[Mason] i give up on titles for now

[Jonathan Doom]

All his classes were over for the day. He couldn't deny that he was relieved. As much as Jonathan loved teaching, even he needed a break from the students at times. There were some that gave him a headache. Mostly within the first, second, and seventh years. Not surprisingly. His last class of the day was the latter, and he was more than thankful for the chance to usher them out the door. Of course, just because the students were gone didn't mean his work ended. He had papers to grade and that would take the better part of the late afternoon.

Jon let out a sigh, hand pressed against his forehead as he marked another paper, with yet another P. It seemed students were getting a lot of those those days. He knew that Herbology wasn't exactly a popular subject, but it was like they weren't even trying. He needed a break from the grading. More than that, he needed a drink. But he'd finished that earlier in the morning, and it wasn't like sneaking it onto school grounds was easy. So instead, he leaned back in his chair, chewing at the end of his quill as he took his much needed break from the papers. It was then that he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he said, trying hard not to sound exasperated.

[Mason Doom]

Mason took a deep breath as he stood behind the door that lead into Jonathan Doom's office. He felt like he was going to be sick. Mason had planned this, gone over every word that he would say in his head. But now standing here he was shaking. What if he was wrong? What if Jonathan rejected him or even scolded him? Mason wasn't prepared for that nor would he handle it well.

It was now or never.

Mason knocked and heard Jon say he could come in. He slowly opened the door and walked into the room. He noticed the stack of papers on Jonathan's desk. "Professor Doom..." He said trying the name out for the first time. It was strange now speaking to another one like himself, another Doom. "Is this a bad time?" He asked his gaze on Jon. "I wanted to talk to you...about something important....but I can come back later." He said nervously.

[Jonathan Doom]

His eyes remained on the door as he waited for whoever it was to show their face. A part of him hoped that it was another Professor, just delivering some sort of news. He couldn't stand the thought of having to give another student extra help because he was confused in class. The thought made him feel guilty. After all, he loved teaching. He just didn't love doing it all the time. When the door opened, it was a Hufflepuff student that he saw.

"Yes?" he asked when the student spoke. He tried to place the other, but his mind was elsewhere. If he knew his name, he couldn't currently recall it. Which increased feelings of guilt. After all, at one point, he'd known all of the Puff's names. Jon glanced toward his papers and shook his head. Actually, he didn't mind the momentary distraction from his work. He smiled and shook his head, "It isn't. What did you need to talk to me about?" he asked, gesturing toward the chair across from him.

[Mason Doom]

Mason glanced behind him to see if the door had shut, which it had. He then sat down and folded his hands in his lap. This was it. It was really happening. He was hopefully going to meet someone who was related to him. Someone who was family. Mason bit his lower lip suddenly forgetting all the words he had prepared for this. His mind blank. He wondered if he should just shout it out but instead he took a moment to clear his throat.

"I wanted to talk to you about my family." He said gently. "I think you can help me find them. I've been orphaned my whole life. My mother was killed in a accident and my father left my on the steps of a orphanage to save his marriage. I learned later he passed suddenly and i was cut off from all my family members. I never met them but now I want to. Professor....what I'm trying to say is....we have the same last name. I think I'm related to you." He watched Jon nervously. There it was. All out in the air.

[Jonathan Doom]

Jon watched the student curiously, noticing how he bit his bottom lip. He couldn't help but smirk at that. After all, it was a habit that he himself had never been able to drop. He couldn't help but wonder what this was about. The more he waited for the Hufflepuff to speak, the more he doubted that it had anything to do with Herbology. Or even with the other Hufflepuffs or the Hufflepuff common room. It was quite clear that he had something else on his mind, and Jonathan wanted to know what.

"Your family?" he asked, brow furrowed as he stared at the other. "What makes you think that I can?" he wondered, chewing on the end of his quill again as he stared at the student. His face softened as Mason explained his situation. "I'm sorry," he said, though he wasn't even sure why he was apologizing, "I hope that you do," he added. Though, he still didn't know what this had to do with him. It was then that the boy cut to the point. When he said they had the same last name, it clicked. Jonathan remembered hearing his name, and remembered how he had paused several times because of it. He'd shrugged it off. Assumed it was a bizarre coincidence. Marcus and Lloyd knew of their fathers... affairs. Jon, however, had always been blinded. "But," he paused, quill pointed in the air as he thought, "That would mean my father is your father," he said, dumbfounded.

[Mason Doom]

Mason shrugged off Jon's apology. It wasn't his fault things hand ended up the way they had for him. When Jon realized what Mason was trying to say to him he nodded slowly. "Yes....Marcus senior Doom is my father." He said. He had known who his father was for a few years now, when he started to track down his family. "It makes me the youngest Doom made by him. I believe I was the last one. Since I'm only 17." He explained.

"I've never have had a family before." He whispered, hoping Jon wasn't going to tell him to leave. That he wanted nothing to do with him. "Marcus....our father killed my mother when she went behind his back on my birth certificate. She had told him I would carry her last name. He signed it before she had written my name on it. She had changed her mind at the last minute. He was furious but that's not the only reason."

He took a breath. "She was going to tell your mom about how he slept around. They got into a fight. I'm not sure exactly how he killed her....I can't recall it. I like to believe I was to young to remember but I don't think that's the case." He looked up at Jon. "I learned about all this a few years ago. The orphanage wanted to prepare me for the world when I turned of age. At the time I was going to durmstrang. I transferred here this year....because of you. Because I finally found someone who might be related to me."

[Jonathan Doom]

Mason nodded slowly. Jon turned his gaze back to him. It was a lot to take in. It wasn't like his family had ever been honest with him about things. That was quite obvious with how in the dark he was about everything. He'd never imagined that there were... others. It was something he'd never given much thought to. "I see," he replied, momentarily stunned so temporarily unable to say much else. He finally found his words at Mason's next thought. Asking, "There are others?", words spoken slowly and carefully. If Mason didn't know he didn't know before, he probably knew now.

Jon sighed in some understanding at Mason's comment. Sure, he'd had a family growing up. But hell, at times it felt like he didn't. In a way, he felt horrible for the other. Because he knew well that he was Mason's only shot at ever having one. And he didn't give a damn if thinking that made him arrogant. "You do now," he said. He wasn't going to ask him to leave. Had no intentions of it. "I have no trouble believing that," he said with a sigh. His father had definitely been a temperamental man.

"Your - our - father wasn't a very good man," he said, words still spoken with caution and care, "Which is probably why none of this surprises me as much as it should," Well, it did surprise him a lot. But he supposed many people would have demanded Mason to leave. May have even called him a liar. "Well, I'm glad you did," he said honestly. Maybe, in some ways, he wanted a brother of his own the same as Mason. Mostly, though, at that moment he was glad to have some inkling toward the truth. Which was something one never got within the Doom family.

[Mason Doom]

Mason wondered why it was taking Jon so long to response to what he said. He knew it was shocking but he didn't think it would take him that long to decided to accept or reject Mason. Of course mason also didn't know that Jon had been cut off from the family. "I only know of one other who is half like me. Same father but different mother. He's a auror that goes by Jacoby."

Mason couldn't help the smile that spread on his face when Jon said that he had one now. Jon was accepting him as family. Half or not he finally had a family member. He would be able to give Jon and his side of the family gifts for Christmas and send out birthday cards. They might have been something people with family's took for garnet. Not even thinking about them. Mason was excited. He actually had a family. "Thank you for listening to me. This means so much to me." He said holding back happy tears.

[Jonathan Doom]

It wasn't that Jon was taking a bit to decide whether he wanted Mason as family or not. Whether, he was trying to decide if it was true or not. He believed it, but there may have been a small part of himself that didn't want to. As evil as his dad had been toward him, in Jonathan's eyes, the man was still his father. The one who raised him. (It didn't matter that he wasn't technically his father - and Jon didn't know that, anyway) He looked up as Mason continued to speak again, eyes full of that typical curiosity that he possessed. His expression remained as was, until Mason spoke the name aloud. Then, it dropped. He couldn't have hid the reaction even if he had wanted to.

He was convinced that he was going to be sick. He was certain that he'd went pale. He didn't even notice Mason's smile, nor did he notice his reaction right away. The only thing he could think about was the fact that he'd said both auror and Jacoby in reference to the question that he had asked. "Are you... sure?" he managed to spit out, words strained and stuttered as he spoke, "You have to be absolutely sure about... that," He tried to mask it as Mason spoke again, forcing a smile at his words. But his voice was strained when he said, "Of course," No matter what, he wouldn't shut Mason out. But still, his mind couldn't stop the thoughts that were currently weaving their way in.

[Mason Doom]

Mason felt as if maybe he was talking to much. Which made him even more nervous. He didn't want to come across as annoying. But he had played this scene is his mind for the past month, over and over again. He had imaged Jon to get upset and yell at him. Call him a liar and reject whatever he had to say. He saw Jon's reaction change and clenched his hands on both sides of the chair, as if whatever Jon was about to say my blow him out of the room.

Mason blinked at Jon, confused. He wondered why it was so important. "No....I don't know for sure. I was to chicken to go ask him. But that's the only name they gave me when I left the orphanage. They said they had a record that showed he was my half brother. I was suppose o start looking for my family threw him." He said explaining. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Was it something I said?" He asked worriedly.

[Jonathan Doom]

He kept his eyes on Mason, trying as hard as he could not to just bolt out of the room. He didn't want Mason thinking it was him, nor did he want Mason feeling like he'd rejected him as his brother. Because he hadn't. He was excited at the idea of having a brother. He may have had two already, but he'd faced the fact long ago that they wouldn't be in his life much. Something he'd had to come to terms with when he was... well, Mason's age. A hard fact to accept and he hated thinking that Mason may have to accept it, as well. It was what Mason said about Jacoby. The emotions clouded him at once. Anger, confusion, and beneath both of those, disgust.

"Maybe someone should," Jon said, words coming out harsher than he'd intended. Then he sighed, realizing that it might have seemed like he was snapping at Mason rather than something else, "Sorry," he said gently, "It's not you," and it definitely wasn't. He sighed, "So, they tried to help you? Find us, I mean?" he asked. Mason's question was spoken with worry, drawing another sigh from Jonathan. He shook his head, "No," he said at first and then, "Yes. I mean, kind of. I just know him is all. Very well."

[Mason Doom]

Mason nodded at Jon's question. "Kinda. I also demanded that they told me something. It took a few months to get the name and my birth certificate from them. Even when I turned of age they where going to just throw away my record. It wasnt a very nice place.... But that doesn't matter now. I have my own place and I know that I have a family somewhere. Both things i never thought I would have."

Mason blinked "oh...I hope that this doesn't change your friendship then. I didn't come here to hurt people." He said nervous. He decided that maybe this was a good time to leave so be quickly stood up. "I think I've said to much...I should go to my dorm....it's getting late." He said in a hurry to get out of the office. He knew when he had over stayed his visit.

[Jonathan Doom]

Jonathan's expression went solemn when Mason told him they had planned on simply throwing his record away. He couldn't imagine having grown up in such a life. Then again, when it came to growing up without parents or growing up with Marcus Sr and Elizabeth as parents, he wasn't sure which the lesser of the two evils was. "Well, it's good that they didn't," he replied with a smile, "And family means a lot to me, so, you definitely have that now," there was slight emphasis on the me. But it was hard admitting what his family was truly like.

Jonathan found himself gnawing the inside of his cheek when Mason replied again. Jonathan actually wasn't sure how this would affect their friendship. He still hadn't decided what it even meant. "You didn't," he said regardless. Because, well, Mason hadn't. "It's not your fault," But he felt slightly discouraged when Mason stood up, as if in a rush to dismiss himself. "Okay," he said, "If you ever need me... you know where to find me."

[Mason Doom]

((Closed?))