Translation of Light

Authors Notes: Many thanks to my wonderful beta, Halo of Darkness.

Chapter 6

*****

Harry slowly opened his eyes. He felt groggy and it took him a few moments to remember where he was. He was alone, and Ron's side of the bed was cold. He fumbled about on the bedside cabinet for his watch, saw that it was 12.30 p.m. and swore under his breath. He shoved his feet into his slippers and shrugged on his dressing gown, and after a quick trip to the bathroom, headed downstairs to find Ron. He followed the sound of voices to the kitchen, and found Ron and Dobby sitting chatting at the table. Dobby spotted him first, and flung himself at Harry's legs so fast he almost toppled both of them to the floor.

"Harry Potter! Dobby and Winky is so sorry we was not here last night when you and your Wheezy came home."

"That's fine, Dobby. Ron and I can take care of ourselves." Dobby's face fell, and Harry quickly added, "Sometimes. Sometimes we can take care of ourselves, if you and Winky have other things to do. You're entitled to time off, we discussed this, remember?"

Dobby nodded violently, and Harry gently loosened the house-elf's grasp on his legs and made his way over to Ron.

"Afternoon, sleepyhead," Ron said with a smile as Harry leant down and dropped a kiss on his lips. "Dobby and I were just discussing lunch. I found some more shepherd's pie and chips in the cold cupboard, but -"

"Dobby should be making lunch for Harry Potter and his Wheezy!" Dobby protested.

Harry slumped into a kitchen chair and said, "Dobby, can I have some coffee, please?"

The house-elf immediately went into a flurry of activity, and in moments Harry and Ron had mugs of coffee placed in front of them. Harry sipped at his gratefully.

"Dobby, Ron and I really appreciate the fact that you and Winky prepared all those meals for us. We'd really like it if you kept the freezer stocked with them. That way, you and Winky won't have to worry about keeping fresh food in the house, except for yourselves. You know we won't be living here for a while yet, and I don't expect you to know in advance when we'll be here; we don't even know that ourselves."

Dobby nodded solemnly. "Dobby should have thought of that. But is Harry Potter sure?"

"The meals are wonderful, Dobby, and we really enjoyed the ones we've had so far."

Dobby nodded happily, then vanished with a small pop. Harry groaned and took a slurp of his coffee. He looked over to see Ron grinning at him.

"What are you so chirpy about?" Harry grouched.

"Just happy to see you, my little ray of sunshine," Ron said.

Harry snorted into his coffee and said, "Sorry, love. Just let me finish this coffee and hopefully I'll wake up a bit more."

"Why don't you have a shower and get dressed? That'll wake you up."

Ron's words jogged Harry's memory. Ron seemed to be in a good mood so, hoping for the best, Harry got to his feet, picked up his coffee and said, "You've just reminded me. Grab your coffee; I've got something to show you."

Harry led Ron back to the bedroom. He opened a door in the far corner of the room, switched on the light and ushered Ron in. The small walk-in wardrobe had been magically expanded; there was a full-length mirror on the wall opposite the door, and identical drawer space, shelving and hanging space on each side.

"Bloody hell, this is enormous," Ron said as he looked around.

"Yeah, well, I went shopping yesterday, so I had to expand it. The left hand side is my stuff, the right is yours," Harry said nervously. He hurried on before Ron could interrupt, "And before you say anything, this is necessary. We can't ferry clothes backwards and forwards between the flat and the house. It'd be too suspicious. I already had your measurements from when I bought you that stuff for your birthday, so they should all fit. Just think of this as a few extra birthday presents. Besides, you're going to need Muggle clothes. And I saw some things that'd look really good on you, so I thought..." He snapped his mouth shut, aware that he'd started babbling. Ron could be so touchy about this sort of thing, and Harry was half-regretting his impulsive shopping spree.

Ron ran his eye over the clothes on the hangers, opened all the drawers, poked at the row of shoes, and then turned around to face Harry. He was relieved to see that Ron didn't look angry. He didn't look happy either, though.

Harry said warily, "You're upset with me, aren't you?"

Ron sighed, then wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him into a hug. "No, I'm really not, though I should be, you know. I'm not a bloody dress-up doll, and I'm quite capable of buying clothes for myself. But you just can't help yourself, can you?"

"I just want to -"

"You just want to give me the world, right?"

Harry nodded. Ron slipped a hand under Harry's chin and tilted his face up so he could look him in the eye. "Thank you, it was very thoughtful of you. And you're right; I am going to need Muggle stuff. But don't do this again, Harry. If you think I need something, talk to me about it. And if I think I need something that I can't get myself, I'll tell you, okay?"

"Okay. I promise. I just... I love you, Ron."

"I know you do, Harry, I know."

*****

After a late, leisurely lunch, Harry Side-Along Apparated Ron into the neat alleyway next to the club.

"What if a Muggle wanders down here and sees someone Apparating?" Ron asked as they walked to the entrance.

"Won't happen. There's a Muggle-Repelling charm on the alleyway," Harry explained as he pushed open the heavy entrance door. "The last thing we want is a team of Obliviators coming here."

Ron gasped as he walked into the foyer. "Fuck, Harry, you've got some serious wards on this place."

"You can feel them?" Harry was taken aback. No one should have been able to sense the wards. He'd deliberately masked them.

"Couldn't miss them, mate. You set them all up, didn't you? I could feel your magic all over them, same as the wards at the house."

Harry nodded. That could explain it. Ron was keyed into Harry's personal wards, so perhaps that made him sensitive to any wards that Harry had set. He didn't know enough about ward theory to be certain, but decided it probably wasn't anything to worry about.

"There are a couple of wards that actually extend about 100 metres all around the club, but the main ones are just on the building. This place has a reputation as a fun, safe venue, and the wards make sure it stays that way."

Ron looked confused for a moment, and then his eyes widened. "Exactly what wards are you using here?"

"Nothing illegal," Harry said quickly. "Standard security wards with a couple of extras, that's all. I've just layered them in such a way that people feel happy and want to enjoy themselves. Anyone looking for trouble suddenly finds they need to be somewhere else. The main entrance is around the front, and that's the one Muggles use. This one is solely for magical people and I've got a few added security precautions - that's what you felt as you came in the door."

Harry indicated the reception desk to the right of the foyer and said, "Martin's sister takes care of this area. She explains how things work, gives newcomers whatever information she thinks they need, exchanges Galleons for Muggle money, and can call on me or Blaise if they need more information or if there's a problem. Wizards and witches can come here and know their secret is safe. That's really important."

He led Ron over to the lounge area to the left of the main door. There were comfortable chairs and couches arranged throughout the area in small groups. Coffee tables were dotted about, holding magazines and other literature. Ron picked up a small booklet and started leafing through it.

"There are no Muggles allowed in this area. People can help themselves to a cup of tea or coffee, or one of the Sobrietus potions if they've overdone it. They can sit and relax here. Blaise and I have put together some information," Harry gestured to the booklet in Ron's hand, "that we think will be useful for those who are new to - well, everything."

Ron nodded absently as he continued to flick through the booklet. "Can I have this?" he said suddenly.

"Of course. They're here for people to take. Tap it with your wand."

Ron gave Harry an odd look, but did as he said. He raised his eyebrows as the booklet instantly shrank and turned into a business card for The Lily Pad.

"Clever," Ron said, nodding at Harry before slipping the card into his back pocket.

"It's somewhere people can go if they need help," Harry said. "Nobody there asks questions or judges anyone. They'll help anybody who needs it."

"And you set that up?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded. "Most of the people who come here just want a night out somewhere where they can be themselves. They're just here to have fun. But for some, this is all very new and scary. Not everyone has someone they can talk to, or somewhere to go if the shit hits the fan. There's all sorts of help for Muggles, but nothing for magical people."

"True enough," Ron said. He had a small, knowing smile on his face.

"Nobody else is going to do anything to help them," Harry said defensively.

"I never said a word, mate," Ron said, his smile growing wider. He threw an arm around Harry's shoulder and dropped a kiss on his head. "You just can't help yourself, can you," he said fondly.

Harry led Ron through to the main foyer and showed him the Muggle reception area. Ron peered into a large glass bowl that stood at the end of the desk. It was full of tiny white envelopes with 'Compliments of Seekers' printed on them in flowing gold script.

"Chocolate?" Ron asked hopefully as he fished out an envelope.

Harry laughed. "You've got a one track mind! No, these are for the male Muggle patrons. Blaise's idea. Advertising and a public service, all in one small package."

Harry plucked an envelope out of the bowl and opened it. Inside were a condom and a sachet of lubricant. Ron peered at them.

"Muggles don't have protection charms. So they use these instead," Harry said, indicating the packet he was holding. "I think the lubricant is self-explanatory."

Ron took the condom from Harry, examined the package, then said, "So how does a small square help? Oh, hang on, you open it, right?" And proceeded to tear it open. "Not a lot clearer as to how this helps, mate," he said with a grin.

Harry took the condom and unrolled it over two of his fingers. Ron squinted at Harry's hand and Harry closed his eyes and sighed. "You're going to ask how putting it on your fingers helps, aren't you," he said wearily.

Ron suddenly snorted loudly and collapsed in a fit of giggles against the reception desk.

"D - Dean had some in fourth year, got them off his cousin. He showed me and Neville what they were. Honestly, I'm not as clueless as you seem to think I am," Ron stuttered out as he laughed. "Sorry, mate, but you should have seen your face."

"You've been hanging around your brothers too long," Harry muttered as he threw the condom into a wastebasket. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the club, and then we can find Martin."

Both foyers led into a medium-sized, softly lit lobby. Comfortable-looking couches were scattered around. There was a corridor leading to the restrooms on the left and a locked door on the right marked 'Staff Only'. Large double doors on the far wall led into the dance club itself. Harry pushed open the doors and led Ron into the darkened area. He waved his hand and several large lights came on.

"Whew! It's bigger than I thought it'd be," Ron said.

"Yeah, I suppose it's pretty big." Harry looked around. It looked the same as most dance clubs he'd been to; they all had that post-industrial look about them, but you couldn't get away from that. The complex audio/visual and lighting systems and associated electronics were an integral part of this sort of place. Or so Martin had assured him.

Harry led Ron down to the dance floor. He gestured to the left, where a wide flight of maybe half a dozen steps led up to a bar area that ran the length of the wall. A wrought iron balustrade ran the length of this area to a similar flight of steps at the other end.

"We have three or four people serving at that bar, depending on how busy it gets, with one just gathering empties, tidying up, keeping up stock levels and so on. It's a good place to grab a drink, catch your breath and watch the dancing."

Harry then led Ron over to the right side of the dance floor, saying, "This is exactly the same sized area, but as you can see it's all seating. More loos and stuff through there." He waved his hand vaguely off to the right, then led Ron up another flight of metal steps to a smaller bar that sat above the seating area.

"We have two people here, and one to run around. Rosie runs the magical entrance; we usually have a couple of people at the Muggle entrance, a couple of security staff, and Tris, who takes care of the music, lighting, video and stuff. He's a wizard, and worked with me on developing the shielding we use so all that stuff will work around magical fields. I use the same shielding on the stuff at home. Anyway, Martin can tell you more about the staff later, as he's related to some of them. Squibs are perfect in a place like this; they're Muggle, but they know all about the wizarding world."

"A lot of people are relying on this place for a living, then," Ron said thoughtfully as he looked around.

"Yeah. Another good reason to make sure we make a success of it."

"Right. You know, I think adding a quieter, more intimate section to this place is a bloody good idea. Attract a different crowd, people who wouldn't feel comfortable with all this," Ron said with a sweep of his arm.

"That's the general idea. A more sophisticated ambience, Martin called it. Says it's been a very popular move for some of the bigger clubs."

"Oy, you two up there?"

"Speak of the devil," Harry said as they peered over the balcony to see Martin standing by the main doors. "C'mon. Martin can show you some of the plans we've had drawn up, and I'm dying for a cup of tea."

*****

Harry pushed his plate away, undid the top button of his jeans and sighed contentedly. The food had been brilliant, and he'd eaten far too much. Ron had put away his usual industrial quantities, and Blaise was staring at him in shock as he announced that he still had a bit of room for dessert.

"You should be the size of a house, the amount you eat!" Blaise snapped. He was perpetually on a diet, and Harry had suffered through more than one rant on the dangers of fried food.

"You're just jealous," Ron said. "All us Weasley boys eat like this; not an ounce of spare fat on any of us. Used to drive Mum spare. Said she got her money's worth out of Hogwarts just on the food bills alone. Besides, I get plenty of exercise."

Blaise raised an eyebrow and smirked as Ron raised his glass to his lips. "Do you now? Who's a lucky boy, then, Harry?" he said.

Ron blushed and almost choked on his drink.

"You did that on bloody purpose," Ron muttered as he mopped up the wine that had dribbled down his chin. Blaise gave him a wide grin. Harry simply laughed, then reached across and gave Ron's hand a squeeze.

"You're right. I'm very lucky indeed." Harry gazed into Ron's eyes, and he knew he was wearing that stupid grin again, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Oh, young love," Blaise said, dabbing theatrically at his eyes with the corner of his serviette. "Brings a tear to the eye and a lump to the -"

"Blaise!" Martin said quickly.

"Throat. I was going to say throat," Blaise said, the picture of injured innocence.

"Of course you were," Martin said with a wink.

Just then, the waiter bustled up to clear their table and take their orders for dessert and coffee. A spirited discussion of the menu choices ensued, interrupted slightly as the couple at the next table got up to leave. Harry had to shuffle closer to the table as they squeezed past, but otherwise he paid them no attention. Which was a pity, really. If he had, he might have noticed the odd-looking beetle that clung precariously to the back of the man's jacket.

*****