Jason looks around the dark hallway as he's suspended in midair, his body being forced to follow Draco Malfoy anywhere he goes. He can't move a single muscle except for his eyes at the moment, so he has no choice. Being petrified and tethered to Draco Malfoy is not something he had on his bingo card for the day.
A bunch of question were running around in Jason's head. What could Malfoy want with Jason? Why didn't he just leave Jason in the bathroom? Surely Draco doesn't think that Jason would snitch on him? That would just mean a punishment for him as it was late and non-prefect students couldn't be out to roam the halls. He kept asking himself these questions, fearing the worst. Draco is a notorious muggleborn hater. Jason notices a very light thumping in his ear. Being petrified and unable to move, along with how quietly Draco was moving through the castle, Jason thinks he must be able to hear his heart beating.
Finally after what seems like five flights of stairs, Draco stops at a blank wall. He just stands there. It looks like he's thinking. Jason's nose starts twitching as his face regains feeling. That's when he sees a door materialize out of the wall. It's a brown, arched double doorway with golden doorknobs. Draco turns the left doorknob and takes Jason inside along with himself.
Jason moves his eyes as much as he can to see the room. It's a very crowded room illuminated by candles in any corner that will fit one, giving it a nice warm glow. It's also full of what looks like broken furniture, lost personal items, and ton of books. As Draco walked deeper inside, Jason was able to see more. Just from a glance, Jason saw a banjo, rusted swords and axes, various portraits and trophies, and even an enormous stuffed troll. They passed a large, comfy looking bed with satin silk sheets until finally it seems Draco had met his destination. It was a cabinet that was clearly in disrepair. Draco opened it and started fiddling around with it, summoning a chock-full toolbox onto a table by his left hand side. He seems to be quite familiar with this process.
It's been at least half an hour of Draco stopping and starting his tinkering of this cabinet. The clatter of his tools is the only thing in the room that disturbs the peace. Every time he stops, he looks Jason's way. He seems to be contemplating a something. He looks into Jason's eyes. Jason gets a good look at Draco. He has a grayish tone to his skin these days, Jason noticed. He usually tries to stay away from Draco any chance he gets, so he hasn't seen the dark circles under his eyes until now. The low lighting in the room only highlights them. Jason wonders why Draco looks so tired. They did all have apparition exams coming up soon, but he can't possibly be that bent out of shape over them. They're optional after all.
Jason noticed he can make noises now. He starts trying to scream, but he still has no control of his lips, resulting in a muffled sounding whimper. Draco ignores the cry, instead going back to work on the cabinet. After a while Draco closes the cabinet, untethers himself to Jason and disappears into the room. Jason can hear Draco looking for something. His mind racing, Jason tries to regain mobility in his face, little by little. He manages to open his mouth a tad, and then closes it back up. That's when Draco returns with what looks like a birdcage covered by a white blanket.
"You should count yourself lucky, Bias," Draco broke the silence as he sets down the cage. "I think I can finally manage to make your existence useful today." Jason was focusing all he could on trying to move his lips and tongue. He managed to open his mouth again.
"Waihiz daa?" Jason tried to ask. Draco gave him his attention. He almost looked impressed before uncovering the cage to reveal a tiny bird inside. It looks like it just woke up.
"Because," Draco answered. The bird was chirping now. "You will be the answer to if I am wasting my time here." He reached for the bird in the cage. He was surprisingly gentle, grabbing it and holding it in his hand softly, but firmly so it would not escape. He began mumbling, "I did everything I can. This has to work." He placed it inside the cabinet and closed the door. Jason could hear the muffled chirping.
"Da burd?" Jason asked. His speech improving somewhat.
"The bird. It's the lab rat. You will be the test subject." Draco answered without turning around. He sounded almost remorseful. Jason just stayed silent. He began to hear the thumping in his ear again when he realized that the bird stopped chirping inside the cabinet. Draco must have noticed too because he immediately opened the cabinet, only to be met with an empty space where a bird should be.
"Yes." Draco whispered, sounding relieved. Jason didn't react, hoping Draco would explain what he was so relieved about and where the bird went. Draco shut the cabinet door again.
"Where?" Jason asked, perfectly this time. Draco ignored him. He leaned his back on the cabinet, as if waiting for the cabinet to respond to Jason's question. That's when a faint thump was heard inside the furniture. Draco went still, as if waiting for something. Silence. Draco's face went from relieved to anguish. He flipped the cabinet door open to reveal the bird was back, except it was laying on its side…dead.
"No. It didn't work." Draco said in disbelief. He stood there for a second before he lost it and attacked the cabinet. "NO!" he screamed while punching and kicking the furniture. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"
He eventually moved on from the cabinet and started knocking things over. Finally after a minute of this outburst, he stood still again. All Jason could do was stare. He realizes his mouth was fully open witnessing this and has regained mobility of his face.
"What is wrong with you?" Jason asks.
"What's wrong with me?" echoes Draco. "What's wrong is I was born into a cursed family." He replies. Jason laughs.
"You were born into a cursed family?" Jason asked. Draco looked at him. He had tears in his eyes, but Jason didn't care. "You, Draco Malfoy, think you. And your fortune. And your pure blood. Has cursed you? I can't believe it." Jason chuckles.
"You don't know me." Draco stated quietly. "You don't know the pressure I'm under. How everything hinges on me right now." Jason rolls his eyes.
"That's no excuse to be a jerk! What did you think? That I'd pity you?" Jason probed incredulously. "The one person in Slytherin, part of your house, whose life you chose to belittle and to shun?" Draco winces ever so slightly. Jason was feeling a rush of adrenaline. Even though he was paralyzed below the neck, he wanted to hurt Draco. It seems his words were cutting deep.
"Do you know what it feels like to be an outcast in your house? You've been calling me 'mudblood' every chance you got since first year! But that wasn't enough, huh? No, not for the silver blonde brit," he accused. Draco was just taking it, quietly and with a blank face. He seemed broken. Jason was unrelenting. "So, you're in a ghost girl's bathroom, sobbing." he recalls, painting a picture of earlier this evening. "You notice there's a witness! You full body-bind him, tether him to you, make him watch you fix some vanishing cabinet for an hour, and then what? You were gonna stuff me in there? Look at me!" Jason demanded. He wanted to see Draco answer to his face. Draco turned to Jason. He looked into Draco's gray eyes as he questioned him. "You were gonna kill me?"
"No!" Draco blurted. "I'd never hurt you!" This stopped Jason dead in his tracks. Draco didn't seem phased by what he just said. "God." Draco cried. He walked up to Jason and pointed his wand at him. Jason closed his eyes.
"Reparifors!" incanted Draco. Jason started to feel his limbs and body go back under his control. Draco swished his wand downward, pulling Jason back to the ground with it. Draco went to sit on a stool he flipped upside down earlier in his rage. "You're free to go." He said, his head slightly tilted towards the ground. But Jason just stood there, staring at him. He saw a tear hanging onto Draco's chin. Draco seemed to be having some sort of breakdown. The way Moaning Myrtle made it sound, it was a frequent occurrence as well. Still, Jason was curious now.
"What do you mean by 'you'd never hurt me'?" Jason asked Draco. "Because I hate to break it to you dude, you're past that point. By a long shot." Draco looked up. He put his hand to his temple, as if trying to suppress his frustration.
"All my life I was made to believe that mudbl—" Draco stopped himself. "Muggle-borns were inferior to us pure-bloods." He looked up at Jason. "But you…you shine so much. Granger excels above everyone in her house as well. Everything I've been taught, it's a lie."
"If you feel that way, why do you treat us both so cruelly?" Jason snapped. Draco stood up and turned around. He paused for a moment, seemingly trying to compose himself before he started fiddling with the cabinet again, grabbing a nearby tool.
"I have to. I can't be seen, or even give anyone the idea that I tolerate wizards and witches like you." He confessed. "My family, they'd disown me. I have to make sure everyone knows I hate muggle-borns. I have to make sure I'm seen hating them."
"That's a lie." Jason stated. "You've been plenty cruel to me when it was just the two of us somewhere."
"Oh really? Name one occasion," Draco challenged. Jason thought about it. He actually was having a hard time thinking of one example. He looked around the room, as if it'd jog his memory. Then he saw a broken model train on the floor.
"The train car, at the start of the school year. You called me a mudblood." Jason remembered. Draco turned around. He actually smirked at him.
"We weren't alone in that car." Draco stated, turning his attention back on the cabinet. Jason's memory was jogged yet again. It's true, Harry Potter was in that train car, hiding out in the luggage storage shelf under his invisibility cloak. It led to the events that allowed Jason to meet Harry, even if it wasn't on the friendliest of terms. They didn't have to discuss it any further as they both knew exactly what Draco meant.
"Bias," Draco stopped what he was doing, putting down the tool in his hand. "Did you ever stop to think about why I started being so horrible to you in our first year?" he asked rhetorically. "Even before I found out about your blood lineage. Did you ever for one second think about it?" Draco faced Jason. "It's because everyone knew you had a crush on Harry Potter." Jason's heart sank to his stomach.
"T-that's not true."
"You can deny it all you want, but we all know." Draco said smugly. He seems to be acting like himself again, but his eyes have yet to recover from his melancholy. "That's what made it easy to hate you. It's our first year," Draco reminisces as he turns a screw on the inside of a shelf tight, "I extend my friendship to you as soon as you get sorted into Slytherin house. And you reject it. I'll never forget what you said to me. 'Harry thinks you're a bully. I could never be friends with someone like you!'." Jason cringes. He remembers the encounter as well.
"I—," Jason starts
"Don't. I'll say you paid for that loads over by now." Draco continues, "It did make it easy to hate you, Bias. But I couldn't help and admire seeing you persevere onward." Jason is taken aback. "I turned the entire house against you, made you the object of my ridicule. But your determination to succeed, it was…striking." Draco admitted. He stopped tinkering for a moment to ponder, before aggressively continuing. "By the time I realized it, it was our fourth year. You were the number one Harry Potter fan at the Triwizard cup, even more so than that Creevey kid. It aggravated me to no end. How could you like a Gryffindor, an enemy?" He almost growled. "I don't know why I had these feelings, this jealousy, and this frustration. But I knew it was just as much my fault that door was closed to me forever." Draco was working too feverishly at this point and accidently dropped the plethora of tools he had on his left hand side. He punched the cabinet in annoyance, the furniture once again on the receiving end of Malfoy's wrath. Draco put one hand over his eyes, while the other massaged his temple.
Jason dropped to the floor and gathered the tools. He wasn't one who usually helps people who drop things, so there was nothing instinctive about this. Something about this confession is pulling at Jason. If Malfoy is sincere, could he actually not be a bad person? Is Jason actually feeling pity for this horrible individual who has created such an unfriendly environment for Jason? No, this was a calculated move, even if Jason wasn't aware. It had to be. But Jason still wanted things to advance. He wanted to see where exactly this was going. He was curious.
Once Draco realized Jason was on his knees, he got down too and helped pick up his own tools. They worked together without a word. Jason gathered all the tools in one place, while Draco put them in the toolbox by intended use. Jason has never seen wizard tools before. There was one that he accidently turned on and shot out a tiny blue laser that chopped a teddy bear seven feet away in half. Draco actually smiled at that.
Finally they finished and Jason broke the silence this time. "You keep saying stuff like you realized it, you closed that door." Jason summarized. "What…exactly do you mean by that?" They both got up at the same time. Draco put the toolbox back on the table to the left of the cabinet.
"Isn't it obvious, Bias?" he asked. Draco was looking at Jason. Jason looked into his eyes as he got closer. They seemed to be trying to lure Jason, bidding him to lower his guard. It was working. One step after another, Draco got closer until Jason's lips met his. Jason saw it coming, and yet it was still a shock. He felt Draco's arms reach around him, hands on Jason's hips, pulling him closer. Jason could hear the thumping in his ear again. He pulled back, gently. Draco was looking at him, his eyes no longer filled with pain or sadness. He clearly wanted to continue.
"What are you playing at?" Jason asked him, taking a step back. All he thought right now was what if Harry walked in on this. He wondered if that was even possible in this secret room.
"I'm tired of this," Draco answered. "I'm tired of resisting." Jason didn't know what to feel right now. Was Draco serious? Or was he teasing him. This didn't make any sense…
"Draco, why? I…I don't….I'm not sure," Jason just muttered. But Draco didn't back off so easily.
"Bias, I can't deny it anymore. I've got nothing to lose now. I've had a thing for you since forever, and now that truth is out." Draco said. He never once broke eye contact with Jason. But he could still be a liar. Jason couldn't think straight with the faint thumping he had in his ear, which seemed to be growing louder. Draco got closer to Jason again. Finally he wrapped his arms around him, Jason expressing no resistance. "I want to hold you close." Draco purred into his ear. His voice sounded so smooth. Draco's hands made their way up to his cheek, caressing Jason's face, gently pushing it toward his. Again, Draco was kissing Jason. This time, it escalated to something much more fervent. Jason let Draco have control, guiding Jason backwards, not unlocking his lips from Jason's once, until eventually they found themselves at the edge of the comfortable looking bed.
"Draco…." Jason whispered, pulling back softly. Draco's lips made their way to his collar. Jason had to take a breath, as Draco wouldn't pull back once. He let Draco keep kissing his neck. Jason saw himself from across the room in a mirror's reflection. Draco was very eager. Jason could feel his body was enjoying this as well. So why would his mind not let him? There's no way Draco's faking this, but was that enough? Even if Draco's desires were pure, was it right for Jason to allow this? Draco was his tormenter. He claims to have reasons for his actions, but there's no way that is enough of a reason to forgive him. Not for the humiliation, and pain, and grief he's responsible for. Not only his, but even Harry's as well. Jason felt Draco's hands reach into his shirt. It felt good. Jason looked at himself in the mirror one last time. The thumping in his ear won't go away. Finally, Jason decided that right now, he didn't care if Draco was genuine or not.
He kissed Draco back. Jason's lips going down his neck until Draco got up and decided he wanted to take his shirt off. He could hear Draco barely containing his breath in check as he unbuttoned his uniform. He picked Jason up and pushed him back onto the bed, Jason landing on his back. The look in Draco's eye was ravenous. He pulled off Jason's pants and got on top of him, Draco's lips kissing him, going lower and lower until his mouth was satiated. Draco's hands fondled Jason's chest as he filled his throat. Jason put his hands on Draco's head, moving his fingers through his hair as he made Jason moan. He could see something throbbing in Draco's pants.
Jason determined it was Draco's turn, pulling him up. Draco licked his lips as he took off his belt and got on the bed. Jason pulled down Draco's pants, the throbbing bulge set free. Jason tasted Draco, exploring the surface until Draco was stirring. Draco pulled Jason's shirt off, both of them now completely bare. He pushed Jason onto his back once more before kneeling above his face and thrusting into Jason's mouth. Jason could feel the satin silk on his back as he pulsed up and down while Draco was in charge. Draco couldn't stop himself from grunting.
Eventually Draco flipped Jason onto his stomach. He once again kissed Jason's neck, planting his lips on what felt like every inch of his body, lower and lower until Draco's tongue was inside of him. Jason let out a small moan. The pleasure he felt was intense. After moments of exceptional bliss, Jason turned around, looking into Draco's gray eyes. His hair was a bit askew now. He got up close to Jason's face. He almost went in for a kiss, but instead reached for something on the bed stand.
"That's the Room of Requirement for you," Draco chuckled as he showed Jason what he reached for. It was a condom. Jason looked at the bed stand and saw a whole box of them available, something he swears wasn't there before. He looked back at Draco and nodded. Draco obliged. He tore open the condom packaging with his teeth, and rolled the condom on. Jason was ready. Draco got on top of him. He felt Draco's heat emanating from his body and his weight as he laid on top of Jason. He could feel Draco teasing him, gently prodding Jason, but never entering. Finally, Jason couldn't take the mocking any longer and thrusted himself back, Draco now inside him. He heard Draco moan and his warm breath on the back of Jason's neck. He slowly slid in deeper, Jason feeling every inch. As he withdrew, Jason felt Draco flex. He put his hands on top of Jason's, pinning him in place. Draco continued.
He was going faster now, causing Jason to tremble with ecstasy with every dive. Draco's hands made their way up Jason's arms until they were wrapped around Jason's chest. His biceps bulging from how tightly he was holding onto Jason as he let himself become a brute. Jason felt an intoxicating sensation with every lunge. Draco turned Jason around onto his back. "I want to see your face when I cum," he said plainly. Jason looked up at Draco. He was still hungry. With a charismatic rhythm, Draco pounded Jason. Jason reached to stroke himself but Draco got there first. His hands enclosed their way around Jason's rigid friend, rubbing him up and down until Jason exploded. He couldn't stop moaning. Finally, Draco let out a war cry as well. Slowing down and shuddering, Draco was through.
Still inside Jason, Draco laid on top of him. He was panting like a dog. He kissed Jason again as he pulled out. Draco threw away his mess before he grabbed Jason, holding him close. Jason embraced him back, resting his head on Draco's chest. With their naked bodies intertwined together for comfort, Jason drifted off to sleep.
Around two hours later, Jason awakens to find himself still in the arms of Draco Malfoy. They've shifted to the classic spooning position, with Jason taking the role of little spoon. He lies there, reflecting on what just happened. He slept with his bully. Literally and figuratively. "I don't know if I can let myself off the hook for this choice." Jason thought to himself. He never much thought about his virginity, but something about losing it to Draco made Jason feel almost uneasy. Then he remembered how every second felt like heaven and he also realized he has no regrets.
Now he just wonders what this means. As far as Jason was concerned, it being a one-night stand was fine with him. However, he did fear Draco wanted something more. He did seemingly confess to having something of a crush on Jason for a while, but along with that an explanation for why he never pursued Jason before. The things Draco has done to him are unforgivable, and one amazing night won't still that sting.
Jason thinks back to what Draco said earlier about him having a crush on Harry. How everyone knows it to be true. Jason has had feelings for Harry since he found out about him, but Jason never thought of them as romantic. He just chocked it up to wanting to be close to Harry the way Ron and Hermione were, something he was envious of. But then he thought of what Ginny has with Harry, and how it feels to see him with her. It's almost unbearable. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Jason might have been trying to suppress his feelings for Harry before, but he realizes now what he wants.
He's in love with Harry Potter.
Jason smiles as he imagines himself in Harry's arms, something he knows Felix will make happen for him. He catches a renewed sense of vigor for finishing the liquid luck now, even more than he had before. That's something he can thank Draco for helping him obtain. Jason turns around to look at Draco. His gray eyes meet Jason's brown ones.
"Hey." Draco greeted as if they weren't inches apart in bed together, naked. Jason couldn't help but laugh softly.
"Hey." Jason replied back. Draco gives Jason a peck on the lips. He follows up with three more. "That. Was amazing." He sighed before planting one more kiss on Jason's lips. "My life has been hell this entire year. I really needed this." Jason wondered why exactly. He recalls Draco mentioning he was under immense pressure from his family. That cabinet some feet away from where they laid was also something Draco seemed to be ferociously trying to fix. Could that be the reason? He thought it was silly that a piece of furniture was causing Draco to have such a bad time.
"If you want, I could help you try and fix that vanishing cabinet?" Jason offered before he could stop himself. He regretted it as soon as he said it. Draco just shook his head and smiled.
"You don't want to help me with that, Bias." He said. "That's not exactly my central woe anyways. I mean, it is part of it—"
"What is your ailment then? Why were you so broken when you stumbled into the bathroom earlier?" Jason asked, once again not being able to hold himself back. Draco's face sobered. He sat up on the bed, leaving Jason lying by himself now.
"Because of this." Draco raises his left arm into the light. Jason looked and saw there was a mark on his wrist. A Dark Mark. Jason tensed up a little. He remembers reading in the Daily Prophet before school started back up that Draco's father was discovered to be a still active Death Eater. Now it seems that Malfoy has followed in his footsteps.
"I've replaced my father as a follower of Voldemort now that he's gone and got himself sent to Azkaban," Draco explains. "I was thrilled, knowing what it would mean to my family. They were so proud," he shook his head and looked away. "But then I received my first mission. A herculean task. If I failed, it would mean doom for my namesake. The Malfoy Family's legacy and safety centers on my completion of this task." Draco's voice wavered. "And I don't know if I can do it."
"What is your task Draco?" Jason asked gravely. Draco wouldn't turn to Jason.
"To kill Dumbledore."
Jason just stared at Draco. He saw a tear leak out of Draco's eye, running down his cheek. Jason knew Voldemort was back. He knew that his safety as someone who was muggleborn was up in the air now, but he also believed he'd be safe as long as he was at Hogwarts and under Dumbledore's protection. It's why he hasn't paid it any thought. He'd never imagined that forces were at work for Voldemort from the inside. "Why?" Jason wants to ask. "Why did it have to be this year, when I'm finally accomplishing MY mission of gaining Harry's affection?" Jason feels a sense of rage grow in his head, accompanied by more thumping in his ear. He knows what he has to do.
Jason sits up on the bed. He crawls over to Draco and sits on his lap, gently caressing Draco's face towards his. He kisses Draco. Draco kisses him back. They get more comfortable and lie together, this time Jason is on top. Draco buries his face into Jason's neck, not leaving an inch un-kissed. Jason looks down on the ground near the edge of the bed. He sees his robes. As discreetly as he can, he reaches into his pocket for his wand while Draco is otherwise distracted. He's almost got ahold of the handle when he feels the tip of Draco's wand touch his temple.
"Petrificus Totalis!" Draco curses. Jason feels his body become rigid. For the second time that night, Jason was petrified. Draco pushed Jason off of him, causing Jason to slide off the bed and fall to the floor, taking the silk sheets down with him. They fell on top of him, covering his face. Jason heard Draco get off the bed and walk over to him. Draco uncovered Jason's face, but allowed the sheets to keep him modest. Draco stood over Jason as he put on some pants.
"Yeah, I don't blame you." Draco acknowledges. "If I was a mudblood who just had sex with a Death Eater, I'd think seduction would work too." Draco goes on, but Jason couldn't focus on his words. The thumping in his ear now too loud to ignore. Jason couldn't even think.
"For what it's worth, I did always have a hard-on for you, Bias." He said as he eyed Jason up and down. "You were the best lay I've had since I became a Death Eater." He muses, "You were so...fresh. The whores gifted from my father were all used up. I'll never forget this night." Draco points his wand at Jason's head. "It just a shame you will." Draco looks into Jason's eyes. He sees the fear in them. Draco hesitates for a moment before renewing his conviction.
"I have to do this Jason."
"Obliviate!" Draco shouts. A white burst of light shoots out of his wand, striking Jason who then loses consciousness. Draco felt his eyes water. The frustration and despair he felt earlier flooding back as he realized he's still right back where he started, with no progress made. He begins to take it out on anything he sees nearby, throwing around any object he can get his hands on. He's about to throw a silver tiara adorned with a blue sapphire when he sees a piece of paper sticking out of the pocket of Jason's robes.
He grabs it and opens it up to reveal it was a to-do list of errands for Professor Slughorn. He reads over it until one particular chore catches his eye. It's a package scheduled to be picked up in early January:
Friday, Jan. 5th
-Obtain package from Madam Rosmerta in Hogsmeade.
Be careful! Will contain bottle of Mead, a gift for Headmaster!
Draco feels an idea stir in his head. Maybe he wouldn't need to fix the Vanishing Cabinet after all. He cracks a grin. "Geminio!" Draco casts a charm on the list to make a copy of it for himself. He places the original back in Jason's robes. Draco walks back to where Jason is lying unconscious. He un-petrifies him and dresses him back in his clothes. Draco then fully dresses himself as well before picking Jason up in his arms and leaving the Room of Requirement for the Slytherin dormitories.
