Harry Potter Crossover

Pairing: Faberry

Setting: Postwar era, Hogwarts.

Summary: Her Veela heritage has both been a blessing and a curse for Quinn Fabray in her entire life. Her unearthly beauty and irresistible thrall has always gotten her what she wanted, yet kept her away from what she needed – genuine love.

Disclaimer: Bless JK Rowling. And to some extent, Glee for their characters. But only their characters.


She fascinated her. Very much so. But as Rachel wasn't raised in a jungle, she had the decency not to openly stare at the alluring quarter Veela, which she couldn't say for most of her peers.

Her disapproving gaze on the leering boys couldn't even begin to convey all the disgust she actually felt inside. The library, which used to be her quiet sanctuary, had become suffocatingly crowded since Quinn Fabray had one day decided to study in here as well. Nobody had bothered to visit the dusty shelves of Hogwarts before, leaving Rachel and Madam Pince alone as they enjoyed filling their minds with knowledge or thrilling stories. But it had become a struggle for the Hogwarts librarian to keep this place remotely quiet, and she had long given up trying to throw out all the students that weren't here to do homework. Which were a lot, and it frustrated Rachel to no end that she belonged to those few who truly wished to study.

Maybe she could exchange a few words with Quinn and subtly, maybe imperceptibly drop a few hints that her presence was a hindrance to her studies, and that she really needed to finish her essay that was due next week. After all, they were on speaking terms now, weren't they?

But Rachel's tactful side loudly vetoed, arguing that she couldn't demand Quinn to pack up and leave. The library was a public place, there was no argument that she could bring forward without sounding ridiculous.

'Excuse me? Your overwhelming attractiveness is very distracting and I really need to finish my essay on the Goblin Rebellions.

The crease between her eyebrows deepened. Unacceptable.

Taking out her wand, she muttered a spell and touched the library books, which were messily spread out on the table in front of her yet had a strict order in Rachel's mind, with the tip of her wand. Pages fluttering shut like invisible hands were gently brushing them close, they slowly soared into the air and flew back to their respective shelves, tucking themselves inbetween other books. Satisfied at how good her new-learned spell worked, she packed away her quills and parchments. And when she ducked to rummage in her bag, she missed a pair of amazed hazel eyes watching her movements.

Standing up with a sigh, Rachel languidly grabbed her bag and wanted to leave the library without having to pass the quarter Veela on her way. She wasn't sure how she would react if she had to face the source of her dwindling interest to study. If she was going to receive only an 'Acceptable' on her essay, then Rachel knew she had a serious problem. She needed that 'Outstanding' in History of Magic or at least an 'Exceeds Expectations' to keep up with Lily Potter's grades.

An irritated sigh almost escaped Rachel's lips that were drawn to a straight line. Stupid Divination and stupid Care of Magical Creatures, her weakest subjects; they were pulling her average grade down. Especially the latter class with Hogwarts' groundkeeper Hagrid was a challenge for her usually balanced and rational mind that seemed to lose all balance and rationality once Blast-Ended Skrewts threatened to burn her robe and half of her body.

"It will be fun, they said," Rachel mockingly murmered to herself, unknowingly startling a first grader that passed her in the corridor leading to the Slytherin dorms. "An easy earned 'O' for feeding some animals, they said."

She was referring to her Slytherin friends Noah and Santana who had convinced her to take this class with them, talking her out of choosing Runes as her second elective. A bad decision that she deeply regretted and completely blamed on her friends, and since then she hadn't forgotten once to remind them of their bad influence on her every time they walked down the path to Hagrid's cabin together.

They had gone to their first lesson with an optimistic attitude, excitement even, but their eagerness to learn more about magical creatures had dissolved into thin air like Malfoy's school robe did when Fire Crabs had deemed the attention of the students' as too much and felt the need to defend themselves by shooting flames out of their ends. It just so happened that the ash-blond boy stood the nearest to them because he had wanted to prove his lack of impression towards the creatures and Hagrid, disliking him by default because his father had gotten hurt once in his lesson.

A small, gleeful smile loosened her lips and smoothed over her frown. Rachel heaved a sigh and all her temporary worries were forgotten, a relaxed look settling on her face.

Even if she only achieved an 'Acceptable' in Care of Magical Creatures, she still had great chances at surpassing Lily Potter's grades as long as she kept all the 'O's in her other subjects. The redhead might have a talent for understanding cross-bred and highly illegal creatures, but she was nowhere as good as Rachel in the core classes, taking Potions and Transfiguration for examples.

Rachel looked pleased with herself again and she confidently fixed her green-silver-striped tie. She wasn't only going to beat Lily on an educational level, she was about to march into a new territory where the other girl had had no worthy rival for a long time. But no longer no more, their grades were already too high to determine who was better, everything came down to extracurriculars to decide over status and what was more popular than Quidditch?

If Rachel managed to catch the Snitch before Lily Potter in their first match against each other, then she would not only bring victory to her house, but to herself, and the precious daughter of the Chosen One would be so crushed that she would never try to challenge the Slytherins ever again. Rachel felt like she was on an important mission that had her represent her house. And she was going to do it right.

Her first chance to prove it was her first Quidditch practice with the whole team in half an hour. And she needed to make an impression. People had been talking, stamping the decision to appoint her to the Slytherin Seeker as favouritism because of her friendship with the Quidditch Captain Santana Lopez. And because she had the newest Firebolt II, the best broom that was available at the moment, a big improvement compared to the last Firebolt generation. That meant, even if Rachel wasn't a good catcher, she would still be faster than someone without the same broom.

But Rachel scoffed at the thought, she didn't need the speed of her broom to be the faster Seeker. Her alert senses would be the winning key, she had to feel where the Snitch could be.

Winning the Quidditch cup this year was high on Rachel's list as it could bring so many chances for her. Maybe Professor Sylvester would finally honor her with a praising look once Headmistress McGonagall handed over the Quidditch Cup to her, maybe the few Slytherins from those last pure-blood families would finally accept her in their house – there were so many things that could improve, and Rachel was getting excited at the prospect.

She had to nail this practice.

She didn't nail it. Actually, she got nowhere close to it. Her friend Noah refused to use the word 'disaster' to describe their training, insisting that she just needed more time and practice, but Santana had no issue wording every scathing thought.

Everything started with the weather. It only took seconds for the dark clouds above the Quidditch field to turn a mild day into a stormy, rainy and windy mess. But that didn't prompt Santana to call off the practice, they had to be prepared for every kind of weather when they had their first match against Gryffindor.

Rachel had no experience with flying in the rain, she actually had little experience with flying at all, so she couldn't know how many physical factors were against her. Long story short, half of her team carried injuries from Bludger hits now as they had to keep her from falling off the broom, hardly able to dodge any attacks as they hoisted Rachel back onto her Firebolt again and again because she kept slipping off, the weight of her wet robe dragging her down.

When the torture was over, the Slytherin team was too exhausted and cranky to attack Rachel, so they just wordlessly left the field, eager to get back to the warm castle. Only the short brunette stayed behind, feeling too ashamed and terrified to go back to the Slytherin Dungeon immediately after the training. She decided to lie down on the wet grass of Quidditch field instead, maybe lie there for another few hundred years until the ground would absorb her.

"I almost assumed you were dead," an amused voice chuckled above Rachel.

"I have the overwhelming wish to be dead," came the dry reply from the unmoving girl who had her eyes closed.

Quinn started to feel bad for the girl who was lying on the muddy ground of the Quidditch field with all of her limbs spread out, still in her soaked Quidditch robe, her broom lying next to her, defeated. The blonde had seen the disastrous practice from the window in her cozy, warm Ravenclaw common room and she had flinched every time Rachel had been dangling from her broom, which had happened quite often.

When the torture was finally over, Quinn noticed how Rachel stayed behind instead of going back to the castle along with her fellow teammates. Seeing it as her chance to be with her alone, even if the other girl was in a wound up state, Quinn had quickly put on a robe and made her way towards the Quidditch field.

"Maybe save that wish for another time," Quinn lightly said and kneeled down with one leg next to Rachel's head. "Come on, you will get a cold if you don't change your clothes."

Rachel groaned and pouted, and Quinn found that puzzlingly endearing.

"I am a Prefect," Quinn reminded her, and though the brunette was still having her eyes closed, the blonde tapped her Prefect badge pinned to her robe. "I can deduct house points if you don't get up."

That made Rachel open her eyes. She had never lost points before and she didn't plan on ever risking that.

"You cannot do this, I have read every rule Hogwarts has ever set up and there is not one that forbids me to lie on the Quidditch field and wallow in self-pity."

Quinn couldn't contain her laughter that was a result from disbelief and awe. Rachel looked oddly pleased and didn't take the outburst of laughter as offensive, which clearly wasn't meant as such either.

"Fine, lying on the ground is not a good reason for me to deduct points," Quinn agreed and Rachel's pleased look increased in smugness, but the blonde continued, "but acting against the order of authorities is. And since the Prefect badge makes me kind of an authority here, you are hereby acting against my orders as an authority. Which I can punish by deducting points."

Rachel had slowly sat up during the short speech and her indignant expression made Quinn want to burst out laughing again. But she liked the challenge and she was not going to let herself ruin a good banter. Her friends Brittany and Tina were rarely in the mood to hypothetically fight with her; drawing out arguments that were surreal, discussing topics that were absurd, raging on about problems that were mundane – this was what Quinn needed right now. Someone to take her away from reality, someone who could keep Quinn on her toes by arguing with her over things that weren't real, weren't important and yet still had a meaning.

"What makes you think you are the only one entitled to deduct house points?" Rachel wore a challenging smirk. "I may not be wearing the Prefect badge right now, but I can assure you that your precious sapphires are not immune to me."

Quinn could tell her another thing of hers that wasn't immune to Rachel, but she figured it would be a better topic for later. Much later.

"Is that so?" Quinn bought herself time with the empty question, her eyes shortly drifting off to Rachel's triumphantly smiling lips. "I personally don't think that your conscience will let you deduct points from my house without a good reason."

Rachel raised one eyebrow. "But you think you can?"

The mischievous gleam in Quinn's eyes couldn't prepare Rachel for what was going to happen next. "Ten points off Slytherin."

A gasp escaped Rachel's mouth and she stared at Quinn in disbelief. "You take that back! Don't make me use the same childish method, I prefer not taking any points -"

"Another ten points off Slytherin for too much talking," Quinn seemed to draw great pleasure from this, uncontrollably giggling by now.

Rachel had told herself to calm down, she needed a different tactic. She wasn't going to resort to the same childish shenanigans that were amusing Quinn so much. She waited for Quinn to get down from her high, and though she was beautiful to watch when she was laughing, Rachel needed revenge. She cleared her throat and when the blonde expectantly grinned at her, she pounced. Her Quidditch robe was still soaked and muddy, everything about her was dirty and wet and that was how she smelled like, too, like a wet dog. That was what Rachel thought.

But Quinn, who suddenly found herself in a tight embrace, wrestled to the dirty ground, hadn't registered the shock and disgust about lying in the dirt yet. The only thing she could think about Rachel's smell was that she smelled amazing. And she was lying on top of her.

There was no sharp comeback or witty remark for this. With her arms slung around Rachel's petite upper body, Quinn got a handful of her Quidditch robe and she gripped it tightly, subconsciously pressing the girl closer to her if that was possible.

"I think you've got some dirt on you," Rachel innocently said, not noticing Quinn's tight grip on her and she laughed when she received a glare. "Now who needs to change her clothes?"

Quinn found herself torn in an inconvienent situation. She wanted to regain the upper hand and keep up the challenge, but she didn't want to let Rachel go.

When Quinn didn't immediately provide an answer, Rachel got afraid that she might have seriously wounded the quarter Veela and she quickly rolled off the girl, lying on her back in the dirt again. But this time, she wasn't alone.

"How about we both go change clothes?" Rachel quietly suggested, suddenly feeling insecure when confronted with Quinn's silence. The blonde had never failed to shoot back something witty.

Maybe she had taken it too far. Deducting house points was one thing, you could always give them back, but she had just pounced on the unsuspecting girl and made her entire robe dirty. Pushing someone into the dirt was more personal and the more Rachel thought about it, she guessed she herself would be very offended if someone tackled her to the ground and ruined her clothes.

"I'm so sorry, we were just having fun and I ruined it," Rachel lowly apologized, not able to look to the side, staring at the darkening sky instead. "Fate is against me today. I do not know what I have done wrong."

Rachel didn't see Quinn shyly gazing at her, smiling at her in amusement. She let her continue her ramble.

"I've been given the chance to excel at Quidditch and show everyone that I am more than just book-smart, but I blew it. Or rather, the weather blew me off the broom. And now I've been given the chance of forming a friendship with someone really amazing and I ruined it again."

Quinn propped herself up on one elbow, facing Rachel with an intrigued and flattered expression. "You think I am amazing?"

Rachel blinked unsurely. "Do I look like I am thinking otherwise?"

"That is not the answer I expected, but charming nonetheless," Quinn breathed with a chuckle. "You have a way with words."

The brunette cheekily grinned. "So I have been told, but I believe they rather meant the quantity of my words usage."

There was an inexplicable tenderness in Quinn's eyes when Rachel gazed up at her, making the Slytherin feel like they had skipped a few steps in their budding friendship. Because there was no reason why the quarter Veela would look at her like that, they hardly knew each other and nothing they had said until now had had any substance. It had been mostly silly banter.

"I just don't understand," Quinn muttered, suddenly reaching out with one hand to touch the green Quidditch robe that Rachel was wearing. "Why did you choose to be in Slytherin? You are as brave as a Gryffindor, smarter than a lot of Ravenclaws and at least as loyal and a good friend as a Hufflepuff, but yet you chose to be in Slytherin."

Rachel looked down on Quinn's hand that was playing with her robe. "I am aware of the reputation that the Slytherin house holds and you are not the first one to tell me that I might have made the wrong decision. But I don't believe in these prejudices. Slytherin is not some kind of black sheep in the Hogwarts family, it's just misunderstood because Voldemort tainted the picture."

When Quinn didn't look convinced, Rachel further elaborated, "If only dark wizards and witches came out of Slytherin, then why doesn't Hogwarts simply abolish that house and only maintain three? The purpose of sorting the students into houses is not seeing whether they are dark or not, but according to their core values."

"But what was the reason you decided for Slytherin?" Quinn probed. "I know you have nothing against the Slytherins, but what made you want to be one yourself?"

Turning her head away, Rachel hesitated to answer that. She was afraid of sounding childish, obnoxious, unreasonable. She cared greatly about what Quinn thought of her.

"I...I wanted to be different, wanted to prove everyone wrong," Rachel wistfully said. She let out a humorless, short laugh. "It's all I ever think about, this is what my whole life is actually about. Proving myself to people who couldn't care less. I was tired of people taking me for a Know-it-all and if I had gotten into Ravenclaw, it would've only confirmed everything they believed in, but I didn't want to grant them that satisfaction. I wanted to be more than that."

She shot Quinn an apologetic look. "This is not me belittling your house, I'm sorry, I-"

"No," the blonde softly murmured. "I understand where you come from. I am familiar with the concept of wanting to be more than just what I'm known for."

Rachel sat up and hugged herself around the waist. "I am sorry, here I am moaning about my little problems when you obviously have a lot more on your plate. Whenever I see you, I want to apologize on behalf of the Slytherin boys."

"No, no, it's fine," Quinn quickly said and laid one calm hand on Rachel's forearm. "This is not a competition of who has the bigger problem because all of them matter. I've actually learned a lot about you by hearing this."

"Really?" Rachel's expression was sceptical. "I think I sounded rather whiny."

Quinn shook her head with a smile. "Well, I think you sounded like someone who has the traits of every house combined and are just confused about where you belong to. You chose the unconventional way because you refused to be placed into a stereotype."

"When you put it this way, I sound more interesting than I really am," Rachel said with a blush. Quinn laughed at the cute reaction and teasingly nudged the other girl's shoulder.

"You are," she said, "and I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"I will not try to downplay this compliment, I will not try to downplay this compliment, no, I will not," Rachel muttered to herself, still blushing, but smiling so wide that her cheeks looked like they were about to split.

Pleased and content that everything was going so smooth between them, Quinn leaned forward in a burst of confidence that made her heart pump faster. She wasn't sure if Rachel had caught on that it was not only a friendship she wanted to build up with her. If there were any doubts, then the quarter Veela had to rectify them now before she never got further than the status of being a friend. She was to a hundred percent sure that Rachel could be the perfect mate; she was unaffected by the thrall, she saw her for who she was, she could keep up with Quinn in conversations without drooling over her, and that was a nice change.

The small percentage of Veela-blood running through her veins agreed with her, already beginning to form possessive tendencies towards the brunette girl. It was the feral side of her, the untamed Veela that had to mark its territory. Quinn prayed to Merlin that she could keep the Veela inside of her in control, long enough to explain her heritage to Rachel so she wouldn't run off scared.

Rachel felt her brain go numb when Quinn's flawless face was suddenly only inches away. Maybe the pull, the desire to close the distance, the urge to lean in and kiss her was evoked by the thrall that had created a fog in Rachel's head. Was this how most of the boys felt when Quinn was nearby? Was this how it felt like to be a helpless victim to the charms of a Veela?

"Students on the Quidditch field at this time?" a stern voice boomed behind them and startled them, making them lean away from each other as if they had been caught during something inappropriate. "What are you doing, sneaking around?"

Both Quinn and Rachel turned around, looking up to Madam Beiste with sheepish looks. They quickly shuffled to their feet and stood unsure in front of the flying instructor and Quidditch referee.

"You know that I have to give you detention unless there's a good reason," Beiste sighed and she glanced at her watch. "Curfew for outside is one hour earlier than inside the castle, nothing new, and the last scheduled Quidditch practice was over one hour ago. So what's your excuse?"

Rachel stepped forward before Quinn could come up with one. "Madam Beiste, I accept the detention as I have violated the rules, but I ask you not to pull Quinn into this. She is a Prefect and she saw me hanging around the field, so she came down here to bring me back to the castle, but I refused to. It's my fault that I kept her late, she was just fulfilling her duty as a Prefect."

Beiste sceptically eyed Rachel before scrutinizing Quinn, who was too surprised to look serious and rather focused on gazing at the brunette with wide eyes. Beiste heaved a sigh. "Alright. Name?"

"Rachel Berry."

"You'll receive a letter tomorrow during breakfast that will inform you about time and date of the detention. And now off you go, it's too dark for you to be still here."

Beiste marched off, shaking her head. Always the good ones were the troublemakers. That Berry girl was a good kid, she would be the type of person to throw herself in front of a friend to take a curse. The flying instructor decided she was going to go easy on her and not assign her to Professor Sylvester for detention.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Quinn immediately burst out, apologetic and ashamed that she had let Rachel do this. But the brunette waved her off and smiled. "It was true, you came down here with the intention of bringing me back to the castle, but it is my fault that I prolonged our stay here. It's fine, I don't think that Madam Beiste will hand me over to a strict Professor."

Quinn still felt bad and stayed silent the whole way back to the castle. There had to be a way where she could make it up to Rachel.

"I need to go this way," Rachel quietly broke the silence and nodded to the corridor that would lead her to the Slytherin Dungeon. They had to part at the stairs as the Ravenclaw common room was located at the top of a spiral staircase on the west side.

"I'm so sorry," Quinn said again, and Rachel looked about to interrupt her, but the blonde put up one hand to stop her and continued, "and I will make it up to you right after your detention, if that is alright with you? I found a way to access the Astronomy Tower."

Rachel's face instantly brightened and she whispered in awe, "You did? But it's always locked except for Astronomy lessons around midnight!"

Quinn smiled mysteriously and winked. "You will see. Come to me after dentention and I will show you."

The brunette girl was left speechless. Whether she was astonished at how Quinn could've gotten access to the tower or rather breathless because of the suggestive wink, she didn't know. But she had always been fascinated with stars and the night sky, and Quinn was going to fulfill her wish about coming closer to the stars, which her fathers had tried as well but without as much success.

"Thank you so much," Rachel breathed, grinning broadly, already giddy in anticipation.

"No, I thank you for saving me," Quinn retorted, happy that she could provide Rachel with something interesting. She was looking forward to spending more time with her, alone. And next time she hoped there would be no teacher to interrupt her advances. Because she couldn't wait to feel Rachel's lips on hers and the Veela inside of her was getting impatient.


"Would you stop staring, Zabini," she sighed, wrinkling her nose in disgust. The boy sitting opposite of her had been staring over his shoulder at the Ravenclaw table for two minutes straight now, his soup-filled spoon still raised in mid-air, vainly waiting to be consumed. He showed no signs of reaction, the back of his head still turned to Rachel.

The brunette felt offended on Quinn's behalf. Without much deliberation, she pulled out her wand and muttered an incantation under her breath, watching with satisfaction as Zabini's soup bowl slowly lifted up and soared above his head. Rachel smirked and flicked her wand.

"Bloody hell!" the boy exclaimed in uproar and he shot up from the bench, franticly wiping at his eyes because soup was dripping down his face and draining parts of his robe around the neck. "Which troll did that!"

Her wand already hidden, Rachel merely nodded to another boy who had his focus set on the Ravenclaw table and had not yet noticed the commotion next to him.

"You bloody git, Flint!"

Rachel thought she had done quite a good job. Not only did she get two leering boys to stop their filthy actions, but their fight pulled the attention of everyone in the Great Hall towards them and for once, Quinn Fabray wasn't being strictly watched anymore.

Before things could get ugly though, Rachel decided to step in before the teachers had to; she was a Prefect after all and she couldn't rely on Malfoy to handle the situation as Zabini and Flint were his friends. Besides the old friendship between their traditional pure-blood families, the pale boy wouldn't want to get into any kind of confrontation despite his superior manner suggesting otherwise.

With a swift flick of her wand, she had the two fighting boys separated by an invisible force that worked like a shield between them.

"We do not want Professor Sylvester to settle this fight, do we?" Rachel rhetorically asked. The boys instantly stopped fighting the invisible barrier between them, apprehensively turning around to glance at the teachers' table. Luckily for them, Sylvester was engrossed in vigorously slicing up her beef steak.

"Now please sit down and continue your meal," Rachel calmly ordered and she smiled in satisfaction when the boys obediently did as she said. Muttering another spell, Zabini's robe was dry again and so was his hair.

"Thanks," he sullenly said.

When the Slytherin girl tucked in her wand, she missed a pair of glinting hazel eyes roving over her face in admirance.

"It was her."

"I'm sorry?" Quinn absently asked as she watched like the rest of the Great Hall how two Slytherins were wrestling with each other, heads and limbs getting locked or twisted.

Tina Cohen-Chang frowned at her distracted friend. "Didn't you see it? It was Rachel Berry. She jinxed the soup bowl so it would dump its content onto Zabini."

Unconvinced, Quinn slowly shook her head and stated, "I don't peg her as someone who would pull immature pranks."

"It wasn't a prank," and the impatient tone in Tina's usually soft voice surprised Quinn. "It amazes me how you could've missed that though you look at her like all the time."

The blonde put down her cutlery in indignance. "I do not look at her all the time, she just happens to be in my line of sight whenever I look up."

Tina blankly stared at her. "You just basically stated the same thing."

"I'm not-"

"Anyway," Tina interrupted her attempt at denial, "it was not a prank. I don't think so. Zabini was staring at you and I think she tried to stop him that way, and it was quite effective. I mean, she got Flint to stop, too, so it must mean something, right?"

"She did?" Quinn asked in wonder and in a familiar, almost automatic motion, she looked up to glance at the Slytherin table again. But the two fighting boys were covering Rachel's petite frame sitting at the table.

"Isn't Rachel a Prefect? Shouldn't she try to stop them to avoid points getting deducted from her house?"

And just seconds after Tina had uttered her question, the grappling boys got pulled away by invisible hands, looking like mismatched magnet pieces that repelled each other. No matter how much they struggled to get to the other, they couldn't fight the magical barrier between them that held them away at an arm's length.

And in the space between the boys, Quinn finally saw Rachel's unimpressed face talking to them and whatever she had said, they suddenly lost interest in fighting each other.

"Wow," Tina muttered next to her and Quinn could only agree when they witnessed two strong-built boys obeyingly sitting down again. And from one second to the next, the soup-drained boy was dry again.

The Great Hall was now buzzing with gossip, everyone discussing about the short fight and the reason behind it as not all of them had seen the soup bowl being emptied above Zabini's head.

For some reason, Quinn suddenly felt something unfamiliar but incredibly freeing. She didn't feel being watched anymore. People had their minds elsewhere, and maybe this wasn't going to last long, but she enjoyed every second of it. As she looked around, she met no glazed over eyes raking over her face and body. No, those eyes were curiously staring at the Slytherin table now, leaving her alone for once.

"You really think she did that to stop them staring at me?" Quinn asked Tina and cleared her throat with great difficulty. She didn't know where the sudden dryness came.

Her friend tonelessly hummed as she reached for a portion of chocolate pudding.

Quinn wasn't hungry anymore. Well, not hungry for food.


"Berry?"

"Hm."

"You're still a Prefect, right?"

"Hm."

"Maybe you should confiscate the fanged frisbee before it cuts off Puckerman's hand."

"He knows what he's doing."

"No, he doesn't, and he needs his hand when we're flying against the pussycats in a few days."

Rachel and Santana sat in their regular seats, boredly watching Puckerman and a fellow Slytherin playing frisbee across the common room with a fanged one that is illegal in Hogwarts, but that hadn't stopped them from purchasing it at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Tell Malfoy to do it," Rachel absently muttered.

"Okay, I know some shit is up, and I've been kind enough to ignore it for five seconds," Santana started, impatiently gazing at Rachel. "If this is about yesterday's practice, then I'm sorry. You know you can't take shit from me too personal."

"I know this and I haven't taken it personal," Rachel grumbled. She sighed and closed her eyes. "I've got detention with Hagrid on Saturday evening, and I already fear what I have to do in the Forbidden Forest."

Santana sat up straight at this, a smirk spreading across her face. "No way, you got detention? Let mama hear for what?"

"I stayed at the Quidditch field past curfew. I forgot it began one hour earlier than in Hogwarts."

Santana looked disappointed. "That's boring. You did nothing bad or embarrassing that I can make fun of?"

Rachel quickly shook her head, but Noah walked past them saying with a knowing grin, "She's lying, Santana, I saw her getting pretty cozy with Hogwarts' finest piece of ass, Quinn Fabray. Bless Merlin that I forgot my wand in the locker room."

"He's lying," Rachel immediately exclaimed, "we were not 'getting cozy' as he puts it."

The additional piece of information did little to stop a broad smirk settling on Santana's face, her smug expression upsetting Rachel. She looked like she had just found out juicy gossip material.

"So you were with her then. I totally knew something was going on between the two of you. Everybody stares at her except for you, because no, you little Miss Perfect gets the honor of being stared at by her."

"Don't be ridiculous, she doesn't stare," Rachel uncomfortably shifted in her seat. "And we are friends now, so it isn't strange."

Santana regarded her with a deadpanned expression and Rachel gave in. "Maybe it is a little strange, but there is a reasonable explanation for this."

"Yeah," Santana agreed, "as in, she wants to get in your pants."

"I will not listen to this," Rachel exasperatedly said and stood up, intending on retreating to her dorm. "I will not let you lessen the value of my new friendship."

Santana rolled her eyes and groaned, "Girl, nobody's talking about lessening value and shit, I'm just stating the truth. She could have anyone she wanted, literally, because she's a freaking Veela, but she never lets anyone besides my girlfriend and that Chang girl near her. So if she's reaching out to you, then you must have something she wants. And I think that's the whole of you."

Rachel was already by the stairs leading to her dorm, but she had still heard all of it and despite not replying to Santana's speculations, she couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the night.


Walking down the path to Hagrid's cabin had always been an unpleasant trip for Rachel, but this time, it was especially gruesome. It was already dark and chilly, and the only thing that illuminated the road was her wand. She could already hear various animals howling in the Forbidden Forest, and she was certain that she would join them at some point.

She shuddered at the thought. She would've chosen any other teacher but Hagrid, she would've even preferred Professor Sylvester's detention methods over being eaten by Acromantulas. But she couldn't back out now, she had already arrived at Hagrid's cabin and she wasn't alone.

"Potter?" Rachel hissed, irritated in an instant.

Lily Potter gracefully turned around on her heels and regarded Rachel with a surprised look. "What are you doing here?"

"Just visiting my favorite teacher and good ol' friend, you know, thought we could discuss unicorns over a cup of tea," Rachel sarcastically replied, though she shot an insecure look behind her in case the giant teacher was around.

"Don't make fun of him," Lily angrily said and took one step closer to Rachel. "He's a better person than you will ever be."

Rachel was apprehensive of shooting something venomous back because they stood right in front of Hagrid's cabin, and he might burst out anytime or appear round the corner.

"You can't make that statement without knowing me," she countered instead.

"And you don't know Hagrid, yet you still judge him," Lily easily said.

Rachel bit her bottom lip before she sighed. "I'm not judging him, I just don't agree with his teaching methods. Blast-Ended Skrewts may be like cats to you, but they are like dragons to me. And that is not fair, it is not something I can learn or master over time. I either burn to ashes on the spot or have a new house pet."

That argument seemed to placate Lily as her expression softened. "I don't understand it myself," she quietly admitted, "they just accept me."

"Maybe you're the Chosen One," Rachel managed to joke, and for the first time since their rivalry began, they both laughed amicably.

"Ah, havin' a good laugh without me, yeh two."

Hagrid appeared out of the shadows of his cabin and held a huge crossbow that could defeat an enemy simply by throwing it upon him. "Lily? Yeh Potters just can' stay out o' trouble, eh? What is it this time?"

The redhead sheepishly grinned and ducked her head. "I accidentally transformed Hudson into a toad."

Rachel stifled a laugh and eyed Lily with new-found appreciation.

"Can' be too accidental if yer here now," Hagrid good-naturedly chuckled and he turned to Rachel. His expression wasn't as warm as it was towards Lily, but Rachel had to credit him for trying. "An' yeh?"

"Stayed past curfew."

"Good, good," Hagrid muttered, though Rachel didn't see how anything in her situation was good right now. "I'm feelin' tired tonight, so we won' be goin' inter the Forbidden Forest. Yer task is sortin' out Flobberworms fer me next class and collect some mucus fer the Potion's teacher. Jus' one hour o' work I guess."

And he had been true to his words, it was the shortest detention Rachel had ever gotten, not that she had many to compare it to. Before she could complain about how boring Flobberworms were, she was already on her way back to the castle with Lily walking next to her.

"Heard you're Seeker now," Lily offhandedly remarked as they leisurely walked the curvy path up to the school. "I've got the same position on my team, what a coincidence that we'll be playing against each other."

Rachel frowned. She had actually enjoyed the short time she had spent with her, and she didn't really want to go into a topic where their rivalry would come up again.

"They were desperate to find a Seeker," Rachel muttered. "And I can't say no when people depend on me."

Lily rolled her eyes and blew up her cheeks. "Yup, still same old conceited Slytherin."

"Do we really have to fight again?" Rachel tiredly asked and the other girl shrugged.

"Sorry, old habit. A true Slytherin would've already fought me."

Feet coming to a halt, Rachel had stopped walking and she stared at Lily with the same annoyance that she had felt when she had first seen her this evening. "What is that supposed to mean? Why is everyone picking on my house?"

Lily shrugged again and continued walking, and Rachel had no choice but to follow her if she wanted answers.

"Am I that despicable just because I'm a Slytherin?" she asked in exasperation.

There was no reply and Rachel grimly trailed behind Lily, watching her vibrant red hair reflecting the moonlight. She stared at it for most of the time during their walk up there, they were already at the bottom of the stairs in the entrance hall of Hogwarts, when Lily suddenly stopped and turned around, only to have Rachel crash into her because she wasn't paying attention.

"You are not despicable because you are a Slytherin," Lily lowly said, finally answering Rachel's question. "Actually, you are not despicable at all."

Rachel's eyebrows rose in confusion, but she didn't interrupt.

"Because actually, you are nothing like what Slytherins are supposed to be, you are nothing like Malfoy, and it confuses me, because the Sorting Hat can't be wrong. Yet you wear green instead of the other three colors that could fit you better."

Rachel had the feeling that she would never get a rest when it came to defending her right placement in the right house. She wanted to tell Lily to find other problems to worry about than to cling on to stereotypes, but she was already rambling.

"You're not a pure-blood, you don't think that students of other houses are lesser than you, you believe in fairness and equality and acceptance - you don't have one single sly vein inside of you! Tell me, what part of you am I supposed to hate? Everyone keeps telling me to score better than you because you're a Slytherin, and they can't have a Slytherin as the best student of the year, but I don't understand why they're using me," she ranted with a passion that had Rachel dumbfounded.

She had never known that. She couldn't have known that.

"Oh, I lied, I actually know why I have to be the one to beat you - I'm Lily Potter," she mockingly said, talking herself into rage. "It's basically stated in my last name that I have to be hero of my house, that I have to be the one to compete with you." She took a deep breath and said in a lower voice, "To hell with James and his ideology of Gryffindor pride, should've listened to Rose and just leave you be."

Stunned speechless, Rachel gazed at Lily like they had never met before. The face that she used to despise because it would mock her with no reason, it suddenly didn't seem as harsh as before.

She wasn't able to pinpoint her thoughts on this. Up to now in her sixth year, beginning from the third, they had been in a constant competition and they had never left out opportunities to try and outdo the other. But if their rivalry was based on a lie, if everything was based on something that Lily hadn't even wanted in the first place, then Rachel felt like she had been the only one to take this serious. She felt stupid and dumb for being strung along in race that was only important to outsiders, but not to herself and Lily.

"So...you never hated me?" Rachel stuttered. Everything she used to believe in was shattered now. All those times where Lily had challenged her to be better than her, mocking her with those words, 'You won't back out, right, that would be very Slytherin of you', they had meant nothing.

"Hated you?" Lily let out a short laugh and ran a hand through her wavy hair that was flowing past her shoulders. "There is nothing about you to hate, and it confuses me why I am supposed to beat you in everything we have in common when I don't want that, when I actually want to -"

And she stopped in the middle of her sentence, looking like she had said too much.

"When you actually want to do what?" Rachel probed, hoping that she meant to start a friendship and to bury the competing nature of their relationship.

A second passed, nothing came and Rachel resigned from getting an answer; she was prepared to encouragingly smile and offer her friendship, prepared to bid goodnight, prepared for everything but warm lips on hers and hands cupping her cheeks.

That didn't feel like a friendship offering. And it certainly didn't look like one either from the perspective of a person standing on top of the stairs.