Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine... Nor is Draco Malfoy... damn.


Chapter Twenty-Three

Hermione entered the dining room to where a feast lay on the table. "Do this all yourself Malfoy?" she questioned as she sat down, across from Draco.

"Yeah right, I had a house elf come over from the Manor." he said, just as he spoke, a house elf set a bowl of fruits on table.

"So this isn't the 'legendary' Malfoy Manor?" she said, starting to pile up her plate.

"Are you kidding me, Malfoy Manor is fifty times bigger than this place, you'd need a map just to get around."

Hermione reached over to try and pour herself some orange juice but was quickly stopped as the house elf scurried to do it for her, "Thank you." she smiled.

The house elf looked at Hermione completely dumbstruck, "Miss- Miss is welcome." she spoke, never hearing the words 'thank you' before.

Draco rolled his eyes, "You don't have to thank her, it's her job."

"A job that she doesn't get paid for." she spoke pointedly. "... Did she do all this, by herself?" Hermione was outraged. The meal before her consisted of pancakes, waffles, sausages to anything and everything else your mind could ever think of and to have a single elf do all this was just plain wrongdoing.

"What? I was not about to have all the house elf's from the Manor come here, it'd be too suspicious. Mother and father don't know I've borrowed her."

Hermione gave him an icy glare, "Abuser."

Draco stared at her with his mouth agape. "Don't start with your whole spew thing again, they like it."

"S. P. E. W." she accented each word by pounding on the table with her fists. "Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"Oh really? And how's that going for you?" he spoke sarcastically.

"I have a feeling it's going to start back up again," she said snidely.

"Not with my house elf you don't!"

"It's not my fault if she accidentally finds a sock." Hermione said stubbornly.

"Like hell it isn't! If I come home one day and find out that she isn't here, there will be hell to pay!"

"I have a dream! And it consists of house elf's having equal rights and good pay!"

"Oh Merlin," Draco shook his head.

"It's unfair and cruel to have them do your dirty work for the price of nothing!"

"Even if I did pay her, it's not as if she can do anything with it! As if she needs the money, she's got a roof over her head and a nice warm cupboard!"

"MALFOY!"

"What? It's got a pillow!" he defended.

"What about a blanket?!"

"It's got a cot!" he said, as if that was the answer to everything.

"She's not an IT!"

"She. She has a cot, and you see this," he pointed to the feast before them, "Anything you don't eat is hers and there's enough to feed ten people!"

"I'm not giving up on this Malfoy." she stood up. "S.P.E.W. lives on!" she nodded and walked away.

"Crazy little-" Draco spoke to himself but stopped as she re-entered the room, "Come to your senses?" he raised an eyebrow.

"... I want the fruit." she said as she sheepishly took the bowl and a fork. Draco gave her a look to which she simply responded "What? It tastes good and its fresh... stop staring at me!" Hermione yelled as she took the bowl and kept glancing behind her as she walked away. "Freaking creepy." Hermione muttered as Draco kept his eyes on her as she left the room.