The Man in the Meadow
Harry/Draco [PG, 1355 words]
Disclaimer: JK Rowling and co own everything. I'm writing for fun and not for profit.
A/N: unbeta'd and slight crack!fic and possibly ooc. This fic ran away from me so there are a few plot holes that I can wave away with it being crackish and I doubt it follows any canon timeline. Based on the prompt: Lying in a Meadow Full of Spring Flowers with a challenge to incorporate another work. So take this with a grain of salt and please don't think it's Twilight bashing because this was fun to write. See if you can spot all the references.
Summary: It only takes Malfoy six months to find a new job in the Muggle world after the war and surprisingly, it's one he excels at. When Harry goes to confirm that it meets Malfoy's parole requirements, he finds that while Malfoy looks completely different, Harry might have a bit of a crush.
The Man in the Meadow
It was a beautiful meadow.
It was beautiful, but very artificial. The very green St Augustine grass looked soft and was filled with white daisies, blue Nigella (more commonly known as love-in-a-mist, Harry remembered with a snort), and some kind of pink flowers that Harry couldn't identify. Best of all, he liked how the sunlight filtered down to settle on the man lying in the middle of the meadow full of spring flowers. Not far away, the soft babble of a stream could be heard and it had a very calming effect on Harry. He could imagine himself joining the man and laying down and falling into an easy sleep.
Or he would if he didn't have the entire cast and crew watching his every move.
Harry didn't know why he suddenly thought the man in the meadow was beautiful, because he had hated Draco Malfoy for most of his life. He blamed it on a lot of things like being tired from taking a Pork Key from London to Portland, Oregon. He blamed it on being single. He blamed it on the incredible job the makeup artist and hair stylist had done in order to transform Malfoy's angular features, pointy chin included, into an Adonis. He wasn't the git Harry had known at Hogwarts and there wasn't a Dark Mark in sight.
Yet Malfoy's attractiveness still lingered in Harry's mind despite that instead of his trademark blond hair, it was now bronze, eyebrows included. Harry was still calling Malfoy's hair brown. It was a shock the first time he saw it, and he almost thought that it couldn't be Malfoy, because it felt wrong.
Not to mention how ridiculous the body glitter made Malfoy look. At least Harry thought it was body glitter since from thirty feet away, it was hard to tell why Malfoy sparkled. He was only wearing dark jeans and every inch of exposed skin shimmered under the artificial light.
At the moment Malfoy was lying very still until the director yelled, "Action!"
This was the fourth time the scene was shot, but even then Malfoy had it down perfectly. Admittedly, the scene didn't have any dialogue and it was just Malfoy lying in a field, looking angsty, but still, the effect was breathtaking.
When the director yelled "cut" and to "take a break" a few minutes later, a group of people went out onto the meadow to fix it, adding more grass and flowers, dimming the bright lights overhead, and changing the camera angles. Harry thought that these mistakes could be fixed during editing, but the director wanted a more organic look, which was silly considering she also wanted everything to be perfect.
He was about to call out Malfoy's name when the man spotted him. He got up and, ignoring an assistant's offers of fruit, came over to where Harry was standing behind the director's chair.
"Potter, I didn't know the Aurors were so desperate for work that they sent their poster boy to check up on me," Malfoy drawled, but Harry wasn't paying attention. Up close, Harry could see that Malfoy was definitely covered in glitter. His brown hair didn't look as soft since it was also covered in gel and hair mousse and hair spray, but it wasn't overdone like in his younger years, and tousled artfully. Harry had no hope of ever having his hair look like that.
Malfoy's eyes were ocher and that bothered Harry for some reason. He was used to seeing stormy grey eyes that often flashed with anger over spiteful barbs and insults said to rile each other up. Now they looked at him in amusement as if Malfoy could read Harry's mind, which Harry didn't like one bit.
"Yeah, well, you were cutting it close on not having a job for six months as per your parole agreement. However, Parkinson mentioned that you suddenly had one- and a Muggle job to boot." Harry said quietly, not wanting their conversation to be heard by the Muggles.
There were people hovering behind the stanchion ropes and security guards, young fans who held scraps of paper, photographs, and pens in their hands just for the off-chance that they could get an autograph. It wasn't all that they wanted. While he was waiting, Harry had heard many marriage proposals shouted at Malfoy, had seen trinkets and sweets thrown at him, and even witnessed a woman trying to leap over the barrier to get closer to her Edward. While Harry appreciated their enthusiasm (he had been in awe of Viktor Krum during fourth year), they were in danger of crossing over into being completely crazy fans.
Malfoy ignored them with a bored expression. "Well, necessity forced me into the Muggle world when I couldn't be hired for my own talents."
"So you became an actor?" Harry asked, shaking his head. "Never figured you for one, but it figures that you live off drama. It certainly helps that you are pretty." Harry's eyes widened as he spoke without thinking, and he was glad that they were in public because he had given Malfoy enough reason to hex him.
Instead, Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I would thank you, but you were always slow on the uptake."
Not anymore. You're gorgeous, Harry thought, but he quickly shook his head. He instead asked, "So what is this you're filming? A comedy?" He gestured to Malfoy's sparkly skin.
Malfoy snorted, "Hardly. Officially, it's a vampire film-"
"How? You were filming in the sunlight."
"-But it reads more like a sexually frustrated psychopathic vampire who has suddenly discovered love. But personally," Malfoy said as he took a cup of coffee an intern had brought over and handed to him, "I think it's the author's wank fantasy. Except that who would want to be fucked by an icicle?"
The image that has suddenly popped into Harry's head didn't help matters as he winced and clenched his arsehole. "Oh come on, it can't be that bad."
Malfoy shrugged. "It could be worse, I don't know. I haven't read the books." He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. Harry was enchanted by the smoke that billowed out and he wondered what it would be like to kiss Malfoy.
No, he couldn't have those thoughts. He had to stay professional.
"Then why did you take the part?"
"Oh, I am perfect for the part, don't you think? Ice cold, emotionally unavailable, pale as death. And you wouldn't believe how many times the vampire is mentioned as beautiful. Which I am."
Since he had been thinking the same thing, Harry took the bait. "How many?"
Malfoy smirked. "165 times."
Harry let out a low whistle. "Don't let that get to your head."
"I don't need any help with that. My fans adore me." Malfoy didn't even turn around as he waved to the crowd, which screamed their hearts out.
"So how long do you plan on being an actor?" Harry asked when he could finally hear again.
Malfoy shrugged and tossed the cup into the rubbish bin. "I've signed on to do four, possibly five, of these movies. I'll probably quit before then."
Harry gave an exasperated sigh. "Why would you quit a job you yourself say you're perfect for?"
"Because I'm due to have a midlife crisis."
"You're only seventeen, Malfoy."
"Yes and I won't stay young forever, despite the fact I'm portraying this vampire. Every year I'm closer to death." He leaned in closer and Harry could smell the woodsy scent that came from Malfoy's cologne mixed in with the cigarette smoke. "But let's not dwell on that. Now that you've checked up on me and see that I've a stable job, you can go on your merry way and write up that report." Malfoy took a step back, but not before placing a kiss on Harry's cheek, much to his chagrin. "I'll send you tickets to the premiere."
Malfoy left without another word and Harry felt no shame as he stared at Malfoy's arse the entire time. He'd definitely be back. He wouldn't wait until the premiere to ask Malfoy out on a date.