The Newest Maid at Malfoy Manor 1
Premise: The story takes place seven years after Voldemort's defeat at Hogwarts (2005). The wizarding community is finally recovering from the Dark Lord's second reign of terror and things are finally looking up. The Malfoys have narrowly escaped the fate of many of their fellow Death Eaters - death or Azkaban, but not without losses. After suffering financial woes and ostracization, they are finally making an entrance back into magical society.
After having lost Dobby and with new restrictions on employing non-human beings, the Malfoys now employ several maids and a butler to cook and clean for them. Elle joins Gi, Chelsea, and Edgar as the Malfoys' house staff. She quickly finds out the job includes some... unconventional tasks.
Author's Note: This is my first story uploaded to FF. Please let me know what you think. :)
"Both Lucius and Draco are coming home tonight." Edgar's heels clicked against the cold tile as he paced swiftly up and down the length of the kitchen. He turned on his heel to face us. "All ground floor rooms will be thoroughly cleaned as well as Master Malfoy's study and the bedrooms."
"That's too much!" Gi exclaimed.
"It wouldn't be too much if you had actually made a decent effort to clean during the Malfoys' absence." Edgar sniffed and looked down his nose at her. She bit her lip and averted her eyes to the ground. "Although I suppose I only have myself to blame, as it is my job to oversee the entire house." He closed his eyes for a few seconds and stopped his pacing, as if to allow himself a few private moments of personal disappointment.
"They still shouldn't be coming home so early," Gi muttered under her breath. Edgar ignored her.
"Everything needs to be dusted, polished, and scrubbed... Dinner should be ready for their arrival. I think Master Malfoy's favorite dish of seared halibut would be appropriate. Chelsea?"
"I'll go to the market," Chelsea replied. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and nodded.
I watched as dust motes danced in the sunlight streaming through the kitchen windows. Edgar's head bobbed as he talked and his slicked, black hair glistened in the morning light.
"Good. In the meantime Elle and Georgiana -" I straightened up at the mention of my name. "- You will both begin cleaning. Don't cut corners; I will be inspecting each room thoroughly as soon as you are done. Understand?"
"Yes," both me and Gi said in unison.
"Good. Begin." He turned and walked swiftly from the room.
I exchanged a look of commiseration with Chelsea, my closest friend in the house. Gi slouched out of the room after Edgar. I wondered what surprises the day would hold after Lucius Malfoy and his son had arrived.
"So Gi will have to move back to the Cubby with us." Chelsea had dubbed our quarters "the Cubby." The three of us girls slept in what could only be called a glorified attic. It was small and perpetually dusty, despite our best efforts to keep it clean.
Since Lucius and Draco had been away on a tour of Eastern Europe, Gi had taken the liberty of claiming one of the many spacious bedrooms in the manor as her own. Somehow she had managed to hide this from Edgar, or if he knew, he didn't care.
"Mmhmm, what do you think she's doing right now?" Chelsea gave me a knowing look as she finely chopped vegetables. She flicked her wands and the vegetables flew gracefully into a nearby pot. She had requested my help for dinner so I was temporarily reprieved from cleaning.
"What? I thought she was cleaning?" I attempted to wave my wand in the same fluid motion Chelsea had done, but the onions I had been mincing barely lifted from the cutting board.
"You'll get the hang off it eventually," Chelsea said in response to the exasperated sigh I let slip. "Your nerves are probably getting in the way, just try not to think about later tonight."
"Easy for you to say. You're not meeting them for the first time. Anyway, Georgiana is...?"
"Moving back to the Cubby right now. It should only take her fifteen minutes tops, but you know her... she'll try and drag it out for as long as possible."
I rolled my eyes in agreement, "I only hope Edgar doesn't catch her."
"That might not be such a bad thing," she said sending me a knowing glance. "She could do with some putting in her place... Anyways, just relax. They'll probably be so tired from traveling they won't even notice you."
I attempted a confident smile, though I suspect I failed to fool Chelsea because she shot me a knowing look and told me to relax once more as she sent another clove of immaculately chopped garlic flying into the pot.
"They're coming! They're coming!" Chelsea ran into the dining room, where I was putting the last finishing touches on the place settings for dinner. "They're... coming..." she panted, rested for a second before running out of the room again.
I felt my stomach flip-flop. I hastily threw down the last silverware and ran to the entrance hall after Chelsea. Gi and Egdar were already there. Both were looking perfectly calm and put together. Edgar stood with his hands behind his back and his head high. Gi was equally poised. I had barely taken my place beside Chelsea when the tall double doors creaked open. I briefly glimpsed a silhouette against the night sky before Lucius Malfoy stepped into the light of the hallway.
He looked tired, much older then I remembered from the few glimpses I got of him at Hogwarts, but still managed to wear a condescending look on his face. His eyes swept along the four of us. Edgar gave a deep bow, while both Gi and Chelsea curtsied. I gave a nervous smile and a wobbly curtsy while averting my eyes.
"Good evening, Sir. Dinner is prepared; halibut, one of your favorites. May I take your cloak?" I heard Edgar's smooth voice ring out through the empty hall.
I peeked up under my eyelashes and was shocked to find Lucius' icy blue eyes boring straight into mine. He wordlessly handed his cloak to Edgar, who folded it in his arms before retreating back into line. "So this is the new girl?" he said curtly.
"Yes," Edgar answered him, "Elle, sir. Short for Elliot. Elliot West. She shows promise. I do think-"
"Enough." He held up a hand to Edgar. "I assume she can speak for herself... Elliot isn't that a boy's name?"
"Yes, but it's a family name."
He stared coldly at me.
"Sir," I added nervously.
"Very well. As you may have noticed Draco is absent." He threw his hand out loftily, as if to make note of the space Draco should have occupied. He began pacing slowly in front of the three of us. His footsteps echoed loudly in the hall. "He's at a party in London. Needless to say, he will most likely not be able find his way home on his own by the end of the night."
He sneered, obviously disapproving of how his son had chosen to spend the evening. "As we have an important Ministry function to attend to in the morning, it is of utmost important he does find his way home.
"New girl!" He barked, turning sharply to face me. "This is your task. Succeed and you get to keep your job. Failure would prove how unsuited you are to this position."
My eyes widened. Before I had a chance to respond he was already addressing the others. "As Draco is not here I will be taking my dinner in the study. Edgar, you will bring up my dinner and update me on the state of affairs during my absence." He gave a cold smile to Edgar, who bowed.
He turned back to me. "This is the address of Draco's party." He held out a slip of parchment to me, I took it with a shaky hand. "Get him back by three." He gave me a hard stare, as if to remind me what would happen if I didn't, though I hardly needed reminding.
He turned as if to walk away, "Somebody get some more light in here. It's so drafty and dark. When I leave I don't want to return home to a tomb," he snarled. He began walking away. He waved a hand back to us, "Dismissed."
Chelsea immediately began muttering under her breath, shooting small golden orbs out of her wand. The floated down the hall and into several side doors, alighting on unlit candelabras. I'm sure by the time she was done it would seem as if the whole manor was ablaze. Edgar had also sprung into action, moving faster then I had ever seen him during my short time here, walking swiftly to the kitchen to fetch Lucius' dinner.
I stood still, unsure of what to do. G slunk out of the hall and I was left alone. I unfolded the parchment; some address in Highgate was scribbled on it, barely legible. "Chelsea," I whispered, she turned to look at me, still firing off spells, "Chelsea what do I do?"
She jabbed her wand sharply into the air three times, producing three more golden orbs, before stepping over and reading the parchment in my hands. "Oh that's not so bad, you have an actual address. Sometimes we have to search what feels like half the town to find him." She made it sound like a regular occurrence.
"Chelsea," I hissed, "This wasn't in the job description."
"Some aspects of the job are a little... unconventional. But you'll be fine!" She averted her eyes. I got the distinct feeling she had expected something like this, but had purposely failed to mention it to me.
"I'm a maid, not a babysitter!" I exclaimed.
"Calm down! Really, it's not so bad. I mean the pay is alright, and food and board is included... that's not much compared to a few odd jobs. Stop giving me that look! This isn't my fault." She looked hurt and I realized I had been scowling at her. I immediately relaxed my face.
At that moment Edgar passed by with a covered silver platter. "Edgar!" I hissed.
He didn't break stride, without asking what I wanted he said, "You heard the man. If you want your job you know what to do. If you're incapable of performing your duties we can always find someone who is." He ascended the grand staircase and disappeared from view.
I stood aghast. I tired not to panic at the sudden jeopardy of my job. Chelsea patted my back. "I'm sure you'll do fine," she whispered.
"Okay. Alright." I swallowed. "I'll do it. But only because it'd be too much work to find another job. And you have to tell me later about any other... 'extracurricular' activities I have to do."
A shaky grin spread across her face. "Thank Merlin, you have no idea how unbearable it is being stuck with only Gi and Edgar. And," she said in a softer voice, "I'll tell you everything after you get back. Don't worry, it's nothing you can't handle."
A weak smile tugged at the corners of my mouth and I tried to mentally brace myself for the upcoming night.