Chapter One- Hogwarts
Disclaimer- I… Own… Nothing…
Summary: Harry is abandoned by the Dursleys and disappears, only to be found years later working as a Hogwarts house elf! Snape guardian, harry/veela!draco
Last time: Albus sighed once more and moved to a window where he stared out to the distance, “I understand. But there is nothing more we can do, but trust Harry to remain safe until then…”
***
Chapter One- Hogwarts
Twelve years later…
Twelve years ago they had discovered that little Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived and saviour of the wizarding world, was missing and nowhere to be found. They had tried every means available to them to find him, but each attempt had met with failure. Not even Rowena Ravenclaw’s magically enchanted quill had found him when it was time to write letters to the children in his age group. Despite Sybil Trelawney’s insistence that he was alive and living in a grand house surrounded by family, they had all grown resolute that Harry Potter was perhaps no more. They were losing hope that Voldemort would ever be defeated...
***
Hogwarts Kitchens
“POTTY!”
Potty lifted his head from where he was carefully cutting the crusts off of some dainty cucumber sandwiches, to look towards Sappy. “Coming!” He yelled back, placing the final sandwich onto the pile carefully arranged on a stand before making his way over to his elf-mother.
“Potty! Can yous be getting Manky please? She is stuffing the turkey and is falling inside!” Sappy fretted, wringing her hands over the sight of Manky stuck up the turkey, little feet wriggling in vain to get out. Drippy, who was supposed to be supervising Manky, was standing guiltily to one side where he had been preparing his own turkeys for the feast and not been paying attention to the elf maiden.
“Oh dear, ‘tis a very bad thing to be being stuck up a turkey’s bottom, indeed!” Sappy wailed. “Now turkey be tasting of Elfling! Not good for the little masters!” Potty had grown into a fine young Elfling. Though still shorter than herself, Potty had a sturdy, stocky body and like all male House Elfs, was stronger than he looked. He often used his strength to good advantage, and quickly became the elf that others went to when they themselves struggled. But while he was strong enough to remove the most stubborn stains in the Finnegan boy’s underwear, he was also delicate enough to be renowned for making the daintiest of sandwiches.
Potty patted Sappy on the shoulder before grabbing the turkey, Drippy grabbing Manky’s ankles, and heaving together until a loud pop was heard and Manky’s head came free of the turkey, covered in stuffing mixture and remnants of slime. Drippy grimaced before clicking his fingers and cleaning the elf-maiden up. They were short handed today preparing the thanksgiving meal with Alfy being off work having squashed his nose in the oven door, otherwise Manky wouldn’t be assisting with the cooking. Of course if Headmaster Dumbledore didn’t insist on celebrating every special occasion, even if it wasn’t a British festival, they wouldn’t be having a problem putting the food together. Bad Potty! Do not be thinking such things about masters!
Drippy sighed and smiled kindly at Manky. “Why don’t you be taking ten cucumber sandwiches to Albus Dumbledore’s office? He is having a meeting before feast and guests must be being fed! You can be taking the other sandwiches to the tables on the way.” As the elves weren’t sure if all the food would be ready in time, they were putting them up on the tables bit by bit to ensure the students and teachers had at least something to eat; protecting the food with charms which also kept the items at the right temperatures.
Manky nodded enthusiastically, her nose, not unlike that of a proboscis monkey waggling up and down. She took hold of the stand of sandwiches carefully before apparating away. Potty got to work helping other elfs to finish their tasks.
Drippy watched her go then went to comfort Sappy over the ruined turkey. “It is being okay, we is having ninety-nine other turkeys all ready cooked, and lots more food; little witchies and wizards be eating well tonight!” He nodded firmly and disposed of the turkey before ushering Sappy back to making the pumpkin pies before they burned and Sappy started crying all over again. Sappy was getting more emotional in her middle-age.
***
Dumbledore’s office
Severus Snape, Potions Master and teacher at Hogwarts was worried. He was currently in Albus Dumbledore’s office with his old school friends and their son, who also happened to be his beloved godson. He had watched his godson change recently, from the beautiful boy he usually was, with a mind sharper than a wyvern’s claw; to the gaunt unkempt creature sat beside him, who was drifting further and further from reality. Closing his eyes in pain, he shifted his gaze from his godson, to his godson’s father who had turned to speak to Dumbledore.
“So you see, Headmaster- we have a slight problem. Draco has been a Veela for over five months now, and he still has not found his mate. He is getting weaker. We need to remove him from this school so we can continue searching; that is our priority.”
Dumbledore considered Lucius Malfoy. He and his wife had requested a meeting to discuss a private matter a week ago, and Albus had been wracking his brain over what it could be for days, but he had not ever considered anything like this. This was a problem. Severus Snape had come to him at the end of last year stating that Draco had confided in him about his father preparing to take him to the Dark Lord to be marked. Draco Malfoy did not wish to be a Death Eater, and Albus feared that whether or not Lucius was telling the truth or using it as a cover up, Draco might still be marked against his will when he was away from the protection of the castle. Albus could not allow that to happen.
“Have you searched the entire castle? Looked in every corner?” Albus queried.
“What, you mean like the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors?” Lucius sneered. “My son will not be mated to anyone from those houses!”
Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled. “What about other options? Have you considered males as well as females? Other magical creatures that dwell in the Forest for example?”
Lucius spluttered, face a mottled red colour. Narcissa paled, imagining her son mating to one of the Acromantulas that dwelled in the forest’s depths, before dismissing the idea. A veela could only mate with a sentient being such as another veela, human or perhaps one of the fae. A veela had standards after all.
Dumbledore chuckled at having made the Malfoys speechless. “Why don’t we ask Draco what he thinks?” Dumbledore turned to the blond boy who had been staring out of the window for the entirety of the meeting. With a nudge from his godfather, Draco turned his head towards the headmaster.
The headmaster only just managed to stop himself recoiling. How had he not noticed the changes in the boy? Pulling himself together, he addressed the young Slytherin. “Now Draco, we were just discussing… Ah, Manky! Cucumber sandwiches, just the way I like them. Thank Potty for me, will you?”
Severus watched Draco frown in a rare moment of clarity. Manky cucumber sandwiches, and a Potty? What in Salazar’s name?! Draco turned to see Dumbledore addressing a house elf to his left and struggled not to sneer in disgust while Dumbledore was watching him. Her name was Manky, and another elf was called Potty?! No Malfoy would ever have a house elf with such ridiculous names.
“Sandwich?”
Draco looked up to see the house elf gone and Dumbledore offering the sandwich stand. Grudgingly he took one, taking a dainty bite. His eyes flew wide. The sandwich was good! Draco had always thought a sandwich was a sandwich, but this sandwich was a sandwich above all other sandwiches! There was something special about it… Draco took a bigger bite, chewed and swallowed with relish before reaching for more, grabbing a handful this time.
“What?” He asked guardedly, everyone was staring at him.
“You seem to be enjoying the sandwiches a little too much, Draco dear. Do try and be more seemly in public.” Narcissa chided gently. Draco had slipped of the path of normality again.
Draco blushed. “But they’re good, the way they smell, the way they taste… I don’t think I’ll ever have enough of them. They’re so soft; they’d feel fantastic brushing against my skin…” He trailed off as he used the corner of the finger sandwich to trace the outline of his lips.
Snape shuddered in revulsion, and Lucius and Narcissa frowned at each other before looking to Dumbledore. “Is there any chance the sandwiches came into contact with any students before they came here?” Narcissa questioned. “It’s possible his mate was around them, the way he’s react- Draco darling, sandwiches are made to eaten, not fellated.” She raised a stern eyebrow at her son whilst chiding him, making sure he was eating them normally again before turning back to look at Dumbledore who was grinning widely. It seemed Lucius Malfoy was telling the truth after all about his son’s predicament, and perhaps his son’s needs would keep him from presenting his child to his master.
“Manky!” Dumbledore called. Manky appeared with a pop, her nose swinging and slapping her cheek as she arrived.
“Yes sir?”
“Did you take some sandwiches to the tables before coming here?”
“Oh yes, sir!”
“And were there some students already there and waiting for the feast to begin?”
“Oh yes, sir. Manky is putting charms up to keeps them little masters off the food ‘til Albus Dumbledore is being there! I’s putting up good charms!”
“I’m sure you did, Manky,” Dumbledore praised, Manky’s nose jiggling in delight, her cat-like ears seemed to point even straighter than before and her yellow eyes filled with tears of joy.
“Now, when you took the charms down to place the sandwiches on the table before putting them back up, did you have any problems with students trying to take the food?” Dumbledore wanted to know.
“Oh yes, sir, little wizarding children being very hungry, lots of grabbing hands trying to be getting the sandwiches.” Manky nodded solemnly.
Dumbledore smiled and turned to the Malfoys. “Perhaps if we go to the Great Hall, Manky can point out the students in question and Draco can touch them and find out if any are his mate. He probably just hasn’t found it yet as he is unwilling to come into close contact with members of other houses. Veela lore does say that a mate usually turns out to be someone the Veela has been around for years, without realising who they were.”
Lucius gritted his teeth and nodded. While he was not happy that Draco’s mate might turn out to be someone from a different house, he cared about his son. “Come Draco.” Lucius commanded, standing up and turning around in a flourish of robes to stride towards the door. When he got there he realised he wasn’t being followed and turned to look. Narcissa and Draco were standing by the sandwich stand, Narcissa trying to persuade Draco into something.
“What is the problem?” Lucius snarled, irritated at the hold up.
“Draco won’t let go of the last cucumber sandwich, and he won’t eat it either. Come on, Draco, the sandwich is meant to be eaten, not held. If you don’t want to eat it then put it down.” She cajoled.
“No! My mate might have touched this sandwich; I’m not letting it go!” Draco screamed, squashing the sandwich between his fingers even more.
Narcissa sighed and gave up. The longer he had been without his mate, the weirder her son’s behaviour became. It was best just to go along with it and hope the situation would soon be resolved. “Come along then, Dragon,” she soothed, caressing her son’s white blond hair to calm him down. “You can take the sandwich; let’s go find your mate.” Taking her son’s other hand she led him towards her husband who was wiping his hand over his face.
“Right then,” Dumbledore said cheerily, stepping around the Malfoys with Manky to head towards the Great Hall, Severus Snape silently taking up the rear.
***
Great Hall
“When’s Dumbledore gonna get here so we can start the feast? He’s late! I’m hungry, and it’s worse because the food is already in front of us, tempting us, but we can’t get it!” Ron grumbled, looking towards where Seamus Finnegan, maddened with hunger kept trying to get at the food, despite being zapped by the shield charms each time. Ronald Weasley, youngest son of Molly and Arthur Weasley was almost tempted to try to get past the shield charms himself. It was only the sickly smell of burnt arm airs emanating from his friend that stopped him. Ron was rather proud of his manly hairy arms, and didn’t think bald patches amongst the springy hair would attract the ladies, particularly one Hermione Granger.
“I’m sure Dumbledore is on his way, he’s probably doing something important, if you notice, Professor Snape is also missing,” the aforementioned Hermione Granger reasoned. “They were probably in a meeting or something.”
“With Malfoy? He’s missing too,” Ron pointed out, surprising Hermione with being so observant. “What could he be meeting with Malfoy for?”
“Remember, Dumbledore told us Malfoy switched to the Light side. Maybe they were discussing strategies to keep Malfoy from being marked. You know he was sure that was going to happen soon.” Hermione pointed out.
“Yeah well, he might be on our side now- if we can believe him, but he’s still a git, and if he’s holding Dumbledore up, then he’s even more of a git.”
“Ron!” Hermione admonished, though secretly she too had her doubts about Malfoy. While he claimed to be on the Light side, she had seen no evidence to convince her of the fact.
“Here they are, and the ferret’s got his parents with him,” Ron announced. He frowned. What on earth were they doing? They seemed to be walking up and down beside the tables, occasionally looping around in circles. It wasn’t until they headed towards the Gryffindor table that Ron saw they were following a house elf. He snorted at the sight of the Malfoys following a creature they considered beneath them.
“This is the last table.” Dumbledore said as the group came to a halt beside Neville Longbottom who looked decidedly nervous about the company the headmaster was keeping.
Hermione raised an eyebrow as she took note of Draco’s shoulders dropping at that remark, and his fists getting tighter. She also noticed Malfoy seemed to have what appeared to be a cucumber sandwich squashed and oozing between his fingers. How weird.
“Good evening Hermione, Ronald. Did you happen to see if anyone here almost grabbed a sandwich when Manky placed them on the table? Only she doesn’t quite remember who it might have been; humans all look the same to her.” Dumbledore’s bright blue eyes sparkled in humour.
“Well, Seamus almost got one, in fact, he’s still trying…” Hermione trailed off as a particularly violent zap from the shield burnt away the Irish boy’s eyebrows and eyelashes but for some reason caused his nose and ear hair to grow two foot long, with perfect salon curls. Everyone watching blinked and turned to look at Draco when he spoke.
“No.”
“Draco,” Narcissa said, “you can’t say no. You don’t really have a choice.” She combed her fingers through her son’s hair again and watched as her son’s frown turned to a pout which he directed at his father.
“No daddy, I don’t want that one,” he announced, his voice slightly higher pitched than usual, face strained and sandwich mush now practically dripping from his hand.
Snape raised an eyebrow. “I’m with him.” The thought of Finnegan mated to his beloved godson caused his lip to curl in disdain. Anyone but him- even Longbottom was preferable to that loon.
“What are you on about, Malfoy?” Ron asked.
“I’m on about the fact that Finnegan’s an idiot and I will not be mated to him!” Draco returned, pulling out his wand to face Ron who had done the same thing in defence of his friend.
“He’s not an idiot!” Ron roared.
In the meantime, Hermione’s brain was racing. Mate? She put together observations of Malfoy’s behaviour over the last few months with his appearance and everything she had ever read. “Veela,” she finally stated, her eyes lingering on his hair which was shining in the moonlight pouring from the enchanted ceiling. She was surprised it had taken so long for her to figure it out. Draco tore his eyes from Ron’s to give her a curt nod.
“Stand down, Ron,” Hermione pulled him back to his seat by his sleeve, “don’t be ridiculous. You’re a prefect.”
Ron sat down. “You’re a veela?” He asked Draco. “Oh,” he said when his enemy nodded. “Can’t you find your mate?” He actually felt sorry for the Slytherin, he had heard it was horrible for a veela not to be able to find their mate, their heart felt like it was breaking all the time, and they eventually descended into madness. Ron might not like the prat, but he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
“Is it anyone here?” Snape questioned Draco who was walking around everybody, brushing up against everyone as he did so. He finally returned and shook his head, his face taking on a look of despair.
“Where are you?!” He screamed at the cucumber sandwich in his hand, squashed almost beyond recognition. “Why can’t I find you? You’ve got to be here, I need you!” No one laughed, despite the fact Draco Malfoy, Prince of Slytherin was pouring his heart out to a sandwich, the situation made it all a bit sad really.
“Hey Malfoy,” Ron spoke up. “Have you tried asking the house elf that made the sandwiches whether anyone else came into contact with them, I mean there’s got to be someone in this school who’s not in this room.” He blushed when Hermione gave him a loud smacking kiss on the lips. Looked like he didn’t need to worry about unattractive arm hair after all.
“You’re so clever, Ronald.” She smiled not a bit embarrassed at having kissed her new boyfriend in front of two of her teachers.
“Manky,” Dumbledore said kindly. “Will you tell Potty to please come here and bring any humans that came into contact with, or were near, the sandwiches at any point?” Manky bobbed her nose up and down before disappearing.
“There now,” Dumbledore said,” we just have to wait for Potty to come. In the meantime, why don’t we all take a seat?”
The Slytherins and former Slytherins all looked disgusted at sitting at the Gryffindor table but did so, settling in to wait.
***
Hogwarts Kitchens
“Potty!” Manky shrieked on arrival. “Albus Dumbledore is wanting to see you and you is to be bringing humans with you when they is having been near the sandwiches!”
Potty frowned. “No human is having been near them except when the sandwiches are being with Manky.”
Manky shook her head. “They is not being the right witchies or wizards. They is looking for someone special. I is not worrying Dumbledore being angry with Potty if he brings no humans. It is being okay.”
Potty nodded, and clicking his fingers, apparated upstairs.
***
Great Hall
When Draco heard the apparition of a house elf, he heard with it angelic music, saw bright lights spark behind his closed eyelids and a feeling of warmth had come over him. His mate was here, he knew it. A smile made its way onto his face, and he opened his eyes, ready to see the person who he would be spending the rest of his life with, loving and making love with… and came face to face with a house elf. Well, face to face if he looked several feet below eye level.
“I, Draco Malfoy am mated to a fucking house elf?!” He screeched, everyone in the Hall turning to look at him, including his parents and godfather who had dawning looks of horror in their eyes.
“What?!” Lucius exclaimed in a very good imitation of his son. “A house elf? How can that happen?”
“Well, Mr Malfoy,” Hermione put in hesitantly. “House elves are both sentient, and humanoid, so perhaps…”
“Yeah, at least it wasn’t a centaur, the sex would have been a bit awkward, uncomfortable too I’d bet,” Ginny supplied helpfully from where she had been eavesdropping on the whole thing further down the table. “He’s kind of cute really, lovely green eyes.”
Colin Creevey nodded enthusiastically by her side. “Gorgeous smooth skin too,” he added. Ron was looking pretty disturbed by this point, though whether it was the images of Malfoy with a centaur, the fact that his younger sister had been the one to bring it up, or the comments admiring the bumpy green-skinned creature in front of them he wasn’t sure.
Ginny smiled wider. “He’s got lovely legs hasn’t he? Toned thighs, shapely calves, slim ankles… Imagine what they’d feel like wrapped around your waist!”
Dean couldn’t help it; he burst out laughing at the sight of the Malfoys’ paling faces.
Malfoy Senior looked about ready to faint. It was rather funny in an ironic way, Ginny couldn’t help thinking, and it was fun to tease them about it. She looked between Draco and the house elf Potty who looked confused by the whole thing and sobered. It was a bit of an awkward situation really. She looked toward Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, who had joined the group, for answers.
Dumbledore studied the young elf before him then glanced at Draco, who despite being horrified had a bit more colour in his face than earlier; the dark shadows below his eyes also receding. The headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry then turned his gaze to the face of his potions master. Severus Snape looked ready to murder the poor elf. Dumbledore sighed. This was not going to be easy.
To be continued…