Welcome to the Jungle

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or Glee. All recognisable characters, content, or locations belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Part One: Fifteen

Chapter Thirty: Another Day

Although he half expects her not to turn up, Quinn waits for him outside the library. She looks small in her winter clothes - small, sad, and tired - and upon reaching her, Harry has no idea what to say. He has a peace offering though, in the form of his mother's breakfast muffins, a thermos of hot chocolate (the good kind), and the certainty that he doesn't want to go another day without talking to the girl that isn't only his girlfriend, but also one of his closest friends. He's not going to apologise for calling her out on her lie, because he's pretty sure he hasn't done anything wrong, but there was probably a nicer way of doing it.

Harry hesitates briefly, and then holds an arm out in invitation. Quinn takes the unspoken offer gratefully - practically falls against him, in fact - and he holds her close.

"I'm sorry I lied to you."

Harry sighs. "I'm sorry I got angry with you."

Quinn somehow clings tighter, her arms a vice grip around his waist. "I deserved it."

"Debatable, but either way, it didn't warrant the silent treatment. Yesterday sucked."

Quinn laughs wetly, sniffles, and wipes at watering eyes. "Tell me about it. Can we not do that again, please?"

"Deal," Harry agrees. He rubs her back, uncomfortable with the tears, and unsure of what else to do besides. "Just… don't lie to me, please? Tell me to mind my own business, tell me you don't want to talk about it, don't say anything at all, if you want. Just… I just really don't like lying. Not about the important stuff."

"I'm sorry," Quinn sighs, weary, "I won't do it again. I promise."

They kiss, lingering and sweet, and Harry mentions the muffins and cocoa he'd brought from home. Quinn, who has made no secret of her appreciation for Lily Potter's baking, is enthusiastic, and they retreat to the cafeteria to enjoy them. It's not empty, but neither is it particularly crowded, and as such, it's rather easy to find a table for themselves.

There, as Quinn and Harry sit as closely as their respective chairs would allow, the pair are left to their own devices. It's a pleasant way to spend the morning, eating and talking, and catching up properly after the last two weeks apart. It's still a little awkward, the tension from their disagreement leaving them both uncertain and shy, but it's an enjoyable hour and a half nevertheless, and Harry is therefore a little disappointed when they have to start making their way to class.

"Back to the daily grind," he sighs, regretful, and thinks of Breckenridge. Is it too late to return to Colorado? "Are you ready for a riveting term of American Poetry?"

"Like I'm ready for a tooth ache," Quinn answers, mock enthusiastic.

"Aw, don't be like that." Mike appears out of nowhere, greets Harry with a fist bump, and falls into step beside them. He's accompanied by Hermione, quiet and eyes bloodshot, and Harry casts her a concerned frown. "At least it's not Shakespeare, right?"

"That's something," Harry concedes. Quinn nods her agreement, and they both brace - and resign - themselves to the monotony ahead.

-!- -#-

Viktor's dating someone new. They're not together, officially, but it explains Hermione's uncharacteristic behaviour from that morning. She's a foreign exchange student from France, a knockout by the name of Fleur Delacour, and as she explains over their trashy cafeteria lunch, she's completed all of her mandatory school credits - hence why she's there in her final year - and she'd grown weary of her peers at Beauxbatons. She'll return to France to graduate, but in order to improve her English, she intends to finish her last year of high school in the United States.

"Why Lima?" Seamus asks. Frankie, in his usual, functional mute way, is as curious, but he doesn't vocalise it.

Harry's seated with his friends on the soccer team, disinclined towards putting up with Finn while Quinn, Santana, and Brittany sit with their fellow cheerleaders. Mike's got a meeting for the scholastic decathlon team, Matt for WMHS' African American Society, and Puck hates to be forced to act as a buffer between them. As such, Harry opts to spend time with the friends he's made outside of the football team, and meanwhile, Puck and Finn raise hell with Karofsky and company. It's a compromise Harry can gel with, but a part of him still feels like something of an intruder among the obvious fraternity between Ron, Seamus, Frankie and, to a lesser extent, Viktor. Dean's at the same meeting as Matt, incidentally, and his absence aside, Harry can't shake the feeling he's not the only 'bro' missing in action.

Where the hell is Cedric?

Admittedly, Cedric is one of those social butterfly types who somehow manages to be friends with everyone, and so he can often be seen with a different group of people every day of the week, but at present, the dude isn't even in the cafeteria. Cho is though, as is Cedric's best friend, Ethan, and they both look concerned. As such, Harry worries, and he's pretty sure that the others are, too. They keep looking around in search of something (or someone), anyway.

"Mr and Mrs Krum are my host family," Fleur shrugs, "They are here, so I am here, too."

"Well, welcome to Lima, then," Harry offers, "I hope it treats you well."

"Thank you," Fleur acknowledges.

Ron carelessly deposits his tray on the table, and drops heavily into the empty seat beside Puck. He looks utterly done with the day, his clothes askew, his hair a mess, with a tired, greyish cast to his features. He actually looks a little ill.

"Wake up on the wrong side of bed this morning?" Seamus snarks. Ron smiles despite himself.

"Rough break," Ron explains, "Can't believe I'm actually relieved to be back in this shithole."

"Everything okay?" Harry enquires.

Ron shrugs. "Charlie told the family he's got a boyfriend. Mum didn't take it well."

"Jesus," Harry mutters. Around him, the others offer their sympathy. None of them are homophobes, mercifully, but at this point, only Fleur's the only one of them who remains a stranger to Molly Weasley's wrath.

"Sorry to hear that. If you need a place to crash…"

Harry doesn't expect Mrs Weasley to take it out on Ron, or any of his other siblings, but Ron's never made a secret of the fact he hates being in his house when his family is fighting. Fred and George don't get along with Mrs Weasley, and according to Kate and Ron both, Ginny clashes with both of their parents a lot, so it's apparently a frequent occurrence. It's never made Ron look this terrible, though.

"Thanks," Ron offers him a grateful smile, "I appreciate it."

Harry shrugs. "No problem."

Although Ron's visibly (and justifiably) unhappy, he makes an effort to socialise with the rest of them, and the remainder of their lunch hour isn't awful. They chat about soccer, mostly, interspersed with discussion about movies watched and video games played, but for Viktor's sake, they also make an effort to get to know Fleur. She gets to know them in turn, and Harry wonders if he ought to feel bad about the fact that he actually likes her.

Hermione, when she finds out, will probably not be impressed.

Eventually, the bell rings, and they disperse to their respective classes. Brittany meets him near their lockers, and they walk together to their art class. They're studying abstract art this term, for which his friend is exceedingly enthusiastic, but Harry can't share in her excitement. Instead, he's nervous about receiving his results for last term's final project, and more specifically, what his teacher thought of his painting.

With that in mind, Harry's quiet as he settles at his usual table, and distracted as Brittany babbles about her cat, Lord Tubbington. He's smiling though, because Brittany's utterly endearing, but as he does, he meets the bright, electric blue eyes of Daphne Greengrass.

Harry's still never heard her say a word, and despite himself, he is still curious.

This time, she's the one who looks away first.

Author's Note: You guys are super. Thanks for the support. Made it to a hundred reviews, so yay! Hope you've enjoyed. Until next time, -t.