Story bits

Ah, home again." Keith said, walking in. "How is it that we're not even 18, yet you own a house?" Lance asked. "Luck." Keith answered with a grin.
"Am I the only one who hears footsteps?" Allura asked, stepping out from under Lance's arm.
A pair of black Converse appeared on the stairs, followed by black jeans and a black shirt. Finally, they saw the person's face.
"Griffin?" Keith asked.
He froze when he saw them.
He got the deer in headlights look. Then he shot off, running down the hall. Keith growled and chased after him, grabbing his collar and slamming him into the wall. He groaned and glared at him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Keith growled.
"I own this place you jackass. Now can you let me go?"
He did as he asked, and James slumped to the ground, wincing and grabbing his side, pulling his hand away, covered in blood.
"Griffin, what the hell happened to you?" Keith asked. "Just shut up and help me for once Kogane." James ordered. Keith helped him up, leading him to the kitchen. James began rummaging through the cupboard, pulling out some bandages and alcohol. He winced as he did so, and Keith saw his jaw tense.
He sighed and took the things from James's hands. "Let me. You're in no shape to do this yourself." James sat on the edge of the table, looking bored.
"Come on. Shirt off." Keith ordered. "That eager to undress me, are we Kogane?" James mused, pulling up his shirt and tossing it off.
There was a large slask mark, with two smaller ones surrounding it. Keith took a towel and started dabbing it, cleaning up some of the blood.
"Am I the only one who wants to know why the hell Griffin is in Keith's house?" Lance asked as him and Allura entered the room.
"It's actually mine. Sirius had no will, so his stuff goes to his closest blood relative. Bellatrix. She's dead, and she left all her stuff to me." Allura pointed at James's arm, which had a bandage wrapped around it. "What happened to you?" "Believe it or not, I didn't want to become a Death Eater. So.." James shrugged and Lance gasped. "You carved it out of your skin?!?"
James opened his mouth to answer but hissed instead, arching his back. "Goddammit Kogane what was that for?" He hissed as the other pulled a cotton swab away from him. "If you don't want it to get infected, I have to clean it. How the hell did you even get these anyway?" James frowned, shoulders hunching. "I don't wanna talk about it." "Come on Griffin, spill. I know you want to." Keith goaded. "No, I don't." James snapped. "Do you workout?" Allura asked. "Yes. Why?" "You have quite a bit of muscle. Almost as much as Keith."
Keith looked up and down James's back, which had lean muscle. His arms did as well, and he could only imagine his front. "Well that's Griffin for you. Always having to be perfect." "Could you stop being an ass just for a minute?" James asked, turning to look at him.
"Oh, like you did?" "I did what I had to to make sure I stayed alive you bastard." James snapped, turning to face him fully.
Keith couldn't help but give him a quick up-down, eyeing the lean stomach muscles and slender hips he had.
"Stay alive? You have no idea how hard staying alive is. Especially when you have half the bloody population after you!" Keith snapped. "Oh I'm sorry, did someone's actions harm you? Endanger your life? Make you do things you didn't want to? Make you wish you were dead sometimes?" James asked, standing in front of Keith and glaring at him. "Yes! Particularly your family's!"
"WELL I'M SORRY THAT MY PSYCHOPATHIC AUNT, DEMENTED AND ABUSIVE FATHER AND BROTHER, ALONG WITH MY CRUEL UNCARING MOTHER HURT YOU LAST YEAR! I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THAT MUST'VE BEEN LIKE!!" James yelled.
Then he sighed and rubbed his brow. "Look, you can stay here for tonight. We'll talk about this-" he gestured around. "In the morning. Foods in the cupboard, and there are extra bedrooms downstairs."
He left the room, grabbing his shirt as he left. "Aren't you going to eat?" Allura called.
They heard nothing but angry footsteps and a slamming door.
"I guess that's a no." She said with a sigh.
"What's his problem anyway? He got himself into this whole mess. Can't he get himself out?" Lance asked, grabbing some plates.
"I don't know. You saw how hard it was to clear Sirius's name. Even after over a decade and tons of new evidence. And both his parents are on the run, and I heard he has a brother who is too." Allura said. She waved her wand, and food came out of containers, cooking itself with another wave of her wand.
The trio sat and began eating. "Well Keith? What do you think?" Lance asked before taking a bite. "About Griffin?" Lance frowned. "No, about the latest quidditch match. Yes of course Griffin."
Keith shrugged. "He's.... different. Not the same as before." "Well we're all different." Allura says. "No, I mean-" Keith sighed. "The only thing about him that seems the same is the way he looks and the fact that he calls me by my last name."
James seemed.... off. Less uptight and stiff. More relaxed, yet more afraid.

James took the cup of tea, eyeing it suspiciously. "This isn't poisoned, is it?" He asked, glancing at the three. Keith gave him a reassuring smile. "Now why would we poison you?" "You almost made me bleed out in 7th year." James deadpans. "Yes, after you started sobbing in the mirror and cursed Bell." James sighed and sat on the table. "You're still on about that? It was two years ago." "You were a 17 year old who cursed another girl in our class." "16. And I had a very good reason. You heard me when I confronted Dumbledore. I had to do it, or he was going to kill me."
"Voldemort?" Allura asked.
James shrugged. "Him. My father. My brother. Everyone I was around during that time threatened to kill me several times a day." He sipped his tea, raising his eyebrows. "Wait. You did put something in this, didn't you?" He smacked his lips. "Son of a- you put truth serum in this? What the hell?"
"We had to make sure you weren't going to lie to us." Allura said, giving him an apologetic look.
"Now, why are you here?" Lanc asked, crossing his arms.
James sighed and brought his legs up onto the table,, sitting criss cross. "Fine. To get away from my family."
"Why?"
"Well for one, I don't particularly enjoy running all over the country. Two, they're mental and all assholes, three, why stay with people who don't care about me?"
Lance raised an eyebrow. "Of course they care. They’re your family."
James chuckled and sipped some more tea. "You haven't sat down with my parents. A normal dinner conversation consists of them having a debate about something or planning some other nefarious activity while you sit there silently."
"How else are they bad?" Allura asked.
James let out a shaky laugh. "They threatened to kill me almost everyday. All three of them. Four, when Bellatrix was alive. They practiced the Cruciatus curse on me since I was a child to keep me in line. Crabe and Goyle were my handlers, paid by my parents to ensure I had proper behavior and acted like a Griffin. I was forced to get the dark mark, work on the vanishing cabinet and plan to kill Dumbledore. After I didn't, my mother had a field day with me, zapping me with curses left and right. Just for fun, my father shot the killing curse at the wall besides my head. 1 more inch to the right and I wouldn't be here. My mother threatened to pimp me out to other Death Eaters, and let them assault me in her presence. Whenever they got bored, which happened quite often, I was either a test dummy or I was being chased through the woods by snatchers for sport. To 'keep their skills honed' they said. At the battle, I'm once again threatened with death if I fail to kill one of you or another Order member.
After the battle, my father nearly pushed me off the bridge because I didn't kill anyone.
While on the run I was once again a source of entertainment, and eye candy for all the vile creatures we were running with. I couldn't sleep for fear someone might try and have me, the food was inedible, almost every half hour I was being threatened with death, and I hadn't had a shower in weeks. So two months ago, I left. I have no idea where my family is, or if they're alive."
The trio gaped at him. "Why- why didn't you tell anyone?" Keith asks. "Snape knew. Why do you think I was always at school early and stayed late? He would claim to be training me to be a Death Eater while he was really trying to keep me away from them as long as possible.”
“Oh, you poor thing.” Allura said, stepping forward with her arms outstretched.
James leaned away from her. “What are you doing?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I was going to hug you?”
James looked at her oddly. “You know? That thing families do?”
Still the odd stare.
“James, when was the last time someone asked you what you wanted?” Keith asked, crossing his arms.
James got a thinking look on his face, staring into his tea cup.
“I don’t know. Probably before Christmas, when I was…. 4? 5? It’s been a long time. Me and my brother were raised to follow orders without question. Do what you’re told. Be seen, not heard. Being a Griffin isn’t all it’s made out to be.” He said before sipping more tea.
“Why are you still drinking it if you know it has serum in it?” Lance asked. James shrugged. “I figure the more I have, the stronger the effect, and the longer it lasts. The more questions you’ll ask, the more you’ll be able to trust that I’m answering them truthfully. I know quite a bit about this stuff. Umbridge used it quite often. Well, either that or she threatened them with Cruciatus.” “I had forgotten about that.” Keith says, sitting next to James. “And those pens? Those were the worst.” James hummed. “”Yes, yes they were. And the scars took forever to heal. You know that if you put fire to them, it actually helps them? Dulls the pain. And quickens recovery.”
“How would you know? Very few Slytherins got detention with Umbridge.” Lance says, sitting in a chair. “She made us take this oath when we joined her society thing, and made us write it out once a week. If we didn’t, we got kicked out. I’m eternally grateful to the centaurs who took her away.” James set his teacup down. “So, what else do you wanna know? This interrogation is turning oddly friendly.”
“What's your brother like?” Allura asked. “A younger version of my father. Idolized Voldermort, and wanted to be a Death Eater his whole life. So my parents had him be inconspicuous. Be quiet, hide in the shadows. Went through Hogwarts without gaining any attention, barely seen by professors except for his average schoolwork. Quite good at the Cruciatus. Could have you weeping on your knees in seconds. Since he didn’t do much, or have a very big part in Voldermort’s plans, he was able to hide. Lucky him. I, however, was instructed to make myself obvious. It was very easy with the girls, and a little harder with the guys. Make it clear what family I came from. Sorting hat didn’t even touch a hair on my head before shouting “Slytherin!”. Course, there’s always that one guy who says if my last name is Griffin, shouldn’t I be in Gryffindor? They normally end up tripping down some stairs or dropping their books in the middle of the hall.” James smiled at that memory.
“Do you have anyone besides your family?” Keith asked. “Like friends? Maybe 3. And that’s being generous.” “Better not be us.” Lance muttered, causing James to narrow his eyes. “No. You three have a very obvious dislike of me. Another Slytherin, Nadia, and two Hufflepuffs, Ina and Ryan. We weren’t close, but they were kind when others weren’t. They’re the closest things I have to friends.”

Lance and Allura had long since left, and Keith had decided to take a shower. As the hot water trickled down his body, he thought about what James said. "Probably before Christmas. When I was.... 4?5? It's been a long time." How could someone go so long without being asked what they liked? Or wanted? How could one person he neglected so much? How could such a beautiful boy, whi had girls from all four houses and some from other schools staring at him, not only be single, but also gay? And why didn't th others undestand when he asked him if he preferred wands ir cauldrons?
He shook his head and chuckled to himself, turningnoff the water. He left the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. He headed down the hall, passing several doors, trying to remember which one he had put his stuff in.
He opened one of the doors and saw James, lying on a bed, shirtless. The other picked his head up, eyes widening when he saw Keith. "What are you doing?" He asked, walking over. "Sorry. I forgot which room I lit my stuff in." James was so close that Kekth could feel his breath ghosting his cheek. "James?" "Did you come in here for a reason?" Keith felt his face flush. "No I-" "Do you want me to blow you?" James asked, looking him up and down. "What do you want?" Keith asked, leaning forward. James met his eyes and smiled. He leaned forward as well, so that his lips tickled Keith's ears. "I, want you
to fuck,
me."
He answered before leaning away. "That is, if you want to." James was blushing a bit, and Keith let his eyes wander for a moment before smiling. "Oh, I definitely want to." James smiled and cupped his face, pulling him into a blistering kiss.
Afterwards, they laid next to each other. James messing with his hair. "What does this make us?" He asked. Keith shrugged. "What do you want us to be?" "I don't know." James answered. Keith took his hand and kissed it. "Then let's see where this goes, before we put a label on it."

James jumped off the broom, lunging for the snitch. He caught it and his back arched, and he did a flip in the air. Back arched, hand outstretched, robes flying around him.His black boots landed on the broom and he stood on it, raising the snitch victoriously. Slytherin burst into a rapturous applause, chanting his name. “GRIFFIN! GRIFFIN! GRIFFIN!” James did a mock bow, smiling from ear to ear.

Both boys lunged for the snitch. Their brooms hit each other and Keith fell into James, and they went down in a swirl of red, green, black and gold. “Ooh! Kogane and Griffin both go down, taking the Snitch with them. But who caught it? Oh, there’s movement. They’re both conscious. I wonder what they’re doing.” Nadia commented.
Keith groaned. “Fuck, that hurt.” He propped himself up on his hands, which were next to James’s head. The other boy smiled up at him, Snitch in his teeth, purple eyes shining, and brown hair a mess. “I win.” He said, taking it out and waving it in one hand. He reached up to brush some hair out of Keith’s face, causing the others breath to hitch. James smirked and threaded a hand in the messy black locks, bringing him down for a kiss. Keith graciously accepted it, pressing down onto him.
“Oh my! Bloody hell, Kogane and Griffin are snogging on the pitch! Son of a bitch! But who got the Snitch?” Nadia asked as the crowd gaped at the two.
James pushed his tongue into Keith’s mouth, and he let out a little whine. James used his distraction to flip them over, pinning the other under him. He straddled the other’s hips and pulled away, smiling down at him. Then he raised the Snitch, looking up at the crowd.
It roared, and he could see Allura and Lance laughing in the stands.

"Or else.." Charlie apparated, appearing at the edge of the tower, holding James's collar in his hand. "He dies." James's hands clutched Charlie's, and his eyes were wide with fear.
"You won't do it." Allura said, pointing her wand at him. Charlie smirked and edged James out even more. "No! Charlie please no." James pleaded, clinging his brother's arm. "Don't let go." Charlie glanced at his brother, expression unreadable. “Give me one good reason.” “Because I’m your brother. And you promised that you’d never hurt me. You’ve already broken it before, do you really want to do it again? And the last time you made an unbreakable vow. You kill me, you're also killing yourself.” Charlie considered this, holding James out. “True. Alright, you stay alive for now.” James let out a sigh of relief.
Charlie turned to Allura and Lance. “Bring me Kogane, and he lives. If not-” He jerked James out some more. “-the rocks will kill him.”

“Let him go Charlie.” Keith growled. Charlie smiled, turning his head to James. “You heard him. I’m supposed to let you go.” He jerked his arm, making James lose his grip and let go.
He pulled out his wand and pointed it at James, raising him in the air, several dozen yards above the top of the tower. “Now, come here. Drop the wand. Or I drop him.” Keith glowered at him but did what he asked, dropping the black stick and walking over. Charlie smiled. “Good boy. Croft, hold him.” Another cloaked figure stepped forward and grabbed Keith’s bicep, holding it in an iron grip.
“Good.” Charlie said, still grinning. “Goodbye James.” He said. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the spell on James broke.
He screamed as he began to fall. “KOGANEEE!”
Keith made no move to save him. “Very clever. Where is he really?” He asked, looking at Charlie. His hand shimmered, and saw James still in his grip, bent backwards. “I swear to god, if you let go-” James growled. “You’ll what? We both know you can’t kill someone. You always were weak James. I’ll be glad to get rid of you.”
He let go, for real this time, and James went flying backwards.
Keith saw fear fill his blue-gray eyes, and his outstretched hand. He growled and slammed his elbow into his captor’s gut, causing him to let go. He dove over the edge, reaching for James. They grabbed each other’s hands, pulling the other closer. “Please tell me you have your wand.” James whispered. “Of course.” Keith said. He pulled it out of his pocket and waved it, muttering a spell. They slowed and floated towards the bridge, landing softly on their feet.
James yanked him into a kiss the second they did, holding his face gently. Keith smiled into it and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him closer. They separated and leaned their foreheads on each others. “Never do anything like that again.” Keith muttered. “Ha, I’ll try not to.” James said back.