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Draco in an unexpected situation

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Last time on Draco in an Unexpected Situation:

Tani stood at the other side of the bedroom door. She was scared. She knew where Draco was, and knew that it would only be a matter of time before Master Greggy asked her to take him to Draco. The other house elf was busy working, but in the midst of taking the winter curtains down to put the summer curtains up, he came next to Tani, put his hand on her shoulder briefly and said "Chappy take Master Greggy. Chappy go. Chappy not scared". The stretch of putting his hand on Tani's shoulder must have taken him some effort. The tiny elf quickly whisked to the window again, to hang the lighter curtains, whilst Tani remained by the door, nodding to herself.

Chappy didn't know that Tani had important duties to attend to.

13) Draco, I'm coming to save you

Goyle remained in his bedroom. He sat in the corner, with his legs crossed and his arms squashed against his chest, thinking of other possible ways in which he could find Draco.

It wasn't until he heard a crack from outside his door, indicating apparition and Chappy came in. Goyle enjoyed watched Chappy work and Chappy was happy to let Master Greggy watch him work.

Chappy reminded Goyle of a puppy dog. He was only two feet high (which even for a House Elf was tiny), had large floppy ears, dark puppy-like eyes, a thin smattering of light brown fluffy hair that hadn't fallen off yet (as happened with Elves) and a little squat nose. He even seemed to have the energy of a puppy, bouncing while he stood still and whipping around with the air of an intrigued puppy.

Goyle watched as Chappy straightened the curtains for a final time, after having cleaned all of the windows and changed all of the curtains in their mansion earlier that day. Whilst Chappy was there, he also straightened the bed sheets and cushions again, which had become crumpled and messed up when Goyle had dived onto his bed that morning in frustration.

Goyle then got the idea. He couldn't believe that it had taken him this long.

"Chappy, can you find someone? Anyone?"

Chappy looked at Goyle for a moment and then responded affirmatively.

"Can you…" Goyle licked his lips expectantly "can you find a specific person, even if no one else can?"

"Possibly" responded Chappy, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Could you find Draco Malfoy?"

Again Chappy responded positively.

Goyle took a deep breath and said "Will you help me find Draco Malfoy?"

Chappy looked at Goyle, looking very much like a puppy standing on its hind legs, paused for a moment and agreed to help.

Goyle gathered a few items that he thought he would need into his school bag. He could not carry much, but he gathered a change of clothes, his toothbrush and his hair comb as he didn't know if he would be out overnight, the emergency potions and medical equipment that he took with him everywhere (as accident prone wizards tended to do), and a green blanket with the Slytherin crest on that he had 'borrowed' from school as he tended to be cold.

He then was woken up to reality when Chappy said loudly to Goyle "We shall go tomorrow morning- too late to go now and I still have to prepare vegetables for dinner, tend to horses, clean the aviary, light the candles, run baths in three bathrooms, prepare bed for Mistress and Master…" Chappy rambled off a long list of jobs that he did, that Goyle had not necessarily known that were done at all, let alone by house elves. Goyle resigned himself to having to set out the following day.

HP/HP/HP/HP

The following day, Draco was back to his intensive training schedule. He realised that he was stronger than he had ever been in his life. It was not long before his pattern was disturbed again however. Mid-morning, a loud crack indicated apparition. It sounded as though it came from the kitchen. Knowing by know that no one could get in that was not invited, Draco was not scared, but he did ensure that his wand was reachable as he walked into the kitchen. Draco walked to the door and his breathe caught in his throat. A very tall Elf and a radiant red-haired woman were standing in the kitchen… that is, until she turned around and Draco saw who it was.

Ginny Weasley. When she saw him, Ginny glowered but did not say a word. She just crossed her arms and looked away.

The tall Elf had a stern expression and seemed unapproachable. He was very nearly as tall as Draco, and had a long, thin scraggly beard and a svelte figure. Draco imagined that the Elf was graceful and deadly. His name was Pappy.

Starting practically immediately, Pappy and Dobby began teaching Draco and Ginny together. They were not overjoyed with the arrangement, but both knew better than to show their feelings about it, and worked together as best as they could. Quite quickly, Ginny and Draco formed a- for want of a better word- friendship. The following morning, Ginny offered to show Draco some Elven potion-making. Draco eagerly learned from Ginny, marvelling in the intricacies and how different to wizard potions it was. Dobby also watched fascinated, as he had never been involved in potion-making. Draco amazed Ginny by making her a full English breakfast and fresh coffee, and showed her how to clean the kitchen using muggle methods. Ginny then also showed Draco some spells that she had created, including a nifty little incantation that dropped thirty giant mosquito creatures that had daggers for heads. The heads would dig into anything below, and the bodies would melt away. Draco also liked a spell that Ginny had created that aided with cleaning.

"Verrimus leaves" Ginny called as she waved her wand through the air. All of the leaves nearby pulled themselves together and neatly stacked themselves on the floor directly where Ginny ended the wand movement.

"It can also be used for gathering death eater bodies" Ginny exclaimed proudly, "watch- verrimus fly carcasses" All of the dead fly bodies whipped themselves into as neat pile as with the leaves, and stopped inches from the leaves. Draco suddenly imagined piles and piles of objects encircling them as if they had been practicing all day. He smiled at the thought. Ginny smiled back and let out a small laugh. Draco felt privileged to be the first human to learn these spells from this gifted witch.

Meanwhile, Goyle had just managed to convince Chappy that it was time to set off. They had left Goyle manor with a twist and a crack, and arrived in a dense forest only who knew where. Goyle felt uncomfortable to be so enclosed, wearing clothes too heavy for the surroundings, with only a change of clothes that were heavier still. What he had yet to find out, was that he was in for a six day hike through the forest. Chappy was a good Elf, but although young, he still knew of the plans that were being put in place, and he had to give the tutor elves the time to prepare for the arrival of an unexpected cog.

Chappy was abiding by house-elf law, but was being lenient with it.

Slightly confused, Goyle walked grudgingly, sweating buckets, feeling the burn in his legs before even half hour had passed. He hoped that he would find Draco quickly, but he had an inkling that it would be a while.

How he would have felt if he had known that Chappy had taken him to a space only 20 yards from Draco, and then deliberately directed him in the opposite direction, so that he may extend the journey for as long as possible- well, we'll never know. Goyle had a feeling that something was not right, but all he could do was put his faith in Chappy. It occurred to him at this moment that he didn't know much about the little elf. Goyle wished right at that moment that he knew something… anything… about House Elf law.

HP/HP/HP

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Next chapter: Surprises for Goyle

There are seven chapters left of this story.