I did it! I got a chapter up in each story before Christmas! Yes! *does a little dance* I feel so accomplished. Anyhow, I hope you like this chapter. I had fun writing it. =P

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"Tonight we're taking over; no one's getting out... This place about to blow." – Blow, Ke$ha

Audrey felt her feet hit the ground again, and the girl couldn't have been more grateful. She and Draco had just taken the Portkey back to Artemis' manor after their week long honeymoon. Honestly, Audrey had started coming up with reasons for why the two of them shouldn't have come home and why they should've stayed in the Rocky Mountains for the rest of their lives, or at least until school started again. But alas, here they were, back in Ireland and everything was going to get stressful once again.

Before she could even get her bearings again, she and Draco were greeted by both Nicole and Artemis, who for some strange reason were both seated on two nearby benches having a conversation before they had arrived.

"Home so soon?" Artemis called out to them from his seat, setting down a book he had been holding onto.

Draco began to head towards his cousin as he answered, "Oh don't act so surprised; you knew we would be home today."

Audrey followed closely behind him, just ready to set her suitcase down. She stood next to her husband, yet behind him at the same time. Honestly, she was suffering from a slight case of nausea, as her head was still spinning from the Portkey; the girl was finding it hard not to see doubles of both Artemis and Nicole, and keep her balance as well. It was at this moment that Audrey swore off all 'instant' transportation methods- Portkeys or Apparation; she was going to stick with flying.

"So how was it?!" Nicole couldn't contain her excitement.

Before Audrey could answer, Artemis intervened. He stood, approached her and took her bag from her before turning to Draco. "Perhaps we should let these girls have their gossip time?"

"Good idea," Draco agreed. He kissed the top of Audrey's head briefly before he and Artemis walked away from the girls and back up towards the mansion.

Audrey took Artemis' vacant seat, relieved to be able to sit again. The girl slumped on the bench, doing her best to relax on the wooden bench. Audrey closed her eyes, but she didn't keep them closed for long.

"You never answered my question," Nicole persisted. "How was it?"

Audrey's eyes fluttered back open, sitting up slightly. "Oh, I forgot you asked." She paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to describe how her honeymoon had gone. To be honest, Audrey wasn't sure there were words to describe the time she had spent with Draco in the mountains. "It was... enjoyable."

"Just enjoyable?" Nicole questioned. "That's all?"

Audrey shrugged. "I don't know what other word to put there, so yea."

Nicole sighed. "I guess I'll take that answer. So where did you guys end up going?"

"The Rocky Mountains in the United States," Audrey explained. "We stayed in a small cabin near a lake while we were there."

"Well that's not where I suspected he'd pick. I thought he would've picked somewhere tropical, or somewhere more... obviously a honeymoon location," Nicole went on. "What possessed him to pick the mountains?"

"They were far away from people," Audrey answered. "Plus we figured we would be the only ones there, and we couldn't be found. The only people who even knew where the Portkey led to were Draco and Artemis apparently, and you know how Artemis is."

Nicole smiled. "He's a muffin, but I definitely think he's a bit awkward in social situations." She giggled for a moment before speaking again. "So if you two went to the mountains, what did you do?"

Audrey decided to mess with her friend for a moment. "What do you think we did?" She winked, changing the meaning of her question entirely.

Nicole tilted her head slightly, pondering what her friend asked. "Um... lie nude in a bed all day having crazy sex?"

Audrey laughed at her friend's response. "Nope. Well... sort of... anyways. For the most part we spent our time doing other things."

"Like?" Nicole pressed on.

"We went to the lake one day, we sat by a fire, we had an encounter with a Bigfoot, we-"

"-a Bigfoot?" Nicole cut off. "You're joking, right?"

Audrey glanced at the ground, wishing she could forget that moment of her honeymoon. "I wish I was, but I'm not. That was... intriguing to say the least."

"I can imagine!" Nicole exclaimed. "Anyhow, I'm really glad you guys had fun on your honeymoon. Now just enjoy this last month or so before school starts again, and get your last month in, graduate, and then get on making me some nieces and nephews!"

Audrey rolled her eyes. Children were not something she was planning on having anytime soon. She figured it would only be a matter of time before someone told her to 'work on' having children. Granted, Audrey had always fancied the idea of being a mother one day, but certainly not anytime soon. She had things that were more important right now; children would have to wait.

"One day, Nicole, one day," she sighed. "But for now, I want to relax before school starts again." She paused for a moment, frowning. "I'm really not looking forward to going back."

"Why not?" Nicole wondered out loud. Audrey excelled in school- that was no secret. Why in the name of Merlin did she not want to go back? Especially when she was so close to being done with it for good?

Audrey shrugged. "Well, I think whoever is sending those lovely letters is at Hogwarts. I mean, who else would be pissed at all of us like this? It just wouldn't make sense for some complete stranger to do it."

Nicole stood to stretch briefly before sitting back down again. "You've got a good point. It obviously has to be someone we know. The question becomes who? I mean, not too many people hate you this much."

Well that's reassuring, Audrey thought. "Well... when you put it like that, let's see... it could be pretty much any Gryffindor except you, Hermione, and Ginny. It could be Pansy Parkinson, or one of her little stooges. It could be some random person I may have upset at some point. It could be Harry. It could be anyone." The girl sighed. "This sounds terrible, but I'm seriously on edge all the time now. I'm finding it hard to trust anyone anymore. Unless they're you, Draco, Artemis, or Ron I don't really know what they're thinking, or where their alliance really is."

Nicole frowned. If there was one thing she was certain of, she was going to kill whoever it was causing her and Audrey all of this drama. There were just certain lines you didn't cross, and they had definitely been crossed a long time ago. "Well whoever it is, we're going to take care of them. Don't worry."

Audrey nodded in agreement, but before she could say anything in addition to that, she caught the soft sound of what sounded like ticking. If there was one thing Audrey had learned from watching all the Muggle action movies she could, it was that mysterious ticking noises were never good. Her instincts kicked in, and immediately she stood. "Nicole, run as fast as you can towards the house," she instructed. "Something's not right."

The girl didn't wait for her friend's response before she herself started to run towards the manor. She knew that Nicole was behind her due to the footsteps coming from behind her. After being on the run only for a few minutes, Audrey heard the sound of an explosion come from behind her. The force of the blast caught up with her, propelling her through the air. Audrey felt herself flying through the air for a few moments before falling towards the ground. She felt herself crash onto the cobblestone pathway to the house. Audrey kept her eyes closed for a moment, silently wondering if she was dead or not.

After a few moments, Audrey opened her eyes, realizing she had landed face down. She slowly propped herself up onto her elbows before she pulled herself back up. The girl glanced over her shoulder, trying to place where Nicole was. The younger girl was lying a few feet behind where she was, although she wasn't up and moving yet. Adrenaline kicked in, and within moments, Audrey was at her friend's side trying to get a response from her.

"C'mon Nicole," Audrey gently shook her friend's shoulder, trying to wake up. Audrey glanced around, trying to figure out exactly what had happened. A few nearby trees smoldered quietly, and the benches they had been sitting on were blown to pieces. Audrey was fairly sure a bomb had gone off somewhere close to them, and they had narrowly missed the blast. She reverted her attention back to her friend.

Nicole stirred lightly. She groaned before sitting herself back up. "What the hell was that?"

"I dunno," Audrey replied. "I'm just glad we're okay for the most part."

Nicole glanced Audrey over. "What are you talking about? Your arm looks pretty messed up girly."

Audrey hadn't even noticed the throbbing pain in her arm until then. She grasped her right arm with her left hand. She sighed angrily. "I must've used it instinctively to break my fall. I hope it's not broken. I don't have time for that."

"I hope not too," Nicole agreed. She looked ahead on the path to see both Draco and Artemis running (or slowly jogging in Artemis' case) towards them. "And apparently the boys are coming to our rescue. How quaint?"

Draco reached them first. "Are you girls okay? What happened? We heard what sounded like an explosion."

"I think we're alright for the most part," Audrey responded. "But we dunno what happened. But it was definitely an explosion. I don't know where it came from though."

Draco frowned, taking notice to how his wife was holding her arm. "Your arm hurt?"

Audrey laughed nervously. "Yeaaaa. I landed on it."

Draco sighed. "I'll have my mother look at it when we get inside, alright? Hopefully it's okay, and it's only pain from the impact."

Artemis finally caught up with his cousin, and he was out of breath. For some reason, Audrey managed to find humor in that. "My mother is going to be so upset that someone blew up that tree," he gasped. "Are you girls alright?"

"Just peachy," Nicole answered sarcastically. "We only went through an explosion. No biggie."

Audrey, however, knew better. Explosions just didn't happen by themselves, at least not out in the middle of a garden in Ireland. Someone had planted a bomb, or some other explosive device with the intent to harm whoever was to be sitting there. There wasn't a doubt in Audrey's mind about who did it. Whoever was sending the letters was probably the same person who tried to end their lives just a few moments ago. All Audrey knew was that she needed to figure out who it was, and fast. Things were just getting more dangerous all the time, and next time, she couldn't guarantee that she would be lucky enough to get out alive.