Into The Long Dark

DISCLAIMER: Not mine, never will be. HP characters belong to JK, Warner Bros, etc; Rael belongs to me. Making no money off of this...

There are HBP spoilers in this.

A/N: The POV flips around a bit near the end. The song \"Witches Dance\" is by VNV NATION, and can be found on their 1997 album, \'Evil Young Flesh\'

As always, thanks to my Beta, Evil Auntie Snape.

Saturday, 9 August 1997


~~~~~~SIX~~~~~~~~\"REPARATIONS\"~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once Harry had finished with Draco, he locked the cell and reset the wards in the basement. Harry then ordered Kreacher to allow no one but Remus to enter the house until he returned. The elf nodded automatically, and followed Harry as he went out the back door into the small, walled garden area behind Grimmauld Place. As the elf was closing the door, Harry reminded him about Draco.

\"Yes, yes, Master, Kreacher remembers, sir!\" said the elf, \"Have a good evening!\" The huge old door creaked shut with a bang. Harry heard the bolts being drawn as the door was locked. Even though the latest Imperious Curse seemed to be holding well on his house elf, Harry fretted once again about how soon the effects waned

Sounds a bit annoyed, Harry noted. That\'s the first sign. Well, I won\'t be gone that long, anyway.

It wasn\'t much of a garden, not any more, as everything had grown wild from neglect. It had been cleared out, and was now barren and empty. Harry looked at the small shed where Sirius\' cycle was stored, briefly considering whether he wanted to get it out and ride over to Hanover Street. Grimmauld Place was patrolled regularly by Aurors from the Ministry, and the last thing he had wanted was to be stopped by Tonks, Moody, or that prat, Shaklebolt. Quickly quashing the cycle idea, he decided to Apparate instead.

Less chance of being seen that way, he thought.

Harry dropped the occlusive and security wards, and unlocked the old wooden gate that led into the alleyway. Locking it again from the other side, he took several steps and turned back. After a few moments, the wards automatically went back up. Number 12 was quickly squeezed out of existence, as Numbers 10 and 14 expanded magically in response. Harry always found that effect amazing, no matter how many times he had seen it.

Cool!

He then stepped into the nearest shadow, and Apparated to his usual spot, a wildly overgrown backyard of an abandoned rowhouse about ten blocks from Grimmauld Place. Harry still found that it took him a few seconds to recover from the sensation of this mode of traveling, but this effect lessened the more he Apparated. A quick scramble over the low iron fence, and he was on the sidewalk, halfway to his destination.

Harry drank in the cool night air as he walked briskly down the narrow sidewalk. It had rained earlier, and while it had been rather muggy earlier in the day, the storm front had cooled things off nicely.

There were few others out at this time of night, but he was still on a side street lined with parked cars, and many of the windows he walked past were already dark.

Great idea, Harry, he thought as he crossed another side street. Needed a break tonight! He was still a bit drained after his outburst, but the walk was helping him immensely. A dog barked an alarm a few blocks over, the sound of a television talking importantly issued from a second story window, and somewhere ahead, a motorbike raced on its way.

Harry noticed a tiny flare of orange to his right. Tensing, he relaxed a moment later when he made out the shadow of a man sitting on the steps of the rowhouse he was passing. The orange light flared again, as the man dragged on his cigarette. Harry gave him a nod, and the shadow returned the gesture.

Better be a bit more careful, he thought.

Harry wasn\'t as concerned with dementors as they rarely attacked with so many muggles nearby; it was the Death Eaters he needed to be wary of, and other darker creatures Remus had warned him about, like vampires. Harry had seen only one, at a party Slughorn held last year at Hogwart\'s. He shuddered involuntarily at the thought of meeting one in a dark alley; one that was hungry.

Constant Vigilance!! Moody\'s signature warning made him grin.

That grin paled a bit when he thought about how McGonagall had screwed up their plans for the evening. It was now too late to make the VNV show, but Harry had decided that he was in the mood for something different anyway. He was embarrassed to admit that he wasn\'t exactly sorry poor Nev had been literally dragged away.

He needs to lighten up, Harry mused, as he stepped around some garbage cans that had turned over onto the sidewalk.

Harry could hear the sound of traffic growing louder from up ahead: the honking of horns and the revving of engines, with the underlying sound of tires on wet pavement. The neighborhood became the slightest bit seedier as he neared Shipton Street, with a few more dark, empty houses and vacant lots.

Harry reached for his transfigured wand. The switchblade felt odd in his pocket, but he had found out that traipsing about with a wand sticking out of your jeans didn\'t go over too well with Muggles. Harry had spent more than a few hours in the library of the old Black house, and it had taken him a week to summon the courage to transfigure his wand for the first time. Where there\'s a will, there\'s a way...

Stepping around a group of smoking young men, Harry took a few steps, mentally counted to three, and turned to look back.

Yep, knew it! Harry smirked as he noted how two of the men had turned to watch him as he walked past, their eyes scanning him from head to toe. Harry smiled wickedly, and his admirers did the same.

Oh, yes, it was going to be a good night! he thought, adding the slightest bit of swagger to his walk as he rounded the corner onto Shipton Street.

Even at this hour on a Saturday night, traffic was brisk. People walked up and down both sides of the street, alone, in couples, or groups. Some leaned against parked cars or lampposts, or browsed the shop windows.

Most of the businesses on the street were closed, but quite a few were still open. Neon signs blazed here and there, and traffic signals flashed. There were a couple small markets, a pizza shop, a launderette, a coffee shop, a few pubs, and the record shop Harry liked. There were also a number of vacant storefronts as well. It wasn\'t a wealthy area, and with the Muggle economy as it was, Harry wasn\'t surprised at the state of things.

Still, the area was abuzz with energy, and that\'s what Harry had liked about it from the very beginning. Smiling, he continued walking up the sidewalk, passing an Indian restaurant. The smells wafting out of the open front door were almost intoxicating, and Harry made a mental note to give the place a try sometime.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he continued walking, taking in the evening, and at times returning the silent nods and greetings of those he passed. Half-way down the block, Harry waited for a transit bus to pass. He then crossed the street, walking past his record shop, Slappy\'s, where he stopped for a moment to check out the new releases displayed in the large front window. Even though Slappy\'s was still open, Harry didn\'t go inside. He passed the entrance of the shop, and turned left into a narrow alley that connected to Hanover Street, one block over.

The alley was narrow, dark, and shabby. A stagnant finger of water had collected down the center of the alley, where the uneven cobbles formed a rough drainage trough. Another alley bisected this one half-way between the two streets, and a weak street lamp illuminated the deserted little intersection. Music from someone\'s stereo wafted down from an open apartment window. Bits of trash littered the alley.

Harry strode towards Hanover Street, his right hand in his front pocket, his fingers curling around his switchblade. It was in this very alley that Harry had stunned Draco not once, but two times.

Was that last night? How the hell can that be right? Harry shook his head at the realization that barely twenty-four hours had passed. Once again, he replayed the previous night\'s events in his head.

Harry had looked up from the Wumpscut CD he was inspecting to see Draco Malfoy walk by, outside the front window of Slappy\'s Records. He remembered dropping the CD with a plastic clatter, and bolting from the store. He had nearly knocked over some old hippie in a Depeche Mode t-shirt playing a sax for change on the sidewalk.

Harry had whirled around, confused as to where Malfoy had gone so quickly. He had scanned both directions up and down Shipton Street, and had just begun to think the perhaps Draco had Apparated. The loud chink of a bottle being kicked, and then the howl of an angry cat had drawn Harry\'s attention down the alley to Hanover.

There he was!

Harry had seen Malfoy nearing the intersection of both alleys, walking leisurely, as if on a stroll in the park.

Yes! You\'re mine! he had thought, as he went into overdrive.

Without hesitation, Harry had moved as quickly as he could, keeping Malfoy in his sight, glancing ahead and side to side, ensuring no muggles were present. When he had closed to what he guessed was twenty yards, Draco had just passed under the streetlamp, and was again entering the shadows. Whirling quickly to look behind him, and seeing no one else in the alley, Harry had charged forward, pulled out his newly transfigured knife, released the blade, and with his heart thudding in his ears, quietly said \"Stupefy.\"

Draco had immediately fallen forward in a heap, and a few seconds later, Harry had skidded to a halt, pointing his switchblade at the slightly moving body. Looking about swiftly, Harry threw the Stupefaction Charm again, and before Draco\'s last moan had died out, he had cast the Featherweight Charm.

Scooping up the larger boy\'s body as if it were a doll\'s, Harry had stepped into the darkest shadow, and Apparated back to the alleyway behind Grimmauld Place.

That was all last night! he mused. Time flies!

Still having trouble accepting that so much had happened in so little time, Harry slowed his pace a bit as he passed the spot where Draco had fallen.

Hanover was straight ahead. Not so much traffic on that street, and far fewer pedestrians. His destination was an old two-story brick building at the end of the alley which also faced onto Hanover Street. The area behind the building was fenced with a very high brick wall, one side bordering the alley. Harry could hear many voices over the wall, and the thump...thump...thump of heavy bass music as he reached the far end of the wall and began walking alongside it.

Just ahead, leaning against the bricks, there was a very large figure that appeared to have four legs and two heads.

Could it be the dreaded Crumple-Horned Snorkack? he giggled to himself.

It was writhing around languidly, and as Harry got closer, he could make out that the figure was actually two separate bodies, intertwined in a fluid embrace. One fellow was a blonde, and the other was dark haired, and they were snogging like there was no tomorrow.

Don\'t forget to come up for air, boys! thought Harry as he passed by closely, catching their scent, and drinking in their soft moans and the hungry sounds of their lips devouring each other. He doubted that they would have noticed if a Norwegian Ridgeback stalked up the alley and tapped them on the shoulder.

Harry felt his entire body begin to light up, as if an unseen bolt of energy had energized him. All his senses sharpened, and he lifted his head, put his shoulders back, took a deep breath, and let a sly smile spread across his face.

Finally reaching the rear door of the building, Harry reached out and pulled on the huge wrought iron handle. The heavy door swung open, and a blast of driving bass and excited voices washed over him. Lights flashed, bodies gyrated, and Harry sucked in the scene laid out before him. Unconsciously allowing his body to begin to sway to the thumping beat of the music, Harry scanned the room. He knew exactly what he wanted tonight.

The club wasn\'t overly large. Most of the interior was wide open and given over to the dancefloor, which was fully two-thirds of the building. A long bar ran the length of the opposite wall, and there were a scattering of small, high tables around the perimeter of the dancefloor. A modest set of strobes, flashers and spinners did their best to provide an atmosphere conducive to vertical shagging. A set of fake Greek columns separated the dancing space from the front part of the club, where some booths and a pool table sat, largely unused. Harry guessed that there were about fifty lucky contestants on the dancefloor tonight. Smiling wickedly, he moved towards the bar.

A huge bouncer with arms the size of Harry\'s thighs seemed to appear from nowhere. His hair was bleach blonde, cut short on the sides, and spiky on top. The black t-shirt he was wearing was stenciled with the words \'The Dragon\'s Lair\' and was stretched to bursting over his barrel chest. He swiftly moved to intercept Harry, towering over him.

One of those hugely muscled arms landed on Harry\'s shoulder. \"Oy, need a fiver tonight, luv!\" he yelled over the din. His square jaw looked set in stone for a moment, but then he smiled widely, as Harry pulled out a tenner and pushed it deeply into the front pocket of the bouncer\'s skin tight jeans.

\"Get on with it, you little wanker! Have fun!\" the bouncer finished, moving his hand down Harry\'s back seductively, and finally giving Harry\'s arse a pinch.

\"You bet, Viv!\" Harry returned, reaching up to give the larger man\'s prominent right nipple a wicked twist.

Viv pretended to swipe at Harry, but the young wizard ducked out of the way easily. Viv gave him a final sly wink, and turned to collect the night\'s cover charge from two new arrivals.

Harry worked his way over to the bar, as the thump...thump...thump of the bass drilled its way into his hips and groin. Squeezing into an open space at the crowded bar, he caught the barkeep\'s attention with another tenner. Waiting for her to move down to serve him, Harry turned sideways, with his right elbow on the bar, and looked out once again to survey the crowd.

As he scanned the room, he allowed the music to move his hips in a slow arc, grinding back and forth. He was getting more than a few looks, he noted, and Harry was doing his best to retain his aloof demeanor. Nope, sorry luv, not tonight, he thought, ignoring the predatory stare of a fellow that looked alarmingly like a younger version of Horace Slughorn.

\"What\'ll it be, pet?\"

Harry turned around to face the barkeep as she waited for his order, a cigarette dangling from her lower lip precariously as if it were held there by magic. She looked like she could be Viv\'s sister, even though Harry knew she wasn\'t. Her hair was jet black, short on the sides, long in the back, and spiked on top, sort of a punked-out mullet. She had adorned her black logo t-shirt with an assortment of buttons, the largest of which read \"Eat Me!\"

\" Oy, Ellen! Scotch, neat. Make it a double!\" Harry leaned over the bar so she could hear. Ellen raised her eyebrows in mock surprise.

\"In a hurry, are we?\" she smirked, turning away. Harry bobbed up and down to the beat as Ellen returned a few moments later with his drink, as well as a bottle of beer.

\"Here your are, sweets,\" she drawled, as the cigarette traveled to the other side of her mouth. Harry pushed the money towards her, but she slid it back to him.

\"You\'re funny, you know that?\" She indicated with a quick nod of her head that someone had paid for his first and second rounds. Harry looked in the direction that Ellen had nodded. Young Slughorn was smiling at him lecherously. Harry made a pained smile, raised the glass of whisky towards him in a silent salute, and downed it in a single gulp.

\"Thanks, El,\" Harry gasped. Ellen shook her head gravely, smiling. \"Good Luck, sweets! You\'ll need it!\" Her smile faded instantly as she turned and looked down the full bar. \"Keep your pantyhose on, you bloody faggots! I\'m comin!\"

Harry grabbed his beer bottle and and took a long draw from it. The coolness of the beer countered the heat from the whiskey. He finally had some room at the bar, and he turned fully around, with his back to it , resting one elbow on the bartop, and holding his beer with his other hand. He hooked the heel of one boot on the footrail, and resumed his search.

He had discovered The Dragon\'s Lair during his very first week at Grimmauld Place. On one of their few cycle rides together, Remus had allowed Harry to handle the bike, and they had crisscrossed the streets in the immediate area. Remus had directed him to Shipton Street, presumably so Harry could get practice controlling the cycle in traffic. Moving slowly through the busy area, Harry had taken an instant liking to the district, especially when he noted the large record shop next to an alley. Traffic was nearly at a standstill, so Harry had abruptly headed the cycle down the alley, intending to cut over to the next street. He barely noticed the club that first time.

After that, Harry had made regular visits to Shipton during the day, and had managed at least one nightly visit each week. It was on one of these covert after-dark excursions that Harry had noticed two young blokes walking very closely together disappear down the alley beside Slappy\'s. Nervously following them, he watched from a distance as they entered the side door of the building at the end of the alleyway. It took Harry quite some time to summon the courage to pull on that huge, wrought iron door handle.

And the rest is history, he thought. Harry was feeling good. Damn good! The driving beat of the music morphed as one song flowed into the next. All right, this is cool! Harry gulped down more of his beer. The song playing now was VNV Nation\'s \"The Witches\' Dance.\" He may have missed the live show across town, but this was the next best thing.

Harry drained his beer quickly, and on cue, he heard the sound of another glass plop onto the bar behind him. Craning his head over his shoulder, Harry saw that Ellen had brought him another double scotch, no doubt from Young Slughorn. She made an exaggerated kissing gesture, rolled her eyes towards his benefactor, and walked away with an evil grin on her face.

Grimacing, Harry drained that drink as quickly as the first, but this time he ignored the old bastard. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Harry moved away from the bar, and out onto the dance floor. His head was warm and buzzy, his body filled with a growing sensation of desire. He moved his hips from side to side, and his backside moved in a tight ellipse as he made his way through the writhing bodies filling the dancefloor.

He flowed through the crowd, his hips and arse brushing seductively against the others caught in the same web of bass. He allowed his hands to ghost over the tight, jean clad asses, hips and thighs as he wafted past them. More than a few hungry hands traveled over his body as well, feeling, touching, squeezing, sampling.

The thumping of the speakers was in sync with the thudding of his heart in his chest, and the scene before him was all movement and light.

Harry felt his aching craving escalate to an almost palpable thing, as a hand spirited across the crotch of his jeans, almost passing by, but then lingering, pulled back by the feel of Harry\'s stiffening cock. He paused for a moment, allowing the stranger\'s hand to cup and squeeze his balls through the tight fabric of his jeans, causing his erection to swell even more in its confines.

He didn\'t care whom the phantom hand belonged to. He ground his hips, arched his back, and pushed his swelling prick into the hand that was now sliding all over the length of it, up and down in rhythm with each other. Harry\'s eyes had closed, and when he opened them again, he gasped in spite of himself.

Just over the shoulder of the man in front of him, Harry gaped at the vision across the dance floor. Yesss! Got im! Harry couldn\'t believe his luck. He hadn\'t expected to find what he wanted so quickly. Thank you, Miss Merlin!

Phantom Hand had pushed over Harry\'s belt buckle, and had found its way under his shirt, caressing the soft skin atop the taut muscles there. Without so much as a word or a glance, Harry drifted away through the crowd towards the spot where the unknowing object of his desire was dancing: Tall, lanky, and sporting shoulder-length, fiery red hair.


~~~~~~~~~~


Leaning luxuriously against one of the pillars that divided the dancefloor from the front part of the club, Snape sipped his gin and tonic, watching the little melodrama unfolding before him. He was barely visible where he stood in the shadow of the column, and he was able to see the entire back section of the club from his vantage point.

Dressed in an expensive black long-sleeved silk shirt, impeccably pressed slacks, and highly polished black leather shoes, he was nearly unrecognizable as the former Potions Master of Hogwarts. He had tied his hair behind his head in a stubby tail. The silk shirt was open, exposing his pale chest, and highlighting a beautiful gold chain, at the end of which hung a large Egyptian ankh. Snape had rolled the sleeves of his shirt half-way up, adding a sporty component to his ensemble. He hadn\'t seen Potter enter The Dragon\'s Lair. Snape had first noticed the punk wizard at the bar, chatting it up with the dyke barmaid.

Well, well, well. The fruit never falls far from the tree, he thought, almost laughing aloud at his unintended pun.

Sipping on his drink, Snape observed as Potter had bounced up and down like an imbecile, attempting to look provocative. He had to admit, however, that his least favorite student wasn\'t entirely unattractive. Snape noted how his hair was longer, and the skin tight jeans Potter was wearing accentuated his perfect little ass, as well as a rather enticing package up front.

He shifted his position as Potter had downed his third drink in less than ten minutes. Moving behind the support column to gaze around the other side of it, Snape watched as Potter scanned the dancefloor.

On the prowl, are we? Snape smirked to himself. It was utterly absurd to watch as Potter proceeded to slink around the dancefloor like a dementor in heat, rubbing and scraping himself against the other drunkards writhing pathetically about.

\"How utterly predictable!\" Snape huffed as Potter blundered over to a tall, red-haired muggle and proceeded to wrap his arms around his quarry from behind. He was stunned when the muggle actually returned Potter\'s sloppy advance.

This was becoming too painful to watch.

Well, he was raised by muggles afterall, Snape thought to himself with satisfaction. Ah, and the crowning touch to the perfect courtship! Potter and the muggle were sloppily dancing their way towards the restrooms.

\"First class!\" Snape muttered aloud. The urge to storm out there and drag the little slut straight out of the club was overwhelming.

Not yet. But soon. Snape needed a bit more time. Draining his drink, he turned away from the dancefloor and moved towards a seemingly empty corner shrouded in shadow, and vanished.


~~~~~~~~~~~


Rael hadn\'t been surprised when he felt someone grinding into him from behind. He had felt the waves of desire quite clearly.

A very excited someone, as he could feel the arousal of his new dance partner pushing against him. A moment later, and a set of hands snaked languidly over his hips and waist, sliding slowly over his belt and teasing the top button of his jeans. His two companions exchanged knowing grins, and gyrated off to another section of the floor. Rael could feel the hardness of his new friend\'s erection as it ground eagerly against his bum.

He slid his hands over those that were now exploring his own rapidly expanding prick. Rael allowed the two of them to sway and buck in rhythm for a moment more, before elegantly whirling around to face his new partner. Running his hands down the slim shoulders and arms, Rael gently guided the other\'s hands lightly over his hips and parked them on his backside. Rael duplicated the motion with his own hands, reaching down and cupping the other\'s firm little arse as they pressed together ever tighter.

Gorgeous, and a wizard, too, Rael thought as he looked down on a piercing set of the greenest eyes he had ever seen. Those eyes were fixed on his own, and were full of blatant, intense lust. The black-framed eyeglasses seemed to magnify the effect, so that Rael almost felt as if he would drown in them. A mane of unruly black hair stopped just short of the narrow shoulders. The Blur t-shirt he wore was stained with sweat. The tight low-slung jeans Blur was wearing teased Rael with glimpses of firm, pale skin. Again he was stunned by the piercing green eyes that seemed to bore right into him, and Rael\'s cock swelled even more in spite of himself.

\"Fuck me. Fuck me, now!\" Blur commanded, his tongue wetting his pale pink lips. A savage lunge of his hips into Rael\'s confirmed Blur meant business. The next second, Blur was steering them both towards the restrooms, guiding the taller man through the tangle of dancefloor with ease.

As you wish, Rael smiled, their eyes locked together.

Unable to wait any longer, he touched his lips to Blur\'s, who responded eagerly.

A moment later, they surged through the lavatory door marked \"Queens.\"


~~~~~~~~~~


Harry was on fire. His cock was throbbing in his jeans, and he was having trouble snogging, groping and walking all at once. Luckily, Red was not as blasted as he was, and it hadn\'t been too much of a chore to navigate both of them into the lav. They nearly knocked over Young Slughorn, who tutted sullenly and waddled out the door, struggling with his fly.

Harry felt as if he had been deprived of sustenance for eons. The kiss was life, and he needed it. They banged to a halt in the corner of the lav, across from the last stall. Harry dared to disengage the kiss to take in his saviour.

Merlin, he\'s beautiful!

The fire-red hair framed the long face perfectly. Smooth, pale skin. Faint freckles dusted his cheekbones. Do they taste like cinnamon? And the eyes, pale grey, shining down on him. A full mustache covered his upper lip, and it extended down each side of his mouth, framing the faultless smile. Harry felt as if the rest of the world was fading, the dull thump...thump...thump of the dancefloor light years away.

\"Fuck me,\" Harry repeated, his voice a hoarse whisper.

Do it! Do it, now!

\"As you wish,\" Red whispered.

With startling abruptness, Red swept Harry into the vacant stall, pushing him unceremoniously into the tile wall, reaching to unbutton Harry\'s jeans. His brain seemed to slosh about in his skull as Red yanked down Harry\'s jeans and shorts. He made to reach for Red\'s fly to reciprocate, but Harry was spun around roughly, and he felt an amazingly strong hand clamp against the small of his back, pressing and holding him against the tile.

Harry\'s face was close against the clammy tile, and the warm fuzzy-buzzy in his head had evaporated into a dull ache. Harry then heard the sound of another zipper, and Red\'s hands grabbed him by his hips, pulling Harry against the hardness of Red\'s erect prick.

Do it! Harry thought, and as if the other heard him, Harry moaned as Red entered him, thrusting deeply. Harry braced his arms against the wall, and pushed against it, driving it inside him further. He saw stars, and blackness edged his vision as Red plunged in an out savagely.

That\'s it, do it!

But it\'s so cold, Harry thought hazily, as his moans flowed and ebbed out of him. And still Red plowed into him, and Harry absently grabbed his own cock with one hand, pulling and massaging it. The coldness seeped inside further, chilling him to the bone.

thump....thump....thump....thump....

As Red continued, Harry could feel that the thrusts were becoming irregular, uneven. With a final shudder, Red released, and Harry howled at the jagged frigidness that ripped into him. Arching his back in torment, Harry came, gasping for air, reeling from the icy coldness that was coursing through his body.

Thump....Thump....Thump....Thump....

He also began to feel curiously sleepy, and obediently allowed himself to be pulled tightly to Red, as those strong hands spirited up from his hips, along his sides, finally wrapping around his chest in a rigid embrace. Harry could feel the hot breath of Red\'s mouth as it closed tightly on the clammy skin of his neck, the fangs sinking deeply into his flesh.

THUMP....THUMP....THUMP....THUMP....