The Fearsome Name of Riddle

Safe Haven

1972

A grey rag wiped across the marble surfaces in the Malfoy kitchens. The long boney fingers of a house elf gripped the cloth tightly, cleaning the counter until it shined. Dobby was nearly unnoticeable in the house, completing everything asked of him without delay or fault. The poor elf nearly jumped out of his skin when the mistress of the house stepped silently into the kitchen with him. A melancholy had gripped her throughout the winter and he wondered what bothered her but knew better than to over step his place. Kind as she was to him, Victoria had a volatile nature and could decide to make her authority clear should her mood push her to it. 

"My Lady." Stopping his hand immediately, Dobby gave a low and gracious bow. He hugged the grey cloth into his chest, his skeletal body hunched into a ball shape. "Is the Mistress needing something?" 

"No, Dobby, that's quite alright," Victoria smiled warily, taking a seat on the stool by the island counter in the centre of the room. "Thank you." 

His large tennis ball eyes glittered with his smile. Dobby straightened himself back up, standing proudly on his steps up to the counter. Despite him being the only help in the house since the war began, all the counters were built for human purpose and far too tall for a house elf. 

"Would the Mistress like Dobby to leave?" he asked, twisting the grey cloth in his fingers. "Dobby has other chores he can attend to, if the Mistress wishes." 

"I'd like you to stay if you've got the time," Victoria said softly, a gentle smile on her face as she leaned on the marble in front of her. "It may surprise you but I don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen for leisure." 

"It would be Dobby's honour." Dobby smiled, climbing back down his steps and moving them across the room to the island counter where Victoria was sitting. "To give his company to the Mistress, Dobby feels most happy." 

The elf began to shine the counter in front of him, a wide smile on his face as he wiped the cloth over the surface. Octavian had grown taller than him years ago. At ten years old, he approached her height rapidly and made her feel like her usefulness was running away from her. Dobby did not change though. Obsidian’s gift still just as joyful and attentive as he had been seventeen years before. 

"It's been getting so busy with the war." Victoria spoke in a soft raspy voice, airing her thoughts to the room and the only friend she had while ghosting through the empty halls of Malfoy Manor all those years ago. "I barely get to see you anymore. I miss our little chats." 

"Dobby could stay with the Mistress all she wants," Dobby said, his large eyes looking up at her across the counter. "Dobby will not leave the Mistress's side, if that is what she wants." 

Victoria shook her head with a smile. "No, if you're out of sight then the others won't hurt you. I can't be seen to be defending you all the time, they'll think I've lost the plot." 

"Dobby understands." The elf nodded, dropping his head back down to the counter, focusing on his cleaning. "And Dobby is grateful for the Mistress' protection, it makes Dobby proud to serve such a kind and honourable family." 

"I'm glad." Victoria smiled until she could no longer keep it up, watching his bat-like ears flop around his head in their relaxed state. “In a few months, I will lose my boy and it is no easier a second time.”

“Only to school, my Lady,” Dobby said, trying to be supportive without questioning her. “Young Master Octavian will return to his loving mother whenever he can, Dobby is sure of it.”

“I cannot stop thinking of Sirius.” Worry shook Victoria's voice as fears of consequences flooded her mind. “What if the same happens to Octavian? He comes home and argues endlessly with Walburga about blood purity and how we are evil for being ambitious and protecting our world from an outside threat. He is growing to hate her.”