Chapter 44

Harry enjoyed the sight of Penelope Clearwater frozen in front of him while wearing a skimpy maid outfit. The girls that were on both sides of Sirius shared a concerned look with her, and made a pointed gesture with their hand. A quick peek into their mind showed that it was their unique signal for checking the explosiveness of the situation in the case the life of one of the strippers or waitresses had intruded into the club.

Harry barely held back his laughter as he picked up some of the more entertaining memories from their mind, fights with boyfriends —both ex and current variety— accidental visits from the family members, or even plain stalkers. The life of a stripper was filled with interesting challenges.

He wasn't panicking, of course, not when he could fix everything with a legimency probe no matter how much things had devolved. Of course, that didn't matter as he saw Penelope giving them an all-clear signal, and the strippers relaxed.

"So, Penny, tell me where do you know this handsome boy," said one of the girls, grinning widely as she did so. Apparently, even as a waitress, Penelope followed the stripper tradition to use a stage name, just a bit closer to her current one. Harry had a feeling that the initiative was taken by the other girls. She was too straight-laced to do otherwise, which made her presence in a strip club, flashing her beautiful legs for a tip —likely a substantial one— rather than getting a proper job.

"F-from the school," Penelope, now rechristened as Penny, answered shyly, dipping her head down, which actually enhanced her cleavage, so Harry was happy about it.

"Lucky," the stripper said with a wink.

"So, Penny, do you want to take a breather," Harry offered, patting his side, acting like he didn't notice the strippers questioning her about the danger again, only for Penny to give them all-clear again.

"She would love to," jumped in one of the strippers before Penny could answer, no doubt enthusiastic about converting her to the stage. Her game plan was obvious, she was trying to force the situation so that Penny could shed some of her shyness. A vital strategy considering most of the strippers started their career as a waitress, determined to draw the line there, only for their patience and morals to slowly worn-down under a pile of small-denomination cash and the manipulation from the rest of the crew.

Even in a high-class location like the current one, it was the case. Harry had seen the waitresses walking around all night, and none of them were lacking against the beauties on the stage. He didn't lack the methods to tempt Penny to his lap, of course, but watching her pushed to the situation by her coworker would be even more amusing.

"She would," said the other one, but with an exasperated tone, clearly artificial. "But the boss is a bit of hard-ass, and he would make Penny's life hell if she skipped work at such an interesting evening."

"Can't she just stay there and claim it was a VIP table," countered the other one while winking at Penny, who was still shocked, missing the significance of her action. "Mark is managing the floor tonight, I'm sure he would be cool."

"Yeah, but the boss would check the total revenue, and it wouldn't end nicely for Penny. For every VIP table, the boss requires a total of-" she explained, but Harry cut in.

"Penny, why don't you bring us a bottle of scotch, and whatever the ladies want to drink," Harry said as he pointed at a special bottle with a price over two thousand. Both strippers smiled in satisfaction, no doubt earning a hefty commission in the process, while Penny watched them in shock. "And one for you as well, of course," he added with a widening smirk.

"S-sure," she stammered, and left to pick up the bottle, and to get her bearings. She was just got sold by her coworkers, after all.

"Nice game, pup," Sirius interjected, clearly enjoying his smooth action. "Just like your dad. He was a player in your age as well, before your mum finally muzzled him."

Harry just chuckled as Sirius turned his full attention on the big-breasted beauties on both sides of him, letting out his charm. It was exactly what he needed after being cooped in that horrible house for months.

"She's a shy one," one of Sirius' companions chuckled, joining the conversation, with just the smallest hint of warning.

"Don't worry, I know her well," Harry answered lazily, and the strippers amused by it, giggling. It would be nice to enjoy the deference of the vaunted Headgirl of Hogwarts that did her best to rule the school during his third year, and the fact that she was the girlfriend of the git that did his best to annoy him during his fourth and fifth year was a very delicious bonus.

All while he did nothing else than throwing a few thousand worthless muggle currency he could replace in fifteen minutes.

"So, how well did you know our little Penny?" the stripper on the left asked.

"Not much," Harry answered, before his smirk widened. "But his boyfriend is still doing his best to annoy me, so…" he said, leaving no doubt about the nature of the revenge in mind, and the strippers nodded. They might be protective, but their sense of protection was clearly limited to protecting them from physical danger, rather than loss of modesty or a bad decision in bed that would leave her richer.

Such 'good' friends.

When Penny came back ten minutes later, with her makeup refreshed, her hair redone, and one of the buttons on her chest opened to enhance her cleavage, she didn't look any less shy. Harry could easily imagine one of the older strippers enforcing the touch-up just in case.

"Hello, Penny," Harry said with a cheer, making her blush badly while the strippers and Sirius joined with a chorus of chuckles. "Why don't you take a seat."

"H-hi, Harry," she stammered as she put the drinks on the table before taking a seat next to him, though very tense.

"So, what brought you here," Harry asked, but seeing her hesitancy to answer, he pulled his wand and waved, though he cast his silencing ward wandlessly, with his wand as a prop to hide his skill, avoiding ministry detection. "Don't worry, I warded us so that they will only hear a pointless discussion about football."

"But the ministry-" she said, trying to warn him about ministry detection in muggle areas, but Harry cut her off.

"Don't worry, I have special permission," he said. It wasn't true, but easier than explaining his wandless abilities. "So, how's life?"

"Umm," she murmured, trying to come up with an answer but coming up short, while Harry let his gaze caress her body, which was a treasure that stayed hidden for years under those baggy robes. Such a pity, he reasoned.

"Come on, Penny, no need to feel nervous," Harry said even as he wrapped his hand around her waist, pulling her closer. She stammered again. "Hey, they can still see us, we need to blend in, or your bosses will be angry," he said, pointing at Sirius who was getting busy a lap dance while frenching with the other stripper, having the time of his life. Luckily, Sirius no longer looked like his gaunt pictures from his wanted posters, making Penny unable to recognize him.

Harry didn't want to waste the opportunity by explaining such dark topics.

"It's impossible to find a job in the Wizarding world for me," she murmured, which didn't surprise Harry. She didn't have much luck in terms of her heritage, and being the Head Girl didn't exactly help her. Even worse, due to Percy's position, the rare few that might otherwise support her turned their back on her as well. "And I don't have any kind of education certificate for the muggle world, limiting my options," she added.

Harry nodded, doing his best to hide his derision. It was unbelievable how badly she was cowed, not even daring to use her magic to attain some easy conveniences. There were always horror stories about muggleborns getting caught after robbing a bank or trying to fake their degrees, but Harry was sure that for every idiot like that, there must be a few that followed Harry's strategy to pilfer from an illegal source, and just enough to avoid detection. The fact that Penny didn't think that betrayed how gullible she was despite her smarts —not that it needed additional proof after her selection of boyfriend.

And Harry was enthusiastic to test the limits of her weakness.

"That's too bad," Harry said. "An amazing witch like you should have better opportunities, maybe I should help you a bit."

"T-that's unacceptable," Penny muttered, stiffening despite her stutter. "I won't accept charity."

Harry chuckled, amused just how easy it was making her. "As you wish, but it doesn't have to be a charity."

"What do you mean?" Penny said.

"Well," Harry said as he let his hand traveled lower to rest on her hip while he pointed at the lapdance Sirius was getting. "I think that this establishment offers some additional services for the guest. Why don't you replicate it, and then we discuss tips."

"I-" she stammered, blushing badly. "I can't, I have a boyfriend."

"As you wish," Harry said, acting like he accepted her decision. "But the longer you work here, the higher the chances of you being recognized. If you think just an innocent lap dance is too much to handle…"

"I'll do it," she surrendered easily, but considering her actions, her weak willpower wasn't a surprise for Harry. "But no undressing!"

"Whatever you wish," Harry said, even though he had no intention to leave the place before having Penny mewl underneath him helplessly. He sat back, watching as the beautiful sandy-haired witch climbed up to his lap…