Freedom

Draco was early to The Gray Goose, wanting the advantage of being able to see his new sister and assess her from the comfort of distance first. He wanted to scrutinize without being scrutinized at least until he was noticed.







He wasn\'t there long before his father and the girl walked in. Even from across the room, Raven seemed to shimmer and shine with an unnatural light that screamed VEELA. Heads turned toward her and lust sparked in many of the male eyes; Draco merely sat dispassionately in his seat. She had long dark hair and sharp features that must have come from her mother. But her mouth and her eyes... she had his eyes, their father\'s eyes. There was no mistaking, she was a Malfoy, even down to the world weary, far too old for her age look in those silver eyes.







"Draco, this is your sister, Raven. Raven, this is Draco," Lucius murmured, his face unreadable.







Standing automatically as he\'d been taught, he looked warily at Raven before glancing at his father. His etiquette classes never covered this one. So he held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you," he replied softly.





Raven smiled at her brother, noticing how much like their father he looked, and took his hand. Giving it a squeeze, she noticed that his hands were very soft.



"It\'s good to finally meet you, too, Draco," she said softly, her voice still a bit harsh from everything she\'d been through.



Lucius pulled out her chair for her, then pushed her back to the table, taking a seat at a third side of the table Draco had selected.



There was a long silence as no one really knew what to say. It was just beginning to get uncomfortable when the waiter arrived and looked at Lucius expectantly. "Would Monsiuer Malfoy care to select a wine?" he asked with a brief inclination of his head.



"We will have a bottle of the \'72 Margot and the usual starters," he said, nodding back.



"Bien," the waiter replied and left, smirking once his back was turned and briefly wondering if the son was going to make a play for the father\'s whore.



Once they were alone at the table again, Lucius turned back to his son, wondering how to spark conversation between two people who had nothing in common and probably felt like they should.



"Draco, have you had a chance to catch up with any of your friends from school?" he finally asked, a part of him hoping his son had so that he could maybe share them with Raven and perhaps get her away from the Weasley.







Draco\'s mouth tightened at the mentioning of his \'friends.\' "Nott\'s still in Azkaban, Goyle\'s a useless lump made even more useless after Crabbe bit it, Pansy\'s somewhere in France, Pucey\'s shacked up with Weaselette, who the hell knows what happened to Flint and the rest of them. So no. I haven\'t had a chance to catch up with any of my friends. Nor have I really wanted to. They\'d only taint what little reputation I have left. I\'ve decided to pull away from all that and cast my lot with this new administration and Muggle-loving crap. Maybe bring the Malfoy name back up again." It had been the most he\'d spoken in almost two years, but he couldn\'t keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Are you sure you want to claim the Malfoy name?" he asked looking over at Raven with a cocked eyebrow.







Raven bit her lip a moment, then forced her feature smooth. She didn\'t know why he was asking, and that bothered her more than she wanted it to. Did he ask because he was warning her that the name had so much bitterness associated with it in the community? Or because he was afraid she\'d only taint it further.



"Yes, Draco. I\'m sure. I have little enough reputation as it is. I don\'t care, if it means Papa is willing to..." she stopped, looking away a moment. "But if it\'s going to cause you more problems, then... I suppose I don\'t have to...." she finally finished.







"You will do no such thing," Lucius spoke up, glaring over at Draco. "The Malfoy name, while not in the highest standing it has been in the past, is still a good name that will open doors and give you opportunities you would not otherwise be privvy to."







Draco shrugged. "If you want the name, take it. I\'m just warning you, it may do you more harm than good."



Raven looked at their father a moment, her eyes shining with the tears she\'d suppressed and happiness that he\'d want her, and insist on claiming her. Her happiness restored, she turned back to her brother. "If you don\'t mind my asking, have you any idea what you will do to restore your... our... name?"







Draco took a moment to reorient himself, surprised as he was that she was interested in his plans. "I have a couple," he replied, warming up to the subject. "I was thinking about doing some charity work, something low key. Anything ostentacious or agrandized would cause immediate suspicion that we were trying to buy back the public\'s favor. But that doesn\'t mean I\'m going to let it go unnoticed. A few well placed rumors will get people wondering. But instead of coming out in the paper and acknowledging the charity work, I\'m going to keep doing it, never calling attention to it, maybe spread out and form my own organization, something like that. It\'ll take time, but I\'m patient for something I truly want."



Slowly she nodded her agreement, an idea beginning to form in her mind.



"What if..." she paused, wondering if he\'d want her involved. "What if you took on, say, helping my friends? There are about twenty or so of us who were freed that night. Most of the girls didn\'t have the benefit of a private education like I did. Most of them have no other knowledge or skills, and no family willing to acknowledge them, and no where to go. The Ministry isn\'t all that interested in helping them now that they\'re out of that Hell-hole. But if there isn\'t another option for them, most will probably go right back. A girl has to eat, after all," she said softly. "You could... you could help them find a place to stay, maybe hire some tutors for them. And when people talk... and they will... you can say you were so horrified by what happened to your sister that you had to do what you could. It would have a... a personal connection... so people would be less likely to be suspicious and more likely to feel pity...." she trailed off.







Draco nodded as she spoke, his mind working a hundred different avenues now. "That will definitely work," he murmured thoughtfully. "I hadn\'t really considered which charity to work with, but starting from the ground up from the outset is a much better idea. It gives the impression of commitment. Excellent idea, thank you." He gave her a very rare smile and sat back to let the waiter serve them the first course. Already he was beginning to like his sister more than he originally thought he would. He could see that she had been a whore in body only and she would fit in with the Malfoy family like a glove. "What about you? Do you have any future plans?"



Raven shook her head no, then smiled softly. "Perhaps I should be the mascot. Then you can look like my indulgent relatives and I can play the public face for why it\'s so important. If you do it, it\'s self-agrandizement. If I do it, especially once the details of my... imprisonment become public knowledge... it would seem more about the community. The name attached to it will be less important, but at the same time, the attachment will be positive. And... some of the girls were... very young. A few just barely old enough for Hogwarts. Maddie is only twelve. I don\'t think she should go to Hogwarts, though. She\'s seen and done things at twelve that most of the girls that go there have never heard of when they finish school. But... she needs help. Her mother was killed three years ago, and she was put to work to make her keep. She has no one, no family. A few stories like that get out, and it will do wonders for your name."



Draco could be called cold, calculating, self absorbed, selfish, annoying and a prat, but he still had a bit of a heart and the thought of a twelve year old doing some of the things he\'d heard about in one of those clubs tugged at it. Damn, if it got him, it was sure to get everyone else. He was sitting on sheer gold! Well, not literally but in terms of reputation, it was as good as gold. He looked over at her, suddenly wary. "What would you want out of all of this? Just the betterment of the Malfoy name? Or do you want something else too?"







She looked at him carefully, then at her hands, folded in front of the plate of foie gras, wondering if she\'d be able to eat it without getting sick.



"I want something to do. Something meaningful. And something that makes people see me as more than a whore myself," she said softly. "Or a gold-digger. Or worthless because of the lack of regularity in my birth. And while I could probably pass at least some of my NEWTs once I have a chance to study and remember the things I learned, at the moment I have no qualifications to get a job and support myself. And yes, Papa, I know I don\'t need to. But I don\'t want to sit at home all day alone. This would solve that problem, too."



Lucius had been about to interrupt, but once again fell silent. It was a good plan, especially if she and Draco became close working together. She wasn\'t the only one who needed to get out of the house, for that matter. Now that Narcissa was effectively neutralized, he could move Raven to the Manor, and the townhouse could be given the girls....



"All right, princess. If that\'s what you wish, then perhaps we should move back to the Manor. The girls can have the house that we were going to live in, and we can hire them a physician and tutors. The sooner they\'re out of the hospital, the better for them," he said darkly.







Frowning slightly, Draco wondered what town house, but it ultimately didn\'t matter. "We can hire a security team to guard the house so that the girls would be safe as well as update any wards that need updating or add some new ones."







"The wards are fine. I had them renewed a few days ago," Lucius interrupted.







"Good. Then the girls can move in any time they like. Will they want to do that?" Draco asked, feeling a spark of excitement and... well, passion for his new cause. "Or will they want to return to that... life?"







"I think so. I\'ll talk to them. But I think most of them would give anything not to go back to... that," she said, taking a dainty bite of the pate. "They just don\'t have options. Some probably will. It\'s easier, if that\'s all you know. But most..." she shook her head. "Would you willingly choose to go back to Azkaban? Probably not. I\'ll talk to them." She looked at him a moment. "Maddie, at least, needs a family. So do a couple of the others. But they need a safe place with food and healers and a tutor first. I don\'t think someone could adopt Maddie right now anyway. She was only nine when it happened the first time. I don\'t think someone who hadn\'t been through what she\'s been through could relate." She frowned a moment. "I think I need to speak to the Minister." She smiled then. "I wonder if he\'d see me."







"You\'re a Malfoy, of course he\'d see you," Lucius spoke up. "And if he won\'t see you because of that, then get Weasley to introduce you two. They were a part of the Order together."







"Weasley? Ron Weasley? How do you know Weaslby and why?" Draco asked scrunching up his nose in disgust.



Frowning, Raven turned and looked at her brother. "He saved my life. He found me in that hellhole and brought me out. He visited me on my birthday. He\'s the only friend I really have," she flared, defending him. Oh, the veela was close to the surface. Raven could almost feel the energy crackle and change in the room, and it surprised her after her magic being suppressed so long. Startled, she subsided, once more folding her hands in her lap. "Sorry. I have to relearn control," she said when she calmed down.







Lucius leaned over and squeezed Raven\'s shoulder tenderly. "Draco and Ronald have a... bit of a history. The animosity runs deep. I\'m sure you\'ll get a similar response from Weasley."







"Not that I have to explain myself, but Weasley always hung around that mud - Muggleborn Granger and Potter and the Golden Trio were always getting away with breaking the rules while Dumbledore patted them on their heads and sent them on their way. Snape was the only one who wouldn\'t put up with their crap and often put them back in their place with the rest of us lowly peons," Draco groused.



Raven was surprised to hear the whining bitterness, especially since he was older than she was. Even more so because it was over something so... silly.



"I thought you left school... two years ago?" she asked surprised. "Are you really still so worried over... that?" How could someone who\'d had so much privledge in their life be so upset over that? "Merlin, Draco, you had everything growing up. Do you really still pity yourself because you weren\'t the teachers\' pet? You had a top education, a family to be proud of, probably the envy of the majority of your classmates then, and you\'ll be one of the most sought after wizards in Britain someday. How can you possibly feel sorry for yourself?" she asked, surprised.







"Someday," Draco responded, affronted, completely missing the rest of what Raven had to say.







Lucius sighed, feeling as though he\'d failed his son in some important way. "He was raised different than you were, Raven. Give him time. He\'ll understand. Perhaps when he sees the other girls and actually talks to them."







Draco looked between them, confused. What the hell were they talking about? Someday, he inwardly scoffed.





Raven merely nodded, a look of pity on her face as she looked at her brother. All her life, she\'d envied him and the opportunities he\'d been given that, pampered though she\'d been, had been denied to her. To find that he didn\'t even appreciate them saddened her.



Looking back down at her plate, she picked at the salmon and vegetables she found there, not really sure what to say. "Do you want to go with me to call on the Minister?" she finally asked to break the silence. "Or shall I go alone? I never owled Ron back. Perhaps I should go alone and drop in on him," she said, a smile lighting her features as she thought about how fun it could be to turn the tables on him and surprise him for a change.







The Malfoy men gave small shudders that they carefully did not let Raven see. "You would probably be best to go alone," Lucius replied. "I\'ll escort you to the Ministry and once you find Weasley, I\'ll leave you. I don\'t think the Minister would appreciate seeing me again and you\'d be better served with Weasley there than with me. Will you be alright alone with Weasley?" He couldn\'t help fretting about his daughter or her safety, at least until he had a bodyguard set up for her.



"Of course I will. I\'m conscious and armed now. I\'m capable of defending myself. Even without the wand, if I must," she said softly, grinning and letting a hint of her power spark over her skin so that the air crackled and felt charged. She was even more amused as the other men in the room seemed to subconsciously pause, and smiled broadly to see Draco\'s baby-fine hair standing up a bit along the back of his neck.





Draco shivered for an entirely different reason now and Lucius had to smirk. "Good. We\'ll go straight there when we\'re finished," he said, returning once more to his meal.



They were finished a few minutes later and prepared to part ways outside. "I\'ll see you tonight then?" Draco asked Raven as they stepped out into Diagon Alley.



Raven looked at Lucius, who nodded slightly, then smiled at her brother. "Yes, I suppose you will." She hesitated a moment, then stepped forward and gave her brother a hug. "It was nice finally meeting you, Draco," she said warmly against his cheek before stepping back.



"And you. You surprised me, I\'ll have to admit that," he replied giving her a slightly awkward hug (they really didn\'t do hugs in his family) and a genuine grin back. He nodded to his father, turned and headed into the crowd toward the Apparating point.



"Ready, princess?" Lucius asked, offering her his arm and leading her toward the Apparating point to take them to the Ministry. "Do you want me pick you up from the Ministry after you\'ve seen the Minister or do are you going to ask Weasley to take you home?"



"I\'ll have Ron bring me home, then you can meet me there if we\'re changing locations," she said with a shrug. "That went well, don\'t you think?" she asked as they made their way through the crowd.



"Far better than I expected. You\'re all right with him... using you and the other girls like that? To regain his reputation?" he asked, glancing over at her curiously with a cocked eyebrow.







She looked at him carefully. "Yes. Why? The girls need help. If he\'s willing to do it for the benefit of a name, why not? Everyone feels like they got the better end of the bargain," she said with a shrug.







"I just wanted to make sure. I know you\'ve been used in the past so I wanted to make sure it was all right with you if you were used again but in a different way." Pulling her into his arms, he kissed the top of her head before Apparating them inside the Ministry. "And here is where I leave you. I don\'t think Weasley will be allowed onto Malfoy Manor grounds so I\'ll meet you at the town house to pick you up."



She couldn\'t help but think a yet at his pronouncement about the grounds. If Ron were her friend, and she was living there, then eventually he\'d be over for tea. Draco had been allowed friends to visit, she was going to have to insist. But that could come later. For now, she had a surprise visit to make on two accounts.



"All right, Papa. I\'ll see you tonight."



Turning, she allowed her attention to go to the guard to begin the check in process, a smile hovering around her lips.