His Final Riddle

32. Father's will

"Miss Angelica."

I jump out of my sleep and look around confused, I sit up slowly and see I am in my bed still in my clothes from yesterday. At the end of my bed a small house elf stands smiling at me.

"Oh" I rub the sleep from my eyes and offer them a grimace "good morning?"

"Good morning." The elf smiles widely at me "I have drawn you a bath and left you an outfit here on your ottoman. Your father expects you in thirty minutes, the portkey is set to go off then." The elf gestures to a silver hairbrush on the dressing table that does not belong to me.

"Right" I nod my head as I soak in the words.

"Is there anything else I can do for you Miss Angelica?"

"No? Thank you?" I stare at the elf confused before it clicks its fingers and disappears from sight.

I shake my head slightly as I swing my legs out of the large four poster bed. Instead of walking into the bathroom I look around my room, Draco is nowhere in sight. The last I remember was collapsing in his arms last night before everything turned to black. I look down and see I am still in the same dress as yesterday meaning Draco lifted me into bed and left.

"I thought he said he wasn't going anywhere." I mutter to myself as I walk to the bathroom somewhat annoyed.

The bath water is the perfect temperature and appears to have all sorts of fragrances and potions in it. I sink into the bathtub gratefully and watch the blood, mud and grime from yesterday wash away. I scrub at my skin with such force that it stays pink and raw after I step out and wrap a large towel around me. I look around the bathroom which just a day before was empty except from my toothbrush and I see it is now filled with small expensive lotions and creams. Even the candles in the corner which had been pools of wax before are now back and standing as tall as ever.

I furrow my eyebrows and walk back into my bedroom, the large bed has been made since I left and a pile of folded clothes sit on the ottoman at the end of it. I look around and see that the curtains have been opened and folded back neatly, and that a glass of ice water has been left on the dressing table.

"What the fuck?" I whisper as I look around. All summer the manor has had a slightly un-kept and un-cared for feel to it as Mrs Malfoy has been far too depressed to run it by herself and Draco and I haven't been able to care for the whole thing by ourselves. Today however it is back to feeling how it did in previous stays here.

"Xavier!" I call as I catch a glimpse of him in the upstairs corridor.

He stops walking and turns to me with a tired smile "morning." He is holding two cups of tea and is wearing only his checked pyjama trousers.

I smile at him and cross the distance between us "what the hell is happening?"

He smirks at me "and whatever do you mean?"

"You know what I mean" I roll my eyes at him "house elves back in the manor? Things actually tidy and put together again?"

Xavier laughs softly "are you saying that Mrs Malfoy doesn't always keep her manor this clean?"

"Shut up" I hit his arm "I don't have long before this portkey goes off" I gesture to the hairbrush in my hand. "Explain quickly!"

"Fine." He smiles at me as he takes a sip of one of the tea's "well obviously you know that Draco freed all the house elves that the Malfoy's owned recently. Well most of them ended up just going to Nott's as it was the next place they thought of."

I nod along as he continues talking.

"Well when you killed him yesterday" he offers me a sorry smile as I visibly grimace "well after that all the house elves were basically just stuck at Nott's waiting for what happens next. They now all belong to Theo and had nowhere to go."