It started with Ronâs idea for a thesis, and the fact they didnât actually know a lot of people who used to be part of a white supremist cult and then left, and that Malfoy still lived in the country. In town, actually, in this crap of a flat above a chippy. Apparently the owner let him rent it for half price if he worked weekends. Apparently he did. And when Ron came back, two hours late with this strange frown, all he said was, âWhoa, mate.â And Harry decided that maybe he did sort of want to tag along after all.
Malfoy was different. Not only because he looked older, or because he sat on the floor with his legs crossed, or because of the piercings and the choker, or because he let his hair grow, wild and frizzy at his shoulders. Something⌠Harry didnât know. Something hungry and a little loud about the way he kept his head down. The way he rambled one hundred miles a minute outside the interviews, the strange jokes he made and the way his eyes rounded, big and grey and startling. It was weird. He was weird. But he answered every single one of Ronâs questions, even the ones Ron hadnât planned on asking. Even the ones that hung in the air. Even the one that made him go scary, that made him run to the loo with a hand over his mouth. He came back, half a weird smile on his face, and answered it too.
And Harry found the in-betweens interesting. Found himself asking Malfoy what he did the rest of the week (âbutcher Italian art in the cafĂŠ across the street, you should come, itâd be horribleâ); who was he still in contact with (âno one, Iâdonât, ah, really, ahâ); where did he get that tan (âa friend of a pal from work went bungee jumping so I begged them to take me? Never regretted anything more, apart fromâwellâ). Found himself wanting to know. And the flat always smelled like chips, and Harry was perpetually hungry, and sooner than later he found himself going on his own, without Ron and the questions drilling into Harryâs scalp, festering in his brain.
Ron said Malfoy had actually volunteered. That he didnât have to seek him out, Malfoy approached him through the university. It made sense, in a way, with this Malfoy: the Malfoy who couldnât shut up for the life of him, who was constantly moving and buzzing and clicking. Would be annoying, butâHarryâs brain had been kind of quiet recently, and everyone around him seemed happy enough, or at least settled, and this heaped spoonful of Malfoy was a nice change of pace. With work, boring and safe and strangely continuous, with nights at Ron and Hermioneâs or babysitting a quiet Ted twice a week, with always forgetting what kind of oat milk he liked and buying the wrong mustard. With life being, well, it. Nonstop and a bit bland. Malfoy was different, Malfoy was weird, and Harry liked it.
And there was the way he laughed. Loud, deranged, a little charming, and deranged. Like he didnât know how to laugh. The crease between his eyebrows, like he wasnât sure he was doing it right, the bubbling, like he didnât care. It was a nice sort of laugh. Harry kept going.
He went sofa-searching with Malfoy when his old one gave out. Said heâd help him paint a chest of drawers Malfoy found on the street, begged him to chuck it when it proved half-eaten, roared with laughter when he tried, pink-cheeked, tongue between his teeth, to make it stand on three uneven legs. It wasnât even funny, no idea why he was laughing. Only that there were tears in his eyes, and no breath left in his chest, and that Malfoy was radiant with something warm and weird and a little off.
âWhat?â he cried, flopping down on the rug. âStop laughing, Potter! Honestly!â
But Harry couldnât, waving his arms in big, apologetic flails. âJust throw the damn thing! Youâre impossible.â
Malfoy smiled, that crooked line, small and weirdly alight. âNo chance. Thereâs some potential there, I know it. I can almost, almost see it. Donât you think it would look terrific right there?â pointing at an empty space on the opposite wall. Most of the flat was empty. Harry didnât mind it so much anymore.
âI think the weevils claimed it first. Sorry.â
âOh, no. We donât have weevils. Potter, say we donât have weevils.â
âWhat? Why?â the urgency in his voice made something stick in Harryâs throat, thick and jagged. Then an oomph as Malfoy fell on top of him, covering Harryâs mouth with a hand.
âQuick! Say it! Words are magic, we canât take the risk! You have to say we donât have weevils, you have to say it, say it, now,â but he was laughing like a maniac, and covering Harryâs mouth anyway, so Harry couldnât say anything, do anything but laugh too, trying to push him off. Maybe not trying too hard. âCome on, Potter, say it, why arenât you saying it, sayyy itââ
He finally managed a shove, and Malfoy rolled to the floor, hysterical. Harry wiped his cheeks, couldnât get this foolish grin off his face.
âYouâre barking,â he whispered, and it came out appreciative, fond. âMalfoy? Still alive?â only emitting these tiny noises, choked-off giggles, eyes closed behind a shaky hand. âHey, you okay?â
âWonderful,â Malfoy murmured, then swallowed. Sat up, looked around himself. Loud and a bit hollow. âAre you getting hungry? Bet you I could charm Mr. Picket for two sausage suppers.â
Harry sank against the sofa, this strange feeling in his belly. Content and fuzzy. Saturated or full of static or something.
âYeah, I could do with some food. I can pay, though. Let me pay.â
âNo need. Just sit back and watch a true master at work.â With a wink, Malfoy got up, and this sudden panic in Harryâs chest alarmed him silent. He realised he didnât want to see Malfoy leave.
What a weird fucking thought to have.
This is the first part of act 1 of Wonder Full, posted on AO3. I'll be posting all 9 parts of the first chapter here too, or you can catch it on AO3 here.