A/n: Thanks to everyone who followed/favourited and a special thanks to IscreamIceCream for those inspirational words. The pace will sort of remain at this speed with slight modulation. This is a hybrid between the book universe and the film universe plus I'm a sucker for disrupting canon.
Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Glee.
Kurt adjusted his brooch and clasped his Marc Jacobs messenger bag closer to his side as he and Hermione walked from their first class of the year. Charms had proven to be quite to Kurt's liking; he was able to easily pick up their incantations and remember what each did due to his photographic memory, Professor Flitwick had commented on his natural aptitude but Kurt thought he was just being courteous. Despite their obviously conflicting views on the importance of the preservation of one's appearance; Kurt found that Hermione and he were very similar in their pursuit of knowledge and excellence. They found seats in the dungeon class room, near the front beside Neville.
"Kurt, this is Harry and his friend Ron." Hermione said with gesturing to the two boys sitting at the end of the desk, "Harry, Ron, this is Kurt."
"Hi," he smiled at each of them, "Nice to meet you."
"Pleasure," Harry replied.
They were engaged in light conversation, trying to get a feel of what to expect from the lesson. Kurt knew that the potions master was his head of house but that didn't mean he expected any preferential treatment, if anything he knew the teacher would expect more of him. He fiddled with Finn's hair while they waited for the lesson to begin.
"Why are you sitting in front row?" he questioned the bigger boy as he jerked him back and forth by his ears.
"This was the only seat left when I got here." He spoke in a booming voice, Kurt shot him a disapproving look and he instantly lowered his voice, "Did you sleep okay?"
"You know me, I was so excited about the new school year that I stayed up all night pre-reading the prescribed text." He said as he kneaded his brother's face, "How are you? Were the other Hufflepuff students nice to you?"
"Yeah," Finn's face lit up, "there's this fourth year who said I have the perfect build to be a beater and he would help me make the team next year."
"Sexy."
"Who is that Hummel," Draco said with a smug smirk from behind him, "your boyfriend?" There was a roar of laughter around the classroom; Finn had turned red from anger. Kurt calmed him with a single touch and looked straight at Draco; this caused silence to sweep across the classroom.
"Why?" Kurt said with a purse of his lips, "Are you jealous?" This time even Hermione joined in on the laughter.
Professor Snape entered and put an immediate halt to the laughter. He began an obviously rehearsed monologue on the superiority of potions as a subject and how that would mean that most of us would not appreciate its fine art. Kurt was simply taken aback by the man's obvious misuse of hair product; the man's hair was greasy and hung like death on either side of his thin face, the man needed to invest in some volumising shampoo or from the look of things, any kind of shampoo.
He suddenly stopped his speech and looked at their row of desks, "Some of you may have come to Hogwarts in possession of skills so formidable that you don't find it necessary to pay attention." Hermione nudged Harry to stop writing as the potions master stepped closer and crossed his arms over his thin frame, flipping his onyx hair to the side. He stood in front of Harry, "Mr Potter, our new celebrity." There were murmurs about the classroom but Professor Snape soon commanded silence with a single look, "Tell me, what would you get if you added powdered root of asphodel to an Infusion of Wormwood?"
Due to his eidetic memory Kurt knew the answer to this question, a draught of living death, but he didn't dare answer the question. Hermione, on the other hand, had shot her hand up as soon as the answer came to her. He gently pulled her hand down and explained that this was Professor Snape making an example of Harry because he hadn't been listening.
"I don't know sir," Harry's voice was soft and submissive.
"You don't know? Let's try again," the potions master's tone was patronising but Kurt didn't dare question his authority in front of the other students, "Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"
In the stomach of a goat, Kurt thought to himself as Harry admitted that he didn't know. Professor Snape continued to fire question after question at Harry and he didn't know any of the answers until finally he burst out and demanded that the professor stop picking on him and instead allow people who want to answer questions to answer them. The class was instructed to open their textbooks to Cure for Boils; Kurt read the spell over twice before dividing and preparing his ingredients perfectly. By the time he was adding his horned slugs, Finn had become the first in their class to successfully brew a perfect cure for boils.
"But how?" he demanded of his brother, "What did you differently from me?"
"Well, you read the recipe twice and double checked all your measurements," Kurt nodded, "I just dove straight in and winged my way through it."
"Ten points to Hufflepuff." Professor Snape said after inspecting the potion closely, "Class dismissed, but only after you finish a respectable brew."
Neville's cauldron melted and spilled a putrid smelling liquid all over Kurt's robes; in that moment Kurt had decided that he didn't like Potions but made it his mission to excel in the class in spite of it.
"Professor Snape," he approached the man cautiously, "might I have a word?"
"Yes…" the man paused and raised a brow.
"Kurt Hummel." He cleared his throat, "I feel like I don't really have an aptitude for this subject but I'd like to make strides, do have any recommendations?"
"Stay away from Longbottom," he said without looking up from his work.
"I mean," Kurt snapped his fingers to draw the teacher's attention to him, "I know all the theory but I want to look into improve my practical application."
"You snap your fingers at me ever again and you'll be taken to the hospital wing in a liquidated form. Detention!" the man said, irritation obvious in his tone, "Now, if you keep applying yourself in the same fashion you did today you'll do just fine." The man stared at him intently.
"Thank you."
"Where are you from Mr Hummel?" the Professor looked him in the eye.
"I'm from London," Kurt was confused by the line of questioning but none the less answered truthfully.
"And your parents?" he asked politely, "What do they do?"
"My mother was an investment banker, my dad restores classic cars and Carole is a nurse." Kurt smiled, "Do you mind me asking why you're asking all these questions?"
"Well, as your head of house I have an obligation to find out more about my students," he turned away from him, "I was also under the impression that I might know your parents; you look quite like someone I once knew but they were a wizard and you're muggle-born."
"Oh okay," Kurt was about to turned and leave but stopped in his tracks, his curiosity peaked, "I'm actually adopted so there is a possibility I'm not muggle-born."
"Interesting," he said without even looking at him.
"Yeah but I doubt that," Kurt said with an odd bounce in his voice, "My theory is that one of those teenagers on Grimmauld Place got knocked up and decided to leave the baby with someone who doesn't know them."
"Grimmauld Place?"
"Yeah, I live at number thirteen Grimmauld Place."
"I have a… friend at number twelve."
"There is no number twelve, it was a numbering error."
"Oh, okay."
Kurt said a quick goodbye before moving along.
~0~
After the first few days at Hogwarts Kurt admitted to himself that he was settling in rather well, he had taken to most of his classes easily; enjoying Charms and Transfiguration most but not being particularly fond of Herbology due to the dirty nature of the subject. He had written a detailed letter to his father, in which he had off loaded about everything; the group of new friends he had made, his strange pseudo-mentorship detention with Professor Snape, he made note to mention that he had been feeling slightly under the weather but didn't want to worry either his father or Carole so chose to keep details on that to a minimum.
Kurt had stopped by the owlery to send his letter before rushing off to the training grounds for his first flying lesson. He got to the green to find everyone huddled together, he saw Madam Hooch carrying someone off- he must have been really late if someone had already hurt themselves.
"Where were you?" Hermione asked as he joined the general masses.
"I had to send a letter, so I went to the owlery. "What happened here?"
"Neville lost control of his broom and broke his wrist."
"Neville's hurt?" Kurt exclaimed, "Where is he?"
"Madam Hooch took him to the hospital wing," Hermione said in a reassuring voice, "he'll be fine."
"What's the matter Potter?" Draco said from the air, "Bit beyond your reach?"
"No way Harry," Hermione warned, "you heard what Madam Hooch said besides you don't even know how to fly."
"I'm with Hermione," Kurt added, "You could hurt yourself or worse, get expelled." But Harry flew off in pursuit of Draco anyway.
"What an idiot!" Hermione said with disgust in her voice. Kurt watched their little game of cat and mouse with equal distaste, "One of them is bound to get hurt."
"And I can't wait to laugh at that fool," Kurt quipped. Kurt saw Draco fling the rememberal at the wall; he whipped his wand out of his cloak to perform the arresto momentum charm to slow it down before it hit the wall, allowing Harry catch the remembral.
"Where'd you learn that spell?" Hermione asked with a displeased look on her face, "I know for sure it isn't in the first year Standard Book of Spells."
"I picked it up when I was writing lines for Professor Snape in detention," he thought about it as they followed their class mates to the congregation around the now hailed idiotic hero; he realised that he hadn't meant to learn that spell but he guessed it had stuck. "God I was hoping one of you would fall!"
"Potter," Professor McGonagall stood there with a very displeased look on her face, "Come with me."
"But Professor-" Kurt began.
"No, Mr Hummel," she said dismissively, leading Harry away.
"Well, you gave it a try." Hermione said with a dismissive shrug, "Now tell me, what other spells have you picked up?"
"Let's check on Neville and I'll tell you all about detention on the way there."
"Sure," they linked arms and walked off into the castle, "Now, why do you always have detention?"
"It's because I never sit with my house in the Great Hall," Kurt adjusted an imaginary stray hair, "but I told Professor Snape that I would rather serve detention everyday than sit with those vapid two-dimensional miscreants. Honestly, Gregory is the deepest of them all and he isn't that bright."
"You poor thing," she said in a soothing voice, "that stupid hat totally got you wrong."
"I know but what can I do?" Kurt shrugged nonchalantly, "Now, about detention. I generally sit there for an hour copying notes over and over, I have done the Standard Book of Spells grade one and two at least five times a piece."
"And that's how you picked that spell up?" she asked hanging onto his arm, "because you have to teach it to me, like for real!"
"I will. Good day Madam Pomphry," Kurt smiled his standard five thousand watt smile, "Is Neville Longbottom still here?"
"Good day, good day." She said in a pleasantly sing song voice, "Yes, Longbottom's over in bed three."
They whispered a quick thanks as they moved over to their injured friend, he was sitting up at the edge of the bed swinging his feet back and forth in a bored fashion while he hummed Bach softly.
"Neville," Kurt exclaimed in a sharp voice, "How are you?"
"Grandma?" Neville turned slowly to see a mortified Kurt.
"Grandma? Really?" Kurt appeared to be peeved by the question.
"You sounded just like her for a moment," Neville said shyly turning red, "And you kind of smell like her, like spring."
"Are you alright Neville?" Hermione questioned with an evident concern in her tone, "That was quite the fall, are you concussed?"
"No," he smiled at them and Kurt couldn't help smiling back at the purity of innocence, "I'm good, I just don't want to go back to be laughed at by everyone."
"They won't laugh at you," Neville shot Hermione with a bitch face that made Kurt feel proud, "Okay, they will laugh."
"But you'll have our support," Kurt said sitting down next to his close friend, "When they laugh, I'll curse all of them with warts."
"Kurt'll do it," Hermione said with a smile, "He already has detention every day, so really he has nothing to lose."
"Not every day," Kurt blushed slightly, "Now tell us, how did you end up like this?"
"I kicked off too early," Neville shrank into himself, "And then I lost control."
"Why?" Kurt forced Neville's gaze to meet theirs.
"I didn't want to be left behind again."
"Guys!" Ron stormed into the sanatorium, "Did you hear? Harry's the new Gryffindor seeker!"
"Ronald," Kurt sneered, "Always the example of sensitivity."
"Firstly, we're in the middle of something," Hermione scolded him, "and secondly, not a shred of concern for Neville's wellbeing! He could have haemorrhaged and died!"
"What?" Neville looked panicked.
"She's extending the truth to prove a point," Kurt whispered in his ear to reassure him.
"Sorry," Ron mumbled in defeat, "How are you Neville?"
"Fine, thank you."
"Now do you want to hear about Harry becoming Gryffindor seeker?" Ron asked enthusiastically.
"We'll humour you," Hermione said with a twisted smile that made Kurt question his level of influence on her.
"So, old McGonagall came down to take him away and we all thought he was in trouble for sure," he was smiling to himself, "but she was taking to meet Oliver Wood and she had him added as the Gryffindor seeker and it is all thanks to you Neville."
"Neville," Harry announced as he arrived, "How are you?"
"I've been better."
"Here's your rememberal," Harry tossed it to Neville who failed to catch it; its descent was intercepted by Hermione before it could hit the floor using the spell she just learned, "Brilliant Hermione!"
"I'll say!" Neville said in awe.
"How does it feel Harry?" Ron asked curiously, "being the youngest seeker in…"
"A century, according to McGonagall," Harry said with a shit eating grin, "It feels the same but weird; like what if I mess up?"
"Then we'll pour lighter fluid all over you and set you alight." Kurt said coldly, everyone turned to look at him in horror, "It's sarcasm. It's just a sport Harry, no one cares."
"What do you mean it's just a sport?" Ron exclaimed, "You know what, let's just go eat before I murder someone."
"Let's stay, because I would love to see who gets murdered." Kurt got all up in Ron's grill.
"Come on boys," Hermione said as she pulled them apart, "behave."
"Jesus just saved your life." Kurt said in a hoarse voice as Hermione led him out of the infirmary. They all went off to the great hall for dinner.
"Mr Hummel," Professor Snape said as he passed them near entrance as they were making their way to their seats, "let's save each other a lot of trouble, are you planning on sitting with a different house from your own tonight?"
"Probably." Kurt pursed his lips inn defiance, "I haven't decided yet."
"Then I'll see you in detention," he sneered at the rest of the group before making his way to the head table.
"Can he do that?" Harry asked in a huff of anger.
"Kurt enjoys detention," Hermione intervened, "that's where he learns spells like the one that's saved Neville's rememberal twice."
"And it gives me something to do instead of bonding with Dumb, Dumber and Obnoxious," Kurt cringed, "Speak of the antichrist."
"Potter, how'd it go with McGonagall?" Draco was smug and arrogant as he slurred out of a sideways smirk; Vincent and Gregory laughed on cue as they always did.
"Well, actually-" Hermione began only to be stopped in her tracks.
"Not as badly as you'd think considering I'm still here," Harry's face withheld any sign of what he was thinking, everyone looked confused but Kurt merely pursed his lips quizzically.
"Old McGonagall must be losing her touch," Draco spat at the bespectacled boy, "or she's playing favourites; someone's got to teach you a lesson."
"And who might that be?" Ron quipped; he clearly neither understand how these verbal standoffs worked nor did he know his role as a yes-man in a bitch off, "You?"
"Yes," Draco stepped even closer to Harry, if that is possible, and got all up in his grill; "I challenge you to a little duel; after lights out in the trophy room."
"Harry that's against like… a hundred different school rules," Hermione interjected but Harry continued his stare off with Draco, "And you're not listening to me."
"I'll be there," Harry said softly, "Bring your A-game."
"Yeah, we'll be there!" Ron said punching the air.
"No one invited you Weasley!" Draco exclaimed before storming off.
"So you're just going ignore everything that Hermione just said and the obvious danger to go through with this anyway?" Kurt asked calmly.
"What do you think?" Ron enquired, "He wasn't going to take that from some Slytherin scum."
"Careful," Kurt warned, "I'm one of those supposed 'Slytherin Scum' and I am quite well versed in the use of my wand unlike you who can't even turn a rat yellow."
"You told them?"
"It was funny!"
"I think you might actually be more hopeless than I am." Neville chuckled to himself.
"Let's put it to a vote then," Ron finally screamed with his hands raised in defeat.
"No," Harry stopped everyone, "I'm doing this."
"What an idiot!" Kurt and Hermione said simultaneously.
~0~
Kurt stood in the trophy room waiting for everyone to arrive, he didn't even actually know why he was here; was it to see his first magical duel and learn from a practical situation or was it his insatiable desire to ridicule the loser that had brought him here. He saw Hermione, Neville, Ron and Harry coming down the corridor to relieve his boredom; he had read every trophy in the room at least twice in a poor effort to pass the time.
"Well," Ron said looking rather pleased with himself, "it seems both naysayers have decided to join us tonight."
"'It seems…' shut up!" Kurt said in a rather dismissive tone, "I'm here for educational reasons."
"Wow Kurt," Harry said with a chuckle, "only you could make breaking the rules and having a magical duel sound boring."
Kurt laughed falsely, "Oh, aren't we sassy tonight."
"Quiet," Neville said suddenly, "Someone's coming."
They all hid in plain sight in anticipation for whoever might be approaching. It was Mrs Norris, which mean Filch wasn't far behind.
"Why do I get the feeling that this was a set-up?" Hermione asked as they ran down the corridor.
"This is not the time to be smug," Ron exclaimed.
Neville stopped suddenly, "We're not supposed to be here."
"Yeah," Kurt said pulling him along, "We're supposed to be in bed."
"No," He shrugged out of Kurt's grip, "This is the third floor corridor on the left side."
"So?" Ron said impatiently.
"Professor Dumbledore said that it was out of bounds to all those who don't want to die. He actually said die!"
"Come on," Hermione said sternly, "I'd rather die than be expelled!"
They ran till they reached the end of the dim corridor. They had come to a dead end with nothing but an old locked door.
"Shit!" Ron exclaimed.
"Step aside!" Hermione approached the door, "Alohomora."
The door was unlocked and they all pushed to get in first. Kurt never seemed to stop being amazed by Hermione's superior use of knowledge they both possessed, she thought on her feet and that worked out well in sticky situations.
"Alohomora?" Ron questioned.
"Standard Book of Spells, chapter seven." He and Hermione said at the same time.
"You guys have got to stop doing that!" Harry said finally.
"Good thing this door was locked." Neville said with a smile, "I did not want to go to detention."
"I know can you imagine what kind of scum they have in detention?" Ron said in a loud voice.
"Hey!" Kurt said loudly in a high pitched voice, "I always have detention."
"Exactly," Ron said, "Like most Slytherin students, you are there discussing evil."
"With Fred and George!" He quipped at the ginger boy.
"Guys." Harry said softly.
"I don't even know why you're here."
"Guys." He repeated once more with more body in his voice.
"I don't know why they haven't sent you home for incompetence."
"Guys!" Harry spoke firmly yet softly, "There's a reason this door was locked."
They all turned to see a giant three headed dog waking from a light slumber; none of them moved a muscle. The dog started snarling; they all started screaming and climbing over each other to get out of the door first, all except for Neville who seemed to have accepted his ultimate demise and was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. As the dog drew near to one of his only friends, Kurt panicked but he couldn't think of any way to save Neville.
"Reducio!" he screamed as the dog slobbered over Neville, suddenly the dog began to shrink till it was no bigger than a stick of butter. "Neville, let's go! Don't ever just give up like that!"
He led him out into the maze of stairs, "Sorry Granma." He said wiping his eyes.
"I'm not your Granma!" Kurt said loudly, he calmed down slightly and in a soothing voice continued; "just go to sleep Neville."
~0~
As Kurt was packing up after Defence Against the Dark Arts Neville came and stood in front of him awkwardly; Kurt waited for the boy to say something but he remained completely silent, shuffling from heel to toe.
"Neville," Kurt said cautiously.
"Hi Kurt," he said in cheery voice.
"How are you?" Kurt was confused by the boy's odd behaviour, "Are you alright?"
"I'm well, thank you." He gave Kurt an unsettling smile, "How are you?"
"I'm okay," Kurt stopped by the door, "I have detention, so later."
"I'll walk with you."
"Okay," Kurt smiled slightly, "How are you feeling after our adventure last night?"
"Better," he blushed slightly, "Sorry for calling you Granma again."
"It's okay," Kurt put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "now, I don't mean to be rude but this is sort of my stop, how can I help you?"
"Nothing," Neville smiled sweetly, "I knew that you were going to be walking alone so I thought I would do something nice."
"Aww, isn't that just the sweetest."
"See you later."
Kurt waved off his friend before knocking on the potions master's office door.
"Don't bother coming in," the man looked rather displeased, "it's seems your constant infractions have caught the attention of the headmaster."
"What?"
"Follow me," the older man took off in a brisk walk, Kurt struggled to keep up.
"Where are we going?" Professor Snape stopped suddenly; Kurt wasn't expecting their sudden halt thus resulting in a messy collision.
"Was I unclear or are you hard of hearing?" Professor Snape towered over Kurt, "I said that we were going to the headmaster."
"You were unclear."
"I beg your pardon?" the man growled, revealing his discoloured teeth, "Liquorice Snaps."
Kurt was confused by the statement, "Professor, are you feeling quite alright?"
"Just go Hummel!" he flipped his hair out of his face, "Before I do something I'll regret."
Kurt climbed the spiral staircase; he was nervous, he had come to revere the legend of Professor Dumbledore during his short stay at Hogwarts. It seemed everyone had a story to tell about the man's great history and the legend of his lifetime; it intimidated Kurt. How had he rose to such an admired stature of fame that it made Kurt wonder why he would choose to squander it in this office; he didn't even get the gratitude of moulding young minds, he just did the administrative work. Kurt gently knocked on the door; it opened and allowed him to enter.
"Please, come in Mr Hummel," the elder man stood before him in elegant, floor length, vivid tangerine robes and a matching fez with gold tassels.
Kurt puckered up all his courage and put on his brave face. He took in the majesty of the circular room, he was enamoured by the way the light that was let in by the large stained glass bay windows danced on the portraits; projecting all the hues under the sun onto the book shelves that covered a large quantity of the room. He walked by a beautiful peacock like red bird sitting proudly on a perch; Kurt stopped to admire its whimsical crimson and gold feathers, he was in awe of their eccentricity and the way they reflected the light like they were made of rubies and rose gold.
"Good Afternoon Professor Dumbledore," Kurt said in a soothing and controlled voice, "I'm Kurt Elizabeth Hummel and I wish we were meeting under different circumstances."
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," the man smiled, "liquorice snap?"
"No, thank you." Kurt smiled back at the man in effort to unsettle him, "Jenny Craig, I couldn't possibly."
Dumbledore raised an inquisitive brow and Kurt knew he had him hook, line and sinker. "Tell me Kurt- May I call you Kurt?"
"I would prefer it."
"Tell me Kurt, how is that in the short time that you've been at Hogwarts you have managed to get more detentions than any single first year in the history of Hogwarts?"
"Well," Kurt smiled to himself; he spoke with confidence and spontaneity, "I'm really struggling to find my place amongst my fellow Slytherin house students as many of them are half or purebloods and tend to band together in their knowledge of the magical world." He stopped to adjust his hair, "As a result of my feelings of exclusion I tend to sit with my friends from the other houses at meal times, an instant detention."
"Ah, yes." Dumbledore said in an understanding voice, "you were raised in the muggle world correct?"
"Yes sir," Kurt spoke flatly, he didn't want his emotional manipulation of the older man to be too obvious, "I was adopted by Albert and Christine Hummel, but my father would die if he heard me call him Albert."
"And you don't know who your birth parents are?" the man enquired, "I'm curious."
"No," Kurt was abrupt as the subject of his biological parents was one that caused him great discomfort, "Nobody seems to know and I'm quite fine keeping it that way."
"Curious." The man was silent for a while before he continued, "You appear to be a very well-adjusted young man, with a maturity that is far beyond your years."
"Thank you."
"That's not a complement," Kurt's face dropped, "may I speak freely?"
"It is your office." Kurt could feel the sass returning to his tone.
"You remind me of myself at your age."
Kurt raised a curious brow, "Isn't that a bit of a rash statement considering you only just met me?"
"Ha, that is true but word of your scholastic aptitude has travelled," he smiled, "the only teachers who haven't sang your praises are Professor Snape- he doesn't sing anyone's praises and between you and I, I don't think he has the voice for it- the other is Professor Sprout."
"And I told her that herbology was too outdoorsy for me."
"The walls have eyes and ears," his voice had remained unchanged, with minimal modulation, "they say you're well adjusted. I'm going to give you some advice because 'it is my office'; forget about being well-adjusted, you can be well-adjusted when you're forty or when you're a hundred! If you squander your youth you'll be left with nothing but regrets and an unfulfilled hunger for youth."
"Thank you for that advise," Kurt smiled politely, "I'll be sure to take it under consideration and give it all due attention."
"Or you could completely disregard it like most people your age would," Kurt shot the man a confused look, "Stop overthinking life, you're young. You may go."
Kurt grabbed his shoulder bag and turned a full 360, "does it ever make mistakes? The hat, I mean, does the hat ever put people in the wrong house?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, I don't really fit in with the other people in my house," he let out a little laugh but he knew that it didn't reach his eyes, "I don't display any of the qualities that Slytherin house is based on."
"How so?"
"Well, I'm not cunning or shrewd and we just had a meeting about my obsession with most rules. I'm not a pureblood either; I'm just not their usual cup of tea."
Dumbledore's face was creased by deep contemplation, "Might I speak frankly?" Kurt egged him on, "You are quite the intellectual and, according the words on the wind, you have proved yourself quite resourceful. As for your ambition it is quite evident in the way in which you carry yourself, you've been giving yourself detention so you could copy advanced texts that are harder to come by; if that isn't self-preservation, I don't know what is."
Kurt blushed slightly at the mention of his manipulation of the potions master, "How'd you know? About my detention scheme."
"I don't think a student like yourself would have detention as often as you do," Dumbledore smiled, "If you were a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw; you'd want to spend that time with friends or in the library."
Kurt turned to leave, "Thank you sir."
"Oh Mr Hummel," Kurt stopped just short of the door, "That is a lovely brooch; where did you get it? Is it in celebration of your placement in Slytherin?"
Kurt looked at the emerald encrusted serpent wrapped around an oval cut sapphire, "it's a family heirloom; it has been passed down from mother to daughter till finally my mother just had me."
"It is quite lovely," he came forward to examine it closely, "Quite exquisite indeed."
"I have a whole collection of about five. My gran used to say that they were bewitched because her gran told her they were stolen for our ancestor by her husband from an evil sorceress." He laughed to himself, "She wasn't all there."
"Evil sorceresses and cursed jewellery," Professor Dumbledore laughed, "That's almost as crazy as the existence of a secret magic world."
Kurt threw his hands up in surrender, "Okay, she might have been telling the truth, anything is possible."
Kurt left the headmaster's office feeling more confused than ever about whether or not he was actually in trouble. He waltzed across the courtyard in a confused daze; the headmaster had called him into his office to insult and debase his character, Kurt wasn't sure he liked this school anymore.
"Kurt!" Kurt started looking around the courtyard to see who was calling his name, "Liz!"
"Finn," he scowled at the unwelcomed nickname Finn had given him when they met in day care, "I hear you but I don't see you."
"I'm right here," Finn said suddenly standing beside Kurt and startling him. Kurt jumped back and bumped into the young boy flanking his other side, nearly falling over but being caught by the taller boy, "I was practicing using people's blind spots for quidditch, Cedric is teaching me."
Kurt looked at the boy who was holding him up, "Nice to meet you Cedric," Cedric helped Kurt back into an upright position, "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, I feel like I've heard so much about you."
"Not nearly as much as I've heard about Finn's amazing little brother," Cedric smiled and it made Kurt's knees wobble like he was a school girl with a crush, "he tells anyone who will listen that you're the smartest person in the world."
Kurt blushed; it was one thing to be complemented by Finn but another to hear it coming from someone as handsome as Cedric, "Finn tends to exaggerate," Kurt couldn't stop smiling at the older boy, he was kind of smitten, "I'm really just an ordinary student."
Finn tried to interject, "Kurt?"
'Shut up Finn!' he beamed at his brother in an angry tone but his smile did not falter. "Tell me about yourself; where are you from? Who are you wearing? How do you get such tone in your biceps? What are your hobbies?"
They walked off discussing the minor unimportant details of their lives while Finn trailed behind with a scowl on his face.
A/n: Hope you liked it :) I enjoy writing for you. Any suggestions or guidance, halla at a hommie.