Hey guys! Guess what? I have a whole lot of free time now, so I can write more! =) Don't know if I'll be able to post everyday, or just once or twice a week, but I definitely have more time to write it now. =)

Hopefully you'll enjoy this! =D

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"Penny for your thoughts, but a dollar for your insight, or a fortune for your disaster." –Don't You Know Who I Think I Am, Fall Out Boy

If there was one thing Audrey had really decided she hated doing it was knocking on a door looking for someone who may or may not be there. This was the second time in less than nine months she had knocked on a door, hoping the person she wanted to talk to was there. As she stood on the front porch of the Weasley home, she promised herself this was the last time she would ever do that.

Within a few moments, an older woman barely shorter than her with red hair opened the door. She looked at Audrey with a confused look before she spoke. "Can I help you?" she asked, looking Audrey over from head to toe. It was at that moment Audrey realized wearing her Slytherin uniform to a house that was full of Gryffindors was probably not the brightest idea she had ever had.

"Actually, yes," Audrey muttered quietly. "I was wondering if Nicole Gardner was here?"

The woman looked at her for a few moments, as if she was debating what to say to her question. "Yes she is."

"Excellent," Audrey sighed. "May I speak to her for a few moments?"

"Of course," the woman hesitated again. "Just wait here for a moment." She shut the door, leaving Audrey standing there a bit confused and a bit relieved at the same time. Within a few moments, Nicole opened the door with a shocked expression on her face.

"Audrey? What are you doing here? How did you even get here? But more importantly, how did you know I was here?" she asked a series of questions.

"Err... lucky guess," Audrey muttered. "Had my house elf bring me; I just really need someone to talk to right now."

"Well come on inside," Nicole insisted. "Ginny, Hermione, and I were just about to have our typical girl talk. I'm sure they won't mind you joining us."

Audrey gulped. She was afraid of that. She had no problems with Ginny or Hermione, despite a few Quidditch accidents and class competitions, but she was unsure if they would feel the same, especially considering the circumstances. Hesitantly, she followed Nicole into the wooden house, constantly observing her surroundings. Almost immediately she saw the boys all sitting in the living room, eating and cracking jokes like she expected. Upon noticing her and Nicole, they all looked up.

"Whoa. Who let her in here?" Harry questioned.

"Uh I did," Nicole answered. "Is there a problem?"

"Yea. She's a bloody Slytherin. And she surely didn't help us in the battle," Harry went on. "Why would we want her in here?"

Audrey went to defend herself, but before she got the chance, Nicole gave Harry 'the look' and reprimanded him for his behavior. "For your information, she and Draco did fight for us and killed Yaxley. So shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

"Bloody hell Harry! She told you a thing or two," Ron added, laughing.

The twins jumped up and stood behind Audrey, each placing a hand on her either one of her shoulders. "Besides Harry," George started. "She's not a real Slytherin."

"And she's the one who hooked me up with Krystie," Fred concluded. "So she's not all bad." So they are still together, Audrey thought. Wonder if he knows about Snape...

Audrey was reassured that the twins were on her side. If there were two Weasleys she wanted on her side, it was definitely them. She glanced up at them, giving them a smile of gratitude. If nothing else, she knew they would be sure to keep Harry in his place.

"C'mon Harry, just drop it," Ron urged. "It's not worth holding grudges anymore. Let the past stay there."

Harry didn't say anything more, but he kept a watchful glare on her. Nicole took a deep breath before saying, "If that's all, we'll be leaving now." She took Audrey's hand, pulling her away from the twins and up the stairs all the way to the top floor. They went into a room on the left hand side, where she saw Ginny laying on the bed, facing Hermione who was sitting on a nearby chair. They were talking in hushed whispers for a moment before noticing Audrey and Nicole standing there.

"Hey guys," Nicole broke the ice. "Mind if Audrey joins us?"

Ginny and Hermione glanced at each other for a few moments before Ginny answered. "Sure."

Nicole took a seat on another chair, motioning for Audrey to do the same. As Audrey took a seat, she was really unsure about what was about to occur. This was not what she had anticipated when she showed up here. But she supposed it would have to do.

"Alright so who wants to start?" Nicole asked. When no one spoke up, she continued. "What about you Ginny?"

The redheaded girl shrugged her shoulders. "There's not much for me to report really. I mean... Harry and I are just fine, nothing really new with us, ya know? Just taking it slow, trying to get everything back to normal before we really focus on any major plans. Haven't actually been able to sit down and talk to him much since the battle. Been too busy with making sure we're all uninjured and what not. Mum's been worried sick about all of us."

"I mean... why wouldn't she be? We were all there fighting; one of us was bound to get hurt," Nicole said. "I'm just glad no one was killed."

"Yea. No one but Lupin, Tonks, and Snape," Hermione added. "And Lupin and Tonks were practically family. I'm sure your mother is trying to find out what they're going to do with Teddy."

"Well... he's probably going to end up here, since Harry is his god-father and all that," Ginny explained. "So I guess we'll see how this turns out. What about you Hermione?"

Hermione's face immediately turned pink. "Well... I got back in contact with Victor since the last time we had this talk."

"And?" Ginny demanded an answer.

"Just like you and Harry. We have a lot of catching up to do, and need to work on our relationship before something serious comes out of it," Hermione elaborated. "But I'm glad he was able to get a hold of me. I forgot how nice it is to have him around."

"Well that's great Hermione," Nicole smiled. "Hopefully it works for you guys."

"And what about you?" Ginny looked accusingly at Nicole.

"Nothing really; I still think your brother is frickin' adorable," Nicole admitted. "But I don't know if he likes me or not."

"Have you asked him?" Hermione wondered aloud.

At this point, Audrey just wanted to know who the hell they were talking about. She knew Ginny had six brothers; she knew one was married, and then Fred was with Krystie, so she assumed it was neither of them. Audrey thought she knew who it was, but she figured she would just remain silent on the matter for now.

"Well, no, I haven't," Nicole muttered. "He's always too busy with Harry and eating most of the time."

"Catch him when he's not! Ron isn't always eating, although it does seem like it," Ginny answered. "I'll ask him if you don't!"

Audrey smirked. She was right! She figured it was Ron. Audrey remembered the way Nicole followed him around while they were in school. Now that Audrey thought about it, it was all too obvious that Nicole had liked him. Honestly, she thought it was adorable; she would probably die from cuteness if they actually got together. "You guys would be so cute together," she said quietly, though she didn't mean to say it out loud.

"No, you and Draco are cute," Nicole contradicted. And that was when Audrey knew that the conversation was about to focus on her. Before Audrey could say anything, she continued. "So what was it that you needed to talk to me about?"

Audrey sighed. "Well... it's just that... my parents absolutely hate that I'm with him. They met him for like five minutes at King's Cross and I'm surprised that no one got killed."

Audrey watched all three of the other girls' mouths fall agape. "You're joking right? Why do they hate him so much?" Nicole asked.

"My parents are both Aurors, and the fact that Draco used to be a Death Eater is apparently too much to get over for them," Audrey explained. "I got into a huge argument with them about it right before I came over here. They don't care that he's changed, that he saved my life in the battle, that I'm going to be marrying him whether they like it or not..." The girl felt tears beginning to fill her eyes again.

"Did you just say marrying?" Nicole asked, and Audrey just simply nodded in response.

"Wait a minute, back up," Ginny tried to process all the information just said to her. "So you mean to tell me they won't even give the boy a chance? Even knowing that he saved your life?"

Audrey nodded again, causing her brown hair to fall into her face. "My father insists that he isn't going to allow me to marry him, but... it's not his choice. I'm seventeen now. I can make my own decisions. And I've decided that if I have to get married without them being there then so be it."

"That's positively stupid!" Hermione screamed. "Why won't they just shut up and deal with it? It's not their choice."

Audrey was honestly surprised by her outburst. Anytime she had ever seen Hermione she was quiet, unless she was answering a question in class. In fact, Audrey wondered if she really had any emotion; her worries were definitely over now. "I have no idea," she answered. "I guess they're just so dead set on 'people don't change' and 'once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater' are rules that apply to everyone."

Nicole stood, hands balled into fists. "They're lucky I wasn't there cuz I would've given them a whole lot more than a piece of my mind. What they're doing is just plain stupid. I mean seriously! I know Draco isn't perfect, but come on! At least give the boy a chance to prove himself."

"It wasn't even like Draco said anything when I introduced them that was rude or just plain inappropriate either," Audrey went on. "Like the second I introduced him, my parents just started talking crap about him. The boy was almost in tears... I felt so bad; I still do."

Nicole placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It'll be okay Audrey. I know you're going to do what you have to do, and like you said, if that means getting married without them there, all the power to you. If they want to miss out on the biggest day of your life, than that's on them, you know? I know I'm going to be there!" She paused for a minute. "It shouldn't matter if they like him or not; they should be able to get passed that for you. You've done your part, and now it's their turn."

Audrey nodded slowly. "I just hope Draco is okay right now..." She felt her heart sink when she thought about where he was, what he was doing, when she would see him again. All she knew was that she hoped it was sooner rather than later.

"I'm sure he'll be alright," Ginny offered a smile.

"You guys want to go play Quidditch to blow off the steam?" Nicole suggested. "I think we all could use it right about now."

"That's so unfair! Whoever I play with is going to lose!" Hermione crossed her arms.

"Then let's get the boys in on it too!" Ginny added.

As much as Audrey didn't want to admit it, it did sounds like a great idea. She needed to blow off steam, and Quidditch was a great way to do it. And it would keep her mind occupied and off of the whole situation. "Let's do this," she said, standing with a look of determination on her face. This was bound to be fun.