Chapter 9
Over the next two weeks, Harry and Blaise made an effort to see each other every few days. Some days, they scouted out new coffee shops. One day, Blaise took Harry to see his potion shop. There, they endured relentless teasing from Theo until they left to take a walk at the park.
On one of their dates, Harry convinced Blaise to go to a real muggle movie theater. Blaise was wowed by the big screen and surround-sound audio. The movie itself wasn’t great, but Harry was pleased that he got to spend the whole time holding Blaise’s hand.
Once, they went on a picnic which ended with them rolling down the hill like children. They were both laughing and covered in grass stains by the end of it, but Harry had never felt happier.
Another time, they simply met up for a walk around London in between their busy days. They talked to each other about their problems and stresses, and managed to make each other laugh. The date didn’t last for longer than 30 minutes, but it brought each of them happiness for the rest of the day.
Blaise started bringing a single flower for Harry on each of their dates as well. Harry had never considered himself much a flower-loving type of bloke before, but he found himself collecting and cherishing each one that Blaise brought him.
When Harry suggested that he should bring flowers as well, Blaise shut him down, telling him, “That’s my move, you can’t steal it.” Since then, Harry had been desperate to find a way to make it up to Blaise. He didn’t want to buy Blaise expensive things. He wanted to do something simple that meant a lot. He had thought about it every day, but he hadn’t come up with anything yet.
When they weren’t going on dates, they were owling. Their conversations never really ended. Harry was trying to convince Blaise to get a muggle cellphone like the rest of his friends so that they could text, and they had agreed to go get one together.
Harry enjoyed talking to Blaise, and listening to him too. Most of the time they talked about the most random of topics, like which magical creatures they thought were the coolest, or where they wished they could travel too. They talked about the Quidditch leagues and about their friends. Sometimes, Blaise would talk about his childhood, but Harry rarely volunteered information about his own. Whenever something came up that related to Harry’s past, before Hogwarts, or around the time of Voldemort’s second return, he would change the topic. He was grateful that Blaise never forced him to share more than he was comfortable with.
Harry realized how much he had missed good conversation. He really rarely conversed with anyone who wasn’t his manager or one of his friends at the parties. Neither of those tended to be very thought-provoking. Talking to Blaise made him feel like a real person again.
Harry was also struggling to force himself to keep going out as much as his career demanded. He didn’t find any fun in dancing with other men anymore, and he had to keep shoving them away. Sure, he and Blaise weren’t official, but still. He was more cautious around Tyler, and kept more sober than normal. Of course more sober didn’t mean much, he was still waking up slightly hungover most of the time.
His reluctance to maintain the intensity of his lifestyle had not gone unnoticed by his “friends”. They were getting more and more frustrated each time he decided to leave early or cancel altogether. They were trying to get him to drink faster and earlier, and started slipping him pills that he was reluctant to take. He knew something would have to change soon. He was either going to need to put a stop to it altogether or set some clear boundaries.
Another downside to his more sober nights was the nightmares and the headaches. Every night he was plagued with horrors and pain. It got to the point where he was needing to take several short naps throughout the days to stay awake. His head was constantly pounding as well. His magic felt super touchy and he had taken to wearing the bracelets even when he wasn’t drinking. He would wear them in the morning when his headache was the worst, and put them on before bed in case his nightmares caused his magic to lash out.
Darla had noticed his ever present headaches and had taken the liberty of getting him some stronger pain killers.
“Harry, you can’t work like this, just take them once and see if they help,” she coaxed. Harry’s head was throbbing so badly and he was so exhausted that he didn’t want to argue anymore.
“Alright,” he sighed and threw back two pills.
Since then, he had been taking them pretty consistently while he had to work. They did help with his head a lot, and he noticed that he wasn’t bothered as much by all of the shallowness and pettiness that surrounded him.
Blaise had seen the pills in his cabinet one night when he was over cooking dinner again.
“Harry, what are these?” he asked. He had been rummaging around, looking for the correct stirring utensils.
“Hm? Oh, those are just some pain killers for my headaches,” Harry explained nonchalantly. Blaise read the name on the label.
“Aren’t these pretty strong?” he asked. Harry shrugged, he figured Blaise would know better than he would.
“I’m not sure, Darla got them for my headaches when I’m working,” Harry explained.
“Are you getting headaches often? Maybe you should see a healer,” Blaise suggested with concern.
“It’s alright, the pills help a lot, and Darla’s keeping an eye on it,” Harry said confidently. Harry thought that Blaise might have shot him a concerned glance but Blaise didn’t say anything else about it.
Harry was beginning to get the impression that Blaise did not like Darla, and Darla did not like Blaise. More than once, Harry and Blaise had had their dates interrupted by Darla bursting in, or her incessantly ringing Harry until he picked up. Anytime she was brought up in conversation, Blaise would become very carefully neutral and not say too much. Anytime Harry mentioned Blaise to Darla, she would huff or roll her eyes.
As far as their physical relationship went, they hadn’t progressed much further, which Harry appreciated. They held hands, lots of cheek and forehead kisses, and they hugged and cuddled when they watched movies. They made out a little bit more too, but Blaise always stopped it before it went too far. Harry was grateful because he definitely wasn’t ready for anything more, but his brain tended to forget that when he was kissing Blaise.
Tonight though, he wasn’t seeing Blaise. He had to go out with his friends as usual, and he had to leave soon. Blaise never came with him. They hadn’t talked about it, but Harry didn’t really want Blaise to see that type of environment. Or at least, not see him in that type of environment.
Harry sighed and stopped reflecting, and got up to get changed and ready. He went for a black tank top and black ripped jeans. Because he might be cold, he also grabbed his leather jacket. He even added a slight smudged eyeliner to complete the look. With that, he donned his bracelets and headed down to the car.
“Blaiseeee, I’m getting married soon, I need to party nowwww,” Theo whined.
“You know I don’t enjoy that scene,” Blaise rolled his eyes.
“Do it for me?” Theo begged. Theo had been pleading with Blaise all day to go out with him and a few of their other friends that night. Blaise preferred a quiet night in. He would have preferred a night in with Harry, but Harry had to work.
“Fine, just tonight,” Blaise relented. He really could never say no to Theo. The two of them got ready and headed out to meet their friends. Blaise wore a simple gray button up with black pants.
The club that they chose was busy, and they had to wait in line for almost a half an hour before they could get in. The music was louder that Blaise liked and the lights were flashing, making it hard to see. His friends immediately headed for the bar. He followed slowly, not planning on drinking tonight.
He did enjoy watching his friends have fun though. They were goofy and wild and it was good to see them cut loose. At one point Theo made his way over from the dance floor to whisper in his ear, “There’s a rumor that THE Harry Potter is here tonight.”
Blaise’s eyebrows shot up immediately. He knew the types of places that Harry frequented, everyone did, and this fit. They never talked about it though. He scanned the crowd looking for the familiar boy.
“Go find him,” Theo nodded at the crowd.
“Be safe and make good choices,” Blaise warned Theo as he left.
It was hard to see as Blaise wove around people. Blaise wondered if Harry even wanted to see him, or if the rumors were even true. Still, he wanted to at least lay eyes on the man that took up so much of his mind.
After several minutes of searching, Blaise came upon a table that finally had who he was looking for. Harry was dressed in all black, looking like he fit right into this crowd. He was at a table with only one other blonde girl who was laughing hard at something he was saying.
Blaise approached, noting the drinks all over the table, and noticing several remnants of white powder as well.
“Harry,” he said to grab his attention. Harry’s head immediately snapped in his direction. His brow furrowed in confusion even as a smile graced his beautiful face.
“Blaise?” Harry asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Theo dragged me out, I didn’t know you’d be here,” Blaise told him.
“Well I’m glad you are, please come sit,” Harry moved around the girl with him so that there was a spot for Blaise, “Blaise this is Molly, she’s one of my best friends.”
“Helloooo, pretty man,” Molly slurred. Blaise looked at Harry in concern.
“Yeah, she’s had a lot already, I called someone to come pick her up, I’m waiting with her,” Harry explained, “They should be here soon though.”
Blaise nodded.
“You look good,” Harry nudged his side playfully.
“So do you, leather fits you,” Blaise said back. Harry grinned. Normally, he would have blushed, but perhaps Harry had had a few drinks already too. The playful light in his eyes was much too bright to be completely sober. His face was slightly flushed as well.
Molly lit something in her hand from Harry’s other side and took a deep pull. Blaise watched as she grabbed Harry’s chin and planted a firm, open mouth kiss on his lips, and blew out what was in her mouth. Harry jerked back coughing.
“Thanks Mol, little warning next time,” he scolded, trying to catch his breath, “And ooh maybe you don’t need anymore of that, that’s pretty strong.” Harry shook his head and took it from Molly’s hands, and set it across the table. She just giggled. Harry blinked a few times.
“Alright?” Blaise asked.
“Yeah, just a head rush, it’ll pass,” Harry nodded. Blaise had never done much more than smoke a little weed with Theo a few times, so he decided to trust Harry’s judgment.
“Who is this Harry?” came a voice.
“Kristine, he’s a friend,” Harry rolled his eyes at the woman who sat down across from him.
“A handsome friend,” she batted her eyes at Blaise.
“Back off,” Harry warned from beside him. Blaise kept his surprise from showing.
“Of course dear,” Kristine soothed. Another two bodies slid in next to her.
“This is Rob and Tyler,” Harry introduced.
“Her ride is here Harry, wanna help me walk her to the door?” the man, Rob said. Harry nodded and Blaise stood to let him through.
“Stay here, I’ll be right back,” Harry commanded with a big smile. Blaise smiled back and nodded.
The pair left.
“So, you must be his new… friend,” said the other man, Tyler.
“I suppose yes,” Blaise answered neutrally. He was sensing hostile vibes from the other man but he didn’t want to get into a fight.
“Interesting, he’s a handful, hope you know what you’re getting into,” Tyler said with a smirk.
“I’m not worried,” Blaise said calmly. The other man lit up a joint to share with Kristine.
“Of course not,” Kristine soothed.
The trio sat in awkward silence until Harry and Rob came back.
“Harry, let’s do shots,” Tyler suggested as soon as Harry sat down next to Blaise. Harry sighed and scooted closer to Blaise. Blaise subtly wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist.
“One Tyler, that’s it,” he agreed.
“You’re so boring lately,” Tyler complained as he got up to go order. He came back quickly with at least eight shots. He passed one to Blaise but Blaise declined. Blaise watched as the other four downed one, and then everyone else took another besides Harry. He did find it adorable how Harry wrinkled his nose at the taste.
“I’ll leave that one there for you anyways,” Tyler told Harry. Harry shook his head. He turned to Blaise.
“Would you like to go dancing a bit? I should be able to leave in a little while if you wanted to afterwards,” he suggested. Blaise nodded. He wasn’t a dancer but he did want to leave this group of Harry’s odd friends. Harry stood and offered his hand. Blaise allowed himself to be led onto the dance floor.
They danced together for a bit facing each other, goofing around to the music. The crowd pushed in and they were forced to stand chest to chest. Harry wrapped his arms around Blaise’s neck and Blaise’s arms came around his waist. They swayed, and their faces came closer and closer until their lips met. The beat vibrated from their feet up to their lips as they made out on the dance floor. Harry’s mouth tasted of alcohol and weed but his lips and tongue were as soft as ever.
They were forced to stop when they were knocked into.
“Oi,” Harry yelled at the man, surprisingly it was Tyler with some girl, “What are you doing?”
“Piss off Harry,” Tyler yelled back. Harry rolled his eyes and pulled Blaise along to another part of the crowd.
“What’s his problem?” Blaise asked in Harry’s ear. Harry shook his head.
“Sometimes it's like he thinks he owns me or something I don’t know,” Harry shrugged. Blaise didn’t like the sound of that. “It’s okay. I need to use the bathroom and then we can leave.”
Blaise nodded and watched Harry go through the crowd. He waited comfortably by himself on the edge of the crowd where he waited for Harry to return.
“Hey mate.” Blaise turned as an arm swung around his shoulders.
“Tyler, was it?” Blaise asked calmly, dislodging the arm. Tyler nodded. “I don’t know what your problem is, but I don’t want to fight.”
“I don’t have a problem,” Tyler claimed loudly, “But you are causing me some problems.”
“How do you figure that?” Blaise asked in a bored tone.
“Ever since you and Harry started hanging out, he doesn’t want to be around us anymore, he doesn’t want to have fun anymore, and he’s forgotten that he’s my boy,” Tyler said.
“He’s not your boy,” Blaise said, feeling heat go to his face.
“Is he yours then?” Tyler taunted.
“He doesn’t belong to anyone,” Blaise said, “He’s his own man.”
“Sure he is,” Tyler sniggered, “He’s mine, and everyone here knows it.”
Blaise rolled his eyes. Tyler was not someone he wanted to indulge in the conversation with. He wanted to find Harry and leave. Blaise looked around, wondering what was taking Harry so long.
He didn’t have to wait much longer. In a few minutes, he spotted Harry stumbling back over to him.
“Woah, hey,” Blaise said, catching him and helping him steady, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, sorry, I just tripped,” Harry said, shaking his head and blinking rapidly, “A little dizzy too.”
Tyler reappeared, “Yeah the good shit will do that to you.”
Harry shook his head, “I didn’t take anything.”
“Because you’re boring. Don’t worry, we’re looking out for you,” Tyler smiled and winked, “Let me know if you want anything else.”
Tyler drifted back into the crowd. It was a good thing too, because if Blaise didn’t have Harry in his arms, he might have swung at the other man. He made a note to have a serious conversation with Harry about his choice of friends when he sobered up.
“Harry, let’s go,” Blaise suggested. Harry nodded.
“Yeah, I just need to let Kristine know,” he said, words slurring ever so slightly. Blaise sighed but nodded. Harry shook his head one more time and straightened up, taking Blaise’s hand and leading him to the back of the club. Blaise stayed close, trying to make sure Harry wouldn’t trip or fall again.
They approached a door guarded by a bouncer. The bouncer let Harry in without a word and Blaise followed. Blaise was immediately relieved by how much quieter the back room was. It was still dark, and there were still a lot of people, and smoke filled the air making it hazy.
Harry seemed to know where he was going and led Blaise to the back of the room. He found Kristine on a couch surrounded by many people.
“Kristine, I’m leaving,” Harry announced. Kristine looked around and stood up.
“With him? Harry, that's against your rules,” she said.
“Kristine, I know him, it’s different,” Harry argued. Blaise waited patiently.
“Let me talk to him quickly, wait here,” Kristine decided. Harry sighed but nodded, sitting down in Krisitine’s vacated spot. Blaise followed Kristine a few feet away.
“Is it against his rules to go home with someone? Does he have rules?” Blaise asked.
“That one is one that he made up, it keeps him safe, honestly,” Krisitine explained, “All of his rules are to keep him safe.”
“Well that’s good I suppose,” Blaise nodded, “But I just want to take him home, make sure he gets to bed safely.”
“Tyler normally does that,” Kristine said.
“I think Tyler was giving Harry something without his consent,” Blaise argued.
“Eh, Tyler and Rob, they know what Harry likes, I’m sure it’s fine,” Kristine waved him off.
“Well Harry asked to go with me, can I just take him home tonight?” Blaise asked, unsure why he was even still arguing. Harry was his own person. These people did not own him. He had clearly expressed what he wanted.
“For tonight I suppose it’s fine, I’ll have to tell Darla though,” Kristine relented, “Can I get your phone number though, just in case anything happens? It’s my job to keep him safe.”
“And safe means that people can give him anything they want without telling him?” Blaise challenged.
“He likes it, it’s the way it’s been. It’s only recently that he’s been acting differently,” Kristine sighed, “Your phone number?”
“I don’t have a phone, but Harry has one, I could give you a call when I get him home?” Blaise suggested. He glanced back at where Harry was waiting but there were people blocking him.
Harry’s head was spinning. He was pretty sure that he was on a different couch now and that someone had given him something strong. He shivered as he felt his jacket being removed. Someone was touching him but he couldn’t tell who.
He needed to find Blaise. They were going to go home.
“Stop,” he murmured.
“It’s okay Harry,” a familiar male voice came from his other side, “She just wants to play.”
“No,” he said. He didn’t want anyone to play with him. Never again.
“Shh, here, this will help,” someone pushed something into his mouth and he swallowed reflexively. Harry’s face went numb and he relaxed back on the couch. He still could feel the two of them moving above him and his eyes felt hot.
“Aw don’t cry baby, I’m going to take care of you.”
“I suppose that would work,” Kristine sighed. “If you’ve got him, I’m going to go.”
Blaise nodded and headed back to the couch. The only problem was that Harry was no longer there. He looked around the dark room.
“His friends took him that way,” one of the girls on the couch pointed out helpfully, “You could stay here with me though.”
Blaise brushed her off, and followed the direction that she had pointed. He searched, growing more and more panicked as he couldn’t find him.
Finally Blaise spotted a trio on the very back couch in a dimly lit corner. There was Tyler and a girl. Harry was on his back with his head in Tyler’s lap as the girl made out with him.
“Hey mate, Harry’s kind of busy right now,” Tyler said with a grin. Blaise watched as Harry weakly tried to push the girl off of him. He turned his head to the side and Blaise saw that his cheeks were wet. Blaise’s vision went red.
“Get the fuck off of him right now,” he growled, “He clearly doesn’t want this.”
“How would you know?” Tyler teased, caressing Harry’s face.
“He’s crying.” Blaise said, stalking over and physically forcing the girl off of Harry.
“Blaise,” Harry slurred, reaching for him weakly.
“What else did you give him?” Blaise demanded, taking Harry’s hand. Harry’s eyes were completely glazed over and barely open.
“Oh this and that,” Tyler smirked. Blaise felt his concern and anger hit new levels.
“I’m taking him home,” Blaise told him.
Tyler wrapped a hand around Harry’s neck. Blaise’s blood boiled at the sight of the touch.
“He wants to stay with me,” Tyler lied smugly.
“If you don’t let go of him I will hex you,” Blaise seethed. Tyler raised an eyebrow. Blaise whipped out his wand and cast the stunning spell. It would look like Tyler had only fallen asleep to anyone else.
Blaise took a deep breath and helped Harry sit up. Harry was crying softly.
“Shh, it’s okay, I’ve got you, we’re going home,” Blaise soothed, wiping away his tears.
“Scared,” Harry murmured, “Didn’t want.”
“I know, they’re not going to touch you anymore, I promise, can you stand?” Blaise asked. He stood, and tried to pull Harry up with him, but Harry crumpled. “So that’s a no.”
“Hey man, Kristine said you were taking him home,” said someone who had wandered over.
“Rob, right?” Blaise checked, wary of any of Harry’s “friends”.
“Yeah, I can help you call his car, and get him outside, you should stay with him tonight, they gave him way more than he should have had,” Rob said.
“Why didn’t you stop them?” Blaise asked angrily.
Rob held his hands up, “Look, everything is complicated, I only step in if I think it’s going to end in an overdose. Otherwise, they might stop asking me to come around and then no one would be looking out for him.”
Blaise shook his head. This whole crew was messed up. Rob pulled out his phone and dialed something in.
“The car is going to pull around back, that will be easier,” Rob said.
Blaise bent down to help Harry up again. This time he just scooped an arm under Harry’s legs and shoulders to lift him. Harry clutched at his neck and whimpered.
“It’s alright sweetheart,” Blaise soothed.
“‘M sorry,” Harry said.
“It’s not your fault,” Blaise told him as he followed Rob to the back entrance. They went outside and Blaise placed Harry down in the backseat gently.
“Are you sure you can handle him? He’s gonna be really out of it for awhile,” Rob warned.
“Yeah I can do it,” Blaise nodded.
“Okay well he’s probably going to throw up later, but if it seems excessive or if there’s blood, give me a call on his phone. Or if he seems like he’s having trouble breathing,” Rob told him, “But I don’t think that will happen. He might shake a lot, but he does that.”
Blaise swallowed at the gravity of the situation, “Any tips for taking care of him?”
“Water if he can, sleep, make sure he knows he is safe because he freaks out sometimes if he’s having a bad trip, other than that, just follow his lead, it’s probably going to be a long night.” Rob said. Blaise nodded.
“Thanks for helping,” Blaise thanked.
“Ay man, thanks for looking out for him, I know you didn’t sign up for all of this,” Rob nodded and clapped him on the back, “See you around.”
Blaise nodded and climbed in the other side of the backseat, and told the driver they could go.