Degazo's Delirium

Lughnasadh; P1C7 (1/2)

Harley Adonis Riddle, or Fang, sat in his living room on the top floor of Degazo's Delirium. Ron aka Rusty, Elvira aka Minxie, and Riordan aka Prairie all lived with him on that floor, as it was big enough to house an army. Some of his poorer staff lived on the lower housing floors, which they were grateful for. After all, Degazo's Delirium was known for hiring those in need of money no matter their qualifications, within reason of course. Some of his best shotgirls and showgirls were people he had found around diagon alley working as street musicians and taking odd jobs here and there to be able to afford food and clothing.

Actually, one of his favourite performances was a girl named Amy who did a beautiful lady gaga impression and her two brothers and backup dancers who were named Tito and Raul. He found the three of them getting kicked out of the Leaky Cauldron after not being able to pay for their housing. They were all attractive people so they seemed to be the favourite of the customers too.

Currently, Harley was reading letter he had just received from an interesting friend in his pijamas, which were mostly just a pair of black boxers that peaked out from underneath fluffy pants.

Dear, Mister Riddle

First off, I would like to apologize for how late this letter has come to find you but as soon as I heard from Gringotts the story they had for me you can imagine I was very invested. Since then, I had been gathering information here and there and compiling people's stories from over the years, starting from when Dumbledore was a child. While the piece started out as something that should be in the paper, the story is simply too long and must be turned into a book, though I will also publish a summary in The Daily Prophet. I can assure you that all this will be published very soon as there is only one last story I need to hear to complete my case. That story is yours, Mister Riddle. Please owl back a window of your availability.

Sincerely,
Rita Skeeter

Harley grinned as he read the words, quickly owling her back a formal explanation of his schedule. If she was available, an interview would take place no later than tonight. Now, it was time to start tonight's preparations, as rather than a nightclub, Degazo's Delirium would be used for a masquerade ball to celebrate the pagan holiday Lughnasadh. Holidays such as that one had recently come into play, especially those who were witched by Dumbledore and lost knowledge of their traditions.

Lughnasadh was a holiday held on August first or whatever Sunday was the closest to that date. In the middle ages, the holiday consisted of ceremonies, athletic contests, horse racing, feasting, matchmaking, and trading. Though, in this day and age it was more a matchmaking masquerade with feasts. Everyone had their outfits ready and picked so the only thing left to do was the get everyone ready for the evening. Harley put his suit on for the masquerade, a deep red button up with a black vest and an elegantly detailed red and black tie. Every button he wore was beautifully designed in silver swirls and a silver pocket watch poked out from his pocket, matching beautifully with his black dress pants and black leather harness that ran across his chest and shoulders, black fingerless gloves covering his hands.

Usually he wore the same uniform as his staff, as he also worked as a bartender, but today he was allowed to have a little fun with his outfit, as he and all his workers were allowed to join in with the festivities if they were finished with their jobs. No one had to wear their actual name tags today, as the entire purpose for a masquerade ball and matchmaking was the mystery of the match, and it almost felt freeing.

After he got dressed, he made sure to check on his friends, who were all up and getting ready for the day. Next, he walked down to the floors his workers were on and gave them all jobs for the day. The bouncers would be switched out hourly so that they could enjoy their day, the performers each only had to perform five songs until they could join the festivities, the bartenders would be switched out regularly, and the shotgirls were allowed to join the festivities as they worked. The cooks were already ready on their way to cooking a great feast, and now all that was left was decorations.

As the holiday was meant to represent that the harvest is here and to honour the god Lugh, Scythes were hung on walls with green flames lit on their tips to give light to the environment. Baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables lined the hallways and were used as center pieces on the small tables, while a conjured long table waited in the middle of the dance floor for the feast to come, a huge cornucopia as a center piece. Bread and jars of honey already decorated the table, and wine was ordered en masse to represent the prosperity of vineyards and to be served to guests. Since the event was invite only, corndolls of the god Lugh were placed in expensive gift baskets for each guest and staff member working tonight, which also contained an expensive wine bottle, a jar of honey, and a poppy flower magically preserved in a crystal orb.

As the feast was for harvest, they would be setting the table with lots of fruits and vegetables, especially dishes containing corn or grains.

Once the decorations were set, Harley stopped by to knock on the dressing rooms of his workers and performers to see if they were ready for the evening. With everything set, Harley took his masquerade mask out of one of his many magically expanded pockets. His mask was a deep red with black lace, covering only the area around his eyes. The ends of his mask poked out like the feathers of wings while a big ruby sat on his forehead, silver triangles like that of a sun circling it. small sliver chains dangled from the adorned mask. Taking another thing out of his pocket, Harley popped the objects into his mouth, fixing them on his canine teeth. When his hands moved to show what they were, his regular fangs had been covered by silver ones, each with a small red gem on it.

With everything set, Harley put on the mask and opened the doors to the guests, who were patiently waiting.