To be fair, Harry had never thought someone at school would find out about his little hobby—much less like this.
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"Harry James Potter!"
He barely had time to turn before Hermione came storming toward him, her face twisted in fury, with Ron trailing behind her, looking like he was torn between concern and outright laughter. Before Harry could even ask what was wrong, she shoved a phone in his face, nearly hitting his nose.
"Explain to me, what exactly you're doing in this!"
Harry blinked, confused for all of two seconds, before his brain caught up with what he was seeing.
Oh. Oh, fuck.
On the screen was a very damning video someone took without him knowing and uploaded for the entire world to see.
The video—taken at what looked like a muggle club— was shakey from the loud music, neon lights flashing over a crowd of moving bodies. Laughter and muffled voices mixed with the music, faces and drinks blurring as the camera shifted towards the bar, with Harry sitting there, a drink in hand, while a man—old enough to be his father—leaned in to whisper something into his ear. And Harry? He wasn’t just politely listening. Oh, no. He was leaning into it, smiling up at the man in a rather inappropriate way for a teen.
The clip cut to another scene—this time, Harry was dancing with someone else, drink still in hand, his body pressed far too close against the other man’s. The way he moved against the man was heated, yet relaxed—like he'd done this many, many times before.
And then, the final nail in his coffin.
The video cut once more, and this time, Harry was fully making out with the guy he had been dancing with, his hands fisted in the man's shirt, lips moving like he meant it, stumbling out the door together. The camera wobbled slightly as the person recording muttered a baffled "What the fuck?"
Harry felt his stomach drop.
"...Oh, fuck."
"I— is this everywhere?" he asked, voice tight with panic.
Ron, the git, was grinning now, clearly enjoying every second of this. "Oh yeah, mate. Everyone's seen it. You're famous—well, more famous than usual."
Harry groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Great. Just bloody great."
Hermione, however, was not amused. If anything, she looked like she was two seconds away from hexing him.
"Well?!" she demanded, hands on her hips. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"Uh… I was socializing?" Harry tried weakly, flashing a nervous grin.
Wrong move. Hermione’s scowl deepened.
"Honestly, mate, it was pretty obvious," Ron chimed in, still smirking. "But you never told us you were gay—"
"—Just for us to find out at the same time as we find out you’ve been underage drinking and snogging random men in muggle bars!" Hermione interrupted, her voice rising with exasperation.
Harry scoffed, offended. "Hey! Who says I’m gay?! I could just be… y’know, friendly!"
The looks they gave him were beyond unimpressed.
"Harry," Hermione said slowly, as if speaking to a particularly stupid child, "there are photos of you making out with multiple men, on multiple nights, at multiple bars. This isn’t a one-time thing!"
Ron nodded sagely. "Yeah, mate. You’re not even subtle about it. Even Dean was talking about it, joking about you acting like a manwhore in the video.
Harry opened his mouth, then shut it because okay then, wow, he can't even really argue with that.
"...Fair point," he admitted.
Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, looking as if she were seriously reconsidering all of her life choices.
Ron, meanwhile, was still grinning. "You know, we could’ve told us about this sooner, but nooo—you had to let the entire school find out first."
"Wasn’t my fault someone recorded me!"
"You’re Harry Potter!" Hermione burst out. "Of course someone recorded you! You’re the most famous wizard in Britain—people watch everything you do!"
Harry groaned, rubbing his temples.
"Well," Hermione continued, voice tight with frustration, "I hope you at least have the sense to be careful—"
"Yes, Mum," Harry muttered.
She shot him a look.
"Look," Harry said, crossing his arms, "it’s not like I’m doing anything wrong. I like going out. I like drinking. I like dancing. And yeah, I like flirting and fooling around a bit. So what? It’s fun."
"Until it lands you in trouble!" Hermione snapped.
Harry shrugged. "Hasn't happened yet."
Ron snorted. "I mean… except for this."
Harry waved a hand. "Eh. Could be worse. It’s not like people aren't constantly finding things about me to talk about, at least this time it's actually true." He smirked.
Ron shook his head in amusement. "You really don’t care, do you?"
"Nope." Harry grinned. "Might as well enjoy myself."
Hermione groaned. "I give up."
Harry just laughed. Honestly? This wasn’t even the worst thing that had ever happened to him. And now that everyone knew anyway?
Well.
He could live with that.Not like he was planning to give up his little hobby anytime soon.