Hey everyone! I am so sorry for the wait! It's been a busy month. In case you didn't know, I got married back on May 24th, so it's been about a month and half now since then. I've been running around like crazy trying to get my name change all taken care of, getting these thank you cards done (still got about 1/3 of them to go...), and classes just started up again. Finally got this chapter done, and I'm hoping I'll actually be able to get some kind of schedule going for writing all these stories of mine. Guess it's a good thing Kiss Me, I'm Irish and All I Need are both almost done! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, despite how long it took me to write! :P

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"...we've got to hold on to what we've got, 'cause it doesn't make a difference if we make it or not. We've got each other and that's a lot..."- Living On A Prayer, Bon Jovi

            Hospitals always had made Audrey feel uncomfortable. She had only been in them a handful of times, and the uneasiness that accompanied them never seemed to get any better. She rested her head on her hand, waiting patiently for the nurse to come back in. She, Draco, Krystie, and Fred had all wound up in the same room, all being treated for their various injuries from the explosion. Luckily for them all, none of their injuries seemed to be life-threatening. But despite this, there was not much optimism in the room.

            No one had spoken a word in at least half an hour, and it was enough to drive the girl crazy. Admittedly, Audrey didn't know why that was. She sighed, glancing out the window, not that there was much to see from the small window nearly above her. Audrey could barely make out the branches of a tree, and some clouds peaking between the few remaining autumn leaves. Eventually, she decided she couldn't take the silence anymore.

            "So am I the only one who thought that one Death Eater sounded a bit familiar, or was it just my ears still ringing from that blast?" she questioned, finally looking back at the others.

            Draco shook his head. "No... he did sound almost like someone I knew, too. But I don't know who since I was fairly sure my ears were bleeding at that point."

            "I think we were all feeling that way right about then," Fred agreed.

            "So you think maybe whoever that guy was, we know him from somewhere?" Krystie added, adjusting herself so she could better see everyone in the room. She had suffered the most damage out of the group; the blast had sent her tumbling, breaking both bones in her lower right arm, only to be drug across the concrete after Fred landed awkwardly on top of her. So her arm hung gently in a sling while the medicine the nurses had given her began working its magic on repairing her bones.

            Audrey shrugged. "Perhaps, but as for where, I have no clue," she replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I mean, seriously... think about how many places we have frequented over the years- school, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley... not to mention all the people we're related to."

            "I would really hate for that to be the case," Fred sighed, pushing at the bandage on his forehead. "I'd like to think our families aren't of the Death Eater variety."

            "Well, you would, but you have to remember where mine came from," Draco brought up, stretching briefly. "While we denounced that lifestyle, I mean... it would be so easy to get back into it, you know? I don't want to think that it could happen, but it's a good chance it could, or already did."

            The idea danced around Audrey's head for a moment. Draco's parents as Death Eaters once again? She didn't want to imagine it. They had been so loving and supportive of everything since she had been in their lives. The girl tried her hardest to dismiss the possibility of her perfect in-laws having anything to do with the Death Eaters once again, especially anything that almost would've killed them and their unborn grandchild.

            "No," she dismissed. "It's not them, it can't be. They would never put us in any danger."

            Before anyone could answer the girl, a man in a white coat strode into the room, several charts in his hands. He glanced around the room at the four occupants before saying, "Good evening everyone. I heard about the incident, and I'm quite surprised you four came out of it as well as you did. These Death Eater attacks are becoming quite a common occurrence as of recent," he went on. He flipped through the charts for a moment, appearing to be searching for something. "Ah, yes. Now it is my understanding that both you young ladies are expecting mothers?"

            Audrey and Krystie both nodded, but it was Krystie who spoke up first. "Are the babies alright?" she asked, fear definitely plaguing her voice.

            "Surprisingly, yes, both children are fine," the doctor answered her. Audrey felt instantly better after that, the pain coursing through her leg long forgotten. "It really is quite a miracle that neither of you sustained any serious injury in that regard. Had either of you been farther along when this happened, those children may not have survived the impact."

            A rush of relief coursed through Audrey. She wouldn't have known what to do if something had happened to the baby. Sure, she had roughly five and half months left to go before she would get to hold the little one in her arms, but she was already very attached to him or her. "Lucky us," she said quietly.

            "Now, by all means I wish I could send you all home tonight, but we still want to do some monitoring to assure you're all healing properly, and you should be discharged in the morning," the doctor went on. "At least you all seem to be recovering nicely, and you're with friends. If there is anything we can do to make your time here more enjoyable, do not be afraid to ask."

            Without another word, the doctor left the room, leaving the four friends alone once again. A few moments passed before anyone spoke up again. "Oh yes, because this is my idea of a good time, doc," Draco spat, although the doctor was long gone by that point. "There is no way to make this more comfortable."

            "Right," Fred sighed in agreement.

            "Well, the doctor had one thing right, if nothing else," Krystie said matter-of-factly. "At least we are here together, amongst friends."

            That was a good point. Honestly, although the day had started off rather crappy and uncertain, Audrey had to admit there was no one else she would rather be stuck with in the hospital. In times like this, she knew she needed to keep her friends closer than ever before. With the now eerily present threat of dying, it was good to have the support of those you could trust, and Audrey's list of trusted individuals was growing ever shorter with each passing day.

            "And we all know none of us are Death Eaters," Audrey added.

            "True, true," Fred replied.

            Draco took a deep breath. "I know we haven't always gotten along, but at this point we'll just all have to move past that. In times like this, it's hard to trust anyone. Knowing that at least the four of us have each other's backs, well... I would dare say that we need to keep our alliance going, and going strong."

            Audrey nodded in agreement. She recalled the last war, which seemed like only yesterday, and all the alliances that had formed during that time- the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army. She silently wondered if one was forming here, but she soon voiced her thoughts aloud. "I think we need to add to this group. I know we all have a few others we can trust with our lives. After all, there is safety in numbers, and four is not really an intimidating number."

            "I agree," Draco said. "So as soon as we get out of here, we should gather everyone and figure this out."

            "And of course we're going to need a kick ass name!" Fred exclaimed, almost jumping off his hospital bed. "I'll work on coming up with one."

            Audrey wasn't quite sure what she had gotten herself into, but at this point she was ready to call their little group whatever crazy idea popped into Fred's head. If having a group of allies meant she could survive this new war, Audrey was willing to put in all the effort she could to make sure it happened. After all, these were dark times, and dark times called for desperate measures.