Working for Malfoy

Chapter 48: Dobby

I rolled over and took in a deep breath and released it before opening my eyes.

The sun was going down and cast a pinkish glow around the room. I sat up and rubbed my eyes before climbing out of bed and leaving the room. The halls were dimmed by the lack of night, but provided enough for someone to see what was in front of them.

I found the railing to the stairs and held on as I descended them. The house was quiet and still. A kind of silence that would make someone uneasy. Not me.

The silence was calming and comfortable. I reached the base of the stairs and looked around for any indication that Draco was near. I got none. With a sigh, I walked into the kitchen and filled up a glass with water and took a sip.

I heard a noise come from another room and looked at the doorway, expecting someone to pop in at any moment. When no one did, I set my glass down and slowly walked towards the doorway. I looked into the dining room and saw nothing before making my way past the table and into the foyer.

I looked around carefully before walking across the room and into the living room. A book lay open on the coffee table. I walked over to see what it was and furrowed my eyebrows when I read the title.

Hogwarts: A History

I turned away from the book and made my way back upstairs. Nonne of the doors on the left side of the staircases seemed disturbed so I went to the right and looked in each of the rooms. The bathroom out in the hall was empty, as well as the bedroom and study.

When I finished looking through the study completely, I left and went into the master bedroom. I still had no luck. I was about to leave when I heard something fall in the bathroom, followed by a string of colorful words.

I looked through the crack in the door and found Draco picking something up off the ground before going back to the box on the counter. I just smiled before slowly pushing the door open.

He didn't notice the door's movement, so I slipped in quietly and slowly crept up behind him, hoping to Merlin that he wouldn't glance in the mirror. Once I was right behind him, I lifted my hands and poked him in the ribs, causing him to jump and turn around with wide eyes.

"Hermione Jean!" He exclaimed as I burst into laughter.

He grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder. "I hope you know that you aren't getting away with that."

Throwing me on the bed, he crawled on after me and started tickling me. I burst into another round of laughter as he attacked my ribs and stomach. I grabbed his arms and tried to get him to stop but was too weak from laughter to do anything.

A few minutes later, he stopped and rested his hands on either side of me. "Are you going to do that again?" He smirked with a playful look in his eyes.

"No promises." I smirked back before he started tickling me again.

A few minutes later, he stopped and put his hands on either side of me once again. I just stared up into his eyes, feeling myself getting lost in them.

He just chuckled before leaning down and planting a kiss on my nose before getting off the bed and heading back to the bathroom. I sat up and smoothed out my hair.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To finish unpacking the box you distracted me from." He replied.

"Don't say you didn't like the distraction." I said.

"I never said I didn't like it, I'm just saying that you distracted me." I just rolled my eyes with a smile before going into the bathroom and looking inside the box. There were toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, mouthwash, soap, hairbrushe, ponytails, and a bunch of other bathroom essentials.

I helped him unpack everything in that box before he went into the closet and got another. He opened that one and we began pulling stuff out of that as well.

We were about halfway done with it when I spoke.

"That house elf you brought with us, he said his name is Dobby." I started.

"Because it is." Draco nodded. "I am going to guess that you want to know whether or not he is the same Dobby from 5 years ago or a different one. He is the same one."

"But he is dead." I stated. "He died in Harry's arms the day we left the Malfoy Manor."

He sighed and sat on the side of the bathtub. "Whenever I found out that he was trying to save you, I knew something was going to happen to one of you. So, I cast a light protective enchantment over you, your friends, and the goblin before casting a spell on the knife in Bellatrix's hand. The spell I cast gave the blade a small healing effect that would start healing the victim from the inside out. I also put a spell on Dobby so that when I said his name, he would be teleported back to my room, no matter how far away he was. He wasn't dead for very long, and the spell on the blade worked so the wound was mostly healed. After getting some potions from Diagon Alley that were made especially for house elves, I gave them to him and waited for about two hours before they actually started working. When he woke up, I put bandages around the wound and hid him in the room you stayed in for a while."

"You saved him?" I asked, shocked out of my wits.

"I had to. After he healed me numerous times after a beating from my father, I had to pay him back someway. I didn't force him to stay, but he wanted to and promised to stay out of sight when father or Bellatrix was around. He kept his promise and stayed in the kitchen with the other house elves most of the time." He explained.

I just smiled and sat down next to Draco before pulling him into a tight hug. "Thank you." I whispered.

He hugged me back. "Anything for you Hermione."

About 30 minutes later, we had the closet and bathroom in the master bedroom almost completely unpacked, besides a few odd things we didn't know what to do with. When we finished, we went downstairs and into the dining room for supper. It was almost 7:45 and I wanted to go back to bed.

Dobby made us a small dinner consisting of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls.

The small elf was about to leave the kitchen when Draco stopped him.

"Why don't you eat with us, Dobby. You deserve it."

The elf squeaked in happiness as he took the seat across from me and next to Draco.

I smiled as he dug into the food with a big smile on his face.

Once he filled his plate, he started talking about everything that has happened since he was brought back to life and living with Draco.

"He was so good to Dobby and gave Dobby clean clothes." Dobby explained. "Dobby slept with an old blanket and pillow, but Dobby didn't mind. It kept Dobby warm and very happy."

I couldn't help the smile that placed itself on my lips as I listened to everything that Draco has done for this little elf.

When we finished eating, Dobby snapped his fingers and the dishes transported themselves into the kitchen and began cleaning themselves. The elf said goodnight and gave me a hug which I returned gladly before he turned to Draco and gave him a hug as well. I smiled happily when Draco returned it before he said goodnight and led me back upstairs to the bedroom.

When we changed for bed and used magic to fix it, we climbed in and fell asleep quickly.