𝒪𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓋𝒾𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 | 𝒟.𝑀.

33 | ﴾ Help From France ﴿

I glanced up at my balcony to see if Draco was still out there but he'd vanished from the chair. My mother's light voice cut through my thoughts as she followed my gaze to the fifth floor, "You have been under a lot of stress, 'aven't you? Dis war in England, you 'ave been affected by it. I know something is wrong, and I know dat because you 'ave unlocked your Veela capabilities, Madeleine."

She was patting my hand with a wistful expression, her emerald eyes shining bright in the daylight. I inhaled sharply and closed my eyes as we sauntered along at a snail's pace. "Éduin, he told you dat I lit my 'ands on fire last night."

She nodded, and reached her fingers out to pet at some blazing roses that were twining on an arbor we passed below, "Oui, and 'e also told me dat 'e made a mistake and 'e es sorry. Dis ability 'as not been seen in women of our family for a long time - only an incredible amount of consistent stress could bring dat out in you."

"I 'ave been so stressed," I begged myself not to cry but tears were already welling in my eyes, "And I don' want dis power. I cannot control et when I am angry." I looked up at her with pleading eyes, hoping she would know what to do.

She frowned at me, "Dis is a gift dat cannot be given back. And alas, a very difficult one to master. Veela women have lost demselves to et before. You must be extremely careful not to allow yourself to be swallowed permanently by hatred. Dat is why you must always wear your moonstone. Dat is why we 'ave passed dem down for centuries; to protect our 'earts." 

I swallowed hard, knowing that Draco was extremely possessive of my moonstone. It would be possible that I would reach a breaking point and need to take it back despite what his interests were. I silently prayed that she would not ask to see it in that moment. Her own moonstone hung around her neck above her dress, glowing even in the daylight on it's golden chain and in the talons around it.

"Ma mère," I felt shaky as I spoke, "Could Draco and I ever come 'ere to live? If et gets to be very bad in England." 

"What es going on in England for you, Madeleine?" She asked assertively, her direct eye contact provided an unnerving chill up my spine. "Your father and I know about dis uprising of de dark lord, and your father too, he es very stressed trying to prevent a spread of dis to France. Draco's father has told us dat de Malfoy's are involved in de Ministry dere - are you safe?"

I blanked at the information. Lucius had told my parents that he and Draco were part of the government? He obviously had not been entirely forthcoming about what side of the war they were on. 

We reached the seawall and my mother pointed her wand at the ancient, gated archway that led out to the public pathway. The sound of the waves crashing was extremely noisy at the coastal edge, and with the strong wind came sprays of water across the pathway that tickled the skin of pedestrians. She closed the gate behind us and we started walking along the familiar pathway.

I decided to maintain my promise to myself not to expose Draco in any way as a Death Eater, although the offer to open up and pour my heart out to my mother for support was dangerously tempting. I twisted my dress in my hands, "I spend every single day worrying about Draco, and I 'ave seen 'orrible things. People 'ave died, a lot of people 'ave died." My words were thin as I choked on them. "And now I 'ave to learn to control dese new powers."

My mother nodded, "Et es never easy to 'ave a 'usband in politics, you can take dat from me. Et will always be strenuous and even dangerous depending on what 'is position is. And of course, ef et becomes to be too much you may both come 'ere. You know dis Madeleine, you must not let dis war put your personal safety at risk." She hung her arm around my shoulders and pulled me into her as we walked and I weakly smiled, knowing all too well how much risk my personal safety was exposed to. I was at the very center of it all, and so was Draco. There was a real possibility that my time at the villa that weekend would be the last time that my family ever saw me.