RAVEN | D. M.

Meeting

I take a deep breath before I take Atlas' arm. There's the familiar feeling of your whole body being pushed together. The feeling that makes your breath stop just for a few seconds. Then, you feel the steady ground under your feet again. There's the moment that you have to open your eyes again. The four of us stand in front of a huge oak door, engraved with these beautiful patterns. 'Where are we?' I breath, a bit unsteady from the apparition we just did. 'The Malfoy Manor.' Atlas whispers, making me wonder what has made him whisper. I realise that he's scared. I don't think I've ever seen Atlas scared. Which makes me reconsider being here. Before one of us can knock on the huge oak door, I hear the sound of a pair of heels against the floor echo towards us. When the door before us creaks open, a beautiful woman around the age of forty appears in the entrance.

'Ah, the Moreaus. Precisely on time.' Her voice matches her appearance. Soft and friendly. You wouldn't expect that from someone who attends a meeting like this. Then she turns her gaze towards me. 'And who's this beautiful young lady?' I turn my gaze towards my parents, waiting for them to answer, because they told me to keep my mouth shut. They completely ignore her question. Great. I decide to answer her question myself. 'Raven. Raven Moreau.' I decide to stay on the good side of the people at this meeting. I know what they're capable of. She turns her gaze to my mother. 'Isolde, you never told me you had a daughter.' She laughs, ushering the four of us through the door. I notice Atlas relaxing a bit next to me, but he keeps his guard up. Good choice.

The woman leads us through a broad corridor with loads of rooms connected to it. Then we stop in front of another big oak door, the same patterns engraved in it as the front door. Making me wonder if they're some sort of family thing. She opens the door for us to what is clearly a meeting room. A long table, on both side rows of chairs. And people. When the door slams shut behind us, most of their gazes turn towards us. There goes the whole don't catch anyone's attention plan. It was doomed to fail. A silence falls over the whole room. At some point I'm sure everyone in this room can hear my heart beating loudly. 'Who's the girl?' A voice echoes through the room. Atlas gives me a gentle nudge, an indication to take a step forward. 'This is my daughter.' My father announces, his hand takes place on my shoulder. 'Raven Moreau.'

Then, our gazes meet. Seeing him after four years makes my heart stop for a moment. He sits besides the Dark Lord on his right side. His cold eyes inspect me for a moment before turning towards my father. God, he has changed so much. He always had this cold appearance, but now it's just like every emotion has left his body. Like he's just void. No emotion. No care. No anything. I suppose that's necessary for the things he has to do. 'Take a seat.' He orders, nudging his head towards a few empty chairs on the left side of the table. 'What a pleasure seeing you again, Gabriel.' The Dark Lord speaks up, a cruel smile displayed on his thin lips. Hearing his voice makes a shiver run up my spine. But in no way that compares to the fear Malfoy makes me feel.

The whole way to our seats, both the Dark Lord and Malfoy have their eyes on me. I suppose that's their way of judging if I'm going to be a burden to them or if I'm going to be of some help. When the four of us have sat down in our seats, Malfoy turns his gaze towards the Dark Lord and then back to me. 'How old is your daughter, Gabriel?' Malfoy asks my father suddenly, keeping his cold gaze on me. In the corner of my eye I notice my father tense up. 'She's eighteen.' He whispers, making me turn my gaze towards him. 'Why wasn't she brought here before?' Malfoy remarks, making me tense up too. 'Most of the people here got their mark at the age of sixteen.' The eye contact between both of my parents is clear. 'We didn't think she was ready.'

They're lying and Malfoy notices it. The truth is that I didn't want to come with them. They've been trying to bring me with them since I was sixteen, but I wasn't so easy to convince. By the time I turned eighteen they started trying other methods. And, it worked. Why are they protecting me? Why aren't they throwing me in front of the bus as they have been doing my whole life? 'She wasn't ready.' Malfoy repeats, the disbelief clear on his face. My chest starts heaving up and down at a fast pace. I'm starting to believe that Malfoy's the one pulling the strings here and not the Dark Lord.

God, I shouldn't have come here. It would've been so much better for both my parents and me. 'You're lying, Gabriel.' Malfoy remarks, standing up from his seat. 'And your daughter is going to pay for it.' For a moment I think my heart stops. And then panic starts to rise within me. 'Keep her out of this, Malfoy.' Atlas says, placing me behind his frame. 'An overprotective brother isn't going to stop me. You should know that, Atlas.' Malfoy chuckles, taking a stop in front of Atlas. He looks over Atlas' shoulder at me hiding behind him. 'Oh,' He chuckles, keeping his gaze on me. 'She's a pretty one.' He turns his gaze back to Atlas, a smirk on his lips.

'Leave her alone. She didn't do anything.' Atlas clenches both his fists in anger. 'We're going to see about that.' Malfoy says, his gaze turning to me again. 'Zabini, Remington, seize her.' He orders, making Atlas turn around to look at me. 'Raven, listen to me. Don't speak up to him and do what he says. If you do that, he's not going to harm you.' Atlas whispers, his hands shaking my shoulders. I can barely comprehend what he's saying due to the shock that has settled over my body. 'No, please. Atlas, you can't let them take me.' I whisper, trying to hold back the tears forming in my eyes.

Then, I feel hands close around both of my arms. I recognise both of the men holding me. Blaise Zabini on my left and Ciaran Remington on my right. They were both in the same year as Malfoy. 'No, let me go.' I shout, trying to get out of their grip. They start to drag me towards the other end of the room, completely ignoring my pleads to let me go. 'This meeting is over.' I hear Malfoy shout behind me, the scraping of chairs indicating that people are leaving. 'Raven.' I hear my mother scream from behind me, making me look back at her. Both my father and Atlas are pushing my panicked mother towards the door leading out of the meeting room. Away from me.

I'm being pushed into another room and the door is closed behind us. The sounds from the meeting room are completely gone and the silence takes over. 'Zabini, she's crying. What do we do?' Remington asks Zabini from my right, making me look up at him. 'Just ignore the girl.' Zabini mumbles from my left, clearly irritated by both Remington and me. Then I hear the door open and close behind us. A pair of black shoes takes place in front of me. Someone grabs my chin with their hand and forces me to look up at them. His cold eyes meet mine. 'Raven, is that right?'