A/n: this was a bit of toughee; because I thought I was being cool and decided to add a completely new component, this took meticulous planning and I'm pooped. sorry it took so long.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Glee or Any other Fandom I may have sampled.
Kurt was late, he was never late! He briskly navigated the maze of corridors and stairway with his trolley case in tow; he resented that he wasn't allowed to use magic in the corridors or he'd have just bewitched his bags to levitate. He finally came to the courtyard before the gilded gargoyle to see his team members waiting for him.
"You're late Mr Hummel!" Professor Snape spoke in a more irritated than angry tone.
"Sorry," he smile politely, "My bags were heavy."
"What have you got in there?" Hermione was clearly flawed by the size of his bag, "It's almost as large as you are."
"Gosh Hermione," Finn said with a flip of his hair in a falsetto that tended to crack too often, "We're going to be gone eight days, that's thirty-six outfits."
"Aren't we just hilarious," Kurt smiled falsely at his brother before stomping on his foot, "It would thirty-two, Learn your multiples of four, but you have to factor in the condition and so it's actually twenty-seven."
"Why do you need twenty-seven outfits?" Neville asked confusion riddled on his face.
Kurt shot him a death stare that made him regret opening his mouth, "I need to have a clean uniform for each day and then I need a casual and formal option. I additionally need to have a couple completely stunning outfits in case of a special occasion."
"I feel like I seriously under packed," Padma said nervously.
Kurt smiled, "I know right?"
"I'm here," Professor Dumbledore announced as he descended the spiral staircase, Fawkes in hand, "I'm here."
"It's about time," Kurt whispered to Hermione who simply rolled her eyes in agreement.
"I heard that Mr Hummel," Kurt was startled by not only the stern tone but also by the formal address; had he miss understood the nature of his relationship with the elder professor? He was under the impression that their pseudo friendship allowed for witty banter of this kind, "So you and your last season Prada ascot best behave." Kurt let out a sigh of relief, he wasn't in trouble; he needed to watch what he said, maybe this was a warning that certain things are only appropriate between the pair. "Gather round, hold on to your robes joke because it's going to be one hell of a ride."
The group stood near the headmaster; they looked at each other, nerves evident in their facial expressions, they weren't sure what would follow. The headmaster released Fawkes and with spread of her ruby red wings she engulfed the group in flames; Kurt was blinded by a white light, he was overcome by an intense dizzy spell and felt a shooting pain as his insides churned. When Kurt felt the ground beneath his feet again it felt like it had been forever but he knew it hadn't been that long. It took him a moment to recompose himself and for his vision to adjust to his now dimmer surroundings.
"I don't ever want to do that ever again!" Neville proclaimed as he got up off the ground, he stood shakily for a moment before a declaration that he would be sick.
"Congratulations," Professor Snape said monotonously as he handed Neville a brown paper bag, "You all successfully apparated for the first time, well almost all of you."
For the first time Kurt noticed his surroundings they were standing in the middle of a quad that had a beautifully simplistic Japanese theme; it seemed to be fitting considering they were in Japan but it seemed ridiculously cartoonish the way it fit his every pop culture representation of the far east.
"Look at that skyline," Padma exclaimed, the group turned to see the beautifully starlit skyline of Tokyo; that was what he'd expected when he'd heard the word 'Tokyo', boy did it live up to and surpass his every expectation.
"That view sure beats the rolling hills of Scotland," Kurt let slip with a small smile on his face.
"Konbanwa," A firm falsetto said from behind the group, a tall blond girl with striking features stood before the group. Her beauty was juxtaposed by the burning determination in her eyes, "Welcome to Mahoutokoro School of Magic. My name is Quinn Fabray and I will be your group facilitator for the duration of your stay, if at any point you need something all you to do is ask." She smiled sweetly but the fire in her eyes was not doused, "Please follow me, and please don't worry about your luggage as it will be delivered to your rooms."
Kurt watched as the elegant teenager took lengthy but slow paced strides through the imposing mahogany doors. The inside of the building seemed to be the opposite of the Hogwarts castle; it was modern where Hogwarts was medieval, bright where Hogwarts was dark, open plan where Hogwarts was closed off. Kurt liked this place based solely on appearance, he understood why it was rated number one in its respective class. The great hall was crowded but still appeared spacious due to the cocktail party set up; there were eleven year olds dressed in a variety of school uniforms littering the entire room.
Kurt drew in a deep breath, this adventure had just become real, "Now we mingle." He mumbled under his breath as the group dispersed with teachers going one way, Finn and Padma gravitating toward the finger foods leaving Neville, Hermione and himself too nervous to move.
"Hi, I'm Brittany S. Pierce." A taller blond girl said with an innocent smile and an American accent that wasn't too strong, "I'm from the Salem Witch Institute."
Kurt noted how rehearsed her introduction seem, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Kurt Elizabeth Hummel of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He extended a friendly hand and an award winning smile.
"Hermione Granger, Charmed to make your acquaintance," Brittany then turned to Neville who did not make a sound, only opening and closing his mouth.
"What's his story?" Brittany looked frightened by the boy's peculiar behaviour.
"I think you make him nervous," Hermione smiled before turning to shout in hushed tone, "Stop it Neville! You're embarrassing us!"
"Neville Christopher Admetus Longbottom!" Neville screamed causing the entire room to stop and look at their little posse.
"Nothing to see here!" A dark haired girl who seemed to be the only person in the world who was Kurt's height exclaimed as she approached the group, "That was quite the display Admetus."
"Like from the Naming of Cats?" Kurt asked, he was met with blank stared, "It's a poem by T.S. Elliot, it's in Cats, nothing?"
"Sorry," Neville said not taking his eyes off Brittany, "You're really pretty."
Hermione let out a shrill laugh, Kurt got a metallic taste in his mouth as he ground his teeth. He chose to change the subject, turning to the dark haired girl in a blue A-line dress, "I'm sorry, I don't think we've been introduced."
"Santana Lopez," she said with a sinister smirk that seemed to be permanently plastered on her beautiful face, "But you can call me Aunty Snix."
"You look amazing in your uniform," Kurt said looking at how lovely she looked in her uniform; the fit was superb, the colour looked amazing on her skin tone and it made her eyes pop. He gestured to his own robes, "I wish I looked that good in my uniform."
"I'm sorry but you're carrying a ten thousand dollar Birkin bag," She said ogling his bag, "you could be wearing a burlap sack and still look drop dead gorgeous!"
"Did she just say that your bag cost six thousand pounds?" Hermione was hyperventilating, "Is there a gold mine in there?"
"My parents are excessively rich," Kurt smiled nonchalantly, "I'm very low maintenance."
"Gather round," a petite dark haired woman with a strikingly beautiful face spoke firmly, all the Mahoutokoro students in their kimono style uniforms immediately fell into a militant formation, "I am Headmistress of this institution, General O-Ren Ishii, and I'd like to welcome you to The Basic Academic Tournament. Welcome." She let the silence of surprise wash over the room before she smirked almost villainously, "Now off to bed, we have an early morning tomorrow."
"But we got up like two hours," Finn complained to nobody in particular.
"We left last night and travelled to the future," Brittany announced with pride.
He and Hermione exchanged a confused look but chose not to delve into the details of time zones. Professor Snape gestured for the group to follow him and Quinn from across the room, they bid their new acquaintances farewell before scurrying after the aloof man. They were led down a corridor with large bay windows, it seemed you could see the majestic city from every part of the school. Kurt was momentarily confused when Quinn suddenly stopped in front of what appeared to be a pillar.
"Welcome to your suites. As marked; boys on the left, girls on the right." She gestured to the doors on three of the sides of the pillar, "Your teacher's room is in close proximity in order to maintain order if need be. I'm sure the rooms will be to your satisfaction goodnight."
Kurt was in awe when they opened the door, there was an entire corridor going deep into the pillar, deeper than humanly possible but then again this wasn't human ingenuity. His room was large and minimalistic without compromising on the five star quality of the very well decorated room, Kurt through himself and couldn't help but fall asleep.
~0~
"Am I the only one who is totally in love with their room?" Kurt asked as he buttered his toast, "It's almost as good as being back home."
Finn chuckled to himself, "I wonder how Cedric will feel about being replaced with an inanimate object."
"Oh, why are you in love with your room too?" Kurt sneered at his brother.
"Who's in love with their room?" Brittany asked as she forced herself between the brothers, "Because I slept outside."
"Brittany," Padma lifted her head from her reading, "Why would you do that?"
"I couldn't remember where I put my room," she mumbled as she wolfed down her pancakes, "So I explored the future for most of the night before I tripped and fell in my own puke."
"We didn't need to know that," Hermione said as she pushed her breakfast away with a scowl of discomfort.
"That was quite the eventful night," Kurt giggled to himself, "Did you at least have fun exploring the future?"
"I'm just glad I wasn't attacked by a group of cyborgs," she smiled to herself and kept mumbling in an unintelligible language to an imaginary person.
As the group left behind the remnants of their breakfast and headed toward the great hall Brittany pulled Kurt and stared at him with a vacant expression, "Brittany, that look is kind of creeping me out. I'm not sure if this is appropriate behaviour in the Americas but we don't condone the invasion of personal space in Great Britain, so if you be so k-"
Brittany spoke in a deep eerie whisper, her face remained blank and her pupils dilated, "In three in four you will have to choose between two, the one unchosen will be left standing."
"Okay, is that a hint or are you psyching me out?" Kurt wasn't sure what to make of the stranger who held him in place by a death grip on his shoulder, "Brittany, let me go."
Her pupils returned to normal, she tilted her head and smiled broadly at him before pulling him into an intense hug before whispering a sincere apology and walking away. Kurt was left confused and scared; his gut told him that what he'd heard would have a significant impact on his future regardless of whether it was a hint, psycho out or a premonition. He juggled the thought as he took his seat in the audience.
"Welcome to session one of the first round of the theoretic quiz bowl of the three hundred and twenty-seventh bi-annual Basic Academic Tournament," General O-Ren Ishii spoke clinically and with minimal facial movement, Kurt wondered if it was botox. He relished in that momentary distraction from the thought which had perched itself at the apex of his mind, "Each session will consist of three schools answering sixty questions in forty-five minutes; a session may be ended by the exhaustion of time, questions or a ten point lead. In the case of the later, the remaining questions will be awarded to the victorious team. The participants in the first session are Beauxbatons Academy from France, Brazillian Wizarding School and Puicitia Virtus Academy from Saudi Arabia. Please take your places."
"This pool would have simple to defeat," Hermione whispered from the seat beside him, "All these schools are on equal academic footing in terms of the content of our curriculums, my research has lead me to believe that each studies general magic much like we do."
"That's lovely Hermione," He didn't so much as look at her, his mind had wondered back to what Brittany had said; she had really gotten into his head regardless of whether she had done it on purpose or not.
"Are you alright?" She had a look of concern on her face, "Nerves aren't getting the best of you, are they? You'll do phenomenally in spite of what the final outcome may be."
"It's nothing."
"I've never seen you like this," She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Something's got you bothered and what's the point of a best friend if you can't talk it out?"
"It's something Brittany said," he let out a shaky breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding.
"Funny, it doesn't seem like her to psych out the competition," Hermione chuckled, "Or be this good at it."
"It didn't seem like she was trying throw me off my game," Kurt paused because he knew that what he'd say next would truly make him sound like he was for the knackers, "It seemed as though she had spoken unconsciously, as though in a trance of divinity."
"Divinity?" She raised a quizzical brow, "honestly, Divinity is as legitimate a magical form as-"
"Unicorns are an equestrian species?"
"Well, that's different…" she fell silent for a moment, "Okay, I'll bite. What did she say?"
"She said," He paused as he recited her statement in his mind to make sure he didn't sound insane, "It was, 'In three in four you will have to choose between two, the one unchosen will be left standing.'" Kurt listened to himself and even he thought he sounded crazy.
"Sounds like a math problem to me."
"Finn," Kurt shot daggers at his brother, "How many times do I have to tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop?"
"Also," Hermione interjected after staring the taller boy down, "Math problems have questions, and that was clearly a statement."
Finn stuck his tongue out at the duo, "I don't like you!" He exclaimed before turning to face the stage where the quiz bowl was on going.
"Hypothetically," Hermione gritted her teeth as she spoke, "Let's say that this could possibly be a true act of divination, what does it mean?"
"I can't imagine it could relate to any aspect of my life other than possibly a particularly difficult shopping trip."
"I doubt that the universe of mystical and divine beings would intervene in a shopping trip, no matter how arduous."
General O-Ren Ishii's voice disturbed their conversation, "The ten point lead of Puicitia Virtus Academy marks the end of the first session of the first round of the theoretic quiz bowl ten minutes under time." The corners of her mouth turned up but Kurt wouldn't have quite called it a smile, "Point standing; Beauxbatons has fifteen points, Brazilian Wiz has five points and pulling ahead is Puicitia Virtus with fourty points as they were awarded the balance questions as a bonus." There was a round of applause, as she had announced the scores the had reflected on the score board behind her, "Session two commences in ten minutes. The participating teams are Mahoutokoro from Japan, Salem Witches Institute from the United States of America and The Wu-Xing School of Magical Exploration from China."
Kurt looked to Hermione for the information breakdown on each of the schools, "I've explained the inner workings of Mahoutokoro, Wu-Xing is quite similar but they are obviously based on the Chinese belief system of Wu-Xing as opposed to the Japanese Godai but the similarities are uncanny. Salem Witches Institute on the other hand practices Wiccan magic which draws its additional power from nature but ultimately works like our magic, the difference being that they channel their magic through nature where we use wands to channel our magic."
"I spend one day in hospital and you get ahead on your reading," Kurt smiled at his overachieving friend, he was so glad to have her in his life.
"I also didn't have the supplementary stress of being captain," She nudged his shoulder, "So I had more time to gather knowledge I knew you'd need when push came to shove."
"That's what best nerd friends are for," He smiled at her, they made light chatter that was disrupted not by the sound of General O-Ren Ishii's voice but rather the abrupt sounding of a bell.
"All the questions have been exhausted and this draws an end to the second session of the first round of the theoretic quiz bowl five minutes under time." She spoke regimentally and without a single flaw, "the point standing is a follows; Mahoutokoro has twenty-two points, Wu-Xing is the group victor with twenty-four points and finally Salem Witch has fourteen. The third session is scheduled to proceed imminently, the participating schools are; the Bermuda Marine School of Aquatic Magic, Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft from the United Kingdom and the Abafileo School of Ancestral Magic from South Africa."
Kurt rose slowly and made his way to the stage; it was time for him to cast aside what Brittany had said to him and concentrate on what was clearly the weak cog in their well-oiled machine- magical theory.
The first few questions were about herbology; Neville and Hermione managed to buzz for three and himself for the one on devil snare, a killer weed that thrived in darkness. It seemed as though time was lagging now that it was their turn unlike the way it flew before. The next set had been on potions; a field that seemed to be Abafileo's speciality as they answered every question, and correctly at that. Twenty-four questions in and they were falling far behind; the subject turned to charms. Kurt took the opportunity to kick his mind into gear, buzzing on every question; he managed to answer five of the twelve, his fingers just weren't fast enough for the other seven. Natural transfiguration was apparently very different from the way they practiced it and as a result they managed to answer two questions, with Bermuda Marine dominating the rest. As they opened the last category, Dark Arts, Kurt and Padma were in their comfort zone once more but only two questions in they were out of time.
"The time allocated has been exhausted and this draws an end to the third session of the first round of the theoretical quiz bowl on time." Kurt was sure that General O-Ren Ishii had either planned for all the events of the day thoroughly or she was a robot, "The point standing is as follows; Bermuda Marine has seventeen points, Hogwarts twelve points and Abafileo are at the top of the group with twenty-one points; ten points were lost this round."
Kurt hung his head in shame as the exited the stage, "we need to work smarter in the subsequent rounds if we don't want to suffer through this embarrassment."
"The fourth and final session is scheduled to proceed imminently, the participating schools are; Durmstrang Institute from Norway, Heliopolis School for the Enlightened from Egypt and Aconcagua School of Superior Magic from Argentina."
Kurt could have sworn he'd seen General O-Ren Ishii grin as she called out the name final school. Kurt was so wrapped up in the short comings of his own team that he'd practically blinked away the entire final session. He lifted his head from the fog of shame when General O-Ren Ishii's voice pierced through.
"The ten point lead of Aconcagua marks the end of the final session of the first round of the theoretic quiz bowl three minutes under time." Kurt was getting tired of hearing her repetitive and monotonous drone at the end of every round but alas, "The point standing is as follows; Durmstrang has seventeen points, Heliopolis has fifteen points and at the top of this group is Aconcagua with twenty-eight points as they were awarded the balance questions as a bonus."
The was light applause, "This marks the end of the first round of the theoretic quiz bowl," General O-Ren Ishii paused for dramatic effect, "Positions are as follows; Puicitia Virtus is in first position, then Aconcagua, Wu-Xing, Mohoutokoro, Abafileo, Bermuda Marine tied sixth with Durmstrang, Heliopolis, Beauxbaton, Salem Witch, Hogwarts and Brazil Wiz. First round of duels will commence at fourteen hundred hours, dismissed."
As their group dispersed Professor Snape approached in a fuming rage, "What was that? If we wanted the fine name of Hogwarts besmirched we would have put the likes of Potter, Crabbe and Weasley on the team!" He looked each of them in the eye before carrying on with his intimidating rant, "You best get into gear in the next round or so help me I will do more than just give you detention, do you hear me?"
"Yes Professor Snape." They sung in unison, they were on their toes and rattled with fear.
"Professor Snape is right," Kurt paused and took in a shaky breath, "Next round the panties come off!"
"I think you mean gloves," Padma said with a giggle.
"No," Neville spoke with a dead seriousness, "Kurt always means what he says."
Padma looked shocked and simultaneously mortified by what Kurt had said, "What's wrong with her?" Brittany asked slotting herself into the group.
"Don't mind her," Hermione said with pout of her lips, "She's new."
Brittany nodded slowly, "I don't know what that means." A silence washed over the group, the preteens looked at one another as though searching for the answer in the faces of their peers but to no avail.
"Nobody knows." Finn said breaking the silence.
~0~
General O-Ren Ishii stood at the podium for a moment as the groups settled into their assigned seats in the modern duelling arena, "Welcome to the first round of the duelling tournament of the three hundred and twenty-seventh bi-annual Basic Academic Tournament," She smile briefly at the audience before her face turned to stone once more, "One at a time in alphabetical order, the representatives of each school will come up and face a representative of International Duelling Counsel who will be on the defensive. You will be scored on three criteria, each out of ten; style which includes the creativity of spell use, discipline which includes how long you took defeat an all-defensive partner and the adherence to the rules, and finally execution which is your ability to use spell and the difficulty of spells used. Each criterion has its own judge from the counsel; White Lotus Grand Master Iroh of China will judge style, White Lotus Master Pakku of the North Pole will judge discipline and White Lotus Master King Bumi of the United Arab Emirates will judge execution. We are quite fortunate to have three masters of The Order of the White Lotus in our midst and honoured to have them judging our duelling and practical tounements. Abafileo School of Ancestral Magic will be represented by Njabulo Goba."
The short plump dark skinned boy waddled on to the platform. He pulled out a curved wand that appeared to be made of bone, a tibia from the looks of it, he bowed and a assumed a rigid fighting stance. He then proceeded to fire a number of earth based spells with little effect and little creativity or difficulty. The duel drew to a gradual and lacklustre end.
"Abafileo has scored eighteen points," General O-Ren Ishii paused, "Aconcagua School of Superior Magic will be represented by Mario Hernández."
And so the monotony of watching amateur duellists began, Kurt didn't pay much attention until a name he recognized only moments later, "Beauxbaton Academy will be represented by Santana Lopez."
Santana strode up onto the platform with an obviously arrogant swagger in her step; she pulled out a normal looking dark wood wand and bowed with attitude. She took an offensive stance- fist up like a boxer. Her manner was aggressive and imposing, her element of choice appeared to be fire and within no time she had defeated the man with the use of the fiend fire curse.
"Beauxbaton has scored twenty-two after receiving a penalty of five points which was imposed for the use of a dark curse."
Kurt racked his brain running through all the spells he had in his arsenal and assessing their dark nature, he was mostly in the clear. He was suddenly ripped from his thoughts by a nudge on his shoulder, "they've called your name Kurt!" Neville stage whispered.
Kurt stood on shaky legs and looked about the room before waltzing defiantly toward the platform, he took a deep breath and pulled out his perfectly cylindrical alabaster white wand. Kurt curtsied to his partner before assuming Croisé Devant as his stance.
As soon as he was in the green, he spoke the words that would redeem his team from the shame of the quiz bowl, "fulgur percusserit." Kurt closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel the room as a nitric smell filled the air and the clap of thunder shook the room; a flash of blue lightning descended from the sky, it entered the wand of he who had summon it and danced in his body as he redirected it towards his opposition. When Kurt opened his eyes, his opponent stood singed by the lightning for a moment before falling over in defeat. The judges did not move for a moment, Kurt assumed they were still trying to process what they had just witnessed.
"Hogwarts has scored twenty-eight after receiving a penalty of two points which was imposed for an improper bow."
General O-Ren Ishii looked just as shocked as Kurt felt; the judges had deducted two points from his perfect score because he hadn't bowed properly? That was an absurdity. Kurt saw red and had ringing in his ears; he barely noticed when Mahoutokoro's duellist had actually lost to a defensive opponent. He was only pulled out of his pit of rage at the sound of the final school being called.
"Salem Witch Institute will be represented by Jesse St. James."
He was disappointed that it hadn't been Brittany's name she'd called but the boy who went up was kind of cute. Kurt watched as the boy delivered a performance second only to his own.
"Salem Witch has scored twenty-four points." General O-Ren Ishii paused for applause, "This marks the end of the first round of the duelling tournament. The ladder stands with; Puicitia Virtus still in first place then, Aconcagua, Hogwarts, Abafileo, Salem Witch and Wu-Xing are tied at fifth place, Beauxbaton, Bermuda Marine and Durmstrang tied at eighth place, Mahoutokoro, Brazil Wiz and Heliopolis. The first round of the practical challenges will commence at ten hundred hours, dismissed."
~0~
Kurt's had anger bubbled for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, he sat at dinner mumbling about how the world worked to punish brilliance and reward mediocrity.
"Kurt, right?" he raised his head to see Grand Master Iroh of The Order of the White Lotus standing before him, he had read of the Order and was in awe of the man.
"Yes," He stood and shook the man's hand vigorously, "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, it's a pleasure to meet you Grand Master Iroh."
Kurt bowed; heck, he all but kissed the man's feet. It was this man's writings that he had learnt most of his duelling skills and also whom he had modelled his lightning spell after.
"I see you've been practicing your bowing," the man said with a hearty chuckle and in that moment Kurt forgot who the man was and started him down, "Too soon?"
"Too soon."
"I was truly blown away by your performance," the man smiled, "And if you carry on performing at that calibre I see a summer training under me in your not too distant future."
"But you don't take students under the age of fifteen," Kurt stuttered in awe of the offer he'd been presented by a living magical legend.
"I thought I made the rules of whom I chose to teach."
"What am I saying?" Kurt was shaking with excitement, "Don't mind me."
"That is usually because most students haven't matured their practical application of magic sufficiently before that," He placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder that seemed to extinguish every lit nerve in his body, "You have greatness in your destiny, work toward it."
"I really appreciate that," Kurt pursed his lips, "I will work meticulously and diligently to show you that you haven't made a mistake by putting your faith in me."
"My tea is chilling," he turned to his group of friends and smiled at them, "Thank you for lending me this young man for a moment, enjoy the rest of your evening."
"Why am I not surprised that the brightest wizard in our year is going to be the youngest person ever to train under a White Lotus Master?" Hermione grinned broadly, "I don't think I could be more proud of you!"
"It's not even a sure thing yet," he couldn't stop himself from bouncing in excitement no matter how he tried to soothe himself.
"Kurt," Neville looked at him with a look of bewilderment, "When will you realise that everything you touch turns to gold?"
"You moved us from tenth to third with a single flip of that mysterious wand," Padma spoke sternly.
"Okay," Kurt shook the giggles and looked serious, "Enough of that, now we need to move from third to first."
"Or we could just take it as it comes," Finn whined, "I'm tired! Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to be tall?"
"Really?" Hermione raised a baffled brow, "You're tired because you're tall?"
"Don't hate the player, hate the game."
"I'm about to break your neck," She spoke in a blunt tone before growling at the taller boy.
"Why is she growling?" Brittany asked as she approached the group with Santana and the boy from the duelling tournament, Jesse, in tow.
"Indigestion," Neville retorted with a giggle.
"Hmm," She seemed to give it a moment's thought before turning her attention to Kurt, "Tell me Kurt, where did you learn that spell?"
"It's a personal modification of a blue lightning weather spell," Kurt spoke nonchalantly before redirecting the conversation to the stranger amongst them, "You performed phenomenally, are you trained in martial arts? The fluidity of your movement was incomparable to anything I've ever seen."
"Tai-Kwan-Do since I was five." He answered proudly and with an air of arrogance.
Kurt knew just what to do because this boy's head was way too big, "An exceptional performance that is truly fitting of second place."
The each smiled falsely at each other before Finn ruined the moment, "Well, this pissing contest isn't awkward for the rest of us at all."
~0~
"Welcome to the first round of the practical challenges of the three hundred and twenty-seventh bi-annual Basic Academic Tournament," this time General O-Ren Ishii didn't bother trying to smile, she remained stone-faced, "The first challenge is potion making. All teams will work concurrently; each team will have two members working on the potion and you will be allocated thirty minutes in which to work. Ten points will be allocated for each of the three criterion; discipline which includes time and cleanliness, execution which is the assessment of how well the potion works, and the difficulty of the chosen brew. You have five minutes to discuss this before we begin."
The group huddled about their station, "I think we should pick a difficult potion and earn extra points by managing to brew it," Hermione spoke with a smile in her voice, "That will set us apart from the competition."
"Like what?" Kurt demanded before the answer came to him, "the girding potion Professor Snape showed us during our sixth practice session."
"Excellent idea Kurt," Hermione exclaimed, "it's a third year level potion plus Padma and Finn almost managed a reasonable brew of that one."
"We can't pull it off," Padma had her hands raised in disapproval of the idea.
"It'll be the second time we're doing it," Finn said wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "We'll kill it."
"Neville," spoke after thinking the idea over, "What do you think, you've been awfully quiet."
"Well, I know not to comment on thing I know nothing of," there was a snarky undertone to his statement that made Kurt giggle, "Why don't you ask Professor Snape if it's a good idea?"
"You are brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed a bit too loudly, the room turned its attention to the group, "Don't look at us, you don't know us like that."
"Your influence on her scares me," Finn said with a nudge of Kurt's shoulder and a silly lopsided grin.
Kurt shot daggers at the boy, "you know what? I don't appreciate what you're insinuating about my relationship with Hermione. I don't influence her to do anything; she's grown and makes her decisions without any help from me."
"Look," Finn chuckled, "I don't mean it like that."
"No, you look." Kurt was fuming at this point, "You might not realise what the underlying connotations of what you're saying are. Maybe you keep your head firmly stuck in the clouds and you don't hear what people are whispering on the ground."
"Oh, come on Kurt," His facial expression was caught between a smile and a grimace, "you know better than to listen to the whispers."
"It's pretty darn hard when it's an attack on your character," He let out a shaky breath, "this isn't just trivial playground teasing, people have mentally paralleled me to the magical equivalent of the anti-Christ. Then you have the nerve to make fun of my supposed influence?"
"You know I didn't mean it that way."
"You're supposed to be my brother," Kurt paused for a moment, "You're supposed to know better."
Kurt turned on his heels and stormed off, he listened to neither the calls after him nor to the sound of General O-Ren Ishii's voice calling them to assembly. Hermione and Neville who weren't participating followed after him, "Leave me alone, I'd just like one moment to be able to feel hurt and betrayal."
"But Kurt listen-"
"No," he stopped and turned toward them, "I don't need your sympathy. You don't know the first thing about this. When people are afraid of you, then you can tell me to wait. When you have some mysterious wand that hasn't worked for any one in more than a thousand years that is believed to have a dark past, then you can tell me to wait. When you're afraid of your susceptibility to dark magic because you don't know who you are or your family's history with magic, then you can tell me to wait. When you can empathise because you know my story and you understand by life, then you can tell me to wait."
Kurt stormed off once more without waiting for a response. He entered his room and shut the door, he laid his head on the painted wood and let all of his troubles come to the surface for the first time. He thought of a simpler time when he was just a boy; before cancer, before death, before mourning, before growing up, before healing, before moving, before Finn, Before Carole, before magic and before friendship; a time when men were men and the world a mystery, a time when butterflies were as close as he got to magic and kisses weren't fleeting, a time when his actions didn't mean anything and the meaning of life, the universe and everything was forty-two as opposed to the square root rainbows.
Everybody has their demons, Kurt knew this, but few peoples have to face demons that look just like them. Kurt also had the misfortune of having his weaknesses out in the open for all to see; he was tired of being cold and using a façade to shield himself from the world. He just wanted to be a child about it.
Kurt laid face down on the lush double be, grabbed the receiver and dialled a number he'd never dialled before but had always known.
"Hello," a merry voice chimmed on the other end of the phone, "Hudson-Hummel Residence."
"Can I talk to dad?" Kurt didn't even try adjust his position for better audibility.
"Please hold for a moment sweetheart," she said before screaming "Burt!" across the house.
"I got it!" Kurt heard through the headset, "Burt, Hello."
"Hi dad," Kurt was transparent with his emotions for a change.
"Hey," He spoke in a soft soothing voice that understood, "How's daddy's little ballerina?"
"Oh, daddy," Kurt was quite for a moment before, this was a competition and the first person to speak lost. Kurt bit his tongue before breaking, "I lied; this world is terrible! Everybody hates me, and I don't mean like they did back in primary school, they actually think I'm pure evil. I apparently look just like the magical counterpart of Hitler and my stellar aptitude for magic doesn't help."
"Oh, baby."
"I just want to come home!" Kurt announced with a sob.
"If that's what you want," his father let out a sigh, "I was under the impression that you enjoyed studying magic."
"I do."
"And what about your friends Hermione and Neville and that one with the scar-"
"Harry," Kurt smiled at his father's forgetful nature.
"And your roommate Gregory," His father paused, "Do they hate you?"
"No…"
"And as for this magic Hitler."
"Voldemort."
"What king of a name is Voldemort?" He heard his father chuckled and Kurt felt a tugging in his chest, "You two could be identical twins for all I care, heck even if he's your father; he doesn't have half the stuff you've got going for you. You're kind, caring and compassionate; nobody in all their evil can take that away from you and you remember that!"
"I do," He paused for a moment, "I will."
"Now," his father sighed out his anger, "you want to come home, you say?"
"Now that you've put it that way…" Kurt let out a strained giggle, "I'm not a quitter; it's not in my nature."
"So do you want to tell me about this Cedric boy?" His father chuckled heartily.
"I don't know who you're talking about," Kurt had turned bright, "But hypothetically, what has Finn said?"
"Oh, Finn didn't say anything," he made Kurt smile with another chuckle, "I've got to go; cars aren't going to restore themselves."
"Yes, Eugene and Kit do that."
"Don't get fresh with me, I can ground you all the way in Tokyo!" Kurt could hear his dad's smile, it made him smile, "how is that anyway?"
"Okay," Kurt got that smirk of self-pride on his face, "I had the highest score in the first duelling round."
"And you wanted to give that all up for, what is it you kids call them?" Kurt could hear his father's cap moving back and forth on his head, "Haters."
"I even got offered an opportunity to study under one of the most renowned duellists of all time," He knew that he was boasting but he liked making his father proud, "Should I choose to accept I would be the youngest wizard ever to train under a Master of The Order of the White Lotus, let alone a Grand Master."
"I'm proud of you," his father was silent for a moment, "I'd be proud of you regardless of what you did, you're my little boy, I just want you to be happy."
"Generally, I am. It's just what Finn said really got under my skin."
"Finn did this to you?" his father's voice was heated, "what did he say?"
"Nothing," Kurt knew he had to be honest with his father but he didn't want to get Finn in trouble with their parents for 'picking on him', "he made a comment on how my friend's similarities to me were a result of my influence on her as if it were some kind of dark force?"
"You do have a way of making people live up to your expectations of them," Kurt should have known better than to expect his father to take his side, "I'm not condoning his behaviour but you need to be aware that when you have a great presence and with that comes influence; intentional or otherwise."
"Hmm," Kurt said turning up his nose and wiggling his left brow.
"Oh, come on ballerina boy," Kurt could hear his father slumping, "I'm not taking sides so don't waggle that brow at me."
"Maybe that's the problem."
"Ballerina boy," his father sang in a raspy off pitch voice.
"Desecrating Lionel Richie won't help you this time!" Kurt was firm.
"You know daddy loves you," Kurt loved how he could associate his father's body language with his tone of voice, "And if you were hear id tickle you with my stubble." Kurt froze, his eyes opened wide, "Okay, I just realised how creepy that was when I said it. Let's not speak of it again."
Kurt guffawed at his father's awkward nature, "Love you too dad." Kurt was silent for a moment and he knew that all was right with the world again, "If you'll excuse me, I've got adoring fans that need my guidance."
A\n: So... I used a couple of characters from all over:
O-Ren Ishii is from Kill Bill
Iroh, King Bumi, Pakku and The Order of the White Lotus are from Avatar: the Last Airbender.
I also created a lot of the schools mentioned here; names are either regional, have significant traditional meaning or are google translate.
I don't mean to offend.
Review!