Chapter 2
He was awoken as promised the next morning, and opened bleary sleep-blurry eyes to the figure of Harry standing over his bed.
“Up you get blondie. Lots t'be done” was the curt greeting before Harry left the cottage. He heard the murmurs of conversation outside and wondered if it was Remus or Sirius out with Harry.
He stumbled into his clothes he had laid out the night before, eschewing his trainers for a pair of brand new shiny walking boots his mother had insisted he buy, with all the latest mod-cons of hiking.
They looked clumpy and ugly compared to his near skin-tight jeans and thin fitted sweater. The air around him was cool enough for him to gather that it had to be very early in the morning. He dragged himself to the bathroom for a piss and cursory teeth-brushing before he steeled himself for the day ahead and opened the door.
Turns out it was neither Remus nor Sirius with Harry. Instead, a very tall muscled ginger stood leaning against the wall, talking animatedly with Harry.
They both fell silent and turned to him when he closed the front door, before the both abruptly burst out laughing. Draco felt a flush rise on his cheeks in embarrassment as they mocked him, made worse by the fact that he didn’t know what was so amusing to them.
After what felt like aeons, the ginger boy straightened up and wiped his eyes, before ignoring Draco completely and turning to Harry and saying “he did Ken he was working on a farm, Harry?” He asked
“Aye, that he did,” Harry replied. Draco marvelled at the thick Yorkshire accent and was scared to speak lest they laugh at his accent as well.
“I’ve not kecks that’ll fit him” Harry said and Ron nodded and said “Ginny might, though they’ll be short”
“It’s better than nowt” Harry said before chuckling. Finally, after the entire conversation being about Draco, yet carried out as if he wasn’t there, Harry turned to him.
“That’s not clothes for the farm, lad”
Draco was affronted by the term. It felt derogatory, even though Draco could not have been even two years younger than Harry.
“I didn’t bring anything else” he said, angry at himself for how pathetic he sounded.
“Aye, of course not,” Harry sighed.
“I’ll go and help Remus. Ron, you take him back and get him kitted out”
With that, Harry turned heel and left, leaving Draco with the stranger who’s name he now knew was Ron.
“Y’alreet?” Ron asked distractedly as he set off again, clearly expecting Draco to follow.
“I’m Draco, it’s nice to meet you” Draco replied, deciding to leave unmentioned the earlier slight of their ignoring him.
“Aye” nodded Ron as they walked up to a dirty tractor that was parked a little ways from the main farm house.
“Hop in then lad” Ron said, climbing into the driver's seat of the vehicle, and Draco awkwardly struggled to get himself up to where the seats were, at least three and a half feet off the ground. Without even waiting for him to do up his seatbelt, Ron started driving.
Draco’s stomach lurched as the tractor pitched and rolled over the pot-holed and uneven country roads. It was a hair-raising ride and Draco was more than glad when the tractor stopped in front of a farm house even more dilapidated and run down than Harry’s. It looked to be falling down, and Draco worried for the safety of its occupants.
“Alright mam?” Ron yelled as he herded Draco in the door. A large woman in an eccentric floral dress came out of the kitchen to greet them.
“Hiya love” she said, kissing Ron’s cheek loudly before she turned to Draco, who was standing awkwardly in the hall.
“Mam this is Harry’s new boy for the summer” Ron explained. “He’s bought nowt proper t'wear so we’re here t'see if any of Ginny’s’ll fit ‘im”
“Ah. Be quick about it. Harry’ll be needing the help and then I’ll need you back here not too late tonight.”
“I know, mam” Ron said with exasperated fondness, before he started up the stairs, gesturing for Draco to follow.
He led Draco into a small room at the very top of the house, in what must have been the attic. It was clean and well kept, with a single bed pushed against one wall, a large chest of drawers wedged in a corner and a desk pushed under a circular skylight.
“Reet. Try these” Ron said from where he was bent over the chest of drawers, opening them up and chucking trousers out. “I’m sure Harry can stretch to tops for you but just in case I’ll lend you some of Gin’s.”
“Thank you” Draco said, glad when Ron turned to face the wall so he could try the trousers on. To his chagrin, the trousers of Ron’s sister fit him near-perfectly. They sat well on the hips, but they were a few inches too short. Draco guessed it was better than mud and cow pats on his levis.
“They’re great, I think,” Draco said, letting Ron know he could turn around.
“Ah. Well our Ginny’s nearly as tall as Harry now, and skinny as you, so it’s no wonder they fit. They’ll do you all right while you’re ‘ere, I suppose. Keep them ones on and I’ll bag up the rest for ya.”
Draco nodded and waited uncomfortably as Ron shoved two more pairs of trousers and some t-shirts into a canvas bag, before the two of them went back downstairs.
“Take these Ron my love, for the boys” Ron’s mum said as they left, shoving a sealed tin into her son's hands.
Ron handed the tin to Draco as they climbed back into the tractor. The metal bottom of the tin was comfortably warm in his lap as they drove. The weather was steadily getting hotter and Draco regretted wearing a sweater.
“What time is it?” He asked Ron as they approached Harry’s farm.
“Coming up to six, I reckon” Ron replied, jumping down from the tractor and grabbing the tin from his hands and jogging up to the farmhouse door.
“Sirius, I’ve got mam's scones” Ron yelled as he entered the kitchen, Draco close behind him.
“I love that woman” Sirius said, taking the tin from Ron and accepting a kiss on the cheek from him too. Draco marvelled at the easy affection between everyone around him, except him, of course. He knew such easy love had to be earned, but he felt a bit miffed and more a little lonely to see it blatantly in front of him all the same.
“All right lad, let’s go, Harry’ll be up on the fell with Remus. We had two lambs in the night, so three more t’come” Ron said, leaving the house with Draco and setting a punishing pace through the fields.
By the time they could spot the tiny figures that were Harry and Remus surrounded by the smaller figures of the sheep, Draco was thoroughly winded and probably already sunburnt, even though it couldn’t have been six thirty in the morning yet.
Ron let him stop for a minute to catch his breath back, and Draco felt the sudden urge to cry. He was so far away from home, surrounded by people he neither knew nor understood, expected to work a punishing job that he had no experience in. He could see the summer and autumn play before him; painfully stiff joints and tired achy muscles and nights alone in the tiny house and early mornings with two boys who acted like he wasn’t there for most of the time.
Pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, he took several deep breaths, feeling the burn in his thighs already.
When he opened his eyes again, he could see Ron looking at him with something akin to sympathy.
“S’not far now, and s’really not that bad once you’re used to it” Ron said, before his long, muscular legs started striding across the fields again.
Draco heaved in a breath and set off again. If he hadn’t been so self-pitying and tired, he would have marvelled at how clean the air felt, how fresh the earth smelt, and how beautiful his surroundings were. The sun was bright in the sky, shining benevolently over the fell.
When they reached Harry and Remus, Draco thought he might be sick. Harry was crouched on the ground, with his arm inside a sheep. The sheep was lying on its side seemingly blissfully unaware of the fist and forearm inside it. Draco felt horrified, which only intensified when he heard Harry grunt and then slowly pull his arm back out of the sheep. In his hand were the two spindly hind legs of a lamb, and soon the whole little animal was out and laying on the grass, surrounded by the sheep’s bodily fluids. Harry gently swiped his fingers around its nose and mouth, before rubbing its side and placing it by its mother’s head.
Harry sighed and sat back on his haunches.
“Two more and then jobs a good ‘un I reckon” said Remus, and Harry nodded before standing.
“Alright Ron?” Remus asked, nodding at the ginger boy, before turning to Draco.
“Alright Draco?” Draco nodded back, grateful to have his presence recognised.
“D’ya bring scones, Ron?” Harry asked, but nodded at Draco nonetheless. Draco counted this as a win.
“All you boys think about is scran” Remus said, shaking his head fondly. In his ear glinted a small silver hoop that Draco hadn’t noticed the day before, but made Remus seem infinitely more cool.
“I’ll leave you boys here. Draco, I’ll take you down by the cows as there’s a fence that needs mending” and then Draco was off walking again, barely getting fifteen minutes respite before he was forced to exercise. He was eternally grateful that he bought the walking boots on his mother’s advice.
It was admittedly naive of him, but he had had no idea farming would involve this much walking. He had stupidly assumed that the farm would be like Vauxhall city farm that he had visited once with school, with the whole thing being about as big as one field and only two of each type of animal.
He had already lost count of how many sheep he had seen, and as they walked Remus explained a bit about the farm. He told Draco which animals they had and what they were for. The sheep were for wool and cheese, and a lot of the lambs they had just had would be sold for breeding.
They had a vast quantity of chickens, for the eggs, who ran around freely, though many of them stayed around where the farmhouse was.
They had a large dairy herd and a few bulls to keep it growing, and three pigs they kept as basically pets.
“When Harry was a weean he found these piglets running down the track just beyond the farm's edge, and the daft boy scooped them all up and brought them home. Since then he’s tended to them mainly. Loves ‘em like children he does, given ‘em names and everything”
Draco couldn’t miss how fond Remus sounded when he talked of Harry. Harry clearly wasn’t just a summer hand but special to Remus and Sirius, though Draco couldn’t help but wonder what the relation there was. Remus and Sirius themselves seemed worlds apart, to say nothing of the fact that Harry was an entirely different race to the both of them.
However, he didn’t think it right to ask what felt like quite an invasive question when he knew none of these people, and essentially they had taken him in out of the good of their hearts given that he certainly wasn’t going to be able to work sufficiently to earn his keep.
“Here we are, lad. My favourites, cows are” Remus said, opening a gate and leading Draco into a field full of massive cows.
He immediately felt fear wash over him as they all turned to stare at the intruders.
“Now, now don’t be rude. We’ve a visitor” Remus called out softly, going up to the closest cow and rubbing its head gently. The cow pressed its pink wet nose into his hand and Remus smiled widely.
Draco was starting to see the appeal of farm life. Remus and Harry were clearly in their element out here, surrounded by nature and animals that they clearly loved and adored.
Draco finally took proper stock of his surroundings and he realised why his favourite hymn referred to England’s ‘pleasant pastures’. The verdant and vibrant fields imbued him with a sense of vitality and he took a few seconds to bask in the feeling of sunlight on his skin before turning and following Remus, walking gingerly among the cows, scared his newness would incite violence.
He made it through unscathed and found Remus kneeling by a patch of wooden fence that had rotted through. On the ground by Remus’ knees were some sledge hammers and mallets and wooden posts, and thick gloves.
“Reet lad, I just need you to hold the posts still while I hammer ‘em” Remus said, standing and kicking over the rotted wooden posts before picking up the new ones. He passed one to Draco, showed him the divot in the ground where he was to place it, and then picked up a mallet and got to work.
Draco felt the wood slide through his gloved hands and into the ground and he marvelled at the strength of the man before him.
It was backbreaking work, but Remus barely seemed to break a sweat and soon fifteen feet of fencing had been replaced. Though he had done next to nothing, Draco felt surprisingly accomplished as he looked at the new posts standing proud in the soil.
On their way back, Remus introduced him to some of the cows, and Draco decided his favourite was a smaller one named Cordelia. When he said this Remus chucked and said
“Harry delivered her a few years ago. She was stuck in her mum and it was his first problematic birth. He still feels a bit like her mam I think. I sees him talking to ‘er some days”
Draco felt secretly pleased that he had picked Harry’s favourite, but also a bit worried that Harry might resent him for it. God knows that the individuality complex bred into Draco from years of private schooling made his life hell whenever someone he didn’t know very well expressed interest in something niche that Draco enjoyed.
He tried to shake off the thought as Remus took him back down to the house.
“Breakfast now lad, and a bit of a break for you. Other than the lambs there’s near nowt to do. Everyone’s got ta be fed, ‘course, and Harry’ll probably exercise the horses today but you’re done, I reckon.”
The sound of food and rest for his weary feet nearly brought Draco to tears for the second time that day. He hadn’t even realised how hungry he was until Remus mentioned breakfast, but now it was all he could think about.
They were back at the house soon, and Draco walked into the kitchen to see Harry, Ron and Sirius devouring scones like starving men.
Remus joined them immediately, dropping a kiss to the top of Sirius’ head before sitting down and dragging the plate of scones towards him.
Draco sat more gingerly next to Harry, and selected a scone for himself. He nearly groaned in appreciation at the first bite, Ron’s mum clearly had talent in the kitchen. Before he knew it he was on his second already, slurping down tea between bites.
“Ginny’s clothes do him alright then?” Harry asked and Ron nodded.
“Fittin ‘im near like a glove” Ron replied, as Harry shot a grin at Draco that made his insides tighten. It wasn’t fair for him to be so attractive, thought Draco. He barely gave Draco the time of day, so it was nonsensical for him to be getting Draco all wound up, and yet here Draco was.
Then again that was Draco’s MO. Always pining over men who didn’t want him back, mainly straight boys at school who had wowed Draco with their confidence. Because of this, and because he had always been too scared to come out at school, Draco hadn’t even had his first kiss yet. It made him a bit ashamed to think about it, but with Harry sitting there, glistening with sweat and chatting to Ron about something Draco didn’t really understand, Draco couldn’t help but think about how nice it would be if Harry wanted to kiss him, and how unlikely that was to ever happen.
God, he needed to get over himself. He had been at the farm for what, a day? And he was already thinking with his dick. Draco shook himself subtly at the table to clear his head, and reached for the pot to pour himself another mug of tea.
“I’m off home then. See you lads soon , I'm sure.” Ron said when the food had been finished. He stood from the table and hugged Harry, Sirius and Remus in turn. “Nice t’meet you, Draco. I’m sure you’ll see a lot of me this summer” he said to Draco, who was shocked to be so directly addressed. He felt almost as if he had sunken into the wallpaper most of the time.
Then, Ron left, spurring everyone else into action.
“Horses need exercise. Joining me, Harry? I’ll watch” Sirius said, kissing Remus chastely on the lips before standing and stretching. Harry nodded and stood, collecting all the plates and placing them in the sink.
“I’ll do the washing up” Draco said, desperate to prove he wasn't entirely useless. Harry and Sirius merely glanced at him, but Remus nodded and smiled at him, and Draco felt a little bit of warmth in his chest. Remus’ subtle kindness was a sort Draco was wholly unused to, but it was a nice feeling.
“Thanks, lad. I’m off to do the rounds. When you’re done here, you can head back to yours. If we need you, we’ll call you” Remus said, before leaving Draco alone in the kitchen. Draco heaved a sigh and pushed up the sleeves of his sweater, before making his way over to the sink and starting his cleaning. It was cathartic, and he lost himself in the suds as he worked, contemplating how the past day had gone.
It stung that the only boys his age seemed to refuse to befriend him, but the rational side of Draco’s brain forced him to acknowledge that to them, he was a rich twat who had barged in on their way of life with absolutely know knowledge of farming at all. His inexperience could come off as superiority, and his clothes probably made him seem pretentious. He resolved to try harder, to prove that he was more than the superficial view they probably held of him.
He also resolved to deconstruct the superficial, stereotypical and quite probably classist view he held of them, too. He had thought farming to be awful. Backbreaking work with little to no rewards historically done by the peasant classes and currently done by the working class, but Remus had been kind to him, and Sirius was obviously as posh as Draco given that they were related, and this challenged his preconceived notions of ‘farming folk’.
With the plates and mugs all stacked in the drying rack, Draco made his way back across the little lawn that stretched between his cottage and the farmhouse. He carefully unlaced his boots at the door, and found a book that seemed interesting before settling into the little armchair.
The next thing he was aware of was a knock on the door. When he opened it, he saw that he had been lost in his book for hours; darkness had fallen, and stars twinkled and winked at him from overhead. Harry was stood at the door, looking more put together than Draco had ever seen him. He was in a baggy short-sleeve button down and jeans that looked to be older than Draco’s father.
“It’s dinner now. Nan’s here so I hope you like curry” Harry said, his lips twitching up in the corners. He looked relaxed, but there was a nervousness about his face that Draco didn't understand. Draco nodded and stepped out, pulling the door closed behind him and toeing on his walking boots for the brief walk over to the house.
Harry turned and led the way. When he opened the front door, Draco was hit by a wall of fragrance. The warm and heady smell of spices wrapped around him, cradling him and drawing him into the kitchen. At the stove stood a woman with her back to him. Her long grey hair was pulled into a single neat plait down her back, hanging over her soft cream salwar kameez.
“Nana, this is Draco. He’s helping us on the farm” Harry said, announcing their presence.
The woman turned and smiled widely. She gathered Harry, then Draco up into her arms.
“Lovely to meet you my dear” she said as she stepped back, keeping her hands on Draco’s shoulders. “You must be eating more! You are so skinny! Sit, sit please”
She ushered Draco down onto the bench at the table, and Harry looked amused at the whole interaction. Just as Harry himself was sitting down, Sirius and Remus came in.
“Hi, mum” Sirius said, giving the woman - his mother? Draco was becoming increasingly confused by this family dynamic- a kiss on the cheek, before ruffling Harry’s hair and sitting down.
“Alright, Effie” Remus said, also kissing her cheek before helping her place steaming pots of curry on the table, followed by plates of paratha and bowls of rice. It all looked so delicious and Draco could feel himself salivating as Remus served him a little bit of everything.
Dinner conversation started off easy; talking about the farm and plans for the upcoming summer. At a natural lull in the conversation the old woman, Effie Draco thought Remus had called her, turned to Harry and pinched his cheek and said “look at how big you’ve gotten James!”
Draco had no idea who James was, but he saw a look of pain pass across the faces of Remus, Sirius and Harry. Sirius went pale, and Remus grabbed his hand that was holding a spoon. Harry dropped the piece of paratha that was loaded with dahl that was halfway to his mouth, his lips tightening and drawing down in what looked like misery.
“It's Harry, mum” Sirius said quietly, his hand shaking a bit as he reached for his water glass. Effie had a dreamy, far away look on her face and seemed to ignore Sirius completely. She rubbed her hand down Harry’s cheek and said “my James, my best boy”
From then on, the atmosphere soured completely. Harry went from shovelling heaped handfuls of food into his mouth to eating nothing at all, just staring at his half-finished plate in silence, occasionally sending pleading looks at Sirius. These all went ignored, as Sirius was looking at Effie, his face tight and his eyes shiny.
Remus picked up the slack, asking Draco an endless stream of questions about his schooling, which subjects he had studied, what he wanted to do at uni, if he ever went. Draco tried to keep up as best he could, pretending that the cold silence radiating off of Sirius and Harry was something he hadn't even noticed.
The meal finished quickly after that, with Draco offering to stay and clean up. Sirius shot him a grateful smile, and patted Draco on the shoulder as he passed in his haste to leave the room. Harry had run off the minute Effie’s plate was finished and it was polite to do so. Draco assumed Sirius was off to find him.
Remus helped Effie get up and took her somewhere, maybe the family living room or her bedroom, Draco wasn't sure. Soon enough, he was left alone in the kitchen, and he fell into the monotony of washing and soaping and drying and stacking as he tried not to dwell on the pain clearly evident in this little world that he had stumbled into.
No one had come back into the kitchen by the time he was finished, so Draco just made his way back to his little cottage, changed into pyjamas and settled into bed. The late spring heat was a bit stifling and the duvet was thick and better suited to winter, so he got up and opened the window. He stood there and leaned his head out, savouring the breeze on his face and through his hair.
Voices, deep and weary, floated to him on the breeze.
“She was supposed to be getting better”
That was Harry. His voice was thick.
“I’m starting to think she won't ever get better” Sirius’ posher voice replied, laden with sympathy and sadness.
Aware he was intruding, Draco withdrew from the window and shut it, settling into bed and steeling himself for a sweaty night ahead.