Jason got out of the shower and started to get ready for the next Slug Club Supper Party. His hair was getting just a tad bit long and was beginning to curl. Usually Jason would have gotten a haircut by now but he was beginning to like the look on him. He quickly changed into his dinner robes and set out.
When he arrived he saw the door to Professor Slughorn's office was open but nevertheless he knocked.
"Come right in Jason m'boy!" yelled Slughorn. Jason entered right along and saw that the dinner table was all set up and ready to go. This was the third Slug Club Supper Party overall and every time they got more and more extravagant. The first one was very awkward, especially since it took place right after the Katie Bell incident. It wasn't long before the monotonous small talk turned to Katie and her cursed necklace. Jason and Luna missed the whole affair since it happened right after Jason hexed her himself for being a jerk. As far as Jason was concerned, she got what was coming to her.
Jason stayed silent throughout the whole inaugural dinner but he also stayed vigilant because Harry didn't show up to the dinner at all. He kept expecting Harry to barge in any second, instead the only people who showed up were Harry's groupies; Hermione and Ginny. This was the same the next Wednesday with Harry once again not showing up, much to Jason and Slughorn's disappointment. Jason almost wasn't even going to bother attending the dinner this week but Slughorn specifically asked for his attendance, in fact he even requested him to show up early.
"Hi Professor," greeted Jason as he walked over to him. Jason began to wonder what the reason could possibly be that the Professor would ask for him to show up early. Jason looked around the office and found Slughorn looking into his personal potions closet. Jason had never gotten to see it up close before. He could make out plenty of different potions and ingredients he knew and even more he didn't. Perhaps Slughorn wanted to gift Jason with a finished vial of Felix Felicis! He beamed at the thought. Even though he has already spent countless hours on his own version of the potion, he still had many more ingredients to collect and work to put in before it was even nearly finished. Plus there was always the chance he could get the potion wrong. Slughorn finally realized Jason was right behind him and closed the closet door.
"Jason, how are you doing this fine evening?" Slughorn asked. He walked towards his desk and began looking for something among all his papers.
"I'm doing good, looking forward to the dinner in a bit," Jason answered, faking enthusiasm. He definitely wanted to make sure Slughorn was in good spirits if he was about to gift Jason with something.
"Good! Yes I'm quite famished myself. Tonight we're having Italian!" Slughorn continued rustling through the papers on his desk. "The house elves should have it up anytime now." Jason just stood there for at least 10 more seconds staring at the hasty professor searching for whatever it could be he was looking for.
"So, Professor, what was it you need-,"
"Eureka! I found it!" shouted Slughorn, holding what looked like a to-do list in the air. Jason stared at the list and his stomach sank. This couldn't possibly be the reason Slughorn asked him there early. He then preceded to hand it over to a puzzled Jason. Slughorn must have noticed Jason's confusion. "Oh silly me," he said as he took the list back. "I should probably explain shouldn't I?". Jason nodded.
"You see m'boy, I have been terribly busy lately," Slughorn sighed. This was beginning to be just as Jason feared. "Ever since I have gotten back to Hogwarts, I have not been able to keep up with my past activities," he explained. "A man such as myself has many responsibilities as I'm sure you could imagine." He went on to talk about the many things he did and his daily routine. Jason could feel his eyes glazing over.
"Now I'm sure you're asking what this has to do with you," he continued. Slughorn handed the list back over to him, which Jason accepted. He nodded again. "To put things quite simply: I need you to be my errand boy."
Silence filled the room. Deafening almost.
"Oh for heaven's sake, not for free of course!" Slughorn continued. Jason let out a sigh of relief. Even though Jason didn't have to agree, it would be very rude to say no to the request. After all Slughorn did give him the recipe for the Liquid Luck, not to mention invite him to the Slugclub supper parties every week. Sure Jason thought they were boring but the chance that Harry could show up to them was a very nice fantasy.
"Oh, of course Professor," Jason looked down at the list. It was mostly picking things up from the Owlery like packages and mail.
"To make sure this is a suitable arrangement for the both of us I will also be giving you a spare key to my office. Whenever it is convenient for you, you can drop by and leave my packages at my desk," He looked around the room as if anyone was watching "And feel free to help yourself to any extra ingredients you might need for our friend Felix," Slughorn whispered.
At this Jason felt it was completely worth the trouble. Sure Slughorn was already giving Jason any ingredients he needed for the potion but this was Slughorn's personal ingredient closet. Somethings were in there that would never be allowed in the classroom. "Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Jason exclaimed thankfully. Slughorn looked very pleased with himself after that. He asked if Slughorn didn't mind him looking around the closet now. Jason got his approval and picked a bag of four leaf clovers for his liquid luck which he put in his pocket.
Not too long later the house elves delivered the dinner and the guests started to pour in as well. Jason was in a good mood so he was happy to join in the conversations with everyone this time around. He was having such a good time he forgot why he never really joined in the conversations in the first place.
"I'll be right back students I'm going to go make sure our dessert is ready," said Slughorn as he excused himself. As soon as he left the students all began really letting loose.
"Wrow, dris braked zidi is really thomething innit?" said Blaise Zabini, stuffing his mouth full of the baked ziti and meatballs in tomato sauce.
"Blaise, control yourself mate," chuckled Cormac McLadden. Blaise smiled with his mouth full.
"Ugh, disgusting!" said Flora and Hestia Carrow in unison.
"Hey! I just noticed Granger and the Weasley girl aren't here!" realized Melinda Bobbin. Jason also realized this. No wonder he was actually enjoying himself.
"Grood driddance," said Blaise before swallowing his food. "No need for mudbloods and blood traitors like them here." He looked straight at Jason when he said this. Jason could feel his temper rise.
"There he is, the jerk we all know and despise," said Cormac. "Prejudice is so beneath us, don't you guys think?" Flora and Hestia both nodded and smiled at Cormac. Blaise just sucked his teeth and sat back in his chair.
"No but really," continued Melinda, "You guys don't think Slughorn kicked them out like he did Marcus Belby do you?"
"Marcus Belby was kicked out?" asked Jason.
"He was," Cormac answered. "My uncle Tiberius told me that Slughorn likes to weed out the members that turns out aren't very fit for the Slug Club." Cormac turned his head towards Blaise when he said this. Blaise just scowled and looked away.
"But I doubt that's what happened tonight," he continued. "At least with Granger. She's one of the top students in our class. He'd have a very bad time trying to explain that to her." He said. You could tell he had a crush on Hermione which made Jason, Flora, and Hestia roll their eyes.
"Thank you McLadden," said Hermione's familiar voice. They all looked towards the doorway to see Hermione, Ginny, and to Jason's surprise, Harry Potter. Jason almost wanted to look away. They all joined the table. Mcladden seemed very pleased with his timing on praising Hermione. As soon as they sat down Slughorn returned as well as if on cue.
"I just checked on our dessert and the soufflé is coming about nicely!" exclaimed Slughorn. He quickly noticed that Harry Potter was also now at the table. "Harry m'boy!" he said as he went to shake his hand. "Oh and Ginny and Hermione as well!"
"Sorry we just arrived professor," said Hermione. "We were all running late. Hagrid had us help him with some of his, er…subjects for his next class," she explained. Jason noticed she had a small green feather in her hair.
"We can see that," Jason said as he twiddled with his hair. Hermione caught the cue and brushed her hair with her hand until she found something, her face turning red.
The rest of the dinner consisted mostly of Slughorn prodding and asking Harry about anything he was willing to elaborate on. Most of it was stuff Jason already knew from what he made Luna tell him, but he did learn the name of Harry's horrible adoptive family: the Dursley's.
Finally it was time for everyone to go. Slughorn bid everyone farewell except for Harry, who Jason noticed made a beeline towards Slughorn's desk, looking at the hourglass he had perched there. He wondered why Harry would want to stay there longer when he's never wanted to attend past dinners. It frustrated Jason since he wanted to catch Harry outside and maybe strike up some conversation. He did have a bag full of four leaf clovers in his pocket, maybe he'd get lucky.
Jason made it all the way back to the Slytherin dorm entrances when he finally pulled that bag of four leaf clovers out of his pocket to look at. He's been picking a few in the forbidden forest whenever he could sneak away but he could never find more than one every visit and he needed 77 of them for the Felix Felicis! Now he had more than enough. Having access to Slughorn's personal ingredient closest will definitely be a huge weight lifted off the process of brewing that lucky potion. Jason searched for the to-do list to see what was first up on the list when he realized something.
He'd forgotten the list and key back at Slughorn's office.
Jason rushed back out of the dormitory and jogged as fast as he could back to Slughorn's. Jason couldn't believe what an idiot he was. He probably set it down in the ingredient closet as he picked out the clovers. His one ticket to a chance at fulfilling his dreams and he probably screwed it up. He wouldn't be surprised if Slughorn just told Jason to forget about the job and to hand back over the Felicis recipe. Luckily it was beginning to get late and no one was in the halls so he could zoom by every corner without hassle.
He eventually reached Slughorn's office. To Jason's horror the office was already closed. He was hoping he could just go right in while Harry and Slughorn were discussing whatever it was Harry wanted and leave but now he's going to have to knock. He stood there for a while but eventually he did.
"I SAID NOT TONIGHT HARRY!" Slughorn yelled from the other side of the door. Whatever Harry asked of Slughorn must have left him in a very bad mood. Things were not looking good for Jason…
"Um…Professor, it's Jason," he said timidly. He could hear Slughorn walking toward the door and unlocking it. Slughorn cracked the door open a tad to make sure it was really him.
"Jason! My apologies! I thought you were-, er never mind. How can I help you dear boy?" he asked.
"Oh, um...," Jason was feeling anxious to get the question out. "This is very embarrassing and I wouldn't blame you at all if you fired me already but I seemed to have forgotten the to-do list and the key in you potions closet."
Slughorn just stared at him. Then he burst out laughing. "My dear boy is that all?" he said after a hearty laugh. "Go on right ahead," he said as he opened the door and gestured for Jason to go retrieve his forgotten items. Jason felt a huge wave of relief. He quickly went to retrieve the list and keys and even chuckled a bit himself. Slughorn continued to laugh as well, "If I fired you for as simple a mistake as forgetting something I'd have to resign from my post immediately."
"Thank you professor," Jason said politely. He said goodnight to Slughorn and made his way back to the Slytherin dormitory. As he walked back he read the to-do list. Everything is laid out for the entire year, just 2 things a month. "An easy list," Jason thought to himself. As he continued reading every item on the list he wasn't paying much attention to where he was going. He tripped. Jason braced himself for a hard fall.
That's when someone caught him. He looked up at the person holding him and almost fainted.
It was Harry Potter.
"You sure do seem to bump into me a lot Jason," said Harry, smiling. There was a long pause. Jason was blushing, paralyzed. Then he realized he was still in Harry's arms. He quickly found his balance.
"Sorry," Harry said, "I called you by first name. I heard Americans don't usually call each other by last name," he explained, "I hope that's alright."
"Oh no, it's not that it's just…," Jason was truly at a loss for words. He had no idea what to say. "If anything I apologize. You're right, somehow I always end up being a burden on you. I should go." With that he went on his way, trying very hard to stop feeling dizzy from the encounter.
"Wait!"
Jason stopped. He turned around, looked at Harry and saw that he looked a little…upset. "I'm the one that needs to apologize," Harry said. "I'm the one who was a jerk to you for absolutely no good reason," Harry walked closer towards Jason. "It's been eating away at me, what you said in front of the Great Hall on our first day back." He reflected. "I'm the one who refused to let you join Dumbledore's Army. You were right, we could have definitely used you. I was just too proud to see past the fact you were a Slytherin.
"Rejecting you as a member, I didn't know how much it meant to you. I'm sorry I made you feel horrible about that. And I'm sorry I've been so cold to you. I just…I didn't know what to think. I've been a poor excuse for a person and I hope you can forgive me." By now he was staring directly into Jason's eyes. Harry's emerald green meeting his brown. What he just heard made him want to tear up, but Jason wasn't going to let his emotions win. Not when Harry was paying him any mind. So Jason pretended.
"Harry…its fine," Jason chuckled. Harry looked a bit taken aback. "I'm Slytherin, you're Gryffindor. We fight, but it's never serious. This weird tension, nothing more than a rivalry gone a bit too far," Jason said, brushing off the exchanges they've had in the past to nothing but their houses being competitive. As he said all this aloud he even began to believe it. It sure convinced Harry. He looked confused at first, but eventually Harry gave him a huge smirk. Jason couldn't help but think how dopey it was, in an attractive sort of way. Jason smirked right back.
"I've been feeling like such a git every time I see you around. I'm so relieved. You know, you're really a good guy Jason," Harry told him. "I see why Dean always defends you whenever Ron drags on you."
"Ugh, sorry but Ron really gets on my nerves," Jason confessed. Harry laughed.
"Yeah, he gets on everyone's last nerve sometimes," They both laughed.
After a bit of discussion on Slughorn's supper they started walking through the halls together. The conversation evolved towards discussing their thoughts on each professor, telling jokes, sharing stories they've had on the school grounds. Eventually they found themselves outside in the moonlight, roaming the Quidditch field.
"No way," Jason gasped, awestruck.
"Yup," Harry said. He pulled out a six pack of butterbeers stashed in a mini-fridge enchanted to look like a shrub. He took one for himself and gave one to Jason. "Don't tell anyone. We usually like to have a drink after Quidditch practice. It's a tradition that Oliver Wood started back when he was still Team Captain."
"My lips are sealed," Jason motioned for an imaginary zipper on his lips before opening his butter beer. They both sat down on the grassy field, looking up towards the stars.
"I've always thought it was weird," said Harry, "You know? That Slytherin and Gryffindor have had this rivalry. I mean it's all I've known, so I never even gave any thought to the possibility of getting along with anyone from your house. But I had a reason to think that way," he explained. "Malfoy is the face of your house. And everyone knows about us…"
"I mean, you're right, everyone does know," Jason replied. "But Malfoy? The face of our house? That's giving him way too much credit. Most of us don't even like him. They're just scared of his father so they tolerate him. I despise him as much as you do. Perhaps more," Jason took a sip of the butter beer. "He never lets up,"
Harry turned towards Jason. "What do you mean?" He asked.
Jason looked at him and elaborated, "I'm sure you noticed how no Slytherin will go near me. It's because of Malfoy."
Harry looked confused for a second before remembering. "Because you're muggle-born." Jason nodded.
"In our first year, he was actually friendly towards me," Jason remembered. "He probably wanted me to be part of his clique that he was beginning to form. But I refused."
"Huh, why would you do that? It must have been the equivalent to refusing a one way ticket to riches and popularity," Harry said in a mocking tone. Jason chuckled.
"It was, honestly. He bought most of his friends and bribed everyone in Slytherin house eventually. But I just couldn't be friends with someone as condescending and who was such a jerk as him." Jason left out the part about Draco hating Harry also being a huge contributor to the fact that he refused his friendship. Harry smiled at Jason. Jason took another sip of drink. "Then he found out I was muggle-born. That's all the ammo he needed to get most of Slytherin to shun me. The rest is history," Jason finished. "Anyways, you want to talk about faces of a house? That's you!" he put on an announcer voice. "The Lion King of Gryffindor, the Chosen One, The Boy who Lived!"
Harry hid his face, "Oh no not you too."
"What?" Jason said. "I think it's cute." Harry gave him a light nudge in the shoulder. They both sat there, exhausting every facet of discussion until they began sharing even their deepest secrets. Harry talked about his experience with Professor Quirrell, Tom Riddle's Diary, Peter Pettigrew and his godfather Sirius Black. He shared his feelings he felt when he discovered he was a wizard, his Platform 9 and 3/4 mishap the second year, his first time trying butterbeer. Jason was in heaven. The warm feeling he had in his chest was enough to make Jason forget about the Felix Felicis. Maybe after this he didn't even need it at all?
Eventually they both saw the morning sun start to rise.
"Wow, we really stayed here until morning," said Jason with a yawn.
"Worth it," Harry said with a grin. "I don't understand how spilling my guts out to you is so easy? Did you slip Veritaserum in my drink?" Harry asked Jason.
"I was just going to ask you the same thing," Jason replied. They both just laughed and then decided it was probably time to head back to their dormitories. They went their separate ways, but not before agreeing that they should hang out again sometime.
Once Jason finally made it to his bed the warmth he was feeling was severe. He's never felt so happy. How could a night that perfect happen to him? How could his idol actually live up to what he imagined he would be after everything? As he lay in his bed, Jason takes care of the warmth he feels. He finishes a little while later with Harry Potter still on his mind. Satisfied and tired, he finally goes to sleep.
