Late night at The Closet


"I must be getting old...!" Virgil lamented effetely and unseriously as he rolled up his sleeves, glancing at Nick. "Clubbing's just not doing it for me anymore."

He was perched on a bar stool, fiddling with one of his earrings while they waited for their drinks. Saturday night and the place was simply swarming with wixes - most of them on the dance floor and the rest pressed up against the bar vying for the attention of bartenders.

Clubs were both different and the same everywhere. He'd had his fill of of the ones in New York but this was home territory and he missed it. Tonight was the first V had been back since returning to London.

"Looks like Zabini's still up to no good," he pointed out one of the other regulars who was buzzing about somewhere down the counter, chatting up wizards and pointing to the back rooms. "I wonder what kind of nonsense it is this time."

Virgil meant it affectionately, of course. They partied with him and Mal regularly.

Maviolo Zabini

Maviolo was nectar in the flower tonight. Which was to say, he was going around drawing the bees in for a private room.

One of the vamps from Wolf & Lamb had come in with his pet human for a good time and decided, on the spur of the moment, that he wanted to have a great time instead. Except they needed more blokes for that - so here was the fabulous Zabini in his black and leather gear, picking out the sort a vampire might like looking at in private.

There were a couple of familiar faces, Unspeakable and Obliviator, but neither were half as bashful as the type Maviolo intended tonight.

He gave his friends a wave in passing and moved along the counter after having sent one blushing wizard on his way. His eyes fastened on a young darkhaired wizard at the bar who fit the bill.

"It'll take forever to get a drink out here," Mav pointed out by way of greeting, touching his elbow lightly. "There's bars at the back, if you're thirsty."

Nicholas spun on his stool to look at Virgil when he said he was getting too old for clubbing.  "You're younger than me!"  By a few weeks but still, Nicholas was not going to entertain the idea that they were getting too old for this.  "I'll still be going out when I pass the century mark."  Well maybe not the Closet, but whatever it's equivalent will end up being.  He looked around the club at the mix of wixes trying to decide if there was anyone he wanted to approach later.

He spotted Maviolo when Virgil pointed him out. It seemed he was trying to get someone to go to the back rooms. "Wait, are we here to do good?  I didn't wear my good behavior underwear," he said with a laugh as their drinks finally arrived.  He was pretty sure he got faster service when he was shirtless and alone.  He looked closely at the bartender, had he slept with him?  Nicholas didn't think so.  Maybe he would.

Kelvin stood at the bar trying to get the bartender's attention. He'd been to the Closet a handful of times since he'd left Hogwarts and been allowed in, but it still wasn't his scene.  Alcohol in his experience made the evening more fun.  Or maybe it just  made him more fun. Either way he was having trouble getting a drink tonight, but he'd half-jokingly made a resolution to hang out with gays more often.  So he was determined to come more often.  He'd actually come almost once a week so far fitting it around his work and school schedule.

He thanked Merlin that he didn't jump when the attractive older wizard touched his elbow. "More bars in the back?" Kelvin asked.  He'd never seen any bars in the back.  He'd never looked either.  He usually stayed at the bar until he got up the courage to go onto the dance floor.  "Yeah?  Sure.  They are slammed out here."  He turned toward the wizard, "I'm Kelvin."

Maviolo Zabini

"Maviolo," he replied with a warm smile. "Call me Mav, all my friends do."

That wasn't accurate but it didn't really matter. He allowed the jostling throng at the bar to nudge him accidentally-on-purpose closer to Kelvin as they continued chatting.

"We're in one of the rooms if you want to join us?" Maviolo tilted his head to the side slightly and then laughed self-consciously. "Nothing fancy, mind. Mate of mine's trying to drum up a party but the dancefloor lot's bit wild."

He glanced over his shoulder at the sea of clubbers, faces thrown in and out of sight by moving lights. "When you start up here," the older wizard gestured higher than his head, "where's there to go, right?"

Kelvin smiled as Maviolo introduced himself. He thought it was unfortunate that Mav's friends shortened his name. Maviolo had more character. He shifted nervously as the crowd around the bar pressed them closer together. He needed a drink to calm his nerves, and neither the bartender nor the crowd were helping at all. Ideally he'd have had a drink before he was being invited to a smaller party in one of The Closet's other rooms.

He wasn't breaking his semi-resolution if he ended up at a smaller party rather than in the main room. "I don't know, I'm still somewhere down here," Kelvin put his hand at the height of his navel.  "I've got a way to go before I end up there," he looked out at the dance floor.  He turned back to Mav and shrugged, "But at this rate... lead the way."

Maviolo Zabini

He flashed Kelvin a smile, genuinely pleased. The over-eager ones were a bit annoying but this bloke struck just the right balance.

"Yeah, you'll be standing here all night otherwise," Mav remarked before nudging Kelvin to come away from the bar crowd - around the busy dance floor towards the back of the club.

He had his hand gently against Kelvin's lower back as they entered the somewhat quieter passage that would take them to the private rooms. Glossy black doors lined the walls at sporadic intervals - roman numerals marking them out - and Maviolo approached the one marked XIII.

"Flying in the face of superstition, innit?" he joked as he opened the door and 70s dance music babbled out from the dimly lit interior.

Inside, the other lads he'd sent ahead were either at the drinks counter chatting up the bartender, or already lounging on the red chenille sofa that stretched along a wall. A slender and youthful looking vampire had his arm slung around his pet human - the broadly built gym rat who went by Lucky.

The two were bookended by the fruits of Maviolo's labour. "That's Georges," Mav indicated to Kelvin, making a beeline for the drinks. "He's eighty, looks eighteen, don't let the fangs scare you - real darling."

Hearing them over the din of music, Georges glance away from Lucky and winked in their direction. He was looking sharp tonight, in a cream white suit, his brown hair slicked back.

Staring at the doors to the Closet, it took Theo a full minute to actually go inside. Not that he was shy, he’d just had… a day.. but the thought of getting an earful from Monroe if he ditched was enough for him to power through and make his way inside.

Almost the second he made it through the door a stressed looking bartender giving out flaming shots in a cacophony of ever changing colors caught his eye and waved him over. He’d been half-temped to turn and see if he was waving down someone behind him but something down in his gut made him walk forward.

“Here.” The guy practically shoved the drink towards him before moving to take the order of a rather scrawny looking dude that looked closer to 12 than 17 but who was he to say.. A clear, bubbling liquid sloshed around the pint glass in what he recognized to be some sort of energy drink mixed with who knows what. Apparently the glass was charmed not to spill because the contents rammed up against the side of the glass over and over like an ocean wave, though the liquid remained safely within the rim. Upon closer examination, he saw the little note stuck to the side of the glass and rolled his eyes before plucking it, glancing back and forth seeming to realize that Monroe had pulled one over on him before he even opened the thing.

Hey T-

Had to head to work. Emergency ink sesh. Have fun and stop being such a prude.

-Roe

Bloody hell. Monroe was such a liar. Emergency ink session his ass. He was so going to pay for this later. Just because Monroe was a man whore didn’t mean he needed to follow in his very promiscuous footsteps. Didn’t stop him from taking a drink of the mystery liquor though. He could use the caffeine right about now..

Nick was right: they weren't here to do good. Although he wasn't here to do anything in particular besides drink and enjoy the familiar energy. Virgil was still keeping his distance from Robin after the sit-in incident[1] so this was something of a way to satisfy a certain impulse.

Their drinks finally arrived and he snatched up his fruity cocktail - a spiced clementine concoction - as he glanced along the bar. Maviolo had long disappeared, though V had not caught sight of who with.

Instead he glimpsed another familiar face.

"Theo!" he called brightly from their perch at the bar stools before turning to Nick. "That's the one who's mates with Cecil. Healer, I think."

There were several Pearls but Virgil recognised this one as his little brother's friend, sometimes glimpsed visiting Stardust. His smile widened into one of greeting when the wizard in question was closer to their end of the bar.

"All by your lonesome?" V raised his eyebrows in mock innocence. "We can't have that, can w--"

A sudden commotion broke out across the dance floor, cutting him off. It was coming from the far end, where the back rooms and private rooms were tucked into winding passageways. Somebody was screaming.

1.	22nd Jan - A Kindness, Highness

Kelvin was anxiously curious as he was led to a part of the club he'd never been in before. He chuckled when Mav joked about the room number. The room wasn't too different from the larger club, just much more intimate.  No immediate red flags.  At least until Mav pointed out that his friend was a nearly century old vampire.

He swallowed nervously, he'd never knowingly been around a vampire. He also couldn't help hear Zeta's voice in the back of his mind telling him not to make snap judgements just because someone wasn't fully human.  He focused back on Mav, "Of course."

There was nothing wrong with partying with vampires, especially if it meant it was easier to get a drink.  "I'm going to get a drink."

He made his way over to the bar, unsure if Mav was following or not.  He had more nerves to settle now, though clearly there had probably been vampires in the club other times he'd visited.

Maviolo Zabini

Mav let the younger wizard join the drinks counter, where they all more or less had the same vibe - a little unsure of themselves but valiantly sociable as they talked.

He heard someone ask for Kelvin's name, and the bartender asking what he wanted to drink.

       "You are a marvel Maviolo!" Lucky the gym rat called out, turning away from his vampiric partner.
"You make it worth the while," Mav replied dryly as he approached.

Georges Van Tomme was preoccupied. He didn't know the vampire so well - whenever Maviolo went to Wolf & Lamb, he preferred being bitten by Vaillancourt.

"How about some music from this century?" he asked Lucky, who sighed and elbowed Georges for an opinion. 'Emotion' by the Bee Gees was blasting.

But the slender vampire didn't respond. He had his head turned aside and tucked into the neck of the wizard Mav had sent along before Kelvin.

      "Georgie-poo?" Lucky tried again, in a more disturbed voice. "Don't you think he's looking peak--"

Georges turned then, so quickly that Maviolo barely caught the movement. Blood pouring down the sides of his mouth, eyes wild. His meal lolled its head back against the couch. Georges hissed, lunging full force at Lucky with his fangs at the ready.

Someone screamed. The door slammed open, another scream setting off another and another. Mav snapped out of his shock. He had to get out.

       "It's just emotion that's taking me over~" crooned the Bee Gees.

The bartender was nice, the other guys at the bar were cute and it took no time at all before Kelvin had his drink ordered and in hand.  Of course that's when everything went to shit and the screaming started.  He turned, drink falling to the ground and shattering, and saw the previously laid back vampire now looking every bit the image of a vampire in a defense textbook.

Kelvin screamed at the sight of the crazed bloody vampire, but didn't move.  His thoughts were racing but his body was frozen stiff.  He couldn't remember what he was supposed to do in this situation.  Other than not be in it in the first place.  It wouldn't have mattered if he knew exactly what to do anyways cause he was telling his legs to run toward the door with everyone else but his legs were stubbornly refusing to take him to the safety at first. 

Another bloke stumbled into him which finally woke up his legs.  He ran to the door, hoping that he wasn't presenting himself as an appetizing target.

Kelvin made it into the hallway, he could see the dancefloor.  The screams having made at least some people stop dancing and look.  Then he felt a hand clamp onto his shoulder.  He was going to be a vampire meal.  What a stupid way to go. All because the bartenders were fucking slow.

His head turned automatically at the sound of his name, even if he wasn't the Theo being called for. Usually, -at least outside of the hospital- he was always amazed when someone actually recognized him correctly. Sometimes it felt like he was called one of his four brother's name way more than by his own. Usually telling to him how well the person actually knew whoever they were calling for..

When his eyes landed on Virgil however, he smiled and grabbed his drink, shuffling closer to V as fast as the crowd would allow. He was just glad to have found find a familiar face considering Monroe had purposefully ditched him, even if he'd deny it later. If he'd been trying to play the part of wing man, he seriously needed lessons because he sucked at it.

He'd started to shrug, though as Virgil's words were cut off by the sound of screaming, he glanced back towards the sound much like everyone else. Thinking it a one-off, perhaps from a fight broken out over jealous lovers or the like, he'd started to take another sip of his drink and turn back towards Virgil and his friend but several more screams followed and Theo closed his eyes for a fraction of a second while murmuring "Fuck.." softly under his breath.

He was somewhat desensitized to the sounds of screams from St. Mungo's, or at least as much as one could be and he glanced back towards Virgil once again, shouting now over the crowd. "Should we help or..?" Damn it, he was likely going to get himself killed but the healer in him just couldn't turn tail and run.. at least not yet.

Picking up his cocktail, Nicholas nodded along to the music as he surveyed his options for the night.  Worst case, he had a fun night out with his flat mate, best case, the same and he took someone home.

He spun around when he heard Virgil shout a name that Nicholas didn't immediately place.  Virgil was quick to explain who the man now making his way toward them was. They didn't make it to introductions before screaming was coming from the back rooms.  And not the kind of screaming that one associated with people enjoying themselves.  No, it was the kind of screaming that still occasionally haunted Nicholas's nightmares.

He echoed Theo's quiet fuck with a much louder fuck before downing his drink and pulling his wand. "We should.  Probably."  He stood on the foot rest of his barstool so that he could see over more of the crowd.  He wasn't about to go rushing in, he hadn't joined level two on purpose, but he could be ready for whatever came out.

“Multiple red sparks,” one of the Level Two map watchers reported, “The Closet Club, Soho.” Nadine peered over their shoulder at the map for a better hold on where exactly she was headed.

“Where’s the entry point?” Nadine asked, and a huge enchanted book below the map rustled through its pages, landing on a page with the venue’s details.

“There’s a designated corner on the roof,” her administrative colleague explained, as she leaned over, and placed a hand on the page, inhaling as the knowledge was distilled through the paper into her mind as she touched it. This was some complicated magic that had really come on in the last five years, and Nadine bloody loved it.

“Someone’s probably grabbed the wrong wand, if you get what I mean…” the second colleague explained, grinning to himself at his joke. It had not escaped anyone’s knowledge in this conversation that The Closet was a gay venue.
“Speaking from experience?” Nadine asked scathingly, as if she was above making that sort of joke herself if it had been about vampires.

Thirty seconds later she appeared out of thin air on that very designated corner on the club’s rooftop, surrounded by gas lamps, decorative trellises, lawn furniture and bar stools. The place was overflowing and had it not been enchanted, probably violated Muggle health and safety about capacity. In her scarlet robes, Auror Pinn was instantly recognisable in her role, wand out. Seeing no alarm other than the fact she’d arrived without warning, she strode in the direction of the door down into the club, beginning her search. The good thing about emergencies with red sparks was that people often were spotted running from the scene, or spotted aurors with relief and waved them over, so whatever the problem, she might not take long to find it…