"Harry, I…" Jason began. He looked into his green eyes. "I haven't…"
"Then how come I feel this way?" Harry replied. He noticed a tear in Jason's eyes. Jason looked away. "How come there's a hole in my heart that I have never filled until I met you?"
Jason didn't know what to say. Harry pulled Jason towards him, closer…
That's when Jason woke up.
He yawned and sat up on his bed. Today is the day.
An eagle was perched on the branch outside a quaint little house's window. The house was made of brick, a classic two story British village house, with barely any room for a yard. Inside lived a Mexican family, who moved in about five years ago now, with their wizard son, Jason. The eagle watched as Jason sat on his bed, he seemed to have something scribbled on his face. As he came to the dream he had faded from his memory. He looked on his window sill and saw the Wizard newspaper he subscribed to just arrived. He just opened it when suddenly the Jason's mother bolted into his room.
"Jesus? Are you done packing yet?" she asked in Spanish. "You know we have to get you to the platform and on the train before it leaves," she emphasized "or else you'll just have to miss this year of Hogwarts," she then said casually, walking into his room without knocking and sitting on his bed. She never used his nickname, Jason.
Jason started reading the Daily Prophet. As usual there were plenty of articles about Harry Potter. He was just reading an article explaining the events that happened at the Ministry of Magic with Lord Voldemort. He knew Harry was telling the truth about him all along!
"Ma, don't even joke!" He replied in Spanish as well. His mother has been living in English speaking countries all of his life, but she still feels more comfortable speaking in Spanish. "I love Hogwarts and you know that, it's the best school ever. Besides we still have three hours and King's Cross is only an hour and a half away," Jason reminded his mom. She looked at him with a sad smile. Jason's Dad said his mother cried for at least a week when he went off to Hogwarts each year and at least three days more when he went back the day after Christmas Break. He believes it.
"You know I only have two more years left, ma. After that I promise I will move in with you and dad until I'm 35!" he said with a chuckle. His mom looked a little more relaxed after that. Then she looked at the newspaper Jason was reading.
"What does that say? Is that Harry Potter again?" she pointed at the picture. She looked a little closer and immediately recognized him from the other newspaper clippings that adorned Jason's wall. "Why are you always doing something that has to do with this character Harry Potter?" his mother asked, sounding just the slightest bit annoyed.
"Really, ma? I thought I explained this to you like 20 million times already, didn't I?" Jason exaggerated. "Harry Potter is a real person! He survived the killing curse that Lord Voldemort tried to cast on him, something no wizard has ever done. Plus he was only a baby!" explained Jason, getting a little over excited.
"Is that all?" said his mom, unimpressed. "I survived plenty of shootings back in Mexico and in Los Angeles you know. At least seven of them, eight if you count the one when I was still in your abuela's womb," Jason cringed at the thought of his pregnant grandma ducking under tables and couches trying to avoid gun shots.
"That's cool and all but, I'd honestly rather not have that image in my head thanks," he told her. Jason's mom laughed at his reaction and then got up and started to walk out.
"Te quiero mucho, now start packing! I know you don't want to miss that train, even though I wouldn't mind if you did," she sighed, standing by his door.
"Yo también," said Jason. "And I already did!" he lied. His mom looked at him with a stare that commands the truth. "What?" he said obliviously.
"Hurry up, and wipe those fake glasses and lightning bolt off your face! You'll look absurd when we get to King's Cross" his mother said as she walked away. Her curly black hair bouncing up and down. Jason never noticed how short she was until she walked away for some reason. Jason had forgotten he even drew Harry's features on himself the night before. He always does it when he starts getting excited about seeing Harry again, even though he's never once spoken to him.
He quickly remembered that he seriously needed to pack his things for Hogwarts. He started to think back at all his memories of the place. He remembered his 1st Year at Hogwarts. It was such a journey. Going through Platform 9 3/4, crossing the Black Lake, going into the Great Hall for the first time, all down to being sorted into Slytherin House. Of course none of it would have happened at all if it wasn't for the huge argument the preceded all these events.
Originally Jason had to go to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the United States. When he found out he was a wizard everything just clicked and he didn't question a thing. Even though no one in his family had ever been known to be a witch or wizard Jason was really excited about being one. He just couldn't keep it in at the time, so he told his cousins. His cousins then talked about it in front of their parents and they started thinking Jason was crazy.
Jason's family is a very religious one, being Catholic and all, so when they even heard the word "magic" they went nuts. They confronted his parents and asked them to explain why Jason was telling their children he could perform witchcraft.
In all honesty, Jason's parents were also very religious, Jason's real name was "Jesus" for crying out loud! But thankfully Jason was very open-minded and that has rubbed off on them. It wasn't an overnight acceptance but as soon as they realized he was born with magical abilities and couldn't exactly help it they started to begin to budge, but they weren't truly okay with it until Jason's family expressed what they thought. He remembers it like it was yesterday.
"So you're telling me your son is a wizard? That's ridiculous!" said his uncle Santos, laughing and pointing at Jason.
"Yes, he is. The principal of the school came and explained everything to us," clarified Jason's mom. "Professor Agilbert Fontaine. A very strange name. We had the same reaction as you when he just appeared out of nowhere."
"But then he told us to think back to anytimes that Jesus did something...extraordinary," Jason's dad told his family. "I'm sure you remember...the incident at the lake," When his father said this his two uncles and aunts all looked at Jason. He started to feel embarrassed so he ran off to the restroom.
"That was nothing special! A-anyone can cup water in their hands..." said his aunt Maria.
"I suppose, but wearing water on their hands? Have water put on like boxing gloves. I don't think that's very normal..." sassed Jason's mom.
"We agreed that it was just a very sunny day, a trick of the light, and we didn't know what we saw!" yelled his uncle Jaime. Then Jason came back from the restroom. When he washed his hands the water stayed glued to them. He wanted to show his family that he could control it and there was nothing to be afraid of.
"Look, see I can do it!" he said, showing everyone his hands.
Everyone stared at him...
Finally his aunt Teresa broke the silence. "You're a f-freak...you're a demon possessed FREAK!" she screamed. That outburst lead to others. His whole family was riled up. His parents were mad and were trying their best not to go crazy. His uncles looked at him like scum. His aunts wouldn't even face his way. Next thing Jason remembers is rage. He was hot with anger and it was reflecting off the water. Then he threw the scalding water at his aunts and uncles.
The whole conversation was in Spanish of course, it was also five years ago. One thing lead to another and Jason's parents ultimately decided to move and get away from the family. They contacted Ilvermorny and requested a school transfer. Ilvermorny recommended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the end they left everything and moved to Oxford, and Jason couldn't have been happier. Before the argument with his family Jason's parents treated him awkwardly after they found out about his powers. The argument strengthened his relationship with them in numerous ways, and he wouldn't have changed a single thing. Plus, he might have never found out about Harry Potter if they didn't move away, let alone go to the same school as him.
After Jason finished packing he went to the restroom to wash off his drawn-on glasses and scar. He looked in the mirror and saw that it was already fading away. He looked at himself. Dark hair, just a tad bit longer in the front. His skin was on the tanner side. His eyes were brown, he was slim but just a tad wide in the shoulders and waist when it came to his body, and being born and raised in the U.S. he had a perfect American accent. As he reached for the alcohol in the medicine cabinet someone knocked on his bathroom door.
"Okay, I think we should leave now Chuy," said his dad in English, calling Jason by his second nickname. "Time is always a great thing to have extra of," he said in Spanish. Jason's dad would always switch between the two languages. Jason finished up wiping off the permanent marker with the alcohol, careful not to drop any in his eye, and brushed his teeth one last time at home before he left.
The car ride to King's Cross Station was always exciting. He only ever sees London when he has to get his school supplies in Diagon Alley. He remembers choosing his wand at Ollivander's, or rather, the wand that chose him. It was made of oak, a dragon heartstring core, and it was 10". He was so happy because it had green stripes where the grip was and green was always his favorite color. It was a shame that it got closed down. Everything in Diagon Alley was pretty depressing this year. Prices went up in some stores for some reason so he had to get some of his school books in the used section of the stores.
The rest of the car ride consisted of Jason messing with his 10 year old sister, Vanessa, and playing his Gameboy. When they finally got to King's Cross Station he had 15 minutes to get to the platform.
"C'mon! I don't want to miss getting a good seat. Maybe I'll get one close to Harry!" Jason told his parents and sister. "Well...as close as I can, since our cars are in different sections of the train," They were all rushing straight into the wall that was actually a portal to Platform 9 3/4.
"You and Harry Potter. Why don't you just marry him!" said Vanessa. Jason glared at her, accidentally causing her dark, straight hair to curl up. When she saw what happened to her hair she screamed.
"Jesus!" nagged his parents.
"What! I didn't do it on purpose!" Jason said truthfully, but they weren't buying it. His snickering didn't help convince them either.
When they finally arrived at the Slytherin section of the train car he started to get ready to get on. The train was about to leave in five minutes. "Well...I better get on the Hogwarts Express now..." Jason told his parents. His mother looked at him and hugged him tightly. His dad patted him on the back and smiled. Even his sister said she was going to sort of miss him. Leaving for Hogwarts was always so emotional. His family meant a lot to him, and knowing he won't see them again until Christmas was just devastating. When the Hogwarts Express began to leave he saw his family waving goodbye. As he waved back he began to think how bittersweet the entire situation was.
When the train finally left the station he decided it was time to go find a seat. He turned away from the window, took a deep breath, and put on an entirely new face. A happy one. When he enters the world of magic he always hides his true emotions. Especially in these days of horror and fear, no one can know his weaknesses.
He tried looking for an actual train compartment with a door but the only seats left available were the ones in the cafeteria section of the Slytherin train car, the ones with tables. He sat down and realized that just across from him was Draco Malfoy and his crew. Jason despised him, and not only because he picks on Harry for no reason. He's a huge jerk. Not even the Slytherins like him very much. People only tolerated him because they were scared that his father was still a Death Eater, which turned out to be true. Jason predicts no one will even pay him any mind this year now that his dad is finally in Azkaban. He was ranting about Harry Potter as usual, saying how much he hates him, but if there's anyone that Draco hates equally to Harry Potter, it's Jason.
"Look who it is... The mudblood of Slytherin" scolded Draco.
Jason was used to these remarks when he was lounging around the Slytherin commons. People in Slytherin weren't always too friendly with him since he was muggle-born and all. Slytherins were almost always pure-bloods, but on rare occasions there would be a muggle-born Slytherin once in a blue moon, and Jason was that rare occasion.
Jason was prepared for the worst when he first came to Hogwarts. His parents told him that he would be discriminated against, but not because he was muggle-born, they didn't even know what that meant. They warned him against racism towards his nationality. Sure he was born in the United States, but his looks were that of a Latino, and in the UK there were barely any Latinos, let alone any at all in the wizarding world of Europe.
But in the end Jason's parents were worried for nothing. The wizarding world was actually not racist at all towards Jason's origin. In all honesty the United States was worse when it came to racism, at least in the South where Jason and his family lived. But that didn't mean Jason was out of the woods from discrimination. The wizarding world had a certain...prejudice towards muggle-born witches and wizards, and the Slytherins were most likely to show it.
Throughout the years Jason has learned to ignore the snide remarks made towards his bloodline, as there were far too many to get mad about each and every one. However, Draco loved to beat a dead horse...
"I can't believe that filthy old sorting hat allowed this mudblood to be sorted into Slytherin," Draco told his crew. He directed his words at Jason. This only made Jason steam. "Just wait until after I finish my missio-" Draco stopped talking mid-sentence. This caught Jason's attention. Draco wasn't the type to stutter. He wondered what he was going to do.
"What Draco? You can tell us," said Pansy Parkinson. Draco suddenly got very serious. His usual smug attitude disappeared, leaving behind a somber one. Jason was seriously wondering what was going on. Soon Draco stopped paying Jason any mind and just stared blankly out the window. Even his friends looked a little worried about him. Jason decided to stop focusing so much on Draco and go and see if he could catch a glimpse of Harry Potter somewhere on the train, maybe get a chocolate frog from the candy trolley.
When he got up he bumped into his luggage and his Advanced Potions Making book fell out and opened. Jason hadn't looked through his second hand books for fear of seeing how ripped up and beaten down the pages were, but this was just ridiculous.
His book was completely written on! As he turned the pages he saw how horribly scribbled on they were. Whoever the previous owner was thought that it was a good idea to cross out some of the instructions for the potions and write in their own! Potions was one of Jason's favorite classes. With this book how would he pass the class? He received Outstanding in his O. last year which is the only reason he was allowed to take it this year for his N.E. . If his grades drop Professor Snape would surely kick him out of his class!
Jason looked through the book some more to see just how bad it was. This is what he gets for cheaping out on school supplies! Jason noticed that in some parts of the book the previous owner wrote down some homemade spells. "What a nut-job" Jason thought to himself. As if he'd ever trust to use a spell no one has ever heard about, what if it backfired and someone got seriously hurt? The first thing Jason will do when he gets to Potions Class is give that book to Professor Snape. That book could be cursed like the one Ginny Weasley had her first year at Hogwarts. That year was completely terrifying, as the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets was after muggle-borns so Jason was a perfect target.
Jason decided to put the book away with the rest of the luggage that fell out. When he sat back down he saw someone in the Slytherin car entrance holding a piece of coal or something. Then the person threw it on the floor and it filled the room with darkness.
There was chaos everywhere. He could hear people screaming all around him. Jason got up from his seat and felt someone brush up against him. It felt like they were covered in a... cloak...
Jason gasped! There have long been rumors that Harry Potter owned an invisibility cloak. Could Jason just have brushed up against The Harry Potter!? Jason was exhilarated with the possibility. When the darkness cleared out and Jason sat back down at his table he could swear he saw something moving in the storage compartment above the table where Malfoy was sitting. It only made Jason start beaming.
The rest of the train ride consisted of Jason going over potions recipes in his head and staring straight into the spot where he believed Harry Potter was propped up. However, the more Jason thought about it the more it seemed like a crazy explanation for a panicking person bumping into him while running for a place to sit. They were probably just wearing a really silky jacket. Pansy Parkinson was probably right, that Peruvian Darkness Powder or whatever was most likely just a first year goofing around.
Finally the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogwarts. Jason took his time getting all his stuff ready, getting up, and leaving in general. He really wanted to see if it was Harry Potter up there, staking out for some reason. He would have to come down eventually right?
As the whole train car emptied it was just him and Draco left behind. He looked at Draco and Draco looked back.
"Aren't you gonna leave mudblood?" he spat.
"I could say the same for you," said Jason matter-of-factly. "And can you please stop calling me that? It's extremely offensive."
"Oh wah! That's the point mudblood. What? Are you gonna cry now?" he taunted. Jason couldn't stand being in the same room as Draco another second so he decided to just get his stuff and leave. If Harry Potter was up there staking out he probably would have come down by now.
Jason could have left from the Slytherin train car exit but he always liked taking the long way out. Plus, there was always that extra chance that he would bump into Harry. As he left the Slytherin car and entered the Ravenclaw car a blond blur lunged at him. Jason screamed.
