This follows the first story immediately after Buffy leaves Hogwarts with her parents after arriving in their universe after she had died saving Dawn in the BTVS universe.

Remember, Dobby was a Malfoy elf and was freed at the end of the 2nd book, I believe. This story is in the first one. Some may believe the Malfoys had just the one elf, but their home was a huge mansion and would need many elves the way any large manor would. In my mind, just one or two, though, would have direct contact with the family kind of like how the White House has just a few positions that deal directly with the President and his family. One of my betas had the same thought.

Disclaimer: I do not own BTVS or Harry Potter (obviously).

The House of Malfoy

When Buffy gazed at her family's home, her mouth dropped open in shock. She didn't remember it much, and she surely didn't remember it being this massive. "Oh my God! This is freakin' huge!" she exclaimed.

"My dear, we really need to work on your language," her mother said with a sigh. "We do not say God in such a manner. Occasionally, one might reference Merlin as he's close to a deity to some wizards. I am not exactly sure what you mean by freakin, but it sounded coarse."

Buffy grinned at her very beautiful and proper mother. "Freakin' is what you say instead of the much more vulgar word fuck," she said. "So I was actually being polite."

Now it was her mother's turn to open her mouth in shock, and Lucius couldn't help but laugh. His daughter was going to drive both of them batty, but at least she was here to do so. "Well, what do you think?" he asked as they stood outside.

"It's definitely impressive. I'm not sure why you need such a huge place, but I saw lots of places this big back in Los Angles," she said. "Wealthy people tend to flaunt their wealth in America."

"This is our ancestral home, my dear," Lucius said, feeling a bit insulted by her casual dismal. "It's been in the family for generations."

They went inside, and Buffy tried not to react.

"Do you recognize the place, honey?" her mother asked.

"Not really," she said. Not at all. The place was ostentatious and gaudy, but she searched for something nice to say. "Lots of antiques. My mother in the other dimension would have really loved all the artwork. She was an art dealer—had her own shop."

"Oh, I love collecting art, too," Narcissa said, smiling. She took Buffy around the lower rooms, pointing out things. Eventually, she noticed Buffy's silence. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to hurt your feelings," Buffy said, giving her a wary look.

"Nonsense," Narcissa said. "I do not get hurt feelings—Slytherins aren't so sensitive. It is Gryffindors that overreact." She smiled to let her daughter know she was teasing.

Buffy smiled a bit but was feeling so queasy that it was hard. She felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin. The eyes staring at her from the paintings on the wall was the creepiest thing she had ever encountered. "Well, this house is the most depressing place I've ever set foot in—the darkness is oppressive, and there's so much dark energy or something evil here that I feel physically sick. Do you have a demon in the basement or something? As a slayer, I can sense this kind of thing."

Her parents exchanged a look of concern. The house was decorated by Lucius' grandmother, and Narcissa had decorated the bedrooms only. Lucius' father had practically forbidden her from doing anything else when they had gotten married. Of course, the man was dead now—thank Merlin.

"Poppy," she called.

Buffy jumped when something jumped in front of them, and she instantly took a fighting possession and grabbed the creature by the neck.

"Elizabeth!" her mother yelled. "Unhand Poppy!"

"It's not a demon?" Buffy asked, looking at the ugly thing. Now that she looked at it, she could see the poor thing trembling in fear. She let go. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"This is our house elf," Lucius said. "You don't remember her? She took care of Draco when he was a baby."

Poppy's eyes got wide as she realized who Buffy was. "Mistress Lizabeth is alive? Oh my! I so happy!" she exclaimed, her eyes now full of joyful tears.

"I've spent so much time on the hellmouth, and things that don't look human are normally trying to kill me," Buffy said, looking sheepish. "I'm really sorry, Poppy. I have flashes of memory, but it's spotty."

"House elves take care of all household chores," her father exclaimed.

"Wait, I remember," Buffy said, a flash of memory as hitting her. "There was a male elf. He was my elf, and he used to play with me all the time. I loved him more than anything. Where is he? Is he still alive? How long do elves live?"

Lucius winced and looked guilty. "Dobby is still here," Lucius said. At the mention of his name, Dobby appeared.

"Did you need me, Master?" Dobby asked, looking at the floor when he appeared.

"I thought you were murdered, Elizabeth," Lucius said in an uncharacteristically hurried manner. "I was so angry and bitter. I expected Dobby to watch out for you and not let mere muggles harm you."

"But they didn't," Buffy said. She looked at Dobby, who wouldn't even look up at them, showing every evidence of being afraid and cowed. "You've been abusing him, haven't you? Blaming him for my death when it was your evil master who hates just about everyone in the world but purebloods. I guess he taught you how to hate real well, huh, Dad?" She gave her father a disgusted look and moved closer to Dobby.

"Dobby, will you please look up?" she asked.

Dobby raised his head and looked at the person who called his name. He frowned in confusion. "Dobby is sorry that he does not know who you are," he said. "Please do not be angry with Dobby."

Buffy could sense his fear and wondered just how abusive her family had been to this poor thing, and she smiled in reassurance. "Dobby, it's me. It's Elizabeth," she said. "I go by Buffy, remember? I'm not dead. I was kidnapped, but I'm back now."

Dobby's eyes filled with tears. "You's alive? Dobby didn't let filthy muggles murder you?" he asked.

"No, Dobby, you didn't. Voldemort kidnapped me because he was angry at Father for refusing to do something, and he took me to a place far away," Buffy said.

"But I saw you die," Dobby said, confused.

"You must've had your memory altered," Lucius said. "I am sorry for having wronged you. We couldn't have known."

Dobby's face broke out into a wide smile as tears streamed down his knobby face, and Buffy pulled him in very gently for a hug. "I am so happy to see you, Dobby," she said.

"Dobby is so happy, too, Mistress Buffy," Dobby sobbed. "I clean your room every day, so it is perfect even though your father said I should not waste time on foolish tasks. I was so sorry I got you killed."

"You didn't, Dobby. I am just fine," Buffy assured him.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Dobby asked, remembering her favorite.

"I would love some," Buffy said, smiling.

Dobby was overjoyed to be able to perform a task for his beloved mistress once more. "I will bring it with the extra whipped cream!" he exclaimed before winking away.

"Would Master like some refreshments, too?" Poppy asked hopefully.

"Yes, Poppy," Narcissa said. "I'm going to show Buffy her room, and then we'll be back in the sitting room. Will you tell Dobby to bring Buffy's drink there?"

"Yes, my lady," Poppy said.

"You guys should be ashamed," Buffy said after Poppy left. "Abusing a house-elf that depends on you for everything. It's worse than kicking a dog because elves are sentient beings. They have emotions and probably souls. I don't know—I'll have to ask Giles." Then she sighed, realizing Giles wasn't there. "How am I supposed to function without Giles? He's my Watcher. He tells me how things can be killed, and where to find the bad guys. How will I know how to kill the big bad without my Watcher?"

"Is it possible that your Council exists in this dimension?" her mother suggested.

Buffy's eyes brightened at the thought. "Hey, that's a good thought. They might, and if they do, it's possible that my Giles is a member of the council. If they already have one slayer, they'll be very happy to have another. I'll tell them I will only work with Giles!" she said, beaming.

Lucius had several thoughts at once. A part of him resented that another man who wasn't him held such a place of esteem in his daughter's eyes. Another part, though, knew he would do anything to make his daughter happy. It was his fault his daughter was taken. The Dark Lord had had gotten ahold of the prophecy, and he wasn't sure which child was preordained to kill him. It was either the Potter's son or the Longbottom's son, so he wanted Lucius to kill the Longbottom's son. Lucius, however, just couldn't do it. The boy was the same age as his son Draco. It was the one and only time that he had refused an order from the Dark Lord. It had never occurred to him that his daughter's death had been punishment as Dobby had seen a muggle hit her with a car and then grab her body and throw it in the car and speed away. Clearly, the Dark Lord had altered Dobby's memories, and it hadn't occurred to him to question his house-elf's account or examine the memories too closely as house-elves could not lie to their masters.

How was he to know that his refusal would end up hurting his family so grievously? If this Council existed, he'd find out for Buffy. If the man existed, he'd find a way to make sure he was nice to his daughter. Seeing the look of disgust and disappointment in her face as she realized how cruel he'd been to their house-elf filled Lucius with shame—a feeling he was not used to experiencing.

"If it's not the elves, there's something else in this house that's making the slayer in me snarl," Buffy said. "I feel almost sick. There's way too much dark energy in this house, and it's giving me the wiggins."

"I'm not exactly sure what wiggins are, but we do have several family heirlooms that are dark objects hidden in the basement," he admitted.

"Can you get them out of the house?" Buffy said. "I know the slayer was made from an essence of a demon, but I physically react to the presence of evil. It makes my skin crawl—I could never be a dark wizard. If you want to be one, we'll have serious issues."

"Why don't we go upstairs to your room?" her mother suggested. "It might create some distance, and you'll feel better."

Buffy agreed and followed her mother up to the room. Lucius stayed downstairs to consider what he was going to do with all the dark objects in the house. When the bedroom door opened, Buffy smiled. It was beautiful and familiar. "I remember this place," she said. There was a huge canopy bed with light pink lace tenting the bed. She recalled how she liked to hide in the pillows while the lace helped shied her further from view. Her little vanity was still there and the window pillow.

"I would love to help you redecorate it, honey," her mother said.

"What about the rest of the house?" Buffy asked. "The place is depressing, Mother."

She nodded, unoffended. "I know. When I moved in, your grandparents were alive, and my father-in-law was a very formidable and somewhat evil man, but he loved his mother," she shared. "She had decorated the place last, and he thought it was perfect. It would have been a grave insult to change anything. After we thought you died, I just lost interest in a lot of things. However, I would love to do so now, and you can help. Of course, we must get you caught up on your magical studies first, but I can send you ideas and colors while you're at school. You can help pick. Your brother will be very glad to not be called upon."

Buffy grinned. "I am so glad to have a little brother," she said. "I don't know how I forgot about him while I was over there. I guess a part of me didn't because I always longed for a brother—I always had a lot of guy friends. For the past five years, Xander was my best friend besides Willow."

"Draco has also been a bit lonely as an only child," Narcissa said. "Having you here will be wonderful for him."

"Do you think we can bring my sister here, Mother? She really is yours and Dad's as much as she is mine," Buffy said. "She was made out of me—that makes her ours."

Narcissa didn't understand everything her daughter talked about, but she knew that if there was a way to do this, she would see it done. "We will start researching, my dear. Albus is one of the greatest wizards in the world. I am sure he will want to help, too," she said. Albus had no love for the Malfoy family or even the Blacks of as both were mostly Dark Wizards. However, he would not say no to Buffy as children were his weakness.

Buffy felt relieved. "Thank you," she said. "I know that my friends will take care of her, but she belongs with me. She belongs with us."

Narcissa hugged her daughter. "Then we will bring her home to us," she promised. "I always wanted another daughter."

Those were just the right words to make Buffy feel better, and she relaxed. The house may be too large and horribly decorated and full of evil artifacts, but Buffy's family was here. They loved her, and they were going to try everything they could to make Buffy feel happy and secure. Losing her friends in Sunnydale was hard, but Willow and Xander had each other. They would be okay. Dawn, though, she belonged with Buffy, and there were no lengths Buffy wouldn't go through to make sure Dawn was brought here with her.

Dawn would so love having house-elves to do her chores!

*****The End*****

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