Theme song: com/watch?v=yG0M8O7J9WA
Santana's song: com/watch?v=Km5VAR5HCCU

Chapter 24: Forget the World

November, Sixth Year

Tick. Tick. Tick.

I'd never understood why clocks always seem to go slower when you watch them. Surely it would make more sense if they went faster, because you were paying attention to them?

It was close now, though. The shorter hand was basically on the twelve, and the longer one had just settled directly over the number ten. I'd charmed the clock so it let off a yellow glow, enough for me to see it properly but not so bright that it would disturb anyone else. Sugar's snores echoed around the room, letting me know that the extra light definitely didn't bother her.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

I heard a creak and sat up, turning to look at the door. Someone was coming in - but all the girls I shared with were already in the room with me. I squinted, then relaxed when I recognised the green uniform. Santana scurried across the room to my bed and I lifted the covers for her so she could slide in. I should have guessed that she'd come.

"What are you doing here? Finn's gonna be mad if he finds out you're in Hufflepuff," I whispered, pulling the quilt over the bottom of our faces to muffle the sound.

"Like I'm scared of Hudson," she whispered back. I could just about see her roll her eyes through the darkness. "It's your birthday tomorrow and we haven't planned anything!"

"Oh… I guess we haven't. But we have lessons anyway."

She shook her head and reached out for my hands, holding both of them between us. "Doesn't matter. I want to take you to dinner."

"D-dinner?" I repeated. We'd never done anything like that before. Normally we just went to bars or shopping.

She nodded firmly. "Dinner. Me and you, somewhere posh. It's your seventeenth, it's got to be special!"

Dinner with Santana, just the two of us. It sounded… well, perfect. Except-

"I can't."

"…You can't?" Her hands around mine loosened and I suddenly felt horribly guilty.

"It's… it's Artie, he's cooking for me. He's already got it all arranged. I'm sorry, Santana. We can go to dinner for your birthday, though."

Her expression was conflicted, but then it suddenly cleared and she smiled.

"Look at the clock."

I twisted in the bed to peer at the luminescent clock. While we'd been talking, the long hand had crept past the number twelve. Santana wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed a light kiss to my cheek.

"Happy birthday, Britt. We'll go to dinner another time - and it'll be way better than whatever Abrams cooks you," she added. I grinned and rolled over to retort, but she was climbing out of the bed. "I should go before the Hudson troll sniffs me down and tries to chase me away. Have a great day," she hissed across the room, already halfway out the door.

I smiled and settled down in bed, closing my eyes. It was going to be a good day.

From waking up until I went to sleep, I didn't see Santana at all. Everyone I saw was saying happy birthday and commenting on how I was an adult now, but Santana wasn't even in class. I wanted to go looking for her in the Slytherin common room, but I'd had lessons all day today. I didn't understand what would keep her busy for the whole day - and on my birthday, too! I knew I'd said I couldn't have dinner with her, but was she really that upset about it? She'd been acting weird lately, but I couldn't imagine anything that would stop her being around on my birthday.

It was the evening now, and I still hadn't seen her anywhere. It was starting to worry me. What if something had happened to her? I wanted to go searching, but I couldn't because Artie was cooking and I was late. Hurrying through the corridors, I stopped and backpedalled when I realised I'd just passed Quinn.

"Quinn!" I called. She paused, turning and smiling when she saw me.

"Brittany, you look so nice!"

I glanced down at my dress, distracted for a moment, before refocusing.

"Have you seen Santana?" I asked, reaching out to touch her wrist.

For a moment I thought she was smirking, but then it was gone and she was just shaking her head.

"Sorry, no. Don't worry, though, she's just a bit busy with something."

"On my birthday? Busy with what? I haven't seen her all day!" I protested.

Quinn shrugged. "Oh, I don't know exactly… but you're going to like it," she added quickly, pulling her hand from my grasp and turning to hurry away.

I blinked once, then called after her. "Quinn, wait! Wait, I don't understand! What do you mean?"

She had already disappeared round the corner.

I sighed, picking up the pace again and soon arriving at the Room of Requirement. I still felt a bit guilty about coming here, but I couldn't work out how to explain to Artie that we shouldn't without telling him what Santana and I had used the room for, and Santana said she could deal so long as it wasn't our room. And really, where else was Artie supposed to cook for me without leaving the castle?

I knocked once before pushing the door open, and was greeted by the amazing smell of whatever Artie was cooking. I stepped further in, staring around. I'd never seen the Room of Requirement look like this before - it definitely wasn't mine and Santana's room, though. There was a kitchen to one side where Artie was standing, but right in front of me was a small table with candles and cutlery all laid out ready. There was a bed as well - which should have pleased me, but really I was kind of disappointed. I'd been planning to go and find Santana after this, but I guessed I wouldn't be able to.

"Brittany! Happy birthday!" Artie called, grinning at me from the hob as he stirred whatever was in the saucepan. I bounced over with a smile to kiss him on the cheek, peering down as I did to see tomato sauce in one pan and pasta in the other.

"That smells amazing," I enthused, kissing him again for good measure.

"Well you arrived just in time, I'm about to dish up. You look lovely, by the way," he added with a smile, beginning to scoop up the pasta and sauce onto two plates then hovering them across the room. Once they were safely on the table he pulled back my seat and I settled into it. He leaned in to kiss me softly, and I felt a sudden rush of gratitude for how much effort he'd put into tonight. But as I tucked into the meal he'd made, I couldn't help but think of Quinn's earlier words about Santana. What had kept her busy all day? Something for me? That was what it sounded like, but I didn't understand because I'd told her I couldn't go to dinner.

Artie was talking and I tried to pay better attention to him, but Quinn's words and the fact that we were in the Room of Requirement made it so difficult. It was my birthday, I should be with Santana. I was always with Santana on my birthday, and on hers. It didn't feel right that I hadn't seen her. But maybe that was why she'd sneaked into my dorm last night just as the clock struck twelve.

I held in a sigh. I'd just have to wait and see - and in the meantime, try and concentrate on Artie.

I crept quietly up the stairs. My eyes were still bleary with sleep, but I'd known I would need to come early to avoid Finn. I couldn't believe how irritating he was being lately, objecting any time I even came near the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall. The other Hufflepuffs didn't really care anymore, they could see that Brittany didn't blame me… well, apart from in that one argument, but none of them knew about that.

The door creaked as always when I pushed it open. There were no snores, which meant that Sugar at least was awake. Sure enough her bed was empty, but the other girls were all still sleeping - except Brittany. I frowned, walking over to find her bed perfectly made. It didn't look like she'd even slept in it.

Out-of-tune humming came from the bathroom and I walked over to it, sticking my head through the door to find Sugar dancing around in a towel to some imaginary tune in her head. I bit my tongue to stop myself either laughing or insulting her, and instead cleared my throat. She spun around and gave me a bright smile.

"Hey Santana!"

"Hi. Do you know where Brittany is?" I asked.

Sugar giggled, turning back to the mirror to carry on towel-drying her hair as she spoke. "She's with Artie somewhere. She went off to have dinner with him last night - but didn't come back!"

The strong feeling of burning distaste that I now recognised as jealousy filled me up, but I pushed it aside and just gave Sugar a quick nod, forcing a temporary smile onto my face.

"Thanks Sugar."

I walked out of the dorm then hurried across the common room quickly when I realised Finn was now lounging with Rory by the fireplace. As much as I wanted to take him down a peg or two, I didn't want to deal with that now. I had more important things to deal with, and I didn't even stop when I heard him yell my name.

That's willpower.

I guessed that with Brittany… otherwise engaged, I would just have to wait for her to emerge at breakfast. I made my way to the Great Hall and, noticing Quinn - up ridiculously early as normal - I walked over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down next to her, immediately reaching for coffee and a slice of toast.

"Everything ready?" she asked.

I nodded, a little nervous. I'd gone to her yesterday to ask for help, and even though I hadn't actually admitted the purpose of what I'd organised, I think she knew. She knew it was for Brittany, anyway. And she knew I was nervous. At least she hadn't started asking me directly about it - she'd just done what I'd asked. As if on cue with my thoughts, she passed over a brown paper bag.

"I got it from the kitchens this morning, so you don't have to wait for her to eat."

I peered into the bag then smiled gratefully, but before I could thank her properly she was gesturing behind me. I turned and found Brittany marching straight towards us. I spun around on the bench and stood, making sure my bag was securely around my shoulders, then walked to meet her.

She flung her arms around me and for a moment I froze, aware of all the eyes around us. Then I reminded myself that today was not about what I wanted - today was all about Brittany - and returned her hug for the few seconds I could before she pulled away.

"Where were you yesterday?" she demanded. Her blue eyes were wide and boring into mine. I felt a little guilty, but it would be better this way, having everything a surprise. I linked my little finger with hers and directed us towards the exit. She was still staring at me, waiting for an answer, but I kept my mouth shut until we left the Great Hall. Once in the less crowded Entrance Hall, I pulled her to the side.

"I want to take you somewhere today. For your birthday. I figured that since we couldn't spend time together much yesterday, I'd just make today into a second birthday for you. Okay?"

Her face lit up.

"So we're going to dinner?" she asked with a bright smile. "But… isn't it kind of early? I haven't even had breakfast yet."

Mentally thanking Quinn, I passed her the brown paper bag. She frowned at me for a moment, not expecting a serious response to her joke, then gasped in delight when she opened it up to reveal a still-steaming chocolate croissant. The elves or Quinn must have enchanted the bag to keep it warm.

"It's not just dinner, we're doing stuff the whole day," I explained. "So… come on! We need to get off the grounds so I can take you places!"

She nodded at once, taking a bite out of the croissant with a wide grin and following me when I tugged her to one of the side doors and outside. It was chilly out, and Brittany immediately shuffled closer and tucked an arm around my waist. I smiled at the contact, returning the favour and enjoying her surprise at the action, then started us towards the school gates. Professor Sylvester was almost always happy to give me favours now I was quidditch captain, and she had readily granted permission for me and Brittany to leave Hogwarts for the day - in exchange for five hours of extra quidditch practice, of course.

"Where are we going? Is this what you were doing all yesterday? Quinn didn't really say much-"

"Wait, Quinn told you?" I asked in dismay. I'd wanted it to be a complete surprise.

"She wouldn't tell me anything! Just that I'd like what you were planning and that was why you were busy and couldn't see me. But I didn't understand until just now."

I considered for a moment, then shrugged it off. It didn't sound like Quinn had given anything too bad away. I wanted to be mad at her, but with all the help she'd given me yesterday I really couldn't justify it.

"So, what are we doing?"

I grinned at her, then winked once.

"You'll have to wait and see."

She sighed dramatically and I laughed.

"Okay, here we are. Hold on tight," I instructed just after we passed through the Hogwarts gates that had conveniently been left open. She turned to face me fully and hugged me tight, her cheek pressing against my hair. I breathed her in, momentarily overwhelmed by how close she was, then forced myself to concentrate. If all went well, I would have plenty of time to appreciate her later in the day. I squeezed my eyes shut, focused on where I wanted us to be, and apparated.

To my slight disappointment she pulled away as soon as our feet hit the ground, spinning around to ascertain our location. She took one long, hard look at the shop windows filled with cauldrons and broomsticks, the milling witches and wizards, and the distant but distinctive white building of Gringotts. Then she turned back to me, her expression a mixture of excitement and curiosity.

"So what are we doing?" she asked again.

"We're not done travelling yet," I informed her, never taking my eyes away from her face. I could see her thinking hard, flicking through possibilities. "I just had to apparate here so the Trace people wouldn't get suspicious. Come on, follow me."

This time I reached for her hand properly rather than just her little finger. She looked down in surprise, then back up at me, and the look on her face was worth ten times the anxiety I was feeling that someone I knew might be about. It would get easier soon, anyway. I pulled her through the crowds and into the Leaky Cauldron. I didn't pause inside except to take the now empty paper bag from Brittany and lob it across the room into a bin. Soon we were on the streets of muggle London, and I turned to her properly to explain my plan.

"I figured we could pretend to be muggles. Go around all the muggle touristy stuff, use muggle money. We can even go on those weird underground trains if you really want. Although - all of it's only if you want. If you don't want to then we can do something else, I don't mind."

I did mind, really. I'd spent all of yesterday in the library researching, and I wanted her to be happy. She'd always liked anything to do with muggles, I guess because of her dad. But it seemed I didn't have to worry, because she was barrelling into me for the second time that day.

"It's perfect, Santana," she whispered.

I felt her breath hot against my cheek and was almost overcome with the sudden desire to kiss her. It would be so easy to just turn my head, tilt my face upwards a little and brush my lips against hers. Effortless, almost. But I couldn't, and it wasn't even because of all the people around. I couldn't, because the next time I kissed her she had to know that it meant something to me as well.

Instead, I looped my arms around her waist to hug her tightly, moved further away from her mouth to her ear, and whispered.

"Anything for you."

It sounded ridiculous. If Puck or any of the other Slytherins had heard me say that I'd never live it down. But the funny thing was, I really, honestly meant it. I couldn't think of anything I wouldn't do for her. Some things would be harder than others - like what I was planning to do today - but even if it took a while, I'd still try.

After several long moments, Brittany pulled back.

"So where are we going first?"

I reluctantly disentangled my arms from around her and reached into my bag, digging around for a second before pulling out two items. One, I handed to her with a smile.

"This is a muggle camera. I think. I hope you know how it works," I added. I'd tried to work it out, even put those metal tubes inside it, but it didn't do anything - I couldn't even see through the viewfinder. Quinn said it was because of the electric, but I'd been unsure and brought along a proper camera as well. The moment Brittany hit the switch on the top though, the metal lens suddenly moved forward in a spiral. She grinned and held it up, clicking the other button on the top and blinding me with the flash.

"Santana, look at you!" she exclaimed, spinning the camera around and confronting me with a rather unflattering picture of myself on the back. I blinked and stepped closer, taking the camera from her and seeing if the picture peeled off, like a strange kind of polaroid. It didn't, though. The picture was stuck onto the camera.

"What…?"

Brittany's giggles hit my ears and I jerked my head up.

"You shouldn't sleep so much in Muggle Studies. It's digital."

I tried to remember the definition of 'digital', and she laughed again.

"Like, computers? Electric?"

I shrugged, deciding that demonstrating my lack of muggle knowledge was probably not helping my case, and instead opened up the book I had tucked under my arm - The Wizard's Guide to Demystifying Muggle London. I flicked straight to the map at the back where I had labelled several places I thought Brittany might like, and passed it over to her. I had to remember to get rid of the markings before returning it to the library.

"You choose where we go first."

She easily switched off the camera and tucked it into her pocket to read the map - fortunately also making the bad photo of me disappear as well. After only a few moments of looking she grabbed my hand and started making her way down the street. I widened my stride to keep up with her, getting nervous when she led us down a flight of outdoor steps. I remembered the sign above it from the book - it was a symbol for the underground trains. I knew I'd said I'd be happy to go on them if she wanted, but I figured I'd have a bit more time to prepare before needing to. I bumped into Brittany at the bottom of the steps when she turned to me in dismay.

"But Santana, I don't have any muggle money! I don't even have wizard money - you should have told me before leaving!"

I shook my head, glad to be feeling a little in control again as I reached into my bag and pulled out a purse full of strange coins and paper.

"You're not paying for anything today."

"But it's London! Everything is so expensive-"

I shook my head again, more firmly. "I don't care. This is your birthday. You're not allowed to pay for anything," I told her. It wasn't as if my family was short on money, anyway. I walked over to one of the rectangular machines that the book had mentioned, pausing when I saw the screen, ever so slightly flickering. How was I supposed to work this again?

As if in answer, Brittany's pale hand reached over my shoulder and pressed the appropriate buttons. I struggled to enter the correct coins when prompted, a little dubious about the idea of giving money to a hunk of metal, but apparently it worked because two tickets dropped into the hollow at the bottom. I reached down to pick them out, sending a scathing look at the man behind us who was tapping his foot impatiently. We didn't take that long.

As Brittany pulled me through the crowd it was essential to continue holding hands so we wouldn't get separated, and I have to say I wasn't exactly upset at the contact. I wasn't sure where we were heading, but since Brittany seemed to know I just followed her. She went ahead of me through the machines that checked our tickets - did these muggles do everything by machine? - and I copied her. It took a few attempts to get my ticket in the right way, and there were more huffing people behind me, but I paid no attention to them apart from the occasional mutter under my breath. I wanted to turn around and yell that it wasn't as simple as everyone made it look, but Britt's smile stopped me, reminding me that this day was for her. I restrained myself, and eventually we were standing side by side on a bustling platform. I could hear rattling and whistling from all sides, and with the prospect of getting on more crazy muggle transport approaching fast I turned to Britt.

"Where are we going then?"

She grinned at me. "The science museum. I can teach you all about muggles and technology, stuff like that."

I frowned for a moment. "Are you sure? I mean… do you want to do that? I'll be happy wherever we go, you don't have to do that for me."

"No, I want to! I really do, I love explaining wizard stuff to my dad and this is just like the other way round. Anyway, I want to know more about muggle science. Some of what they do is almost like magic. You know they send machines way into space to find what's there?"

I scoffed. "No way."

She was nodding earnestly, but I was distracted by the suddenly approaching roar that was getting louder and louder with every second. My hand clenched tighter around Brittany's and I fell back against the tiled wall when the screaming train finally arrived, far faster than I'd ever seen a normal train move. It was slowing, and stopping, but I was still backed against the wall. This was crazy. That thing was a death trap. Why had I ever suggested taking these trains?

"Santana, come on. It's not far. Only five minutes, I promise."

I locked eyes with Brittany, and my heart dropped when I saw that the excitement that had been in her since we'd arrived had now transformed into concern. I forced myself not to think about what I was doing as I took one stiff step forward, then another, and made my way onto the train. Brittany. This is all for Brittany.

The train doors snapped shut on their own and I spun around to stare at them in panic. What if the train stopped working? What if we got trapped in here, underground in some muggle machine, because their doors wouldn't work? Britt was urging my hands to a pole and I hung onto it with one, but kept my other tangled with hers. She smiled at me encouragingly and, recognising more of her worry, I refocused on her face. I just had to distract myself - especially now the train was picking up speed and I was hanging on for dear life.

"Where else do you wanna go?" I whispered. I untangled my hand from hers and quickly moved it onto the pole, but I shifted it up so it was covering her hand.

"The palace - you know, the muggle queen's palace?"

I nodded - I'd read about it in the book - but gestured for her to continue. The train lurched to one side and my grip tightened.

"Oh, the London Eye! I've never been on it! Except… it's quite expensive," she added apologetically. "That's why mum and dad never let us go on."

I forced a smile onto my face. "Don't worry about money, I've got that covered."

According to Quinn, whose father travelled around in muggle London quite a lot and occasionally took her with him during the summer, I had enough muggle money to pay for a week of looking around, not a day.

"And we need to take lots of photos too. Ooh!"

She started fishing the camera out of her pocket and I groaned, resting my head against the cool metal of the pole as the train stopped for barely a minute before setting off again. I could see the flash even behind closed eyelids, and winched one open to see her giggling at the back of the camera.

"Don't show that to anyone," I pleaded, making her laugh again and nudge me with her elbow.

"'Course not. Wouldn't want to ruin your reputation and show everyone you're scared of muggle transport," she teased. "You might get relegated to Hufflepuff."

"Yeah, if Saint Finn would take me," I responded, sighing in relief when Brittany's hand found mine again and pulled me out of the train as the doors slid open. I had to fumble for my ticket again - why did we need it to get out of the station? - but finally we were in another dingy tunnel. Brittany was staring at the map, but I tapped her shoulder and pointed to a sign hanging from the ceiling listing the Science Museum alongside two other museums.

"Look, it's this way."

It was nice walking hand-in-hand with Brittany down the corridor. Surrounded by muggles, I knew there was no one here who'd know us. I didn't have to worry about what other people thought. Well, I was still worrying a bit. I couldn't help glancing around every so often to see if anyone was looking at us. I did notice one woman, tall with blonde hair, frowning in our direction, but my throat turned dry like it did whenever Karofsky started going on about Kurt. She met my eyes and quickly redirected her gaze to the man I assumed was her husband, and Brittany's hand tugging on mine kept me moving along when they turned off into the Natural History Museum. The smile on her face and the way she was holding my hand so tightly, alongside the reminder that today everything was about her, were the only things that kept me holding on.

The tunnel was quite long, but when we finally reached the end of it Brittany practically ran up the steps, pausing only long enough to grab a map before dragging me round the corner into the main hall of the museum. I stopped straight away at the sight that greeted us; the room was full of muggle vehicles; more than I had ever seen before. I didn't even know what some of them were. There was a train to my left that looked sort of similar to the Hogwarts Express, and a few cars like those in our town, but others-

"What is that?" I asked as we approached a dome-shaped object surrounded by gold foil.

"I think-" Brittany started, taking a step forward to peer at the sign. "Yeah! It's one of the muggle space ships!"

I looked between her and the gold thing. "…Space ship?" I repeated, one eyebrow raised. I thought she'd been joking earlier.

She laughed, shaking her head and bumping her shoulder against mine.

"How do you not remember that? They built a massive aeroplane in like 1960 and… well, I'm not really sure how it works. But there's a lot of fire at the bottom and they send it up into the sky, much further than the plane we were on. They got to the moon!"

I scoffed, trying to come up with a response about how there was no way muggles could get to the moon when they couldn't even floo - but Brittany was amazing at Muggle Studies and Astronomy. Of course she knew what she was talking about. If she said muggles had got to the moon then they must have, however improbable it might seem.

With Brittany by my side talking the whole time, I was soon astonished at everything the muggles had managed without magic. All the vehicles aside, they had machines made out of ones and zeros that somehow did sums, and so many ways of playing music I lost track. Brittany had an explanation for everything.

"How do you know so much?" I asked as we arrived on the next floor full of glass panes and words floating on a wall. "I thought you didn't know your dad's family that well?"

I remembered punching Brittany's cousin when we were about twelve for calling her stupid just because she hadn't heard of some muggle celebrity. I'd only seen them once since, at her dad's fortieth birthday party last year, but now I wondered if I'd just been kept away from them other times.

"I barely see them, you know that. And dad's not really in the muggle world much now apart from work. I just like it - being able to explain wizard things to my dad and grandma, and muggle things to my nan and grandad. And to you too, I guess," she added with a smile.

I smiled back, and tugged my hand from hers for a moment to pull her into a sideways hug.

"Well you're doing a great job. I'm so getting an O on our test next week." Walking further into the room, I paused when I noticed a large clock on one wall. "Hey Britt, we can stay here if you like - but if you want to do other stuff we should leave soon, it's already lunch," I pointed out.

She sighed, but nodded.

"I wish we had more time here."

"Me too, Britt. Maybe we can come back over Christmas, though? Apparently they put lots of lights up - not fairies like at Hogwarts, but still different colours."

She was nodding again before I'd even finished speaking.

"Yes, that's brilliant! And we can come back here and finish looking around, right?"

"Right," I agreed. "My parents can't even moan, I'll just tell them I'm studying."

"Pinky promise?"

I hooked my little finger with hers and squeezed. "Pinky promise."

"Brittany, stop!" I laughed, trying to block her camera from seeing my face with the I heart London umbrella I'd just bought. "I look terrible!"

It was true. My hair was soaking and stuck to my face, my makeup must have completely washed off by now, and the rain was continuing to pour down. Not being able to cast a simple charm to keep us dry was beyond frustrating, but the weather wasn't bothering Brittany in the slightest. She spun away to take another picture of Buckingham Palace, shielding the screen with one hand. I walked forward and held the umbrella higher to cover her as well. She barely noticed, until I stepped closer and wrapped my other arm around her waist. The flash went off once more and then she was turning to hug me back, not caring that my wet hair was now pressed against her face. I didn't care about her hair either, though. Now she was wrapped around me, I didn't even care about the weather except for the fact that holding up the umbrella meant one less arm to hug her with. She made me feel so completely at peace, even in the middle of London in the pouring rain.

My lips brushed her collarbone before I could stop myself, and my happiness shifted to guilt when she pulled away. I couldn't do that yet, I couldn't give into temptation. I'd hurt her, and she had to know that I wasn't going to do that again. I spoke before she could make any vocal protest.

"Come on, let's go somewhere you can dry us off and then find somewhere warmer," I suggested. She relaxed when I linked hands with her again, and as we hurried towards the nearby street of shops and cafes I made sure that she stayed covered up by the umbrella.

"That was so great, Santana," Brittany enthused for the fifth time as I hustled us down the street. Fortunately the rain had stopped now, but the queue for the London Eye had taken longer than I'd expected and now we were running late. Quinn had got her dad to book the restaurant for half six, but it was already twenty to seven.

"Here we are!" I called in relief, slowing down from a jog to take a deep breath and look across at Brittany. Her cheeks were pink and her hair was a little windblown, but she still looked amazing. I doubted I looked as good, but luckily Quinn had suggested we go for the slightly less posh restaurant just in case we didn't look so great after a full day travelling around London. Nevertheless, I smoothed down my hair and fastened the umbrella properly before pushing open the door and beckoning for Brittany to follow.

"Reservation for Lopez, two people?" I asked the hostess waiting on the other side of the door. Despite my fears that she might shake her head and tell me we were too late, she simply smiled and led us to a table near the back of the restaurant. Quinn certainly hadn't been joking about this place. The old stone walls were covered in paintings, with gentle yellow lighting dropping down from the low ceiling and the beams that decorated it. It was quiet, but not so quiet that I'd feel concerned about people listening in on what we were saying; everyone was just speaking in hushed voices.

"This place is gorgeous, Santana," Brittany whispered in my ear as she followed. Her hand slipped back into mine for a few more steps until we were forced to separate to sit. A single candle was lit in the middle of the table, and I wondered what Quinn had said to her dad to manage that. Nothing too revealing, I hoped. Suddenly I was worrying once more, that deep-seated fear rising from my gut, but again Brittany was my saviour. I noticed her expression as she saw the candle - half wonder, half hope - and my fears dissolved, temporarily at least.

"Can I get you ladies any drinks?" the waiter who had just arrived was asking.

"Just water please," I requested. I wanted to be sober for later; I'd used alcohol as an excuse far too many times in the past. Following my lead, and with a quizzical look sent in my direction, Brittany asked for the same.

"Water?" she asked as the waiter left, opening her menu.

I shrugged. "We're not done yet. And I need to make sure I get you safely home."

"You're worrying too much, Santana," Brittany laughed. "I can get myself home. Normally I'm the one getting you home."

I knew she was teasing, but her words still kind of hurt - mostly because I knew they were true. I'd always looked out for Brittany, but now all I could think of were the times I'd left her to go off with some guy I didn't even care about, or got so drunk she'd had to carry me back to my dorm. Sure, I'd carried her back to Hogwarts a few times too, but not nearly so much as she'd done for me.

"Well, not today," I said firmly. Her teasing grin faded into a more relaxed smile and she nodded once in understanding before turning her attention to the menu. I looked down too, but every so often I would glance back up at her. Her hair, still slightly damp, fell in gentle waves around her face, and her nose was scrunched up a little as she examined the menu. When the waiter returned with our drinks and asked if we were ready to order, I realised I hadn't taken in any of what I'd read. I studied the list of pastas quickly.

"Uh, lasagne please?" I requested, naming the first thing I came across that I recognised.

"Me too. Ooh, and can we get some of that really nice cheese? Parma?"

"Parmesan," I interrupted, noticing the amused expression on the waiter's face. "And hurry it up, will you? It took forever for those drinks to arrive."

"Of course, I apologise. I'll put that order in for you straight away," he said, turning and walking briskly away.

"Suck up," I commented, glaring at his back until he disappeared. Did he really think he was getting a tip now after he'd laughed at Brittany? I turned back to her and smiled. "Okay, so, best part of the day so far?"

"I… ohh, that's hard! The space ships. No, no, the London Eye! We could see so much!"

"Yeah, after we queued for an hour."

"But it was so worth it! And we got so many great photos too. I'll have to give the camera to my dad, he can print the pictures at school."

"Will they move?"

"No, of course not! When have you ever seen a muggle picture move?"

I shrugged. "Well I dunno, they might have invented some new way of doing that. It seems like muggles never stop inventing. How can they go to the moon but not have moving pictures?"

Brittany was giggling again. "You don't understand."

I grinned and leaned forward, resting my chin on the arch of my linked fingers and locking eyes with her.

"So help me understand. How can the muggles go to the moon but not make their photos move?"

The rest of the meal passed much faster than I would have liked. I'd have been happy for it to go on forever. Brittany happily described how a war that wasn't really a war had prompted space science, and how there were moving "videos" - like all the films we'd watched on her dad's old TV - that were kind of like photos but couldn't just be printed moving. I couldn't imagine how many books she'd read on the subject to know so much. I knew she liked Muggle Studies, but I hadn't realised quite how much until then. She talked about it for at least an hour, all through our lasagne. It was the best meal I'd had in months, just listening to her talk with no chance of being interrupted by Artie or any other guys. Even the obnoxious waiter, who looked like he was suppressing laughter again when he arrived with our food to hear Brittany explaining the Chilly War, couldn't ruin my mood.

Now, as we were sharing a slice of cheesecake, the weight of the final part of my plan was beginning to settle in. I hadn't been planning to mention it until the meal was over, but now I was torn between wanting to delay it more and wanting it over with.

"The night's not over yet, by the way," I commented as casually as I could, sliding my spoon across the plate to battle hers for some ice cream. My words distracted her enough for me to get a hefty bite.

"Not over? Where else are we going? Isn't everything closed now?"

I shook my head as I swallowed the ice cream, pushing the rest of the scoop over to her side of the plate.

"The pubs aren't. But we're not getting drunk," I added quickly. "Well, I guess you can if you want. But I don't want you to, not tonight. At least, not yet." Maybe she'd want to after I was done.

She leaned forward, ignoring the ice cream for now to squint at my face and try and work out what I was hinting at.

"There's… there's a karaoke bar down the street," I said in a rush, unable to suppress a smile when I saw her face light up.

"Karaoke? We're going to sing?"

I shook my head. "I am."

Her mouth hung open for a moment as she processed what I'd just said.

"But you hate singing."

"Well… you remember the prefects' bathroom, a few weeks ago?"

She nodded, the cheesecake forgotten in front of her. Her eyes didn't move away from my face. It made it harder to continue, but I forced the words from my mouth. This was what today was all about. I couldn't back out now.

"This… this is me explaining. And saying sorry. And… just… I can't work out how to say it on my own. But I know you like me singing, so I figured I could do it like that."

Brittany's hand slid across the table to rest over mine. Even though we'd been holding hands all day, a few goosebumps still rose on my arm at her light touch.

"Let's go."

"…What about the cheesecake?" I asked in alarm. I didn't want to go now! I wasn't recovered from just telling her what I was planning to do. My lips were dry and my heart was beating fast.

"I don't care about the cheesecake. I want to hear you sing."

It was rare to hear her so serious. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. Reaching into my bag I found the purse of muggle money. I pulled out a wad of notes and dropped them on the table. It was probably more than enough - apparently the waiter was getting a tip after all - but now this was happening I didn't want to delay any longer, even to get a bill, in case I chickened out. I smiled nervously as we stood and she squeezed my hand, never letting go.

I led her down the street in silence. Quinn didn't know about this part of my plan, but it was the most important of the whole day. When she'd named some nice restaurants, I'd gone away and looked them up, and narrowed the list down to those that had a karaoke bar in walking distance. It had seemed the perfect solution at the time - sing my feelings to Brittany. She liked it when I sang, and I wouldn't have to come up with my own way of saying things.

I'd worked out the song easily enough. It had to be muggle, of course, but I'd heard this at the end of summer from her dad's radio, just after our day at the beach, and it had reminded me of Brittany straight away. Just like that song at the bar in Portugal, the one that had made me freeze up and then given me enough momentary courage to do what I'd been wanting to for months and kiss her.

I pushed the door open to the pub, and was simultaneously relieved and worried when I saw it was almost empty. That meant less people to sing to - and I'd hated singing in front of people ever since I'd choked up singing at Tony's funeral - but it also meant I'd have to go soon. I walked to the back of the pub, easily finding an empty table. I sat down for a few moments' preparation, eyeing the waiting microphone.

"Do you want a drink first?" Brittany whispered, but I shook my head. She had to know that I meant every word of this. I had to prove to her that I could tell her everything sober. That I could be brave, even if it was only for one night.

I rose from my seat, squeezed her fingers one last time then pulled my hand away. I walked over to the microphone, and whispered to the man in charge of music. He grinned cheerfully and nodded, easily finding the song and gesturing me over to the mini stage. The gentle guitar started, and the lyrics appeared on the screen to the side, but I didn't need them. The words were ingrained in my mind.

"We'll do it all, everything, on our own…"

I sang into the microphone so quietly I was surprised that it picked up anything at all, but it did. I was frozen in place, staring at Brittany. She was staring straight back. I sang to her.

"We don't need anything, or anyone…"

My heart was beating in my chest faster than I'd ever felt it before, but I continued to sing, gradually getting louder as I found some courage and clung onto it.

"I don't quite know how to say how I feel. Those three words are said too much, they're not enough."

The look on her face made me want to run over and tell her it was all a joke, I didn't mean any of it. She was going to hate me. I'd ruined any chance of ever getting to love her by annihilating her own hopes eight months ago.

"I need your grace to remind me to find my own."

I had to keep singing. I owed her that much. Even if she'd hate me for it, I'd been a coward for too long. I had to finish what I'd started, I couldn't keep lying to her. I sang louder still.

"All that I am, all that I ever was, is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see."

It was true. I had no idea what else was happening in the pub. I couldn't look away from her. I could see tears glistening on her cheeks. I'd been trying to lay hints all day, but I wasn't sure if she'd picked up on any of them until now. At least if everything went to hell, I'd given her one last day of friendship.

As the song came to a close, I found a tiny smile on her face, and I allowed myself to hope. Maybe I hadn't ruined everything. I summoned what remained of my courage to smile back.

"If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?"

"Santana, I don't want to go back."

I turned my head to look at her, and found she was already watching me.

"I want this day to last forever. Just you and me."

It was the first thing she'd said since I'd finished singing. We'd left the pub in silence, and even when we'd arrived back at the Hogwarts gates not a word had been said. I'd been waiting for her, and she'd been deep in thought. The only thing keeping me from panicking was the fact that her hand hadn't left mine since she'd grabbed it back at the pub.

"Are you cold?" I murmured. She nodded, and I reached into my bag to find the scarves I'd packed last night. The rain hadn't reached Hogwarts so at least the grass we were sitting on wasn't wet, but the wind did make it a bit chilly, even with the protection of the castle behind us.

"Thanks," she whispered. We both returned our gaze to the lake. The moon was reflected in its surface, and every so often Brittany would tense when a particularly large ripple suggested the presence of the Giant Squid. We were quiet for a few more minutes before she spoke again.

"I lied earlier."

I turned quickly to her. "About what?" Suddenly I was envisioning all sorts of dreadful things she might have lied about, like wanting to hear me sing or being happy about London, or even wanting this day to last forever.

"About my favourite part of today. It wasn't the London Eye." She shifted a little, so she was sitting cross-legged, diagonally across from me. She lifted our conjoined hands with a small smile. "It was getting to hold hands with you all day, and you not being afraid."

"…I was afraid," I admitted after a slight pause.

"But it didn't stop you. And then… then you sang that song."

I knew then that I couldn't let the song do all the talking for me. It said some things well, but not everything I wanted her to know.

"I was scared then, too. More scared than about holding your hand," I whispered. I moved as well so that I was sitting straight across from her, on my knees. "I… I've been thinking about it for months. Ever since the beach."

"You said te amo," she murmured.

My mouth was dry again, but I continued. "I did. I… I said it before I realised it. But… but it was true."

I paused to take a breath, but she didn't speak this time. Her mouth was slightly open and her bright blue eyes were boring into me.

"I was too scared to think about it. For way too long. And I hurt you, and I'm so sorry. You don't know how sorry I am, really."

She still wasn't speaking, and I was starting to get scared again. But then I realised she was just waiting – and she'd been waiting for far too long.

"I love you, Brittany."

Tears dropped from the corners of her eyes and I leaned in, pressing my forehead against hers and wiping them away with my free hand.

"I love you, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Britt, I didn't mean to hurt you. I was a bitch when you tried to talk to me about how you felt and you have every right to push me away, but… please, please don't. I love you, but you're my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without-"

My words were muffled when I felt a pressure on the back of my head, forcing my lips onto hers. She kissed me more powerfully than I'd ever felt her do before, and after a few seconds of processing I leaned in closer of my own volition. The fingers I had hovering on her cheek shifted to tangle in her hair and I clenched our hands even tighter together, resting them against her shoulder. Her face was damp against my palm, but then I realised it was as much from my own tears as from hers. I wanted to wipe all her tears away, but that would involve being too far away from her. Instead of pulling back, I just shifted my lips to her cheekbone, covering the tear tracks with tender kisses. I felt her lips made their own trek across my face, until they hovered just over my ear and she whispered.

"I love you too."

The words forced more tears from my eyes but I didn't care. She loved me. I hadn't ruined everything; she loved me. I found her lips again and kissed her until I had no breath remaining. I didn't even try for anything else. Just kissing her, knowing how she felt and having her know what it meant to me was enough.

She was right, it had never been nothing. Even before I'd understood, kissing Brittany was everything.

This chapter has been in the works in my head for a long time, so I hope I did it justice. I didn't want to just follow the route of Hurt Locker, but Artie is not out of the picture yet. Santana's song was of course Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

I have another drawing to go with the story. It fits the last couple of chapters more than this one, but without a specific timeframe:

laurasfantasia. tumblr. com
/post/24204832251/bartana-triangle