The Dragon's Treasure

A Summer Interlude

"The wee mistress liked her things folded like this," Mipsy insisted, elbowing Trixie out of the

way. Trixie shoved right back. Before Holly knew it she was holding back each house elf with a hand on either of their wrinkled foreheads.

"Dobby!" Holly called.

The diminutive elf popped into Holly's walk in closet. He looked at Holly with wide eyes, taking in the scene of the feuding house elves.

"Please get Mother," Holly begged. Dobby nodded his head, and popped away.

A moment later Lady Malfoy walked in the closet to see the house elves sitting in opposite corners of the closet, with their arms crossed, like naughty children. Holly was standing in front of them, staring them down.

"What is going on my dear?"

Holly took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. She felt like a mother of toddlers.

"These two," she pointed between them, "can't seem to get along. Mipsy is sure she knows best, and Trixie is certain she knows best. It almost came to blows a moment ago."

Lady Malfoy gave them a scolding look. They knew better than that, neither one was a young elf.

The real problem was that both wanted to dote on Holly. Mipsy was technically Lady Malfoy's elf though she did always dote on the children. Trixie was the head of the Potter elves that had come to live at the Manor, and she had a right to help Holly as Lady Potter.

"You will have to learn to work together. You both love Holly, that much is clear. Fighting will

only cause her strife. Mipsy, you also have Draco and myself to care after. Trixie, you also have Ginny. Perhaps you can work out some kind of schedule. If you can not find it within yourselves to work together, I will have to order you to. Is that understood?"

Trixie and Mipsy shared a look and nodded. They would figure it out.

"Lovely, now why don't you two go try to talk about it, and I will help Holly put her new

purchases away."

Mipsy looked like she wanted to interrupt, but with a glare from Lady Malfoy, both she and Trixie popped away to try and work out their differences.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Holly asked as she removed a dress from a shopping bag and hung it on a hanger. Lady Malfoy used her wand to steam it quickly, removing the wrinkles from where it had been folded.

"Yes dear, this kind of thing happens sometimes if households merge during a marriage, or

adoption. They are used to doing things in their own ways, but they will find a way to work

together."

"Have you seen Godric?" Neville asked as he entered the breakfast room at Malfoy Manor. He hadn't been able to find his snake familiar anywhere this morning, despite his best efforts. From the moment he introduced Godric to Sally they had been near inseparable.

Ginny pointed towards a patch of sun by the window where Godric and Sally were tangled up in a rainbow of glistening scales, soaking up the sun's rays.

"How in Merlin's name did he get here? I took him home last night."

Ginny shrugged, and took a sip of her tea. The magical snakes had taken to each other quickly, and seemed to live in their own little world. For all she knew the snake had figured out how to use the floo.

Trixie handed her and Holly their vitamin vials. Holly and Ginny shot them back and chased the nasty taste away with a sip of coffee. Draco laughed at them, but the laugh died quickly when Trixie produced a vial for him and looked at him expectantly. He held it disdainfully, but took it under the watchful eye of Mipsy.