Author's Note: Hey, everybody! I'm putting this up way later than I planned. I apologize. I watched Deathly Hallows on Friday, and I needed a few days to emotionally recover.
Anyways, this chapters's a bit different than the others. Not much Brittana. I want to try focusing on other characters and making this more of an ensemble piece (but with Brittana still being the main pairing of course.) =)
Disclaimer: Harry Potter or Glee doesn't belong to me. Obviously.
"Psst… psst… Quinn!"
"What, Berry!" Quinn lifted her head from her Advanced Potion-Making textbook and quietly yelled at Rachel, hoping not to attract Professor Snape's attention. Rachel smiled, ignoring Quinn's obvious annoyance, and leaned across the lab table.
"Well, the glee girls plus Kurt and I are visiting Hogsmeade this weekend, and I wanted to know if you would like to accompany us," she whispered, "I really hope you'll accept my invitation."
"Why would I want to spend the day with you, Berry?"
"It's not just me. It's everyone. Even Santana agreed to come along." Quinn raised her eyebrow at this. Surely, Santana didn't actually agree to go and was only going because of Brittany, "Please come, Quinn. It looks like you need some girl-plus-Kurt-bonding."
Quinn scoffed, "What makes you think I want to bond with you guys? Is this the only reason you invited me? Sorry Rachel, but I don't need some pity party."
"What? No!—"
"Is there something interesting you'd like to share with the rest of the class, Miss Fabray?" Quinn slowly turned around in her seat, only to face Snape looming over her with his arms crossed.
"Um, no, Sir, I was just…"
"Perhaps, Ravenclaw would like it if I deducted 50 points for disturbing my class?" Quinn was about to object when they heard glass shattering from across the room. Snape swiftly crossed the gap separating Quinn and Rachel's table from Artie and Santana's.
"Miss Lopez and Mister Abrams, care to explain why some of my lab equipment is lying broken on the floor?" Santana straightened her shoulders and smoothed down her Slytherin tie. Artie nervously pushed his glasses up his nose and gawked towards Snape.
"I'm so sorry, Professor Snape. It's just… Santana… she… you see—"
"Just spit it out, Mister Abrams. And don't mumble." Snape said impatiently.
"Sorry, Sir. It's just. Santana was threatening me and I accidentally backed into the table knocking some of the vials over and I promise it won't happen again and I'll replace them I swear." Artie admitted all at once.
"That's no excuse for recklessness in my classroom. 150 points from Ravenclaw," Snape turned to the other Ravenclaw students in the room. "You can all thank Miss Fabray and Mister Abrams and their need to disrupt my class." Quinn shot a glare at Rachel, who guiltily shrunk down in her chair. Before returning to the front of the classroom, Snape said, "And learn to control your temper, Santana." Santana nodded her head and sat down at her seat.
"So what was that about Love Potions and Brittany, Hot Wheels?" she whispered to Artie, smirking. Artie lowered his head, but not before shooting Santana a look of contempt. "Yeah, thought so."
/ /
"Ugh, I hate that class," Quinn said walking out of the classroom beside Santana. "It's never the Slytherin students who get in trouble even though they're always the cause of it." Santana grinned smugly at the reminder. "Seriously, Rachel chatters on and on, and who gets scolded? Me! It's not my fault she never shuts up!"
"Preaching to the choir, Q."
"Quinn! Wait up!" Quinn and Santana turn around to find Rachel rushing towards them.
"Speak of the devil," Santana rolled her eyes and quickly walked away, leaving Quinn behind to deal with Rachel.
"So, will you be coming on our visit to Hogsmeade?" Rachel asked once she caught up to Quinn.
"No."
"But—"
"Listen, Rachel," Quinn sighed. "Thanks for the invite. But I don't need any bonding with you or the others. I get enough of that in glee club."
"Well, and I mean no offense by this, but I wouldn't really say you interact with anyone else in glee club besides Santana and Brittany. And it's nice to get out of the castle every once in a while, you know—" Quinn exhaled loudly.
"Okay, fine!" she snapped, causing Rachel to back away just a little bit. "I will come on your little trip. Just please stop with your incessant babbling!" Rachel's face brightened and she squealed in delight.
"Yes! I'm so glad! I promise it will be very enjoyable!"
/ /
The walk to Hogsmeade sucked.
Quinn shuffled behind the main group with her chin buried in her scarf and her hands stuffed in her pockets. She turned around to see what Santana and Brittany were doing. They were well behind everyone else, off in their own little world as usual. Every once in a while Quinn could hear them whispering and giggling softly. Brittany's Hufflepuff scarf was wrapped around both of their necks, keeping them cuddled closely together. Her arm was around Santana's shoulder, and it looked as if Santana fit perfectly against Brittany's side.
Ahead of Quinn, Kurt linked arms with Mercedes, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Tina and Rachel walked beside them; all four of them huddled close together to keep warm. The first ten minutes of the walk was spent with Rachel talking about Finn, until the topic shifted over to Mike. Now the subject of conversation was Sam.
"I don't get it. Like, is he interested in me, or is he not?" Mercedes asked the group.
"Trust me," Tina said. "He likes you. He's just a little shy."
"Well, that boy needs to step up then. Because I am not making the first move."
"He needs encouragement though," Kurt added. "Maybe he's not sure that you're interested in him. Like with me and Blaine last year. I was crushing on him for so long, but he always acted like I was just a friend to him. Then I started to get a little more flirtatious—" he playfully bumped his hip against Mercedes', "—and before I knew it, he was confessing that he had feelings for me, but was scared that I didn't feel the same way."
"Yeah, Cedes. You just gotta work it!" Tina laughed, walking ahead of the group and swaying her hips. Kurt followed with one hand on his hip and his lips pursed. Quinn watched as they continued to play around and pretend they were super models. When Rachel looked over her shoulder, Quinn caught her attention and her smile faltered. She started to slow down her steps until her pace was even with Quinn's.
"Hi," she said softly. Quinn glanced at her to acknowledge her presence, but didn't say a word. "Having fun?"
"Totally," Quinn replied, a faint hint of sarcasm in her voice. Rachel looked down at her feet for a moment, and then back at Quinn.
"I hope on stopping by Dominic Maestro's when we get to Hogsmeade. Maybe we can find some sheet music for glee club."
"Cool."
"Although chances are, we won't find anything from the Muggle world. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the wizarding world's music! But seeing as I am Muggle-born, I do have quite the affinity for their music. My fathers practically raised me on Broadway music."
"Yes, Rachel, I know." Quinn's voice was void of any emotion. She stared straight ahead, focused on nothing in particular. Rachel lowered her head, disappointed that she failed to make conversation with Quinn, and they walked the rest of the way to Hogsmeade in silence.
/ /
"Seriously, Rachel, we really don't want to hear about you and Frankenteen's late-night rendezvous to the library. I mean, first: the library? Really? That's like, the least sexy place to get it on. Second: what's the most that you two do? Sit around whispering 'sweet nothings' into each other's ears while giving him little pecks on the cheek, and maybe letting him graze one of your boobs, or whatever you call that brick wall of yours." The group was gathered around a large table in the corner of The Three Broomsticks. They each had a mug of Butterbeer and were once again discussing their significant others.
"Actually, Santana," Rachel replied, "Finn and I have made it past, what some would call—" she put her fingers up to make air quotes "—first base, and are quite on our way to second." Santana made a gagging noise, while Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina just scrunched up their faces, obviously uncomfortable at the direction the conversation has taken.
"Okay, TMI, Rachel. TMI," Kurt said in slight disgust.
"And by the way, you seem to spend a lot of time thinking about the size of my chest and what I do with Finn. Is there something you'd like to tell us, Santana?" Rachel crossed her arms, waiting for some witty retort that she knew wasn't coming. Instead, Santana spit out the Butterbeer that she had been drinking. The others tried to hold back their laughter, and even Quinn, who had been sitting there silently, chuckled a little.
"Santana, do you want to give Rachel sweet lady kisses, too?" Brittany asked with a small frown on her face.
"UGH! God, no! I'd rather make out with one of the gargoyles in the courtyard than with Rachel Goblin-Nosed Berry!"
"I totally did that one time," remarked Brittany.
"Okay, seriously guys," Tina interrupted, "Can we please talk about something else now? This is getting really awkward."
"You're the ones who keep bringing up your boyfriends. I mean, come on! Don't you have any lives outside of your relationships?"
"Yeah, you should talk, Santana." Rachel said, rolling her eyes.
"What was that, Hobbit?"
"Santana's right," Everybody whipped there heads toward Quinn, shocked that she had finally spoken up, "I'm getting a little tired of hearing about all of your love lives." Rachel looked at her sympathetically. She was about to say something when the band in the inn started playing some lively music.
Brittany gasped, "Let's dance!" She grabbed Santana's hand and dragged her to the center of the inn. Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina promptly followed them.
"You don't want to dance?" Rachel asked Quinn from across the table after they had been left alone.
"No. Not really in the mood." Rachel awkwardly played with the edge of her mug.
"Sorry," Quinn raised her eyebrow curiously. "I invited you to come with us here, but you don't look like you're having fun. Sorry."
"No," Quinn shook her head. "It's fine. You were right; it's nice to get out of the castle sometimes. And watching you and Santana bicker is pretty entertaining." They both exchanged a tiny smile, but Rachel's immediately faded.
She lightly smacked her own head in realization. "Ugh, you must feel so uncomfortable listening to me babble on and on about Finn all day. I'm so sorry. Really, Quinn. I never meant to offend you, and I would never purposely try to rub something in your face—"
"Rachel, relax," Quinn chuckled softly. "Finn is so two years ago. Talk about him as much as you want. He's your boyfriend," she paused for a moment. "On second thought: not as much as you want. It's annoying if you talk about anything too much."
Rachel ignored the last comment. "What about Mercedes and Sam?"
"Sam's nice, but he's just a friend now. In fact, I think he and Mercedes are kind of cute together," Quinn shrugged. Rachel stayed silent for a second before looking up shyly.
"… and Puck?"
Quinn gazed at her drink thoughtfully, "Puck and I were never a thing, Rachel. It was just a short fling that never should have happened in the first place." There was a hint of doubt in her voice that both girls noticed, but Quinn just shrugged. "Let's face it; I just don't have much luck with guys."
"That is not true, Quinn." Rachel said with such conviction, startling Quinn. "I am positive that every single guy at school has at least a small crush on you, and if it's not a crush, than they're probably head over heels in love with you."
"No, that's just the Veela blood in me working its magic. They don't really like me."
"You're wrong, Quinn," By this time, Rachel had moved around the table so that she was sitting right next to Quinn. She shifted a little awkwardly in her seat when Rachel had grabbed her hand and stared at her intensely. "Quinn, you are the most beautiful and most intelligent girl I have ever met. And that has nothing to do with your Veela heritage. That's just who you are. And I know we haven't always been on the best of terms, but that doesn't mean that I don't admire you because I do. And okay, fine, I'll admit, sometimes I'm a little jealous of you. Of course, I am the better singer, but then I look at you and I think 'wow, Quinn has such beautiful eyes, and such a nice nose. I wish I looked like her.' And the way you can command attention with just the slight lift of your chin—wow. If only I could get the rest of glee club to listen to me sometimes. You just have this air of sophistication and superiority about you, unmatched by any other student at Hogwarts. But beneath that cold exterior of yours, lies a kind and gentle young girl. Don't try to deny it. I know that you really do care about glee club, Quinn, even if you don't act like it. And I also know how you get with Santana, but in reality, she's your best friend and you really do love her. I know you feel lonely sometimes, Quinn. But you're an amazing person. And one day, you'll find someone who realizes that about you and will love you for you—not the Quinn Fabray that you show everyone as some sort of front, but the real Quinn Fabray."
Quinn gawked at Rachel's speech. She was shocked at Rachel's sincerity and had no idea how to respond.
"Wow, Rachel… that's… you think way too highly of me," Quinn shook her head in disbelief.
"It's the truth, Quinn."
"Why are you being so nice? I've been a bitch to you since we've met."
"Because," Rachel sighed. "Despite the way you've treated me over the years—calling me demeaning nicknames, sticking chocolate frogs down my robe, drawing pornographic pictures of me in the girl's lavatory, casting Engorgio on my nose when I was giving a presentation in Charms—"
"Okay, I get it!"
"—And I won't even mention all of that drama with Finn—I still believe that we can be friends, Quinn. Really." Rachel smiled. Quinn looked at her intently, and when she realized how genuine Rachel's words were, she returned the smile.
"You know, Berry, you're not that bad," Rachel's face brightened at Quinn's compliment, "Although, I would like it if you cut down on the talking and the singing sometimes…"
Rachel stood up and took Quinn's hand, "Come on; let's dance with the others!" She led Quinn towards the dance floor, but when she realized that Quinn wasn't moving, she looked over at her expectantly.
"Thank you, Rachel," Quinn said softly. "For that talk. And stuff. I really needed it. Thank you," she repeated. Rachel offered her another kind smile that she returned without hesitation this time.
"Any time. Now… let's boogie!"
Author's Note: Phew! This was a doozy to write. And nothing much even happened. Haha. I just got caught up in all that Faberry. Which by the way, will remain a friendship in this story. So I apologize in advance to anyone expecting more than that. =/