Harry turned up outside Jasper's room first thing the next morning. The look where there was now almost nothing but gold had haunted his night, preventing him from sleeping and making him think about the situation. The young man had decided to try to see the vampire without the presence of his bodyguards. Their presence prevented them from getting to know each other, and he was convinced that Jasper would never try to hurt him. Carlisle hadn't liked the idea, but they'd worked out a compromise whereby the doctor and Edward would stand by in the corridor in case of need. Harry, satisfied, though determined to get things moving, had placed the two one-and-a-half-liter bottles of blood in his backpack with the books borrowed the day before and tried to calm his heartbeat. However, before he reached the vampire's room, Alice and Rosalie had entrusted him with two large shopping bags for their brother.
Jasper was lying on his side on the bed, propped up on his elbow, when Harry came through the door with his load. The golden gaze landed on him and became questioning. Harry swallowed his saliva with difficulty at the sight of the lithe body coming towards him at human speed, a sad smile hanging on its face. The wizard suspected it was his feelings and distraught heart that made the empath smile, and he had no desire for it to be otherwise.
"Your sisters gave me this for you," Harry whispered when the other man was only inches from him.
Jasper glanced quickly at the bags, but his gaze had already returned to Harry when he placed his hands on the wizard's to unload his load. A shiver ran through both of them as their skins met and Jasper let his fingers run longer than necessary before closing them over the handles of the bags and pulling away. It took Harry long seconds to remember how to breathe, his heart was racing, butterflies were nesting in his stomach and his head was in a cloud. He'd been craving more, and would have given in to his cravings if the vampire hadn't walked away.
He thanked Edward for being more square than his brother, his clothes were loose on him and although Jasper was handsome, he wasn't a call to temptation dressed like this. Harry waited until he had regained full control over his impulses before joining the empath on the bed. The latter was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the mattress, seemingly waiting for what was to come. The wizard sat down next to him, but put his backpack between them, not sure whether he was doing this to ask Jasper not to touch him again or to prevent himself from jumping on him.
With trembling hands, he took out the two bottles of blood and handed them to the vampire. His golden eyes turned black as he reached for his meal, but his movements were now controlled and he no longer rushed to drink. He opened a bottle and swallowed its contents under the wizard's troubled gaze. The urge to taste the now blood-tinged lips was getting really strong for Harry, but he didn't try anything. Instead, he took the books out of the bag and placed them on the bed.
"I thought you must be bored," declared the young man awkwardly. "Carlisle told me you liked history so I borrowed them from the library."
Several emotions passed over the immortal's face, first surprise, then gratitude and finally tenderness. Jasper stopped drinking and picked up the books one by one to read the summaries at full speed. His reverent way of holding the books reminded Harry of Hermione's love of books and he thought he'd had a good idea.
"Thank you, Harry."
Those two words, spoken in a hoarse voice, his name on the Texan tongue, the Southern U.S. accent and the low musicality made the aforementioned very hot, who thought he was going to melt all the more so as Jasper didn't take his eyes off him.
"I hope you like them, I can borrow some more from the library if you like, just tell me what you'd like."
Harry had been speaking fast and slurred by the stress he was under, but Jasper had no trouble understanding him. He smiled a gentle smile that made the wizard's heart capsize and took the younger man's warm hand in his cold one.
"Thank you, I..."
A new shiver ran through Harry as much provoked by the vampire's voice as by the contact of their skins. Jasper's thumb was almost caressing his skin, which made Harry want much more and at the same time his soul mate to open up to him.
"Thank you." breathed Jasper again as he withdrew his hand, his face had closed and Harry wondered why.
However, he realized that he would get nothing more from the convalescent for the time being and rose from the bed.
"See you tomorrow?"
These two words breathed out when the wizard had already turned away towards the door made him freeze. He felt several feelings that weren't his own envelop him: hope and fear; but they disappeared very quickly, leaving him bewildered and with many questions.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said with a smile.
He felt Jasper's gaze on him as he left the room, lost in thought.
"It'll come." Edward told him when Harry was leaving with him.
The young man looked at him surprised, not sure what the telepath was talking about.
"Jasper, he needs time. Everyone who spoke to him before you hurt him. He knows you're his soul mate, but that's not enough to get him over the trauma he's been through." explained Edward as they walked to the kitchen.
Harry considered his words for a few moments before replying.
"I'd love to know what he thinks, what he's been through."
"No, I don't think so."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"He's trying to block out his memories, but I've seen bits and pieces, what they did to him... it's horrible."
"Still, I'm sure it would help."
"What would help?" asked Hermione as the two young men and Carlisle entered the kitchen.
The witch, Ron, Professor Flitwick, Arthur and Percy had gathered in the kitchen of the square to update on Jasper's condition.
"To know what Jasper has been through, to know his memories."
"Of course! Maybe that's the key!" exclaimed Hermione.
"You're right, my dear," confirmed the spell teacher.
"I don't understand anything," Ron confided to his best friend.
"Ron, we can't find out what spell was cast on him," explained Percy in his superior tone.
Harry also understood what this meant for Jasper.
"We can't make him go through all that again," he said horrified.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" asked Carlisle, who was following the conversation attentively.
"For him to give us his memories, he has to recall them. We can't ask him to relive his memories."
There was silence before Hermione spoke again.
"Legilimencie. If it's a good legilimens who does it, he won't even notice the intrusion."
"I have a friend who's a professor of legilimency, so if Jasper agrees, I can ask him to help."
"We'll need Kingsley's validation to involve a new person."
It was decided that Harry would talk to Jasper as soon as possible and Percy would present the idea to the Minister, then they began their weekly meeting, which was mostly facilitated by Percy. The young man had found the notebook of one of Jasper's former jailers, who had recorded the conditions of his imprisonment, as well as what he had experimented on him and for what purpose. Percy didn't describe the tortures, however; he himself had been sickened by reading the first ten pages, and just thinking about them made him want to vomit. Edward began to tremble with rage when he intercepted the young man's recollections and had to isolate himself to calm down. Flitwick decided that he alone would read the diary in the first instance, to spare the rest of the group, and would tell them what to take from it. He also raised the point that Edward might have to be kept away from the square if they were to call in the Legilimens.
The meeting ended, and Esmée served a dinner she'd prepared with care, but Harry wasn't hungry. He wanted to know what had happened to the man who made his heart skip a beat every day.
