It had been 5 months since her "assignment", and every day she still found herself surprised. The Malfoys weren't evil or even cruel, like everyone, herself included, though.
Narcissa was downright lovely. She never asked anything of her, knowing full well the genealogy of their "Dark King" and his right hand man, were both half-bloods. She often invited Chelsey to read with her, or take tea. It was almost as if they were becoming friends.
They did have to be careful though. Lucius wouldn't approve, and he didn't know that they spent hours together. He had house elves do everything for him, for fear that she would poison him. He often kicked her out of the rooms that he was in and didn't even allow her in certain areas. However after he left, Chelsey had free range of the house. All of it except Draco's room of course.
Draco came down for meals when his father was home, but other than that he remained in his room all day and as far as Chelsey could tell, all night too. There was no doubt that Draco loved his mother, often sending her letters, notes and even the occasional gift. But if there was even a chance of Chelsey seeing him, he was locked away in his room.
Draco didn't work. What with the family money and being a pre-coup family, there were a lot of perks, like having the money to do pretty much whatever you wanted.
Chelsey really was quite lucky. Yes, she had to grovel and Slave when Bellatrix LeStrange was over, or Voldemort himself. These days were nothing in compared to if she had to do it every day. She would even suffer through the odd cruciatus curse from Bella every now and then.
When not showing off, she was comfortable. She was given nice clothes, good food, and despite not being able to leave the house, or see her family, she was quite happy. She even received a bouquet of Red tulips, her favorite flowers, after on particularly hard day with Bellatrix. There was no note, and Chelsey appreciated this, because there would be no need to share her appreciation with the sender.
One day, for almost no reason, there were flowers, orchids this time, straight from Narcissa's garden. She smiled, with a mental note to thank Mrs. Malfoy later. But this was soon forgotten in the household drama.
That night at dinner, Lucius spoke, which was unusual as most dinners were silent.
"I have been directed by his Dark Lord to head to New York City. He wants me to shadow the Department of Magic in the states. The Drak Lord has been unhappy with his performance and may have me fill in when heis… taken care of."
"Lucius!," Narcissa clapped, "This is excellent news!" Lucius nodded and smiled before continuing to speak, "I agree but there is an addendum. I must go alone. The rest of you must stay here."
Narcissa unceremoniously slumped back into her chair, the smile dropped like a hot plate. Draco leaned back in his chair taking it all in. His father was leaving the Manor. Maybe for a month or a year, or longer. No more yelling, and stupid dinners, no more feigning interest in his father's favorite things. He would be free from the mock responsibility.
The next Morning, Mr. Malfoy was gone, and for the first time Chelsey saw Draco out of his room. And he wasn't exactly what she had come to know at school.
When she first happened upon him, he was in the kitchen, in sweatpants and slippers, hair free from gel, drinking milk straight from the bottle. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, replaced the lid and stuck it back in the fridge. Upon shutting the door he saw her. They both froze, after a split second of surprise, he yelled, "Bloody hell, Rae! You nearly scared the piss out of me!" She paused, still in shock from both his yelling and his being in a public living space. She quickly scanned him, her eyes not wanting to believe he was actually there.
"Enjoying the view?" His comment quickly shook hber from her silence.
"Excuse me Mr. Malfoy, but what are you implying?" Draco rolled his eyes, "Wow Rae for being a Ravenclaw, you are a bit daft," and with a chuckle he was out the door.
Their next encounter was only a few days later. Chelsey was in Narcissa's Library, reading a book by the muggle author . Draco came in, spoon in mouth and grabbed a Julia Childs cookbook. "If you aren't going to cook Rae, I may as well do it myself. At least then we won't have to worry about you burning down the house!" Draco turned to leave, but as he reached the door he pulled out his wand and Chelsey's book disappeared.
"YOU PRICK!" Chelsey shouted, only when she knew he was no longer in earshot. "Accio "
Nothing. No movement. No noise. What had he done with it? She would have to tell Mrs. Malfoy that her son was quite annoying when he wanted to be. She eventually gave up looking for it and moved onto something else.