A/N - I do not own any characters from the Glee universe or Harry Potter universe. All rights go to their respective creators.
Briskly ascending the entrance hall stairs, Kurt Hummel adjusted his Hogwart's robe to fit his shoulders more comfortably. He absolutely could not believe he was late to the opening ceremony in the dining hall. He had fallen asleep on the train, and his 'friends' had failed to awaken him. There would indeed be hell to pay when he arrived in the Great Hall. Hanging a right at the top of the stairs, he picked up speed.
He felt the flap of a wing graze his head, likely sweeping his hair out of place. Glancing towards the feathery figure he saw an owl flying out one of he huge windows and towards the Hogwart's Owlery. From the large spot of white on the owl's belly, Kurt recognized it as his own owl, Pavarotti. The moonlight shined on his owl, enhancing the different colors of his feathers. Kurt smiled to himself, the owl was happy to be back as well. He briefly wondered to himself if anyone else had ever been 'happy' to be back at school…
In the midst of his march, Kurt shot a look down at his open robe, cringing at his house colors. As proud as he was to be in Hufflepuff, he hated how badly its colors clashed. The black cloth and yellow rims made him feel like a bumble bee. Kurt hid his more fashionable clothes under his uniform, which was against the rules. But if fashion is a crime, then the school faculty can throw him in the dungeons!
When Kurt was chosen by the sorting hat to be in Hufflepuff his first year, he had thought this would be another reason to be made fun of. In time, he learned that his fellow housemates had his back. He was part of a network of people that supported him when he began wearing clothes that the average wizard did not wear, when he came out gay last year, or even when his voice had failed to drop no more than half an octave throughout puberty. In a nutshell, there were friends that would always be there for him.
Spotting filch walking down the opposite end of the hall, Kurt quickly wrapped his robe around him. Kurt and filch have had several falling-outs in the past, over his 'inability to follow uniform guidelines', as filch would say to the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall. It would suffice to say they had a deep loathing for one another. As Kurt expected, filch had a snarky comment to say to him.
"Ne'er do well…", filch spat at him. Kurt could not help but roll his eyes at the pure unoriginality of the insult. Kurt was a great student, who stayed out of trouble, and had an eye for fashion.
"Fashion dictator.", Kurt quickly countered, not giving the nasty man a glance. Ignoring filch's likely juvenile retort, he swiftly trudged on, leaving him to mop, or whatever he does around the castle. He had no time to get into another name-calling war with filch, especially this soon in the year.
Turning what seemed like the hundredth corner, Kurt increased his pace, if at all possible. The many characters in the paintings on the wall gasped as Kurt sped by them. Kurt felt so rushed, he was unable to even admire his school.
"This will be so embarrassing, showing up in the middle of the opening ceremony…", Kurt muttered to himself. The opening ceremony tends to be very flashy, floating candles light up the room, food and sparkling silverware, every student and faculty in the school is in one place at one time. It might be possible that the Headmistress would not notice him… Deep in his gut, Kurt felt the Headmistress would definitely notice.
"Maybe I can sneak insi-", in mid-sentence, Kurt was suddenly interrupted, managing to trip over his own feet. Making a not-so-graceful dive, with his hand taking the blunt of the blow, Kurt ended up sprawled out in the middle of the corridor.
"Damnit!", Kurt cursed, through gritted teeth. Praying his fall wasn't noticed, he quickly climbed from the ground and began wiping dirt off his robes. Just because he looks like a bumble bee, doesn't mean he has to be a dirty bumble bee.
"Nice fall, Hufflepuff.", came a condescending voice. Kurt quickly spun on his heel, ignoring the throbbing pain in his wrist, to give his best bitch face to the unknown person. Eventually his glare came across a man. He looked a little older than him, and was calmly leaning against the window to the courtyard. The fact that the man was smirking at Kurt's swan dive infuriated him. Kurt recognized him from around the castle, but nothing more. Kurt had been so focused on his journey to the Great Hall, he had been totally oblivious to the man. In Kurt's defense, he was slightly hidden in the shadows.
"First, my name's Kurt, not Hufflepuff.", Kurt stated angrily, running his eyes up and down the slightly shorter man. From the color of his robes, Kurt could see he was from the house of Slytherin. The man had dark, untamed curly hair, olive skin, and amber eyes. The dark rings under his eyes enhanced his skin. His school uniform was messily thrown on, and unbuttoned at the top, with his robe wide open… filch would have a stroke. All in all, he was pretty damn attractive… For a slytherin. Although, as attractive as he was, Kurt's stance didn't falter.
Second, shouldn't you be at the ceremony.", Kurt states, rather than asked. "It started half an hour ago, and apart from the likes of you, I am not trying to skip it." Kurt was angry. He had a hurt wrist, he was embarrassed from his fall, and he couldn't stop blushing. Kurt felt like he had no control of the situation at hand.
The unknown student pushed himself from where he was leaning, and lazily strolled towards Kurt. The way the man's eyes pierced into Kurt made him shift awkwardly.
"The likes of me, eh?", He spoke, rather menacingly. "And tell me… Kurt…", he put emphasis on Kurt's name, causing Kurt himself to take a step back. Kurt's heart felt like it would thump right out of his chest, he was nervous about the situation, but he refused to let it show in his facial expression.
"What is that supposed to mean?", The slytherin snapped. "I've been to six ceremonies, I don't see a problem with missing my last one.", he explained with a smirk. Kurt was unimpressed with is cavalier attitude.
"Hufflepuff, you have a bad case of gay face, don't you?", The man continued rather boldly. He ran his eyes up and down Kurt's figure, bluntly checking him out, it made Kurt want to hide. He had never been looked at like that like he was a piece of meat. Kurt was confused if the Slytherin student was gay, or just making fun of him.
Glancing down at Kurt's already bruised wrist, the man stepped even closer (If at all possible) and gently grabbed Kurt's wrist, effectively popping his personal bubble. The man smelled wonderful, like peppermint and… Cigarettes? Quickly, Kurt reprimanded himself for thinking such thoughts on the crude student. Especially a student whose name he still did not know.
"Excuse you!", Kurt started, attempting to take a step back, but was stopped by a hand being placed on the small of his back. The man's touch brought goosebumps to his skin, Kurt needed to get out of there.
"Calm down, Hufflepuff…", the Slytherin student whispered, bringing Kurt's aching wrist to his lips. "Why go to the opening ceremony? I know a cozy little broom closet around the corner we can got to have some fun. I can massage your hand, among other things.", the man continued. The man's light facial hair scratched the back of Kurt's hands as he glanced up into Kurt's eyes.
Kurt's mouth dropped wide open, Who on Earth does he think he is? Kurt saw red… This man had been rude, presumptuous, and harassing Kurt... A voice in the back of Kurt's head screamed, 'This is not who you are anymore!'
At that moment, Kurt did the bravest thing he had ever done in his life. Taking his hand, he quickly ripped it from his assailant's grip and promptly smashed it into the man's mouth. The strike felt solid, and it made Kurt's hand oly hurt that much more.
"Shit!", the man roared. "You damn half-blood!", holding his wounded mouth, he took a few steps back. The slur made him cringe, but this was no time to falter. Kurt was no longer a scared fourth year student, he had grown as a person and was not taking any steps back.
Kurt finally regained his attitude, and quickly told the Slytherin student "I don't take kindly to being mocked for being gay, and I don't screw around in broom closets. Especially with people I haven't known for more than three minutes. Next time you want to kiss someone, try introducing yourself in a more presentable manner, rather than as a conceited ass.", with the sensation of a badass, Kurt quickly turned in a circle, feeling his robes flap out to enunciate his exit. Making his point, Kurt continued his pace to the Great Hall, leaving the amber eyed man behind him. That was not Hufflepuff representing at all, he thought glumly. But it had to be done, Slytherin students have always believed that since they are pure bloods, that it made them wizarding royalty. Thereby, they believed they were entitled to anything at Hogwarts. The idea of it all made Kurt sick, that man was so infuriating, he thought to himself. Putting Slytherin and the bullying man behind him once and for all, he silently hoped that would be the last time he dealt with the arrogant student.
Finally arriving at the Great Hall, Kurt peered into the giant room. As expected, the room was absolutely magnificent. Ghosts and candles hovered above the house tables. Several of the first year students kept throwing their hands up to try to feel one of the ghosts, much to their displeasure. The ceiling was a beautiful, starry night. Kurt enjoyed taking in the breathtaking sight.
The sorting ceremony had finished, and Professor McGonagall was in the middle of her speech on how she hopes, "Students will enjoy their year, but will uphold their academic responsibilities." Kurt silently willed her not to notice him sneaking inside. Hugging the wall tightly, Kurt began to make his way to his house's table.
Running his eyes down the Hufflepuff table, Kurt kept an eye out for his group of friends. After finding the abandoning culprit, Kurt kept his eyes trained on her, Mercedes Jones. He hoped if he made bug eyes at her long enough he would manage to catch her attention. After a few minutes of staring, he finally caught her attention, he glared at her. By the way way she avoided his glare, Mercedes knew exactly what he signaled.
'You left me on the train.', he silently told her. She awkwardly continued to avoid his glare. Then she looked at Kurt, then quickly glanced at a certain member at the Griffindor table. Kurt's jaw dropped to the floor, he knew exactly what the young witch was trying to tell him.
'Sam and I were having such a great talk, the fact that you were asleep just slipped my mind!', her eyes pleaded for forgiveness. Before he had the chance to mentally scold her, a voice thundered across the Great Hall. Kurt knew in an instant he had been busted by the Headmistress.
"How wonderful for you to arrive at the school's opening ceremony, Mister Hummel! Mister Anderson will be arriving shortly, I presume?", Professor McGonagall announced, rather sternly. As much as Kurt wanted to sink into the ancient brick he was pressed against, he found the pride to ignore the giggles and laughs floating over from the Slytherin table.
On cue, Kurt's Slytherin friend, Anderson, he guessed, sauntered into the room, and took a seat at the Slytherin table. Not before giving Kurt a dirty look, of course.
Kurt quickly walked to his house table, and sat amongst his friends. He could feel Anderson's glare follow him to his seat. Kurt couldn't help but feel satisfied at the sight of Anderson's swollen lip. Kurt wasn't exactly proud of the fact he had punched someone… But he wasn't all that ashamed of it either. The infuriating man had it coming regardless! Helga Hufflepuff forgive me, Kurt silently pleaded.
When the two students had arrived at their seats, Professor McGonagall continued her speech. Forgetting the fact that he was abandoned on the train, Kurt turned to Mercedes and quietly whispered to her.
"Do you know who that guy is? The one who followed me into the Great Hall?", Kurt asked quietly, looking towards the Slytherin table. In truth, he had no idea why he even cared about the Slytherin man. If he was indeed gay, he probably only wanted to get to know Kurt long enough to get into his pants.. Following Kurt's gaze, Mercedes turned towards the Slytherin table to locate the amber eyed man.
"The guy with the curly hair?", Mercedes finally asked after staring at him for a few seconds.
"Yes!", Kurt hissed. Why was she still staring at him?
"The guy that's been lookin at you since you sat down?", she continued. Kurt felt his entire face blanch. Kurt nonchalantly turned around to glance at the Slytherin table, only to find Anderson's amber colored eyes staring into his soul.
"Yes! Quit staring, he noticed!", Kurt hissed again, quickly turning away from the Slytherin table. Kurt huffed when Mercedes continued to stare at Anderson. Slapping Mercedes hand, he finally pulled her attention away from the Slytherin table.
"I've seen him around school, but I've never taken classes with him.", Kurt whispered to his friend.
"What's so special about him? Do you have a crush, boo?", Mercedes teased, with a grin. It took everything in Kurt's will to not roll his eyes at her accusation. Does Kurt have a crush on him? Never in a million years, Kurt thought to himself.
"Not at all.", Kurt whispered dryly. He just… Tried to get me to make out with him in a broom closet…", Kurt admitted. Mercedes suddenly squealed VERY loudly. Loud enough that Professor McGonagall paused her speech for a second time.
"Miss Jones! Please be quiet!", Professor McGonagall snapped. Then she continued in her never-ending opening speech.
The Headmistress was very stern; however, Kurt couldn't help but adore the woman. He had spent much of his time with her during his first year helping organize her extremely cluttered office. By doing that he was able to get to know the stern woman on a more personal level. She seemed to like him as well, she had even rose up to help him when he had issues with the other students at Hogwarts. The Slytherin students were a particular bother that she had helped him with.
"You're being very rude Mercedes.", a voice hissed from the Ravenclaw table. Mercedes eyes flew open at the sound of the voice. Oh dear, looks like I'm going to have to referee another diva off, Kurt thought to himself.
"Shut the hell up, Berry.", Mercedes hissed back. Turning back she continued her hushed conversation with Kurt. Well, I suppose that wasn't too bad, Kurt hummed.
"I can't believe you two snogged in a broom closet!", she 'whispered' loud enough to make the other Hufflepuff members give him a look of shock. Kurt rolled his eyes. Five going on six years of being a student at Hogwarts, and the word 'snog' still sounds absolutely ridiculous to him.
"No.", Kurt growled, "he wanted to, but I refused… And punched him." Mercedes jaw dropped. Kurt groaned at her response. "Sorry 'Cedes, but I'm not going to be made fun of or treated like I'm easy. Just tell me about him."
Giggling, mercedes finally opened up. "Well, I've had a couple classes with him, his name is Blaine Anderson." Kurt rolled that name around in his head a few times, 'Blaine Anderson', got it.
"Go on.", Kurt whispered.
"I've also heard he is from America, just like you.", she whispered. Kurt was taken off guard, it was extremely surprising that he wasn't the only student that came from a different country. Kurt was, in a sense, a foreign exchange student. He had received his letter in Lima, Ohio when he was eleven. Lord help the owl that flew across the ocean to deliver it. Kurt's mother, Elizabeth, was a witch, who came from Scotland. Elizabeth had gone to Hogwarts, and after finishing her seventh year, had left for America. In America she had met Burt Hummel, a muggle who she fell in love with, and had a child with, Kurt. Unfortunately, a number of years ago Elizabeth passed away… This event left the duo heartbroken. Kurt understood how hard his father worked for him, and to understand the wizarding world, but Kurt wishes he could help him more.
Mercedes continued, "From what I've heard, he is a huge player. So I think you should stay away from him, Kurt." Kurt couldn't believe his ears.
"Don't worry 'Cedes, I'm not going to have my heart stomped on, if he even is gay." Kurt scoffed. Kurt and Mercedes glanced one final time towards Blaine, he was still glaring in Kurt's direction.
"He is damn hot though.", Mercedes whispered, grinning at Kurt. Kurt rolled his eyes, doing his best to ignore the redness creeping onto his cheeks, and began to focus on Professor McGonagall's long ass speech. That woman had a pair of lungs on her, to have this ability to talk so long. After twenty or so minutes, the Headmistress completed her speech, and dismissed her students to the dormitories.
Kurt rushed down the large corridor, along with the many other Hufflepuff members, eager to arrive at the dormitories. Their entrance was located near the kitchens, making their dormitory always smell like a variety of delicious pastries. Thank Helga Hufflepuff for her exquisite common room placement!
The gaggle of Hufflepuffs continued their journey to the kitchens. Each member more eager than the next to be the one to tap the password into the barrels, thus opening the secret door to home.
Trailing behind the group, Kurt had long since lost sight of his friend, Mercedes. He assumed she was either leading the group of Hufflepuffs or had snuck off to spend time with Sam. That girl will surely be the death of me one day, Kurt thought to himself, shaking his head. But in all honesty, if Kurt had someone interested, he would probably blow off his friends from time to time.
Kurt was then thrown out of his thoughts, when a large mass collided with him, throwing him into the brick wall. For a second time that day, Kurt found himself on the ground. A dull pain erupted onto his shoulder from where he connected with the wall. Wonderful, I'm going to have to cover up bruises again this year. Being shoved into the wall was nothing new for Kurt, it often left his torso and arms covered in dark purple bruise. He had fought back when he was a fourth year, but it had not added up to much in the end. Kurt had too much pride to whine about the bruises these days. Now, he simply picks himself up, shakes off the dust and continues about himself.
"Son of a bitch…", Kurt groaned. Why does this still happen? Kurt finally gazed up into the eyes of his assailant. Of course. Dave Karofsky glared back at him, as he continued his own trek towards the Slytherin dungeons. He must have take a long detour, just to make Kurt's life hell.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts, you fag.", Karofsky sneered, as he strode down the opposite direction of the corridor. Karofsky felt that it was his personal duty to torture Kurt. He had been doing it since the day they met. Karofsky felt that it was his personal duty to torture Kurt. He had been doing it since the day they met. Karofsky had a variety of excuses, Kurt was a half-blood, Kurt was a Hufflepuff, Kurt was gay. The list went on and on… From what Kurt could gather, Karofsky didn't like him, and until Kurt was bigger than him, Karofsky would continue to bully him.
Cringing, Kurt climbed to his feet. Well, looks like his clothes are just going to be dirty today. His house members had already disappeared around the corner, no doubt not realizing their friend was being harassed behind them. But Kurt was not going to complain, he was stronger than that and could take whatever Karofsky threw his way. Kurt was no longer a porcelain doll, as he had been in his earlier years.
Later that night, Kurt had finally decided to turn in. As he got comfortable in his bed he couldn't help but wonder how the rest of the year would turn out… Blainless, hopefully. He thought grimly.
But Kurt was a glass half full kind of guy. He rolled himself over and assured himself that the coming year would be great. Eventually, Kurt passed out. Sleeping with happy thoughts of his friends, the school, magic, and the adventures that await him this year at school.