A/N: A few things before you start reading this. I should have mentioned this before but if you haven't read the character profiles for both Brittany and Santana, a few things might not make sense. They provide a brief family history and other tid-bits that may help make sense to a few things. Especially with this scene here. Just a heads up. They are on my Tumblr though, not in this site.

On a second note, I have a conference for work for 5 days starting Saturday. For those days I'll be updating when I get home instead of before leaving for work. So don't freak out if they're a little late ;)

Anyway, and here the tides turn...

Brittany sat next to Santana alongside Quinn's bed in the Hospital wing. She gripped Santana's hand in hers just as hard as Santana was squeezing back. Mike sat on a stool slightly off to the side while faculty, staff, Ministry officials and the Fabrays argued at the foot of the bed.

Quinn's face was pale, ghostly almost and unless you looked close enough it appeared as though the girl wasn't breathing at all. A sodden bandage wrapped around the base of her neck and over her shoulder where she had been stung. The bleeding had yet to clot.

The nurse came scuttling over with fresh bandages. She pulled the old ones off and clicked her tongue before muttering an incantation and wrapping the wound again. Brittany pulled her eyes from her friend and directed them towards the gathering at the foot of the bed. McGonagall was there, Sylvester too, who was arguing with Professor Martinez and a correspondent from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Professor Slughorn, with his old and sunken face looked even more tired than usual as he gazed upon Quinn's motionless body while Professor Holliday, head of Ravenclaw house tried to console Quinn's sobbing mother.

"Will someone please tell me exactly what happened to my daughter!" Mr. Fabray shouted, his voice booming above the others.

"The bloody Manticore attacked her that's what," Sylvester snapped, poking the correspondent hard in the chest. The doors to the Hospital wing burst open and the Director of the DOMGAS strode in.

"I-it wasn't supposed to attack, it was under contract," the correspondent stuttered, "W-e had it under strict magical control."

"Obviously not!" Mr. Fabray shouted. "You," he sneered, pointing at the Director. "This was your doing."

The Director raised his hand to silence the man, "Sir, need I remind you that you consented to the impeding dangers of this tournament when you allowed your daughter to partake in it!"

"That was before I knew you had that beast up there!"

"There is a known level of danger in this tournament," the Director started only to be cut off by the Headmistress.

"Gordon," McGonagall said calmly. "Now is not the time to be belittling this girl's parents, especially in this time of great sorrow."

"Of course, Minerva," the Director said. "Mr. Fabray, forgive me."

The apology did little to stem the flow of anger coming from Quinn's father. "And what good does that do me? My daughter," he paused, pointing towards Quinn with a trembling finger. "There is no cure for the venom of a Manticore. We all know that, yet you allowed one to be in the presence of underage and inexperienced witches and wizards? I demand compensation for this."

"Sir, though injured, your daughter was still the victor of the tournament. Her winnings will go to the family."

Brittany felt sick to her stomach as she turned back towards her friend and tried to tune out the arguing that continued from the adults. She felt tears threaten to fall and tried to blink them away, looking at Santana. The Slytherin hadn't spoken since before leaving the Quidditch pitch and had a twisted feature on her face. Her brown eyes were dark and flickered back and forth and over Quinn's immobilized body.

The second Brittany had seen the Manticore atop the tower she had felt fear for her friend. Manticores were proud and ruthless creatures with a sting that left their victims paralyzed and feigning death until their bodies could no longer withstand it. It was a slow and torturous way to die but Brittany knew her best friend was going through it at that very moment. Mr. Fabray had been correct in his accusation towards the Director: no known cure existed for the sting from a Manticore.

Quinn was to stay in that state of limbo between life and death until her body gave out to the losing battle. It made her mind return to her friends greatest fear and her stomach dropped further.

The nurse came over again to change the bandage on Quinn's neck once more. It appeared as though the bleeding had lessened and she nodded contently. She muttered the same incantation again before palming a large amount of salve onto the wound. It smelled foul and made Brittany's nose scrunch up in disgust but the nurse soon covered it with fresh bandages and took her leave.

Santana squeezed her hand but looked no different than the last time Brittany had observed her. She gently brushed her thumb back and for the over Santana's white knuckles as they intensified their grip. Her girlfriend's charm had broken Quinn's fall. The champion would have crashed into the ground at full speed otherwise and though she may be clinging onto life now, she would have certainly been dead without the charm.

Director Gordon must have made some agreement with the Fabrays because they were gone when Brittany next looked towards the foot of the bed. McGonagall and Professor Holliday remained. They both looked somberly at the fallen champion.

"I can only imagine the pain you three may be going through right now," McGonagall said quietly, her eyes soft and looking between Brittany, Mike and Santana. "Thank you for being here. She wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We'll let you have some time alone now. We know Ms. Fabray is in good hands with you."

"If you need anything, let me know," Professor Holliday said and Brittany smiled gratefully at her head of house, nodding slightly.

The professors nodded back and took their leave through the large double doors at the end of the wing. A loud groan filled the room and drew their combined attention to the only other occupant in the wing.

Greger Svensson lay burned and broken across the room. The nurse came rushing out to his aid and helped him drink something from a small metal cup. He coughed and sputtered before falling back to his sheets and snoring loudly.

Brittany turned back towards her injured friend.

"I can't believe this is happening," Mike whispered. "It's Quinn, our Quinn." He dropped his head into his hands and shook it against his palms.

Santana's face looked pale.

"This is what I feared most," Brittany whispered, more too herself. "I didn't want either of you to end up like this." She saw Santana's face twitch out of the corner of her eyes and instantly felt regret at her words.

The hand holding her own loosened its grip and retracted. Brittany instantly felt cold.

"Santana?" Brittany asked helplessly.

The brunette stood suddenly, sending the metal chair she was sitting in hurtling backwards. She stared down at Quinn's immobile body before turning her gaze on Brittany.

She instantly saw the regret that riddled Santana's brown eyes. The pain and guilt that was buried deep below the surface. She opened her mouth to question her girlfriend but didn't get the chance as Santana spun and went running out of the Hospital wing, slamming the large doors behind her.

Brittany blinked, confused and disbelieving what had just happened. Mike shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She rose to her feet and looked down at Quinn.

"Watch over her a minute?" She asked the tall boy and he nodded instantly, shifting forward and taking one of Quinn's pale hands in his own.

Brittany shoved her hands in the pockets of her robes and slowly walked out of the Hospital wing. Santana was pacing rapidly back and forth directly outside, shocking Brittany that she had remained nearby.

"I'm sorry," Brittany said quietly causing Santana to stop and look up at her. She could see the tears that threatened to fall from her girlfriend's eyes and could tell Santana had been doing everything to try and remain strong and calm for her. "I shouldn't have said that, I didn't mean it like it sounded. It's just…" She trailed off, uncertain how to admit to Santana what had caused her to make the comment.

The brunette stopped her pacing a few feet away from Brittany and looked over her shoulder towards her. Brittany took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Quinn told me what her greatest fear was. She explained the Boggart to me," Brittany admitted. Her girlfriend continued her muted stance. "Failing. She was afraid of failing. That's why it looked like her. It looked like her if she were to fail. And she did and now she's lying in there," Brittany tossed a hand out to gesture towards the Hospital Wing, "dying."

Santana blinked at her once and then twice before turning and striding directly up in front of her making Brittany take a step back at the sudden presence. She didn't say anything, just looked at Brittany straight in the eyes, brown flickering back and forth between her own.

"I-I shouldn't have said anything. We should just be focusing on Quinn right now, not blaming anyone for their decisions or questioning the events that led us here," Brittany spoke softly. She hoped it would help ease whatever was bothering her girlfriend. "I'm sorry."

Santana, however, did the exact opposite of what Brittany had expected her to do. Instead, she broke and the tears began to fall freely down her face as mumbled words tumbled from her lips. She rushed forward and fisted Brittany's robes in her grip and began to sink to the ground as the knees gave out.

"Baby," Brittany cooed, sinking to the ground along with Santana and pulling the smaller girl closer to her, "What? Love, what's wrong?"

"I-it's m-my fault!" Santana stumbled, barely pulling back from Brittany's chest.

"Santana, this is not your fault! How can you say that?" Brittany breathed out, stroking Santana's raven hair.

Another sob left Santana's chest before she pulled back. "B-but it is. I know it is, Brittany. If it wasn't for me, she would have never entered the tournament."

Brittany looked down at her girlfriend with a confused furrow in her brow. Santana's eyes were brimmed with tears and several rolled freely down her rounded cheeks. A swipe of her thumb over tanned skin wiped them away.

"What are you talking about?" Brittany asked, confused by her girlfriend's statement.

Santana sat back on her ankles where they had landed on the floor, finally releasing the grip she had on Brittany's robes. "S-something she told me before the first task." Her words were quiet and hesitant.

Brittany furrowed her eyebrows but reached forward for Santana's hand. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Santana reached up and wiped away another stray tear before taking a deep breath and lifting her eyes to look at Brittany. "Do you remember what happened in your dorm, the day of the selection?"

Brittany frowned but nodded, remembering the rough time they had gone through and her feelings of discontent for the girl in front of her.

"W-well, Quinn," she paused and took another deep breath. "Quinn came to find me a few days after. Before you had forgiven her," Santana explained and Brittany nodded once more. "She was acting all mental and told me she only entered the competition because of me."

The words hit Brittany in the stomach like a brick. "What do you mean?" She asked quietly.

Santana shook her head and looked towards the lofty ceiling. She reached up and wiped away another tear.

"I was so angry at her then and she was angry at me. She said I was ungrateful for what she did for me, for us."

"Why did she do that?" Brittany asked, remembering her own anger at her best friend after she was selected champion: her fear for what might happen, what did happen.

Santana lowered her gaze again. "She did it so I wouldn't get selected. She said that it was the only way I wouldn't get chosen."

"But why?" Brittany asked again, already fearing the answer.

"Because she cared enough about me and about you to make sure I didn't get chosen," Santana admitted. "She said, well yelled rather, that she was sick of seeing what I was doing to you. That I wasn't grateful for our love and because it's a love like ours," Santana paused and took Brittany's hand in her own, holding her gaze sadly, "that made magic make sense."

Brittany's heart broke at the words, imagining them coming from her best friend.

"And I was blind not to see that," Santana continued. "So she entered her name, hoping she would get chosen instead of me. So it's my fault. It's my stupid, bloody fault that she's in there, half dead and never coming back."

Santana broke into tears and collapsed again leaving Brittany no choice but to gather the sobbing girl up in her arms and hold her close. No words left Brittany's mouth as she processed the new information, everything coming together in her head. She wasn't upset with the girl in her arms. Santana had no way of knowing what would come of those events she had put in motion and she had paid for it in the worst possible way. So Brittany clung back to her, grateful that they at least had each other still. She honestly had no idea what she would do if it was Santana lying back in the Hospital bed. Santana was her everything: her life and her driving force.

The blonde felt tears begin to prickle and escape from her clenched eyes as she rocked them gently back and forth on the cold stone floor.

Suddenly, Santana was pushing back from her with a new and burning fire in her eyes. The unexpected appearance threw Brittany off balance as she stared agape at her girlfriend.

"I know what I have to do," Santana said, pushing further away from Brittany and stumbling to her feet. Brittany followed as fast as she could.

"Santana?"

"Brittany, I know what I have to do," Santana repeated, eyes searching the ground frantically before meeting hers. "This is it. Brittany this is my calling. I can do this."

"Santana, I don't understand," Brittany muttered, confused.

"Brittany, I am an Alchemist," Santana said in a newly strong and confident voice. "No known cure exists for Manticore venom."

Brittany blinked at her girlfriend, trying to process what she was implying.

"No known cure exists but I swear if it's the last thing I do," Santana said with a solid voice, taking a step forward and appearing taller than she ever had before, "I will find that cure. Brittany, I'm going to save Quinn."