Disclaimer: Since we have only seen the one Klaine kiss, we can all safely assume I have not been given ownership rights of Glee. And as far as Harry Potter goes, last time I checked, I still only have about five dollars in my bank account, so I doubt I own that either.
A/N: Okay, so originally I had planned to keep this story to myself until I had about half of it written, but here I am posting it despite that fact that I'm only about half way through the second chapter.
I don't know how long this story will be, but the way things are going with the second chapter and due to all of the ideas bouncing like mad in my head, I'm guessing it won't be short. That is, unless everyone hates it and chases me away with medium sized mallets. But we'll see.
Kurt hadn't much cared when his father had told him that they would be moving to England after Burt was married. It wasn't as if Kurt was attached to anyone or anything in Lima, Ohio. On the contrary, he hated it there.
Kurt was muggle born, and had been raised accordingly. Before his eleventh birthday, he had attended the McKinley Elementary School in Lima, where he had been teased on a daily basis for his differences. He had a strong, unwavering love of musicals, singing and fashionable clothing accompanied by an equally strong hatred for sports and getting dirty. Given the choice, he would have picked making lanyards with the girls over playing kickball with the boys, which, of course, hadn't done him any favors in the friends department, but Kurt Hummel had never been one to apologize for himself.
Still, for all of his bravado, it hadn't kept him from being miserable at school.
Therefore, naturally, Kurt had been over the moon when he found out that he was a wizard. Being a wizard meant a new school, new people, and a fresh start. Burt Hummel, who had raised Kurt on his own after Elizabeth Hummel's death, had been overwhelmed by the sudden entrance of magic into their lives, but supportive none the less.
Burt had made it a point to educate himself about the world that his son was born to be a part of, something for which Kurt would always be grateful. His father had been with Kurt every step of the way; traveling with Kurt to buy his wand, scowling in confusion over Kurt's spell books, and taking sideways and slightly fearful glances at all of the 'magical people' they passed by. On his first day of school, Burt had surprised Kurt with his very own owl, whom Kurt had named Pavaroti, and waved goodbye to Kurt with a supportive smile on his face as he wished Kurt well on his first day at McKinley School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Kurt loved the magical world. He loved performing and studying spells, and for the first time in his life, he had loved school. Or rather, he loved the academic aspect of it, since relations with his peers remained difficult and strained. Wizard children, he learned fast, could be just as cruel as muggle children.
He also learned that magical torment was much worse than the muggle kind for the simple fact that magical bullying was much more intense and harder to bare than the non-magical kind. During his first few years at school, his hair was charmed pink at least once a week, he spent more time suspended upside down in midair than he did right side up on his feet, and his clothes were in a constant danger of being altered or ruined in some irreparable way. And when he was old enough to fully recognize that fact that he was gay, it seemed that everyone else somehow automatically knew as well, and the bullying morphed into the homophobic kind.
He lost track of the amount of times some passerby in the halls charmed his shirt to flash FAG or QUEER across the front.
As his torment went, Kurt gave as good as he got. He made sure that every last one of his bullies knew that picking on Kurt Hummel put them in serious risk of getting their face transfigured or their clothing shrunken to discomforting and oftentimes even painful sizes. Even still, the constant struggle got real old real fast, which was why he hadn't put up a fuss about the move to England.
Plus, he absolutely adored his new stepmother, Carol. She was kind, accepting, and willing to be Kurt's fashion guinea pig. Also, she was a witch and could act as a role model to Kurt in ways that his muggle father couldn't.
His father had met Carol when Kurt was fourteen. She worked for the World Ministry of Magic and was in charge of all departments relating to Muggles. She had been sent to the United States for a year while her son, Finn, was away at boarding school to get the American Ministry up to speed on the new regulations and developments. Upon their meeting, she had been tracking down an illegal magically enhanced Corvette, which she had found in Burt's garage. Kurt had watched them make a horribly awkward attempt at flirting before he had decided to intervene. Long story short, his matchmaking skills hadn't failed him. The two had been married just two weeks ago; sixteen months after their initial meeting.
And as far as his new stepbrother went, Kurt liked him as well. Finn, while perhaps taking his new role as the slightly older sibling a bit too far at times, was a nice guy who had the decency not to freak out about Kurt's being gay. Early on in their parents' courtship, they had bonded over Finn's girl troubles, which seemed to occur at least once a week, and had struck an odd friendship.
A knock on his open door broke into Kurt's private musings and he turned to find Carol smiling a bit unsurely at him in the doorway. "How are you adjusting, honey?" she asked, her soft spoken voice soothing. It was so different from his father's, which was male (obviously) and gruff.
Kurt paused in his packing to give Carol his full attention, motioning for her come into the room and then gesturing for her to sit in their chair by his bed. He would have offered the bed for a place to sit, but it was full of his clothes. He had known that he would only be in the Hudson house for three days before he went to Hogwarts, but designer clothing simply did not belong folded in a trunk no matter how short the stay. So, he had unpacked and was now repacking.
"Everything is happening fast, but I'm managing alright," he said, answering Carol's question. It was true. He was good at enduring. It was what he did best.
Carol sighed and folded her hands in her lap. "Well, then you are handling all of this far better than I am. I was really hoping to spend some more time together as a family first before you boys went off to Hogwarts. I'm worried that you haven't had any time to adjust to all of this. You and your father have only been here three days, after all."
"Don't be worried. It's not as if I'll be completely alone. Finn will be there. I'm sure everything will be fine." Well, as fine as things could be for fashion forward gay male who wasn't afraid to be himself despite the fact that being himself was apparently a punishable offense. But that was neither here nor there. At least this time he wouldn't be walking into a new school with the very delusional assumption that a change in scenery would be the solution to all of his problems. He wasn't expecting life at Hogwarts to be any better or worse than what it had been like at McKinley. No one could accuse him of being pessimistic. He wasn't exactly optimistic, either. Oh, well.
A series of loud crashes cut into their conversation. Kurt jumped at the sudden nose, yelping. Carol, on the other hand, groaned and rolled her eyes.
"That would be Puck," she said as she stood. Curious as to who or what exactly a Puck was, Kurt followed her out of his room.
The hallway was dark as pitch, the air covered in a dense cloud of black dust. Kurt couldn't see anything, but Carol didn't seem phased by it because she stepped into the smog without hesitating. From somewhere in the darkness, Kurt could hear uproarious laughter.
"You're so dead," Kurt heard Finn announce to someone unseen. "Just wait till my mum sees what you did."
"Noah Puckerman, how many times have I asked you not to set off Weasleys Wizard Wheezes products in my home?"
The fog finally dissipated and Kurt saw Carol standing with her wand in hand and her arms folded across her chest. Standing a little ways down the hall was Finn, who had a look on his face somewhere between gleeful and terrified, and another boy with tanned skin, a Mohawk, and a yeah-it-was-me-so-what expression on his attractive face.
"This will be the absolute last time, Mrs. H."
"Like I believe that."
Puck just smirked cheekily at her and Kurt watched as Carol rolled her eyes once again, only this time there was a small grin playing at her lips. "Just don't blow anything up, hmm? In the meantime, though, I'm going to start dinner." She turned to Finn. "Why don't you introduce Puck to Kurt?"
Both boys turned to look at Kurt and it was clear that neither had noticed him standing there before. "Oh, hey, Kurt. This is Puck," Finn said unnecessarily. "That's Kurt."
"Oi," Puck said, jerking his chin up in greeting.
Kurt cocked an eyebrow. "Hello."
"A man with an accent. American, right."
"Yes."
Puck looked Kurt slowly up and down, smirking at Kurt's Doc Martins and his colorful Alexander McQueen scarf. "Nice outfit," he said with a smirk, though it wasn't necessarily unkind. Just playful.
Kurt's raised brow climbed slightly higher. "Problem?"
"Dunno yet."
"That's reassuring," Kurt said in a dry voice.
"Innit?"
Kurt rolled his eyes and Puck laughed as he turned to walk into Finn's room. Finn shuffled a bit closer to his room as well but didn't go inside. "Uh… Don't, er, mind him. He's…"
"Eccentric?" Kurt offered.
Finn frowned. "Umm, sure. I guess?"
"It's okay, Finn. I'm used to it."
"Right. Okay. Right."
Needing to escape Finn's awkwardness, Kurt smiled a little and said, "Well, I've got to finish packing. See you at dinner."
He hadn't been in his room five minutes before yet another explosion went off, followed by laughter and yelling.
Thirteen hours later saw the new Hummel-Hudson family at Platform 9 ¾.
"I still can't believe we ran through a wall to get here," Burt remarked as the family made their way towards the train. Kurt couldn't help but agree with his father that the experience had been more than a little weird.
"It certainly is quite the experience your first time through," Carol agreed. "At the beginning of Finn's second year, he ran at the wrong wall and wound up flipping over his trolley and breaking his wrist. It was a mess."
Kurt swung around to give his stepmother a disbelieving look. "Please tell me you're joking."
"Aw, Mum! Don't tell them that!" Finn protested.
But Carol waved Finn off. "Completely serious, I'm afraid. We had to rush him to St. Mungo's since the last time I tried to heal an injury myself it was a disaster."
"Why?" Kurt asked. "What happened?"
"Well, I accidentally-"
"Okay!" Finn interrupted loudly. "We should probably get on the train now."
Kurt eyed his stepbrother carefully, watching as Finn shot his mother a silencing look and grabbed at his trunk. Carol's demeanor instantly changed as her eyes teared up a bit. "Promise you'll try to write more this year," she told her son, and Kurt knew that his chances of getting the rest of that story were shot. He would just have to remember to ask her about it some other time.
Burt dropped a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Hey, uh, I'm gonna miss you, kid. A lot." He lifted his red cap off his head to swipe at his forehead nervously before tugging it back on. "Look, you've been great through all this. I know it's got to be hard, moving to a new country when you're sixteen, but - and I know I don't say this as much as I should - I love you, Kurt."
Kurt felt his own eyes tear as Burt pulled him close for a tight hug. They had never been a part before. Ever. McKinley hadn't been a boarding school like Hogwarts was. And Burt was Kurt's everything. "I love you too, Dad. And you say it enough." Kurt sniffled. "I'll miss you, too."
"Take care of yourself, okay? And if anything happens that I need to know about, you tell me."
"I will," Kurt whispered even as he knew that he wouldn't. He had never told his Dad about how hard he had it at school. Not directly, at least. However, Burt knew that Kurt didn't have any friends and it didn't take an genius to figure out that typically that meant something was wrong. After years of strained interrogations, Burt had finally accepted Kurt's promise that he would let Burt know if things at school became too difficult for him to handle. It had been an empty promise, but Kurt didn't allow himself to feel too badly about it. Knowing the extent of Kurt's torment would break Burt's heart and Burt already had enough heart troubles without Kurt adding to them. Besides, his father accepted him for who he was. As far as Kurt was concerned, as long as Burt still loved him despite the fact that Kurt was gay, everyone else could rot.
Burt cleared his throat and pulled back from the hug, scratching just under his eyes as if he had an itch, but Kurt knew better. "Have fun, okay. I love you." Finn was already walking towards the train, waving as he went.
"I will. Love you, too. Bye, Dad," Kurt said as he lifted Pavarotti's cage and tipped his trunk. "Bye, Carol."
The short woman leaned in to give Kurt a light squeeze. "Bye, sweetheart. I'll miss you. Don't forget to write."
"I wont," he promised.
The train gave a loud whistle and Kurt hurried to place his trunk in the loading pile before dropping Pavarotti off with the other caged animals. "See you soon, Pavarotti," he told the little yellow elf owl. Pavarotti chirped and Kurt smiled at him before turning to climb aboard, sparing his father and Carole one last wave.
The train was huge and had a number of compartments. Finn offered the one he was sharing with Puck and some other boys but Kurt declined, saying he was tired and was going in search of an empty compartment so that he could nap. Once he found what he was looking for he made himself comfortable on the cushioned bench and placed his headphones in his ears and busied himself with listening to the songs on his iPod.
After listening to Rent and Gypsy, Kurt was half way through Wicked when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to find a rather attractive boy with curly black hair and the most triangular eyebrows Kurt had ever seen leaning over him. The boy's mouth was moving, but Kurt couldn't hear him. Kurt sat up and pulled out his ear buds. "What was that?"
The boy was looking at Kurt's iPod with a confused expression on his face. After several seconds of silence, Kurt ducked his head a little bit to try and get in the boy's line of sight and rose his eyebrows at him in a silent "yes?"
"Sorry," the boy apologized, catching Kurt's look. He shook himself a little before offering Kurt a wide smile that made his eyes crinkle. "Hi! I just wanted to tell you that we are almost there. You might want to change into your robes." His energy reminded Kurt of a really excited puppy. On crack.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," Kurt said, noticing the badge on the boy's robes that declared him a Prefect, which, according to Finn, was a kind of hall monitor or something.
The boy's smile softened and Kurt felt his stomach flutter. When he wasn't grinning as if he were in some sort of pain, this boy was absolutely gorgeous.
"No problem," he said to Kurt. "Oh, and by the way, your singing voice is absolutely beautiful."
Kurt felt his face grow instantly hot as blood rushed to pool in his cheeks. His heart hammered in his chest and embarrassment reared its head, pressing down on his bones like dead weight. He tried to think of something to say but his brain was coming up short and surely 'guh!' wasn't an appropriate response. But thankfully the other boy simply grinned at Kurt and left.
Kurt sat there stupidly for a minute or so before he finally closed his slack jaw with a clap of his teeth and forced himself to stand. Scowling at himself, he left the compartment in search of where ever his trunk might be, willing himself to calm down as he went. The boy had been attractive, yes, damningly so, but not enough to excuse that fact that Kurt had made a complete idiot of himself.
In the midst of berating himself, a short girl stepped abruptly into his path and Kurt shot to his tiptoes mid-step to keep from slamming into her. He steadied himself on the wall with a hand before rocking back onto the heals of his feet.
"You look lost," she said without preamble.
Kurt stared mutely at her.
She thrust her hand out. "Hello. I'm Rachael Berry. I'm a sixth year Gryffindor Prefect and future Head Girl of Hogwarts. While an elevation of my status in this school from Prefect to Head Girl is inevitable, I am still determined to assist as many troubled students as I possibly can and you," she smiled wide in a way Kurt figured was supposed to be accommodating, "look lost." She said all of this very fast, with only very short breaths between sentences.
"Okay, is everyone in this school on drugs?"
Rachel frowned and tilted her head a bit to the side. "Drugs?"
"Never mind," Kurt waved his hand dismissively. "I actually am lost. Can you tell me where I need to go to find my trunk so I can change into my uniform?"
"Sure!" she said brightly. "This way. So, you're new. And American."
This American thing was going to get old quickly, he was sure, but he tried not to let that show. "Yes on both accounts."
"Have you been to New York?"
Kurt shook his head. "No, I'm from Ohio."
"Oh. I've never been to New York, either. I really want to go, though. I don't know if you know anything about muggle life there, but in New York the muggles put on these beautiful singing performances called Broadway plays. Well, anyway, I really want to see one. One of my two gay dads is a muggle."
Kurt visibly brightened at all of this information. "I know all about Broadway. I'm muggle born. What's your favorite play?"
"Wicked without a doubt."
"Mine too!" Kurt said excitedly. He had never had anyone to talk to about this stuff before. "I've been saving up for it, though I just about cried when I first found out that Idina Menzel was leaving."
"Oh, I know!"
He and Rachel kept up a steady conversation about the perfection that was Broadway until they were just about at Hogwarts and she had to return to the Prefects car. Kurt waved her off as he adjusted the robs he had dressed himself in after she had shown him where he could find his things.
In his Hogwarts letter, it had been explained to Kurt that he would need to be sorted into a house on the first day of school and that he was to join the first years to the castle once the train reached its destination.
When the train came to a full stop, Kurt followed all of the other students in his car to the exit, not really knowing where he was going. He had been too distracted by the prospect of talking show tunes with someone to think to ask Rachel where he needed to go. He tried to look for Finn but there were too many people and it was too dark outside.
"FIRS' YEARS! THIS WAY FIRS' YEARS! ALL O' YEH COME DOWN THIS WAY TER ME!"
Well, then.
Following the sound of the booming voice, Kurt gasped a bit when his gaze finally settled on an ungodly huge and burly looking man with a head full of wild, untamed hair. Just looking at the man made Kurt's hair want to frizz and he unconsciously reached up to pat it down. Trying not to cringe at the sight of the man's dirty, pocket laden mass of leather he wore as a coat, Kurt made his way over towards the man and the small group of kids surrounding him.
"'Ello, there," the man greeted Kurt with a kind smile that Kurt hadn't been expecting from someone so scruffy and large. "Los' yer way? Yer look a bit old to be a firs' year."
"Um, no. I'm actually a sixth year, but this is my first year at Hogwarts. In my letter I was told to join the first years up to castle."
"That's right! You must be Kurt, then. Headmistress McGonagall told me that yeh'd be joinin' us. I'm Hagrid, keeper of the keys and the Care of Magical Creatures professor."
"Nice to meet you, Professor," Kurt said politely.
"Jus' Hagrid is fine," he told Kurt bashfully, going a bit red as he turned to look around at the wide eyed eleven year olds. "Alrigh' that everyone? All o' yer come follow me down to the boats."
When Kurt reached the boats he had to remind himself that he was not wearing his two hundred dollar skinny jeans anymore and therefore did not need to cringe at the thought of sitting himself down on the damp, murky looking wooden bench, but it was still a difficult thing. His uniform wasn't very fashionable and certainly wasn't of the designer caliber but that didn't mean he wanted it getting dirty either.
He sat down slowly and carefully with his arms bent at the elbow and tucked tight against his sides.
Kurt turned when a small boy tapped him lightly on the shoulder and his eyes widened at the sight of the boy's bright turquoise hair. "Wotcher," the boy said in a quiet voice. Whatever that meant. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked, pointing to the empty place beside Kurt.
Kurt scooted down a bit to make more room. "No, of course not. Go for it."
The boy smiled shyly and sat down next to Kurt, who did a double take when the boy's hair suddenly turned yellow. Noticing that he had garnered Kurt's attention, the boy blushed, looking completely uncomfortable and embarrassed and his hair turned pink. He frowned hard at his hands.
"I wish my hair could do that," Kurt said softly.
The boy looked up at him with wide, skeptical eyes. "You… do?"
"Sure. It would take color coordination to a whole new level," Kurt chuckled to himself. "Can you change it into whatever color you want to?" he asked although he already knew the answer.
"Yeah." The boy scowled adorably, but looked slightly more relaxed. His hair turned back to turquoise. "But my gran says that my control over it wont be so great for the next few years."
Kurt nodded. "You're a metamorphmagus, right?" he asked. Again, he knew the answer. He also knew that the boy's shabby control over his abilities was a puberty thing. It would right itself in a few years.
"Yeah. My mom was, too."
The use of the past tense wasn't lost on Kurt but he knew better then to comment on it. "I'm Kurt Hummel."
"Ted Lupin."
Just then, the dense fog that hung over the lake cleared and Kurt turned his attention to the awing sight of the castle. The warm light from within Hogwarts glowed in the night and reflected beautifully in the black lake. All conversation on the boats ceased as everyone turned to observe the magnificent structure.
No one spoke again until the boats came to a stop at their own accord and when Hagrid stood up from the one he occupied all on his own, everyone else followed suit.
They were ushered inside the castle where a small man who was no doubt at least part goblin stood at the entrance waiting to greet them. "Welcome to Hogwarts, everyone," he said in a squeaky voice. "I am Professor Flitwick. Please follow me into the Great Hall where you will be sorted into one of our four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin."
Upon entry of the Great Hall, Kurt and the first years immediately looked up at the ceiling, eyes wide.
"It's bewitched to look like the night sky," Ted said softly from beside Kurt. "My godfather's best friend told me. She knows everything about Hogwarts."
"It's amazing," Kurt said.
Once they were standing at the front of the incredibly large room, Kurt began to feel self conscious. In the last year alone, he had grown four inches, which put him just shy of five foot eleven inches, and meant that next to the rather small first years, he looked sorely out of place. He could feel about every pair of eyes in the room boring into the back of his skull, which was just perfect given the sad state that he just knew his hair was in after that boat ride. There was a reason why he did not enjoy spending long amounts of time outdoors.
Professor Flitwick, who had disappeared behind a door that was to the left of the staff table, reappeared with a ratty looking hat in his hand. Kurt's eyes went wide.
Oh god. Please tell me I don't have to put that on my head…
Besides the fact that it looked about one thousand years old, the hat's faded brown color clashed horribly with his black school robes.
Kurt's eyebrows rose when the hat began to sing. Seriously? Did no one else find this entirely strange? A quick look around at the rapt faces of his fellow students told him no. Kurt forced his eyebrows back down and tried to look politely indifferent.
Once the song was finished, Flitwick unrolled a long scroll that was long enough to brush the floor. "When I call your name, please come to the front, sit on the stool, and place the hat on your head to be sorted," he instructed. "Arnold, Jillian!"
Kurt and the rest of the school watched as a small, mousy looking girl with deep red hair walked forward. The hat was on her head for about a second before it shouted "SLYTHERIN!"
The people sitting at the table all the way to Kurt's right clapped loudly for her, smug looks on most of their faces, as she hopped off the stool and walked over. The name calling commenced and Kurt spent the time waiting for his name to be called studying the other students' reactions to the sorting. The Gryffindor table was the loudest of the four groups, cheering raucously whenever the hat sorted someone into their house. The Ravenclaws clapped politely for their new housemates and were by far the most reserved. The Hufflepuffs looked to be the friendliest - several would jump up to give welcoming pats on the back to the newcomers. The Slytherins continued to look smug, as if each new arrival to their table was earning them some sort of points.
Kurt didn't much care where he went so long as he wasn't sorted into Hufflepuff. That brownish yellow color they were required to wear was atrocious. He prided himself on being fabulous, but not even he could pull that sickly color off.
"Hummel, Kurt!"
Someone - Kurt suspected Noah Puckerman - whooped loudly and continuously at Kurt's name being called and a stern looking woman sitting in the Headmistress' chair - something McGonagall, if Kurt remembered correctly from his letter - looked sharply over in the direction of the Gryffindor table. Sure enough, Puck was screaming his head off with his hands cupped around his mouth to amplify the noise he was making.
Kurt picked up the hat up off the stool by its tip before sitting down and gingerly placing it on his head.
"Well now," a low voice said in his ear, "it certainly has been a while since I've encountered such stubborn courage. Very stubborn. A great wit and intelligence, as well - an abundance of both. But there is something just bellow the surface - something… wholly insecure. Ha! But I can see you don't like hearing that now do you? Better make it RAVENCLAW!"
The Ravenclaws didn't shout loudly like the Gryffindors would have done, nor did they jump out of their seats to make room for him as the Hufflepuffs did, but he felt content with the hat's choice just the same as he made his way to the table in between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables. Looking to his far left, at the Gryffindor table, he finally caught sight of Finn, who smiled at Kurt and gave him a thumbs up. Puck, who was sitting next to Finn, grinned devilishly. Kurt scowled back at him and Puck laughed.
Kurt took a seat at the end of the table with the other first years who had been sorted into Ravenclaw. He felt sort of like the babysitter but ignored the feeling to watch the rest of the sorting. He clapped a little bit louder than everyone else for Ted Lupin, who was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Once the sorting was over, the Headmistress stood to welcome everyone once more and informed them that (as always, apparently) the Forbidden Forest was strictly off limits to all students. She mentioned one or two more things before declaring the feast officially started and Kurt watched as the plates in the middle of the table all filled with food. His mouth watered at the sight of a vibrantly colored pasta salad and Kurt wasted no time in putting several spoonfuls of it on his plate. McKinley certainly hadn't had food like this.
He was about half way through his meal when the curly haired boy from the train sat down next to him.
"Congratulations on getting Ravenclaw," the boy said and for the first time Kurt noticed the blue tie that indicated the boy was also in Ravenclaw. Kurt was usually better at paying close attention to detail, especially when it came to clothing, but in his defense, he didn't think he had ever seen a pair of hazel eyes quite so distracting - Kurt couldn't make up his mind on whether they were a light brown, a really earthy green, or somewhere stuck between the two.
"I'm Blaine Anderson," the boy - or Blaine, rather - said as he held out his hand, which Kurt gave a light shake.
"Kurt Hummel," Kurt said.
Blaine released Kurt's hand. "So, you're a bit tall for an eleven year old," he teased.
"You noticed that, huh?"
"Yes, but if you're keeping it a secret, I promise not to tell."
Kurt laughed, but didn't say anything. He was out of practice at having civil conversations with other guys. If Blaine had been sneering at him or trying to hex him, Kurt would have been more in his element.
But Blaine continued talking as if he somehow sensed that it was up to him to lead the conversation. "So, I'm going to guess you're either year five or year six."
Kurt rose a brow. "But not year seven?"
"Oh, I refuse to believe that," Blaine smiled, and before Kurt could ask why, Blaine asked, "So, am I right?"
Kurt studied Blaine's handsome face. There was nothing untoward to be found there, but Kurt got the feeling he was missing something. "You have to take a guess at one or the other before I can answer."
"Well, I'm hoping six."
"Why hoping?" Kurt asked before Blaine could change the subject again.
Blaine shrugged. "It would be nice to have a new face in the dorms instead of the ugly mugs I've been forced to look at for the past five years."
"We heard that!" Someone shouted from the middle of the table, but Kurt didn't see who. Blaine laughed without taking his eyes off of Kurt.
Kurt wasn't sure whether there was a deeper meaning behind this conversation. He had never really flirted with anyone before and wasn't sure if that's what this was. Of course, Blaine could be completely straight and was just being friendly. So, Kurt went with a noncommittal, "Is that so?"
"About the rest of the sixth year boys being trolls? Oh, absolutely. Not me, of course. I'm cute."
"You wish, Anderson! My ass is cuter!" someone - again, Kurt didn't see who (Blaine was too distracting) - yelled, which was followed by loud laughter. Kurt ignored it to raise and eyebrow at Blaine.
"Cute, huh?" he asked.
Blaine grinned. "Positively adorable."
Kurt would have to agree. But he wasn't going to say that out loud or anything.
"So, am I right? About you being in year six?"
Blaine actually looked hopeful so Kurt decided to let him off the hook. "You are."
"Alright!" Blaine fist pumped. If he weren't so damn gorgeous, the action probably would have looked completely ridiculous.
"Blainey, baby, stop flirting with the new boy and c'mere and cuddle with me! You left me all by myself and I'm lonely!" Several people laughed.
This time Kurt caught who said it. It was a moderately attractive blonde boy with a carefree grin. Suddenly Kurt felt really awkward. "Oh, is that your…?"
"Boyfriend?" Blaine asked with a laugh. "No way. That's just Jeff. Sometimes he forgets he's straight. Even if he weren't, though, he's not my type."
"So… you're gay, then?" Kurt forced himself to ask.
"Out and proud," Blaine said with a wide smile.
"BLLLLLAAAAAINEYYYYY!" Jeff called and Blaine rolled his eyes. A brown haired boy sitting to Jeff's right scowled and smacked the blonde over the head. "Ow, Thad!"
"Well, I'm gonna get back over there before they embarrass themselves. Or me. Or both." Blaine laughed. "Want to come with?"
Kurt looked at the group of raucous boys Blaine indicated at with a jerk of his thumb. "I think it's safer here for now."
"You're probably right. Well, see you later, Kurt."
Kurt watched Blaine as he stood and walked back over to the boys, shaking his head. "You lot are total prats," he heard Blaine say over the din. They just laughed and Jeff said something in response that made Blaine blush. Thad smacked Jeff upside his head again, but this time the blonde merely cackled loudly and high-fived a black haired boy sitting on his other side. Still red faced, Blaine glanced over at Kurt with a nervous expression on his face before sitting in the seat directly across from Jeff.
Turning back to his plate, Kurt tried his best to focus on his meal. Kurt got about two bites in before Jeff and the black haired boy he had high-fived earlier sat down at either side of him.
"Well, hello there, Kurtsie," Jeff grinned. "Is it alright if I call you Kurtsie?"
"Of course it is!" the black haired boy said as he threw an arm around Kurt's shoulders.
"He loves it. Don't you, Kurtsie?"
Kurt shrugged the boy off. "Actually, no, I don't. And no, it is not alright."
Jeff sighed. "Fine, fine. Kill our fun. Anyway, Blaine has only just informed us that you will be joining our little family."
"So, we wanted to welcome you properly and introduce ourselves since Blaine is a rude meanie and tried to keep us away from you. I'm Nicholas James Duval."
"Jeffery Mark Sterling." Jeff said. "But you should call him Nick," he said, pointing at Nick.
"And him Jeff."
"It's simpler that way."
Nick grinned happily, a gleeful look in his eyes. "You'll love us," he told Kurt.
"Everybody does, of course."
"And if there's anything you should need-" Nick began.
"Information about which girls are up for grabs-" Jeff continued.
"Or which ones you should avoid at all costs if you don't want your bits bitten off-"
"Which ones you're going to want to bite your bits off-"
"Please don't hesitate to ask," Nick finished.
"I'm gay," Kurt informed them.
"Did you hear that, Blaine?" Jeff yelled up the table. "Our new boy likes him some hot and sexy man love!"
"Told you we would find out!"
Kurt looked over at Blaine, who had his face buried in his hands.
"You're welcome!" Jeff called.
Nick turned back to Kurt. "If it's boys you're after, we can recommend Blaine."
"He's dapper," Jeff said. "Oh! And pocket sized!"
"But if curly headed elves who wear too much hair gel aren't your thing, there's Brandon from Gryffindor."
"Or Ethan White. Slytherin."
"Or Thad. He belongs to us."
"Or-" Jeff snapped his mouth shut, effectively cutting himself off. He shot Nick a stern look. "He absolutely cannot have Thad." Jeff turned to glare at Kurt. "You absolutely cannot have Thad."
"Why not?" Nick asked. "Thad's gay."
Jeff scoffed. "Thad's mine."
"You're straight," Nick pointed out.
"No, I'm Thadsexual."
"Not two minutes ago you said you were Blainesexual."
"That was then. This is now."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Fine, Thad is off limits."
Jeff sniffed in Kurt's direction. "And you would do well to remember it."
"Because Jeff is an idiot."
Jeff rounded on Nick. "Better an idiot than a wanker."
"Better a wanker than a fuck wit."
"Better - Thad!" Jeff said happily as he turned in his seat. Thad stood behind them with a displeased look on his face.
"What is the matter with you two?" Thad demanded, glaring at Jeff and Nick, who both turned to look at each other and shrug innocently. Thad looked at Kurt. "Please don't mind them. They are a special kind of idiot," he said. "I'm Thad Hardwood."
Nick snickered. "Hardwood."
Both Kurt and Thad ignored him.
"Kurt Hummel," Kurt introduced himself, thankful for someone to talk to who didn't make his head spin. Listening to Nick and Jeff made him feel like he was under the influence of… something.
"Nice to meet you," Thad said, nodding cordially to Kurt. He seemed very polite, like Blaine, but Thad lacked Blaine's jovial personality. That wasn't to say Thad was unpleasant, though. Just reserved.
"You too," Kurt said with a smile. "So, do these two have an off switch?" Kurt asked, referring to Jeff and Nick.
"Jeff, Nick. Go away."
Jeff and Nick instantly stopped throwing bits of Kurt's salad at one another to look at Thad as if he had just suggested they go find some really cute kittens to kick.
"But we're making friends with our new Baby Gay," Nick protested. Kurt stared at him.
"No, you're bothering him," Thad said. "So get up. Both of you."
Both boys let out identical, put upon sighs and slowly stood up and Kurt observed that they were different in terms of height. Jeff was tall, possibly six foot and stood about three inches taller than Nick, who looked as if he was the same height as Thad.
"See you later!" Jeff called waggling his fingers as Thad pushed both him and Nick away from Kurt and back to the middle of the table.
Kurt turned back to his disheveled plate with a sigh. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
So… thoughts?
I would love to hear them!
-Cerez