Work Text:
‘Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a mouse.
Well, almost.
At the Malfoy house, wreaths and garlands hung over every door. Fairy lights twinkled in every corner. And in the family room, a giant Christmas tree towered over a pile of presents of all shapes and sizes. Muffy and her children, Dobby and Tuffet, admired their handiwork.
"Another beautiful Christmas," Muffy said to them. "But I couldn't have done it without the two of you."
"I did most of the work," said Dobby. "Tuffet's still too little."
"I'll be old enough to help around the house this year," retorted Tuffet. "Mama, why do the humans need help from us anyway?"
"It's always been that way," said Muffy. "House elves help when we can. We don't take payment and we don't take clothing. We simply take pride in a job well done." It was a speech Dobby had heard repeated many times.
"I heard that once, humans weren't allowed to offend us," said Dobby. "We didn't have to work for them if they treated us like the Malfoys do." He immediately ran to the tree and started bashing his head against it, shaking the entire thing. "Bad! Bad Dobby!"
"Is that true, Mama?" said Tuffet.
Muffy hesitated. "What's certainly true is that we should be grateful to have a roof over our heads," she said carefully. "We don't want to be dismissed like your father, I don't want to think about where you might end up." She glanced at the door as if he might walk in. "Well, lots to do by tomorrow. And we have Christmas dinner to prepare. Dobby, put those ornaments back on the tree and Tuffet, I'll show you my secret recipe for plum pudding."
Tuffet did her best to follow along and soon fell into the rhythm of the household over the next year. When she wasn't working, she was fascinated by the Malfoys' things. She loved turning the various gears and wheels, finding out how things worked. She opened the secret door behind the bookcase, studying the mechanisms and inner workings until she could draw it from memory. Once she took apart the radio, but couldn't figure out how to put it back together. She'd had to put her hands on some hot coals and couldn’t work the rest of the day.
Tuffet really did want to be a good house elf like her mother. But sometimes during work, she caught herself dreaming up a new invention instead. While she swept the floor, she imagined a device that could suck up the dirt instead. And if she forgot to add chicken to chicken soup sometimes because she was thinking up a device that could heat it up in an instant, at least she wasn't a bad elf like Dobby who spoke ill of their family and admired their clothes.
Her favorite things to think up were toys. Her nest was full of drawings of dolls that talked when you pulled a string and cars controlled by a stick. Her mother gave her frequent lectures and picked up her slack when she could, but she was getting older and not able to do as much.
And the Malfoys had started to notice. The tall one called Lucius called her to his side one day. "Tuffet, what is this?" he asked, pointing to a dusty cabinet. Tuffet shook and started hitting herself. "I is sorry, master, I is forgetting to clean it. I'll do it right now! Bad Tuffet!"
Another day, the one called Narcissa summoned her. "What is this drawing doing on top of this pile of dirty clothes in my son's room?" she demanded.
"It's a machine to wash clothes easier," she said. "I'm sorry, I'll do the laundry right away!" She snapped her fingers and the laundry levitated behind her while she dropped to her knees and crawled away.
Christmas was approaching again. Tuffet was doing dishes when she heard the Malfoys talking.
"It's so hard to find good help these days," Narcissa was saying. "I had Dobby punishing himself again because he spoke ill of us."
"I know," Lucius sighed. "I keep finding things undone, only to catch Tuffet daydreaming. Maybe we should try to find some new ones."
"They're bound to my family," said Narcissa. "But it can't hurt to make an example of one. Maybe Tuffet, Dobby's strong enough to take on the work himself."
Lucius yawned. "Let her stay through Christmas," he said. "We could use the extra help."
Tuffet nearly dropped her dish. She had to do something. When she was done with her work, she looked through her drawings for something she could make the little boy. Something to convince them to let her stay. Finally, she found the perfect thing: a little plane that could fly around the room. She worked feverishly all week until finally, she was finished, just in time for Christmas Eve.
The Malfoys sat in the living room, bouncing their little boy on their knees and letting him crawl around on the floor. Dobby had lit a fire in the fireplace, where it was burning merrily.
Tuffet went to her nest and grabbed her little toy plane. She carried it out and nervously approached Lucius.
"Um, sir?" she said.
Lucius frowned down at her. "Yes?" he sneered. "I didn't call for you."
"If you please, sir, I is having a present for the little master," she said. Muffy looked on from her nest, horrified. "Tuffet!" she hissed. "What are you doing?"
"Is that so?" said Lucius.
Tuffet took out the plane and pressed a button. Lights flashed on and the propellers turned. She let go and it flew around the room in a graceful arc. The boy reached up and got his fingers caught in the propellers. He pulled away screaming as Narcissa rushed over and swept him up.
"Draco!" she cried. "Oh my poor baby, are you all right? Mummy's got you!"
Lucius turned two shades paler. "That's it," he said in a low threatening voice, as wintry as the night. "You are no longer welcome in this house."
He pulled a scarf from a coatrack. "Here," he said handing it to Tuffet, "this is yours now."
Tuffet wailed as Dobby and Muffy looked on, horrified. "Please no," said Dobby, "take me instead!"
"I is sorry, I is only wanting to--" Tuffet started.
"Out!" said Lucius.
With a long last look at her family, Tuffet left the house.
Snow had started to fall on the ground. She briefly considered sneaking back in as she pulled the scarf around her, shivering, but quickly dismissed it as a life she didn't want to live. Better on the street than in hiding. She looked around at the unfamiliar buildings and surroundings.
"It's not that bad," she thought, "it's actually kind of pretty." And then she huddled up against a building and sobbed.
She didn't know how long she sat there until she heard an odd sound, like a jingling of bells. She looked around for the source of the sound and found herself staring at 16 black hooves attached to giant animals with antlers on their heads. They were harnessed to a sleigh, even though the snow was barely an inch deep. A man in a red suit got out of it and came over to her. She instinctively went invisible.
"Ho ho," the man chuckled kindly in her language, "don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. What's your name?"
Tuffet stayed where she was. Maybe he would go away.
"My name is Santa Claus," he said. "Burberry! Would you mind helping me out, please?"
Another house elf jumped out of the sleigh and walked over to Tuffet.
He was wearing a green shirt with red overalls.
"I know how you feel," he said. "I lost my family two years ago. Or was it three? They kicked me out because they didn't like my cooking."
Tuffet turned visible again and stared. "You're wearing clothes," she said disbelievingly.
"I didn't at first," said Burberry. "But after a while I realized it's not so bad."
"What's happening?" asked Tuffet. "Who are you?"
"Burberry," he said. "As for who we are…it might be better to show you. Would you like to come and see the workshop? You won't have to stay if you don't want to."
Tuffet wiped her eyes and blew her nose on her scarf. "A workshop?" she said curiously. "Yes, I would love to see a workshop!"
Burberry helped her climb into the sleigh. "I hope you don't mind if we run a few errands first," he said.
Santa called out the names of the reindeer and the sleigh flew up into the sky. They stopped at several houses, Burberry and other small creatures scuttling down chimneys or through locked doors to deliver brightly wrapped packages like the ones under the Malfoys' tree. Presents. Tuffet forgot her worries as they soared through the night sky, finally turning northward until they landed at a cozy house in the middle of a snowy field. A small dark creature led the reindeer into a stable while Santa and Burberry showed Tuffet into the house. Dozens of small creatures, including house elves, cheered and greeted them when they walked in. Some took Santa's coat, others offered him rich drinking chocolate.
"House elves, brownies, hobs, domovoi, everyone who lost a home is welcome here," Burberry said as they walked through the crowd. "And there's always a plate of milk left out for us. Santa is very kind to us and there aren't many who choose to leave."
"What do you do here?" asked Tuffet.
"Anything we want," said Burberry. "I'm in charge of finding new recruits. Like you. But Santa told me you might like this."
He pulled open a pair of doors which led to a balcony. Tuffet looked down, her breath taken away. Thousands of creatures were working on toys, their tools ringing through the air. Others were at chalkboards, making elaborate sketches. They walked down the steps and carefully around the workers.
"What's that?" asked Tuffet, pointing at a chalkboard that a hob was drawing on with stubby fingers. He was dressed in a red shirt and green pants with a green vest.
"I call it an Atari," replied the hob in a deep, earthy voice. "I think the kids are going to love it."
"So I can stay here?" Tuffet asked. "I can make toys like my designs?"
"As long as you want," replied Burberry. He held out his hand. "Well? Will you stay?"
Tuffet was about to answer when she suddenly saw a familiar face. She forced her way through the crowd, running to him as fast as she could.
“Father!” she cried. “It’s me, Tuffet!”
He hugged her back. “Tuffet! Look at you, you’re so big! The Malfoys threw you out, too? But I’m so glad you made it here. Are you going to stay?”
Tearfully, Tuffet nodded.
One year later
Tuffet walked around the workshop floor, a pencil behind her ear and a clipboard in her hand. She put her scarf back behind her shoulder and adjusted the buttons on her green jacket, briefly hoping her family was doing well.
"Great work!" she told everyone. "Really fantastic job this year! Now let's get going, there are only 365 days until next Christmas Eve and I want to share this new idea with you." She caught Santa's twinkling blue eyes looking at her with pride and she smiled.