Well I'm sorry i haven't updated in a while but...here it is! I loved your reviews. I really did/do. Please keep reviewing, they make me smile like really big. I'm talking creepy smile. Anyway I love you guys for sticking around.

"Are you sure this is alright? I'm underage."

"You're a Death Eater, dear. Those rules don't really apply to you anymore." Aubrey's mother ran her fingers over her wand gently as she stared across the room at her youngest daughter. Despite her not being a Death Eater, she knew numerous spells that could kill a full grown wizard in an instant. "Now. What shall we start with? Defending spells would probably be best." Her stance changed quickly and her wand was pointed directly at Aubrey's face. "Your stance should be strong. You should not be able to waver or lose your balance while in it. If you do, you can and more than likely will be killed." Her voice was now that of a strict teacher; stricter than those at Hogwarts.

Aubrey attempted her mother's stance; a spell was thrown at her quickly. It was harmless but enough to make her topple over. "Sorry" She walked over and placed the young witch in a "proper" stance. "Thanks." She nodded then went back to her side and redid the spell. Aubrey didn't shake or tremble, she stood strong.

"Wonderful. Now. I will hit you with a spell and you will deflect it with," She flicked her wand. "A flick. If you concentrate hard enough, you won't need the words. This is the key to wordless magic. Now, deflect." A streak of silver shot from her wand and Aubrey flicked it away effortlessly. "Good. Again." Again she shot at her and Aubrey deflected the spell. "Another time." The two went back and forth-her sending, Aubrey deflecting- until finally she gave a node with a small smile.

"Next?"

"Yes. Next." She racked her brain for something to teach then finally settled on a patronus. "Think happy things. The happiest you've ever been, that'll fuel your patronous. Watch." Eyes closed, lips pursed, Aubrey's mother lifted her wand and whispered something that only she knew. She watched quietly as a silvery blue light slipped from the wand and began to take on the shape of an enormous elephant. It wisped across the room, shaking its mighty head and sending a cry to the ceiling. "Each patronus takes on a different shape depending on its caster." The elephant began to disappear until all that was left was a fading cloud of blue. "Give it a try. Expecto Patronum"

With eyes closed Aubrey whispered the spell and nothing happened. No magnificent animal came barreling out of the end of her wand and no smile came to her mother's face; only a look of concentration. "What was your thought?" When Aubrey gave no answer, she nodded. "It must be stronger. It has to be." Aubrey thought of when she was placed in Ravenclaw house. When she sat in class and was learning new things. When she was studying and learned new things. Again she attempted a patronus and something light a silvery appeared. "Stronger" When Slughorn wouldn't stop complementing her on her homework or how well she was doing in class. The wisp of light grew brighter and stronger. No matter how many thoughts she could find that made her happy, nothing appeared but a bright mist.

"I don't want to do this anymore. Can we move on?" Aubrey questioned bitterly. "How about offensive? I'll need that." Her mother went on to teach her spells that would turn a person inside out (they used a small frog as a test subject), spells that could cut skin and leave wounds that would never heal, etc. Each one made Aubrey cringe but her mother would tell her that she would need to face it. "You are a Death Eater now. This is what you must do." She said with small sigh.

At the end of their training, Aubrey left for her room where she attempted to get the images from the inside out frogs from her head but they wouldn't leave. The frogs only stared at her and made throaty noises that made her stomach churn. It was horrible and not something she wanted on her mind. "She's my daughter too, Clarissa." It was Aubrey's father.

"I'm aware of that, Ronald. You'd think that you'd agree with me on this"

"Why? It's dangerous."

"It's safer than being here." There was a door slam and heavy footfalls. Aubrey hid herself in her sister's old room but kept the door cracked so she could hear every angry word her parents threw at each other. Her father, Ronald, walked behind his wife and called her name roughly.

"You act as if I'm not thinking about that. What you're not thinking about are the consequences. What if he finds out?"

"Well then I'll do what I have to. And you know I will."

"What about after? What if it doesn't turn out the way you want it?"

It was silent for a while as the two stared at each other. Finally, Aubrey's mother broke the silence with a sigh. "I don't know. I don't know anything right now. I just want to try. It's a chance."

"Alright." With that he turned and left his wife in the hall with their peeking daughter. For the first time, it felt as if Aubrey's mother was broken and week and didn't know what to do. This person was completely different from the woman with the strong stance and elephant patronus.

"I know you're there. I can hear you." The door crept open and Aubrey looked up at her mother. "I thought you were going to take a break."

"I was."

"Then what are you doing?" Aubrey shrugged and stood up straight. "You shouldn't listen in on people's conversations. It's rude, dear." She nodded and looked around her mother's face for some sort of emotion but there was nothing. Nothing to give way to how she was feeling. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. Are you?" Her mother nodded with a small smile. "Are you sure?"

"Very." Times like these Aubrey wished her mother wasn't such a Slytherin and would show how she actually felt. "You should be outside, sweet heart. It's your summer. Gets some fresh air, hm? Why not visit your grandmother? She says she misses you. Come, come." She took Aubrey's hand and led her down the staircase to the fireplace. "Tell her I'll come for a visit, will you?" After throwing floo powder onto pieces of firewood, a green began to roar. "Have fun." She kissed her daughter's cheek. "I love you, dear. Mother's home." Aubrey stepped into the fire and appeared outside of her grandmother's home.

"Aubrey, over here!" There sitting in the garden was her grandmother. Her hair had a strange purple twinge to it and she had a somewhat sleepy look on her face. For a second Aubrey just looked at her grandmother who seemed as if she'd just woken up. "Come over."

"Alright." It was a quick walk to the little garden that was full of flowers and vegetables. A large tree is what shielded the older woman from the sun that was beating down on the two. Aubrey took a seat at her grandmother's side.

"You look like you need rest. Relax. You're not in school anymore." If she only knew what was going on outside of her little hut. "Your grandfather's inside reading, as he always does. Just in case you were wondering." Aubrey wasn't wondering, but it was nice to know he was okay. Everything there seemed to move at its own place unlike at her own home where everything was either still or moving at an insane pace. "Hungry?"

"A bit. I ate earlier." Grandmother patted her lap and trotted into her house. A warm breeze rain by Aubrey's face and tickled her nose; the smell of fresh flowers filled her and made her realize it really was summer. It was her time for fun, not being cooped in a house worrying about being a Death Eater.

"Enjoying the flowers? Your grandmother's friend gave them to her found them." Aubrey's eyes opened (when had they closed?) and she saw her grandfather standing there in a thin jacket with old pants. He looked fragile yet content. "They're said to make all your troubles melt away. I don't like them too much but she loves them so they have to stay."

"I've brought your food. I hope you don't mind a picnic. Why don't you eat with us?" Grandmother asked as she swung the basket back and forth in her delicate hands.

"I'll be fine. Those flowers..."

"I know. Enjoy your book, old man."

"Enjoy your food, old woman."

Aubrey bit into her sandwich with her eyes glued to her grandmother. She looked calm again as if nothing were horrible. "What did grandfather mean when he said 'melt all your troubles away'?" Grandmother tsked silently and shook her head gently.

"Well let's see, they were a gift from a friend of mine, from Bulgaria. With each sniff, everything that troubles you melts away." Said her grandmother. "It's nice to come and sniff the daisies whenever things get a bit hard. They're nice, don't you think?" Aubrey gave a slight nod and looked down to the sandwich she held in her hands.

"Is it safe?"

"Very. It just cleanses the mind a little." They finished off their meal in silence; her grandmother taking deep sniffs every few minutes. When the food was gone and they went back into the house, Aubrey searched for her grandfather and found him in his office. He nodded off to sleep with a thin line of drool running down his lip.

"Grandfather? Grandfather, are you awake?" He wasn't fully awake yet he sat up and looked at her with a dazed look. "I'm sorry. I just needed to speak to someone."

He shook his head, wiped away the spit and waved away her comment. "It's alright. I wasn't sleeping. I shouldn't be sleeping, not now anyway. It'll be too hard to go to sleep later. What do you need to talk to me about?" His chair squeaked as he leaned back and gave a loud sigh.

"Grandmother and her flowers." He gave a nod. "Why is she using them? Is she alright? Is she sick? Are you alright?" A low chuckled erupted from his mouth.

"We're fine. It's just...that." His finger pointed at her arm and the cloth that hid the Dark Mark from the world. "Ever since your mom told her about you getting it, she's been out there in the garden almost every day. She even put a charm over the land so time goes by slowly."

"What?"

"Your grandmother's smart. She knows what's coming, just like you do. Millie thought it was best to keep time as slow as possible here so she could cherish everything." He leaned back into his chair, almost sinking into it, and began looking around his desk for something.

It was a bit shocking to know that her grandmother needed to use flowers to forget about her granddaughter's Dark Mark. Some grandparents would be proud but, obviously, hers were different. "Don't worry about it." He dismissed with a light kiss to her cheek then went back to finding something on his desk. Aubrey began to leave but stopped when she heard the old man curse.

"What're you looking for?"

"My glasses." She couldn't hold in her giggles when she pointed to the missing object that lay on his head. "Oh. Thank you, dear."

The dinner that night was mostly quiet with a bit of small talk thrown in. Aubrey told them about how she learned to conjure a patronus and learned that her grandmother never could. "I'm guessing mother said I'm to stay the night."

"Yes. She had some ends to tie up, but don't worry. You should head up to bed." She did as she was told, after finishing off a warm cup of tea, and climbed into the neatly made bed in the guest room. The window was propped open and a light breeze ran through the room. Being at her grandparents' house was wonderfully different than being at her own house.

Dreams of sitting under the tree in her grandmother's garden flooded her; nothing special. Just a light wind, like the one that was already in her room, and the smell of flowers. Someone appeared next to her, she wasn't sure when they got thee but she didn't mind. The person had incredibly white hair and light silvery eyes. "This is nice."

"I know." She said in a bored tone then grabbed for his hand. "Let's not ruin this with talking."

"Whatever you say, Lockwood." Draco drawled.

"Wake up, Aubrey dear." Ever so slowly, Aubrey's eyes slowly opened to see her grandmother holding a plate in her hand. "I've brought you breakfast." She placed it down on the homemade plaid blanket and Aubrey smiled up at her. "That letter came in for you today." She left the room with a small wave. With a piece of perfectly toasted toast, Aubrey opened the letter and read it to herself, then read it again to fully understand.

Lockwood,

We need to talk. Honeydukes at one.

Don't ever hang up on my fire-call. Ever.

Draco

So he decided they needed to talk. Well who said she had to go? Draco? She didn't need to listen to him because he lost virtually all right to talk to her (In her mind, that is). Placing the letter on the floor, Aubrey finished off her toast and eggs with a small smile.

She'd show her grandfather her patronus and maybe he'd be able to help her. Why she'd do it in her pajamas just to show Draco how she wasn't going to bend to his every whim.

Oh who was she kidding? She was going to go see him and she was already late. After rushing to get dressed, Aubrey grabbed her plate and ran to her grandmother. "I'll be back." She placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'm sorry about the mess in the room." Before her gran could say anything, Aubrey was standing at the fireplace and about to take herself to Honeydukes. When she stepped into the shop, she couldn't find Draco in the sea of unruly young wizards who were enjoying their summer break.

"You're late." Draco announced. Just like in her dream, Aubrey looked into his silvery eyes. "I said one"

"I know." It was the first time they'd talk to each other in a civil way since school. Neither of them would admit it, but it was a nice feeling.