Chapter 53: The Farm

She was still there. It had been a full month. And she was still there.

Draco entered the bookshop cautiously Tuesday night, trying to avoid being noticed. He walked right up to Thomas and asked if the book he had requested had come in. It hadn't. Draco strolled out of the shop, tired and dejected.

Burning the notebook had helped, at first. But by the next week, he saw her in the bookshop again and everything had fallen apart. The panic attacks had been getting worse. Every time he saw the back of her head, he was gripped by a hand of fear which set him off shaking and sweating. He wanted her to leave, to go back to wherever she had come from, to leave him alone. But she never did. It was as though she was always there, never leaving the store, not even to buy something to eat other than the cookies Thomas kept on the counter.

Finally, on the third consecutive Thursday of seeing her at the bookshop, Draco decided he needed to take a break. He sent a letter to Claudine and left a note at Albert's letting them know that he was headed to the countryside for a week on holiday to visit his mother. That Friday morning, Draco's bag was packed, and he got in a car out in Muggle Paris by 4:30 in the morning. Draco quickly settled into the back of the car, a book on his lap and his coat spread out on the seat. He always took a Muggle car to the countryside so that he could gaze out the window and watch as the busy streets of Paris melted away into the gorgeous meadows and villages the ringed the city. Draco watched fields of flowers whip past the car as they hurtled down a worn-down dirt road toward the Leroux farm. Four hours later, the large periwinkle farmhouse came into view over the grassy green hill, the whitewashed trim gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Narcissa was standing on the front porch dressed in a pair of khakis and a plaid shirt, her hair knotted in a bun, wisps of blond hair waving in front of her clear blue eyes. When the car pulled up in front of the car and Draco got out, suitcase in hand, Narcissa ran out to meet him, arms outstretched. Soon Draco was encased in her arms, his head resting atop hers.

"Oh, Draco I've missed you!" Narcissa said happily, leaning back to examine her son's face. Draco tried to hide the pain in his eyes and smiled brightly at her.

"I've missed you too, Mother," Draco said, giving his mother another hug. "Where are the Lerouxs?"

"Oh, they're setting out lunch," Narcissa replied, as Draco paid the driver. She led him into the house, where he deposited his suitcase in one of the spare bedrooms. "We're eating out back," Narcissa said when Draco emerged from the bedroom. Draco followed her out to the backyard, where there was a large spread of food laid out on a clean white picnic bench. The table was already almost full of people; Draco could see the Mr. Leroux, Mrs. Leroux, and...

"Draco!" Exclaimed Dominique, rushing toward him and giving him a hug. "Oh, it's so lovely to see you!"

"Hey, Dominique," Draco replied happily, staggering under the weight of her hug. He glanced past her shoulder and saw Theo approaching him. "Hey Theo, how's marriage treating you?" Draco said, giving Theo a hug as well.

"Great," Theo said with a smile. Draco laughed, remembering Theo as a surly seventeen-year-old. So much had changed. For the better, of course.

"Hello, Draco," Mrs. Leroux said, waving at him. "Come, have a seat. Your mother insisted we serve your favorite foods. Draco turned to his mother with a big smile and planted a kiss on her cheek. She blushed, and hurried him to his seat. Draco grabbed a fork and dug in.

Half an hour later, after a scrumptious meal, paired with delightfully light conversation, Draco leaned back in his chair, stuffed. Dominique was twittering away about the garden Theo was planting at their house, and Theo was discussing a book with Narcissa. Draco smiled to himself, and he felt happier than he had in weeks.


"Right there," Mr. Leroux said, pointing out a large patch of overgrown shrubbery to Draco. "We have to clear all that out so we can plant the onions."

"Right," Draco said, securing his straw hat on his head and rolling up the sleeves of his loose button-down. His wand was raised before him, mirroring Mr. Leroux's.

"On three," Mr Leroux said. "One, two..." A flash of light erupted around the patch of greenery, and Draco and Mr. Leroux slowly began lowering their arms as the shrubs grew smaller and smaller, until they disappeared completely. "Wonderful!" Exclaimed Mr. Leroux. "Draco, you should really just come work with me here on the farm!"

Draco laughed. "No, Mr. Leroux. I love Paris too much."

"Pah!" Mr. Leroux cried, waving an arm in the air. "The city, it's too busy. Too many people, too many things. Out here in the country, the world is infinite." Draco followed Mr. Leroux's gaze out over the meadow and saw what he meant: the sky seemed to go on forever above their heads, not marred by the silhouettes of buildings and smokestacks, and the meadow before them stretched for miles, until it disappeared beneath the curve of the next hill.

That afternoon, Draco helped his mother prepare dinner in the Leroux family's large, airy farmhouse kitchen. He sliced the tomatoes for the salad while Narcissa cooked the rice in a large pot.

"So, Draco, how's life in the city?" Narcissa asked as she poured a generous amount of cheese into the pot.

"It's great," Draco replied simply, not wanting to reveal anything more lest he tell her what was really going on. "How's the farm? Are you enjoying it?"

Narcissa sighed. "Oh, Draco, I love it so much. It's such a relief after all those years cooped up in London. I'd forgotten how much I love being outside. And the sunsets...I've never seen anything more beautiful in my life."

Draco smiled. "I'm so happy to hear that," he said, looking up at his mother, eyes shining.

"Thank you dear," Narcissa said, beaming with a smile that only mothers can give their children. It was loaded with love, compassion, and worry, all at the same time. "How is work?"

"Albert got promoted," Draco said, dumping the tomatoes into a bowl and moving on to washing the spinach.

"Really?" Narcissa asked, genuinely surprised. "And I'm assuming you helped him with that?" She asked mischievously.

"Of course he did," said Theo, who had just strode into the room. "What can Albert do on his own, poor bloke?" Theo continued with a chuckle. "Need help with anything?"

"Can you help Draco peel the potatoes?" Narcissa asked as she stirred the rice with her wand.

"Sure," Theo said lazily, raising his wand and peeling all the potatoes with a single flick.

"Mate, that's not how you enjoy cooking," Draco said, laughing, as he added walnuts and berries to the salad.

"My only goal is the food, not the process," Theo said with a shrug and a smirk. Draco laughed again. Narcissa rolled her eyes and set the plates out on the table with a flick of her wand.

"Go call everyone," she said. "Dinner'll be ready in twenty minutes, best to alert them now."

Theo and Draco obligingly set out for the fields in search of the others. As they marched out of the house, hands in their pockets, heads bent against the cold, Theo struck up a conversation with Draco not much different from the one he'd just had with his mother.

"So, how's Paris?" Theo asked. "Ready to run out here to live with us countryfolk?"

Draco sighed. "Maybe," he said wearily. It was the most honest answer he'd given to such a question all weekend.

Theo stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait, really? What's going on?" Genuine concern filled his eyes as he looked at Draco intently.

Draco sighed again. "Nothing, really, I guess. I just want a break, you know?"

Theo shook his head. "No, no I don't know. Draco, you love Paris. What's wrong?" He asked, turning to face Draco completely.

Draco shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. My anxiety's just been really bad lately."

"Why?"

"Probably nothing serious, mate. It's just hard being around so many people all the time," Draco said, pushing his hands deeper into his pockets. He continued walking.

"Hey, wait up!" Theo called, running to catch up to Draco. "Are you having any flashbacks?" He asked when he finally reached Draco.

Draco bit his lip. "Yeah, I guess," he said nonchalantly. "Oh, there they are." He pointed ahead to the middle of the field, where Dom and her parents were erecting a scarecrow. "Oi, Dom!" Draco yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Dinner!"

"We'll be there in a minute!" Dominique called back. "Almost done here!" She added as her father levitated the scarecrow above their heads.

"We won't wait!" Draco said, turning back toward the house. Theo continued their previously abandoned conversation.

"Seriously, Draco what's going on?" Theo asked almost aggressively, grabbing Draco's arm.

Draco inhaled, then exhaled very slowly. He looked up at Theo and opened his mouth. "She's here, Theo," he said softly. "She's in Paris. And she's not leaving."


A/N: Hello angels! As you can see it's been a while since I've updated this, and a lot has changed in the past two years! I honestly never thought I would return to this story, but I found some chapters I had saved up to post and am now determined to finish off this fic! This and the next two chapters were written two years ago, and then the ones after that will be written this year, so I apologize if there is a slight change in style (although I will try my best to be consistent). Thank you to all the new readers and those who have stuck around- I really appreciate you! Hope you have a lovely day- new chapters WILL be coming soon :)