And Baby Makes Three - The Little Yellow Duck

It stared back at him, mocking him from the safety of Liam’s clutches.

A damn stuffed yellow duck named Gustav. Who gives a baby boy a stuffed duck? Not just any baby boy, but the Malfoy heir! Liam should have dragons and snitches not a stupid, admittedly ridiculously soft and cuddly, yellow duck stuffed animal.

He could just kill Pansy for this. She did it just to naff him off.

And Ginny wasn’t helping matters either, giving it to Liam to hold whenever she picked him up. Granted it was usually to keep his hands occupied so he wouldn’t pull her hair, but still. It was a yellow duck! She even insisted on calling the thing by that daffy name when she and Liam played with it.

So Draco stood there over Liam’s crib contemplating ways to dispose of the duck.

It would just be so easy to snatch it away from the sleeping baby and toss it into the fireplace. There would be no evidence left - no one would be none-the-wiser. He could even blame the cat for the missing duck. Hecate had been known to covet Ginny’s floppy old teddy bear. She’d even made off with Mr. Cocoa a few times which had Draco on his knees looking under every piece of furniture until the bear was found. He’d tried to summon it once for the distraught Ginny, but got the cat instead. He still bore the scars.

The only problem with that plan was Liam’s death grip on the duck’s neck. He knew there was no way he could nick the offending stuffed animal without waking him. He glanced longingly at the little golden snitch lying forgotten at the foot of the crib. It wasn’t all that long ago that his chest nearly burst with pride at seeing his son grasping the snitch the same way he was holding that duck.

He stood there thinking of the nine different ways he wanted to skin Pansy alive. She said she just wanted to be a good auntie. She wanted to drive him around the bend was the truth of the matter. Good auntie his left foot. She, of all people, should have known the inappropriateness of a little yellow ducky. He didn’t care how cute the thing was supposed to be.

Draco figured he could still salvage this operation. He’d just have to bide his time until Liam and Ginny were wrapped up in something enough not to miss the duck. Yes, that was it. Bath time would be perfect. They’d both be in another room, the duck would be left unattended, and Hecate liked to sleep in the rocking chair, yes. All he had to do was dispose of the duck and run the cat out of the room. He smiled for the first time since the reprehensible duck had come into his house, a decidedly evil smile at that.

And as an added bonus that damnable black cat could very well be banished from the house for upsetting the baby.

“Do you know how much I love you Draco Malfoy?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Ginny’s voice. He’d gotten so caught up in plotting that he hadn’t heard her come into the nursery. She stopped to rub the cat’s ears before coming to stand beside him. He mumbled an unintelligible reply.

“I can’t believe how much he adores Gustav. I think it was love at first sight,” she went on wistfully while gazing at the sleeping baby. “Isn’t that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”

He swallowed down the small niggling of guilt that threatened to overwhelm him. “Yeah, it’s cute, but I think the snitch is cuter.”

She slapped his arm playfully. “Of course you would! What were you thinking when I came in? You looked so lost in thought.”

Draco smiled down at his wife. “I was thinking about how happy I am.” Now that I know that duck is as good as dead he tacked on mentally.

Ginny threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down so she could kiss him. He responded by immediately deepening the kiss, sliding his hands down her hips, pulling her closer to him. He trailed little kisses along her jaw, stopping to linger on the little spot just below her ear that always made her moan. “How long will he stay asleep?”

“Draco,” she mumbled, half-heartedly pushing at his shoulders. “Stop.”

His hands found their way under her sweater. “Why?

“Because I need to give Liam a bath,” she managed to get out whenever his mouth left her’s. “My parents are coming for dinner.”

His brows furrowed as he pulled away. “Your parents?” He knew then he was in for a long evening.

“Yes, and we can’t have a stinky baby can we?” She nipped his ear. “But, if you’re a good boy I promise you’ll be rewarded handsomely tonight.” She gave him one last kiss.

“I’ll be looking very forward to that, Mrs. Malfoy.”

Ginny grinned. “How did I get so lucky?”

“Fate I suppose,” he answered. “Go on now. We can’t abide by an odorous baby.”

She woke a very grumpy Liam from his nap. He watched as she had to coax their son into letting go of Gustav, tossing it aside, forgotten for the time being.

Draco gave his wife an appreciative pat on the derriere as she made her way to the bathroom, admiring the view before she disappeared into the other room. There were no words to describe how much he loved the subtle little changes having a baby had had on her body.

“I’ll be in the study if you need me,” he called before stepping out in the hallway to wait until he heard splashes.

Draco slinked back into the nursery a few minutes later; checking to make sure Ginny was fully occupied with Liam in the tub. He could see the duck taunting him from just under the rumpled green blanket. He crossed the room in just a few strides, snatching Gustav up, roughly stuffing the duck into his back pocket before turning his attention to Hecate.

He knew the cat would be the weak link in Operation Duck Disposal. She had a history of not being very cooperative, especially where he was concerned. He felt her watching his every move when he first came in the room and now she was staring at him with her ears laid back from her perch in the rocking chair. She hissed at him when he reached out to shoo her.

“Go on you evil little pussy,” he barely whispered, waving his hand at her. “Get out of here.”

It was a test of wills there for a few moments, but Draco finally won the battle when he threatened Hecate with being squashed. He watched the cat scurry from the room before making a hasty exit himself.

He sucked in a deep breath of relief once he reached the safety of his study.

“Time to say good bye little ducky,” he stated gleefully, pulling out his wand. He transfigured Gustav into a particularly ugly paperweight. “I’d probably lose points for poor form if McGonagall saw you.” He placed an anti-summoning charm on the paperweight before dropping it in his case. Draco figured he’d be better off executing the duck in the fireplace at work. “Tomorrow, little duck, tomorrow.”

He was congratulating himself on being the ultimate Slytherin (take that Pansy) when Ginny found him.

“Gustav’s gone,” she sounded on the verge of tears. “He was there! Now he’s gone!”

Draco gave her what he hoped was a surprised look. “What? Did you check the blankets?”

She nodded. “He simply vanished.” She rubbed the seemingly unconcerned Liam’s back lightly.

Never one to let a golden opportunity slide, Draco seized his chance. “Did you see the cat?”

“Well, no.” Ginny looked flustered. “She didn’t pay Gustav that much attention, but she does like stuffed animals….”

Really, this was too easy he thought to himself. He got up from his desk to press a kiss to her temple on the way out the door. “I’ll check the usual spots.”

And he did check the usual spots; no yellow duck named Gustav was to be found.

They made it through dinner with her parents with a minimum of duck discussion. Much to Draco’s delight, Liam admirably carried on playing with a stuffed dragon his Uncle Charlie had given him. He was quite sure the baby didn’t even miss the duck no matter how much Ginny insisted he did, but he was wise enough not to correct her. Even the stupid cat cooperated with the ruse by staying out of sight all evening.

The real problem started when they were readying for bed. Draco was reading while waiting for Ginny to put Liam down, but his mind was really on the promise she’d made him earlier in the day. So it was to his great surprise when his wife entered their room with a flannel outfitted, very sleepy baby.

“I thought he could sleep in here with us tonight,” she announced, arranging her pillows to accommodate her and the baby. “He’s probably still upset over Gustav.”

He glanced at his son who was losing the battle to keep his eyes open. “I don’t think he’ll have a problem sleeping in his own bed.”

“But what if he wakes up crying looking for Gustav?”

He gave his wife a dubious look as she settled the baby down in the middle of their bed. He really didn’t think Liam would miss anything tonight or any night for that matter. He slept like a little log. “He’s going to sleep with us?”

“Yes.”

“In the middle there? Between us?”

“Of course. He might fall out otherwise.”

“But…”

“But nothing, he’s upset and needs the comfort of his parents.” She gave her husband a hard look to silence any further queries.

Draco sighed, resigned to his fate of spending the night on the far side of the bed while Liam took up the coveted position right next to Ginny. He never thought he’d ever be jealous of his own child, but he soon found that not only was it quite possible, he was. He spent a long, frustrating night tossing and turning, trying not to roll over on Liam.

The next morning he found himself glad to escape the house as Ginny was still a bit sour at the cat who had mistakenly thought she would lounge about in the kitchen. It was ugly. He was pretty sure that if his wife ever discovered Operation Duck Disposal he’d never see the inside of their bedroom again at the very least. He knew he was playing a dangerous game, but the duck had to go down.

Gustav spent most of the day as a very nondescript paperweight on Draco’s desk at the office silently awaiting his fate. Meetings had kept his executioner at bay until it was nearly time to go home, but he had not forgotten his appointment with the little yellow duck.

“Here’s the flowers you ordered, sir,” his secretary, Calla, announced as she slipped into his office. She carried a bouquet of a dozen icy pink roses.

He was slouched down in his leather chair, slowly twirling his wand between his fingers as he stared at the paperweight. “You can leave them on the desk here, thank you.”

She did as he requested. “If there isn’t anything else I’ll be taking my leave for the day.”

“Have a good evening and close the door behind you please.” It wasn’t unusual for him to stay past business hours, but he tried to keep it to a minimum. He promised Ginny after they got married that he would not allow work to consume him anymore, especially now with the baby.

He’d do this thing and get out of there. He’d go home to his wife and son, have a little dinner, play with the baby, read a little and if Merlin was kind to him tonight, he’d sleep alone with this wife.

“Finite incantatum,” he muttered, watching the paperweight reconfigure into the soft, little yellow stuffed animal Ginny seemed to love so much. He tried hard not to think about that. “Say goodbye to this world you filthy little duck. Incendio,.”

A brilliant fire roared to life in the large marble fireplace just to the right of his desk.

Just as he was about to toss the duck to its fiery death the office door opened slowly. “Draco? Are you still here?”

“Ginny!” He scrambled from his seat, dropping the duck in his haste to stop her from coming any further. “What are you doing here?”

She managed drag the pram through the door, jostling it and making all sorts of noise, but not disturbing Liam in the least; he was quite used to his mother’s lack of driving skills. “I thought we’d surprise you,” she said with a smile.

“And that you did.” He met her halfway across the room, gathering her into his arms in an attempt to block her view. His heart was hammering so hard in his chest he was positive she could hear it.

She gave him a soft kiss. “I thought it’d nice if we went out to dinner and maybe take a stroll around the park. It’s supposed to be beautiful this evening.”

“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.” He kissed her breathless in hopes to keep her distracted. “Why don’t you wait out in the lobby, I’ll get my cloak and be right out.”

“Alrighty.”

As soon as she turned towards the door, he made a beeline back to his desk to hide the duck before it was too late. He didn’t notice that she’s stopped to admire the view.

“Draco,” she said in a low voice, full of disbelief.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

This was it.

The one thing he feared the most in Operation Duck Disposal.

The one thing that simply could not happen if he valued his life and his marriage.

Divorce was surely imminent now.

He was caught red handed or in his case – duck handed.

Draco slowly turned to face the wrath of his wife; his recently rediscovered inner Slytherin rising to the surface in defensive mode.

Then it happened.

Ginny was on him before he could brace himself.

He staggered backwards as she jumped into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist while her arms hooked tightly around his neck. She showered his face and neck in frantic little kisses. He grabbed her hips, trying to hold her still before she sent them both toppling to the floor.

“I can’t believe it,” she said giddily, out of breath. “I can’t believe it!”

“What? Believe what,” he asked in confusion.

“That you found another Gustav!” She gave him another full body hug. “I thought you hated him and was glad to see him gone. But you knew how upset Liam was and you took the time out of your busy day to find another one for him!”

Draco’s mouth hung open in utter disbelief when he glanced at his desk. Sure enough, standing right beside the bouquet of roses was Gustav, the little yellow duck, looking no worse for his close call with the fireplace, mocking him yet again with those beady little black eyes of his.

“And you got me flowers! You’re the best husband and father, ever.” She slowly untangled her body from his until she was standing still pressed against him. “I know someone who’s so going to be rewarded tonight.” Her hand slipped between their bodies to give him a gentle squeeze as she nibbled her way up his neck. “I love you so much,” she whispered in his ear. “And you like the duck, just admit it!”

The Slytherin in him told him to cut his losses, live to kill the duck another day. “I love you too, beautiful. And it was the least I could do for you and Liam.” He remained silent on the duck issue feeling it was far safer that way.

Later that evening Draco stood over his son’s crib watching him sleep, Gustav firmly in hand. The dragons and golden snitches lay forgotten again at the far end, Ginny had seen to that. Just as she saw to banishing Hecate from nursery, no more temptation for her. She had also threatened to never let Gustav out of her sight ever again.

He just knew that if that duck had had a voice it would be laughing at him.

The idea of being bested by a little stuffed animal did not sit well with him. It was then that he promised himself that the day would come when another opportunity for disposing of the duck would present itself. He would think on it later, tonight he was going to enjoy what his wife had promised him earlier.

He could bide his time, he was a patient man.

This was war after all.