Paint It Black
"You're back!" Jack felt a wave of relief as Corbin walked into his cubicle. Corbin had been in Romania for two weeks. He hugged Corbin tight. "Oh, I've been worried."
"Wasn't that dangerous." Corbin shifted but didn't pull away.
"Well, I wouldn't want to lose you." Jack let go and sat back down at his desk.
"Jack, I was wondering, " Corbin sat in the chair next to Jack's desk, his fingers twined together. "I know we're friends and…um."
"Course we are, daft man." Jack laughed, reaching out to untangle a few of Corbin's curls. The act had become an unconscious habit over the many years of their friendship. "You're one of my best friends. I'd never do anything to change that." An emotion flickered in Corbin's eyes but was gone before Jack could identify it. "I've got so much to tell you."
"Oh?" Corbin tossed his head and Jack moved his hand away.
"I'm dating someone new." Jack said in a low voice. "Malfoy played matchmaker." Corbin arched an eyebrow silently. Jack mouthed the answer. "Sirius."
"Oh. That's nice." Corbin said, straightening one of the piles of papers on Jack's desk. "He seems…nice."
"You like him?" Jack asked, incredulously.
"He's all right." Corbin appeared to be reading one of Jack's reports. Jack tried not to stare, although it wasn't a rousing endorsement, it was warmer than Corbin was towards most of Jack's previous boyfriends.
"So what were you wondering?"
"What?"
"Before, you said you were wondering something."
"Oh. That." Corbin put the report down. "Oh, it's just….Stevens is meeting me after work, for a belated birthday thing…I thought you might want to come."
"Of course I do." Jack grinned.
"If you have plans with your boyfriend - "
"No, I don't. What time?"
"Uh. Just…Stevens is meeting me here at five." Corbin stood up. "Honestly, we can do something a different night, I don't want to inconvenience you."
"Don't be silly." Jack reached out and squeezed Corbin's hand. "Where are we going? Because I have to run home and get your present, so I could just meet you there."
"To the Cauldron then to the Dream for a movie."
"I'll meet you at the Cauldron at 5:15. All right?"
"All right." Corbin walked out of Jack's cubicle quickly.
Corbin continued down the hallway to the lobby. God, he felt so stupid! At least he hadn't made a total fool of himself by asking Jack out. Jack must have sensed something and felt it was best to let Corbin down easy. Never would do anything to change their friendship…Corbin felt his stomach flip flop. He just hoped Clara wouldn't be mad about him borrowing Stevens on such short notice.
"Come on, come on." He muttered impatiently, pressing the button for the lift again and again. A lift finally arrived and Corbin got on, pressing the button for the International Magical Office of Law floor.
"Hello, Mr. Hill." A high voice simpered.
Corbin nodded curtly.
"You're probably wondering why I'm not at Hogwarts."
"Not in the least."
"Minister Fudge insisted on my presence for a meeting this afternoon."
"Really." Corbin tried to ignore the hand that was now stroking his upper arm.
"I've missed working with you." The high voice was breathy now. "Perhaps we go out for dinner and…catch up."
"Unless you have something surprising hidden under those robes, I'm not interested."
"Oh, Mr. Hill." The witch giggled. "There are spells for that, you know."
Corbin thanked God the lift doors opened at that moment. He didn't pay attention to the floor, he just walked off as quickly as possible. Corbin turned the corner and stopped to lean against the wall. Dolores Umbridge had had a crush on him for years and it always made him feel disgusted. He noticed with relief that he was standing outside of Clara's office.
"Corbin!" Clara smiled happily. "Did I miss the Handsome Auror Visiting Day memo?"
"Um. I was wondering if Stevens…"
"Oh, I didn't realize you were coming down here too. If I'd known we could have ridden down together." Jack's voice came from behind Corbin.
"Oh, well, I thought I'd try again to convince Clara to come out with us tonight." Corbin said, looking over at Clara and willing her to understand. "You know, for the belated birthday thing."
"Oh." Clara nodded. Corbin hoped she wouldn't ask him anything. "Right. You know, I think I will. Stevens and I'll be at your desk a few minutes after five. That all right?"
"Yeah, course." Corbin felt almost light-headed with relief.
"Did you have a nice lunch with Remus today?" Jack asked.
"Yes, I did." Clara looked puzzled. "How'd you know that?"
"My boyfriend." Jack grinned, both dimples showing. Corbin thought he would be sick. "He's Remus's best friend."
"Oh?" Clara asked. Corbin could feel her gaze on him as he busied himself running a finger along one of the dusty shelves in her bookcase. "Really? I didn't realize I was so out of the loop. My goodness. That's exciting."
"It's brilliant." Jack handed Clara a report. "I guess we shouldn't keep bugging you, busy lady. See you later."
"Bye, Jack." Clara waved as Jack took Corbin by the elbow and moved him towards the door. "Oh, Corbin, I have a couple questions about that arrest last month." She rustled through a pile of reports on her desk. "I was going to send you a memo, but as you're here…."
"Sure." Corbin stopped. "I'll see you later, Jack."
Jack grinned then waved again at Clara before leaving the office and shutting the door behind him.
"Jack is –"
"It wouldn't have mattered if he wasn't. He said he only wants to be friends." Corbin had thought there was something between them, that there'd been a connection for years, only he'd been unwilling to acknowledge it. And all the time, Jack had only wanted to be friends. Jack must have been very drunk on his birthday to have tried to kiss him. Corbin could feel his cheeks growing hot as he remembered just how close Jack had been. He'd dreamed of that moment for weeks, only in his dreams he'd had the courage to stay and let Jack kiss him.
"So you did ask him?" Clara asked.
"No. I can take a hint, I'm not stupid." Corbin said stiffly.
"Of course you're not." Clara agreed indignantly. "Whoever said you were. You're wonderful."
Corbin tried to smile but he couldn't quite manage it. Clara got up quickly and hugged him tightly.
"I'm proud of you."
"I told you I didn't ask him."
"Doesn't matter, you were going to. So I'm still proud of you. And we'll tell Stevens you did. How much was the bet?"
"Ten galleons."
"Hi." Sirius kissed him as Jack closed the door of Grimmauld Place behind him.
"Hi, baby." Jack pulled Sirius closer, running a hand down his back, feeling each bump of his spine.
"We've got time, let's go upstairs." Sirius kissed him again, pressing against him.
"Is anyone else here?"
"Just Hill and Cousin Cassius. They're in the kitchen."
"Alone?"
"Yeah, so?" Sirius looked at him curiously, "Remus should be here soon. And it's not like Cassie can cheat on him."
"No, but they hate each other." Jack bit his bottom lip worriedly. "They always get into fights."
"They'll be fine." Sirius said, pulling Jack up the stairs. "I've been thinking about you all day."
"Really? What were you thinking?" Jack grinned.
"How much I love you." Sirius stopped and turned around, pulling Jack close. "I never thought I'd ever be happy in this house."
"Oh." Jack stared into beautiful gray eyes for a moment before kissing Sirius messily as they closed the final distance to Sirius's room.
Fifteen minutes later, Jack walked quickly down the stairs, smoothing his hair. He couldn't hear any crashes or raised voices. He just hoped that didn't mean Corbin and Cassius had strangled each other already. Jack knew they shouldn't be left alone, but the prospect of having sex with Sirius had been too much temptation to pass up. He felt a giddy rush of love as he thought of his boyfriend of almost four weeks. As he got to the doorway, he heard Corbin hiss angrily: "You…you…God, I hate you."
"I thought - You've had years!" Cassius protested. "I asked – "
"Why didn't you ask me? You should have asked me!"
"I'm sorry! Stevens only just told me – I didn't know."
"Christ, it doesn't matter anyway." Corbin said heavily. "It never would have happened."
"Cory, I-" Cassius stopped abruptly and looked over at the doorway. When he spoke again, his voice was cool and polite. "Hello Bartleby."
"Hi. What's the matter?"
"Nothing." The answer came in stereo. Corbin was staring at the floor and it seemed to Jack for a moment he looked like the small boy he'd first met, alone, and frightened by it.
"Is dinner almost finished?" Jack asked. Corbin nodded stiffly. "It smells delicious." Jack said, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence.
"You're a better cook than Molly. You should come over every night." Sirius said, bounding into the room, pulling Jack into an tight embrace and kissing his cheek, "Shouldn't he, babe?"
"You'll make someone a great wife," Cassius drawled, before Jack could answer.
Corbin whirled around and punched him then stormed out of the room. Jack and Sirius stared as Cassius calmly raised one hand to his bleeding nose.
"Wicked right hook." Cassius stated dryly, as if commenting on the weather.
"I'll say." Sirius nodded, gray eyes wide in astonishment. "Bit of a lunatic."
Cassius shrugged. Jack turned quickly and headed up the stairs. He hadn't heard the front door open or close and he knew Corbin was staying for the Order meeting which was due to start in twenty minutes. He found Corbin in the parlor, staring blankly at the tapestry of the Black family tree.
"You all right?" Jack asked uncertainly. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he would swear Cassius had deliberately baited Corbin into hitting him.
"Yeah."
"What just happened?" Jack reached out to rest a hand on Corbin's tense shoulder.
"Malfoy….just Malfoy." Corbin said. His voice, with its habitual edge of hatred, was shaking almost imperceptibly.
Jack rubbed his shoulder soothingly, moving to rub between his shoulder blades. He waited until a little of the tension eased before speaking again.
"Corbin, I know you and Malfoy have a history, but you need to move on. He's with Remus. And even if he weren't…well…I think it's for the best that you aren't together. You'll find someone else to make you happy."
"Like you did." Corbin said tonelessly.
"Exactly!" Jack said, smiling as he thought of Sirius, "Sometimes love comes when you least expect it and you have to allow it in."
Jack walked into the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. He had started to think of it as his second home, he was there so often. The Order meeting would be beginning in a few minutes. He greeted Sirius, who was sitting next to Remus, with a kiss. Snape sat across the table, his arms crossed, glaring at Sirius. Dumbledore was talking with Moody. Cassius sat on the other side of Remus, next to Corbin. Cassius was reading a scroll while Corbin was writing on a piece of paper. Molly Weasley was cooking dinner as Arthur, Bill and Kingsley sat at the other end of the table talking quietly.
"Dumbledore thinks we need to clean the rest of the house." Sirius said. "That way, if we need to move people in, we'll be ready."
"All right." Jack said, pulling Sirius's chair closer to his, resting his arm along the back of it.
"We'll help too. It'll go faster the more people we have." Remus replied as Cassius nodded.
"Corbin? Will you help too?" Jack asked.
"God, yes, I've come all over myself with excitement." Corbin said dryly, not looking up. Jack snickered at Sirius's shocked expression. Corbin was quiet but he had a dirty mouth. "What's a seven letter word for vague that begins with o?"
"Obsequious." Cassius answered promptly.
"Besides the fact it doesn't mean vague, how are you spelling that?" Corbin looked up.
"O-b-c-q-e-u-s." Cassius said slowly, holding up a finger for each letter. "Seven letters."
"Inventive spelling, but no."
"Obscure." Remus supplied.
"Thanks." Corbin wrote the word in the crossword puzzle.
"Let's begin." Dumbledore moved to sit at the head of the table. "What are the reports?"
"Werewolves in Europe haven't been completely convinced that Voldemort's cause is theirs. I think we could have some influence there." Remus said.
"Very good." Dumbledore nodded. "If you would agree to one more mission?"
Remus glanced at Cassius who scowled. Jack knew Cassius was even more protective of Remus since he'd been sick at Christmastime. "Yes, one more." Remus answered.
"The centaurs won't support us." Corbin said, as Dumbledore turned to him, "They refuse to get involved."
"Well, I'd hoped for better but…I understand." Dumbledore nodded.
The rest of the reports went quickly. Voldemort still seemed fixated on getting the original prophecy from the Ministry. The meeting adjourned and Remus started talking to Sirius from his new seat on Cassius's lap.
"I just wish I could do something." Sirius growled.
"You are helping Harry." Remus said calmly as Cassius kissed his cheek. Sirius looked over at Jack who smiled reassuringly at him. "It's too dangerous if you were to get caught."
"It's dangerous for all of you. And it's my fight."
"It's not only your fight. You're not the only one who's lost something." Corbin said calmly after the silence had lengthened.
"And did you lose 12 years of your life?" Sirius stood angrily. Jack took his hand.
"No. But I've lost other things I consider valuable."
"Like what? Like your best friend?" Sirius sneered.
"Yes." Corbin said tightly. "Exactly. My best friend." Jack watched Cassius grow paler but Sirius's anger wasn't affected. "We've all lost something. And even if we hadn't, we're all risking our lives. Your time will come, when you'll be able to take action. It's just not now."
"It's so easy for you, isn't it." Sirius spat venomously. "You went to meet with the centaurs – they hate humans. You can't tell me anything I can do would be more dangerous than that."
"Corbin has special protection against the centaurs, as well as Death Eaters." Dumbledore answered quietly. Jack was startled by his voice, he hadn't realized the headmaster was listening. "Sirius, I know you do not like being on the sidelines, but it is the best for now."
"You think so." Sirius muttered furiously, allowing Jack to tug him back down to his chair. Jack rubbed circles over Sirius's bony shoulders.
"I do. I'll take my leave." Dumbledore nodded at them all. "Be careful, all of you."
The small group was silent for a moment. Corbin's cheeks were scarlet as he stood and jerked on his coat.
"You've got special protection against Death Eaters? You should share your secret with the rest of us." Sirius said, bitterness threading his words.
"Fuck Malfoy." Corbin spat angrily. "If you're the property of a Malfoy you've got immunity from Death Eaters, didn't you know?" Corbin's voice was sharp and hateful. He didn't look at any of them as he turned and quickly left the room. Jack felt shocked as he looked over at Malfoy.
"You're still involved?" Sirius stared at Cassius, his voice rising. "How could-"
"We're not involved. I just never took back the protection oath." Cassius said calmly, his hands rubbing Remus's arms. Jack tensed as he noticed Remus's eyes glowing wildly. "We'll be going." He wrapped his arms tightly around Remus and Disapparated them both with a loud pop.
Sirius was shaking with fury. Jack sat uncertainly for a moment, he hated when the people he cared about were angry and upset. He couldn't calm Corbin, but Sirius was here and Sirius needed him. He reached for Sirius's hand which immediately gripped his tightly.
"It'll be all right." Jack said softly.
"I wish I could believe that."
"When Wormtail is caught and I'm a free man, I'll give you the biggest wedding the world has ever seen." Sirius said, winding his arms around Jack's waist.
"Really?" Jack asked, resting his head on Sirius's shoulder.
"Of course I will." Sirius gazed tenderly at Jack. "If you want it."
"I love you."
"Mmm." Sirius kissed him, softly at first, then more deeply. "I love you too."
"You make me so happy." Jack murmured. "I don't need a big wedding or anything as long as I have you."
"That's a lucky thing for me." Sirius said with a chuckle.
"I love you so much." Jack kissed Sirius messily. "Words just…can't…they just can't tell you how much I love you."
"I know just the feeling." Sirius pulled Jack on top of him and started caressing his skin. "How about you show me?"
Jack grinned and proceeded to do just that.
Author's Note: The protection oath is explained in a little story about Corbin and Cassius on my LiveJournal – so you can follow that link from my author page. :-)