Author's Notes: As a big fan of both Harry Potter and Faberry, my main focus in writing this fic (apart from the Faberry of course) was to stay true to both universes. I hope I managed to do that and in turn pleased both sets of fans. PS: This is next gen Hogwarts. A few hints should give that away. ;)

Chapter One:

Prefect's Bathroom

Herbology was very slowly, very surely becoming Rachel Berry's least favourite lesson. The work wasn't a problem, of course. Professor Longbottom was an excellent teacher and Rachel was more than capable of completing both the written and practical assignments. It was more the seating arrangements, really.

Rachel was well aware that most houses used to, and sometimes still did, sit according to their houses in lessons; mostly because their friends were in the same houses as them. But Professor Longbottom explained that he never liked that in his time at Hogwarts, and he drew up a plan wherein at least one student rom each house sat on one table.

Usually, Rachel wouldn't mind. It seemed a respectable enough idea. Except she was sat on the worst possible table. And as she looked at the group of people surrounding her, she wondered why house discrimination was ever relevant. The houses didn't matter at all, in Rachel's position. She herself was a Slytherin. The 'evil' house, per say. But she was only placed in the house of the Serpent because she was determined. She wasn't cruel, bullying or deceiving.

However, as she looked at the group of people on her table, Rachel was stunned at how they weren't all Slytherins. Santana Lopez was a Slytherin. That was understandable. She was cruel, bullying and deceiving. Her favourite thing to do was hex and curse everybody – mostly Rachel – from behind in the corridors. Brittany Pierce, a Hufflepuff, was Santana's best friend and partner in crime. This was unbelievable to Rachel. Weren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be nice? She often threw insults at Rachel, which didn't actually make any sense because she wasn't the brightest Niffler in the pack, but they sent the rest of the popular group into fits of laughter. There was Noah Puckerman a Gryffindor (who in all honesty only had one brave trait: his hair), who sat beside Rachel, and constantly made jabs at her appearance. He put her down, distracted her with extremely sexual comments and took her flustered state as an opportunity to mess her work up.

And then.. And then there was Quinn Fabray. Ravenclaw. Blonde, beautiful, loved by everybody. Rachel was her number one target. Rachel had actually tried to approach her once, and talk out whatever problems they had, only to be fired at with the Levicorpus jinx by Quinn. She was dangling there by her ankle for nine minutes before the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team entered to take pictures of her. Another five minutes of hanging upside down before Rachel's best friend, Kurt Hummel, entered – and took Rachel down with the counter curse.

The next day, the school's newspaper had a full moving picture of Rachel hanging there, skirt up to her ribs and underwear on full show; covering the front page. It was safe to say Quinn Fabray hated her. Rachel came back to reality when Professor Longbottom dismissed the class and everybody started to pack up. She started to leave, when, a voice called out from behind her.

"Hey, Berry. Think fast!"

Before she had a chance to react, a heavy object hit her square in the chest and a putrid smell filled the room. "Noah!" Rachel shouted, stomping her foot and dropping her books.

"Dungbombs suit you, Berry," Santana added as she purposely knocked into Rachel on her way out. Kurt made his way across the now-empty classroom to take Rachel by the arm.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's get you cleaned up."

–

Kurt walked Rachel to the nearest girl's bathrooms, locking the door behind them and pointing her to a shower. "Leave your clothes out hear and I'll wash them." He said. A few minutes passed and Rachel could hear Kurt outside, muttering incantations. "Scourgify. Scourgify."

"Kurt?" She asked, wrestling with a clump in her hair. "Can you get this piece of dungbomb out of my hair?" She could have sworn she heard Kurt blushing. "Rachel, you know I have no desire whatsoever to see you or any girl naked. I'll throw you your wand."

Rachel rolled her eyes. She caught the wand Kurt threw over the shower wall, scourgified her hair and accioed her now clean clothes. "Thanks," she said, smiling gratefully at Kurt as she dried her hair with her wand.

"What class have you got now, dungbomb queen?" Kurt asked, looking at his own timetable. "Ancient Runes." Rachel replied, picking her bag up off of the floor. "Why? Where are you?" She saw the gleam in Kurt's eye and nudged him playfully. "Potions with Blaine Anderson? You devil!"

She ran out of the bathroom, closely followed by Kurt. "Oh, calm yourself, Rachel. He's just a friend who I happen to like. It doesn't mean he's interested." Rachel grinned, slowing down as she approached the junction in corridors where the two would split. She walked backwards through the crowd, waving a hand at Kurt and calling, "Whatever. Go get that honey badger!"

Bang.

Rachel collided with a solid figure and whipped around. She'd walked straight into Quinn Fabray's back. Quinn opened her mouth to tear Rachel down when their Professor opened the classroom door and called them inside. This was going to be a long, long day.

–

After Ancient Runes, Rachel headed to her last class of the day. It was Friday, so they finished early. She couldn't wait to just put her things away in her dormitory and spend a few hours scrubbing the remaining dungbomb off of her in the Prefect's bathroom. Being Head Girl and Prefect did have it's advantages. Divination was as woolly as ever, but Rachel gave it her undivided attention for the sake of getting Outstandings in all of her subjects.

The class climbed down the ladder after being dismissed, and started her walk to her dormitory when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, bracing herself for another attack. "Come on, Puckerman, Lopez. Give it all you've got." She said, eyes squeezed shut. "Uh..." Rachel opened her eyes to see Hufflepuff, Sam Evans looking concerned and confused. "Oh! Sam. Hello." Rachel smiled. She didn't know Sam extremely well, but the few times they had talked were pleasant enough. "Can I help you with something?" Sam blushed. "I'm, uh, sorry to stop you from doing whatever you're doing, Rachel. I just wanted to say, I saw what Quinn and Puckerman did to you earlier on, after Herbology. And I feel bad for not saying something, but if you need someone to talk to – you can count on me."

He smiled bashfully. "Thank you, Sam." The two parted ways and Rachel headed up to her dormitory. On the way, as she passed through the common room, Santana tripped her up; much to the amusement of Jesse St. James. Rachel held her head up high, and turned back to spit out; "I do hope you're using some form of contraception charm, Santana. It would be such a shame to see your family's reaction if you were pregnant." A curse narrowly missed her back as she darted up the spiral staircase to the girl's dormitories.

–

Rachel spent the next six to seven hours completing all of her coursework, of course allowing time to go down to dinner with Kurt. She finished the homework in the common room after dinner rather than on her bed, as jinxes and protective charms prevented Kurt from entering her dormitory.

"So," Rachel said, moving the finished pile of work to one side. "Tell me about honey badger Blaine." Kurt blushed and Rachel giggled. "We're not together, Rae. I just enjoy his company, that's all." As if on cue, Kurt's screech owl pecked at the window pane until he opened it and took the small roll of parchment. His eyes widened and an unmistakable grin broke out on his face.

"Let me see!" Rachel squealed, yanking the parchment from her best friend's hands and reading it aloud. "Dear Kurt, I thought this over in my head and I'd very much like it if you could meet me in the grounds at midnight. I know it's a lot to ask with Filch around, but I'd like to talk to you. RSVP with your owl. Blaine. PS. Please ask Rachel to stop calling me honey badger when she thinks I can't hear her. My table is right next to yours."

Kurt smiled even wider and Rachel hugged him, before practically attacking him with her quill. "Respond! You heard the honey badger!" She packed up her books and slid them under an armchair. "I'm going to take a well deserved bath. Good luck on your date." She was halfway out of the common room when Kurt called, "It is NOT a date!"

Rachel took a long walk to the Prefect's bathroom. Through secret passages in walls that were really doors, behind tapestry's and around the moving staircases. She eventually found herself face to face with the portrait guarding the bathroom and spoke the password. "Oddment." The portrait swung outwards, allowing her access.

The Prefect's bathroom was the highlight of being a Prefect and Head Girl for Rachel. The different coloured waters with different scents, all mixed into a bath the size of a small swimming pool made it all the more appealing to the Slytherin girl. She was halfway through taking her robes off when a voice in the corner coughed loudly.

"Wow, Berry. Can't seem to get enough of me, can you?"

"I – Quinn! I didn't know you were in here! I'm so sorry, let me just get my things -"

"Don't sweat it, Man Hands. I'm not naked. Though, I'd say you're halfway there."

Rachel blushed scarlet, pulling her robes back on.

"What are you doing here, Quinn?"

"Reading."

"Wh-.. Reading? In a bathroom?"

"It's peaceful. And isolated. At least, it was."

"Well, why aren't you reading in the grounds, or in your dormitory? A bathroom is an extremely strange place to read, Quinn."

"Because Filch will most likely catch me, and even if he doesn't, I'll freeze to death. It's the middle of winter and we're in Scotland. Everybody in my dormitory snores. I'll be sent back to bed if I'm caught in the corridors. So, I'm reading in a warm, previously empty bathroom which I have Head Girl rights to use. Sue me if I wanted a little peace from everything."

Rachel stared at the shadowed corner Quinn was in and bit her lip.

"Straining the eyes isn't healthy."

"Excuse me?"

"Reading in the dark like that. You'll strain your eyes and damage them. Try Lumos. Or a lamp."

Rachel heard Quinn laugh. "You're funny, Rachel Berry."

"Should I run now?"

"Why would you need to run?"

"Because you're Quinn Fabray.. And I'm Rachel Berry."

"I'm more of a person than the girl who hangs around with Santana and Brittany, you know."

"I know. You're the person that strains her eyes reading in dark bathrooms and only announces herself when somebody is half naked."

Quinn laughed again. "Well, it's midnight. I better be heading to bed."

"Oh. Yeah. Goodnight, Quinn."

"Goodnight, Rachel. Enjoy your bath, by the way."

Quinn left, and Rachel stared dumbfounded at the door.

Did that actually just happen?

Holy Mandrakes.