Since I can't sleep, I'm posting this at three in the morning! Yay no sleep...and yay long chapter! Yay for Draco getting out of jail and yay for lovely readers. Oh, and I double checked, there are only three chapters left. Better make the good times last!

...

Four years had passed by at an inhumanly slow pace.

Draco had made that conclusion after staring at the same four stone walls that incased him. In case you were wondering, that's 1460 days. 1460 days of total and complete isolation accompanied by long nights of no sleep and meals that looked as if they had already been digested. He had grown skinny with his hair down to his shoulders and a beard that consumed the lower half of his face. He was as white as a sheet and his hair had darkened considerably, going from its usual brilliant blond to a light brown that made him look paler than he already was. These conditions were more than enough to drive any man insane and Draco got to hear it almost every day. Men and women would be dragged from their cells, either crying or laughing from the madness that they were experiencing from being forced into those small four walls. Draco did his best to block out the noises of madness and sorrow, clinging to the memory of Audrey. He never received a letter from her, but he knew that it wasn't because she wasn't writing. He was forbidden from receiving mail and would only receive his letters after he was released.

And finally, that day had come.

The morning of his release, he was taken from his cell and downstairs, where a boat was waiting for him. The boat took him to the mainland and to a small cottage, where he signed his release papers and was declared a free man. He was then allowed to apperate to the Ministry, where he was given back his wand and was allowed to clean himself up. When the beard finally came off, he smiled at the smooth touch of his skin. He was given a separate change of clothes and was finally released. It had been the first time in months that he hadn't had chains on his wrists and ankles.

Draco stepped into the hallway with his small bag, containing a few personal items and exactly 1462 letters, all of them from Audrey. They weren't allowed to cut his hair, which he had pulled back into a ponytail. That only made him appear skinnier and he looked as if he were to pass out from starvation. He slowly walked down the hallway, not bothering to look at the faces that passed him by. They were all staring at him, but he didn't care. He had done his time and repaid his debt to society; they could stare all they wanted, he was a free man.

Draco hadn't expected anybody to pick him up, so he was headed towards a rental place where he could rent a car and drive to the Burrow. But as he passed a small bench where a lone woman sat, he suddenly stopped.

"Draco?" He looked back to the woman, who looked strangely familiar. She stood up with a smile slowly spreading across her face. "Don't you recognize me?" He kept his eyes on her face, finding her familiar features to be almost annoying simply because he couldn't remember her. "I know that I've changed, but I had hoped that you would remember your wife."

Draco's jaw literally dropped.

The woman that stood before him was a far cry from the shy sixteen year old girl that he had been forced to leave. She had grown into her features and now…she was absolutely stunning. And Draco wasn't just exaggerating because he was horny as hell, she was quite possibly the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen in his life. She looked like some ethereal flower child with her long wavy auburn hair. She looked beautiful and mature, such a distant image from that young girl.

"You…you…"

"I grew up." She said happily. Audrey took his bag in one hand and his hand in the other. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Draco followed closely behind Audrey, never daring to let go of her hand. They hadn't said a word to each other after they had left the Ministry. She was leading him home, and Draco found the quick journey all too familiar. She was taking him to Diagon Alley, but that was confusing him. The only people that actually lived in Diagon Alley were shop owners. He quietly wondered what Audrey had been up to these past four years.

As they walked through the bustling crowds, people made no secret of staring at him. They knew who he was, but he wondered if they were also staring at Audrey. If they were, it didn't seem to be bothering her. She pulled him to a café on the corner, holding up her arm as if to present it to him.

"Here we are!" She exclaimed happily. Draco looked up at the large corner building, finally letting a small crack on his face. A cheery brick building decorated with a white and apple green awning gladly boasted a matching sign that read 'Audrey's.' Draco could see through the large windows that the shop was filled with customers and the smell wafting from the open door was pulling people inside. "This is our shop."

"Our shop?" Draco asked. Audrey nodded, moving closer to him.

"I had to borrow some money from your vault…there was barely anything left in mine." Draco knew that the surviving Death Eaters would take what they wanted and leave. It didn't matter that the money was supposed to be for Audrey, they were going to do whatever it took to ensure their survival. "So now we're business partners." She said happily. "Do you want to take a look inside?"

"Of course." He replied quickly. They walked inside, Audrey beaming with pride. Although Draco was extremely quiet, Audrey could tell that he was impressed with everything that she had done. They squeezed into the café, edging their way to the front and behind the counter. There were four women working, all older and looking like somebody's grandmother, who all greeted Audrey with big smiles and cheerful hellos.

"Good morning everybody." Audrey called out happily. "This is my husband, Draco. He's finally come home." She said, the smile almost jumping off of her face. Each woman dropped what they were doing and gave Draco a hug that only a mother could give. He was happy to return the affection, especially when he saw how it made Audrey smile. When Draco turned back from his final hug, he found Audrey leaning over a large mixing bowl with a curious look on her face. She took a spoon from a drawer and dipped it into the bowl, tasting the running batter with a delicate tongue.

"What do you think, did I match it?" The woman asked eagerly. Audrey licked her lip, quietly thinking.

"It needs more vanilla." She said while walking over and setting her spoon into one of the many sinks. "But it's very good otherwise." The woman nodded as Audrey walked over and took Draco's hand. "Let's go upstairs; I'll make you something to eat." She took him to the back of the kitchen and to a large green door. Audrey quickly unlocked it and stepped back to let Draco walk in first. The walls were bare and painted a dull yellow, clearly not Audrey's choice. There was another green door at the top of the stairs and Draco turned the door knob, finding it unlocked. Draco's jaw dropped as soon as he walked through the door. Audrey didn't notice his shocked expression as she walked past him and set down her bag, slipping off her jacket and hanging it on an old coat hanger. She slipped off her shoes and began to tinker around in the kitchen as Draco stepped inside and looked around.

The flat was completely open, save for the small half wall that divided the small kitchen from the rest of the flat. The back wall was brick and the other walls, painted the same dull yellow, were almost completely covered with gleefully moving pictures and posters of bands and movies. There was a mattress and box spring sitting on the floor covered in knitted blankets placed in front of a clunky TV. It looked like a bohemian dream apartment, complete with its very own dreamy flower child.

"You still like mushrooms, right?" Audrey asked over her shoulder, whisking four large eggs in a bowl. Draco nodded, sitting down at the small, two-person kitchen table. She smiled at him and began to slice mushrooms and other vegetables with an impressive speed. She fixed him a large omelet, filled with his favorite things and pepper jack cheese sliced thickly on top, just like Draco liked it. God bless it, she had remembered exactly how Draco liked his omelet. "Go ahead and eat, I'll make some tea."

Draco didn't need to be told twice. He was finished with his omelet by the time that Audrey set down his cup.

"I'm amazed." Draco said after they sat silently for a few minutes. "You've got your own business…and you look incredible." Audrey smiled, crossing her legs under the table.

"I wanted to make a good life for us." She said softly. "So I went back to school, like you said, and then I went to culinary school in France, specializing in pastries." Draco couldn't keep the smile from his face.

"I'm so proud of you." He said. "You've achieved so much…by yourself." Audrey bit her lower lip, holding her mug close.

"Actually, I had a lot of help from Harry and the Weasleys." She tucked her hair behind her ears. "They let me live with them until the café took off and I got a place of my own."

"It's great." Draco had to force the smile to stay on his face. While he was happy that Audrey had found a strong support system while he had been away, he was not happy that it included Potter. But he would have to bite the bullet and accept the fact that Potter would always try to be part of Audrey's life.

Draco sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"So, I have one question."

"All right, what is it?" She asked innocently. Draco allowed the devilish smirk to finally break onto his face.

"How comfortable is the bed?" He asked in a low whisper. Audrey instantly blushed and began to giggle.

"I knew that you would want to do that." She muttered. Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"What can I say? It's been five years since we were together and I've been…very, very lonely."

Yeah, that was the least offensive way of putting it.

Audrey's blush darkened and did her best to keep herself from laughing again as Draco continued to stare at her suggestively.

"Okay." She stood up, gently shrugging off her short, flowing sun dress and stood before Draco in her thigh high black stockings and some surprisingly skimpy lingerie. "Do you want to go see how you like the bed?" Draco stared at her with wide eyes, his jaw hanging loose.

"I love you so much."