Chapter 20

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I don't own any of the characters apart from Melanie Malfoy. All of the characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
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"Dobby?"

As soon as I called out his name, I began to regret following through with my plan. I could still get caught pretty easily, even with the silencing charm around my section of the hospital wing.

I waited for a minute or so in silence, wondering if he'd actually turn up. When you're waiting for something, sometimes your mind can start playing tricks on you, and that's exactly what mine started doing. Every sound through the dark room sounded like footsteps and I began to doubt if he would actually respond to me.

"Miss Melanie?"

I opened my eyes and glanced around the dark space surrounding me. As my eyes became accustomed to the dark again, my eyes focused on two small shadows stood at the end of my bed. I breathed a sigh of relief, recognising Dobby's voice and thanked him silently for coming.

"Who did you bring with you?" I asked wearily, not knowing which one of the two shadows to address directly. Instead, I kept looking between the two, willing one of them to answer so I knew which one to talk to.

"I'm Kreacher, miss. Kreacher is the house elf of Harry Potter, miss," he stated, in a disgusted tone, bowing low in the process.

Perfect.

"Hi Kreacher. Dobby, can I ask you a huge favour?" my choice sounded nervous and I could only hope neither of them picked up on it.

"Of course, miss. Dobby is always willing to help the youngest of the Malfoy family. Dobby owes you a great deal, miss," he squeaked. When I looked at him properly, I could see that he looked quite excited at the prospect of helping me.

"Malfoy..." Kreacher muttered. I then remembered how he'd reacted to Potter when he'd mentioned Draco's name earlier. Safe to say, my panic level was shooting through the roof now.

"That's gr-" I started, but was quickly cut off by Kreacher.

"No! Kreacher and Dobby aren't allowed to have contact with Malfoys," he hissed. He sounded quite annoyed with himself, but I knew he wasn't able to disobey orders. I remember how serious Dobby used to take orders when my father screamed them at him. Mind you, he could have just been scared.

"Actually, I overheard your conversation with Potter," I ignored the shocked look on Kreacher's face and carried on, "he said you could have no contact with Draco. He never even mentioned my name through the entire thing."

I sat patiently, watching Kreacher as he replayed the orders in his head. The excited look on his face when he realised I was right spoke for itself and I let a signature smirk slip onto my face. Since he looked ready to hear me out, I decided to explain what I wanted to happen.

"I was wondering if I'd be able to ask you both to do something for me," I paused, realising Kreacher said he was Potter's house elf. "Are you able to obey what I say?" I aimed this question at Kreacher more than Dobby because I'd heard he could obey who ever he wanted now he was free.

"Kreacher used to serve the Black family, miss. Kreacher knows that your family is related to the Blacks, so Kreacher would be honoured, miss," he replied, clearly proud of his knowledge. I just shook my head at him, smiling slightly at the glint in his eyes at the idea of taking my orders.

"Dobby is a free elf, miss. Dobby will definitely help, miss," he said, swaying from side to side playing with his tea cosy. His eyes were sparkling as well, which told me he was even more excited than when he'd told me this earlier.

Dobby had always been my favourite house elf from when I'd been stuck in the Manor. He'd always come and talk to me when everyone else was out even though he wasn't meant to. Sure, he punished himself after, but I always appreciated his company. He even told me once that I was his favourite member of my family.

"Okay. Well, I guess the first thing I need to say is that you can't tell anyone about this conversation. Ever. It has to be our secret." they both nodded in reply, their ears flapping as they did so.

"Also, Kreacher, everyone in Hogwarts thinks that my name is Melanie Lestrange. Not Malfoy. So, if you ever need to talk about me, that's the name you need to use," I put emphasis on the word need to make sure he wouldn't just randomly bring me up in conversations.

He nodded in reply again. I tried to think if there was any other things regarding me or the plan, but nothing came to mind. I decided that I might as well go straight to explaining the reason I called them in the first place.

"Well, I need you to ignore everything Potter said?" it came out as a question instead of a statement like I'd originally intended. They both continued to look up at me, their eyes wide, waiting for me to expand on my...question, apparently. When I didn't, Dobby spoke up.

"Dobby doesn't understand, miss. How are Dobby and Kreacher meant to go back to Harry Potter if Dobby and Kreacher don't have any answers?" he looked confused, still fiddling with his tea cosy.

"I can give you the answers that you give to Potter. That way Draco has no way of seeing you if you're tailing him. You could get caught by accident and then you'd have to deal with him lashing out at you," Dobby nodded in understanding. He'd seen Draco angry a few times before from when he was serving us.

"What should Kreacher and Dobby tell Master Potter then?" Kreacher asked, obviously trying to see a flaw in my plan.

"Draco goes to the seventh floor and visits a room called the Room of Requirement. It's impossible for other people to get in there while anyone else is as well. When he goes he tries to avoid any kind of attention. He doesn't want to be seen. He also takes a variety of students with him who keep watch while he's inside." I said all of this so quickly I'm surprised they even understood me.

"How shall Dobby and Kreacher tell Harry Potter this information?" Dobby asked. I hadn't thought about this. They couldn't exactly walk over to Potter and tell him all this now. He'd wonder how they'd gotten this all so fast.

"You need to wait for about a week. That way Potter will believe that you've actually been following Drake around," I muttered, more to myself than the two creatures in front of me, "you can only tell him the things I said a second ago. No other information can reach Potter about what he's doing."

"Okay, miss. Do you have anything else Dobby and Kreacher should know about?" Dobby asked, curiosity the only thing clear on his face at the moment. I nodded, trying to think how to word my next part of the plan.

"You'll have to make up a load of crap to make it sound believable that you've been following him around. Kreacher you'll have to mention some of his daily routine, you know, him going to classes, the great hall and his dorm, things like that. The way Potter talked to you early sounded like you admire my brother?" they both nodded now, and I didn't know whether to be slightly scared or not. Kreacher obviously seemed like Draco's biggest fan.

"Don't give the name of the room either. Just say that Draco goes up to the seventh floor and let Potter figure out the rest for himself. Carry on as if you're going to say it but let him cut across you, okay?" I don't think either of them had stopped nodding for the entire time I was talking. If they carried on, I wouldn't be surprised if their heads just fell off...

"Oh and last thing. Potter can't know that I know all this about Draco. He'll start to get suspicious of me and I can't deal with him tailing me. When you tell the story, just use Draco's name."

"Dobby will do exactly as you say, miss. And if Dobby fails then Dobby will let miss pick out a suitable punishment for Dobby," he told me, waiting for me to pick out this 'suitable punishment' that he was speaking of.

"I won't worry about that Dobby. I'm sure you'll do great. Don't punish yourself if you think you've done it wrong though," I added hastily, scared he would throw himself off the astronomy tower or something.

"Kreacher will also do as you've asked Miss Melanie. It is a great honour for Kreacher to be serving the noble Malfoy family after all this time," he bowed low as he said this and I felt a twisting feeling in my stomach. I wouldn't exactly call my family noble...

"Great. Anyway, after you've told him, can you come back and tell me. That way I'll know what he's going to do and how he reacted to what you've told him. Make sure Draco's not around me when you turn up though, I don't think he'd be too happy with me," when they both nodded in reply (again) I muttered their goodbyes and watched them disappear.

I only hoped some good could come out of Potter knowing what Draco was up to. I told myself that it would be better if I just told Dobby the information that could afford to be found out. If Potter knew what was going on behind the closed doors then Draco would be taken down immediately.

With these thoughts in mind, I drifted off into an uneasy sleep. The only thing turning up in my dreams were the angry face of Draco when he found out what I'd done...

**

It had been about a week and a half since I talked to Dobby and Kreacher about my plan, and I was sat in the Room of Requirement having a mental breakdown. I normally believed in the saying that no news was good news, but that didn't seem to apply in this situation.

Since I got out of the hospital wing, I'd still been making regular visits here, even though Draco had specifically told me not to. He'd seen me in here plenty of times but just made me sit and read things out the books we were using. Safe to say I felt incredibly useful. Not.

Back to my plan though. I could tell Potter knew something. I couldn't tell if it was because I'd heard his conversation with the two house elves or if it was something new, but he knew something. This could only mean that he'd talked to Dobby.

Just as all this was going through my head, a loud crack resonated around the room. I had been off in my own little world at this point so I jumped quite high when I heard this. I looked around in surprise trying to find the source of the noise. For some reason, I was expecting the Death Eaters to be surrounding me, which is probably why I drew my wand.

"Miss Melanie. It is Dobby and Kreacher. Miss Melanie needs to calm down," he squeaked, jumping up and down to get my attention. There was panic evident on both if their faces and it's only then that I realised my wand was pointing right into Kreacher's face.

"I'm so sorry Kreacher. I just wasn't expecting you at this time," I lowered my wand and placed it back in my pocket in one panicky move, checking to see if Kreacher was okay at the same time.

"Kreacher is okay, miss. Kreacher and Dobby have come to tell miss about Master Potter's reaction to the information you informed us about," he told me. I could sense he was slightly shook up about my reaction a few minutes ago, but he was trying hard not to show it.

I settled back down into the chair I had occupied for the past 6 hours and turned to face them both with a curious look on my face, "Go on."

"Dobby did exactly as you said, miss. When Dobby told Harry Potter about Draco Malfoy going to the seventh floor, he immediately realised Dobby was talking about the Room of Requirement," Dobby stated. I smiled warmly at him.

"That's great. So you only told him what I asked?" it sounded like I was doubting them, but I was so nervous that they'd let something else slip that I had to check.

"Kreacher and Dobby never mentioned anything but the information you told us about, miss. Your name wasn't mentioned by Kreacher or Dobby either, miss."

I let out a sigh of relief, happy to think that Potter might just leave Draco alone now. Apparently, I was wrong.

"Miss Melanie. Harry Potter also mentioned that he wanted to try and get into the Room of a requirement while Draco Malfoy was inside," Dobby squeaked, cowering away as though I was going to hex him.

I felt my heart sink. My plan obviously hadn't worked and now Potter was even more interested in why Draco was doing. I probably should have paid more attention when Draco said that Potter always stuck his nose into his business. That was the least of my worries right now though.

"D-did he m-mention when h-he was go-going to do th-this?" I stuttered. My heart was hammering, but I don't think either of the elves had noticed. If Potter started trying to get in here while Draco was, that means he'd find out I'd been helping him all year.

"Dobby doesn't think so, miss. He was just talking about trying to get in there and how it was easy for Draco Malfoy to get in last year," he told me, deep in thought, obviously trying to think back to their conversation.

"Well, thank you both for doing that. I really appreciate that," Dobby bowed low before waving goodbye and disapparating. I turned to see Kreacher stood looking at me strangely, muttering to himself.

"No one had ever thanked Kreacher like that before. Even mistress didn't thank Kreacher after all his tasks," he carried on muttering and I sat awkwardly waiting for him to finish. "Goodbye, miss," he said, taking one final bow and following Dobby out of the room.

I wanted to figure out how to get Potter's mind off the Room of Requirement and Draco, but before any thoughts could even cross my mind, I drifted into an easy sleep.

**

"OW!" I yelled, jumping out of the cabinet as fast as I could. A small piece of wood had been sticking out on the wall and as I stumbled, I put my hand right on top of it. When I turned around, I saw Draco laughing at me. So nice to know my brother cares about me.

Sense the sarcasm....

"Your...face," he breathed in between laughs. I just ignored him and walked back into the cabinet, trying to see if I could fix the slanted floor.

Ever since my...accident...in here, the cabinet seemed to be even more messed up than before. It had caved in on me, causing the walls to have small bits of wood sticking out at angles. The floor had also started moving at a slant, meaning it had stayed like that in Draco's frenzy trying to get me out.

"Why aren't you fixing this Drake? You wrecked it even more than it was just trying to get me out," I snapped, annoyed at him for many reasons. He'd also woke me up at 7 this morning so we could 'get to work on the cabinet'. I say it like that because he hadn't actually touched the cabinet in the 3 hours we'd been in here.

"Ah, but you were the one that decided to 'try out' the cabinet in the first place," he smirked. Hilarious.

"Shut it, Draco," I growled. I seriously wasn't in the mood for him this morning. I'd seen Potter when I was in the Great Hall this morning, and he'd been staring at Draco the entire time he was in there. I knew he'd begin trying to get in soon.

Draco's laughter was cut short when he realised I'd used his full name and he remained quiet while I worked. Every so often, he'd shout a spell out to me that he thought might help. I'll give him credit where it's deserved, they were the right spells.

Just as I turned around and opened my mouth to let Draco know I'd finished, a high pitch scream resonated around the room, followed by a loud thud. I will be honest, that did scare me a bit, so I was left frozen in my place, mouth open and all.

"What the hell was that?!" I asked Draco after I'd finally regained my senses. I was craning my neck trying to look around and find where the noise had come from. Draco however was staring directly at the door.

"Someone's out there."

"That's your answer? What made that noise?" I hissed back, still annoyed I didn't know what was happening around me.

"I brought Goyle up here today disguised as a first year using Polyjuice Potion. I could see Potter was getting more...intrigued with me and knew he wanted to know what was happening," he said. I held in a breath knowing that was because of me, but then realised I was still no closer to finding out what the noise was.

"So...?"

"So, I normally only bring Crabbe and Goyle here when I'm alone but figured that if Potter comes up then we'll need to have some sort of warning. He doesn't know you talk to me around school. It was to make sure he doesn't find out you're here as well."

Aw.

"That could mean he's out there now," Draco said, tensing as he thought of that possibility. I shook my head, picked up my bag and started my way over to the door. When Draco tried to grab hold of me, I turned my back away from him so I could explain what I was doing.

"For all he knows, I come in here to study," I explained, holding my bag up to show my point, "it's common knowledge my dorm mates, apart from Cho, don't like me. I could just be coming in here to study so I can get some peace."

With that said, I opened the door and looked around. No one was in sight, so I made my way forward before walking straight into something solid. The impact took me off guard and I fell to the floor, my bag contents emptying around me as it happened.

I looked up trying to see what had caused that and came into contact with bright green eyes, realising my plan had been a bad idea.

"Melanie, right?"
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I'm so excited :D in less that two weeks I get to have a tour around the Harry Potter studios *_* yeah, I may jus explode from all my excitement.

Sorry it took so long to update, my head's just been all over the place in the last couple of days, so it took me ages to write this. It's sorted now though, so I finally finished the chapter this morning.

I found it quite difficult to write this one. Dobby and Kreacher only talk in third person and I kept getting confused -.- but I was nearly crying writing this chapter, I watched the seventh Harry Potter film the other day and was just sobbing when Dobby died :'(

Sorry if it isn't the best chapter, but I wanted to get something up for you guys. The story is almost finished as well now :( I don't know how many more chapters but I know it's not many

Remember to vote & comment to let me know if you're liking the story and until next time :)
C x

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