off towards the lift.
The damn thing was broken!
He cursed and went to the stairs instead, sprinting up the cement blocks as fast as he possibly could.
He was panting by the time he reached her floor, and gasping as he slammed open the door to her office, but speechless as he saw the girl he had tormented so often in his school days.
Hermione had gone from a bucktoothed, bushy haired, know-it-all, to a fine looking young woman, with curly locks and a slender figure, well, probably… usually slender. This, however, was not what Draco noticed about her. What caught his attention was her hugely protruding belly. The face that she wore as she tried desperately to reach her desk over top of it was priceless. In fact, if it had been any other situation, Draco would have laughed. But as it was…
Like I said, Draco was speechless, but this did not last long, oh no. It only took a few seconds for him to get over her appearance, before he did the first thing he could think of: he yelled. Loud, hard, and not particularly comprehensibly either.
~{}~
Ron stepped onto the lift from his office on the fifth floor, where he and Harry worked in the Department of magical games and sports, under the lax rule of Ludo Bagman.
He smiled as he thought of his wife, Hermione, pregnant and due in two months, and his oldest daughter, Hailey, who was turning sixteen today. There was going to be a huge party at the Burrow that night, and Ron was already chuckling at the thought of what she would get from Ginny’s son, Toby. The boy had the strangest taste in gifts.
However, his grin soon faded as he entered his wife’s office.
The most unexpected person was standing there, yelling at Hermione. Draco Malfoy looked close to tears. Not that that part bothered Ron, but his wife was pregnant, and she was looking shocked. Stress was probably not good for her or the baby right now.
“Malfoy, I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from shouting at my wife,” Ron bellowed.
This proclamation was met by a sudden silence, but from the sudden look of pity on Hermione’s face, Ron had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
Even though the realization hit him like a bowling ball in the stomach, even though he wanted to scream at the blonde haired man that he couldn’t see his niece and nephew, he couldn’t put someone through that.
Ron sighed. He had always known that Draco was unaware of Ginny’s children, and his part in their existence. But this was just sad. Ron had never really thought that Draco would find out, and although he would never admit it, he was glad, now that it had happened. Ginny had been feeling the strain of life quite hard lately. Ron had found out last week about her considering a night shift at the Leaky Cauldron, and he knew that if Draco were around, well… Ginny probably wouldn’t have to sell her house any time soon.
Draco slowly turned, and Ron could not help but cringe at the raw emotions on the other man’s face, full of disbelief, confusion, and… hope?
“Is he mine,” Draco asked desperately.
“Toby? Ummm… Well… You see, the thing is…”
“Just tell him,” Came Hermione’s weak voice
“Yeah,” He stated reluctantly. Ron wondered why he hadn’t asked about Marli, but didn’t comment, he thought that the rest should be done by Ginny.
Hermione had regained her ‘take-over-everything’ demeanor after her initial shock, and instantly came up with a solution:
“Why don’t we go see Ginny, and sort this out?”
~{}~
The sound of the door opening startled Ginny out of her daze, she had been taking a short break during the kids’ naptime.
The stairs creaked lightly as the twins made there way into the basement.
“What are you two doing back so fast? And where’s Nicky,” Ginny whispered curiously.
“Dunno, Uncle Ron Flooed to Fortescue’s and told us to get home quick, something about someone important wanting to see us. He seemed really agitated, so we listened to him, for once.” Toby’s voice was low and scratchy as he tried to bring his normally loud and obnoxious tone down a decibel.
“What,” Ginny hissed disbelieving, but suddenly there was a knock at the door.
~{}~
It had taken a surprisingly long time to get to Ginny’s. Ron had flooed over to get his niece and nephew home, as they should probably be present for this. Hermione had taken Draco to Ginny’s, but in her condition, she couldn’t apparate, and the floo made her nauseous, so they walked, which took about three times longer than it should have anyways, as Hermione couldn’t walk very well either.
Draco bit his lip nervously, which would have been hilarious, had it been any other situation.
Hermione took pity on him and knocked.
~{}~
Toby galloped up the stairs and opened the door, wondering if it was his uncle, coming to tell him what was up, but it wasn’t. It was his father.
He gaped silently for a few seconds at his startled looking Dad. He had always known who the man was, he’d seen millions of pictures of him in the newspaper. But the guy suddenly showing up on his doorstep was a bit of a rude wake-up call.
So, being the sporadic kid that he was, he said the first thing that came to mind. “Pops?”
Draco stared, swaying slightly on the spot. He had never been addressed as father, let alone ‘pops’.
Hermione sighed. “Could you get your mother Toby?”
The boy nodded slightly. “Yeah… Yeah, sure. The kids… Nap…Mar-Marli…” Then, suddenly, he laughed, full out, face about to crack, laughed.
Hermione looked slightly taken aback. “Toby?”
Toby bit back any more giggles. “It’s just… Marli’s shirt.” He burst out laughing again, before turning back into the house. “Come on in.”
Hermione shook her head dejectedly and walked in after him.
Draco stared mutely. That boy… He had the same face. And his eyes… His hair!
He sighed, and followed them, shutting the door behind him.
“Mom, Marli. You guys have got to come up here! You’ll never guess what the cat dragged in, ” Toby whispered down the stairs.
Draco arched an eyebrow to suppress his confusion as to why the boy was whispering, and then his mouth dropped open in indignation as he realized his son had just referred to him as ‘What the cat dragged in’.
“Toby! We have to watch the kids it’s naptime! Tell whoever it is to go away! ”
Ginny’s hissing voice could be heard from the bowels of the house.
Draco nearly fainted at hearing her voice after such a long time.
“Screw the kids, this is more important!”
There was a pause; Toby’s first priority was usually kids. If Ginny didn’t know better, she’d think he was one of the children’s mothers.
A sigh was heard. “Fine Toby.” Ginny’s voice came again.
A quick mutter of spells was heard, most likely to alert Ginny if any of the kids woke up.
Draco, on the other hand, was still trying to process why there would be other kids in the house, and why they would be napping.
He was to content staring at the door, waiting to see what Ginny looked like after all this time; to notice that there was more than one set of footsteps. Which was why, when a different red head poked itself around the door, he nearly had a heart attack.
The already pale face managed to outdo newly washed sheets, and the girl looked confused as she made her way in to the center of the room, then she laughed nervously,
“You look just like my old man.” There was a pause, and a look of understanding crossed her face. “Oh.”
Draco’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Jesus,” He yelped, almost as if she’d burned him.
Ginny then proceeded to come into view.
His mouth dropped open and he was at a loss for words.
“Wow!” Toby stared at his father. “How do you do that?”
Draco snapped out of it, and turned to his newfound son. “How’d I do what?” He tried desperately to block Ginny out of his vision.
“You looked just like a codfish,” Toby mumbled, in a show of utmost of awe.
Draco stared at him as if he were crazy, before turning back to Ginny.
Well that was a mistake. Ginny’s surprised face made him want to run over and kiss her. Screw that, looking at her shoes made him want to kiss her.
Ginny finally regained control of her body. “So… I guess you found out.” She still couldn’t look at him, opting instead, to study a paint stain on the carpet.
“I-I guess I did,” He stuttered, surprising even himself.
“I’m sorry Draco,” She said in a small voice.
Suddenly a small and angry squeak drew their attention to the corner. Marli was giving Draco an intense glare. Her mouth was scrunched into a thin line, and her hands were clenched so tight that they were white. Turning around with a little grimace, she stomped downstairs.
“Oh dear,” Came a muffled cry from Hermione.
“What? What’d I do?” Draco panicked.
Toby gave his father a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, she does that to some people. Plus, who could stay mad at you for long? You have such a great codfish impression.”
“But why is she mad at me?”
Toby smirked. “I dunno Cod-man. But like I said, she gets like that. She just hates some people. You’re just one of the few bastards lucky enough to be bestowed the honor.”
Draco gave a small squeak.
Great, his son was calling him cod-man, and his daughter hated him. Things could not have been going worse.
~{}~
Author’s Note: Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R&R. I’m Soooooooooooooooooo… With quite a few extra o’s, about not updating sooner… I just had all these spelling mistakes, and I wasn’t really paying attention to much… And I’m a pretty lazy person… I’m really sorry.
~{}~
Draco stared wildly around, not really thinking about where he was going, his mind only focusing on one thing, and one thing alone. It was like a mantra, repeating continuously in his head:
Is he mine? Is he mine? Is he mine? …
Suddenly, it hit him. He rushed up to the ‘Help’ desk.
“Do you happen to know where I can find Hermione Granger please?” He only knew the woman worked here because Blaise had met her while going to see his girlfriend (whom neither of them had liked very much) a few years ago. Draco distinctly remembered getting an owl saying:
‘She was great, one of the few girls that I’ve ever met who can keep up their own end of a conversation, but she was married, and so damn busy. She was way too devoted to her work, which I can’t understand. She has the most monotonous job I’ve ever heard of, record keeper for the ministry.’
”She’s on the fourth floor sir, second door to the left, but she’s seven months pregnant, so she may have taken a day off.”
Draco didn’t even pause to say thank you, just sprinted off towards the lift.
The damn thing was broken!
He cursed and went to the stairs instead, sprinting up the cement blocks as fast as he possibly could.
He was panting by the time he reached her floor, and gasping as he slammed open the door to her office, but speechless as he saw the girl he had tormented so often in his school days.
Hermione had gone from a bucktoothed, bushy haired, know-it-all, to a fine looking young woman, with curly locks and a slender figure, well, probably… usually slender. This, however, was not what Draco noticed about her. What caught his attention was her hugely protruding belly. The face that she wore as she tried desperately to reach her desk over top of it was priceless. In fact, if it had been any other situation, Draco would have laughed. But as it was…
Like I said, Draco was speechless, but this did not last long, oh no. It only took a few seconds for him to get over her appearance, before he did the first thing he could think of: he yelled. Loud, hard, and not particularly comprehensibly either.
~{}~
Ron stepped onto the lift from his office on the fifth floor, where he and Harry worked in the Department of magical games and sports, under the lax rule of Ludo Bagman.
He smiled as he thought of his wife, Hermione, pregnant and due in two months, and his oldest daughter, Hailey, who was turning sixteen today. There was going to be a huge party at the Burrow that night, and Ron was already chuckling at the thought of what she would get from Ginny’s son, Toby. The boy had the strangest taste in gifts.
However, his grin soon faded as he entered his wife’s office.
The most unexpected person was standing there, yelling at Hermione. Draco Malfoy looked close to tears. Not that that part bothered Ron, but his wife was pregnant, and she was looking shocked. Stress was probably not good for her or the baby right now.
“Malfoy, I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from shouting at my wife,” Ron bellowed.
This proclamation was met by a sudden silence, but from the sudden look of pity on Hermione’s face, Ron had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
Even though the realization hit him like a bowling ball in the stomach, even though he wanted to scream at the blonde haired man that he couldn’t see his niece and nephew, he couldn’t put someone through that.
Ron sighed. He had always known that Draco was unaware of Ginny’s children, and his part in their existence. But this was just sad. Ron had never really thought that Draco would find out, and although he would never admit it, he was glad, now that it had happened. Ginny had been feeling the strain of life quite hard lately. Ron had found out last week about her considering a night shift at the Leaky Cauldron, and he knew that if Draco were around, well… Ginny probably wouldn’t have to sell her house any time soon.
Draco slowly turned, and Ron could not help but cringe at the raw emotions on the other man’s face, full of disbelief, confusion, and… hope?
“Is he mine,” Draco asked desperately.
“Toby? Ummm… Well… You see, the thing is…”
“Just tell him,” Came Hermione’s weak voice
“Yeah,” He stated reluctantly. Ron wondered why he hadn’t asked about Marli, but didn’t comment, he thought that the rest should be done by Ginny.
Hermione had regained her ‘take-over-everything’ demeanor after her initial shock, and instantly came up with a solution:
“Why don’t we go see Ginny, and sort this out?”
~{}~
The sound of the door opening startled Ginny out of her daze, she had been taking a short break during the kids’ naptime.
The stairs creaked lightly as the twins made there way into the basement.
“What are you two doing back so fast? And where’s Nicky,” Ginny whispered curiously.
“Dunno, Uncle Ron Flooed to Fortescue’s and told us to get home quick, something about someone important wanting to see us. He seemed really agitated, so we listened to him, for once.” Toby’s voice was low and scratchy as he tried to bring his normally loud and obnoxious tone down a decibel.
“What,” Ginny hissed disbelieving, but suddenly there was a knock at the door.
~{}~
It had taken a surprisingly long time to get to Ginny’s. Ron had flooed over to get his niece and nephew home, as they should probably be present for this. Hermione had taken Draco to Ginny’s, but in her condition, she couldn’t apparate, and the floo made her nauseous, so they walked, which took about three times longer than it should have anyways, as Hermione couldn’t walk very well either.
Draco bit his lip nervously, which would have been hilarious, had it been any other situation.
Hermione took pity on him and knocked.
~{}~
Toby galloped up the stairs and opened the door, wondering if it was his uncle, coming to tell him what was up, but it wasn’t. It was his father.
He gaped silently for a few seconds at his startled looking Dad. He had always known who the man was, he’d seen millions of pictures of him in the newspaper. But the guy suddenly showing up on his doorstep was a bit of a rude wake-up call.
So, being the sporadic kid that he was, he said the first thing that came to mind. “Pops?”
Draco stared, swaying slightly on the spot. He had never been addressed as father, let alone ‘pops’.
Hermione sighed. “Could you get your mother Toby?”
The boy nodded slightly. “Yeah… Yeah, sure. The kids… Nap…Mar-Marli…” Then, suddenly, he laughed, full out, face about to crack, laughed.
Hermione looked slightly taken aback. “Toby?”
Toby bit back any more giggles. “It’s just… Marli’s shirt.” He burst out laughing again, before turning back into the house. “Come on in.”
Hermione shook her head dejectedly and walked in after him.
Draco stared mutely. That boy… He had the same face. And his eyes… His hair!
He sighed, and followed them, shutting the door behind him.
“Mom, Marli. You guys have got to come up here! You’ll never guess what the cat dragged in, ” Toby whispered down the stairs.
Draco arched an eyebrow to suppress his confusion as to why the boy was whispering, and then his mouth dropped open in indignation as he realized his son had just referred to him as ‘What the cat dragged in’.
“Toby! We have to watch the kids it’s naptime! Tell whoever it is to go away! ”
Ginny’s hissing voice could be heard from the bowels of the house.
Draco nearly fainted at hearing her voice after such a long time.
“Screw the kids, this is more important!”
There was a pause; Toby’s first priority was usually kids. If Ginny didn’t know better, she’d think he was one of the children’s mothers.
A sigh was heard. “Fine Toby.” Ginny’s voice came again.
A quick mutter of spells was heard, most likely to alert Ginny if any of the kids woke up.
Draco, on the other hand, was still trying to process why there would be other kids in the house, and why they would be napping.
He was to content staring at the door, waiting to see what Ginny looked like after all this time; to notice that there was more than one set of footsteps. Which was why, when a different red head poked itself around the door, he nearly had a heart attack.
The already pale face managed to outdo newly washed sheets, and the girl looked confused as she made her way in to the center of the room, then she laughed nervously,
“You look just like my old man.” There was a pause, and a look of understanding crossed her face. “Oh.”
Draco’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Jesus,” He yelped, almost as if she’d burned him.
Ginny then proceeded to come into view.
His mouth dropped open and he was at a loss for words.
“Wow!” Toby stared at his father. “How do you do that?”
Draco snapped out of it, and turned to his newfound son. “How’d I do what?” He tried desperately to block Ginny out of his vision.
“You looked just like a codfish,” Toby mumbled, in a show of utmost of awe.
Draco stared at him as if he were crazy, before turning back to Ginny.
Well that was a mistake. Ginny’s surprised face made him want to run over and kiss her. Screw that, looking at her shoes made him want to kiss her.
Ginny finally regained control of her body. “So… I guess you found out.” She still couldn’t look at him, opting instead, to study a paint stain on the carpet.
“I-I guess I did,” He stuttered, surprising even himself.
“I’m sorry Draco,” She said in a small voice.
Suddenly a small and angry squeak drew their attention to the corner. Marli was giving Draco an intense glare. Her mouth was scrunched into a thin line, and her hands were clenched so tight that they were white. Turning around with a little grimace, she stomped downstairs.
“Oh dear,” Came a muffled cry from Hermione.
“What? What’d I do?” Draco panicked.
Toby gave his father a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, she does that to some people. Plus, who could stay mad at you for long? You have such a great codfish impression.”
“But why is she mad at me?”
Toby smirked. “I dunno Cod-man. But like I said, she gets like that. She just hates some people. You’re just one of the few bastards lucky enough to be bestowed the honor.”
Draco gave a small squeak.
Great, his son was calling him cod-man, and his daughter hated him. Things could not have been going worse.
~{}~
Author’s Note: Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R&R. I’m Soooooooooooooooooo… With quite a few extra o’s, about not updating sooner… I just had all these spelling mistakes, and I wasn’t really paying attention to much… And I’m a pretty lazy person… I’m really sorry.
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