Chasing Freedom {Book 3: Chasing Butterflies}

Chapter 13: Waiting

A small smile crossed Audrey's face. "I know Molly. I'm sure you are all just as nervous as I am," Audrey answered. "I'm going to talk to Draco and see what he says." She paused for a moment, looking at the clock again. "If he ever gets here."

Molly glanced at the clock as well. "A bit late isn't he? Where's he at?"

"Quidditch practice," Audrey explained, although she couldn't quite hide the fear in her voice. He was supposed to be out about an hour ago, and yet he hadn't arrived yet. Audrey was hoping nothing had happened to him. With the new war well under way, it wasn't farfetched to say there was an incident that was keeping him from being there. Audrey was hoping that wasn't the case. The Death Eaters had been getting bolder, and attacking more frequently than they were previously.

In all honesty, she was not thrilled about meeting at the Burrow. It was such a well-known dwelling. Everyone in the wizarding community knew where it was, and if the Death Eaters were really ambitious, everyone they wanted dead was conveniently under one roof at the moment. That was totally not helping her already shot nerves.

Every day she hoped the war would just go away. That she would wake up and somehow overnight it would be resolved. It was getting all the more draining to deal with the stresses of war on top of normal daily life. Not only did she have to worry about staying healthy for the baby, Audrey had to worry about whether or not Draco was going to make it back home safely from work alive.

Audrey was shaken from her thoughts when Molly spoke again. "Oh he probably just had to stay over, love. You have nothing to worry about."

While she knew Molly meant well, it didn't ease her mind. She would believe Draco was okay when she actually saw him standing in front of her. Within a few moments, the meeting was underway, and everyone had begun focusing on what new developments had been made involving the Death Eaters. Audrey had admittedly zoned out, not paying attention to what anyone was saying. What was new? The Death Eaters had been attacking more often and with more intent to kill than before. Yet, their whole organization had made it out so far unscathed. They still had no clue who the leader of the new Death Eaters was, and had no new leads for it as well. They were no closer to ending this war than when they started these meetings. Audrey was really starting to question the validity of them. Yes, it meant that they had trusted individuals, but until someone made some revelation as to what could be done to stop the Death Eaters, there was no point in meeting.

An hour passed, and soon the meeting came dwindling to a close. Most of the members had dispersed to different rooms, or had gone back home. Audrey sat near the living room window still, waiting anxiously for Draco to show up. She wasn't going to head home until she knew he was alright. He had said he would be over as soon as practice ended, so she decided she wasn't moving until he arrived.

She was startled when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Audrey jumped slightly, and turned to see Draco hovering over her. She hadn't even noticed him enter the room. Since she didn't see him come up the driveway, he must've Apparated into the home.

"Hey love. Sorry I am late. Practice ran over," he said quietly, having a seat next to her on the couch. "How did everything go today? Did I miss anything?"

Audrey shook her head. "Not really. Just the usual- blah, blah, blah, attacks, blah, blah, blah, no new ideas... So just the typical meeting," she replied.

A small smile crept across Draco's face. "Go figure," he sighed. "How about your appointment? Find anything out?"

Audrey patted her pockets for a moment to find the envelope. She pulled it from her pocket and then handed it to him. "Everything went okay. I err... did find out this. But I haven't looked at it yet."

Draco started at the envelope, eyes going wide. "Is this what I think it is?"

Audrey nodded. "Exactly what you think it is."

Draco didn't say anything for a moment. Audrey studied his expression for a moment, trying to figure out what was running through his mind. "I've got an idea to make this more fun for everyone," he started. "I don't remember where or when I saw this, but I've heard of 'gender reveal' parties. Maybe we can talk to our mums about throwing one? Let them see the gender first, so they can plan accordingly and for everyone else it would be a surprise?"

Audrey admittedly liked the idea. It would be fun, and add some excitement to the normally drab life around here. "I like that, and I think they would too," she agreed. "We should go bring it up to them."

"Shall we then?" Draco said, standing and pulling Audrey to her feet.

The two of them made their way back towards the kitchen, where they were hoping to talk to their mothers about throwing this party. While it hadn't been set in stone quite yet, Audrey was excited about it. It would be a great way to relax and once again try to forget about the Death Eaters and their plots, even if only for a moment. Audrey just hoped nothing devastating happened between now and then.