Bill scowled. "Well go away then. Mummy and I are busy."

Fleur laughed and gently pushed her husband away. 'Later' she mouthed and turned her attention back to the stove. "Gabrielle, Pourriez-vous vérifier s'il vous plaît pour vous assurer que tout est bien? Vous savez que les hommes sont."

"You do that on purpose." Bill crossed his arms over his chest. "Speaking French so I don't understand."

Gabrielle smiled sweetly at him and held out Fabian. "Mon frère, votre bébé a faim," she said, still with a big smile. "Et Fleur, Je serais heureux à."

Bill's scowl deepened. "I hate both of you." He plucked Fabian from his sister in law's arms and headed back into the dining room. "Come Fabian. We're going to do men things, like scratch ourselves and belch."

Gabrielle scowled as he walked out. "Cela dégoûte!" she shouted after them, turning to Fleur with a smile. "What did you want me to check?"

"Is everything clean? Put out?" Fleur frowned. "This iz zee first time we 'ave 'ad any of zee Weasleys over for dinner." The elder sister sighed. "Ginny specifically. You know 'ow she can be." Fleur knew very well that her husband's youngest sibling had long thought she was all wrong for Bill, but she knew the younger woman did it out of love. So she didn't hold a grudge, or at least, much of one.

"Ze table is set, it is as clean as it is going to get. Can I 'elp with ze food?" she asked, looking at the bubbling pots with interest. She hadn't eaten all day, and she was hungry. At Fleur's warning look though, she held up both hands. "Only teasing." She eyed the wooden spoon warily.

"Maman 'as not pounded zee spells into your 'ead yet." Fleur pointed to a bowl sitting on the kitchen table. "Zere are pommes. Eat." She knew her sister's eating habits as well as anyone and doubted the girl had anything except for a few sips of tea.

Gabrielle scowled, but took an apple from the bowl. "Maman n'est jamais autour de m'aider," she muttered, sprawling in a chair and taking a bite.

Fleur passed a hand over her sister's hair. "Then I will," she promised. "Now, go make sure Bill iz not turning my little boy into an English barbarian."

Gabrielle smiled up at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before darting from the room. "Bill, Fleur says to stop turning her bébé into an English swine!" She shouted.

"He's my son too!" Bill tickled his son lightly, delighting in the small laugh. Fabian was brilliant, simply put. He already knew Fleur, Bill, and Gabby by face, reaching out with his little hands and following them with his eyes.

Ginny squeezed Draco's hand as they walked up to Shell Cottage, glancing over at him with a smile. "You remember Fleur from the Triwizard cup, right?"

"Yes," Draco said. "I know who she is."

Draco shifted nervously. He did not want to do this, but ever since his slight tussle with Greengrass at the meeting, he felt like he was on shaky ground with Ginny.

"Well, it's her, my brother Bill, their son Fabian and Fleur's little sister Gabrielle," she said as they stopped in front of the door. She rose her hand and knocked quickly. Turning back to Draco, she gave him an encouraging smile. "It's going to be fine."

"Rememeber you've said that at the end of the night when I've accidentally burned the house down," Draco muttered.

Bill opened the door in time to hear the last bit of Draco's comment. "I grew up with the Twins. It'd be remiss if I didn't know how to extinguish a fire." Bill smiled. Lull him into a false sense of security. "Come in, come in, both of you. Fleur's cooking. Gabby's being a nuisance and I've got baby duty." He held up his son. He wasn't quite sure about the state of Ginny's temper, but he was willing to forgive and forget if she was.

"I am not being a nuisance, it is not my fault zat you still do not speak French. Hello, Ginny," Gabrielle replied, smiling warmly.

"Hey Gabrielle," Ginny said, pulling the younger woman into a hug. "Don't let Bill get to you. He's a prat." She pulled back with a smile before turning to Bill with her hands held out. "Let me finally meet my new nephew," she demanded, her fingers wiggling in his direction.

"Then I give up my last advantage." Bill pouted, but passed the baby over anyway. "So," he cast a side long glance towards Draco. "I heard about Ron's present."

Draco scowled. Bloody Ron Weasley.

Bill grinned when Draco held his tongue. "Of course, I also heard about Gin's usage of her bat bogey hex, which was probably deserved."

Gabrielle turned to grin at Ginny. "You officially are my hero," she said. She was so cool, she dated Harry Potter, she knew cool hexes. One of those days, Gabrielle was going to corner her and get all the information about it out of her.

"That was years ago, Bill," Ginny said after cooing at her nephew and throwing a grin at Gabrielle. "Besides, now I know even worse things to use." Grinning at Draco, sensing his slight discomfort at the situation, she moved closer to him, turning so he could see the baby in her arms. "Fabian, meet Draco. Draco, this is Fabian."

Draco's scowl had gotten more scowly at the mention of the bat bogey hex. He knew that one firsthand. Then Ginny distracted him by expecting him to talk to the baby, which was ridiculous since the little chap was only a few weeks old.

"Hullo," Draco said, unsure of what exactly to do with that.

The baby made a gurgling sound that ended in a burp. Draco made a face. Were they supposed to do that?

"Here."

"What? No," Draco said.

"Support the head."

"Ginny..."

And now he was holding a baby. Crap. What if he dropped him or held too hard or something?

"Bill?" Fleur came out from the kitchen. "Why iz zere a strange man 'olding my son?"

"Hey Fleur," Ginny said, looking over at her with a small smile. "This is Draco Malfoy, my boyfriend. Draco, this is Fleur. He won't drop him, I promise."

"'E'd better not," Gabrielle said with a good natured glare.

Fleur sniffed. "Gabrielle, if you could 'elp me in the kitchen?" She spun on her heel, fully expecting her younger sister to follow.

Bill grinned, Draco looked uncomfortable, but handled Fabian well enough. "So, Gin." He turned to face his sister. "Are we good?"

Ginny blinked. "What do you mean?"

He sighed. "About the other day." Bill looked around before he was satisfied that Gabrielle was safely out of hearing range. "At Harry's."

"Oh, you mean when Ron punched you in the face?" She rose an eyebrow at him. "How's the jaw, by the way?"

"Better." He turned towards Draco, his fingers itching to take his son back. "Had enough baby bonding time?" he asked the blonde.

"Here," Draco said, moving quickly. "I don't have much experience when they are under six as of yet."

Ginny darted forward and grabbed Fabian before Draco could hand him back to Bill. "Not so fast." Smiling down at her nephew. "Daddy's pretty grabby, isn't he Fabian? Doesn't want to share you at all..."

Bill snorted. "I'll have you know that I work all day. Fleur has him most of the time." He led the pair into the cramped dining room. "Sit, sit." He gestured, making sure he sat across from Draco. He might have been willing to give the man a chance, but that didn't mean he trusted him. "Fleur will serve and I'll do clean up."

Fleur emerged from the kitchen levitating several dishes in front of her, with Gabrielle following close behind.

"Zat iz only because I do not trust you with zee good dishes," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek before taking her seat.

"Yet you trust me..." Bill trailed off, realizing he was in the midst of other people. "Never mind then. So Draco, how's the school going?" He smiled at the man, slowly drawing his wand out under the table. It was time to carry on some of the family tradition.

"Well, fine I suppose. No one's been complaining. Which is odd because... Granger, but I have a solicitor that handles the difficult stuff. We're having a bit of trouble arranging the portkeys, but I plan a trip to the Ministry myself to get that straightened out."

"It's coming together really quickly," Ginny said, sitting back as Fleur directed a plate in front of her. "It starts on September 1st, which used to seem so far away, but now it's only a few weeks." She reached out under the table and squeezed Draco's hand.

Bill nodded. "My apologies to dad, but I never did like the Ministry much." He didn't quite like Gringotts much now either, but that was a different matter all together. "And in case I didn't mention it before, the school is a particularly brilliant idea." He nodded to Fabian, still nestled in his aunt's arms. "That one will be attending in a few years."

Fleur scowled. "Must you rush it, Bill?"

Draco grinned. "Fabian's cousin Jack is attending. I keep asking if they're going to let me drive the bus we're using for field trips, but no one in the Department of Magical Transportation seems to be especially keen on that idea."

Bill grinned as he silently cast an itching hex, wondering if the blond would have the same good manners as his father had when Gideon or Fabian Prewett had hexed him. "Is that so?"

Draco made a face and shifted in his seat.

"I can talk to someone at the Ministry. I happen to know a few people who work there, you know." She smiled over at Draco, the smile fading slightly at the confused look on his face. She turned her attention to Gabrielle. "Are you excited for your last year of school?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Oui. I am very excited to be done with school. All of my exams were last year, so at least I do not 'ave to worry about zat. 'Ow are things at your clinic?"

Draco shifted again uncomfortably. I will not be inappropriate around Ginny's family again. I WILL NOT be inappropriate around Ginny's family again.

"Good, good," Ginny said, distractedly. Am I missing something? "We get more and more patients every day. Place is getting a little crowded, actually. You should stop by, come see it."
Bill nodded. "Fleur will take Fabian for his next check up."

Fleur raised an eyebrow. "Oh, will I?"

He nodded. "I don't like shots."

"Yes. I remember when I was younger you whining about it to Mum. I found it rather funny. For a little bit there, I wasn't the only girl in the family." Ginny grinned widely at her brother before taking a bit of her food.

Bill eyed Draco knowingly before digging into his own meal. "I wasn't whining. I was complaining. In a manly way, I might add."

Draco was scowling. He was determined to make it through the meal before excusing himself. He shifted again, gripping his fork tightly. His eyes were beginning to water a bit from the need to scratch.

"How about you, Fleur? Getting enough sleep to be coherent for work, or did you take a few weeks off? A few months?"

"I took a few weeks off. I am hoping by the time I go back zat I will be well rested."

Bill glanced sharply at his wife. He couldn't remember if they had discussed this or not. "Who's going to watch Fabian again?" he asked delicately.

"Yes, ma soeur. Who will watch ze baby?" Gabrielle asked with keen interest.

"Gabrielle, ne pas être impoli." She turned to look at Bill. "We can figure it all out when zee time comes."

"See what I mean?" Bill rolled. "They speak French all the time, thinking I won't understand." He grinned. "But someday I'll show them."

One of his legs was bouncing and Draco's brow had broken into a slight sweat. He knew a bit of French, but he was too distracted to even follow the conversation. He needed to scratch things. Badly.

"Are you okay? You do not look so good," Gabrielle said, eying Draco as if he'd be sick at the table.

"I'm fine," Draco said before grabbing his glass and downing the rest of the wine in it.

Bill scowled at himself before releasing the spell. The kid had balls and was definitely not the person that had plagued his youngest brother during school. The Draco Malfoy Ron had described to Bill would whine at the tiniest scratch. Now he just felt like a bully. "So," he said a bit too loudly, "Gin, do you have any idea when Mum wants us all together again?"

"I don't know. I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to do it next week if we hinted, but with everything going on... Probably at the end of the month? Before Ron's game on the 30th? I can mention something to her the next time she stops by the house."

Draco was glaring at Ginny's eldest brother. He knew when he'd been hexed under the table. He'd missed the initial hex somehow, but he'd caertainly noticed the counter-curse. He stabbed at a few things on his plate, still glaring. Of all the childish... Now he wasn't worried about Ginny's siblings thinking less of him for the tussle with Greengrass. They could be just as childish as he could be apparently. Now all he had to worry about was her father and making peace with her mother because Molly had looked awfully upset. Draco stabbed at his food again.

Gabrielle watched warily as Draco began to victimize the food on his plate, and opened her mouth to ask what it had ever done to him, but changed her mind.

"Ginny, I would love to see the clinic before I 'ave to leave for school, if it is not too much trouble."

"Of course," Ginny said, taking a sip of her wine. "I'd like that. I'd like it if you all stopped by, in a non-patient variety, of course."

"Oh thank Merlin." Bill took a deep drink of his own serving of wine. "I would hate to think shots were involved." He put his wine glass down, followed shortly by his wand where the man across from him could see it.

Draco raised a brow and continued eating... rather violently.

"If you want me to get you unafraid of needles, I can just pop by sometime when you least expect and give you one. You'd get used to it fast." Ginny smirked at her brother and ate a bite of her food, grinning around the fork.

"I think not." Bill took a quick glance at Draco. The blonde man was still pulverizing his food rather than enjoying it. Now he felt even worse.

"Are you sure you're not okay? Ginny, I think zere is something wrong with 'im."

Ginny turned and looked at Draco, her eyebrows furrowing. "What is up with you? Do you hate roast beef that much?"

Bill pushed his plate back, suddenly not hungry. "Draco, may I have a word." He glanced at the females. "Alone? We can let the woman fuss over the baby."

Draco smiled at Ginny. "I'm fine."

He kissed her cheek as he got up. "Excuse me. I'll be right back."

He followed Bill.

Bill led the other outside, near the water. "I would say I'm sorry for the bit of hazing, but I'm not." He swung towards the other man, a small smirk playing on the edge of his lips. "But you must understand the importance of tradition." He was silent for a moment, giving the man a chance to speak.

Draco was standing there scowling. Oh I should probably speak now.

"I'm a Malfoy. I understand tradition all too well. Doesn't mean all of them are good and should be kept up, though. Your sister was very upset about the other night, and I am trying not to upset her further. She seems to think yourself and your father have never seen a fight before or something. Well, probably not with a girl. Not that I really think of Greengrass as a girl. She's Greengrass. Anyhow, not the point."

It was silent.

"Anything else? Get all your threats out now. The only reason I even spoke to Greengrass because she's the one who brewed the poison that was given to Ginny. So let's have it then. Get it all out so we can go back inside."

"Listen, you little snot. I didn't know how you were connected to Gin until almost right before I broke you and Ron up. I got punched for that, but that's not what I came out here for." He sighed. "I wanted you to know that I know how Gin feels. Loving someone your family thinks is all wrong for you."

Bill threw a rock into the water, watching it skip. "That being said, I'm going to trust my sister on this. I won't stand in your way."

"Good," Draco said, throwing his own rock. It didn't skip so much as make a splash and sink. "Because I'm going to marry her."

That said he walked back inside.

"Hey!" Bill had to jog to catch up. "You can't just drop that on a bloke. Does Gin at least know about this?"

Draco looked at him and raised a brow. "I can't? It's sort of my thing. I drop as much information as possible in one breath and then run off. You'll get used to it, and no, she doesn't know... yet. I don't want her to feel rushed."

Draco continued back into the dining room.

"So we finished our male ritual playing mine's bigger than yours," Bill announced, following Slytherin into the dining room. "We skipped the part where we beat each other into a bloody pulp though."

"Well, trust me, I appreciate that," Ginny said as she looked over at Bill and Draco return. Rocking Fabian back and forth, his tiny hand wrapped around her index finger, Ginny smiled.

Bill clapped Draco on the back. "You're a goner."

"Pretty much, yes."

"What is a 'goner'?" Gabrielle asked, her eyes going from Bill to Draco and back again.

"Never you mind." Bill narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you help your sister and clear the table?"

She narrowed her eyes in return. "Because you said zat you were going to."

"I changed my mind. It's my right as eldest."

"I don't want to," she said, deciding to enlist help. "Fleur, 'e said 'e was going to." She broke out the biggest, most heartbreaking puppy dog face in her arsenal.

"Bill," Fleur said, trailing off.

"She doesn't pout near as well as I do," Draco whispered to Ginny.

"No one pouts like you pout, babe, no one."

Bill sighed loudly as he stood up and began to collect the used dishes. "I thought you didn't trust me with the good china."

"Well, you did say zat you would clean. And Gabrielle helped with zee dinner."

"Fair is fair, brother," Ginny said with a grin.

Bill scowled at his women and made his way into the kitchen, dishes trailing in the air behind him.


{SUMMARY} Draco and Ginny have dinner and Bill and Fleur's home with Gabrielle and Fabian.