Chasing Freedom {Book 3: Chasing Butterflies}

Chapter 16: Birthday Celebrations

Hello all! Here's the next chapter! I think I have... four or five chapters left in this story, so after this, things are going to take a more serious turn. Hope you all enjoy it!

Dedicated to my dear friend, Alana. She's one follower away from 1,000! She's a fantastic writer, and a great friend, so do me a favor and check her out. :D

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"The tricky thing is yesterday we were just children: playing soldiers, just pretending, dreaming dreams with happy endings in backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords. But now we've stepped into a cruel world where everybody stands and keeps score." ~ Eyes Open, Taylor Swift

            The holiday season passed without much incident inside of the small, trusted group. The Death Eaters were still very much at large, killing those who resisted them, putting new people in charge of the Ministry just as they had when Voldemort was the leader. Only thing that was different was who was leading them and how he or she had remained so quiet and out of the spotlight. It was something that had been the major topic of discussion in the last few meetings. Exactly who were they dealing with? And more importantly, how much longer would they remain unscathed?

            Despite the fact that it was her birthday, these questions were still something plaguing Audrey's mind. It was supposed to be a happy time. She was turning eighteen, she had three months left before she would be holding her child in her arms, and she was at the Quidditch arena with her three closest friends seeing her husband play professionally for the first time since he started months ago. She was trying to shake the negative thoughts, and focus on the positive before the game started. She was hoping that her friends would soon make her forget about all the unpleasant events going on in the world around them. Artemis, Nicole, and Ron were the ones who had accompanied her to the game, both as her friends and as her "bodyguards" per Draco's request.

            Audrey was jolted from her thoughts when she felt someone link arms with her, pulling her over a few feet. She shot an irritated glance over to see Artemis standing next to her, looking down at her. "You almost ran into a wall," he explained. "Your husband would never let me hear the end of it if I had let you run face first into a wall."

            The girl sighed, relaxing into her friend's arm. "Sorry. I guess I was sort of out of it," she apologized as they kept walking to catch up with Nicole and Ron who had stopped a few feet ahead of them.

            "I can tell," Artemis retorted. "Pregnancy brain is getting the best of you, I would think."

            A small smile crossed her face as they caught up to their other friends. "I suppose it was bound to happen at some point," she mused. "This is why I have you guys around. You prevent me from doing anything stupid."

            "Well... sometimes we prevent you," Nicole corrected matter-of-factly. "Sometimes we encourage the stupid behavior."

            Artemis sighed. "You said it, not me."

            "You have to admit though," Ron intervened. "We haven't really done anything stupid in a long time."

            Audrey thought about it. The three people with her admittedly had been the sanest people in her life excluding Draco. The world they were living in was chaotic, at best. On top of the Death Eater drama, they were dealing with the drama amongst the remainder of their friends. There had been a big to-do with Fred and Krystie since they had announced their baby, and all the issues it was causing within the family. The two families were at odds with each other about literally everything involving the baby: where they were going to live, how they were going to support it, and so on. In all honesty, Audrey was tired of the drama, and was glad that at least the only one giving her grief about her baby was her father. He was at least easily ignored.

On top of that, Harry and Ginny had become engaged, and people were all excited about them now too. Not that they shouldn't be. Harry and Ginny had been an item for a while, and everyone knew it was only a matter of time. Although the Weasleys have had enough weddings in the past year or so, Audrey thought.

"Well it's about time for you all to break that trend," Artemis mused, breaking Audrey from her thoughts.

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but didn't manage to say anything by the time the four of them had reached the ticket booth. Audrey zoned out for a few minutes as her friend picked up their tickets. The group entered the arena and quickly found their seats in a private viewing booth near the top of the arena. While her friends began to get comfortable in their seats, Audrey leaned on the railing, looking out across the field.

After all, this had been her first visit to the arena Draco had been playing at. The war had made it unsafe for her to travel alone, so this was the first she had ever seen any of the Quidditch pitch that sprawled out before her. Her eyes took in all the new details, all the screaming fans, all the possible exits...

Her eyes blinked at the thought. She remembered a time when she wasn't concerned with where all the exits and escape routes were. There was a time she didn't need to worry about whether or not Death Eaters were going to show up and destroy everything. Unfortunately, that was years ago. Death Eaters had been a threat since her fifth year at Hogwarts and it didn't seem like they would be going away anytime soon.

"Are you going to take a seat?" Nicole asked. "The game should be starting soon!"

Audrey turned back to look at her friends. "I suppose I should," she answered, moving away from the balcony and taking her seat between Nicole and Artemis. She rested her hands on her stomach as she leaned back into the chair, getting comfortable. Quidditch games could get quite lengthy, and she was preparing herself for a wild ride from start to finish.

Sure enough, within a few minutes, the announcer began announcing the lineup for the other team as they flew out onto the pitch. Audrey wasn't interested in the other players; the only one she wanted to see was Draco. She listened carefully, waiting for his name to be blared across the arena.

"And the Seeker for your Tutshill Tornados," the announcer began, "Draco Malfoy!"

Audrey's eyes brightened as she saw her husband fly out onto the pitch, circling around the arena. As he approached the viewing box on his second lap around the arena, he slowed down to get a glimpse at his wife and friends. Draco smiled and waved at the four of them before returning to his place on the pitch. Audrey smiled knowingly. It was great to see Draco doing something he loved, especially as a career. She could only hope once things calmed down in the wizarding world, she would be able to do the same. Then again, maybe once the baby came she would be so content with being home a career wouldn't matter.

With the game now underway, Audrey's thoughts shifted away from life and onto the game, cheering on her husband with her friends. For now, all their troubles were far away, and Audrey was hoping it would stay that way, despite the fact she knew she would have no voice come tomorrow morning.