A warm light streaked around the packed room, briefly illuminating small sections of the dancing crowd before whisking off to another. Every couple of minutes the light would flick back to the center of the room where a group of young men, all fit and attractive, danced provocatively on the podium. Whenever the light descended over them, the boy's gyrated their bodies more enthusiastically, providing a shameless display for those below.
Very much at the center of the group (and loving it), Harry danced energetically to the music. His arms, legs and hips moved in time to the thumping beat. Hot, sweaty bodies surrounded him, their hands traveling sensuously over his body, causing shockwaves of pleasure to ricochet along his spine. Running his hands over the tanned chest of the boy in front of him, Harry thanked the moment of weakness that had made him give into Fred's pleas. The club had turned out to be very different from any of the others he'd been to before. There were so many famous people there no one could care less about Harry's presence and so far, it was living up to all that Fred had promised.
His leather coat was stashed away in the cloakroom and Harry had long since forgotten about it. Fred had steadfastly stuck by his threat, forcibly removing the coat as soon as they'd arrived.
Disgruntled at first, it had taken four vodka and tonics for Harry to stop feeling self-conscious in his muscle top. Six drinks later and with his inhibitions gone, Harry was seriously considering taking even that off. Not only was the club itself a little on the hot side but Harry also had to contend with having many bodies pressed so closely to his own; he felt like he was burning.
As the track change to an even livelier number, Harry sped up his movements. He was just thinking how much he loved the song and that Fred had finally found him the perfect club, when a burst of smoke shot out from the smoke machine. It wafted over the crowded dance floor and, much to his dismay, seemed to settle over the podium. Nothing could pull Harry from dancing quite like a face full of smoke. His nostrils curled away from its foul stench and he coughed a little.
It was time for more Vodka, Harry realized.
Disentangling himself from the mass of limbs, Harry said in the ear of one of his companions, "I'm going for a drink." When the man looked at him confusedly, Harry made a drinking gesture with his hand. Comprehension dawned on his face and smiling brightly at Harry the man kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"Come back soon," he said against Harry's ear, smacking Harry playfully on the bottom for good measure.
Grinning, Harry hopped off the podium and made his way through the crowded dance floor. Glancing over his shoulder, Harry saw that one of the other men he'd been dancing with had followed him off the podium. Bastion was his name. Harry shrugged his shoulders uncaringly and continued on his way.
Fred hadn't been kidding. The club was huge. When they'd first arrived, Fred had duly taken Harry on a tour. There were at least four layers and so many rooms; Harry had forced himself to stick to one section of the club lest he got lost. Which was a definite possibility since Fred had nicked off to cavort with an Irish boy, Kevin, that he'd picked up while dancing on the podium with Harry.
Pushing open a pair of swing doors, Harry stepped into his favorite bar area. It was quieter in there, the music was different and most importantly, the bar staff were by far the most attractive in the club. Harry scuttled over to the bar and bopping along to the music, waited patiently for the barman to come take his order.
A hard body pressed against his back, pushing him closer to the bar. "What are you having?" Bastion breathed against Harry's ear.
"Vodka and tonic," Harry said, glancing over his shoulder at the other man. Bastion nodded and then placed his hands on either side of Harry, pressing himself more firmly against Harry's back.
Not wanting Bastion that close to him, Harry turned back around, ignoring the tell tale hardness pressing against his cleft. He had no intention of going home with Bastion but he really couldn't be bothered starting a scene. And anyway, once he got back to the podium and those dancing boy's (who's names he was yet to discover), he could forget all about Bastion.
When the barman finally came to serve them, Bastion leaned over Harry's shoulder, and yelled to the man, "Two vodka and tonics." Thankfully he stepped back from Harry so he could get some money out his pocket and Harry took the opportunity to take a step sideways.
Greg, the beautiful barman – as Harry had dubbed him over the course of the night- returned quickly with their drinks. "Thank you," Harry said sweetly, smiling flirtatiously with the barman. Greg grinned back and winked at Harry before scurrying off to serve another customer.
Harry sighed happily and took a quick sip of his drink. In his opinion, the staff behind the bar could really make or break a place. A club just wasn't complete unless there was at least one beautiful person behind the counter to flirt with; it was like a brief, pseudo-affair.
"Do you want to go sit down for a bit?" Bastion asked, pointing towards a darkened corner of the room where there was an empty couch.
"No," Harry said honestly, "I think I'll just finish this and then do back out there." Harry flicked his head in the vague direction of the room they'd just left. Harry took a large gulp from his drink, enjoying the sensation as the cold liquid flowed down his throat and settled nicely in his stomach.
Intent on getting back to the podium, Harry made his way towards the exit, sipping from his drink as he moved. He didn't look back to check if Bastion was following him, he knew the other boy would. His interest in Harry was readily apparent for anyone who cared to look.
Harry stopped by a table full of people to finish off his drink. Smiling apologetically at the people around the table, but not really looking at them closely, Harry slid the glass onto the top and turned to leave.
Before Harry had the chance to take a step, strong fingers curled around his wrist. Thinking he was in trouble for putting his glass on their table, Harry spun around, prepared for some fast-talking.
The words died on his lips when he met the most amazing pair of brown eyes he'd ever seen. Flecks of gold could be seen amidst the brown pools, giving them a depth and vibrancy that Harry thought breathtaking. Flicking his gaze to the person's mouth, Harry noticed it was curled in a smile and, realizing that he wasn't in trouble, he sighed in relief.
"Don't you recognize me, Harry?" The man said in a deep, amused voice. Harry flicked his eyes back over the mans face, finally taking in the full picture.
"Oliver Wood?" Harry said in amazement, belated recognizing his old Quidditch Captain.
"Yep," Oliver clicked, smiling brightly at Harry and letting go of Harry's wrist. The skin tingled where Oliver's hand had been. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Bastion step forward.
"What…" Bastion started, stopping when Harry placed his a hand on his chest.
"Its okay - I know him," Harry said, "Why don't you go get us another round of drinks?" Harry added, smiling encouragingly when Bastion looked set to refuse.
"Boyfriend?" Oliver asked amusedly, once Bastion had left.
"Just a friend," Harry said hastily and Oliver nodded.
Remembering that Oliver was sitting at a table full of people, Harry spared the others a glance. He noticed that two sets of eyes (and Oliver's) were staring at him with interest. A couple at the far end of the table were far too engrossed in their private conversation to even notice his presence.
"Hi, I'm Harry," he said to Oliver's friends.
"Oh shit - sorry Harry," Oliver said, grinning cheekily at Harry. "This is Jackson," Oliver pointed at the man sitting opposite him; he had a large, round face and was beaming at Harry. He reached out to shake his hand.
"And this is Siobhan," Oliver added, inclining his head towards the girl sitting next to him at the table.
Wondering if she was Oliver's girlfriend, Harry smiled at her shakily, and felt a little pang of unjustified jealousy when she placed her hand proprietarily on Oliver's arm. She greeted him happily enough but Harry couldn't help noticing her eyes were cold and calculating.
With the introductions out the way, Oliver asked brightly, "How have you been Harry? I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Oh I've been good. I'm not doing very much at the moment, still trying to work out what I want to do and stuff," Harry said, feeling dumb.
Even though he hadn't seen Oliver for at least three years, he knew Oliver played professional Quidditch for Puddlemere United. He shouldn't have cared whether he could impress Oliver but he did. "How have you been?" Harry asked, eager to shift the conversation off the topic of himself; Oliver was far more interesting.
"Good yeah," Oliver said nodding his head. "Just moved in to a new place with Jackson here," Oliver said pointing at his friend who grinned at Harry before starting up a conversation with Siobhan. Harry wondered if it was him instead of Siobhan that Oliver was dating but dared not ask. "Actually we're having a house-warming on Friday night, you should come along, Harry."
"Ahh, sure," Harry said, surprising himself by how causal he managed to sound.
"I'll send you an invite," Oliver said, smiling at Harry again. Not knowing what to say, Harry just nodded and an awkward silence rose between them. Harry wished he could think of something witty to say, something that would start an engaging conversation, but he could think of nothing.
The only thing that sprung to mind was Quidditch and Harry quickly vetoed that idea. Now that he played professional Quidditch, the last thing Oliver would want to talk about was Quidditch, Harry thought.
"Have you seen Fred around?" Oliver asked, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I came with Fred," Harry said, and then chuckling he added, "He's gone off with some boy."
"Ahh that's Fred for you," Oliver said, laughing knowingly. He stared at Harry thoughtfully for a moment and then said, "Did… what was his name?"
"Bastion," Harry supplied quickly, realizing Oliver was referring to his annoying new shadow.
"Did Bastion come with you and Fred?" Oliver asked interestedly.
"No, we met him here," Harry said, "He sort of started following us around."
"Ahh okay," Oliver said, "Oh, speak of the devil, and here he comes with your drink."
Harry glanced over his shoulder. Oliver was right. Bastion was making his way over to them. He had two drinks balanced between his fingers and seemed to be glaring at Oliver and Harry.
"I better go, Oliver," Harry said reluctantly. "I'll see you around I guess."
"Don't forget my party," Oliver warned, though he smiled brightly at Harry.
As Harry turned to leave, Oliver patted him on the back by way of a good bye. "Bye," they said at the same time.
Very reluctantly, Harry moved away from Oliver and his friends. When had he gotten so good looking, Harry wondered, taking the drink from Bastion and making his way out the room?
