For The Greater Good (A Draco Malfoy Story)

Preparations

        "So, any plans for today?" Mum asked as she lightly blew at her mug of tea. We had arrived from the train station yesterday. It was a quiet reunion, one full of tight embraces conveying everything we wanted to say to each other and tired smiles. Harry, Ron and Hermione had gone back to the Burrow for Bill and Fleur's upcoming wedding. We're supposed to join them in a month but for now, we were staying at one of the safe-houses provided and used by the Order.

From the outside, the house looked desolate and rundown, as if it was seconds from collapsing in on itself. Grime covered the broken windows and the wind made the chipped, brown shutters bang against the wall. The roof had major holes in it, allowing rain, snow and wind to enter uninvited and cover the inside as moss grew on the outside. Of course, this is all what a muggle and any being with darkness in their hearts would see. Multiple protective enchantments surrounded the area, concealing the fact that inside the house nothing was as it seemed. Inside, colorful couches, artful rugs, coffee tables, a modern kitchen with a marble countertop and a beautifully decorated dining room filled the space. It was the same dining room in which I was currently eating breakfast at.

"Might get some training done," I stood up as the last bit of my toast went into my mouth. Mum nodded, her eyes flitting towards where Gabriel sat, shoveling forkfuls of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

"Gabriel, you'd do well to join her."

"In a sec, Mum. I've missed your cooking," he groaned. A small smile spread across her face under her mug.

"I'll be downstairs, Gabe," I chuckled before going down to the basement. Raising my wand, I transformed the bare room into a training room that almost rivaled the one I used to have at home. Blue safety mats covered the floor as dummies, targets and other training equipment lined the walls. "Okay, let's do this," I muttered, cracking my neck and turning on the music I had connected to the speakers. Angry growling and screaming words fired back at me among the medley of hard guitar riffs and drums that wouldn't quit. My body stretched momentarily before it glided through the exercises my father taught me. About ten minutes in and targets and dummies began to fly towards me from every angle, taunting me to parry them with my wandless magic. Mind and body both working simultaneously, pushing me to my limits. I could just hear my father's voice in my head shouting maneuvers and tips.

"Left! Left! Watch your shoulder, don't let them get too close!" I heard as a dummie shot towards me. "I hear you, I hear you," I muttered. Quickly sending an immobilizing spell towards it, I turned to the next opponent.

He let out a low whistle behind me.

"How long have you been standing there, you lazy old fart?"

Gabriel shrugged with a grin, making his way towards me. His dark hair had grown past his ears now, giving him a shaggy quality. "I came in halfway through your routine. Didn't think it'd be right to interrupt."

I searched his face and found traces of the boy he once was, the boy I grew up with. If you didn't know him well enough, you wouldn't have seen those small hints of boyhood. The light freckles, the glint in his blue eyes, and the daring quirk of his lip all were there in front of me but these days they hid from me as well. They were covered by a hardened jaw, a nose that would have otherwise been straight were it not for the bump on the bridge that told of a past break, and worry lines set deep above his brow. I reached up and tugged at the scraggly black beard growing on his cheeks. "Now you look like a rudding bear," I teased. He stuck his tongue out at me and caught me around the neck with his large arm.

"Speaking of which, want to go for a run?"

"Can we? Mum said we should stay in the house until we head for the Burrow. And besides, it's not like theres a forest in our backyard."

Gabriel groaned. "I'm going mad, Rosie. I need to change. It's like...it's like I have my hands tied behind my back and I haven't stretched my muscles in months."

"I know, Gabe, but I don't think Muggles would be too keen on seeing a Bengal tiger walking around the streets of Manchester and sniffing at their skirts."

He gave a snort of derision before settling down on a red couch pushed against the back of the room. "What are we supposed to do for a month? I hate being so idle."

"No you don't, your favorite activity is to sleep all day," I said, sitting down next to him and wiping the sweat off my brow with a towel I found nearby.

"That was before, Rosie. When we didn't have to hide out in a safehouse because Death Eaters were knocking on our door and innocents were getting hunted like animals." The playful glint in his eyes vanished, replaced with a look I had seen so many times in the eyes of our own father. This was a time of war. Our childhood had come and gone and now there was no time to play games.

My head leaned against his hard shoulder. The baby fat was ebbing away with muscle taking its place. My brother had gone and become a man and yet, we were only seventeen. "There isn't much we can do, Gabe. Regardless if we were stuck in a safehouse or not."

He stayed silent for a moment, staring down at the floor before flicking his eyes towards me. "Rosie, I've been thinking...I'm going to join the Order before we go to the Burrow. Mum has a meeting soon and I'm going to go with her."

"What about Harry? What about the Horcruxes?" I sat up, frowning.

"They can handle it without me. I'd be better use with the Order."

"Gabe, you can't just abandon us!"

"They are not my responsibility, Rosie. You are," his voice hardened momentarily before hope crossed his face. "It's not like I'm going to leave you to go wandering around Merlin knows where on your own. You can join the Order with me, we'll be like a family team! Me, you and Mum."

I was up and off the couch before he could finish. "I'm not going to let them go through this alone, Gabriel. They...they need me, okay? Everything inside me is telling me to go with them and help them. If you want to join the Order...fine. But I'm going with them."

"Rose!" He called out after me as I began to leave. "I'm not going to leave you! I'm supposed to protect you!"

"I don't need protection, Gabriel! I can handle myself just fine, if you couldn't already tell," I gestured incredulously towards the training room and the broken pieces of the targets on the floor.

"Rose--"

"Gabriel, do what you think is right...but this is my path. This is my choice and if you want to go join the Order, fine, I'm happy for you. But I won't join you."

I heard his frustrated sigh all the way up to my room.