Thanks to the reviewers at the bottom of the page after the fic!

"Parents Day?" Victoria scoffed. "What's the point of that?"

She and the rest of the Slytherins were crowded around to bulletin board in the common room, where a message had been posted regarding the subject in question. Morgan, who was skimming a year old paper on Dueling Club, shrugged.

"To let the rents know we're not blowing up the school yet? I don't know."

"Hm."

"Come on, we've got class."

Meanwhile, not at Hogwarts

"Parents Day?" Ashley scoffed, "What's the point of that?" She and Draco were still sitting on the couch in Malfoy Manor, where Draco had just managed to pinpoint the sketchy details of her release. He shrugged.

"So we know that the brats haven't blown up the school yet? Why do they ever feel the need to disrupt student's lives by throwing their parents into the mix?"

"Yeah, well, there's no way you or anyone else is possibly getting me to go to it." Draco raised an eyebrow.

"But... You can see Victoria." Ashley winced.

"That would be my point. I... she..." She sighed. "I haven't seen her in over eleven years, and I doubt she even remembers me. She grew up without me, and there's no reason to change that now. It'll only make it that much harder when I have to leave again."

"Leave? But you-you got out. You're free. There's no reason you would have to leave again, especially not now. Not that we can all be together again, like a-" Ashley held up a hand to stop him.

"No. Don't say it. We can never be a family again, not after what I did. What I put you through. What I put her through."

"Ashley..." Draco moved to embrace her, but the girl recoiled violently, as tears started to roll down her cheeks. Coming back had made her soft after all. Draco tried again, pulling Ashley out of the corner she had curled into. She resisted again, but eventually gave in and allowed herself to be taken into her husband's arms and comforted.

"Ssh, Ash, it's all right. Everything's going to be OK, we can all be together again, like we used to be. It'll all be fine, I promise you." Ashley composed herself and sniffled.

"Really?" Draco smiled.

"Really. Come on, let's get you up to bed so you can rest. Tomorrow's a big day."

15 Hours Later. Ish.

"Hurry up, Victoria!" Morgan yelled. "We're going to be late!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Victoria called back, pulling on her green and silver Quidditch robes and hopping on one foot at the same time. In less than five minutes, the girls had their first match of the season, the opening even for Hogwart's Parents Day. Not that either girl was concerned with that, as they, as well as the rest of the Slytherin team, had sat through a very lengthy lecture, courtesy of Keisha, about the importance of the first match of the season, and how it would set the tone for the rest of the season. How had she put it? Oh, right. "So get the Snitch or die trying." Yup, that was it. Quite encouraging, in a kinda morbid type of way.

"VICTORIA!"

"Coming!"

At Malfoy Manor, the same time

"Ashley! Hurry up, we're going to be late!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! I'm just trying to figure out what to wear!"

"Oh God..." Draco muttered as he headed up the stairs to the guest bedroom where Ashley was currently residing. He found her standing in front of an open wardrobe, staring blankly into it. Draco observed a variety of outfits strewn over the queen-sized bed and commented,

"Gee, I think it was easier when you only wore black." Ashley gave him a sarcastic grin and look in order to refrain from sneering.

"Ya know what, I think I just won't go. That's it. Problem solved." Draco shook his head.

"No such luck. There is no way you're not going to this. You have to. For her." Ashley sighed.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. Decide what I'm going to wear for me?" Draco almost rolled his eyes. Almost. He strode over to the bed, shifted through the numerous piles of clothes, decided on an outfit, held it up, and handed it to her.

Upon observation, Ashley saw that it consisted of a pair of sexy yet stylish black leather pants and a blood red sleeveless, V-neck, button down blouse. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"You always did like that outfit, didn't you?"

Draco's response was a sly grin and a motion to get dressed. Ashley complied and within moments the pair was Apparating their was to Hogwarts.

Hogwarts, specifically the Quidditch Pitch

"This is stupid," Alex Lestrange whined, "The match doesn't start for another hour. What's the point of making us be here so early?" Internally, Victoria agreed. Everybody's parents were arriving as she spoke, and Victoria was eager to see Draco again.

"Because," Keisha snapped, obviously stressed and not in the mood to deal with anyone's lip. "I said so, that's why. It's the first match of the season and-

"And everything rides on how we perform today. Yes, Keish, we know." Kyle drawled, leaning on his broom. Victoria's stomach fluttered, but whether it was from nerves or something else, she didn't know.

The Great Hall

"Draco, have I mentioned recently how much I hare social events?" Ashley and Draco were positioned in the Great Hall with all the other loving parents. Draco smirked and chuckled softly.

"No, I don't think you have within the last two seconds."

"Hmph."

"Look at it this way - give it another couple of hours and you can see your daughter and be back at the Manor as if nothing happened." Ashley glared at him.

"Not funny. Let's just get this over with as soon as humanly possible. Quidditch or no Quidditch, Victoria or no Victoria, I simply don't want to be here."

"Yes, well-" A couple walking by caught Draco's attention. "This should liven things up a bit. Hey Weasel!" A red haired man with an abundance of freckles turned, along with the reddish brown haired women he was with. Both Malfoys smirked maliciously, slipping back into their old form.

"Well well well," Ashley commented malevolently, "If it isn't Weaselby and the only chick who would ever screw him." Ron flushed bright red and the women he was with strode briskly up to Ashley and sent a swift slap up to her face.

Of course, she missed, as Ashley deftly blocked her arm and twisted it behind the assaulter's back.

"Well, it's nice to see you too, Ashley."

"Yeah, I know." She released the girl, which she regretted doing immediately, as she promptly yanked Ashley into a bone crushing hug. All the air was driven from her body and she gasped for breath between words.

"Yeah-gasp-you-gasp-can-gasp-let-gasp-go-gasp-of-gasp-me-gasp-now." The girl didn't respond, so Ashley tried again.

"Kerri, seriously-gasp-NOT BREATHING!"

"Oh, right! Sorry!" The girl presumed to be Kerri released her after a few more seconds, and Ashley had to fight to suppress to urge to strangle someone. Kerri continued talking as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "So, like, oh my God, what have you been up to all these years?"

Ashley glanced at Draco, as if amused that there was someone out there in the big wide world that didn't know.

"Oh, you know, the usual - Left school, got married, had a kid, killed Harry Potter, got locked up in Azkaban, and so on and so forth."

"That's awesome, wait, what!" Draco, Ashley, and Ron all stared at Kerri as if she was the stupidest person alive, which, at the moment, seemed like something of a fitting title.

"When did I lose you? At the leaving school part, the getting married part, the having a kid part, the killing Harry Potter part...?"

"There! Right there! You seriously killed Harry Potter?"

"And you didn't know? God, Weaselby, what are you telling this poor girl?" Ron shot Draco a dirty look, which Draco, of course, ignored. Kerri didn't notice, as she was too preoccupied with this new information to care about much else.

"Ashley, did you really?" Ashley nodded serenely, as if they were debating the weather, not the murder of the wizarding world's greatest hero. "No, you didn't. Did you?"

"Told ya once, not gonna tell ya again." Kerri's eyes went wide with shock.

"So that's why you haven't called me for all those years! You were in jail!" Ashley nodded, thoroughly amused. Kerri leaned in to whisper something conspiratorially in her ear. "Good job!"

"Kerri!" Rob obviously overheard, which really wasn't that hard, as it was said in more of a stage whisper than a "I don't want anyone to hear this" whisper.

"I mean, uh, bad! Bad girl!" Ashley and Draco stared at each other, willing themselves not to laugh. Luckily, just then Ron noticed Lavender Brown walk by with a platter of cookies and went off to strike up a conversation with her. Kerri leaned back in. "But really, good job!"

"Thanks." Ashley responded dryly with a smirk. "If only everybody felt that way..." She was spared further conversation, however, as Dumbledore stood up in front of the Hall and spoke in a voice slightly more feeble than Ashley remembered.

"On behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I would like to welcome you all to this new term, where I'm sure you're all glad not to be participating in." A round of light laughter went up through the Hall. Once it died down, Dumbledore continued. "But there will be time for lectures and introductions at some later time. For now, I ask you to make your way down to the school Quidditch pitch, where the first match of the season between Gryffindor and Slytherin will soon commence."

Aaaaaaaaaaaand, the thanks for my devoted reviewers who I would be so lost without:

a proud geekfreak- Yes, Kerri, you and Ron are at Parents Day, and you are ever so happy that Potter is dead. And once I get around to it, I'm going to write something of a spoof chapter on the one where Ashley's released, which will be what we discussed in the car, but it didn't really fit with the rest of the story as is. Comprendas? And I know this is yet another chapter without Krystal, but can you just be happy that you're there? You'll see Krystal at the match, OK?

Snape's Gurl- Yeah, I know, my end of chapter notes are pointless. And I seem to have issues keeping Lucius really in character and getting him to do what I want him to at the same time, so... Yeah. I'll just use your reason of the fact that it's his beloved son's wife he's dealing with. Yup. That's it, all right.

SweetSourBlood- Thank you so much! There is no chance in any of the nine hells that I would put the Slytherins out of character and make them wussy. If there is one thing I am viciously against (well, other than Draco hating being a Malfoy, Hermione in general, and standardized testing) it's when people screw with things as major as that. Little things, like character flaws, fine, but you do not make the members of the best House wusses. End of story.

Ace Ryn Knight- If you would be so kind as to tell GC zebra 27 that there are people out there who NEED fics like theirs, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

So, essentially, thanks to everyone who reviewed! The next chapter will be out just as soon as I find the time to write it. Which will more likely than not be sometime during my sixth period english class next week. If not then, then over the weekend. Peace out!

And what the heck is up with the new rating system?