Finding Freedom

Disclaimer: Seriously if I owned this do you think that I would still be struggling with college payments? Everything you know, I don't own; things you think you know, I probably still don't own. Stuff that you have no idea where it came from, I think I own that, but don't take my word for it!

Notes: Thank you all for your reviews, especially the ones that wished me luck on my finals. I think I did alright on them, God knows I studied my ass off. This chapter has been re-written a couple of times while I tried to figure out how I wanted it to go. I think this way works best. Bring on the angst!

Underlines words – indicating signing

"Underlined and italicized"– indicates signing and speaking at the same time.

oOoOo

Last Time:

Harry turned quickly, hoping that whoever it was would ask for an autograph and leave him alone, he was shocked by who met his gaze when he turned.

On to the story:

Harry's heart started beating impossibly fast as he looked into the eyes of someone he hoped to never see again.

"It is you; I thought I recognized those vibrant emerald eyes. How had you been Harry dear?" Oliver said, jittery, with a crooked smile on his face. If he noticed Harry's immediate discomfort, he hid it well. Clearly on something, he acted as if they were old friends who had not seen each other in a while.

Harry barely comprehended it though, his legs felt like jelly and he felt his throat closing up. Oliver continued to feign ignorance to Harry's panic; he just kept on talking as if they had been in contact for the past 4 years. He was getting animated and somewhere in the back of his mind Harry knew that Oliver had gone down a bad path in the past few years, he had not been like this years ago.

"I thought I would never see you again when you moved away. Then I am at The M, you know the music store on Elm St., and I see your face on a CD cover. Who the hell would have thought that you would actually make something of your music," Oliver laughed, Harry still had yet to respond.

Zachary, who had been looking through another book, lifted his head to find his daddy. He wanted him to read some of the book so he could decide whether or not he wanted to get it. He saw him talking to another man but his daddy didn't seem happy; he wasn't smiling and his legs were shaking.

Zachary remembered seeing his daddy look like this once before, it had been late at night and he had woken up because he was thirsty. He went to find his daddy because he always got him water when he needed it during the night, but when he went to daddy's room he noticed him sitting on the bed looking like he did now. He looked really scared. Zachary knew that Draco-daddy (as he liked to call him in his head) made his daddy feel better that night and could do it again but he didn't see him anywhere. Maybe he could make daddy feel better on his own.

Putting the book on the floor he made his way over to his daddy. When he reached him he pulled on his leg, trying to get his attention.

Oliver caught sight of him first. "Who are you and what the hell do you want?" he asked with a sneer.

I'm Zachary, I want to talk to my daddy! He replied, wincing at Oliver's language and wishing his daddy would look at him so he could ask him if he was okay.

"What the hell does that mean? If you aren't going to talk like a civilized human then just go away brat," Oliver said deciding to ignore the strange kid who made funny gestures and concentrate on the one that he 'let' get away. Zachary ignored him and started hitting Harry's legs hard.

That seemed to zap Harry out of his panicked coma slightly, he turned to Zachary. "What is it Honey?" he asked with a hollow and haunted voice, his body refusing to make the movements to sign it to him.

"You know this kid?" Oliver said, interrupting, his tone having a clear bite to it. He leaned in close as if to get a better look at Zachary, the small boy backing up and trying to get away from the scary, slightly smelly, man.

"He's m-my son," Harry stuttered without thinking. The dead tone of his voice serving to further frighten Zachary.

"You have a kid, are you shitting me? I thought you were gay, I mean you were with me; who the hell did you marry? I know it wasn't Holly. Bitch is dead, overdosed over a year ago. Too bad, she was a great lay, well, you know that. Did you know that you knocked her up the last time we had a little fun? You know, right before you up and fucking disappeared! What happened to you after that?" Oliver said, asking question in rapid fire. It did not escape him how Harry held his breath when Holly's name was mentioned and a deviant smirk appeared on his face. He knew he was pushing buttons, Harry had always been his favorite plaything and he didn't like it when his toys were taken away from him.

Zachary was tired of being ignored, he could tell that his daddy was scared and there was nothing he could do to help, he needed Draco-daddy. Turning away from the strange man, he hoped that his daddy would be okay without him, he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him towards where he saw Draco-daddy last.

Through all of this a crowd started to gather but the two men involved didn't seem to notice. Oliver continued with his questioning and Harry continued to tremble, unable to get away or call for help. The people were starting to notice that this was not a friendly conversation and as they looked closer, some recognized the short dark haired man with green eyes.

Harry didn't even notice Zachary leaving as he nodded his answer to Oliver's question. A little light seemed to illuminate in Oliver's head as he did so.

"You're shitting me, that's Holly's spawn? I thought she got rid of the damn thing, sent it dumpster diving or something." Harry flinched at the way Oliver spoke about his son but because he wasn't taking enough air into his lungs he was unable to respond. He started to feel light headed and his vision started to go in and out.

"Guess I can't believe you kept him, I mean seeing as how you didn't even want to have sex with her. You really were a bit of a prude back then weren't you? Anyway, are you seeing anyone now? Probably not, I mean who else would have wanted you besides me. I know I am always up for a fuck, we can probably have a quickly in the bathroom if your quiet, you know, no screaming like the first time I fucked you," Oliver said, caressing Harry's face as tears started to flow. As much as Harry wanted to back away or run he felt that his body would not respond to his wishes. Just as Oliver was about to lean in and kiss him he felt a hand on his shoulder trying to pull him back.

"I think he wants to be left alone, sir." Said a woman who had been watching the scene unfold, when Harry started to cry she quickly stepped up, knowing that things were going from bad to worse.

"Don't touch me you stupid bitch," Oliver spat out turning on her, fully planning on ridding himself of this unnecessary obstacle. It was then that he noticed that a rather large crowd had gathered, knowing what would happen to him if the police were called, he decided it would be best if he got the hell out of there.

"Until next time," Oliver whispered reluctantly, leaning in close so he was next to Harry's ear, with that he turned abruptly and was gone.

Harry's breathing was shallow and his legs were barely holding him up. Tears were still flowing down his face as his vision focused on the spot that Oliver had been occupying.

"Hello, my name is Claire, are you alright? Did that guy hurt you, is there someone you would like me to call to come pick you up?" she asked softly coming to stand next to him, others joining her. "Back off and give him some space," she ordered, seeing him tense at the crowd.

Harry started to sway, he seemed to be unable to breathe, and his legs were trembling fiercely. All of a sudden his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. Claire caught him around the middle and lowered him to the floor as best as she could. She began to check his pulse, concerned to find it racing. People started to gather closer again and she threw them a glare, he didn't need to be surrounded by strangers after he was just attacked by someone. She scanned the crowd for someone who might know this man but came up empty.

Meanwhile, Zachary had found Draco and after a quick explanation that some man was making Harry scared Draco had taken off running, Zachary firmly in his arms. When he arrived at the scene his heart sunk at seeing his loved one lying on the ground unconscious. He quickly pushed his way through the crowd and dropped to his knees next to Harry's collapsed body. Zachary squirmed out of his arms and crawled over to Harry, hitting his hand hoping to wake him up.

"Oh my God, Harry are you alright? Harry, wake up Love," Draco said frantically, gathering Harry close to his body, Zachary staying close to the both of them. Harry didn't answer, his unconscious body leaning heavily on Draco. "What happened?" Draco questioned softly to no one in particular.

Before he could ask again he noticed the manager of the store making his way over to them. It was then that Draco realized that the entire store was basically crowded around them; some of them had their cameras out. As soon as the manager arrived he helped Draco to his feet. The manager, Draco, and Claire all somehow managed to get Harry and Zachary into a back room, away from prying eyes and camera lenses.

Draco fell on the couch, Harry curled up next to him resting his head on his lap and Zachary moving to his other side holding onto his arm for comfort.

Now it was time for Draco to get some answers. He turned to the woman that had followed them in and was currently attempting to take Harry's pulse. "Who are you and what happened out there?" He asked in a deadly tone. She didn't seem effected and waiting until she had finished taking Harry's pulse before answering.

"The name's Claire Harris, I'm an intern at Memorial Hospital. As for what happened; I'm not entirely sure; there was this guy who he had been talking to. Your friend, Harry I believe, seemed very afraid of him but he wasn't moving, like he was frozen to the spot. It wasn't until the man touched him that I realized that he was in the throes of a panic attack. Then I went into doctor mode. I just reacted; I grabbed the guy and pulled him off. He seemed really pissed off at me for doing it; I thought he was going to hit me for a moment. But when he noticed all the people gathering he ran." Claire stated, keeping her eyes on Harry's still slightly shaking form.

"What did this guy look like?" Draco asked, wondering if it was someone he knew. Claire seemed to be in deep thought for a moment.

"He had light brown hair, about your height, very skinny, and his eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them," Claire said, trying to remember every detail.

Draco was baffled, that didn't sound like anyone he knew and if he didn't know better he would have assumed the man she was talking about was on drugs or something. Either way her description was very inconclusive. He kept raking his hands through Harry's hair soothingly as he thought.

"Anyway, when he finally left Harry collapsed. Before he had been having a major panic attack and his heart had been racing. It is calmer now but not back to normal yet. Rest is good for him now but when he wakes have him talk about it. Hiding from it won't do him any good," Claire said, standing and smiling sadly. She knew what had happened to this boy, that man had hurt him in the worst way possible and she felt sorry for him.

"Thank you for all of your help. My name is Draco Malfoy, call if you are ever in trouble or something," Draco said gratefully.

"And who is he?" she asked.

"Harry, Harry Potter," Draco said, hoping she wouldn't run to the press. She was bound to find out who he was eventually. Draco hoped being honest with her would deter her somehow.

"That's what I thought. From what little I know about him, through his songs and other things about him on TV through the years, he has had a really tough life. I remember when the story hit the news about what happened to him when he was younger, if I had to guess I would say that the man who caused this panic attack was the man who raped him. We've studied abuse cases like his before; his reaction makes sense if that was him," she said confidently, Draco just nodded at her assessment; not liking that Oliver might be in town and after Harry.

The manager, for his part, had been very reserved and quiet, letting the two of them talk and figure things out. When they finally finished he decided to figure out how this situation would be handled from there on in.

"Mr. Malfoy is there someone I can call for you, something I can do?" he asked, trying to be cordial. He knew the Malfoy's were a powerful family and didn't want any retaliation for something that happened in his store.

Draco thought for a moment, he knew that any phone calls that were made would have to come from him. That would have to wait until Harry was sleeping deeper and Zachary was taken care of. Zachary was lying against his side, not sleeping but not fussing. Zachary was clearly scared, he didn't know what was going on with his Daddy and he was holding onto Draco for grounding. Draco knew that he had to distract Zachary, the more time he had to sit and think about what was going on, the worse it would get.

"Would it be possible for you to bring in some figures of sharks or sting rays for my son, I would like to distract him from everything," Draco said, not noticing his slip of the tongue, calling Zachary his son. Even though he thought of the boy as his son and Harry had said to him on a number of occasions that he was Zachary's second father, Draco wanted to wait until Zachary was his through adoption before they made the change officially; normally he just called him Zachary.

The manager nodded and spoke to someone on a walkie-talkie before a man with an armful of toys came into the room. He looked at them briefly, taking in what was going on, before placing the toys near Draco and leaving the room.

"Zachary, look at the toys the nice man left you to play with. Do you want to play with them?" Draco asked softly, not knowing how effected Zachary was or if he was jumpy. Zachary shook his head, almost violently, and grabbed Draco's shirt with his little fists in protest at the thought of being moved.

I want to stay by Daddy and make him feel safe, that's what he does when I get scared Zachary told him, briefly letting go to tell him.

"That is very sweet of you Honey but Daddy is sleeping right now and really needs to rest, play with the toys," Draco prodded.

I don't want to! Zachary said stubbornly, tears pooling in his eyes.

Claire noticed Draco's rising panic and concern at his failures to get Zachary engaged in something other than his father's distressed state and decided to try and help out.

What's this animal? She signed to Zachary; she had taken a couple of classes in college on American Sign Language and was no expert but would be able to distract the small boy. Zachary seemed surprised that she could sign to him and spared one more glance at his Daddy before slowly sliding of the couch and sitting next to the pile of animals.

It's a shark! Zachary signed, mimicking what his daddy had taught him earlier that day. Claire smiled and repeated the sign to him until he told her she got it right.

Seeing that Zachary was taken care of for the moment Draco fished his cell phone out of his pocket and took a deep breath, these were not going to be fun calls to make.

oOoOo

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