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Three: Noblesse Oblige

It seemed to Draco that he had been waiting for hours when the back room door finally opened. Luna came skipping out, cheerful as ever. "For now you will be paid six Galleons per hour. Is this alright with you, Luna? We can negotiate something higher later on, if you find that it's not enough," his father was saying.

"That's more than enough," Luna replied, beaming. "Thank you, sir."

"Good. I shall see you tomorrow then, Miss Lovegood. Shall we say nine o'clock sharp?"

Luna nodded happily, and skipped towards the exit. "Thanks again, sir. And bye Draco!" she called, sounding even happier at the prospect of working with him. "I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

Humming to herself, she left the shop. Draco watched her hideous hat almost get knocked off her head by an enormous gust of wind, but Luna gripped it tightly and skipped out of sight.

He turned angrily to his father. "Are you out of your bloody mind?"

"What did I tell you about manners, Draco?" Lucius snarled.

Not wishing to anger his father yet still fuming over what had just happened, Draco couldn't resist shouting. "I mean, Looney Lovegood? Are you insane? Since when were we even looking for help?"

"Watch your tongue boy!" Lucius snarled again, his voice reaching a dangerous tone. "Do not dare to shout, or you will most certainly regret disrespecting me!"

Draco lowered his voice, knowing that he'd better listen to his dad. "I just mean – why her? This is my shop after all! You have no right to treat me like a child! It's my decision who we hire, and we already have plenty of workers!" Draco's voice had returned to his original state, boiling with anger and frustration at the way he was being treated.

"What we have is a spoiled prat who treats his father's shop as a clubhouse for his pathetic little friends! If you do not want me to treat you as a child, then don't act like one," Lucius answered coldly. "Luna came to me asking for a job. The Quibbler apparently isn't doing so well, and she desperately needs the money. Since my own son doesn't care about responsibility, I figured that I might as well hand it to her."

Above everything he was feeling, Draco couldn't bear this huge insult coming from his own father. "Oh, so you choose a filthy pauper like her over me! I can't believe that you would treat your own Pureblood son this way. As if it wasn't enough that I'm not allowed to make my own decisions about what I want to do with my life, now I'm forced to work with useless peons –"

"If you had an ounce of responsibility and motivation, you wouldn't have to be working here in the first place!" Lucius boomed, finally losing his patience. "How can I not be ashamed, when my son does nothing at all but drink at pubs with whores and dimwits? I told you to apply for a ministry job, but that was too much work for you. I told you that I could pull a few strings for you. With your atrocious marks you can't land a decent job anywhere else! What else do you expect me to do? Even that idiot Goyle boy has landed himself a decent, stable job in his father's office. That Zabini boy – he's become an Auror for Merlin's sake! And you? I opened up this shop hoping that it would give you some sense of responsibility, and that at least you would have somewhere to work and earn an income. That was all wishful thinking, I see. Until you finally decide to shape up and do some work around here, this matter is closed. Luna Lovegood will be working here from now on, you will treat her well, and if I hear a single word of complaint from her, I will throw you out of my shop at once. Do I make myself clear?"

Draco had never seen his father's face this red. Draco nodded hastily, though he still wasn't satisfied. "But father – why Looney? You know that she's...not like us."

"What do you mean, 'not like us'? She is a Pureblood, isn't she?" answered Lucius coldly.

"Well yes, but – but – she was in Dumbledore's Army for Merlin's sake! During the war she fought against -"

"That was the past, Draco, long before the Dark Lord's defeat. Things are different now."

"You've seen her clothes!" Draco tried again desperately. "You can't argue –"

"That can be taken care of. Luna will be given a uniform to ensure that she, er, is appropriately dressed."

Draco was silent. After a moment's pause, Lucius sighed. "I admit I am being a bit stern, Draco, by forcing you to work with her. But keep in mind this: not many people have forgiven us for being on the Dark Lord's side. We cannot live the rest of our lives shunned by society. Hell, even the Goyles look down on us these days. We have to slowly integrate ourselves again, you see, and make people forget. The Malfoy name cannot be tainted with such shame."

Draco nodded thoughtfully. "So you mean-"

"Think of this as charity," his father replied with a small smile, "When people see that we're no longer, er, prejudiced, we're bound to win their respects again."