Hey guys! Once again, I have pounded out a chapter for your enjoyment! =) I kind of tied in on of my other stories with this chapter, so kudos to you if you figured it out. ;) Pic on the side is of Draco and his cousin, that way you can see the difference between them. Hope you enjoy! =)

******************************************************************************************************

"I'm sorry for the person I became; I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change. I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again." –Who I Am Hates Who I've Been, Relient K

Draco entered the foyer of his aunt and uncle's home, setting his trunk on the inside of the door. It had been a while since he had made the trip to Dublin to see his family, though he wished that this visit was for better reasons that trying to find his parents. Draco was almost certain that his parents would've gone here upon fleeing the final battle, though when he stepped inside and heard nothing, he was beginning to wonder if he had gone to the right place.

The boy walked slowly past the staircase, eyes scanning everything he walked past. Before he got too far down the hallway, he heard footsteps behind him. Draco stopped in his tracks, immediately grabbing his wand from his pocket. He wasn't sure who, or what, was behind him, and he was not about to fall into a trap willingly. Draco turned on his heels, pointing his wand directly into the face of a boy his age who couldn't have been standing but a foot behind him. The boy wasn't fazed; he stood there with a smirk upon his pale face, as if he had expected it.

"Some things never change, do they Draco?" he mused, his voice soft and clipped.

"You're lucky I didn't hex you, Artemis," Draco spat, lowering his wand and stowing it in his pocket.

The boy, Artemis, shook his finger at Draco. Upon doing so, a few blue sparks emerged from its tip. "Don't just assume you have the upper hand. I too have magical abilities, dearest cousin."

Draco scoffed. His cousin always had a comeback. Artemis was right; some things never changed. Although they rarely ever saw each other, Artemis was probably the closest thing Draco had to a real friend, excluding Audrey. He briefly recalled the days of their youth in which they got in all sorts of ridiculous trouble. "Anyhow, are my parents here?" he eventually asked.

Artemis pushed his raven hair from his sapphire blue eyes, both traits he had inherited from his father's side of the family as opposed to his mother's. Artemis' mother, Angeline, had the same steely gray eyes and blond hair as Draco and his father; it was no wonder that her traits got overruled by the more dominant genes. "Yes, actually. They arrived a few days ago," Artemis answered. "I was beginning to wonder if you had survived the battle or not when you didn't come back within the day."

Draco felt relieved to know that his parents had made it here safely. "Great. Where are they at?"

Artemis shrugged. "Probably in the library or in the living area. They've been staying in the guest bedroom. They've been talking about waiting for you to show up."

"Alright," Draco muttered in response. He was just drained from everything that happened that day. Between his fight with Audrey's parents and finally getting here, he was just ready for a long nap. "In a bit, I would like to talk to you about something, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Artemis sighed, leaning against the wall. "I can tell something is on your mind. I'll be ready whenever you are."

Draco nodded, acknowledging his statement. "Be back in a bit." He walked away, back down the hallway and up the staircase. About halfway down the next hallway, Draco heard quiet talking coming from a room. Naturally he assumed to follow the voices, and he arrived at a giant archway at the end of the hall. He stepped inside the room and he peered around the towering bookshelves and almost immediately spotted his mother and father sitting on a nearby couch by the bay window. They both looked up at him, almost as if they were shocked to see him.

His mother, Narcissa, rushed over to him, her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug. Draco gasped for air for a moment before his mother finally loosened her grip on him. "I'm so glad you're okay," she cooed. "But why are you alone? Is Audrey okay?"

"Yes, mother, she's fine," Draco muttered. "She went home with her parents..."

"That's good," she sighed. "Why do you seem upset by that?"

"I'm fairly sure her parents are trying to brainwash her into dumping me, that's why," Draco spat, sitting on the bay window between the chairs his parents were sitting. Narcissa sat back in her chair, giving her son a bewildered look. "Both of them are Aurors and apparently hate me."

"Aurors? She never mentioned that when we talked to her," his father, Lucius, inquired.

"This is probably why. Her father is like the size of a mountain and has the temper of a mountain troll," Draco went on. "Her mother didn't say much about anything, so I can't say much on that, but she definitely didn't stop him from insulting me. You would think he would've been at least grateful that I had saved his daughter."

"You would think," Narcissa said quietly.

"I just hope I don't lose my fiancée over this," Draco sighed sadly.

His parents exchanged glances. "Fiancée?" Narcissa asked.

Draco hardly nodded. "Yea, I asked her after the battle. And she told me before she went home she wasn't going to let them change her mind, but I'm not so sure if that will be possible..."

Narcissa placed a hand on her son's shoulder, attempting to comfort him. "I'm sure she won't let that happen. After all, she did stick with you throughout everything else. I doubt she'll change her mind now."

"We'll just have to see," Lucius stated, though he quickly changed his statement when Narcissa glared at him. "But I doubt that she will as well."

Draco decided not to say anything more on the matter. He stood, turning to face his family. "Well... I'm going to go get settled down. I need to get some rest. I'll talk to you two later, alright?"

With that, Draco left his parents sitting in the library, and went back downstairs where he was hoping to find Artemis once again. Sure enough, he found his cousin sitting by a window, reading a book. Without looking up from the book, Artemis spoke, "Take a seat Draco. It's obvious we have much to discuss."

Draco took a seat across from him. "Yea, just a bit."

Artemis sat his book down on the end table beside him. "So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, I kind of want your advice," Draco admitted.

Artemis chuckled lightly. "On what, dare I ask? Surely you're not thinking about doing anything irrational?"

"Of course not," Draco responded. "It's about a girl..."

Had Artemis been drinking something, he would've spit it out. "A girl? Honestly Draco? You want my advice on a girl?"

Draco shook his head. "Not so much on the girl... more or less a situation she and I are involved in."

Artemis rested his head in his hand. "Tell me you didn't impregnate this girl."

"Artemis, I told you a long time ago when I got with her I was going to be different with this one," Draco hissed.

"So this is the same girl you told me about back in September then?" Artemis inquired, seemingly shocked Draco had kept the same girl around for that long, especially without doing anything. When Draco nodded, Artemis continued, "Well congrats on that, but what situation could you have possibly gotten yourself stuck in this time?"

"Well... as it turns out, her parents hate me," Draco stated.

"Which is understandable," Artemis replied. "No offense but who in their right mind would be happy about their daughter bringing you home?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "It's not the point. It's not like I've done anything to her that they would disapprove of. If it wasn't for me, it is likely Audrey would've died in the battle."

Artemis glanced out the window for a moment before replying, "As true as that may be, they probably will never say thank you for that. Parents are... complicated beings. Now I presume it's more of her father who has a problem with you being with her?"

Draco nodded, unsure where his cousin was going with this. "Both her parents are Aurors. And her father is dead set that he won't let me marry her."

"Marriage? You surely didn't tell me that," Artemis said, a bit surprised. "You have really changed your view on life in the past few months. I never pictured you getting married."

"Yea, me either, but things have changed," Draco stated. "But I'm sure I want to do this, Artemis."

"Positive about that?" Artemis questioned, raising an eyebrow. "The fact that you've been with the same girl faithfully for eight months is shocking enough, the fact you want to marry her is just all the more shocking."

"Yes I'm sure," Draco was starting to lose his patience. "Audrey is different than all the rest of the girls I've ever met. She's changed me for the better, and I just don't want to lose her over her parents' bigotry."

Artemis nodded. "Well, from what I've gathered, Audrey is strong willed, and I'm sure she won't allow for them to change her mind. So don't worry about it."

"Well, what about trying to get them to change their mind on their own? You know... make them like me?" Draco asked.

Artemis cleared his throat. "Once again, you want my advice on something I have had no experience in?"

"Surely you've had to get someone to like you at one point or another?" Draco asked.

Artemis thought about it for a second. "Well, definitely not in the same way. My best advice for you is to basically just continue to treat Audrey the way you have. Perhaps seeing you be a gentleman will make them realize you aren't such a bad guy. Be polite and don't let that anger of yours get to you."

"So basically you want me to kiss ass?" Draco questioned.

Artemis' nose scrunched up at the end of his question. "I wouldn't be that blunt about it, but something along those lines. I know you'll have to go out of your comfort zone for it, but if you want this to work with her you'll have to learn how to tolerate her family."

As much as Draco didn't want to admit it, his cousin was right. Perhaps that was all he could do. As much as Draco didn't want to have to suck up and play nice with people who obviously didn't want to be nice to him, he knew he didn't have much of an option when it came to his relationship with Audrey. Whether or not she was going to change her mind or not, he knew she would be devastated without her parents there. Someway, somehow he was going to get the McCarthys to like him, even if it killed him.