A/N: This story is going to be very long. It starts when the main characters are about 8 years old, and will end when they're just about in their twenties. It sticks to canon in big lines. We think we did a good job at keeping the main characters in character and having relationships develop gradually, which we both feel is important.

And people; we are not stupid.

We are European over-dramatic perverts who like to shock people and make connections that shouldn't be there.

In this fanfic you will find Harry-bashing, Ron/Hermione, Ron/Draco, Ron/Harry, Harry/Hermione, Draco/Rosaly, Draco/Pansy, Fenrir/Draco, and possibly even MORE strange pairings. We shall begin every chapter with the lyrics of a song that we think fits the chapter. Look them up – you'll soon have your own Stains playlist! Also, we put a lot of hints in the first chapters referring to the later ones. Please tell us when you think you spotted any. :D Happy reading!

-Melissa and Melanie

I once had no fears
None at all
And then when
I had some

To my surprise
I grew to like both
Scared or brave
Without them

The thrill of fear
Thought I'd never admit it
The thrill of fear
Now greatly enjoyed with courage

When I once was
Untouchable
Innocence roared
Still amazes

When I once was
Innocent
It's still here
But in different places

Neurosis
Only
Attaches
Itself to
Fertile
Ground
Where it can flourish

The thrill of fear
Thought I'd never admit it
The thrill of fear
Now greatly enjoyed with courage

When I once was
Fearless
Innocence roared
Still amazes

Untouchable
Innocence
It's still here
But in different places

Fear is a powerful drug
Overcome it and
You think that you can do
Anything!

Should I
Save myself
For later
Or generously give?

Fear of
Losing
Energy
Is draining

It locks up your chest
Shuts down the heart
Miserly
And stingy
Let's open up : share!

When I once was
Fearless
Innocence roared
Still amazes

Untouchable
Innocence
It's still here
But in different places

'Innocence' by Björk.

"Ronald Billius Weasley! I told you to behave, didn't I?"
Molly's voice echoed through the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor as Ron came rushing in, thrilled to see his best friend again.
"It's been a while, Molly," Narcissa Malfoy replied softly when the redhead ran by her, towards the large living room.
Molly sighed. "I know, but still. I told him to behave, and… look what he's doing. I doubt Ronald is ever going to be an obeying child. His brothers..."
Narcissa interrupted her. "Don't compare him to his brothers. They were the same at his age. After all, wasn't it Percy who broke that vase?"
Another sigh underlined Molly's dissatisfaction; "And you know that I'm still sorry-..."
"I do, but that wasn't where I was going. Ronald may not be an angel, his brothers didn't exactly have halos either. Now," Narcissa smiled gently and guided her friend to the living room.

When they entered, Ron was gone.
"Where's-..."
"He must have gone to Draco's room, Molly. Don't worry," Narcissa replied with a smile as she gave her friend a piercing look; "..why are you so fraught today?"
Molly dropped her gaze and shook her head. "Oh, it's just - I was afraid we wouldn't meet again," Molly responded, holding back her tears.
"Oh, by all means Molly- no tears before tea. Seat yourself, please," Narcissa said, before occupying one of the black leather armchairs. Molly nodded and placed herself opposite her friend.
"Dobby," the hostess then commanded, and the elf appeared. "Yes, missus Malfoy madam, what would madam like?" the elf said, seeming slightly nervous.

"Serve our guest first, Dobby," Narcissa replied coldly.

"Yes madam!" Dobby squealed "Missus Weasley, welcome, how may Dobby help you madam? Would madam like something to drink?"

Molly didn't seem comfortable having an elf bow to her, but she didn't want to cause any trouble so she decided to ask for "some tea please, thank you." Dobby nodded enthusiastically at Molly's words, and when she was done he turned to Narcissa. "I, too, would like some tea"

"Yes madams," Dobby replied, bowing, before clapping his hands making a tea tray appear.

Dobby directed the teapot into filling fragile looking china cups. When that was done the cups landed to the table in front of both the ladies. Then Dobby made a tray of bonbons, cookies and cupcakes appear that also went to the table. He bowed again and was about to disappear when Narcissa made a guttural "hm?"

"Yes missus Malfoy madam?"

"Aren't you forgetting something…?"

Dobby looked at her as if she just Crucio'd him; "Oh! Dobby so sorry missus Weasley Madam Dobby didn't mean to forget! Dobby a bad elf! Bad bad Dobby! Dobby must- would madam missus Weasley like some milk or sugar in her tea?" the elf looked like he was about to cry as he fidgeted the dirty pillowcase he was wearing.

Molly seemed unsure of what to do, but she didn't want to cause a fuss with Narcissa either. Narcissa then sighed; "Dobby – Mrs. Weasley here is a special guests… where is my liquor?"

Dobby finally seemed to catch up and nodded understandingly before bowing again; "Dobby so, so sorry Missus Malfoy madam," the elf then snapped its fingers and in no time there was a bottle of rum floating in thin air. He looked from Molly to Narcissa and back, before focussing his gaze on Narcissa's cup and adding some of the rum to her tea.

Molly looked at it speechlessly. When Narcissa spotted this, she smiled broadly; "Oh please, Molly, the kids are playing, the men aren't around… have some fun."

"Oh, I don't know…" Molly tried hesitantly but with a chuckle.

"I insist.. you can't have a lady drink by herself, can you? Just blame me," Narcissa then smiled so sweetly Molly couldn't refuse and allowed Dobby to add some to her tea as well.

"You're dismissed," the hostess then said to Dobby, and the elf disappeared with a bang. Narcissa levitated her cup over to her.

"Now, Molly, tell me what's the matter?" Narcissa asked kindly, her eyes glittering in the sun that shone through the high French windows. If it wasn't for the black furniture, the light rays would have made the room look golden.

"We managed to pay off the house, finally, and well...Arthur got a new position in the ministry. A better one,"
Narcissa smiled in acknowledgement as she sipped her tea.

"He now works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, you know, that's in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement... he seems happy with his new job. It's just...you know-" Molly paused, obviously struggling.

Narcissa got up, walking over to Molly and sat down beside her. Then she took her friend's hands in her own soft ones. A polite concerned smile was on her face when she looked her in the eyes and said; "please Molly, you know you can tell me anything. "

Molly, who was still looking down, suddenly looked up. "I missed you, Cissy," she then whispered, and tears started running down her reddened cheeks.
"Oh, dear," Narcissa replied, as she gently embraced the other. "Lucius is going to be busy the upcoming months… It'll be like before, all right? It's ridiculous – we're grown women and-" Narcissa was interrupted by a loud noise.

Molly immediately cringed and looked at the door that lead to the rest of the immense interior of the house.

Ron appeared in the doorframe, his eyes wide and his face slightly pink.
"Where's Drake?" he asked breathlessly as he stepped in the living room. "Didn't find him in his room," he added and bit his lower lip.
"OH!" Narcissa exclaimed, and her eyes widened as much as Ron's did. "I'm so sorry Ronald. I completely forgot-…he's outside. In the garden, playing with the peacocks. You should find him there."
Ron started to smile. Happily he nodded and ran to the French door. When he was just about to step out, he turned around.
"Mum...are you crying?", he asked carefully and looked at the women.
Molly chuckled; "No dear, I'm not crying. It's okay. Go out to Draco. I'm sure he missed you a lot."
"You sure?" the boy asked again, his voice more concerned this time. "Yes, darling, yes. Go, I'm sure Draco is glad to see you again" Molly assured and smiled.
As a reply Ron grinned at his mother and then hurried out.

"Drake?"
Ron walked through the large garden that reminded him of the majestic garden of some French king. Him and his family visited France over a year ago because of his father's job. Otherwise he would probably never even heard of France. Of course they stayed in a hostel at the time- not even the ministry could afford a decent accommodation for a nine-headed family.
"I'm over here," came a reply and Ron suddenly spotted his best mate, sitting in a tree far away from the manor, off the actual parcel. Or well, at least what Ron thought was the parcel. But who knew? It wouldn't have surprised him if entire England was property of the Malfoys...
"What are you doing up there?" Ron asked when he finally arrived, looking up the tree and watching the boy carefully trying to climb down.
"I have been watching that," Draco said and pointed a black spot in the pale blue sky. Ron looked up
"Oh, that..." Ron said with a grimace.
"Do you know what it is?" Draco asked the redhead without taking his eyes off the mysterious object that was slowly floating southwards.
"Hrm...a bird, perhaps?" Ron replied hesitantly.
"A bird?" Draco repeated and cocked a brow. He was now looking at Ron. "Wow, what happened to your hair?"
"I know...," Ron mumbled, pressing his lips together, "Mum wanted to cut it...she likes it short you know..."
Draco scoffed in reply as looked up again. "I think it's a hot-air balloon."

Ron eyed the black spot suspiciously. "What's that?"
"You don't know what hot-air balloons are?" Draco asked, surprised by Ron's ignorance
"No, but you do" the ginger replied, slightly annoyed.
"Indeed, I do," Draco answered, slightly lifting his nose and feeling superior.
"So... what are they?" Ron asked and looked back at the hot-air balloon curiously.

Draco was grateful Ron didn't notice his face flush. Of course Draco knew what hot-air balloons were –flying objects Muggles could be transported with- but he didn't really know what they looked like. He'd never seen any from up close before... He just knew that that slightly pear shaped black spot was one, even though he didn't know what size it had. And his Father strictly forbid him to fly up there on his broom to check it out, so there was no way he was finding out any time soon either.

"Well...erm…hot-air balloons look like...pears. They're rather boring," Draco replied in a low voice, hoping Ron wouldn't ask him further questions about Muggle-stuff. He climbed down.
"Like pears?"
"Yes,"
"I hate pears,"
"Why is that?" Draco asked, relieved because of the change of topic. He tried to sound as interested as possible.

"I don't know... they're just not… I prefer cherries!"
"Cherries? We've got cherry trees," Draco said, his voice louder this time. "We can go and get some if you want,"
Draco grinned and walked closer to the Manor. It was quite a walk but that didn't matter – this way they could talk a bit.
"Are we allowed to eat them?" Ron asked nervously when he followed Draco though the huge garden.
"Of course we are. What are cherries when we're not allowed to eat them?"
"I… don't know… perhaps your father wouldn't want us to eat them,"
" He doesn't know, you know...let's keep it a secret," Draco said, a huge smile in his voice.
"He's gonna be very angry..."
"Not if he doesn't find out," Draco usually wasn't too keen on defying his Father's commands, but cherries were never mentioned. He didn't want him to find out so they could be forbidden though.
They were now walking towards a place Ron had been with Draco before. The place the Malfoy's used to sit with their guests when the weather was as sunny as today. Ron had always liked that place very much because it looked royal and was very impressive. There was a fancy word for it, but he forgot.

…sometimes he envied Draco, and this area was definitively a reason to.

When they had almost reached the divans, Ron said: "I like this place you know..."
"I know you do, Ronald. You've told me before," Draco said softly with a huge smile on his face. "And you'll like the cherries. We have the best cherry trees the United Kingdom!"
"The United Kingdom?"
"Yes,... we live there?"
"Well...I stick to England, really,"
Draco sighed. "You have to think outside of your cardboard box, Ronald,"
Ron nodded slightly, wondering if Draco was being himself or just impersonating his father.

It was silent for a few moments. Then; "is my Mother drunk?" Draco asked out of the blue, pulling some leafs from a nearby bush.

"I don't know," Ron replied, not actually thinking about it until after he answered. "Why would she be drunk?"

Draco shrugged.

"Bill and Charlie get drunk on the weekends. Not on Tuesday mornings, …but I don't know when people like you drink," Ron replied, kicking a poll of grass.

"People like us?" Draco looked at him briefly and then started tearing the leafs he picked to bits.

"Yeah you know, your mum and dad and you. And the king of France."

Draco stopped walking; "The king of France?"

Ron just nodded at Draco's questioning face. "What do my family have to do with the king of France?" the blonde fully turned to face his friend now, making Ron feel slightly stupid for mentioning it.

"Well-… you both have big houses..?" Ron tried, not too sure of himself. Draco laughed; "France doesn't even have a king nowadays, you know."

Ron wasn't just going to take Draco's word for that, "-how do you know? Have you ever even been there?"

Draco cocked his face up, ripping more innocent leafs off the nearest bush as he walked on; "As a matter of fact I have. We didn't get to meet the Minister of Magic, but Mother knows his wife personally,"

"Your mother knows the wife of the Minister of Magic of France?" Ron was amazed.

"Yes. They went shopping together, and Father showed me around. We visited the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs É... Gate, and many other statues and museums." Draco's nose was in the air as he spoke.

Ron was quiet-…and impressed. He was thinking though as they walked on… Then- "how did they meet?"

"Who?"

"Your mother and the wife of the French Minister of Magic, how did they meet?"

Draco sighed; "At a party of course! It's how I met Vincent, Gregory and Pandora, as well." He took any chance to talk about himself.

"Who are they?" Ron was almost offended now; how come Draco and his family knew all these cool people?

"Children of Father's friends," Draco replied smugly. "Pandora is very bitchy," he tore a leaf in half particularly violently –"she'll be my wife when we're adults."

"Because she's bitchy?" Ron was downright amazed now. "That doesn't sound very nice."

Draco rolled his eyes and sighed in a very annoyed way; "She's not bitchy to me of course – she's bitchy to Vince and Greg."

Ron picked up a stick and hit it against a tree as he passed it. "…I don't believe you even know people by those names."

"Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Pandora Parkinson," Draco gave Ron a condescending look. "Vincent's father taught me how to play poker. So later I got to join in a game between Father, him, and Gregory's father. Pandora's father couldn't make it because he had business in Spain."

"Spain?"

"Yes, a country near France. Europe. Main land. Doesn't your teacher teach you anything?"

That was it. Ron stopped walking, threw the stick aside and shouted; "I know you're better and smarter and you have the best of everything now, okay? If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!"

Draco was shocked by Ron's outburst, and for a moment it looked like he was about to cry. He recovered though, and a slight pink blush appeared on his cheeks and ears as he replied; "..did your mummy tell you that?"

"...tell me what?"

"'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all'?" Draco repeated the words in a mocking tone as he crossed his arms.

"It's true though! And at least my dad doesn't look like my mum!"

Draco's face relaxed and something like a smile appeared. "…my Father said your parents could be siblings."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron shouted, still offended.

Draco hesitated; "Well-…that they look like each other, obviously." He was still smiling smugly; even though he did not get the joke exactly, he got more of it than Ron did and that was enough.

"Cheer up, I can see the cherry trees now!" He then said, looking ahead again. The trees in the distance did indeed seem to have something red hanging in them.

"I don't want your stupid cherries."

Draco looked from Ron to the cherries and back.

Ron looked- no glared- at the pond behind Draco, arms crossed and his pouting face on.

Draco sighed in an exaggerated way; "…so we walked all the way here for nothing?"

"No!" Ron shouted in reply, too fed up to have Draco be 'like this' with him for no reason. He didn't do anything wrong, did he?

Well,- …he did now… because he just pushed the other in the water.

When the water splashed up Ron grinned broadly. That'd teach him.

When some bubbles came up he then laughed- he pushed Draco so unexpectedly the boy didn't know what way was up!

His laughter became a grimace though when Draco didn't get up in the seconds that followed… or seem to even try to get up for that matter. How deep was this pond?

"..Draco..?" the hope his friend would hear him and come up, laughing, diminished every second that passed. He leaned over a bit, trying to look to the bottom of the pond. He was surprised to actually see Draco there, his hands about one inch under the surface reaching out for him.

It was so unexpected Ron jumped back and looked around, hoping their mothers would happen to be around.

The Malfoy's gardens were empty apart from the peacocks in the distance though… empty and eerily quiet. And from this angle he couldn't even see the other boy was drowning.

Merlin's beard, he actually was drowning! Ron fell to his knees and reached in the water, surprised to find Draco had stopped reaching up and was now sort of floating.

He reached further, further-… he couldn't reach the other, and the cold from the water crept up through his sleeve when he leaned in further yet.

The cold and wet engulfed him before he realized he even fell, but once he was in he wasn't coming back up without Draco!

Forcing his eyes to remain open he only just managed to distinguish a pale figure. Good, that was his head. Now- how was he stuck? His feet were reaching the ground now and he dove lower, reaching around for whatever was holding Draco down. There it was- the roots of the tree he hit earlier were holding the other boy down.

With some force Ron hit them away, grabbed Draco, and set off from the bottom.

When he finally managed to get Draco on the side, the first thing he did was slap him. He had seen Bill do that to Charlie once when he fainted.

"Wake up!" he shouted, feeling panic build when he got no reply whatsoever.

And then... what did Bill do next?

He… Ron walked over to Draco's feet, focussing to get the mental image in his mind's eye clearly. Bill got Charlie's feet! He got his feet and put them up, so the blood would go to his brain and he would wake up! Yes, that was it!

He grabbed Draco's feet and held them up.

…

Nothing happened.

"Wake up, wake up,…" Ron muttered, holding Draco's legs up impatiently. "Please wake up,…I'm sorry!" Tears welled up as he apologized as if that could be what the other was waiting for. When that didn't have effect either he pushed the legs away from him, frustrated, about to cry out.

Much to his surprise that movement was exactly what it took to make Draco spit out water.

"Drake!" he ran over to kneel beside his friend, but he was still unconscious. He jumped up again and grabbed Draco's ankles, pushing them forward until he feared he'd break one of the other's ribs with his knees. A little bit more water came out of Draco's mouth, so Ron repeated the action frantically. No more effect. Again – nothing. Again-nothing. Again-again-again-again…-nothing.

He dropped Draco's legs again and kneeled beside him, pressing his friend's chest in an attempt to get more water up. There was a little groan…

Ron proceeded to push Draco's chest more frantically, when that stopped having effect he pressed his belly. The only effect was Draco moving like a rag doll.

"Draco!" Ron begged, still pressing the other's torso rhythmically. He then leaned in, trying to find out if Draco was breathing. His ear stroked over the other's lip, that's how close he was, but no air seemed to come out.

That's not good – people need to breathe! He opened the blonde's mouth with his hands and listened again. No effect.

WHY wasn't he breathing? Tears of frustration were welling up in his eyes now, and he pressed the other's torso again – more violently this time. There was a slight cracking sound under Ron's hands and a wheezing sound coming from Draco's mouth.

"Draco?" What was that cracking sound? WHY WASN'T HE BREATHING?

Maybe.. there wasn't any air in? Yeah, it stopped, he didn't know how to! Without a second thought he took a deep breath and placed his lips around the blonde's, exhaling into his mouth. The only effect was that he felt his own breath come out through the other's nose. He held it closed and tried again, taking a deep breath and exhaling into Draco's mouth. The air stayed in now… he pushed the other's chest again, trying to make it come out again. It did in an airy sigh. Ron repeated the action, two, three times, and he was about to go in for the fourth when he noticed Draco's chest was moving by itself.

Shocked tears of relief came through, and helplessly Ron lay down next to Draco, looking at him every few seconds to see if he was still breathing.

He didn't know how much time passed, but the shadow of the tree they were laying under did move. It was no longer covering Draco's eyes now, and – were they moving?

When Draco opened his eyes he felt like he just woke up. The sun was stinging, so he shut them again. "Draco!" Ron's voice came through loud and clear.

Draco sighed – he felt bloated. As if he drank a lot without being thirsty. After a few seconds he realized Ron was pulling at his shoulders, so he sighed again and sat up, immediately getting a coughing fit and reaching for his chest. Watery snot came from his nose and he quickly wiped it off with his sleeve, hoping Ron didn't see it. He was lucky – "Draco! You're all right!"

Confused, the blonde tried to think of what his friend was talking about. He didn't feel all right – his chest hurt!

After a few seconds it dawned in on him though, and angrily he hit Ron's hands off of his shoulders. He got up, face twisted in pain, and he tried to pat the dirt from his clothes before crossing his arms. Within a second he uncrossed them again – "What did you do?" he asked, bent over awkwardly and tears in his eyes.

"I made you breathe again," Ron replied nervously.

Draco breathed irregularly, one hand right below his ribs and his face still twisted in pain. "You hurt me," he whimpered, pouting and shooting Ron an accusing glare.

"But I made you breathe again! And I got you out the water!" Ron reached out for his friend, but Draco turned away and kicked off his shoes. Clumsily he tried to take off his shirt next.

"We can go to our mums," Ron suggested, "she'll heal you, your mum will make you better."

Draco whimpered more, but did manage to get the moist shirt off. He cried out slightly when he finally managed to, and bit his lip in pain to try to get his pants off as well. Tears of pain were rolling down his cheeks and he sniffed.

"What are you doing?"

"My clothes need to dry," Draco bent over to try to lay his shirt down flat in the sun but yelped, fell over, and remained on the ground.

Ron sat down opposing him, trying to see the damage he caused unnoticed.

"You can't go around pushing people into ponds!" The blonde sounded angry now, his hand still on his ribs.

"I know that!" Ron tried, not sounding too convincing.

"Then why did you?"

"I didn't see it!" the ginger was crying with frustration. "I was angry so I pushed you but I didn't know there was a pond behind you, and then I got you out and then you weren't breathing but then I made you b-breathe and. S-something c-c-racked and now you're hu-urt,"

"Cracked?" Draco's eyes grew wide. Ron nodded "I di-didn't mean for it t-to crack, I just w-wanted you to b-b-breathe!"

"You should have asked first," Draco whined, laying on his back now. He tried to take a deep breath but it hitched and he winced in pain again.

"I did ask!" Ron was getting frustrated, "But you didn't reply! Because you were passed out!"

The blonde glared; "I was not."

"You were!" Ron forgot all about his sadness, and was getting angry again.

"No!" Draco winced again – speaking loudly hurt. "You drowned me, that's not 'passed out'."

The ginger wiped the tears from his face with his arm. "I didn't drown you! I pushed you! But I didn't see the water!"

Draco sighed, winced, and yelped - "How am I going to explain this to my parents?"

That startled Ron – his father had told him about Draco's father… and thought he was a very mean man. "You don't have to…"

"I can't just ignore the pain!"

"It's… just a bruise…You can say you fell!"

"In the pond? My parents know I'm not stupid." Draco sounded tired, "And bruises don't crack, you stupid"

"Can I see?"

Draco moved his hand, and Ron crawled closer on hands and knees. "Whoa!"

"What?" Draco tried to look down to see it, but fell back wincing.

"It's nearly black! But purple! It's really cool Drake, can I touch it?"

"No!" Draco cried, looking up at the sky as if it was the cause of his pain.

They were silent for minutes, Draco looking up at the sky and Ron looking down at Draco's bruise.

"Do you think it's broken?" Ron then asked, feeling guilty.

Draco nodded. "I've broken my sternum before…"

"Your what?"

"My sternum."

"Ew!"

Draco gave Ron a confused look, and Ron gave him a disgusted and confused one back.
"…my sternum," the blonde repeated, eyeing the other suspiciously while waiting for his reply.

The other blushed - "You don't... talk about-"

"-…that's what I broke now, I think," the blonde corrected.

"But I didn't touch you there! That's gross!"

"What are you talking about? You obviously did, where else did the bruise come from?"

"Oh! Right! Sternum! Yeah, okay, yeah... I did..-"

"What did you think I was talking about?" Draco asked, bemused.

"Y-er… Nothing, I knew it was that-what you said." He got up and looked around, slightly panicked. "Boy, am I hungry."

Draco chuckled; "Did you really say 'boy, am I hungry'?"

Ron looked down, worried and embarrassed; "…yeah…"

"Check if my clothes are dry," the blonde commanded in response. Ron was eager to obey – at least that wasn't embarrassing.

"They are," Ron said happily.

Draco tried to sit up, winced, and new tears of pain formed. "Help me up," he begged. Ron took his hands and yanked him to his feet. There, that'd show Draco how strong and-

"Ow!" Draco cried, and Ron let go in surprise. He didn't want to hurt-

Draco was on the ground, full on crying but attempting to breathe shallowly. "W-why did you let go?"

Ron looked down on him, feeling like an idiot. "You said ow…"

Draco was still crying, attempted to curl up in foetal position, yelped in pain, lay flat on his back again and continued crying.

"Come on," Ron tried, offering Draco a hand. He didn't take it.

"You can't lay here all day," the ginger tried. Draco continued crying.

Another few minutes later, Draco regained himself and tried to sit up again –but failed. Ron offered him his hand again. "Careful this time," Draco said in the tone he usually used to talk to Dobby.

Ron nodded sadly, and helped his friend up. Carefully.

"My shirt,"

Ron handed it to him.

After a struggle and some winces, Draco managed to get it on.

"My trousers,"

Ron handed them to him.

Again, a struggle and some winces, and Draco had them on.

"Shoes,"

Ron handed them to him.

Draco dropped them.

"...never mind."

Molly and Narcissa were laughing heartedly when Draco and Ron shyly came in through the high French door in the living room. "So then I told Lucius that—… Hello boys, did you have fun?"

Both boys nodded half-heartedly.

Molly's smile faded, and gave them an inquisitive look.

"What did you do?" Narcissa asked, her smile freezing.

"Hide and seek!" they said in sync, giving each other a meaningful look right after.
Narcissa focussed her eyes in Draco's; "Are the peacocks all right?"

Draco nodded curtly.

"The other animals?"

Another nod.

"Ronald?" Narcissa then asked. Ron jumped slightly. "Are you all right?"

"Y-Yea-Yes madam," Ron gave Draco a confused look, but was distracted by Molly nodding at him.

Narcissa then locked eyes with her own boy again, and stared into them for a few seconds. Draco stared back; "Mother… the animals are all right," he said in a sigh.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and then turned back to Molly.

Molly looked at her son, and could tell there was more going on than the boys were saying.

This didn't seem like the time and place to hear Ron out though.

What time was it, anyway…- "Oh! Dear, Narcissa, we really have to go!"

Narcissa laughed; "N'aw… you can stay for supper! Lucius is always taking the worst company,…in my opinion…" -she interrupted herself to laugh- "so you should stay! We can go out, it will be lovely!"

Molly chuckled, clearly not as far gone as her friend; "I'd love to, really, but Arthur would be furious – Not to mention I have more children at home!"

Narcissa let out a wheezing laugh and slumped back into the sofa; "Oh, of course," she gasped, "Your children... of course…" She laughed airily and sighed.

Draco chuckled, winced, and forced a smile.

Narcissa spotted it - "Anything to confess, Draco?" she asked sharply.

A cheeky grin appeared on the boy's face; "Well, you're drunk."

Immediately the woman got up, her nose in the air haughtily; "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, careful not to slur.

"It means we both have something we don't want Father to know," Draco said carefully, looking at his mother curiously.

Molly's eyes grew wide, whereas Narcissa narrowed hers further- "I tolerate no blackmailing from a little snotty monkey like YOU yours-Drack-," she sighed. "To your room. Now."

"Mother!"

"Now!"

"But I was onl-"

"It's- been a pleasure," Molly started nervously, watching her friend Silencio her son and then pointing him the door.

"Your mum Silencio's you?" Ron asked in a whisper, but Molly shook her head at him. Draco seemed upset, waved, and left the room.

"Hm, yes, we should do this again some time," Narcissa said, sounding impatient. "Goodbye Molly… Ronald… it was nice to have you. Dobby!"

"Bye missus Malfoy," Ron muttered, pouting and looking at the floor.

The elf appeared, and escorted them out. Molly looked back, but Narcissa only had eyes for her glass of rum.

When the Weasleys reached the front door, the house was eerily silent.

A/N: P.S. We will try to update monthly, but we cannot guarantee we'll manage. Please leave a review!