Oh wow thank you guys so much! I think that's the most reviews I've ever gotten on the first chapter of a multichapter fic. I'm glad you guys like it so far. :D And I hope you like this next part as well. (;

I have taken all suggestions sent to me into consideration, so hopefully you will see some of them pop up in future parts, if not this one. If you have PM enabled, I replied to you. (:

Also, since it's April Fools Day, happy birthday to Fred and George Weasley. They've always been my favorites. And I love them. So happy birthday to those two silly boys.

Okay I'll stop rambling now. Here's the update. (:


you cut me down a tree and brought it back to me
and that's what made me see where i was going wrong
you put me on a shelf and kept me for yourself
i can only blame myself
you can only blame me

ii.

The first thing Rachel notices when Finn and Noah join her, Tina, and Mercedes in their compartment is that Finn's grown a few inches over the summer, becoming impossibly lankier. She wonders if she looks any different to him.

Finn smiles at her as he and Noah take seats opposite the girls.

"Ladies," Noah greets with a wink. Tina giggles as Mercedes and Rachel roll their eyes.

"Noah," Rachel acknowledges.

"I've told you, it's Puck," Noah grumbles.

"And I've told you—"

"So how was your summer, Rach?" Finn breaks in.

"It was quite pleasant," Rachel says. "My dads and I mostly spent our time at our country home. It was lovely, really… but I'm glad to be back at school." She clears her throat. "How was your summer, Finn?"

He shrugs. "Not too exciting. I mostly hung out with my mom."

Noah coughs loudly. Rachel glares at him.

"I mean, I'm glad to be back at school, too," Finn finishes.

Noah rolls his eyes.

"So how was your summer, Tina?" Mercedes asks.

Tina launches into a detailed story of how her Muggle parents took her to New York over the summer (which Rachel finds fascinating – New York sounds amazing). Rachel catches Finn's eye and smiles at him. He grins back.

(f&r-f&r-f&r)

Rachel doesn't know what to expect when she walks into Potions on the first day of her second year. Professor Slughorn officially retired the year before, and the new teacher seems a little hard to read. She takes a seat at a table with Tina, and Mercedes and a small boy named Kurt sit behind them.

The teacher turns around, sweeping her straight black hair out of her face. "Hello, class. I am Professor Parkinson."

"Hello, Professor Parkinson," the class chants back.

She smiles at them sweetly. "Would you kindly stand up so I can assign you your tablemate?"

A collective groan circulates around the room.

"Well?" Professor Parkinson snaps.

Chairs scuff the floor as everyone pushes them back to stand up. Rachel's heart beats erractically. She really hates the fact that this is the one class they share with the Slytherins.

"Zizes, Puckerman," Professor Parkinson announces, pointing to the first table. Noah rolls his eyes and heads up to the front of the room, taking the seat next to a heavy set Slytherin girl with glasses. She smiles at him. He wrinkles his nose.

"Cohen-Chang, Hummel."

Tina and Kurt smile in relief at each other before sitting down at their table.

"Adams, Jones." Mercedes shares a look with Rachel as she sits down next to Azimio. Rachel makes a sympathetic face back, but she can't help but feel relief that at least she doesn't have to sit next to him.

"Nicholson, Evans."

Professor Parkinson heads back up to the front of the room and points to the desk closest to the board. "Hudson, Berry."

Rachel can't believe her luck. She gets to be partners with Finn. She grins at him as she sits down. He smiles back.

"Some luck, huh?" he says.

She nods. "How do you feel about your potion making abilities?"

He makes a face. "Uh, not so good."

She giggles. "Well, I'll be sure to help you."

"I hope you've introduced yourself to your new tablemate," Professor Parkinson says now that she's done seating everyone, "because you have just met your partner for the entire year."

"You've got to be kidding me," Noah mutters.

"I am not kidding, Mr. Puckerman," Professor Parkinson says, her eyes flashing. "I suggest you get to know Ms. Zises a little better." Noah doesn't reply. "Now, today we're going to start on some simple Swelling Solutions, so if you could open your books and peruse the recipe before we begin…"

Rachel gets out her book feeling quite bubbly. She feels like this year is going to be totally awesome.

(f&r-f&r-f&r)

Quidditch tryouts take place on a rainy Saturday October morning. Rachel promised Finn she'd be there to watch him try out, so she drags Tina down to the pitch right after breakfast.

Rachel performs a simple waterproofing spell on her and Tina's clothes and hair as they settle into the stands.

"We're the only ones here," Tina grumbles.

"I promised Finn," Rachel reminds her.

Tina doesn't answer. Rachel knows she's probably wishing she had gone to the library with Mercedes instead. She peers out into the rain, and she spots Finn, broomstick slung over his shoulder. A tall sixth year with curly brown hair seems to be giving instructions, and his voice floats over to the stands through the torrential downpour.

"—keepers will try out now, so if you guys would go ahead and fly up to the posts, that'd be great."

Rachel sees Finn kick off from the ground along with two other boys, both of whom seem older than him. She feels her heart race with anticipation.

The three boys each take a hoop as the potential candidates for chasers attempt to score. Rachel's pleased to see that Finn doesn't let the Quaffle get through his assigned hoop at all while the other boys have a few slip-ups.

The captain then announces that the individual trials will commence, and Rachel notices that Finn looks slightly sick. He glances over at her, and she gives him a big grin and a thumbs up. He'll do great; she knows it. He smiles slightly.

The first boy only misses one save, sent his way by a mean looking girl with long black hair. The second boy misses three out of five. Then it's Finn's turn.

"Can you let go of my arm?" Tina whispers. "Your fingernails hurt, Rach."

"Sorry," Rachel mutters, letting go. She hadn't even realized she was gripping Tina so tightly.

Finn saves the first one easily, and Rachel starts to breathe a little easier. He flies through his second, third, fourth saves perfectly. Finn squares his jaw as the same girl who tripped up the first applicant heads toward the posts, quaffle in hand, and Rachel holds her breath. The girl fakes left, throws back her arm, and the Quaffle goes sailing toward the far right goal post. Rachel's sure it's out of Finn's reach – there's no way he'll save it in time – but suddenly he's there and grabbing it out of the air.

Rachel grins as Finn pumps his fist in the air in triumph.

"Congratulations," the captain says. "Looks like we've found our new keeper. What did you say your name was?"

"Finn," Finn replies. "Finn Hudson."

The captain grins. "Nice to have you aboard, Finn. Quick pair of hands you've got there. I'm Will, by the way, Will Schuester."

Finn grins.

"Now I need anyone trying out for beater to step forward…"

"Can we go now?" Tina asks. "I think your waterproofing spell is starting to wear off…"

"Alright," Rachel sighs, standing up. She catches Finn's eye one last time and grins at him. He gives her a thumbs up.

"Maybe we should stay to watch Noah…"

"No," Tina buts in. "You don't even really like Noah. And I need to study for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Rachel agrees and walks with Tina back to the castle.

(f&r-f&r-f&r)

"So can I borrow your notes over memory potions?" Finn asks as he and Rachel exit the dungeon where their Potions class is held. It's March now, and it's starting to feel like spring. "I've been really busy with Quidditch lately, and I would ask Puck, but he has Quidditch, too, plus I doubt he would actually take notes, y'know."

She nods. "Yeah, sure. I'll give them to you when we get back to the common room."

He grins. "Awesome. Hey, are you coming to the match on Saturday? We're gonna pummel Hufflepuff."

"Wouldn't miss it," she tells him, smiling.

"Are you Rachel Berry?"

Rachel and Finn stop as a small bespectacled boy with extremely poofy, curly, light brown hair steps into their path.

"Yes," she says hesitantly.

"I heard you were tutoring kids in Potions," he says, pushing up his glasses. "And I was just wondering if you could help me out."

Rachel exchanges a look with Finn. "I'm sorry, I'm actually not, I don't know where you heard that…"

"You just told this guy you'd help him out with his Potions," the boy points out.

"She's my Potions partner," Finn informs him. "And who are you, exactly?"

"Jacob Ben Israel," he says. "Hufflepuff. Second year, like you." He turns to Rachel. "So will you help me out?"

"Uh…" Rachel looks desperately at Finn. "I don't think I can, I mean I have…"

"Quidditch," Finn breaks in.

Rachel looks at him in dismay.

"Quidditch?" Jacob asks doubtfully. "I didn't see Rachel Berry on the Gryffindor team's roster…"

"That's because she doesn't play," Finn blurts out. "She just… uh…"

"I train," Rachel says quickly. "I help make sure the players are in shape, you know. So they don't pull anything or get hurt."

"Don't they have magical prevention for that?" Jacob raises an inquisitive eyebrow.

"You can never be too safe," Rachel tells him.

Finn nods. "Right, yeah. She trains. Has to be at every practice, therefore—"

"I have no time to tutor," Rachel finishes. She shrugs. "Sorry."

"Now if you'll excuse us," Finn says, grabbing Rachel's arm and maneuvering around the poofy-haired boy, "we have practice."

Rachel waits until she and Finn have reached the end of the hallway before she bursts into laughter. "That kid was incredibly creepy," she manages to get out.

"I think he wanted to do more than have you tutor him."

"Me, too," she admits. She looks around. "I have a feeling he might actually check to see if I'm down at the Quidditch pitch, so I think I'll have to go with you to practice."

Finn chuckles. "Sure thing, Rach. I don't think Will'll mind."

She smiles. "Thanks for looking out for me, Finn."

"Aw, c'mon," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I couldn't leave you alone with that creep." He swallows. "Besides, that's what friends are for, right?"

She nods. "Exactly. Friends look out for each other. And I'm glad we're friends."

He smiles at her. "Me, too, Rach." They walk out the front doors of the castle and head toward the Quidditch pitch. "Besides, how else would I pass Potions?"

She shoves him playfully.

"Race you to the pitch?" he asks.

She grins. "You're on, Hudson. You're so on."


So yeah. Pansy Parkinson. Is in my fic. And I don't really know why I picked her, hahaha. She seemed like she just needed to be loved though, in my opinion. Sooo she's in there.

And I'm not exactly a fan of Luck, and just because I sat Lauren and Puck next to each other does NOT mean there will be future Luck. Actually, that's not gonna happen. Sorry. Not my cup of tea.

Also I have no ideas if a potion has a recipe. Just go with it. ;)

If you'd like to contact me outside of ff (because honestly my PM function malfunction a lot, which is just dumb) you can follow me on tumblr. :D My url is dancingxinxthexrain, the same as here. I usually keep frequent updates on my stories from there as well.

Also, if you liked it, I'd really appreciate it if you would review. ;D