Chase Malfoy of Diagon Alley

By Echo

Help Wanted

Someone was banging on the door.

Cordelia's eyes flew open. She surveyed the room. It was full of boxes. Her stuff. Oh yeah. She was in London. She just about fell trying to get out of the bed. She rushed to the window and threw it open. She leaned over. A figure below noticed her and stepped back. He was very tall and black. Cute too, from what she could see.

"Are you Ms. Chase?"

"Yeah." She hollered, then looked down at her camisole top and underwear. Cordelia was glad the window was waist high. "Who the hell are you?"

"Dean Thomas. You called about the sign."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." She looked down again. "Give me a minute, alright?"

"Sure."

She rushed around the room trying to find the box that had her clothing in it. She managed to find a khaki skirt that hit her knees and an olive green knit top. She shoved her feet into a pair of brown slides with a bit of a heel on them and ran her fingers through her short blonde-streaked hair.

"Even thrown together, you still look charming." Her mirror said.

Cordelia winked at it and rushed down the stairs. She was making a hell of a noise, but who cared. The paused a few seconds by the door to catch her breath before opening it to let Dean Thomas, who looked even more handsome up close, inside.

"Sorry about the mess. We just moved in yesterday."

"We?"

"Yeah, me and my boss. He's still firmly ensconced in his rooms on the third floor. Still asleep, no doubt. And I can't believe I just used the word ensconced in a sentence."

Dean laughed. This American was like a breath of fresh air. "So I'm painting your hanging sign and the front display window, right, Ms. Chase?"

"Right. And please call me Cordelia. I hear Ms. Chase and I start looking for my mother... and that's NEVER good."

Dean laughed. "Cordelia. All right. You call me Dean then."

She flashed her thousand watt smile at him. He was visibly moved for a few seconds. She knew she had a great smile. Not that she was really trying to flirt with him. She was, but it was more her wanting to make nice and have some friends in this unfamiliar place.

"And the sign and window will read..."

"Oh sorry." She started rummaging through file boxes and stacks of books. She was making a ton of noise shifting stuff around. Finally she found it. She handed a piece of parchment paper to Dean.

His eyes bugged. "Chase Malfoy Investigations?"

"Cordelia Chase and-"

"Draco Malfoy?"

"You know him?"

"You could say that. We went to school together."

"Really."

"What in the bloody hell is going on down here? Did a soddin' herd of hippogriffs rampage through? Is the building still intact? You didn't pack one of those Californian earthquakes with you, did you, Chase?"

Cordelia and Dean turned. There he was in all his 'just wearing my black silk boxer shorts' glory. Draco Malfoy. He was scowling very hard. If he wasn't being so grumpy, Cordelia might have had a thought or two about his yummy goodness standing there in just his boxers.

"I'm so glad you got dressed before you came down, Princess Malfoy." Cordelia said with a roll of her eyes. "Have a good sleep? Took you long enough to wake up."

"What's he doing here?" Draco said nodding at Dean.

"Dean's here to paint the sign and the window."

"Oh it's Dean now, is it?"

"Oh shut up and go put on your black dress, blondie."

"They're called robes, you silly cow."

"Whatever. Looks like a dress to me." Her eyes narrowed. "And don't you EVER call me a cow again. I have issues with that word, mister whiter shade of pale. Inter-dimensional issues."

Dean snicker but covered it with a cough.

"Make coffee." Draco snapped before turned and stalking back up the stairs. Cordelia had no idea bare feet could make such a racket.

"A please would be nice."

"Just do it, Chase."

"Yes, master." She did a mock bow and his retreating form. "I will make the coffee, master...."

Draco spun around and glared.

"... bater."

He snarled at her before storming off. Dean was chuckling as he headed back out the door to get his supplies.

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"He's your boss?"

"Yeah? So?"

"You two fight like that all the time?"

"You call THAT a fight? Pfft!" Cordelia slashed her hand through the air. "That was just Princess Malfoy being cranky. That I can handle. I mean, my last boss was a vampire. He was real grumpy sometimes of the morning, you know, vampires being all flame-y about the sunlight and all. Angel could make the lights dim with some of his dark moods. Draco Malfoy not being a morning person isn't even a blip on my radar."

Dean grinned at her. He couldn't wait to tell Seamus. His boyfriend was going to die when he heard about Draco Malfoy's new live-in girl friday.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cordelia was unloading boxes when Draco came back down the stairs - not in his robes. He hated to admit it, but her dress comments had gotten to him. No matter how much he grew up, there was still a touch of vanity to him at times. He was wearing black slacks and a black dress shirt.

Draco poured himself a cup of coffee. He put no sugar or creme in it. He liked his coffee black. He took a big sip and immediately spit it everywhere.

Cordelia spun around. "What? What is it?"

"You put dirt in this, didn't you?"

"What? No."

"What did you do to it then?"

"Nothing. I just made it like I always do."

She always made coffee like that? And people actually DRANK it? Draco set the mug down and started examining the coffee maker. It was muggle, but had been charmed to run off of magic instead of electricity. It had been a present from Arthur Weasley a few years ago when he'd discovered how much Draco liked coffee.

"You better not have broken this."

"I didn't break it, babyman. Geez."

"Then why does the coffee taste like old boot?"

"I thought you said it tasted like dirt."

"No, I asked if you had put dirt in it."

"Whatever. If you don't like it, make the coffee yourself from now on."

"I believe I shall." He took the entire pot of coffee and poured it down the little sink at the kitchenette in the corner. He even made a face at the offending brown liquid as it swirled down the drain.

Cordelia rolled her eyes again and went back to her boxes.

*~*~*~*~*~*

About noon she decided she'd had enough unpacking. Fred and Wesley had managed to get her copies of more obscure texts than Cordelia probably needed. She had most of the stuff that was in Angel Investigations' research library. Fred had even translated some stuff for her. Cordelia smiled. Good old Fred. She missed the funky little taco eating Texan. She missed them all actually.

Cordelia tried the door to Draco's office, but was locked. He'd said he had a bunch of paperwork for the Auror department to do. They kept him on retainer.

"Going for some lunch. You want anything?"

No answer.

"I could bring you something back."

Nothing.

"Fine!"

Cordelia stalked over to her desk and grabbed a piece of paper. She scrawled 'Out to Lunch' on it and grabbed a piece of something called spell-o-tape and taped the note to the window in the door. Dean was standing on a ladder painting the wooden sign that hung above the door. Cordelia shielded her eyes and looked up at him.

"You're doing that by hand."

"Yeah? So?"

"I thought you wizarding types did everything by wand."

"I'm muggleborn. And some things are worth doing by hand." He said with a smile.

Cordelia very nearly blushed. "Say, where's there to eat around here? I'm all about lunch, and Princess Malfoy wasn't answering when I went rapping on his chamber door."

Dean scampered down from the ladder and wiped his paint-flecked hands on the worn jeans he had on. "I'm meeting someone for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. That's about the only respectable place to get a bite around here. Why don't you join us?"

"Your date won't mind?"

"Not in the least." He offered her his arm. "By the way, those shoes are fabulous."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Leaky Cauldron was a dark and noisy place. It smelled like spices. Cordelia liked it already. When she was in high school, she would have hated a place like this, but the Queen C had come a long way since then. She had her arm hooked through Dean's. He'd offered, so she'd accepted.

Then she saw someone at a booth waving at them. He was cute too. Then Cordelia realized something. Several somethings actually.

"You're gay, aren't you?"

Dean looked at her. "What?"

She pointed at the waver. "He's waving at us. That's your date, isn't it? You're gay."

"What gave me away?" Dean said with a grin.

"The fact that you're so darn cute, and you liked my shoes. The cute ones are always gay. Also you said fabulous. No straight guy says fabulous. Especially in reference to women's shoes."

Dean chuckled as they finally reached Seamus.

"An' who might this be?" He said with just a hint of jealousy in his accented voice.

"Seamus, this is Cordelia Chase. I'm painting the sign and window for her office. She's in the building between the apothecary and Quality Quidditch Supplies. Cordelia, this is my very temperamental and jealous boyfriend Seamus Finnigan."

Cordelia and Seamus shook hands.

"Cordelia works for Draco Malfoy, Seamus."

Both his sandy brown eyebrows went up. "Really?"

Cordelia took a seat as Seamus and Dean slid into the opposite side together. Fairly soon Seamus had wriggled her entire tale of how she came to be with Malfoy out of her as she ate her shepherd's pie and drank her butterbeer.

Several people stopped to say 'hi' to Dean and Seamus during their lunch. Cordelia got introduced to many a new face. They all had the same reaction when told she worked for Draco Malfoy. That surprised 'really', as if she just didn't know what she was getting into, poor girl. Poor girl, indeed. They didn't know her. She was the nastiest girl ever to walk the halls of Sunnydale High. She'd worked for the brooding-est vampire ever for four years. Draco Malfoy was going to be a piece of cake.

A small inner voice was telling her that maybe she could eat it too.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Cordelia entered the office to find two things there that weren't before. A person and a thing that could best be described as a wingless flesh-colored bat in a hand towel that was knotted over one shoulder like a toga.

The person rose slowly and looked at her. Cordelia's breath caught in her throat. Sweet Jesus! He was HOT for an older guy. His robes were a bit threadbare and wrinkled. He had laugh lines around his eyes, and his light brown hair was streaked with gray, but he was salty goodness. Like Harrison Ford goodness. Over fifty and just sizzling. And his eyes were so blue... and sad.

"C-can I help you?"

"He was here first." The man said in a gravel-y voice that shot tingles all through her body.

He was pointing at the bat thing.

"Oh. Well, can I help you then?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes, miss. I is Dookey. I is needing hope."

She looked at the weird bat thing with it's very large purple eyes and said... "Huh?"

The thing waved a piece of paper at her. Cordelia snatched it. It was a newspaper called the Daily Prophet. The pictures were moving on it. Cordelia shrieked in terror and tossed the paper down.

The door to Draco's office was flung open and he came rushing out. "What? What's wrong?"

Cordelia pointed at the paper on the floor. "The paper's possessed!"

"What?" Draco jumped back, pulling Cordelia with him protectively.

"It's possessed. The pictures were moving."

Draco got the most exasperated look on his face. "It's a wizard newspaper, you twit. The pictures do that."

"Oh."

The older man started snickering. Draco and Cordelia glared at him.

Draco's face quickly went to shock. "Professor Lupin?"

"Not for a while. Remus Lupin will do, Mr. Malfoy."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came about the advertisement for help wanted. I'll just be going now." He turned for the door.

Draco blinked. "You're hired."

Cordelia looked at Draco. "With no interview? I think not."

"He knows his stuff, Chase. Trust me."

Cordelia shrugged. Who was she to argue if he seemed so certain? Remus Lupin had turned slowly and was looking at draco in shock.

Draco looked at Remus. "We open up the office at nine. Lunch is at noon. We close up when the day is done. If you need a place to stay, there are rooms available with Chase and myself upstairs. Pay is thirty galleons a week. I know it isn't a great lot, but that's what I can afford for now."

"I'll take it."

"Good." Draco looked at the house-elf standing there. "Yes? And you needed what?"

"I is hopeless. I is needing help."

Draco pointed at Cordelia. "Talk to her." Then he stalked back into his office and slammed the door.

Cordelia blinked, then she turned to the bat thing. "Ok, not to be terribly rude or anything, but what ARE you?"

"I is Dookey."

"You don't look like crap."

"No, misses. I is Dookey. Dookey the house-elf."

Cordelia blinked. She really was way out of her depth on this one. What in the hell was a house-elf?

"Would it be helpful if I took this one?" Remus Lupin asked.

"Please." Cordelia said.

She started unpacking again as Remus led Dookey to her desk. There was some crying and prostrating when Remus offered the house-elf a set. Finally, the entire story got out. Cordelia listened intently while she continued to unpack and straighten her books on the bookshelves. From what she gathered, Dookey the house-elf had been dismissed from his last job, and he needed a new job. Much to her horror, Dookey even had the little cotton spiderman underoos to prove his dismissal. Cordelia hadn't managed to turn away fast enough when he'd lifted his towel to show them off.

Her understanding was that when a house-elf got clothes, it was a punishment. They were set free. Normally this would be a good thing, in her opinion, but she was getting the feeling house-elfs liked slave labor. Hmmm. And she still hated to clean.

"Dookey, would you like a job here?"

Both Remus and Dookey looked at her in shock.

"The office is every so dusty, and I could use a good house-elf to help me with it."

"Oh thank you, misses!" He fell at her feet and wrapped his tiny arms around one of her ankles and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"Whoa! Whoa! It's ok, Dookey. Really. Don't do that."

"Dookey is overcome with misses kindness!" He wailed.

Cordelia bent down and pried him off her ankle. "No crying. And no misses. Call me Cordy."

"Thank you, Misses Cordy."

She sighed. He really was a bit cute when you got over that fact that he kinda looked like Mr. Bigglesworth from the Austin Powers movies.

*~*~*~*~*

Dean finished painting late that afternoon. He had a nice long chat with Remus, he'd told Cordelia to call him Remus, but Dean'd had a nice long talk with Remus upon discovering him. Cordelia learned Remus used to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts where Dean had gone to school. She also learned that Dean thought Professor Lupin had been the best DADA teacher they'd had in his years there. Defense Against the Dark Arts. Why did that sound like every day of her existence since she'd run into Buffy Summers?

Dean said when the old Hogwarts crowd found out he was working in Diagon Alley, he could expect a lot of visits from former students. Remus had just smiled about that. Dean also said he'd owl Cordelia sometime so she could go hang out with himself and Seamus because Seamus had just adored talking to her at lunch. It was Cordelia's turn to just smile then.

Remus Lupin moved into the other bedroom on her floor. Hers was the one that had the real kitchen and the living room area. So that left Draco with the four bedrooms on the third floor.

Cordelia was astonished to find Dookey the house-elf had unpacked all her stuff. Well, the astonishment was because he had put everything exactly where she would have put it. Right down to her hairbrush.

Cordelia leaned down and hugged the little creature. "Dookey, you are the best. I love you."

He blushed. "Misses Cordy... please."

"Oh I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm just very pleased with your work, Dookey." Then she frowned.

"Misses Cordy isn't looking pleased with Dookey."

"I'm just not liking your name, Dookey. Why were you named that?"

"Dookey's last master is giving Dookey the name Dookey. If it displeases Misses Cordy, Misses Cordy may change it."

"What was your name before it was Dookey?"

"Dookey doesn't remember." He looked so sad about it.

Cordelia felt a pang for him. Poor thing. "Dookey, how do you feel about the name Bigglesworth?"

"Dookey thinks it has a nice sound to it."

"Then we won't call you Dookey anymore. From this moment on, you are Bigglesworth the house-elf of Queen C."

"Misses Cordy is a queen?"

"You bet your Spidy underoos I am."

"Doo... Bigglesworth is most honored by Misses Queen Cordy."

"You've done a lot of work for today, Bigglesworth. Do you need a place to sleep? I could make you a bed."

His purple eyes filled with big fat tears.

"Ah, no crying."

"Misses Queen Cordy is being too kind. Bigglesworth is sleeping on that chair if misses agrees." He pointed to one of the comfy chairs near the fireplace in the living room.

"If that's where you wanna sleep. Can I get you a blanket? A pillow maybe?"

He whimpered like he was going to cry.

"No crying, Bigglesworth. I'm going to ask you if you want things from time to time. I look after my people. Best you get used to it and not cry when I do."

He nodded. "Bigglesworth is not needing a blanket or a pillow, Misses Queen Cordy."

"Well, goodnight then, Bigglesworth."

"Goodnight, Misses Queen Cordy."

She got up from her crouched position to find Remus Lupin staring at her with something akin to awe on his face.

"What?"

"You treated that house-elf as if he was a person."

"Is that wrong?"

"Some would se it as so."

"And you? How do you see it?"

"I see it as you having a great deal of heart. I see it as me being very fortunate to find work here."

Cordelia smiled. He sort of reminded her of Giles, and not just because he was older and British. She got the sense that under his calm, there lurked some danger. Especially if you crossed him. Rupert Giles had been downright frightening when crossed, despite his getting knocked out a lot.

"You want some tea or something? Or I could make us some coffee?"

"Coffee sounds delightful."

 

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