Standard Disclaimers apply.

Kurt couldn't move. For a moment he entertained the idea of lying in this bed and melting into the linen, it smelled just like Finn. Kurt considered curling up in a foetal position and sleeping away the trauma of the last day of June but he had responsibilities, he had positioned himself such that this war could not be won without him. He took a deep breath and remembered what Cedric's spectre had said to him in the graveyard two years ago, 'there comes a point in love when you have to let go.'

Kurt was already all cried out, his heart cold and his mind active. He sat up straight and breathed deeply once more before getting to his feet, he waved his wand and the room started to pack itself up. Posters folded themselves, stationary and other loose items grouped together in their respective receptacles, and everything packed itself neatly into Finn's trunk- when Kurt was done the room looked like it had been stripped for the last day of term and for a moment he was able to forget that his brother was dead. Kurt took his first step away from the bed that would haunt him forever but fell to his knees instead of taking a second step, his chest was tight as it dawned on him that he would never hear a voice other than his own in his head ever again. He struggled to draw a breath; thinking about how nobody would be there to drive him around, nobody would scat jazz about things as they were happening, nobody would be his brother.

Kurt fought for oxygen just like Professor Snape had earlier, while Kurt watched with disdain for his weakness. Kurt was a killer and he needed to see it through. Today couldn't be too much for him, what he had done couldn't be more than he could handle, what had happened couldn't overwhelm him. He drew breath and gathered himself once more, Kurt got to his feet and knew that getting up when he was down would become a defining trait of his character going forward. Kurt knew that he needed, now more than ever, to find the deplorable word- he might never know what the last of Ravenclaw is but that fight for knowledge to prevail that lived within him came straight from having her in his head all his life. Kurt needed to keep breathing so that his murder of Professor Dumbledore would be worth more than Draco's innocence, so Finn's death can mean something, for Cedric Diggory and the Dark Lord's other victims, for the future he deserved with Charlie. Kurt exited the cursed dormitory and walked slowly through the Hufflepuff common room, there were seniors who had come straight here observing the damage he had done.

"What happened here?"

Kurt looked deep into Justin's eyes, "I did this, Professor Dumbledore is dead, Finn is dead."

"What?" the boy chuckled, "what do you mean?"

"One of the Death Eaters got him," Kurt spoke monotonously, "they used the killing curse, it was quick and painless."

"No!" the boy shook his head.

Kurt nodded his head, "Yes."

"Not Finn," Justin's face fell, "Finn was good."

"Should it have been me?"

"No, but I can't wrap my head around my best friend being dead."

"The quick and painless thing is supposed to help-"

"How do you know?" the boy's eyes pleaded for Kurt's wisdom and comfort.

Kurt shrugged, "it's just something people said to me when Cedric died."

"Did it help?"

"No," Kurt shook his head, "what helped me was a quote by Nicolas Flamel, 'To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure'. I guess I got from that what most people get from religion."

Before the other boy could ask him anymore questions, Kurt walked away. He climbed the castle stairs and crossed the transfiguration quad to the gilded gargoyle that led up to the Headmaster's office- Kurt suddenly stopped, there was no one up these stairs to have a meeting with. He turned and crossed the quad back to Professor McGonagall's office, somewhere in the middle of the grassy courtyard Kurt heard his name. He stopped dead in his tracks, dreading having to be something else for someone else right now.

Large arms embraced him from behind and Charles' gravely voice whispered in his ears, "you don't need to call my name, if you're crying then I will make my way to you."

Kurt tried to stay strong but knew that this moment might be his only opportunity; he melted into the embrace but there were no tears. There was also no need for words, Kurt simply allowed himself to be held and to be vulnerable. Kurt let the moment stretch for as long as it would last, letting his worries fold themselves into origami boats and sail away on the stream of consciousness.

"You're over thinking it."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Relaxing," he planted a gentle kiss on Kurt's temple, "being at ease, you're not making it easy."

"And how do you know that?"

"I love you," he smirked, "it is therefore my business to know you inside and out." Kurt turned to face the young man, "that was not intended to sound that salacious."

"Not when I'm about to speak to Professor McGonagall," Kurt playfully punched Charlie's chest, "I will even put a pin in discussing your haircut because she expects me to stand head and shoulders above my peers, that would-"

"Found him," came as a from the edge of the quad. Tracey ran up to him and hugged him, pushing Charlie out of his space, "I'm glad you're okay, I'm sorry about your brother."

"Thank you," Kurt smiled, waiting for her to let go. When she relaxed her grip he stepped into his boyfriend's space, "Tracey Anne Davies-"

"Not my middle name."

"This is Charles," Kurt introduced the pair.

"Bless my soul, your Hipster Weasley!"

"Not my name," Charlie teased.

"You made Kurt feel," she gaped at him, "and really upset Hermione. I really don't get it, he's hot."

"Did Hermione call me ugly?"

"And stupid," Kurt shook his head as Tracey recounted everything Hermione had said about Hipster Weasley. She sniffed loudly, "you smell like Christmas."

"Aren't you Muslim?"

"I mean the secular holiday with Santa," she rolled her eyes, "not the birth of the baby Jesus." She sniffed his boyfriend again, "like cinnamon, lemon cakes and swiss pine."

"No hint of old boots?"

"What?"

"I like her better than your other friends," Charlie extended a hand for Tracey to shake, "I'm going to invite you the next time we have guests."

Kurt narrowed his gaze, reading his boyfriend before turning to Tracey, "I'll meet you wherever people congregate in a moment, I need to have a DMC with my boyfriend."

Tracey raised her hands in surrender, "a deep meaningful conversation, sounds like you're getting dumped."

"It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all," Charlie shrugged.

"Hospital wing, second floor," Tracey divulged as she retreated.

They watched her leaving before Kurt turned to the slightly shorter young man, "I need to come clean."

"You can tell me anything," he winced, "not everything, I can't take it if you're leaving me for Harry Potter."

"Don't be disgusting," Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Who am I next to the chosen one?"

"You're the one I picked!"

Charlie kissed his collar bone, "then there's nothing you can't tell me."

"And you'll never tell anyone?"

"Not a soul."

"I killed Professor Dumbledore."

Charlie's body stiffened, "what?"

"I killed Professor Dumbledore," Kurt repeated.

"Why would you do that?"

Kurt drew a deep breath, "it was to protect Draco, the Dark Lord was making him do it."

"And so you took the bullet?" Charlie furrowed his brow, "I don't understand why you would do that for Draco."

"Draco is still innocent and it was supposed to be Professor Snape who took his place but he fell down on the job," Kurt took a deep steadying breath, "I'd entertained the idea but I knew that Professor Snape would do it."

"Why were you entertaining the idea of murdering Dumbledore?"

"Not murder, killing," he clarified.

"Potato-potato."

"He was dying," Kurt explained, "I'm not telling this story well. I'm still in it, it's still so fresh." Kurt intertwined his fingers with Charlie's, "he asked me to do it, his last words were 'thank you Kurt'."

Charlie nodded, "okay, so we're not becoming evil."

"You'd go evil for me?"

"I would do anything for you."

"Come summer, I'm going to do so many things to you."

"Kurt," the young man blushed through his heavy freckling, turning his tan rosewood, "Professor McGonagall might hear."

Kurt held Charlie's larger hand in both of his, "for you, I would risk disappointing an authority figure."

"I hear that," Charlie leaned in closer, "but would you suffer a raspberry for me?" he blew one on the nape of Kurt's neck, "would you do that?"

"I nothing but to please your fantasy," Kurt didn't say anything more, pulling him into a kiss. Charlie picked him up bridal style, "put me down."

"If I bask in your majesty any longer, the Order and Professor McGonagall might think something untoward," Charlie kissed him more chastely as they walked toward the hospital wing, "we have our entire future for that."

Kurt let himself be carried when he could have walked, let himself be blissful when he would have been sullen, let himself be hopeful for the future when he should have been practical. Kurt halted their enjoyment when they came to the corridor in front of the infirmary entrance, "Please put me down."

"Your wish."

"My brother and my mentor died today," Kurt looked away from the young man, "I had a hand in both those deaths, someday I might have a hand in your death but… I love you and I don't want to have to give you up-"

"Don't worry about me," Charlie licked his lips and caught his lower lip between his teeth, "I'll be with you till our end, that won't be for years because I still need to begin the process of humanely domesticating a dragon."

"So long as you don't get foolish ideas about domesticating me," Kurt opened the door and all the eyes in the room turned to him like everyone knew that he was a killer, that he had premeditated his part in the murder of the Hogwarts Headmaster. Kurt felt a tightness in his chest but just as his eyesight started to blur, Charlie took his hand and anchored him in the moment, "can we whisper for a moment?"

"Sure."

"Near Hermione, with the notebook," Kurt pointed across the room, "is Hau Xun."

Charlie nodded condescendingly, "that's good to know."

"Next to her is Ming Prewett," Kurt kept his voice low, "she's your Uncle Fabian's daughter."

"You lie!"

"If I'm lying, I'm dying."

"Holy shit!"

"Go make a new friend," Kurt patted him condescendingly on the head. He turned to the room at large, "Salutations, may I have a moment with Pamda Petil?"

"Padma isn't here…" Luna answered, "I can go get her."

"If she isn't sleeping," Kurt flashed a small smile. He looked over the remainder of his contemporaries, "Why so glum? Did your brothers die a week after the anniversary of the death of the first great love of your lives."

"Kurt," Ron's voice pleaded with him.

Hermione shook off her sadness, "Kurt is right. Finn, of all people, would want us to remember him as he lived- jovially."

"I remember when he taught me to French," Neville held back a sob, "he was the first person to let me feel their boobs."

There was an echo of agreements, Tracey smirked, "he told me I was the new Prettiest girl in school."

"Calm down," Kurt smiled sadly, "save your stories for his wake, it's the least we can do for him." Kurt sat on the edge of Neville's bed and stroked the boy's hair, "We won't ignore him because Professor Dumbledore is dead."

"On that matter," Xun looked up from her notepad, "what happened on the astronomy tower?"

"I don't understand the question," Kurt furrowed his brow.

Xun cracked her neck, "Harry Potter came to from unconsciousness to find the Headmaster dead in the Astronomy quad and the Potions Master's body abandoned on the seventh floor of the Astronomy tower."

"Okay…"

"You were seen coming from the same direction."

"I wasn't there until after the Death Eaters were gone from the scene of the crime," Kurt looked from Harry to Charlie to see who would contradict his claims, "I got up there just in time to see Harry running down the stairs."

"Shouting 'Malfoy'?"

"Yes," Kurt nodded, "but Harry has been a dog with a bone about Draco since second year, anything could have happened and he'd blame Draco." He crossed his arms, "need I bring up the matter with the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Please don't," Ron and Harry exclaimed simultaneously.

"I think he might have a little crush."

Lisa swatted his arm, "you promised me you weren't gay."

"Ouch," Harry rubbed his arm, "if memory serves, I promised you I wasn't gay for Kurt."

Remus Lupin cleared his throat, "So neither of you saw who killed the headmaster?"

"No," Kurt shook his head, "I just saw Draco with a group of Death Eaters, it could have been any of them."

"Does it matter who it was?" Harry looked around the room for validation, "We know the hit was ordered by Voldemort."

"Yes," Alastor Moody got up from his chair, "But we need to know who done it."

"Why?" Kurt furrowed his brow, "Is the Ministry going to start making arrests? Mr Olivander was taken in broad daylight and not a single arrest has been made with regard to that matter." He crossed his arms, "Why should we bend our minds and the limits of reality to remember an event neither of us witnessed when nothing will come of it?"

"Kurt," Hermione pleaded with him, "if you tried-"

"If I tried what?" Kurt snapped. He looked them each in the eye, "you'd know who to hate? Who to point your angst and malice at? Someone less wise than myself once said that we don't have to become them to defeat them."

"That was me," Hipster Weasley beamed from where he was chatting to Ming, "I said that."

"Yes Charles, it was you," Kurt shook his head, "I don't know anymore, and I don't think it makes a difference in the grander scheme of things; Professor Dumbledore is dead, Finn is dead."

"Finn is dead?" Padma gasped from the doorway.

"I found Padma," Luna announced.

"And you didn't tell her Finn was dead?" Hermione scolded.

"I thought Kurt might want to be the one to tell her," Luna shrugged.

"Thank you Luna," Kurt turned his body to square up with his academic rival, "I'm so sorry for your loss, I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better but there's no changing this. He's gone, I'm not sure if you want anything of his to remember him by… and it's okay if you want to forget him and move on with your life but I felt I needed to extend the offer."

"Thank you," Padma smiled through her tears, "but I don't need anything to remember him by, it was sweet of you to ask."

"Do you want to see his body?" Kurt tilted his head, "he died with a goofy look on his face but I fixed that, he kind of looks like he's sleeping."

"I doubt there'll be funeral, what with your family being in hiding. So, this might be my last chance," Padma nodded to herself, "I would like to see him one last time."

"Come," Professor McGonagall gestured to a bed with the silhouette under a sheet.

Kurt turned back to Xun, "Is there anything else?"

"Do you know who killed your brother?" she chewed her lip anxiously, "He's been described but I was hoping you could put a name to the face."

"Thorfinn Rowle," Kurt chuckled, "he's my second cousin once removed, my extended family just can't stop killing people."

"Hey," Tracey protested.

"Present company excluded."

"Thank you," she glared at him, "I'm in charge of the children now, I'm fucking Mary Poppins."

"He also killed 'dead guy'," Neville interject, "he bumped into me, breaking my leg, and got hit instead of me- I almost died." The boy kept staring into the middle distance, he shook it off and glared at Kurt, "why aren't I in charge of the children?"

"Well," Kurt smiled sadly, "you're going to be in charge of everything else." Kurt turned toward Professor McGonagall and gestured for her to follow him, he exited the infirmary, "thank you for coming."

"I'm so sorry for your loss," she tilted her head and there was sadness, "When you lost Cedric Diggory, I knew that kind of loss and how one can move past it. I don't know how one carries the kind of loss you suffered today."

"Thank you Professor, those words are very kind," Kurt smiled sweetly. He squared himself once more, "Before his death, Professor Dumbledore had made his picks for Head boy and girl in the next academic year and I hope you can make them official during your tenure as acting Headmistress."

"So they might be in place in case we end up with another Deloris Umbridge at the helm."

"Exactly," Kurt nodded.

"Yourself and Ms Granger?"

"Tracey Davies and Neville Longbottom," Kurt smirked.

"Ah, yes," she nodded, "you did just say that Longbottom was in charge of everything."

"Now that I've reached my magical majority, I will be taking a sabbatical to fight the good fight," Kurt smiled, "I trust them most."

"I hope this isn't overly familiar," Kurt was shocked when Professor McGonagall pulled him into a tight hug, "give them hell."

~0~

The furniture in Professor Burbage's Muggle studies class was set up for a lesson with Douglas, the couches were increased exponentially for the occasion but it still had the same warm feeling. All of Hufflepuff house was present, Dumbledore's Army had shown face, the Order of the Phoenix members had taken a break from patrolling the school- a task they'd taken up since the castle's invasion- but most jarring was the presence of the Slytherin Girls; Kurt initially assumed that they were here for him or the bottomless champagne but they looked genuinely shaken by Finn's death.

Kurt got up in the centre of the horseshoe formation and cleared his throat, "Finn would want to be remembered how he lived, happily. Tonight is his wake and no matter how sad we might feel now that he's gone, we need to honour that wish." There was a round of snaps like they were at a poetry night, Kurt smiled, "I met Finn at school.

"I had just recovered from cancer and I didn't really know anyone there," Kurt smiled at the memory, "he had a liver and onion sandwich for lunch, I had candy and crisps because my dad and I were still adjusting to life without my mother. He tried to trick me into blindly trading lunch with him, I read the deception in his thoughts, but he was lucky that I like liver." The crowd laughed, "he was my brother from that moment, I think he would have been my brother even if our parents hadn't gotten married.

"We used to be able to communicate without words," Kurt shook his head, "there were definitely words, I could hear his thoughts and we took it as a sign that we were destined to find each other. I had always wanted to know what other kids were thinking and his thoughts were loud enough for me to hear, it took me some learning to open my mind to him."

Kurt took his seat and Neville took his place, "When I met Finn he was suffering from separation anxiety. I managed to distract him by losing Trevor, that was the moment I made my first friends. Six years later and I've frenched two of them- Mr Hummel, your day will come!"

"Never!" Mandy heckled.

"Not on my life!" Charlie shouted, echoing the sentiment.

"Those two can't live forever," Kurt responded.

"I would like to have the whole set," Neville joked. He turned back to the general audience, "in second year I thought Hermione Granger's shit didn't stink."

"Viktor would agree," Pansy shouted.

"Yes," Neville was basking in his success, his speech didn't carry the same sadness as Kurt's and it was getting people's engaged the way he wanted. Neville scratched at the back of his neck nervously, "I should be better at this speaking thing by now, I'm going to be Head Boy."

"And me, your Queen," Tracey and Mandy chorused to raucous laughter.

"That many Queens? Who am I, Henry the Eighth?"

"You don't even get that reference!" Kurt heckled.

"Let's not get distracted by Kurt's honesty, where was I?"

"You were smelling Granger's shit," Mandy crossed her army angrily.

"Right, thank you my love," Neville blew her a kiss and her demeanour softened, "I couldn't go to Kurt with this because he's like my mom… not that he's insane but when I call him 'mama'."

"I call you 'baby'."

"So I went to the next best resource I had at the time, Finn," Neville shook his head, "I wish we had Tracey Davies then." There was a resounding laughter, "his idea of dating advice was teaching me how to French, put my hand on his boob and presented me with a thorough lesson on just how to use my tongue."

"I can't speak for Mandy, but I thanked him multiple times," Hermione raised her glass.

Mandy pursed her lips suggestively, "Finn knew exactly how grateful Neville and I were to him."

"I eventually had to have the conversation with my mother-friend," Neville shook his head.

When Neville took his seat and Tracey Davies took his place, "I haven't known Finn well for very long… I guess the present continuous isn't appropriate anymore, I didn't know Finn well for long before his death." She took a deep breath, "mood killer, sorry. I do remember the day I first became curious about him; I'd just become friendly with Kurt and he came up to me randomly, speaking to me as if we were long lost friends.

"I asked him who he was, with every attitude in the world," she chuckled, "his response has stuck with me to this day: he said 'who am I?' to which I agreed. He asked this question a few times with different inflections and I became concerned that he didn't know who he was." She won the crowd back and they laughed, "then he said it, 'Who I am doesn't matter, ask me what I stand for and you'll know the kind of person I am'."

Tracey was silent for a moment, "I have asked myself what I stand for every day since." She got on her knees and pointed into the crowd, "Denis and company, I'm in charge now. As your Head Girl; I stand for you, I stand for the innocent." She shook her head and laughed, "to think it took a Hufflepuff who was probably high as a kite to open my eyes shows me that we should do better as Slytherins, we are the girls to date after all."

"I'd like to say something," Pansy raised her hand.

"Go for it," the group encouraged her.

She made her way to the middle of the room; she stood there in silence for a moment before taking a deep breath, "I didn't prepare anything, I didn't even know Finn very well but I find myself shaken by his death."

"Say more," Kurt encouraged her.

"Most of us didn't get to experience Cedric's death as a murder, we were told that his death was an accident and we believed it," Pansy shook her head, "we ate the propaganda up and by the time we believed the truth, the moment had passed." She chuckled to herself, "this is my first official loss at the hands of You-Know-Who and his minions."

Pansy took a deep breath, "I'm safe for all intents and purposes- I'm a pureblood- but for the first time in my life, I'm afraid. I'm afraid for myself, I'm afraid for my friends, my peers, I'm even afraid for people I don't even like."

"You're afraid for me?" Harry exclaimed.

"I'm afraid for Harry Potter," she laughed at herself, then she was silent again, "Finn was always nice to me, even when I was horrible in return. He was cute and Hogwarts will never be the same now that he is gone… Slytherin will be winning the Quidditch cup going forward, it's what he would have wanted."

"As long as it's not Gryffindor," Nymphadora called out.

"As long as it's not Gryffindor."

Justin and Ernie took the stage together, "Finn was our best friend."

"I was closer to him," Ernie clarified.

Justin shook his head, "only in his head."

"Anyway," Ernie rolled his eyes, "we met my best friend on our first night at Hogwarts when he asked us if any of us had nightmares."

"We thought he was being dismissive and planning on being mean," Justin picked up the thread, "When Wayne- stand up Wayne." The beautiful Asian boy got to his feet and blushed, "before he was hottest guy at Hogwart, admitted that he had nightmares."

"Finn told me to lay down, said he had magic his mother taught him to get rid of them," the boy let out a sad sigh, "I haven't had a nightmare since."

"You have to do it three times or it won't work," Justin smiled, "that's what he told us."

"We didn't know that his mother was muggle when he taught it to us," Ernie chuckled.

"But they did it every night until I had been nightmare free for a month," Wayne smirked, every night the entire dorm would chant-"

The sixth year Hufflepuff boys spoke in unison, "Bad dreams, bad dreams go away. Good dreams, good dreams here to stay."

"I still say it to myself when I can't fall asleep," Roger Malone admitted to a chorus of agreements.

Ernie shrugged, "I taught it to the first years."

"I say it sometimes," Kurt nodded, "big scary Kurt Hummel uses children's kitchen magic when his mind is racing."

"Big?" Justin raised a questioning eyebrow.

Ernie mirrored the expression, "Scary?"

"Kurt Hummel?" they chorused, "I don't see it."

"Can I sit down now?" Wayne Hopkins called out over the laughter.

"Sure," Ernie grinned.

"Let's give that beautiful piece of Korean barbeque a round of applause for being such a good sport," Justin spoke like this was a motivational speaking convention.

"I'm Chinese."

"Hopefully he will pick someone in this room," Ernie crossed his fingers, "men aren't my portion, but I really hope it's me."

"Let it be me," Justin echoed.

"In other news," Ernie smirked, "Hufflepuff hasn't been this important since Cedric."

"He was both the cutest boy in school and a dead quidditch captain," Justin let out a defeated sigh, "at this rate we'll have a dead student, a quidditch captain and the cutest boy as three separate people in two years."

"I want to see how it breaks down after that," Ernie looked at his friend, "will we have a quidditch and a captain, or a cutest and a boy?"

"Just adjectives floating around unattached to nouns."

"I hope I live long enough to see the house become just floating letters."

"How long do you think that will take?"

"We'll still be younger than Professor Lupin."

"Professor Dumbledore was younger than Professor Lupin."

"He's not that old," someone called from the crowd.

"Sounds like Kurt has competition."

"We're praying for you random heckler."

"Fuck you," Kurt interjected, "I'm not that student."

Hermione shooed the pair off the stage, "I'd like to make a toast, before Kurt Hummel sets the room on fire."

"Jesus just saved your life," Kurt cracked his knuckles.

"My name is Hermione," she received some laughter from the people who were familiar with the joke. She raised her glass, "To Finn, he was a strange motherfucker but we loved him. Despite everything going on in the world around us, he would want today to be a day about love. Not just the love we had for him but the love we have for each other, Finn would want us to take this moment and pretend that it would never end- fill it with all the love we have to give. So, on behalf of Finn; this is for the romantic lovers." Kurt leaned into Charlie and kissed his hand, "to the friends, both new and old. To Tracey Davies and Wayne Hopkins' beauty. To Quidditch, school, reading, boys. To everything that makes us happy.

"To every day of happiness we have waiting for us in the future," Hermione downed her glass and it magically refilled itself, "None of us would have thought his life would be the one cut short, but he lived for a thousand lifetimes and loved every moment of life."

RIP Cory Monteith.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, reviews are love.