By Crystal Snowflakes

Author's Notes: I haven't been writing any fics lately, other than editing my LOTR fic like crazy, but for some reason, this idea just popped up all of a sudden when I woke up this morning... And I guess it sort of inspired me. I can't wait till Harry Potter comes out tomorrow... And I refuse to pick up a newspaper today because I know the leaks will be on there!

Disclaimers: All things that are remotely familiar do not belong to me, but to J.K. Rowling.

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!" Ginny yelled, her cheeks flushed with fury. "You are to apologize to Draco for your inability to behave properly."

Ronald seethed, "I will not apologize to a Death—"

"Don't you dare say it." Ginny warned, her eyes blazing with rage now.

"I will not allow you to marry him!" He snarled, angry at his sister for not being able to see the deceit Draco Malfoy was feeding everyone.

Finally, Ginny slapped him. "Draco has done nothing except help the Order, Ron." She raged, "He was the one who readied us for the attack on Hogwarts, and he was the one who warned us of the one at Hogsmeade, where Fred and George escaped, barely. You will have absolutely no say on who I will marry, especially since Mum and Dad have consented of the marriage."

"He's lying to you! He doesn't love you, can't you see Gin? He's lying to all of us."

Draco, who has kept silence ever since Ronald had insulted him, suddenly stepped in. "I love her more than anything in the world, Weasley." His eyes met those of his brother, willing to make him understand. Although he didn't care much for Ronald Weasley's opinion, he knew that if he did not make him understand their relationship, they would have much more trouble later on in their marriage.

"Prove it." Ron challenged. Hermione tugged at Ron's arm, wanting him to stop this childish bickering amongst the two men that had been enemies since they were born.

Draco Malfoy had saved Hermione's life during the attack on Hogwarts, and since then, he has proven himself invaluable in the Order.

"I'm here, am I not? Did you think that the Draco Malfoy you knew as a child would willingly join the Order of the Phoenix to be against all the teachings I have known since I was a child?" Draco spoke. "Do you think, that if I were to spy for Voldermort, I would try to convince you to understand Gin and I? Do you think that I would try and marry Gin? What would be the point in attracting more attention than I already have?"

Ron paused slightly, and wondered if he was wrong about Draco Malfoy for once.

"Draco's right." Hermione said, her eyes drifting to the blond, "Attracting more attention isn't something a spy would want. And you can tell just as much as I can that Ginny and Draco are very much in love. You can see that, but you just won't admit to it because you're too stubborn."

The older redhead studied the only sister he had and the man that he had always labeled as an enemy, and thought that maybe... maybe he had been wrong about him. They did look very much in love. As a matter of fact, there were so many times that he had caught Draco's gaze on Ginny that had reminded him so much of the way he looked at Hermione. Pressing his mouth in a thin line, he decided to ponder on that later on, and simply walked away without a glance.

Yes, so what if he could see the love in their eyes as they gazed at each other? So what if they looked so cozy sitting there at the fireplace, their arms wrapped around each other as they tried to forget the deaths that were consistently happening around them?

He could feel his wife's elbow dig into his sides, warning him not to cause any trouble for the couple.

And to his surprise, causing trouble for the two lovers on the couch had never really crossed his mind.

Draco had returned earlier that evening from a Death Eater mission, looking more haggard than he had ever seen him.

And perhaps he had felt a little concern.

He couldn't help but see his normal blond hair more limp and lifeless than before, and his eyes darker and more haunted than before.

He tried. He really did. He tried to push all the worry away, but it didn't work.

So what? He was his brother-in-law, damnit. He was allowed to be slightly concerned about him, even if he was a Malfoy and a Slytherin to boot.

So did that mean that he really was wrong about the slimy ferret?

In all his years, he had never felt like this before. Everything had seemed so straightforward before Draco Malfoy had showed up with Ginny on the steps of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Arthur Weasley in tow. Everything had either been black, or white. But Draco Malfoy was a mystery.

At times, he could see the darkness of his soul as he spoke to people he had not liked, mainly himself. But when he spoke to Ginny, all the darkness seemed to have disappeared, and only a kind Malfoy would remain.

And as much as Ron wanted to think that Malfoy was a Death Eater scum, he found it harder to do every time the blond returned from an assignment.

His eyes glanced over at Harry, who was sitting cross-legged, staring at the fireplace. He hadn't seemed disgusted at the idea of Draco Malfoy joining the Order. As a matter of fact, he seemed all right with it.

With a sigh, he stood up slightly. He noted with amusement that Draco had glanced at him wearily, although it made him even more concerned than he had before.

Malfoys do not look at anyone tiredly.

He returned to the couch a few minutes, a game of chess in his hands and approached Draco, knowing that Harry's mind was too preoccupied for such activities anyways.

"Chess, Ferret?" He asked.

Draco's weariness disappeared at the sudden question, and Ron almost laughed in relief. He stood up slowly, his body seemingly in pain.

Ron tried to busy himself with the chessboard, unwilling to look at his enemy's weakened state.

Someone had obviously cast the Cruciatus Curse on him multiple times.

The redhead looked at Harry, who seemed to be smiling slightly, and Ginny, who was beyond pleased. His wife had a smug grin plastered on her lips.

"You're on, Weasel."

He had tried really hard to hate him. He did, honestly. But every time Ron would try to avoid him, he would grab him by the fingers and gurgle something incomprehensible, causing his heart to burst with happiness.

He really was the bane of his existence.

Drake Severus Malfoy.

And he really was a cute kid.

Really.

One look from those grey eyes could turn anyone's legs into jelly.

And each and every time Drake had approached his Uncle Ron by crawling, every person in the room would laugh in delight at the way the hot-headed Ronald Weasley would simply melt.

Draco Malfoy was no exception.

Although the animosity between him and the youngest Weasley son had been quite mild in comparison to a few years ago, it was still there.

But while Ron had hated all Malfoys before, he was quite taken with the youngest of the Malfoy line, attempting to play with the babe all the time.

Ginny had even caught Ron sneaking into their room once to say good night to the little fellow.

When he had figured out that both his sister and his brother-in-law were in the room, Ron had turned bright red, and had muttered about how Drake was 'inhumanly adorable', and had left the room.

Loud laughter was heard in the kitchen the very next morning, and nobody had ever let Uncle Ron forget that particular story.

When the youngest Malfoy was just two year old and speaking fluently, he was walking with a hand against the wall to support him, as he went in search of his Uncle Ron.

Papa had been away for a few days, and Mama was in the kitchen helping Grandma with cooking dinner.

Pouting at the amount of stairs that he would have to climb up, his grey eyes looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of someone to get them up the stairs. When nobody was in the vicinity, his eyes squinted in determination, his tongue stinking out of his mouth cutely.

Then he stared climbing those awful stairs.

He had gotten up a few steps when he heard a laugh behind him, and turned around to meet those familiar eyes.

He grinned happily as he waved his hands around, "Uncle Harry!"

The young man lifted the blond up gently and embraced him, "Hello there Drake. Where do you think you're going? Mama's downstairs in the kitchen." Ron hadn't been the only one who had gotten attached to the tyke.

Drake gurgled gleefully, "I know! I'm looking for Uncle Ron!"

Harry laughed again, "All right." He began walking up the stairs as he looked down at the miracle that Ginny and Draco had created, and thanked them, not for the first time. It had been Drake who had made him relaxed and happy when he would feel angry and strained. "And what are you going to do with Uncle Ron when you find him?"

Drake looked thoughtful for a second, then gave a childish grin. "Eat him?"

Harry snorted with laughter. "I think you've been hanging around with Ron too much, and you're less of a Malfoy than you are Weasley."

"That would be absolutely horrifying." A voice entered from nowhere.

The-boy-who-lived gave a backwards glance at the dark-haired man climbing the stairs silently behind me and shot him a smirk. "Only for you and Malfoy, Snape." He had forgiven the former Death Eater after he had proved his loyalty to the Order and explained the reason behind why he had murdered Dumbledore.

Severus chuckled, "Yes... Draco would be appalled at such a thought."

When Harry had reached the room that he and Ron had once shared before Ron and Hermione's marriage, Ron, who was lying in bed, boredom obvious on his face, brightened instantly at seeing Drake.

"Uncle Ron!"

Ron stood up and reached his arms out to lift Drake out of Harry's grasp when he drew back in pain as Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"OW!" Ron yelped, "What'd you bite me for, Drake?"

Drake giggled, "I promised Uncle Harry I'd eat you when I found you."

Harry laughed once again as Ron gave his best friend a menacing glare, only to join in the laughter when Drake pouted adorably.

"Papa's home! Papa's home!" Drake chanted as grinned joyfully, pulling on Ron's hair to hurry him up.

Ron, with Drake perched on his shoulders, winced in pain as the young child remained oblivious to his sufferings.

Fred and George who were standing by the entrance hall, greeting the soaking wet Ferret, sniggered at the sight of their youngest brother at the hands of the youngest Malfoy.

Ginny had outright laughed at the absurd picture. Draco, who had been leaning against his wife, his pain evident, had even managed to crack a smile at his son's antics.

Ron, once again, felt another surge of worry at the sight of his weariness. He forced a smile on his face, "Welcome back, Ferret."

Before Draco could reply, he saw his son yank his brother-in-law's hair, and he almost fell to his knees from laughter.

Ron winced.

"Ferret?" Drake asked, "What's a ferret? Is Papa a ferret? So Papa Ferret?"

Draco's eyes widened in horror.

And Ron felt that all the hair pulling and biting he had suffered from the young Malfoy had been worth it to see that look of shock on Draco's face.

"Uncle Weasel?" Drake called shyly as he looked up at his Papa.

This time, it was Ron's eyes that widened. "You didn't..."

Draco's only response was the smirk that he was sporting on his face.

Hermione starting giggling insanely, and Ginny couldn't help the smug smirk that she shot at her brother. It was her who had to suffer Draco's whining about how his son refused to call him anything other than 'Papa Ferret' nowadays.

"Uncle Weasel?" Drake called again, "Are you mad? Your face is as red as grandma's tomato soup!"

"Or his hair." Fred guffawed along with his twin.

"You didn't just teach Drake—"

Draco's smirk was still in place, "I simply taught my son how to say your name properly."

Ron ignored the older Malfoy and kneeled down to scoop Drake up. "Drake, call me by 'Uncle Ron' from now on, okay?" He pleaded the young child.

"Okay, Uncle Weasel."

Draco sniggered.

"No, Drake. Uncle Ron. Repeat it. Uncle Ron."

A snort was heard from the entrance of the living room, where Harry Potter stood, looking at his best friend that was trying to teach the child to speak.

"Uncle Weasel." Drake repeated again. "You're Uncle Weasel. Don't pretend to be Uncle Ron." He scolded.

Harry held his hands to his mouth, his eyes twinkling with unconcealed mirth. Luna Lovegood, her head resting on Harry's shoulder, simply smiled.

Ron looked crestfallen, although his eyes spoke different.

Yes, he hated being called 'weasel'. But he couldn't help but feel a little special. And he couldn't help but think that this Malfoy baby was extremely cute.

He purposely avoided thoughts of how this child was the exact image of his father.

"I love you, Uncle Weasel."

His eyes soften, and he flicked the toddler's nose playfully, "I love you too, little ferret."

"What do you mean the ferret landed himself in Azkaban?" Ron asked, his eyes wide with disbelief. "How?"

Ginny couldn't answer his question as she tried to stay strong.

"Hush up, Ron. Drake just fell asleep. Draco was on an assignment today." Hermione answered for her, holding Ginny close. "The Ministry had obviously had a leak on it from Draco. Unfortunately, Draco didn't escape in time, and was imprisoned."

"But don't they know that Malfoy's innocent, that he's the one giving the Ministry all the leaks?" Ron asked, his voice rising slightly in worry.

Harry spoke up, "They don't know... Draco lets me know of all the attacks, and the Ministry finds out from either me or your dad. I don't know how we're going to clear his name, since I've already tried prior to coming here... But they're really not allowing it. They've become strict since the war has started."

"The chances of them allowing Malfoy out of Azkaban isn't even close to being high." Remus spoke.

"But—"

"Mama?" His small voice rang out and the adults shut their mouths immediately. "Why are you crying?" He asked, worried. "Why is Uncle Weasel sad? Why is everyone sad?"

Ron gulped slowly and kneeled down to pick up the child. "We're not sad, Drake. We're just talking."

The blond looked at his uncle, his eyebrows drawn tightly together. "You're lying." He stated, not unsure at all. Finally, he looked around. "Where's Papa?"

"He'll be home soon." Ginny replied as she took her child from her brother's arms. "Papa will be home soon, okay? And then you can call him 'Papa Ferret' and make fun of him."

Drake was sure he had heard a hint of uncertainty in her voice, but he didn't want to question her. "Okay, Mama."

"I'll put you to bed, okay sweetie?"

Drake nodded, although he wasn't tired. "Okay, Mama."

While Ginny had left, Ron looked at his wife. "'Mione, let's go rest. It's late."

"Weasley?"

Ron stopped in his tracks. It's been months since he's heard this voice. "Malfoy." A small hint of a smile was on his face. "Welcome back."

Draco's lips quirked up.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, all the while wondering why this man standing in front of him, who had just escaped Azkaban, was spending his precious time with him when he could very well be saying goodbye to his son and spending the remaining time with his wife before the final battle.

"Listen..." Draco sounded distinctively nervous as he glanced around, making sure nobody was near. "I... I know that we haven't been the greatest friends."

At this, Ron gave a snort.

"But you love Drake, and I love Drake more than anything in the world."

Ron nodded in response, now incredibly curious at what this man would say.

"And we all know that, since the Death Eaters are aware of my disloyalty, there is a good chance I won't survive." Draco tried to grin and bear it, but Ron could see the pain and fear the man felt at the thought of leaving his family behind. "I want you to promise me, if anything were to happen to both me and Gin, to take care of Drake."

"What?" Ron asked, bewildered.

Draco nodded, "He loves you, and he's comfortable with you. And I know that despite the fact he's a Malfoy, you love him too. And there is no better man I can think of than to take care of him."

Ron studied the man he had called his enemy the last two decades of his life, and decided that this man was worth befriending. "If anything happens, I will... But you damn well better try to take care of yourself. You hear me, Malfoy?"

Draco chuckled, "You too, Weasley."

"You know..." Ron paused, not really sure if he should continue. "You're not such a horrible person."

"You're not so bad yourself."

He woke up with a shudder and sat up straight in bed, his head pounding and his t-shirt stuck onto him like a second skin. He looked at the other side of the bed, and deciding that Hermione wasn't buried under the covers, he made a mental note to let her know where he had gone when he saw her later, since she must've woken up and was either in the kitchen or staying with Ginny.

Ron's mind never crossed the fact that the sheets on the other side of the bed were unmade and as cold as ice, or the fact that he wasn't at Grimmauld Place.

Quickly, he brushed his teeth and took a quick shower, then threw on a couple of article of clothing, mainly a pair of jeans and a warm jacket, and cursed himself for not going to visit Remus the day before.

Cursing again as his toes hit the side of the wall; he grabbed his wand from the dresser and apparated.

He had never looked at the clock, and hadn't known that it was barely six o'clock, and that Hermione did not usually wake up until eight in the morning.

Nor had he heard that unsure call of his name.

His first instinct, upon seeing the unusually dark family room, was to draw out his wand. After making sure that it was safe, and that nothing was out of the ordinary, he called out.

"Professor Lupin!" His voice disrupted the silence.

He never thought about how strangely easy it had been to get in the werewolf's apartment in the middle of a war.

"Professor Lupin?" He called again, wondering what was taking the man so long.

Finally, the door to his room opened, "...Ronald?" Came his voice.

"Yeah." Ron replied, "I need to talk to you about something important."

"Give me a moment." He muttered.

Shuffling was heard inside the room, as well as a soft woman voice, asking what the problem was. A few moments later, Remus finally stepped out of the room, clad in a sleeping robe, his movements sluggish as he walked out and sat down.

Ron followed suit, "Pardon me for waking you up, Professor, but—" He could've sworn his professor looked ten years older than he had when he saw him yesterday.

Remus laughed slightly, "Ron. You haven't called me 'Professor Lupin' for years... Call me Remus."

Ron raised his eyebrow slightly, knowing that he had called the werewolf 'Professor Lupin' just yesterday. He shook his head slightly, unwilling to spend time on that matter. "Remus," He spoke, a little unused to the name, "It's just that I woke up this morning—"

"Coffee, Ron?"

The redhead blinked in confusion and looked back at the kitchen, where a pink-headed woman stood with an adorable pink sleeping robe.

His tongue refused to move for a moment. Finally, unable to wrap his mind around the reason why she would be at his house in the morning, he shook it away again. "Please." He finally replied.

Everything was making less and less sense to him.

"So Ron... What is it that you wanted to let me know at this ungodly hour?" Remus asked, a small hint of a smile on his face, as he was clearly not irritated.

Tonks set the coffee down on the table for the three of them, and brought in some milk and sugar, then proceeded to sit next to Remus.

Ron's eyes glanced over at their fingers, and with surprise, noted that they both had rings on their wedding fingers, and wondered why it was that they didn't have it yesterday.

"I... I finally thought about how to clear Malfoy's name."

After a moment of shocked silence from Remus and Tonks, who looked at each other, a little bewildered, Remus turned back to Ron. "Are you all right, Ronald?"

"Of course I'm all right!" Ron's eyebrows knitted together. "Why wouldn't I be? Unless you think that wanting to help that ferret is unusual... Which I suppose you're right." He gave a small chuckle, "I am Ron Weasley. And he is Draco Malfoy, the husband of my sister. But I know he hasn't done anything wrong, and being in Azkaban for some crime he didn't commit isn't right."

The two older witch and wizard shared a worried look.

Remus sighed, suddenly feeling so much older. "Ron... Draco Malfoy had his name cleared already, remember? Draco and Ginny died thirteen years ago."

Ron looked at him incredulously, "What are you—"

And suddenly, it was as if all his memories had come back in full force. He remembered how Ginny, Harry and everyone had tried so hard to clear his name, only to have it rejected. The Ministry of Magic had refused to allow a person of the Malfoy line to run freely in the times of war.

And then, Voldermort had managed to damage Azkaban once again, allowing many of his Death Eaters to escape, as well as Draco Malfoy. He had gone to Grimmauld Place to see his wife once more, before the two of them prepared for the final battle.

He remembered how Draco Malfoy had asked him, Ronald Weasley, to take care of his son in case anything happened.

He seemed to have known that he would fall at the hands of the Death Eaters. Ginny had known as well, but they had also known that if they didn't go to war, they would regret it if they lost.

In the end, Molly Weasley had stayed with her grandchild, hidden at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Padma Patil had fallen first, then Cho Chang, Colin Creevey, Katie Bell, Lavender Brown, and many more. Draco and Ginny had lasted until they reached Voldermort, where the Dark Lord had taken one look at Draco, and battled him until his death. Ginny had fallen a few minutes later. There hadn't been any time to mourn.

And then Hermione had fallen.

It had taken all of his self-control not to rush to her when she fell without a word.

And then minutes later, Harry Potter had defeated Voldermort... Only to collapse afterwards, beyond tired. It had taken Harry months to recover physically, but years to feel slightly better emotionally. Harry had married Luna Lovegood and led a peaceful life.

Ron stood up, thanked them slowly and apparated back to his house, all the while wondering what had caused that brief memory loss. He collapsed on the couch and tried very hard to control his shaking.

"Uncle Ron?"

Ron looked up slowly at the boy that was one of the few family members he had left. He was really more of a man now, at nineteen. "Yes Drake?"

Drake had the exact same physical characteristics as his father. Blond hair, grey eyes, chiseled cheeks... "I heard you leave an hour ago and called you, but you didn't answer. Are you okay?"

Every time the last Malfoy of the line would speak though, it would be shocking just to listen to how different he and his ancestors were.

Ron gave a small, strained smile. "It's just a nightmare. I just left to see Remus."

The young Malfoy lifted his eyebrow in a perfect arc, causing Ron to want to throw a fit and cry at the same time at the remembrance of Draco Malfoy, "At the ungodly hour of six?"

The redhead laughed, "I hadn't noticed until I arrived."

The blond shot him a smirk, "Well then. Allow me to remind you that you have work in approximately half an hour, that that you look like hell."

"Shut up, tyke."

Drake merely laughed. "Well, I'll be off to work. Grandpa said he needed me in early today."

"Okay. I'll see you in an hour then."

Drake nodded as he turned around, preparing to use the floo network rather than apparate. He had always hated apparating.

"Drake?" Ron asked.

"Hmm?" The blond turned around, curious, "What is it?"

The redhead smiled slightly, "I love you."

For a few moments, the blond didn't reply. Usually, the young Malfoy would tease about his uncle being an emotional wreck, and his uncle would laugh. But he had felt Ron's unease. Finally, he shot his uncle one last smile before he was surrounded by the green flames.

"I love you too, Uncle Weasel." He still remembered the name his father had taught him as a child.

Ron laughed.

Author's Notes: So I finished this in 3 hours... This was really supposed to be a short, maybe two page, one shot. Turned out to be 13 pages... So... Eh. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Hasn't been really edited, so my apologies on the grammar.

Completed On: July 20, 2007