White Canvas
By:
Summary: Harry, because of the lack on anything to do, tries magical painting. The art and the quirks involve may suit his tastes after all. HPDM. Postwar, disregards epilogue.
Disclaimer: I don't own anythings except the plot and my handy laptop.
"What to do? What to do?" a man in his late 20's with straw-colored hair with a pair of pale green eyes tapped his index finger to the table causing irritation to the people surrounding him.
"Do you mind?" a witch sporting a purple hat with long black braids flowing through her shoulders asked irritably in the man's direction. She was enjoying a bowl of fresh fruits drizzled in honey and trying to concentrate on a heavy tome before her amidst the noise.
"But Mione…", the pale-eyed man shifted his eyes to capture the witch's and tried to convey with a pout how dangerously bored he is. His finger did stop rapping on the table but it was replaced by his foot stomping gently on the ground.
"I told you I'm Roberta today, Gregor. And if you insist on calling me that name, then I insist that we go home early." She transferred her chocolate colored eyes to said person and stared at him bravely.
He sighed and turned away. He promptly then proceeded to attack his mocha sundae special with less vigor while determinedly stopped moving his foot. After a minute or so, as Gregor was tracking time, there was a disturbance in the air and a man around 6 foot 2 inches tall walked behind Roberta and hugged her from behind.
"You're late, Ron!" she nagged silently as she accepted a kiss on the cheek.
Beside the two, Gregor murmured something about mentioning names and Mione's bossy nature until such time Ron remembered the 3rd member of their group.
"Harry…I mean, Trevor? What was your name again?"he scratched the side of his head and patted Gregor absentmindedly on his shoulder. He sat next to him on the rounded table and called for a waitress.
"You know, we don't have to do this cloak and dagger thing. It's getting bloody old and annoying. It was fun for a start, sure but all these effort just to buy ice cream across your apartment? Really, Harry."
"Sorry, Ron. I thought after a month or two their adoration would die down but it didn't. the more I expose myself, the more topics of gossip and news they have. The more I hide myself, the more they speculate about me doing romantic acts of heroism. It's just isn't fair."
"Oh Harry…" she acted to put her hand consolingly on his but the waitress was already making her way towards their table. She asked Ron's orders and proceeded away with haste.
While the two finished their sundaes, Ron fiddled with something on his right pocket. He pulled out a piece of rumpled paper and stretched it out in front of them.
"Harry, maybe you should look at this. It might help distract you until the people find a new person for entertainment. Sterno!"
The paper straightened and flattened it edges in the center of the wood and the three friends peered at it.
"Magical Painting?" Hermione asked, curious.
"Everybody's crazy about this. From Pete&Grimes in Hemp Valley, so surely it's worth a try."
"I don't know, Ron. I'm not good in any kind of art…" Harry shook his head to emphasize the point.
"What, you've done a terrific job doodling Malfoy for 7 years! Is there a difference?" Ron pulled a face at the remembrance of their life-long nemesis.
"Ron! Painting and doodling in some parchment is a big world of difference!" Hermione butted in at the same time Harry chimed,
"That's because I've been looking at him for ages!"
The other two looked at Harry suspiciously as silence descended upon them. Gingerly, a hand picked up the paper and slid it neatly on his pocket.
"On second thought, maybe you could try paintball, Harry! I've seen muggles pay galleons just to play!" Ron eyed the pocket containing said paper sliding his sight towards the person who owns it.
"No, I've decided. Maybe, I could draw a portrait of someone I know to keep me company while the two of you are vacationing in the Bahamas."
"It's just for 2 weeks, Harry. I'm sure you can handle it…"
Ron and Hermione planned to take another honeymoon trip, this time taking on the shores of the Bahamas. The young man planned to visit something more suitable to his tastes rather than the ancient pyramids in the middle of a heat-infested desert. He just forgot to include his best mate with the planning. Guiltily, he thought some way to lighten the mood.
"Well, for old time's sake, maybe you could paint Malfoy without the mouth so that when you tease him, he can't answer no matter what."
"That's utterly foolish and petty, Ronald!"
"Brilliant idea!" Harry grinned, but his mind was not into the`conversation. He imagined painting Dumbledore or Sirius and talk to them again.
Introducing Pete&Grime's Magical Painting Set!
Packed with various instantaneous incantations that works after just one stroke. Liven up your house with thousand famous celebrities, practice speaking to your loved ones before a proposal, enhance your public speaking skills by setting up an orchestra just inside your bathroom! Come now, open up and experience the magic that is art!
Package includes:
6 varied sizes of brush
1 bottle of turn-to-every-color paint
3 enchanted Pete&Grime's novice blank canvasses
1 tube gold lettering Pete&Grime's lifemaker paint
1 self-moving canvas stand
2 figures of Seleme
You may also like to try:
Pete&Grime's professional Painting set (step up the game!)
Pete&Grime's unadulterated attire models complete with a copy of a spell to change body shape
Pete&Grime's wicked Harry Potter posters (that could educate your children to simple magic!)
After having owl delivered his painting set and shifting its contents on the sofa, Harry grabbed himself a stool and perched himself upon it.
The package included a set of instructions on how to use each item and Harry's eyes widened as he read the instructions for the figures of Seleme. It was a magical tutor in painting, in which the figure transforms into a famous personalities and then proceeds to guide the painter with how to illustrate a passable work. The label states that it comes in random figures and "luckily" Harry had been sent a Severus Snape, figure "with his smoky drawl and 156 snide comments" and the newly released Draco Malfoy affixed with a personality synchronizerTM that copies "almost 60%" of the person's nature. Harry stared at the figures of Seleme as if she has grown two heads…no scratch that, two hundred heads. He could not believe his luck, two of his most hated persons in one box. Those being famous and loved by thousands of consumers didn't sit well in his stomach.
He couldn't very start a painting he didn't understand nor paint a portrait of Dumbledore with badly stroked beard, so using his Griffindor bravery he optioned for the lesser evil. He tapped the figure indicating Draco Malfoy, mouthing the spell to make it work and waited.
The small white figurine morphed slowly into something bigger and bigger…and bigger…until it turns life-like. It then changed its feminine body into a thin male's, porcelain white clay changed into almost Malfoy-like pale skin and the face rearranged into one smirking bow-down-all-to-my-greatness Draco Malfoy face.
As the change happens, Harry's jaw started to fall. He didn't understand why can't the figure just voice out the instruction and not bother with transforming an agreeable form towards a gorgeous…he meant hideous creature of vermin! A life size one at that!
He squinted in his glasses as he surveyed the amazing similarities with the original and the clay one. There's not much difference except that the clay Draco Malfoy sported unblemished skin compared to the real one who, much to Harry's guilt, has a long silvery scar running from his chest towards the neck.
He gulped a big gulp as he stared at the half-nude instructor in front of him. Fashioned after Zeu's concubine, Seleme, the blonde Draco Malfoy wore a simple white cloth, hiding just the bare essentials. He was fascinated at the expanse of pale white skin in front of him, silently suggesting to him to feast on it.
The instructor coughed as the smirk widened. Lifting a regal eyebrow, he stepped closer to the customer and asked, "Shall I show you how to use the paint, dear sir?"
"Sir?" came the dazed reply.
"Oh, pardon my rudeness. I seem to be forgetting my manners lately. I'm Draco Malfoy, chairperson of Wizarding Artists' Society. I am fully capable of instructing you from the start of your masterpiece down to its last touches."
This Draco Malfoy was not the Malfoy he used to know back at Hogwarts. He seems to be less sarcastic, less snarky and quite polite. Here was the commercialized Draco Malfoy that people around the world bought. He suddenly missed Malfoy's insults and mocking tone. Though the arrogance is still clearly retentive on the clone. It's good to know that this model does not retain any memories of the real Draco Malfoy.
"I..uh…am Harry Potter. Nice to meet you, Draco."
"Can I can you Harry, Mr. Potter? I'm sure we would work well together." He smiled albeit a bit faked on the sides.
"Sure. How about telling me some basic techniques?" Harry decided then and there to call this Draco, Draco no. 2 in his head for safety purposes. He moved to lead Draco no.2 towards the sofa but his hand just pushed through air.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you, Pete&Grimes uses projector spells on the figurine so even if we looked and talked like real people, I am just a figurine combined with quite strong spells." He moved towards the sofa himself and looked pointedly at the canvas. "How about thinking a focus or a reference so that we could start?"
"Well, I'm actually quite toying with the idea of painting Dumbledore. I have a picture of him from a chocolate frog collectible. Do you think it'll work?"
"You've got to be kidding me, Blaise!" An enraged voice screamed through the metal contraption. The olive-skinned man smirked as he silently congratulated himself to a job well done. Earlier this afternoon, an order for a Pete&Grime Painting Set was requested by none other than Harry Potter himself. As co-owners of the said corporation, he and Draco can sift through thousands of millions of costumers to determine who are worthy to be given a painting set. When it was first exposed to the public, almost everyone has owned one. Then the Ministry intervened as many people have used their product to commit different magical anomalies. At that time, Draco suggested that they would start sifting through the orders before delivering their product. Harry Potter didn't know that ordering one set would take at least half a month normally before he can get his hands on it. But as Draco's long-time best mate, he would make sure that Harry Potter would enjoy his own set.
He whistled softly amidst the nagging shouts emanating from a corner of his desk. Draco was very furious indeed, but when his plan works out, he would thank Blaise and give him the sun. the shouts stopped abruptly and for a little while there was silence.
"Blaise, you imbecile! Open this goddamn door or I'll swear to Merlin I will hex you until you wished you were never born!"
A click and a murmured finite were the only answer before Draco was faced with a smug looking Blaise Zabini.
His face was littered with red blotches of anger, Draco stormed Blaise's desk and pointed a manicured finger on his face.
"Let me tell you that I will never forget this..this treason, Zabini! This is a breach of privacy! Do you hear me!"
"Calm down, Draco. this is one way of letting Potter know who you are minus the biases. Think about it, he might like you back afterall."
"Nonsense, Ha-Potter hates me, period. For all I know, he is using the Severus Snape model and promptly thrown my personality synchronizer on the waste bin!"
"Aww…Draco, have some faith in yourself."
"Of all the shameless things you've done in my name, why this, Blaise?" Draco slumped half-heartedly on the plush couch and sighed. He's done with berating.
"That completed personality synchronizer you use during business meetings is all you, Draco. That figure of Seleme that you have been pouring all of yourself may be the only way that Potter would look at you. Maybe it would work, maybe not, what have you got to lose?"
"My dignity. That clone has a tendency to babble my childhood to any audience when he comes to know the person for a while. He also does not guard his emotions well due to the fact the he is never endangered. He has all the good features that Potter would love, but those are the features that I hide, Blaise. That clone is not me…it was never me to start with."
"It's still you, Draco. Would you not want to open up to someone you love? Would you not lower your shields to show him who you really are, just like what that mound of clay is doing right now?"
"I don't know Blaise…"
Author's Notes: This would be really really short, it's supposed to be a one-shot but I got tired writing so it may be a two or three shots at most. Critic me, alright? Oh, read my story, Just Once More. it's quite nicer than this, I think. Thanks guys!