Big apologies for the delay!

I found an awesome flat and I got the internet installed but couldn't update until I put some semblance of order in here... and bought important things like plates and towels... and basically everything needed in a house.

Enjoy and I am 70% sure I will be able to return to regular updates now.

IIIII

Chapter 21

Victory vs. Vengeance

"What have ze American's been feeding you?" she asked once they started to make their way to the small restaurant in the corner, she was daintily linking their arms and Harry couldn't help but feel amused at the amount of attention she got. "You've grown so much!" she said looking up at him. "Like… Comment tu dis? Weed!"

"I was 14 the last time you saw me" laughed Harry looking at her fondly. "It's called puberty."

"Puberty iz a kiss ass" said the girl flipping her hair dramatically.

"Only for selected few" smirked Harry. They exchanged a look.

"Waz I a selected one?" she asked coquettishly.

Harry threw his head back and laughed at the blatant fishing for complements. He separated, taking one of her hands and kissing her knuckles.

"You're a goddess Fleur and you know it, you don't need me to kiss your arse, you got plenty of drooling men who would write sonnets to your behind" she took her hand back offended.

"British pig!" she hissed with a laugh.

"French whore" he insulted back instantly with his own laugh.

She approached him until their bodies were pressed together. "Selected few" she whispered.

"Am I one of them?" said Harry teasingly, an arrogant smirk in place. She giggled and stepped away with a shrug. "Oh well, no big loss. You can pay your own food then."

"Idiot" she said with a huff, but they looked at each other and laughed. They chatted amicably without teasing each other the rest of the way, keeping to generic topics and falling back into an old routine.

"It's good to see you again Fleur, but seriously, what are you doing in Virginia?" he asked once they had placed their order.

She smiled at him. "I came to zee you of course."

He raised an eyebrow. "Little old moi? I knew I was irresistible, but to this point?"

"Zee you compete" she said rolling her eyes at his terrible accent and arrogance. "I haven't competed since I graduated Beauxbatons, I miss it… British pig or not, you are zee best I've seen."

"You were amazing back then, it's a shame you aren't competing anymore" said Harry tilting his head in respect.

"You still won" she said bitterly.

"I was better" Harry said with a shrug, simply stating facts and showing no arrogance, much to her increasing annoyance.

"Diggory almost won" she reminded him spitefully.

"Well, have you seen him in a uniform? That man was pure sex and I had this horribly big crush on him" said Harry. "I was this close to start humping his leg during the finals" he said pressing two fingers together.

"Am I not pure sex?" she asked offended.

"You're French, I'm British, we naturally repeal each other" said Harry dismissively. "And to answer your unspoken question yes. Cedric is way prettier than you, have you seen his hair? It's all silky and smooth and always looks good. I spent enough time messing it to know."

"Idiot" she said rolling her eyes and smiling prettily at the waiter who nodded politely.

"Thank you mate" said Harry flashing a winning smile and the waiter blushed immediately, stammering and walking away. Fleur glared at him. "You should play for both teams like I do; more fields to…"

Fleur gasped. "You and Diggory?" she whispered scandalized.

"Careful Fleur, you are validating every blond stereotype out there" he said and took a bite of his food, smiling with gusto at her face.

"You and Diggory?" she repeated. "But you were a baby!"

"Please, it wasn't then, it was the year after" said Harry waving off her concerns.

"But... how?" she asked perplexed.

"Oh, you mean..." Harry adopted a neutral expression. "Do you want me to explain homosexual sex to you Fleur? I know you have been kind of sheltered all your life, so I understand. First things first, there needs to be a lot of lube involved, unless you're going to be using your mouth in which case saliva is your best friend..."

Fleur blushed deeply and simultaneously glared and tried not to look at him, while hissing outraged and cursing at him in French. Harry laughed quietly while she put herself together again.

"He did his first year at Hogwarts University, he changed careers the year after, he's either in Oxford or Cambridge now, but I was gone by then" Harry shrugged. "Haven't really kept up with him... and before you try to lecture me about how he shouldn't have taken advantage of my young impressionable self, let me tell you I heard all the sides of that argument from him and my..." he trailed off, the mood turning darker.

Fleur eyes softened. "You miss him" she said and Harry nodded, not looking at her, but both very keenly aware they weren't talking about Cedric anymore.

IIIII

"Is Cedric ze one?" Fleur asked later, when they had walked back to where her car was parked and he had shared juicy details about his affair. He blinked confused. "Ze one that broke your heart" she made a vague notion with her hand. "You look… you're not..."

Harry laughed at her struggle for words. He shook his head in denial. "He cracked it a little at most."

"Then…" she started to say, but Harry gave her a look and she changed the topic. "Do not lose tomorrow" she said warningly.

Harry shrugged. "It's just a fencing tournament Fleur, not much to lose."

"Nonsense" she said lowering her sunglasses so he could see her eyes. "We… you do not know how to lose" she said and walked away.

Harry laughed and entered his car, driving to the hotel and feeling infinitely more at peace. Talking to Fleur had put him in the right state of mind. She was right. He wasn't good at losing and regardless of how he felt he was the captain of the team. There was no space for his personal life to intrude in this competition. He had promised them another national title and he was going to deliver.

IIIII

Blaine was dreading this Thursday. He had fallen asleep at some point after all that crying, his eyes were puffy and he looked like a mess. He woke up at some point around 3, he tried hard to go back to sleep, but Wes had turned and was giving him his back, and either way, he hadn't slept that great next to Wes.

At 6, an hour before either of his friends woke up, he moved to his room. He took a long shower and dressed. He still didn't look all that great. The door opened and he jumped, heart beating loudly. How could he forget he shared a room with Kurt and Harry?

Kurt entered and closed the door. He looked marginally better, he was wearing the same uniform as yesterday, but it had been washed and ironed.

"You look awful" finally said the countertenor, placing his bag down and making him sit down on the vanity. Blaine wasn't sure what he was doing with his face and he could have been painting it in fuchsia for all he cared, he was only happy Kurt was there, speaking to him, touching him even. He stared at his best friend and relished the moment.

"Kurt… I am so sorry. I know it wasn't my entire fault, but there's a big part of it that belongs to me…" he whispered.

"Can I ask you two questions? If you say yes, you have to answer, complete honesty" asked Kurt, moving to fix his hair. Blaine closed his eyes and nodded.

"What do you feel for me?"

Blaine stared at the mirror, watching Kurt concentrate intensely on his hair, with his lips pressed closely together. "I love you" he blurted out, because he needed to say it, before he lost his nerve. Kurt nodded, not reacting. "I have no right to say it, none at all, but I love you."

"And Harry? What do you feel for him?"

"I..." Blaine almost lied then, Kurt wasn't going to take him seriously if he said the truth. He did anyways, he owed him that much. "I think l love him too, I sort of realized yesterday, so I haven't had time to really process... I find him unbearably attractive and he's… he's…"

Kurt slowly raised his head. Blaine decided to spare himself the pain of explaining.

"I love Harry" said Kurt slowly. Blaine nodded dejectedly, trying not to drown in self-pity. Kurt's voice turned firmer. "But, I love you too Blaine... so I started thinking, maybe, the three of us could try to date each other."

"What do you mean by each other?" asked Blaine slowly and very confused.

"As in… the three of us… being in a committed relationship… with each other…" explained Kurt awkwardly.

Blaine wanted to cry, because that idea was too good to be true, he laughed sadly instead. "Kurt, aren't you forgetting something? Harry doesn't love me, I already put your relationship in danger, if you bring this idea to him after what we did, you will kill it for sure."

Kurt finished with his hair and cleaned his hands with a towel. "How can you be sure he doesn't feel anything for you? Blaine, I've been thinking and I do believe this could work out, but I want to know, do you want it? Because I plan to talk to Harry and explain this, figure out a way where he will actually listen and think about it without dismissing it straight away… but it would be futile if you are not on board."

"Kurt, how could I say no?" asked Blaine finally. "I love you both and I didn't think it was possible for me to have either of you. Yes Kurt, I would love it, I don't think there's anything I would want more, but please don't do it. You have a good thing going on with Harry, and..."

"If there's a slight chance, I am going to take it" said Kurt, kissing Blaine's cheek, not daring to do more. "I will figure something out."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Blaine, with glassy eyes.

"Yes" replied Kurt firmly. "I'm not sure if Harry will forgive us, I am very afraid he won't, but I will regret it if I don't try, possibly for the rest of my life. I know we screwed up, I know Harry is hurt and it kills me I can't do anything about it right now, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

"Kurt…"

"Yeah?"

"Can I give you a definite answer after dinner? I need to think this carefully… it's… it's not just something you and I can decide you know? What you are saying Kurt, it sounds wonderful and perfect and we might have been able to do it if we hadn't screwed this badly…" Blaine sighed wistfully. "If I say yes Kurt, you might lose everything. I don't think I can let you bet on those odds."

"I understand the first part" said Kurt and squeezed his shoulder. "But as for the second part, I think this might our only shot not to lose everything… I really think it's worth the risk Blaine" said Kurt as heartfelt as he could. "I think you and Harry are worth everything."

They reached an agreement to act as usual. They needed to speak to Harry before doing anything. Blaine painfully decided to sleep at Wes and David's room until then. Kurt hadn't look happy about it, but seemed to understand. Despite how optimistic they started, the day was awful, made even worse by the fact that Fred, George and Ron seemed oblivious to what happened.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Ron taking a sit in front of him, nodding to Wes and David, who seemed wary of their presence that early in the morning.

"So..." asked Fred with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"What?" asked Kurt; not understanding how they were acting like nothing happened.

"How's phone sex?" asked George, repeating the early gesture.

"He hasn't told you, has he?" asked Kurt staring at his plate, face white.

Fred and George stopped making dirty innuendos. "Hey, we were only joking…"

"Of course he hasn't..."

"We didn't think you would actually..."

Kurt took a big breath. "Blaine and me kissed, Harry saw. I've been trying to call him or text him... I... I haven't been able to reach him."

Fred and George stared at him, expressions completely blank. Ron closed his eyes, pushing the food away. "Please tell me you are joking" he whispered.

"I'm not... you… you deserved to know" Ron stood up fast enough that the chair hit the floor. He stormed out of the cafeteria, pulling his phone out on the way and not sparing a look at anybody.

Fred and George calmly gathered the trays, picked up the chair and left, not even looking at him. Blaine stared at everything not knowing what to do. Kurt concentrated on not breaking down.

IIIII

"Did you know?" asked Ron as soon as Hermione picked up. "Did you know that Kurt kissed Blaine?"

"WHAT?" screamed Hermione making Ron wince. "We have to tell Harry, oh God, how are we going to tell Harry? When did this happen? Oh God..."

"Apparently Harry saw, he didn't talk to us, did he talk to you girls?"

"Hang on…" Ron heard some rustling and then Hermione trying to wake her roommate up. "Luna! Luna! LUNA! Wake up dammit, this is urgent…" he couldn't hear anything else, but soft whispers. "It's news for Luna too, did you call him?"

"Yes, his phone is dead or turned off, what do we do?"

"I have an idea; I'll call you if I manage to get a hold of him…"

IIIII

"Kurt made an interesting proposition today" started Blaine, during the only free period they all had together, when Kurt was off in French. "He said he loves both of us, and I sort of confessed I love them both and he..."

"Decided the three of you should get together?" asked Wes, not looking up from his notebook.

"I am shocked" gasped David dramatically. "The world had shifted on its axis my friends. Good and wrong are all mixed up, white is black, black is neon yellow! Nothing would ever be the same."

"Hey! I am being serious here" protested Blaine.

"Blaine, half of Dalton thinks you three are already together, the other half was smart enough to find the truth and bet on it first" said Wes in a bored voice and with an exasperated face.

"Are you serious?" asked Blaine mouth hanging open.

David rolled his eyes. "Ok, really think about it. The most common phrase out of your mouth for a while had been 'I can't, I'm doing x with Kurt and Harry.' You room together..." he lowered his voice "You share a bed apparently; you go shopping, to football games, to his soccer and fencing..."

"Football" corrected Blaine. "He plays football and we go to American football games, he's really... never mind…" he mumbled at the looks he received.

"You three are already in a relationship" said Wes taking over the conversation. "The only thing missing to make it official is for you to get included in the make out sessions, the hand holding, Harry groping you inappropriately in the hallways when he thinks nobody is looking, Kurt dragging you around by your tie, the dirty innuendos and I would say blatant flirting in between classes, but you sort of do that already."

"Harry, Kurt and I are just friends! Sure I have feelings for them, but we..."

"Have a better relationship that either of us do with our girlfriends. Face it Blaine, Kurt finally realized what had been obvious to the rest of us, you three are crazy for each other" said David returning to his book.

Blaine stared off into space, wondering how he had not seen it before.

IIIII

"I'm in" muttered Blaine while sitting down next to him in class. "I think it's a bad idea, and I will regret it when, if, it breaks you and Harry up, but... I have to know."

Kurt nodded with a sad smile. He stayed during the weekend. He didn't think he could act normal around his dad. Things had only become harder. He didn't feel motivated enough to sing, but he went to rehearsal anyway. Really, he simply couldn't bring himself to do anything lately. Blaine wasn't much better. Kurt could see he wasn't sleeping well. He hadn't been either, but Blaine had it harder.

"Wes, hi, what can I do for you this fine Saturday morning?" asked Kurt with fake politeness. He was still in his pyjamas, not really feeling up to the task of interacting with the outside world.

"I need some advice" said Wes entering the room and quickly closing the door. "Blaine is having nightmares, yesterday he woke up screaming and pretended to be asleep for the rest of the night for our sakes, but we know he isn't resting..."

Kurt opened his mouth and closed it. "He just holds us..." he whispered averting his eyes. It was strangely intimate to explain. "Harry would simply hold us and they stopped. We usually don't have any, not when he's there, but if it's really bad, he rubs our backs and hums or sings... petting hair also works. Sometimes he does this pattern on my... back, not sure if he did it too for Blaine..."

Wes seemed surprised with the information. He probably couldn't connect the image he had from Harry with the real one, that or he was surprised by the use of us. "How are you sleeping?"

The use of us then.

"I am" he replied and grimaced.

"I have another motive to talk to you. The council talked, and we decided to turn one of our numbers into a duet. Would you be up for it?"

Kurt stared at him, he was angry with himself for feeling excited at the prospect. Once again he realized how similar he and Rachel could be. "I would like that."

"Perfect... and Kurt, we need you and Blaine to pull yourselves together for the competition, otherwise, we will have to replace you... both of you."

Kurt nodded solemnly.

They would make it somehow.

IIIII

Tom approached Harry, passing him his phone. "Your crazy friend is demanding that you talk to her."

"Which one of my crazy friends?" asked Harry resignedly "I don't have any other type…"

"I'm insulted" said Tom rolling his eyes. "Brunette, annoying, sucking face with one of your minions or loudly complaining about…"

"You can stop pretending you don't know who she is. I know you" said Harry, grabbing the phone and walked towards the lobby. "'Mione, what can I do for you?"

"Kurt kissed Blaine" she said bluntly, she might as well have punched him in the stomach.

"I'm aware" he replied with a small voice. "May I remind you my Cardinal Rule, regarding competitions? No messing with my mind? Letting me focus on the now single handedly and not allow room for anything else?"

Hermione sighed. "Fine, but the moment you win and have a second to spare, you call any of us."

"So sure I will?" he asked in a bittersweet manner. Kurt had been sure too. It was childish, but he wanted to lose if only to go against him. However, this wasn't a singles competition and he would stand by his teammates regardless of how he felt.

"Of course I am and I am always right."

"I've gotta go 'Mione, but just so you know, I left my charger and my phone is dead."

"What am I going to do with you? See if you can find somebody with the same phone."

"Will do" they both knew he wouldn't.

IIIII

Harry had taken a huge gamble and he was waiting to see it pay off. Only three members per team could compete in each round; however each member could only do so a certain amount of times. He and Moody had spent a long time creating their strategy to ensure they would have the best chances to win, while juggling all the players in a fair manner.

Moody had stubbornly defended that he and Tom should be in the finals, which would be a guaranteed victory, but Harry knew that if they put both of them in the final round, it would leave them very vulnerable in the semi-finals. There was no point in putting the strongest fencers at the end, if they didn't even qualify.

Taking advantage of the fact Moody was only their coach and faculty advisor, but had no real power in the decision making due to Dalton ridiculous rules; he ignored Moody and a fuming Tom and made the last minute decision of putting Tom where he believed they needed him the most.

He could tell the team didn't approve his choice, but nobody was stupid enough to question it. Apart from Tom, who had ranted and yelled and basically thrown a tantrum in their shared room once they were by themselves.

If the situation was a little less precarious, he might have spared a second to smugly look at all of them; however they were literally on the line. If Tom won, they passed to the next round, if he lost, third place would be the best thing they could aim for. He flexed his fingers a few times. His whole arm was aching. Despite his best attempts to detach himself from his emotions, he had only managed to turn everything into anger and it showed on how vicious he had been with his opponents.

Huh... it was probably the reason why they had all been quietly compliant.

The team watched anxiously as Tom took his place and Harry turned.

"Coleman, Hicks, we need to go warm up" he barked.

They stared at him a little lost. "But the match..."

"Riddle is going to win, show some fucking trust. Now move it both of you" he said grabbing his own equipment. After some quick warms ups to ensure their muscles wouldn't cramp, he signaled to both of them to step closer and whispered. "Hick, you opponent is partial to aiming to the right side and Coleman yours tends to get careless if you give him space. Keep your distance from him and he will lose focus immediately. I'm going to imitate their styles, pay attention so you know what to expect..."

They returned 15 minutes later, with perfect timing for the first match. Tom had a displeased face on and Moody was conveniently out of range.

"Don't like sweet things Riddle?" asked Harry mockingly standing next to his co-captain and far away enough the rest couldn't hear them.

"I like cold things better" he sneered.

"Vengeance vs. Victory" hummed Harry. "Difficult choice indeed" he said softly and proudly watched as Hick easily won the match, Hick punched the air enthusiastically.

Tom looked at Coleman when he reached their side for last minute pep talks and advice. "I'd rather appreciate if you win. Potter would be insufferable if he gets the pleasure of getting us the title."

"I do agree, I've been told I am too arrogant for my own good already" said Harry with a smirk and a gentle bump of their shoulders. Coleman laughed, his nerves fading. Once he was out of hearing range, Harry sighed to himself.

"Breathing problems Potter?" asked Tom sarcastically.

"Heart ones" Harry said flippantly and smirked at him. "Are you offering a shoulder for me to cry? My Tom, I feel tingly and warm by your concern" Tom put an appropriately disgusted face and Harry laughed for a second before turning to see the beginnings of the match. "I'll manage... for the record, I do consider you a friend Tom, I just don't consider you sane."

"I am looking forwards to the time off from your presence I will get when we win this thing" he mumbled crossing his arms.

"Aw, I am looking forwards to the team hug too" said Harry sweetly and clapping enthusiastically when Coleman won the first point.

"Your attempts at distracting me away from the subject are pathetic" Tom said condescendingly.

"I am aware" said Harry sadly, but smiling encouragingly for the benefit of the rest of the team.

"I will deny it if you repeat it, but you make a good captain" said Tom when he watched Coleman win another point. His match was taking longer since he kept dancing away, just as Harry had instructed.

"You wouldn't have been" said Harry shrugging. "You are horrible at team work and you would have hated having somebody, namely me, more talented than you in your ranks."

Tom smirked slightly. He appreciated that Harry had never sugar coated or lied to him to spare his feelings. It was the only thing that made him bearable to be around. Coleman won and the team yelled in triumph, Harry smiling brightly when they all rushed forwards to embrace him, he quickly pulled Hick at the center with him.

"You could have taken this match and..."

"Nah" said Harry shrugging. "They are the seniors... and you of course" with that Harry put his hands next to his mouth and screamed. "Dalton!" he received a victory cry in response. "Dalton!" he yelled again and the chant in reply was louder. "Dalton!"

He laughed and joined the celebration, making sure to drag Tom with him. His victory high lasted until they were all receiving their medals. He passed down the trophy to Tom, after raising it once for all of them to see. Once the ceremony was concluded, he made a quick excuse and disappeared for a second. He took a deep breath in the empty hallway, throwing the medal away from him with disgust and desperately trying to keep his emotions in place.

"I am pretty sure this is not the chocolate kind, so I am not sure why you look disappointed... actually, I can see why you're disappointed now."

Harry blinked a few times. "Bill?" he laughed. "What are you doing here? And why do I keep bumping into familiar faces in bloody Virginia?"

"Ron told me you were competing and I was at driving distance... I owe you a big apology and you don't make it easy" said the older Weasley, twirling the medal in his hand.

"It's alright" said Harry. "Water under the bridge..."

"I punched you" said Bill flatly.

"So did Charlie" pointed out Harry.

"Well, Charlie is an idiot. I am the older, I should know better" Harry looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Bill laughed. "I know, I sound like my mother. Just let me apologize, buy you lunch or something."

"I kind of..."

"'Arry!" called a familiar voice and Fleur's heels made an echo as she approached. "That was..." she paused suddenly noticing Bill.

Harry looked at both of them and almost laughed. "Fleur, Bill here was about to go buy me lunch to celebrate, would you care to join us?" He did laugh when they both eagerly nodded. "Why don't the two of you go ahead and I'll catch up? I have to shower and change."

"Take your time" said Bill while offering his arm to Fleur. He gave Harry a look and he nodded in understanding. After 15 minutes had passed, he sent Fleur a text from Tom's phone that he wouldn't be able to join them, having to attend the inexistent team mandatory dinner celebration.

He received a call to the hotel from Bill later who went on and on about how great she was, and asked what Harry knew about her, and could he tell him everything so he could plan a great date, and repeatedly mentioned how grateful he was for Harry being so understanding.

"Oh!" said Bill suddenly and Harry almost banged his head against the wall. He had been so close to hanging up. "I still have your medal."

"Keep it, throw it, I don't care" said Harry his good mood effectively gone. "Just... I don't want it. Good luck with Fleur" he hung up and resolutely tried not to think about Kurt and how he had wanted to create an outfit for the medal to show it off.

He bitterly went to bed. He was glad for Bill and Fleur, really, but he was getting tired that everybody around him seemed to be able to find their other half and he kept... not thinking. He was not thinking tonight or any night until he could get his hands around alcohol.

Five hours later he was on his way to the airport.

IIIII

Sunday at noon, Blaine and Kurt saw the bus approaching with mixed feelings. Harry's car was right behind it. He parked in his usual spot and they waited anxiously, until they realized who had been driving.

"Tom?" asked Kurt with a frown. "Where's Harry?"

Tom resisted from snorting, it was unbecoming. "Somebody called last night, he grabbed his bag and left."

"Who called?"

Tom gave them a look of distrust. "If he hasn't told you, I fail to see how I should."

"Riddle" sighed Kurt. "Please?"

"She had an English accent."

"Who?" asked Blaine confused.

"The woman that called, she had an English accent... now, if you excuse me, I have to give the keys to Weasley" his face remained unmoving as he said the next part. "He was very specific about not to give them to either of you, so apologies for cutting this meeting short..." the venom in his tone was enough to let Kurt and Blaine know he knew or suspected and was definitely not in their corner.

"It was probably Hermione or Luna getting in contact with him" offered Blaine.

"Oh, and they faked an English accent just because?" asked Kurt sarcastically. He leaned towards Blaine slightly, not touching. "Maybe I was being naive, but I thought we could fix this... what if we can't? I've been telling myself things would be alright, it's just a bump in the road, what if..."

"Do you really think Harry would do anything before talking to you face to face?"

"No" whispered Kurt. "I don't think so..."

"Remember when he said it was a coward thing to do not to break up with someone in person?" asked Blaine. "At the very least, he will give you that closure."

"Yes" agreed Kurt more firmly. "He will have to listen."

Blaine stared guiltily at his shoes once Kurt seemed to recover. At this point he wasn't sure which one of them was filled with more fake hope.

IIIII

Sunday passed without any traces of Harry, Monday and Tuesday too, Kurt and Blaine poured themselves into their duet and solo, since it seemed to be the only thing keeping them sane. Blaine appreciated Wes and David's efforts, but it wasn't working. He was seriously thinking of starting to take the medication again, the only thing keeping him from doing it was the fact that it would be admitting defeat.

On Wednesday after class, Kurt rushed out of the room in the middle of rehearsal. Luckily, they were only polishing the background vocals that day. He looked at Blaine and pointed to the window on his way out. On his hurry he left all his things behind. Blaine recognized the girl Kurt was approaching, it was Hermione.

He hoped she could help… he hoped she would be willing to help.

IIIII

Hermione was silently waiting at the gate, leaning slightly against her car. She ignored the boy's stares and stopped the few attempts of flirting with a scary glare. It was a boy's boarding school after all and without any of her friends or boyfriend to serve as buffer it was inevitable. She was waiting for Ron to come out, until her attention was pulled by someone approaching. If anything her glare turned colder.

"Hummel" she said without any emotions.

"'Mio…"

"Granger, if you please. Only my friends call me that" she interrupted him. He flushed and stared at his shoes. She took a moment to study him, he wasn't wearing his blazer and his bag wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"I need to speak with him" he finally whispered. "I've been trying, but he's not in class, or practice, he doesn't answer my phone calls or the emails, I tried to ask Ron or the twins, they all shut down on me."

"I'm aware" she replied. Kurt stared at her with a devastated expression, she softened slightly. "He's not in the country… we don't know when he's coming back, but I can assure you this has nothing to do with you."

"I love him" Kurt whispered. "I did something stupid, and now I might have lost him… I don't know what to do."

"Harry's been hurt too many times… I know he hasn't told you much about himself, but it takes time for him to trust people" she stared at him pointedly and he blushed again, knowing he betrayed whatever small amount of trust Harry had given him. "He's not perfect and he holds grudges deeply. I don't know if he can forgive you Kurt, but we can't do anything for you. If he comes back, he'll talk to you. In the meantime, we don't feel like being around you, it might be petty and childish to pick sides, but no matter how much we like you as a friend, you're not Harry."

"But…"

She closed her eyes, reeling in any tears of anger and opened them, glaring at him. "That was my best friend you hurt and I want to hurt you so badly in return so please Kurt, I really don't feel like talking to you."

"I thought we were friends" he whispered vulnerably.

"You don't get it do you?" asked Hermione with a small hysterical laugh. "Do you not get what Harry means to all of us? Why we feel so possessive and protective of him?" Kurt took a step back surprised by her outburst. "He was Ron and mine's first real friend, and Luna's too… and he's the only person the twins honestly respect. The only solid thing he has is us, a bunch of teenagers that can barely keep up with him…"

Kurt understood, because he felt that way about him too. He knew Harry was strong and capable of taking the world by himself, that if he cared about you, you felt you were part of something bigger and at the same time, there was a vulnerability around him that he protected fiercely. Kurt knew that there was a wall and that Hermione had gained access to the other side, whatever was on that side had to be big if it broke her down so easily.

Hermione composed herself, cleaning the angry tears from her face. Absently, Kurt thought she had never seemed so beautiful and terrifying.

"It's so not fair because he deserves better, so we became what he needed because we owe him everything. We are more than his friends, we are his family Kurt and we thought you… we thought you could be trusted. We let you get too close… we let you hurt Harry and we will never forgive ourselves for that."

It was unsaid, but Kurt heard it. We thought you could be family too.

She took a final breath completely composed and with a cold look he gave the final blow. "I know this is not about me, but fuck Kurt I kept telling him to open up to you, to trust you, to tell you he loved you, to tell you about his past and to stop being scared of opening up and… the fact remains we trusted you too."

"Hermione" begged Kurt feeling raw and drained. "I just… I made a mistake, I…"

"I know friends stand by each other, but if the situation had been backwards, with him kissing somebody else, how do you think Blaine would have reacted?" her eyes became sharp, staring at him angrily. "Everybody warned Harry about hurting you, funny how they didn't think it could be the other way around. I wish we had done the same. Good luck Hummel… knowing Harry, you're going to need it."

Ron arrived, having been waiting close by for the right moment to approach. He gave Kurt an evaluating stare and wrapped an arm around Hermione's tense frame.

"I know I screwed up ok? I know and I am a mess, but, could we talk? Please?" begged Kurt.

They had a silent conversation in front of him and he could tell Ron was the one opening to the idea of listening to him. Hermione reluctantly nodded. He would take what he could get at this point.

IIIII

Hermione and Ron sat in front of him, their coffees untouched.

"I love Harry" he started, and looking at them straight in the eye continued. "But I also love Blaine. Blaine, he loves me, but he also loves Harry, and yes, I am talking about love, love, not liking or infatuation or lust."

Ron sighed. "What do you want from us? We are not going to tell you anything of where Harry is or..."

"I would like your opinion. Do you think Harry might have any feelings for Blaine?" Kurt needed answers; he needed to play this right.

Hermione's eyes became cold. "Why?"

"I told Blaine that if there was the slight possibility that Harry might feel something for both of us, I would propose to him to start a new relationship with Blaine, the three of us together."

"That's a terrible idea" said Hermione instantly. "Relationships are not things you can upgrade because you feel like it."

Kurt frowned. "I am not doing this because I am bored with Harry. I am doing this because I can't pick one. I won't. Blaine tried to convince me not to do it because it will destroy my relationship with Harry. I am willing to do it, because I think the risk is worth it."

"Why are you asking us if you are willing to risk it anyways?" asked Ron.

"Because I don't want to hurt Blaine that way, giving him hope that everything would turn out fine when it won't... it's cruel, I've been clinging to it, not knowing what would happen, but expecting that things would be fine. I can't expect Blaine to do the same" he could barely meet his eyes, but he knew he needed to give them more to get what he wanted. "I already hurt Harry… I don't… I don't want to ask if the only thing it will do is hurt him more."

"I don't doubt your intentions are in the right place, but it's a bad idea" replied Hermione again. "Harry doesn't even like complicated relationships and this sounds messy just in theory. Not to mention the fact that you are asking him to open your relationship to include the boy you cheated with. I'm sorry, but it sounds selfish and very inconsiderate from your part."

Ron sipped his drink staring at the table, before meeting Kurt's eyes. "Are you playing with Harry's feelings or do you really mean it?"

"I mean it"

Ron took a moment before nodding slowly and started speaking.

"Harry said he liked Blaine and that falling for him would be easy when we were fixing the room. He also said he was sure you two would end up together, that he had you on borrowed time, but he couldn't bring himself to let go. He had been holding back on you because of that" Hermione stared at Ron contemplative, before sighing and turning to Kurt.

"Before leaving for nationals, we talked. He said he felt guilty, because without realizing, he was starting to develop real feelings for Blaine; he was planning to come clean about it when he returned" Hermione stared at Kurt. "You kissed Blaine because you were confused about your feelings, the day after he decided to come clean to you about emotional cheating, something you have probably been doing too."

"You are going to have a really hard time getting through to him" said Ron. "You hit the biggest insecurity he had in your relationship without realizing it. I can tell you from experience it took him a long time to even look at Ginny, let along be in the same room with her."

"He is not going to take this lightly because he has feelings for Blaine too, if anything it will be worse" commented Hermione. "He will be a mess and make stupid decisions, and I'm sorry to say nothing you do or say will change his mind until he gets the resentment out of his system. After a while things will start going back to normal, and you have to let him Kurt, you have to let him lick his wounds in peace and give him time to gather himself together. After that he would talk to you... if he wants to."

"Before all that, you should know that he is going to break up with you, there's no doubt about it" said Ron calmly, ignoring Kurt's dejected face. "But if you are serious about this, if you both are, then you will be there and give him time and let whatever happens in that period go."

"What do you mean by 'whatever happens'?" asked Kurt dreading the answer.

Hermione leaned forwards. "You kissed another guy Kurt, he's been faithful and pardon me for pointing it out, a damn good boyfriend for you and this is the second time getting seriously involved with somebody backfires on him. Not to mention the train wreck his relationship with his first boyfriend was. He's going to find an outlet for that betrayal. I'll be surprised if he doesn't sleep with the whole of Ohio and the surrounding states to get you out of his system."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Kurt with an unpleasant taste on his mouth.

"Harry is no saint, we want you to be aware what to expect, so that later on you can't said you didn't know. Ginny chased him and it only made Harry take longer to forgive her. Let him decide on his own if he wants to start over" Hermione sighed and grabbed Ron's hand. "We have to go. Regardless of how, I hope things work out Kurt, if not for your sake for Harry's."

"Where is he?" asked Kurt softly.

"England... something came up and he had to go back" replied Ron, despite Hermione's warning glance. "It's not our place to say more."

IIIII

Harry grabbed his overnight bag, threw everything that might have caused problems in the airport out and called a cab. Penning a quick note to Tom to drive his car back, he exited the hotel, dropping by Moody's room to explain the situation. He was thankful that he had the habit of carrying his passport with him when he went out of the state.

He spent the taxi ride calling airlines and ended up paying a ridiculously large amount of money to bump a passenger out. The flight was long and tedious. He tried to sleep as much as he could, but only managed an hour before waking up again.

Heathrow airport was as busy as always, tired and eager crowds trying to get out, women maneuvering luggage bigger than them, little kids crying, frustrated and angry passengers. It was nice to see some things never changed.

Harry moved with long steps and entered the underground; he was soon getting out in South Kensington Station and making the quick walk to the hospital. He hated how familiar this routine seemed. He kept moving his hand to get his phone out, only to remember it was still on the back of his car, across the bloody ocean.

He entered the hospital and went to the elevator, not needing directions.

"Harry?" he turned around and smiled sadly.

"Tonks" he moved to hug her, she sagged against him. "Where's Teddy?"

"Staying with mom, he's been there for two days and they are already driving each other crazy…" they walked through the familiar corridors of the hospital, making light conversation.

"How's is he?" asked Harry dropping on the chair as quietly as he could, Remus was asleep but looked tired.

"It's just routine this time, well… he was feeling a bit under the weather, but I am sure is just a cold or something. They need to run some tests…"

"Tonks…" he said softly.

She ignored him. "…and I was wondering if you could take Teddy somewhere, you know how much he loves his uncle Harry. I mean, I know you saw him not that long ago, but it feels like ages since you moved and…"

"Tonks" he said more firmly, managing to make eye contact to convey the seriousness of what he was about to say. "You need to talk to him, at some point you are going to have to come clean about all this. He deserves to know about Remus' condition" started Harry, tired of the charade.

"He's so young, how can we tell him that… that Remus might…" Tonks turned around, fluffing the pillows and busying herself with putting things in different places. "Anyways, how is America? Learn to drive on the other side yet?"

"Dammit Nymphadora!" hissed Harry standing up. "He needs to know, what if one of these days Remus dies? While I am with Teddy on the beach, or the park or freaking Disneyland, it would hit him out of nowhere, he would be lost and he won't have any idea what to do, how to feel, and you know what else? Later on, when he realizes I take him to those places on purpose, knowing that his dad might die while he was away, he will hate me Tonks, he will hate me and all those nice memories will be ruined."

"Oh Harry, that's not true, Remus is…"

"Sick" he said with no tact.

She stared at him, biting her lips and trying to find a way to ignore his words. "Harry…"

"He has cancer" he said and she flinched. "Teddy deserves to know. He is six, he is young, but his dad might die and he should be here, he should be treasuring every moment, every memory and I don't want to be the person that stole him from his dad's side" Harry stared at Tonks, who was using her sleeves to clean a few tears.

"No, no, no, no. I can accept if you don't want to take Teddy away while we are in the hospital, but I won't let my kid feel this… this uncertainty and pain. I won't allow it Harry" said Tonks in a firm tone of voice. "Remus feels guilty enough as it is…"

"It's a mistake, but I respect that it's yours to make" said Harry grabbing his bag. "I'll take him somewhere; we'll be back on Wednesday. I need a nap, food and a shower. I'll come back later, before picking him up at Andromeda's."

He grabbed his bag and walked away. He was getting tired of doing that. He was tired of lying to his godson; he could feel the heaviness of the situation settling it. Remus had barely survived last time and Tonks was so deep in denial right now he didn't know what to do.

He missed Sirius… missed being the kid and not having to worry about things.

He missed his godfather so much in that second that it was almost suffocating him, but he had things to do. He didn't have time for self-pity at the moment.

He had his own godson to worry about.

IIIII

"Master Harry!" greeted a man delighted. Harry smiled honestly and hugged the old man, who as always seemed torn between being formal or giving into his emotions. "We were so happy Sir! So happy to know you were coming home!"

"As I am to be back Dobby…"

"Old man, you leave Master Harry alone!" called another voice. "Sir, we have a traditional English breakfast ready for you."

"Winky!" said Harry delighting, evolving the woman in a hug. She gave in and hugged him for a moment, patting his back awkwardly and trying to distance herself immediately.

"And do not call me by that dreadful nickname Master Sirius invented… and Robert, don't you encourage him…"

"But Winky!" protested Harry immediately. "Would you deny me this small link to my godfather? When I have so little…"

"Oh, you've got no shame Master Harry!" muttered the woman, throwing her arms in the air and leaving the room.

"Well played Sir" said Dobby with amusement.

"Why thank you Dobby" Harry said gallantly. "Could you prepare me a cup of tea? And if you could find me a copy of the Financial Times I'd appreciate it."

IIIII

"Harry, oh you look wonderful! Have you grown more since… mmm… you are due to a haircut, but…"

"Good to see you too Andy" she huffed at the interruption, but let it go. "How's Ted?"

"At work, driving everybody insane I'm sure, I keep trying to get that old man to retire but he's impossible… Theodore!" she called. "There's somebody here to see you!"

"My name is not Theodore! But I am coming anyways!" yelled Teddy from upstairs; they smiled at each other when they heard him coming down the stairs, each step followed by a thud. "Tell mom I'm all packed and ready!"

"I can't help but feel offended" whispered Andromeda with a wink.

"It's the lack of TV" responded Harry with a smirk.

"UNCLE HARRY!" yelled Teddy frozen in the middle of the steps, he left the suitcase and ran towards him, hugging him with his little arms as hard as he could. "Are we going somewhere? Is it a cool place? When did you get here? When do we leave? Is it going to be just us right?"

Harry laughed. He picked him up and gave him a bear hug. "I've got the car outside. We'll drive to Thomas Land. How does that sounds?"

Teddy's eyes widened to incredible proportions. "Really? Are we really going there?"

"Yes and we'll stay until we get in every single attraction that catches your fancy" smiled Harry, grabbing the suitcase from the stairs. "Now, go put on your shoes so we can hit the road."

Teddy scurried away, he watched him go with a heavy heart and feeling immensely guilty.

"Harry…" started to say Andromeda.

"It's ok" he said picking Teddy's bag easily.

"No, no it isn't" she said. "They shouldn't do this. They shouldn't call you and expect…"

"He's my godson" said Harry and shrugged. "I understand better than anybody how much it means."

"You're 17" she said sadly.

"Yeah, so?" asked Harry and smiled brightly as Teddy rushed back into the room.

"Bye grandma" said Teddy kissing her cheek and moving towards Harry, holding his hand. "This is going to be so cool!" he said excitedly. "Are we driving there?"

"No, we'll catch a train. We'll get there faster…" he smiled at Andy goodbye; both hands occupied and ignored the sad look she was sending him.

Teddy gripped his hand tightly as he jumped down the steps, smiling in a carefree manner and Harry could understand why Tonks and Remus would want to prevent that.

- End Chapter 21 -

A lot of people wanted me to do something for the tournament, so I had to push a few things for the next chapter. I hope you are all satisfied with how the gang reacted to Kurt and I'm warning that things won't be solved for a while.

Seriously, I want the pace for the angst to be realistic and there're a lot of things that need to be sorted out between the boys.

I'll update with the next chapter as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading!

SweetCaroline91