Light Em Up

   Drew stared down Blaise with a throwback to his patented cold glare, his mouth set in a firm line.





"Dra..." the Italian started before he was rudely interrupted by the blonde\'s angry hiss. 





"It\'s Drew. And I\'ll thank you to remember that. You told me there were no other wizards here. Who the hell was that out there?" 





   Blaise took a moment to himself to collect his thoughts. He didn\'t think Harry would be so careless as to announce himself to a \'stranger\'. Blaise sussed out who \'Hardy Potts\' was a month into their managing contract when he caught the brunette replying his glamours in the loo. Thanks to his quiet approach and silent withdrawal, \'Hardy\' never detected another person in the room. He himself didn\'t hide his name, having been neutral in the war that tore apart their lives at Hogwarts. 





   Blaise genuinely liked this hidden Harry, and \'Hardy\' got on well with his manager. He saw no reason to disabuse the notion that they had, for all intents and purposes, met just a year prior. He had a nose for talent and management, and Bolt would go far if he could convince the former Gryffindor to abandon his shy approach to the music business. They were brilliant, and needed to be splashed across every music rag out there. With a sigh, he looked his long-time friend in the eye and lied boldly to his face.





"I had no idea. I haven\'t detected any magic use. Who do you suspect of being a closet wizard?" Blaise asked, leaning forward to steeple his fingers while resting his elbows on his dark mahogany desk. His choice wording rewarded him with a sardonic narrowing of the eyes from \'Drew\'. 





"Hardy. He turned away from me and I saw the outline of a wand in his back pocket. Bugger all, he was flirting with me and if it weren\'t for that damned stick, I\'d have jumped at the opportunity. Who is he? There was never a Hardy Potts at Hogwarts."





Draco, as he could think of himself privately here, ensconced in Blaise\'s office, knew the roster for Hogwarts backwards and forwards. There was no Hardy anyone on the books for four years above and below their age, and Hardy couldn\'t be any younger or older than that. 





"I met him a year ago, Drew. He\'s as of yet unaware that I\'m a wizard. I haven\'t exactly flaunted it, you know. What I do know about him stands thus: Hardy is an intelligent chap, completely committed to the music. He and Raymond pulled the band together informally a little under seven years ago. He has no family, and certainly hasn\'t mingled with any of our kind with knowledge of what we are. He\'s got a set of pipes that could harden the straightest bloke and the ladies adore him. Not that he pays them much mind." Blaise ruminated. He watched Draco, Drew, nod his affirmative. 





"So I\'ve gathered. Anything else?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend. He had known Blaise for a long, long time. And he could tell when his friend was lying.





"Yes. He doesn\'t play for keeps. So don\'t expect a romance there, mate. But perhaps a little fun would do you good. Get your mind away from your missing Hero for once, yes?" Blaise offered lightly, flicking his fingers as if shooing away a pesky fly. Oh yes, he knew of the well-hidden bruised heart his Prince carried inside him. The bloody prat whinged enough about him before he sequestered the blonde out of the Wizarding world. Even after. And he now had played an integral part in reuniting Draco and Harry, in the guises of Drew and Hardy. Not that they realized it yet. Once a Slytherin... 





"I\'ve been out of the Wizarding world for seven years. I don\'t want to be drug back just because some bloke finds out I\'m magical too. And with my former name, not even a solid in with the band would be enough to keep me around if Hardy is prejudiced against my Wizarding status. My Mark may have faded, but my name hasn\'t. If he had anything to do with the war, the name Malfoy would rip open old wounds, if they exist. If you could just tell me who he is..." Drew tried again, his tone wheedling. 





"I\'ve no idea. But rest assured your name is safe. He won\'t be hearing it from me." Blaise promised with a nod, only mildly shocked at the turnaround Draco had made in those years. Again, thanks to him.





   They both stood and Drew held out his hand, shaking Blaise\'s with conviction. If Blaise wasn\'t going to rumble on who Hardy was, he\'d have to do the gumshoe work himself.





"I\'ll be glad to take the spot of vocalist. Thank you for your consideration and foresight to add my name to the auditions. And for the love of Merlin, keep my name out of things." He reiterated, then turned and fled the office, not giving the Italian the satisfaction that the earlier Hero comment hit a little too close to heart, as he could see the speculation in those brown eyes. As far as Blaise needed to know, he was over that speccy git.





   Not two steps outside he collided with a warm, hard body and nearly tumbled over but for the quick hands of Hardy, who caught him.





"Hey there, steady on. There you go." Came a concerned voice. Drew looked up into muddy but sparkling olive eyes and for a moment he thought he saw bright emeralds shine through. He blinked and shook his head, ridding himself of the notion. 





"Sorry about that... I\'m not usually so clumsy." He murmured, unaware that he was still held up by strong, calloused hands. 





"Well, I am. So I guess I\'m a good polar opposite for your grace." Came the quick reply, coupled with a teasing half grin. Harry tightened his hands on Drew\'s sleeved arms slightly before letting go, a touch reluctantly. The silence was thick before Hardy opened his mouth just as Drew was going to speak. They shared a flushed smile and Drew motioned for Hardy to continue.





"There isn\'t any practice tonight...but I\'d like to get a little bit of more time with you. I have a flat upstairs. Nothing grand, mind you. But would you come up and have a pint? I\'d like to know what made you write that song." Harry rambled, one hand raking through his hair, but leaving it straight and tamed for all the abuse. 





"Oh..uh..." Drew stuttered, thrown with the forward, and fumbling, invitation. He saw Hardy drop his hand to his side then quick as a flash he rose them, palm side out and shook his head. 





"Hey look, I didn\'t mean anything cozy. I just want to talk." Harry backpedaled, realizing how close his question came to a proposition. He was rewarded with another pink tinged half-smile.





"Well, even if it was cozy, you\'d like as not hear very little complaint. A pint sounds good." Drew acquiesced, inclining his head slightly. If the bloke wanted to flirt, he\'d show him how it\'s done. A faint \'okay\' from the brunette drifted to Drew\'s ears before he turned and led the other man down the dim corridor and to a twisting flight of stairs. 





*-*-*-*-*-*





A jingle of keys, the creak of the hinges and a small, nervous chuckle was all that was heard as they stepped through the portal and into a well furnished flat, art scattered across the walls and hardwood floors gleaming. 





"Nothing grand? This is quite acceptable, Hardy." Drew intoned after a moment, stepping with light, booted feet over to the plump leather couch, then took a seat. He turned his gaze back to the brunette and favored him with a disarming smile. 





"Oh, right. A pint. I have harder spirits, if you\'d like." Harry said, dragging his eyes away from the blonde on his couch and left the question not a question. He was perversely glad when Drew replied with an affirmative to whiskey. He wouldn\'t mind getting cozy with the petite blonde, but not if it jeopardized the chances of him staying on in the band. His hormones could wait. And wait, indefinitely. But faced with a very fit body and enthralling wit, Harry wasn\'t sure that even his iron control could withstand too much time alone with the alluring guy. He hoped that if things turned physical, the contract he signed not an hour ago would still sound appalling on the morrow.





"Here, two fingers of my best stock, hard up. Now...about that song. It sounded very personal..." Harry led on, a motion of his own hand tinkling the cubes of ice in his glass. 





   Drew sighed deeply and took a bracing sip, relishing in the slow burn. Harry mimicked him. The unintentional innuendo brought waves of heat to flash across his system, but with great effort he willed it away.





"Well...yes. It\'s quite personal..." He paused, wondering how to explain. Harry shook his head softly. 





"You don\'t really have to get into it. I could just...feel it. It was pretty far into the deep end, and not at all what I would have expected from you at first..." A hand was laid lightly on his tattoo free arm, the touch burning and silencing both. Harry didn\'t so much as glance down at the hand on his arm and Drew took that as acceptance to the barely intimate touch.





"No, it\'s alright. I...don\'t really know how to explain it. It\'s...about a person." He started, glancing off to the side. He felt Hardy nudge him gently with his knee. 





"A current? An ex? A never-was?"





"The later. And you can add in a \'wish-he-was\' as well." Was the flat reply. 





"I had one of those too. Only, not as much for the romance, as just...I wish he and I could have been friends, at least. See, he hated me. And for years, I hated him back. Back then, I didn\'t know I was bent. All I wanted was to be treated like I wasn\'t dirt, but that\'s all I was to him. Nothing I could ever do would have been good enough. Unless somehow I could change my parentage, and even then, maybe not. Before I...moved, I had hoped he was coming around to the nicer side, but I left before anything came of it." Harry explained, frowning slightly. If he had known he was bent back at Hogwarts, would he have been attracted to Malfoy? Sure, the bloke was handsome. But he was a bigoted prat with too much venom coursing through his pureblood veins. Yes. He could have easily been attracted to Malfoy physically. Now if he only acted like Drew at least, it would be a tempting fantasy. 





"Well, this bloke and I came to verbal blows quite a bit. Even a few times it turned physical. But I wasn\'t allowed to openly care about him." Drew offered, slowly being at accustomed and set at ease with how open Hardy was. 





"Haha, yeah. Mine and I did that too. It\'s almost like in primary school. The little boy pulls the little girl\'s hair, just to get her attention. Only mine wasn\'t a girl. There has been girls, but nobody had my attention like he did. I always had to know what he was doing. Maybe I wanted him for more, and just didn\'t realize. Why weren\'t you allowed to care about him? Were your parents homophobic?"





"Yes and no. It just...wasn\'t done. Not in our social circles. Eventually I left though. I couldn\'t take it. Everywhere I looked, it was him. It\'s always him." He said with a quiet, sad laugh, right hand behind his head and scratching lightly, left remaining warm and light on Harry\'s bare arm. Harry closed his eyes and sighed. 





"You should let him go, Drew. I had to. He still crops up every once in a while, but...it\'s not so bad these days. Except for today." Harry grumbled the last, draining his whiskey until only the ice remained.





"What do you mean, except for today?" Drew asked, angling his body towards Harry and simultaneously putting his half finished tumbler of whiskey on the table. 





"This bloke I knew... we went to school together. He was tall, and blonde. Very much more blonde than you. Slim, like you. But...the face and eyes are different. And you aren\'t as stiff, as formal. When you walked in today, I could have sworn..." Harry replied, not noticing Drew going still. His eyes were misty with recollection and dimly he heard a question.





"What was his name?"





   Harry finally glanced up at Drew and mistakenly interpreted the frown between the blonde\'s brows as genuine curiosity.





"His name...doesn\'t matter anymore. Plus, yours is better. Not some pompous aristocratic bollocks..." He trailed off when the hand that was resting on his arm raised and laid itself flush against his slightly stubbled cheek. 





"Methinks you\'re lying to yourself, Hardy. And to me. I think he mattered a lot to you. Not just for friendship. Not by the way you go dreamy-eyed mentioning him."  Drew murmured, lost for a moment in their near identical histories. Had he not tried so hard to forget his years at Hogwarts and the attempt at a new life after the war, red flags would have sprung up and waved frantically. This mysterious closet wizard could have been in his year, and he could have known him. But the now mattered more than a dusty history that was better left buried in the past. Harry turned into the hand and smiled against it. 





"But he\'s not here. He\'ll never be here."





"I am. And that bloke is a berk for scorning you." Drew returned and gently pulled Harry\'s face over to his, finally giving into the mysterious draw the other man exuded. He, too, it seemed, finally gave in despite his earlier protests against getting \'cozy\'. 





   Their lips touched softly before Harry pulled away, his lips burning in a pleasing way where Drew\'s piercings had met his skin.





"I...I don\'t want to...push. I don\'t do well with commitments, so if you\'re looking for a happily ever after...we should stop before this gets started. I won\'t jeopardize you staying with band for a one-off shag. Not when I can\'t even let one bloke go from my past. It wouldn\'t be fair to you." Harry said, seriousness creeping into his voice and eyes turning hard, but darker with thinly disguised lust. His hormones were usually always under a firm reign, unless he was sloshed. The tiny tumbler he held wasn\'t anywhere close to enough to inebriate him.





"Even if this happens, and it\'s just the once, I\'m not going anywhere. Singing today... it was magical. I\'ll stay as long as the band wants." Draco appeased, tactfully giving agreement to a conditional off.





   Harry crashed his lips back down onto Drew\'s, his own tumbler was dropped and forgotten underneath the table where ice scattered. Bugger his damned hormones! They hadn\'t pushed this hard in years. Somewhere inside, a quiet voice insisted that it wasn\'t Drew he was mentally snogging. Harry viciously silenced the voice and once again shoving away a blurred vision of the Malfoy he knew from years passed. Drew helped him with the banishment of the Slytherin by virtue of his talented mouth, which he used to nibble on a plump lip before it parted from its mate with a soft groan. He took his chance and plundered the warm cavern, battling the resident tongue before becoming overpowered. 





   Fingers entwined into his short, shaggy hair and he let Hardy guide him down, fluttering warm, open mouth kisses across his sandpaper jaw and down the corded neck. He tugged at the hem of the screen tee that hid the body of his fellow vocalist. Hardy obediently lifted his arms away from Drew and the shirt was flung, shortly after, across the room.





With a new expanse of tanned skin at his disposal, Drew mouthed every inch, licking and nipping his way across, while gently laying Hardy down against the couch arm, until he came to Hardy\'s navel. Giving into a wicked smirk, he dipped his wet tongue into the depression, looking up at him, and was rewarded with a breathy moan, words garbled. He put his hands to use and flicked open Hardy\'s fly. 





   He pulled away the flaps of Hardy\'s tight jeans, noting with extreme approval that he wore nothing beneath. The junction was straining at the seams and Drew\'s mouth watered at what he\'d find further. Drew was rapidly using his abacus-like mind and putting the pieces together. The magnetic pull, the random flickers of none other than glamours, the wand outlined in the pocket, and Blaise as manager, lying to his face. It was amazing at what the mind could connect even in compromising situations such as these.  





"You know my name...but if you need to...tonight, I can be him." Drew whispered, his breath ghosting over the wet patches around his navel that he left before journeying down south to nip lightly at the exposed hip bones.





Harry didn\'t know how to respond to that magnanimous offer. It felt wrong to agree. He shouldn\'t want Drew to be Draco Malfoy. He didn\'t want to explore that could-have scenario. He shook his head finally, giving Drew a negative.





"Lift up." Drew murmured, and when Harry did, he felt slim fingers slide inside his beltline, then drag downwards. Drew heard Hardy gasp once he was freed, cooler air doing nothing to dampen his arousal. Drew replied to the gasp with a desire filled groan, taking in the sight of a thick, red tipped cock, already dripping with need. Drew chanced another look up and was struck with the force of the debauched sight. Once again he thought he saw a flicker of bright green and mentally made a decision. If this was who he was beginning to think it was, he\'d have to time this right. And later, he\'ll Avada Blaise, the damned liar. With nary a blink, he took Hardy\'s head into his warm mouth, swirling his tongue and lapping up the large droplet of pre that had collected in his slit. 





   Harry drew out a long, low hiss and dropped his head back to dangle off the arm of the couch. He threaded his fingers through the silky locks and had a fight with his hips to not buck into Drew\'s mouth. He felt nimble hands grip his cheeks and squeeze, another hiss emitting from his panting mouth. Drew dropped lower onto Harry\'s shaft, sucking and pulling with his lips and Harry couldn\'t constrain his voice to inarticulate noises. 





"SHIT! Oh Merlin, do that again." He rambled, half out of his mind with the pressure, the slickness, and the warmth. Drew heard his oath, a confirmation that he was indeed magical, and moved his hands down lower until one fingertip brushed against the wooden length hidden in the pocket. He pulled Hardy down deep into his throat, enjoying the strangled cry as he swallowed, and thought \'Finite\' as he touched the wand once more. A testament to his stealth, Hardy, now released from his glamours, didn\'t notice the magic abating. Drew looked back up and felt his heart lurch as his suspicions were confirmed. 





   Bright green orbs met his and he narrowed his own heavily and specially glamoured eyes sensually, then swallowed once more. The newly revealed Harry closed his eyes and came with a shout, not realizing that in his white hot haze, he was mumbling oaths to Merlin again, coupled with a garbled name that sounded very much like Drew\'s own hidden moniker, despite Harry\'s negative answer to Drew\'s earlier offer. The blonde drank down every drop greedily, knowing that this was quite possibly the first and only time he\'ll ever get to taste the Hero. Once he realized his spells were removed, he\'d be tossed on his arse after he\'d be forced to reveal his own identity.





"Bleeding Christ, that was brilliant..." Harry murmured, coming down from his euphoria. Drew lifted his head and smiled warmly, then leaned back. Harry bit his lip, thoughtfully regarding the blonde with lust clouded eyes. 





"Turnabout is fair play." He said, eyeing the obvious bulge in the designer slacks. His partner shook his head slightly, fingering the juncture. 





"I\'d rather you have a breather, then bury yourself as deep as you can go." Drew replied frankly. He watched with amusement as the spent member stirred once more with interest. 





"That is, if you can fit that monster inside me..." Drew lightly teased, rising from the couch gracefully. Harry instantly hardened and mutely followed the blonde into the adjoining bedroom.