Chapter 28, Interlude: Paper Unicorns

September, Seventh Year

"When Connolly first discovered Neptune - twenty years before his muggle colleagues, I might add - he was determined to adapt the muggle technology even further, to allow him to uncover as much information about the planet as possible. It was through this that he developed the Videmodo charm while working at Newgrange, so he could study the light reflections much easier…"

I stared down at my open book, at the diagram of the Connolly Telescope with all its charms labelled, and wondered why I'd ever decided to take Astronomy to NEWT level in the first place. It wasn't like I needed to. I was taking more subjects than most people. The scratch of a quill from to my left reminded me exactly why. I glanced up at Professor Hibbitt, still rambling on about Videmodo charms, then turned my head to look at Brittany who was sat at the next desk along. She noticed me almost immediately and gave me a wide grin, before returning to her work. I sighed, and turned back to the front. What was the point in taking Astronomy to keep her company if she was just going to take notes all the time and not talk to me?

I picked up my quill, dipped it in ink and begin to doodle on the side of my parchment. I'd got as far as drawing Hibbitt falling off a cartoon version of one of his precious stars when something floated onto my desk. I stared at the paper unicorn for a moment before turning my head to see Brittany grinning at me again. I smiled back, picking it up and quickly finding a line written on its back. I brought the paper unicorn up closer to my face to read it properly.

Hey, are you wearing a space suit?

I looked at the sentence for a moment longer before turning back to stare at her in confusion. Space suit? What was she on about? She motioned with one finger, and I turned the unicorn over to find another sentence.

Because your body's out of this world.

I choked as I tried to muffle my laughter, and Professor Hibbitt immediately swivelled around from the window to glare at me.

"Is something the matter, Miss Lopez?"

I shook my head, covering the unicorn with one hand as I did my best to smile at him.

"No, professor."

"Then please do not interrupt me again. As I was saying, Connolly's first attempt at the Videmodo charm…"

He hadn't even turned away again when something brushed my arm. I bit my lip, trying to keep from grinning too much while he was still keeping an eye on me, and reached for the second unicorn, pulling it into my lap. Finally his eyes drifted to the diagram on the board and I looked down, quickly finding Brittany's handwriting.

How'd you like to recreate the Big Bang? ;)

I quickly brought a hand up to my mouth to stop myself laughing again. I turned to look at Brittany, but there was already another unicorn coming my way. How did she make them so fast? Was this what she'd been doing all lesson? I reached out to catch it when it got near. Professor Hibbitt was back to staring out of the window, so I didn't bother to hide it as I looked down.

You're as hot as the sun. You're like, Sun-tana.

This time I couldn't keep my laughter in check, and Professor Hibbitt spun around to glare at me. I dropped the unicorn into my lap before he could see.

"Miss Lopez, must I cast a silencing charm on you to get through my lecture? Be quiet!"

The next unicorn was already brushing against my leg and I fought to keep a straight face as I nodded.

"Sorry, professor."

The folded paper kept knocking against me as Professor Hibbitt continued his lecture on Connolly, glaring at me the whole time. I made a point to at least pretend to be taking notes, although I wasn't even sure what I was writing. The only way I was going to pass my NEWT in this was just studying with Britt - I never learnt anything from him. It was a good ten minutes until it was safe for me to reach down and catch hold of the unicorn that had been hovering there the entire time. I checked on Professor Hibbitt again, but he was busy flicking through his giant starbook. I held it underneath my desk just in case, and was surprised to find a rather sweeter message than the ones I had read before.

If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, I'd own the galaxy.

At least there was no desire to laugh this time. Yeah, it was still a crappy pick-up line, but it was adorable coming from Brittany. I turned to smile broadly at her, only to find a line of paper unicorns sitting ready on the edge of her desk. A quick flick of her wand sent the closest one over to me.

Is your dad an astronaut? Because he stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes.

If it was anyone else, I'd have whacked them round the head by now and told them to grow up. But it was different with Brittany. She made anything special. Even though the lines were crude and would never work on me if anyone else said them, I just wanted to walk over and kiss her. If only…

They unicorns continued floating over to me for the rest of the lesson. Partway through I had to shuffle underneath my desk to store the pile I already had in my bag, which earned me a disapproving glare from Professor Hibbitt. When class finally ended my bag was full of them, and I couldn't stop smiling. Professor Hibbitt rushed out almost immediately, and with the two of us at the back of the class we were last in the queue to the door. I was almost there, holding my bag carefully so as not to squash any of the unicorns, when I felt Britt's hand pull me back. I spun around with a grin to see her holding up one last unicorn. I reached for it, holding it up to peer at the writing.

Are you going to kiss me now, or do I have to lose my bet with Lord Tubbington?

I glanced back once at the door. It was half-closed, and it was lunch next anyway. No one would be coming in. I dropped the unicorn onto the nearest desk and stepped forward, leaning up on tiptoes to capture her lips. I kissed her slowly, smiling against her mouth and with one hand gently cupping her cheek. The sound of running outside the room made me pull back to look at her, both hands dropping to find hers. Her eyes were still closed, and she had a dreamy smile on her face. I leaned in to kiss her once more.

"Where did you find those?" I asked as I pulled away again, this time to see her eyes open.

She grinned happily.

"New muggle books came into the library last week, and there was a book called 'Get the Girl'. And it totally works," she proclaimed victoriously, proving her point by kissing me again.

I laughed as I pulled away.

"That would so not work with anyone apart from me. And no one else could make that work on me. Just you, Britt."

"So, do I definitely get the girl?" she asked eagerly.

I glanced at the clock on the other side of the room. There was still almost an hour of lunch left.

"I suppose we could stop off in the prefects' bathroom," I mused, laughing again when Brittany grabbed my hand and pulled me straight out of the classroom, practically running to the nearest flight of stairs.

Brittany's tongue was pure magic. Every flick, every kiss drove me that little bit higher, to the point that I was squeezing my eyes shut and biting my tongue hard to stop myself making any noise. Why, why hadn't I insisted on a silencing charm when she'd woken me up? I couldn't keep quiet under these conditions, I-

"Ohh!"

The noise escaped my lips before I could stop it, but my concerns shifted elsewhere when I felt Brittany pull away. My eyes snapped open and I lifted my head to look down at where she was nestled between my legs. Her eyes were sparkling as she grinned at me and licked her lips clean. My Slytherin tie hung loosely around her neck where it had been since lunch, swinging gently back and forth and hitting the inside of my thigh every time. What was she doing? Why had she stopped?

"Britt!" I said it as quietly as possible, and it came out as more of a hiss. She lifted a finger to her lips, teasing me. I moved my hips off the bed, begging her with my eyes. She grinned wider, kissing the inside of my knee before moving back in so the only thing I could see was dishevelled blonde hair. Her lips touched me again and I had to throw an arm over my mouth as my head fell back on the pillow. One hand pulled my hips up from the bed, pressing me further into her mouth. Her tongue delved deeper and I pressed my arm down more firmly against my face, unsuccessfully trying to muffle my moans. I pressed my lips together but it did no good - it was impossible to stay quiet with Brittany working me higher and higher, until I was about to fall-

"Some of us are trying to sl-ohhh!"

My eyes jerked open and my arms wrapped around myself, knees pulling up and away from Brittany as I came face to face with Rachel, staring down at us with wide eyes. I glanced across at Brittany, who wasn't wearing much more than me - my tie and her long, striped Hufflepuff socks I'd forgotten she had on - but she wasn't doing anything to cover herself up! I knocked her with one foot, gesturing behind her. She got the message after a few seconds and grabbed the duvet, pulling it over her front. Her cheeks were a bit red, but she didn't look concerned at all! How was she not panicking about the fact that Rachel Berry just caught us going at it?

"Don't…" My voice was raspy, and I took a deep gulp of air. "Don't say a word. To anyone," I ordered, glaring my fiercest at Rachel, whose head was still poking through the curtains.

She gulped, but nodded. "Of course, Santana." At least she made the effort to whisper - but then she ruined it by speaking again. "I do understand that this must be a very confusing time for you and I would like you to know-"

"Go!" I hissed, batting at the curtains desperately with one hand while the other was still covering my chest. Her face disappeared, and a moment later I heard the soft padding of hurried footsteps. I stared at the curtains for a moment longer before dropping my face against my knees, arms moving to wrap around my legs as I tried to hold myself together. The heat from earlier had shifted into uncomfortable stickiness. I fumbled around blindly with one hand, searching for the clothes that were strewn across the bed and soon finding the large t-shirt I slept in. I pulled it quickly over my head with shaking hands, feeling the burn of tears in my eyes. I tried to blink them away but some fell anyway. I couldn't stop trembling. I couldn't stop seeing Rachel's face staring down at us, for once shocked into silence. Oh god, oh god. Why had I been so stupid to think it would be fine without a silencing charm?

"Santana…"

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind and I fell back into Brittany, clapping both hands over my mouth to muffle my crying.

"It's okay, Santana, don't cry," she whispered in my ear.

I shook my head, trying to tell her to stop speaking. I didn't want anyone else coming over. What if Niamh came? I took several quick breaths, willing myself to stop crying as I searched for more clothes. I found her shirt and pushed it back to her, pulling away to sort through the rest. I pulled on my shorts, then passed everything else to Brittany. She sighed, but started getting dressed as I waited at the end of the bed, peeking out of the curtain there. It was quiet. It sounded like everyone else was asleep. But I knew Rachel wasn't, so who else might have heard? Who might she tell?

Something touched my shoulder and I twisted my head quickly to find Brittany watching me with concern. She was almost dressed - her jumper was on inside out and my tie was still nestled underneath the shirt, but it would have to do. I pulled on her hand, sliding as quietly as possible off the bed and leading her quickly across the room. It was dark enough that no one should see my tears or Brittany's state of dress, but I hurried anyway. Down the stairs, out of the common room and along the corridor until I found the empty Potions classroom and pulled her inside, shutting the door behind us. I could feel her watching me as I walked further into the room and sank down onto one of the stools. I placed my arms on the table in front of me and rested my head on it, closing my eyes and embracing the darkness as I tried to get rid of the image of Rachel staring down at us. I heard the scrape of another stool next to me, and then a soft touch on my arm.

"Santana, it's okay."

"How is it okay?" I muttered against my arm, loud enough for her to here. She sighed, and her hand moved to wrap around my shoulders.

"Rachel won't tell anyone."

"You don't know that!" I argued, sitting up so quickly her arm slid off me. I could feel fresh tears on my face again. "She hates me! I've called her names for years, and now she has something she can use against me! Of course she's going to tell people! Everyone's going to know by morning!"

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Brittany asked gently. I shot her a glare and she shook her head. "Fine. But she won't tell people. She gets it."

I snorted, scowling at the table.

"She does. She has two dads, remember?"

I blinked a few times as I processed that, remembering occasional mentions of them in the past. I wiped the tears off my face with the palm of my hand as I swivelled on the stool to look at her.

"You… you really don't think she'll tell?"

Brittany shook her head firmly. "She won't. Not everyone's out to get you, y'know. Don't you see? Quinn knows, and Kurt, and now Rachel. And nothing bad's happened so far."

"No, but that's different. Quinn's our friend, and Kurt and Rachel can't exactly be harsh about it, considering. But if other people find out…"

"They won't care," Brittany sighed. "Okay, so maybe Karofsky would, but he can't do anything. You're head of the quidditch team. He knows you'd kick him off if he said anything to you. And the whole school knows they'd get hexed if they said stuff."

"But that's just it. It's not just what people are going to say to my face. I can hex people all I like if they insult you or me when I'm about, but… but what about what they say when I'm not there? I don't want people talking about me. It'll just be the same as what happened last year, it'll get to the Ministry and then my parents and abuela will find out, and… and they won't like it. You know them. They're all traditional and shit, and it's not like they have any other kids to fall back on. I'm their hope for everything. Exams, and a good job in the Ministry, and carrying on the fucking Lopez family tree."

"But what about your mum? She's better now, she tries to talk with you."

I was shaking my head before she'd finished speaking. "No, no I can't. Not yet. What if it just ruins everything?"

Brittany sighed again. She was playing with the bottom of her shirt with one hand, her feet kicking back and forth underneath the stool. They stopped abruptly, and then she had hopped off the stool and was standing.

"You said you'd try. But it's been almost a year, and no one else knows." I opened my mouth to point out what had just happened, but she cut me off. "Yeah, I know Rachel knows now, but that was an accident, and you still freaked out. I know you're scared. And I know I said I'd wait, but I hate being a secret, Santana. I want to show you off to the world, I want everyone to know I'm your girlfriend. I want you to myself."

I bowed my head at that comment. I didn't go off with Puck often, and Brittany tried to be okay with it after the whole Artie thing, but she hated it. I hated it too, but what would things be like if I hadn't done that? People would have noticed that I'd stopped sleeping with guys, they'd have started asking questions.

"I'm gonna go back to Hufflepuff, okay? I'll see you tomorrow. And don't worry, Rachel won't say a thing," Brittany murmured as she walked away. The door swung shut behind her a few seconds later, and I was left in the darkness with my tears.

I was leaving the Hufflepuff common room early the next morning when I ran into Rachel. Literally - she hurried forward and I wasn't looking, and we both ended up on the floor.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Brittany!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and bending over to help me up as well

I smiled at her. "Don't worry, I wasn't looking either. Did you want Finn? Because I think he already left."

"No, no, it was you I wanted to talk to. About last night-"

I put a finger up to my lips quickly, gesturing at her to follow me as I walked down the corridor. I wasn't going to risk people finding out by talking about it right outside the common room. I didn't like being a secret, but it was what Santana wanted, and I wasn't going to force her into being public. Once we were a safe distance away, I turned back to Rachel and smiled to indicate she could continue.

"Well I just wanted to finish what I was going to say last night - I tried talking to Santana earlier but she threatened to hex my tongue into a horn, and since singing with a horned tongue would most likely prove rather difficult, I thought it easier to come to you instead."

I nodded uncertainly. It was always a little difficult to understand Rachel when she started speaking fast and in long sentences.

"Well anyway, I just wanted to reassure the two of you that of course I will stay quiet on the matter until you are ready to declare your affections in public yourselves, and to let you know that if you require any assistance, or perhaps wish to talk to an adult who will understand, I am more than willing to contact my dads and have them floo into Hogsmeade at the next opportunity."

"I… uh, thanks Rachel. I think we'll be fine though," I assured her. The suggestion of talking to Rachel's dads about us would not go down at all well with Santana - it was probably safer not to mention it at all. "Thanks for the offer, though."

"Of course. If you do change my mind, just let me know and I'll owl them straight away!" she said with a firm nod, turning to head back in the direction of the Great Hall. I walked with her, trying to follow everything she said when she started babbling on about some singing academy in London, but to be honest I was kind of glad when she headed to the Hufflepuff table to sit by Finn. Rachel was perfectly nice, but she spoke so fast I couldn't understand her half the time.

I slid in next to Santana, and noticed straight away that she looked tired. I slipped my hand under the table and found hers, squeezing it lightly.

"You okay?" I asked quietly. I hoped she'd got some sleep after what had happened last night.

"Yeah. Just… Puck's bugging me," she added with a sigh.

I looked up to find Puck staring over at us - well, just at Santana really. Once he'd tried to hook up with me at a party, but Santana kept hexing him whenever she saw him for a week after, and he'd never tried it since. I glared, trying to tell him to back off. He noticed me, but just winked in response.

"Cheer her up, will you Britt?" he called across the table. "It's kind of a downer kissing someone who threatens you every other breath!"

I didn't bother replying, just turned back to Santana. She was tapping the table with her spoon, apparently lost in thought. Finally she moved, reaching into her pocket and producing an untidy, slightly crumpled unicorn similar to the ones I had been making in Astronomy yesterday.

"Sorry it's not as good as yours. That took me like four attempts," she apologised with a shrug as she passed it over. I smiled brightly at her, resisting the urge to kiss her on the cheek in thanks. I squeezed her hand extra tight instead as I turned the unicorn over, finding a line of black ink on its stomach.

Dinner on me, 7pm in our room.

"Really? Tonight?" I asked. I wondered if this was because of what I'd said last night, or if she'd had it planned anyway.

"Yeah. If that's okay?"

"Course it is!" I exclaimed - a little too loudly, because several people looked over. I dropped the unicorn into my own bag and grinned at her. "I can't wait."

Santana had left an hour ago for the Room of Requirement, and I had been waiting impatiently in my dorm ever since. I couldn't really change into fancy clothes because people would get curious, but I'd done my hair nicely and put on a bit of makeup.

Finally, my clock hit five to seven and I hurried out of the dorm, walking as fast as I could without risking tripping over. Stairs, stairs, more stairs. Why did the Room of Requirement have to be so far away? I was convinced I could smell nice food before I even reached the corridor, even though I knew that was impossible.

When I entered the Room of Requirement the sounds and smells of cooking were overwhelming - spices and the sound of bubbling. Our room had expanded to allow room for a new kitchen area, and Santana was standing there with her back to me. It looked eerily similar to the kitchen that Artie had cooked for me in last year, but I pushed that thought aside as I hurried over. She grinned over her shoulder as I approached and I leaned in to kiss her softly on the back of the neck. I pulled back to admire the red smudge my lipstick left, then rested my chin on her shoulder to watch as she stirred the pot of creamy sauce on the hob.

"You're cooking?" I exclaimed in amazement as I stared down at what she'd made. Santana had never properly cooked like this for me before. Whenever we had dinner together, one of us just ran down to Hogsmeade or the elf kitchens to get something ready-made, and heated it up when we wanted to eat.

She nodded, biting her lip as she stirred. "I thought I'd try something different. I hope it's okay…"

"It smells amazing," I told her, breathing in to try and work out what it was as she lifted the spoon to taste a little. It smelt kind of sweet, and there was rice bubbling in the other saucepan. "Korma?" I questioned.

"Yep! And… it's done!" she declared, licking her lips and summoning over two plates standing on the nearby counter. I stayed right behind her as she dished it up, one hand resting lightly on her shoulder blade. I only pulled back when everything was on the plates and she hovered them both. I followed her to the desk she had pulled out from the wall and turned into a nice table, with a cloth and everything, digging in immediately once we were both sat.

"Santana, this is so good!" I exclaimed once I'd tasted it, quickly taking another bite. "Why haven't you ever cooked for me before?"

She shrugged, a little smile on her face. I loved it. I loved seeing her turn shy in front of me. I knew it was a part of her that no one else got to see.

"I guess I can cook more if you want. If you really do like it," she mumbled.

"Of course I do! How could anyone not like this? Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"I figured it was just like potions, following the recipe. So I found some cookbooks in the library and just… did it. House elves gave me the ingredients."

"Can you show me? Mum never lets me in the kitchen now, not since that whole Christmas pudding thing. I know I'm not good at potions, but with you so good surely I could learn something."

"Yeah, that would be fun," she agreed happily. "But no way are we trying christmas pudding, not after that. I still can't believe your dad called those muggle fire people…"

"Well there's never been a fire before in our house! He didn't think about magic!"

"He's lived with your mum for like twenty years, how did he not realise there'd be a spell to fix it?"

"Well, he… he…"

I struggled to find the words to explain his decision to make a phone call when everyone else was busy trying to put out the fire, but then I met Santana's eye and we both dissolved into laughter at the memory.

The rest of the dinner was the same - talking, and laughing, and eating Santana's wonderful curry. When we finished the meal we left the dishes for later and moved to the bed. We were both so full that nothing happened apart from a few lazy kisses, but it was nice, just lying there with Santana and enjoying her company, not worrying about being interrupted or overheard.

"Hey Brittany."

I looked up from tracing swirls on her arm to find Santana looking at me with a much more serious expression than she'd been wearing for the rest of the evening. I shuffled further up the bed so we were eye-to-eye. She looked worried, so I leaned in to give her a kiss for courage. Her eyes stayed closed for a few seconds after I pulled back, and when they opened she looked more determined.

"I've been thinking. About last night. What happened, and what you said."

She went quiet again, but I didn't speak. I'd said what I thought on the matter last night, and I didn't want to interrupt her now.

"I promised to try, and… and I haven't been. Not really. But I want to, so we don't have to be a secret. It's… it's so scary, the thought of kissing you or just… just holding your hand, in front of other people," she explained, wringing her hands between us. "Worrying what they'll be thinking, what they'll say. And I figured the reason no one else knows about us yet is because I didn't have motivation to tell them. I mean, I had you, of course. But there was no time scale, and I could just say 'I'll start tomorrow' or 'I'll start next week', and then I never would. So… so that's what I think I need."

"More motivation?" I asked, not exactly sure what she was asking for. She shook her head.

"No. I mean, yes, but not from you. I want to do something by Christmas - give myself a deadline. Stop the Puck thing, at least. I promise I'll do that."

I lit up inside at the thought of not having to deal with Santana running off to Puck once a month. I knew it was me she loved, not him, and that I got her every other day, but it still hurt seeing them together - especially with Puck being so crude about it all the time, and always bugging her for more.

"Thank you," I breathed into her mouth as I leaned in to kiss her deeply, trying to show her just how happy I was. She kissed me back, but not for long before she was pulling away.

"That's… that's not all," she murmured, catching her breath. I bit my lip as I watched the uncertainty wash over her face again. "If things go well… like, we tell someone else and they're fine with it. I want to try and tell mamá."

"Are you sure?" I whispered.

She let out a quiet bark of laughter and shook her head.

"No. And I'm not saying I definitely will. But I haven't been trying, and I figure if I try to work myself up to that - well, even if I don't tell her at Christmas, it'll make things easier."

I smiled my understanding and leaned in to kiss her again.

"I love you," I whispered against her lips. I could feel them smiling against mine.

"Love you too," she whispered back, before pushing me onto my back and claiming my mouth as hers.