Theme song for the chapter: com/watch?v=7UT62Q4JJU4

Again, too much Spanish to translate so it's just in italics.

Chapter 34: Karofsky's Revenge

March, Seventh Year

"Come on Santana, there must be something you want to do. Just tell me, and we'll do it."

I sighed, burying my head further in the pillow. It was difficult to think of anything with Brittany half-lying on top of me and tracing patterns onto my bare back. Her breath was hitting my neck and her legs were tangled with mine and - really, how was I meant to think when there was so much else to focus on?

"Santana," she moaned and I sighed again, turning my head so I could see her out of the corner of one eye and speak properly.

"I don't know, I can't think."

"What about London again?" she asked. Her fingers drifted across my shoulder and begin to draw faint lines up and down my arm. "We could stay for the weekend."

I shook my head, closing my eyes again to enjoy her touch. "We can't, Britt. Not with NEWTs so close and all the extra study classes. Plus Sylvester's breathing down my neck about quidditch, she wouldn't give us permission to leave."

"Well we have to do something for your birthday. Eighteen!"

"Eighteen's nothing special."

"It is in the muggle world. There, you're not an adult until you're eighteen. Don't you remember how I got way more cards than usual for my birthday?"

I thought about it for a moment, then nodded as I recalled the piles of cards I'd helped her shrink so they'd fit into the bottom of her chest of drawers. Her parents had somehow forwarded them all to Hogwarts.

"Well, I don't know. Lock ourselves in the prefects' bathroom for the day?" I suggested, only half-joking.

"We can do that any day, though. It has to be something special!"

"What do you want to do?"

"I can't decide, it's your birthday!" she protested.

"But I'll be happy if you're happy. So just… give me ideas, and I'll pick one," I told her, unable to hold in a sigh of pleasure when she gently kissed my shoulder.

"What about Puddlemere?"

I snorted into the pillow. "With how they've been performing this season? No thanks."

"Oh yeah, I guess. Something in Hogsmeade? Madam Puddi- no, alright, not that," she amended before I even had time to comment on the tackiness of that place. "But we always go to the Three Broomsticks too. And it's a regular Hogsmeade weekend so it'll be really busy."

"Sorry Britt, but I really don't feel like getting jostled about by a load of kids," I told her, turning my head again to apologise with my expression as well. I felt bad, knocking down all her ideas when I'd just asked her to think of things. "I think I just want to stay around Hogwarts. It'll be quieter."

"We can do that," she agreed, shifting a little to lie down properly, with one cheek resting on my back.

"Could we just like… get food from the house elves and come here and just relax? I'm so sick of the professors and my parents and abuela and everyone going on at me about everything I have to do, and… I just want a break," I admitted quietly. Puck would be laughing if he could hear me saying that.

She shuffled again, sliding further up my body to kiss my cheek, then rolling off me so she was lying opposite instead, her nose almost touching mine. She tilted her head up to kiss the tip of my nose.

"We can do anything you want."

I still wasn't quite used to walking hand-in-hand with Brittany around Hogwarts. Sure it was nice, but every so often I'd catch people staring and the discomfort would rise up in me again. My reputation for hexing people was still sufficient to prevent most of the comments, although Niamh had of course said plenty on the matter - when she wasn't boasting about passing the auror tests, anyway. I still wasn't quite sure how her robes had returned from the house elves bright pink, and Brittany refused to comment, but it was amusing to see her walk around in them for a few days until she figured out the counter-spell. It also distracted her enough that I didn't get nearly as many insults from her as I'd been expecting.

Brittany was humming a tune under her breath as we walked, and was swinging our hands in time with it. I didn't recognise the song - it was probably something muggle - but it meant I had something to focus on other than the looks coming our way from some Ravenclaw girls who kept glancing back at us. They broke apart suddenly with several squeals, and Brittany's singing abruptly halted at the sight of Kurt knocking into a wall with Karofsky close behind, shouting over his shoulder as he passed. I stopped, my hand squeezing Brittany's. She looked back at me, the worry clear on her face as I tried to work out what to do. Recently Kurt had always been safe around me - but Karofsky was very obviously leering in my direction, so that had apparently come to an end. But I couldn't just give up on that now. What if he started thinking it was okay to go after Brittany?

I was moving without a real plan of what to do, but my wand was out and I was pulling free of Brittany to walk straight in front of him.

"What are you doing?" I asked coldly, my wand pointing straight at his chest and forcing him to stop.

"What are you doing, Lopez?" he sneered, crossing his arms. "Standing up for gays everywhere now, huh? Shoulda guessed you'd be like him."

Sparks came from my wand, but he didn't even blink. His eyes were narrowed, fists clenched, and he was staring at me more hostilely than I'd ever seen before. Kurt was struggling to his feet to the side, and Karofsky suddenly made a move towards him. I took two long strides, planting myself between them with my wand pointing firmly at him again.

"Get out of the way, Lopez," he snarled, reaching out a hand to push me roughly despite my wand. I stumbled backwards, shocked that he had actually touched me.

"Santana-" Brittany started, moving closer, but I motioned at her to stay back.

"Do I have to tell you again, huh?" Karofsky shouted this time. He was glaring down at me and I became suddenly aware of just how big he was – he was literally twice the size of me. I had to make him stop before he lost it completely. I desperately tried to think of something to silence him. I quickly found my voice.

"At least I'm not beating up people to prove to everyone I'm straight," I said loudly, my words echoing around the hallway. "You can't even use a wand properly, got to fight like a muggle to feel strong." I felt a moment of victory at the shock in his expression. That disappeared the moment his fist pounded into the side of my face, throwing me backwards to the floor. I felt more shocked than hurt at the severe response, but as the pain started pulsing in my cheek, anger flooded into me. I blinked away the tears stinging my eyes and instead whipped my wand forward, shouting as I did.

"Levicorpus!"

His feet were yanked from beneath him before he could react, and a moment later he was hanging upside down in the air to several gasps from the surrounding students. I was done trying to talk my way out of this. In terms of spellwork, I could pummel Karofsky into the ground – or the ceiling, as it might be. See how he liked it.

"Ventus!" I shouted again, prompting a strong gust of wind that banged his body against the wall. "Fernunculus!" Boils began to break out all over his face.

"Santana, stop," Brittany whispered.

I spun to face her, breathing heavily as the aching in my face got considerably worse. It stung when she lifted her hand to gently touch my cheek, but that touch also calmed me. I lowered my wand, turning slowly to face Karofsky again. He was breathing just as heavily as I had been a few seconds ago, and he looked beyond furious. I made sure to keep a big enough gap between us as I stepped forward to address him.

"Don't touch me, don't touch Kurt. And don't even think about going after Brittany or I'll make your life a living hell, got it? Oh, and in case you didn't realise the second you punched me, you're off the team."

I didn't wait for a reply. I didn't release the spells either. I just turned, found Brittany's hand and started back down the corridor. I was glad to see Kurt hurry to follow us - I didn't want him nearby whenever Karofsky got released. I had no idea if my threats would work once my magic wasn't there to restrain him. At least Professor Sylvester should be okay with my decision to kick him off the quidditch team after he'd gone and punched me - hopefully he should receive the brunt of that impact. We were about to turn the corner when I heard his voice echo after me.

"Fuck you, Santana! Fuck you, you're gonna fucking regret this!" he screeched.

I paused, but Brittany's hand tightened and she pulled me forcefully around the corner. We walked with Kurt for a good five minutes, until I was finally calm enough to put my wand away and we were in a narrow, empty corridor. Brittany turned around suddenly, stepping close and peering at my cheek.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" she asked, in a much more subdued voice than normal. I tried to smile at her to reassure her, but found that just hurt even more. I could taste blood on the inside of my lip. I must have winced, because Brittany turned quickly to find Kurt, who was hovering awkwardly a few metres away. "Kurt, can you fix it? Can you heal her?"

He nodded, walking forward with his wand already out, touching the end carefully against my skin.

"Episkey."

A weird sensation of hot and cold rippled through the side of my face, but only a few seconds later it was replaced by a distinct lack of pain. I lifted a hand to carefully prod at my cheek, and found the swelling had all but disappeared.

"Thanks, Kurt," I said, but he was already turning away with a frown. "What?" I asked, confused. Hadn't I just helped him?

"You shouldn't have said that to him," he muttered, tucking his wand back into his pocket.

"Said what?"

"You know. About him being straight."

"Well I had to say something to shut him up. Obviously it was a bad choice," I retorted, gesturing at my face.

He shook his head, more aggravated. "You could have said anything! Anything, but that."

"Why?" I demanded. "Yeah it was stupid, but what else should I have said? Worst thing that happens, a few people wonder if he's gay, maybe someone gets hit when they say so in front of him, it all blows over, no problem."

Kurt lifted his hands to run through his hair, looking far less composed than he normally did.

"That's not…" He took a deep breath, shaking his head again. "He's going to think I told you!" he hissed.

I stared at him, then looked over at Brittany for confirmation that Kurt really had just said what I thought he had. She looked as shocked as I felt.

"He… he is? He's gay?"

"Shh!"

My eyes widened further and I slumped back against the wall behind me. I could feel Brittany hovering at my side, but my mind was buzzing. His treatment of Kurt suddenly made some sense - not to mention him punching me earlier on. Kurt was right. I really shouldn't have said that.

I didn't know how I felt. I was angry, definitely angry. He'd treated Kurt so badly for so long so he could carry on hiding. But… but, hadn't I done the same to Brittany? I couldn't help feeling guilty as well. I couldn't imagine how I'd have reacted if someone had said that to me while we were still a secret.

"What's he going to do?" I asked quietly. I knew neither of them would have an answer, but I was going crazy stuck with my own thoughts.

"He said you'd regret it," Brittany whispered.

I turned to her and saw all the worry clear on her face, so I squeezed her hand lightly before turning to Kurt, who was shrugging.

"I don't know. He's… he's unpredictable. But you should avoid him. We all should, for a few days. M-maybe he'll calm down. See that no one's talking and forget it."

He didn't look very sure on that, but I didn't want to worry Brittany even more by saying that out loud.

"Yeah, he probably will," I said instead, smiling across at her reassuringly. She smiled back, but the concern was still there in her eyes.

2 days later

"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead."

I stirred a little at the sound of a soft voice breaking into my sleep, but still tried to return to the dream of being with Brittany on a beach somewhere.

"Santana," the voice whispered again, this time closer. A few moments later I felt familiar lips press against mine and my eyes fluttered open to find Brittany a few centimetres away. She pulled away to smile widely. "Happy birthday."

I grinned and leaned in to kiss her again slowly. I kept my eyes open - partly so I wouldn't fall back asleep, but mostly just to watch her as we kissed. I pulled back suddenly when a call came from across the dorm.

"Get a room!"

I twisted my head and squinted through the dim morning light to see a short figure near the end of Brittany's bed that I assumed must be Becky.

"But we're in a room," Brittany pointed out.

I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing, turning my head into the pillow as Becky marched off muttering to herself. Brittany joined me a second later, also giggling as she pulled the quilt over our heads before leaning in to press her lips to mine. We kissed slowly for long minutes. I didn't try anything else - I was very aware of the other Hufflepuff girls starting to rouse around us - but it didn't matter. This was the perfect start to my birthday. It would have been better in the Room of Requirement, but we'd been sticking to sleeping in the Hufflepuff dorm to avoid any run-ins with Karofsky when we were alone. But this was my birthday, I didn't want to ruin it with thoughts of him.

I shuffled closer to Brittany, leaning in for one last kiss before breaking away with a sigh. I could just about make out her smile and the glint of her eyes through the darkness before she shifted, pulling me up so my head was resting on her chest and her arms were wrapped around me.

"When do you want your present?" she asked quietly.

"Now, duh," I replied with a grin, groaning lightly when she sat up, making my head fall back onto the mattress. I watched as she twisted and heard the rattle of her bedside table drawer opening. I poked my head out from under the covers and was relieved to see that the dorm looked empty now - although it wouldn't stay like it for long, judging by the argument going on between Sugar and Becky in the bathroom. Brittany was facing me again though, so I switched my eyes back to her. I had no idea what she'd got me, although I had noticed when she'd disappeared to "visit family" for an afternoon last week. She flicked her fingers towards the ceiling and I moved so I was sitting up opposite her, cross-legged and trying to be patient.

One hand was held behind her back, and she slowly brought it around to reveal a large velvet jewellery box. I glanced up at her face, suddenly uncertain. We'd never really done jewellery before. At least, not jewellery as expensive as this looked. She pushed it closer to me and I took the box carefully from her, considering it for a moment before slowly opening it. A simple, delicate golden chain was inside, but welded at the bottom were two rings; one gold, one silver, looped with each other.

"Brittany, it's… it's beautiful," I murmured as I stared down at it. I owned plenty of expensive necklaces that were family heirlooms or gifts from my abuela, but now I had this I wasn't sure I'd ever wear any of them again. "Thank you," I whispered, finally looking away to lean in and kiss her gently, trying to convey just how much I liked it in that one kiss. It didn't suffice, so I kissed her again before pulling back. "Can you put it on me?"

She nodded eagerly, reaching out for the box and lifting the chain delicately. I turned on the bed, pulling my hair over my shoulder as she placed it around my neck, clasping it on the first attempt then pressing her lips gently against the top of my spine where it rested. I moved, swivelling where I was sat to face her again. She touched the two rings of metal where they rested just above my heart.

"Me and you," she whispered.

I leaned in to kiss her again, but at that moment Becky stormed out of the bathroom screaming insults at Sugar before turning her wrath to us and how it wasn't fair we used up even more shower time with both of us being there. Normally I'd have hexed or at least silenced her after only a few seconds, but wrapped up in Brittany's arms with her necklace still cool against my skin, I couldn't find it in myself to do anything but laugh.

"Santana Lopez!"

I spun on the spot without even considering my action when I heard the familiar bark, unsurprised to find Professor Sylvester bearing down on me. I'd been waiting for this conversation ever since the altercation with Karofsky. I was surprised it had taken her so long, to be honest. Brittany pressed against me from behind, her hands sliding up my back and proving a little too distracting, given the nature of the professor approaching.

"My office, now."

"But Professor Sylvester, it's her birthday. You can't be mean to her today!" Brittany protested from behind, making me flinch. No one spoke to her like that. Surprisingly, Professor Sylvester didn't react as badly as I'd anticipated.

"Well if you don't want to be in detention on your birthday, I'd get to breakfast blondie."

"But my birthday's already-"

"Go, Britt," I interrupted, turning to smile at her. I reached up to play with the necklace between my fingers, which made her smile in turn. "I'll find you at Hufflepuff in a bit, yeah?"

Reluctantly she nodded, taking a few steps backwards but not looking away from me. I turned to find Professor Sylvester already marching away, and had to walk quickly to catch up with her. We were a little closer to the Slytherin dorms than I would have liked, but Karofsky was hardly going to try anything when Professor Sylvester was with me. I was starting to think he wasn't going to do anything, anyway. He wasn't exactly the planning type.

I entered the office after her, closing the door at her motion. I moved forward to settle into the chair in front of her desk, expecting a long lecture on how Slytherin didn't stand a hope in the quidditch final now, but she was in the way - and she didn't look particularly angry.

"Your father has owled me permission for you to leave Hogwarts for the day," she said simply.

I stared at her, nausea suddenly crawling up my stomach and into my throat as I remembered the last time I'd been in this situation. The 28th January in my first year, our house elf Edlyn had come to collect me. I wished that mamá or papá could have come instead, because I knew as soon as I saw her what had happened and I was crying before we were even in the fireplace. I'd tried to shout for Brittany, but I'd just choked in all the ash and Edlyn had to help me out the other side because I couldn't breathe.

"Santana."

Professor Sylvester's firm voice broke through my thoughts and jolted me back into the present day.

"Why?" It came out as a whisper, but I couldn't do anything to make it stronger. I clenched a fistful of my robes in each hand to try and stop them shaking. "Why am I going? What's happened?"

"Nothing that I am aware of. He asked you to floo straight home, though," she said, nodding to the pot on her desk as she circled it to sit down. I stared at it for several long seconds, my mind working in overdrive to try and work out what all this was about. "I haven't got all day to babysit you, Lopez. Wait much longer and you'll start hearing about the difficulties of finding another new beater this late in the year," she warned.

I reached out to grab some floo powder straight away, turning towards the fire and trying to calm myself. It would be nothing. It was my birthday, they probably just wanted to see me. Even though they'd never tried to before, not even for my seventeenth. I dropped the floo powder and stared at the green, flickering flames, one hand reaching up to grip Brittany's necklace. I held it tight, making sure not to pull too tight in case it damaged the chain, then spoke as confidently as I could.

"Lopez House, Lake District!"

I stepped in and the flames overtook me, spinning me again and again until it began to slow. I half-considered not stepping out where I was meant to, but that would probably just result in an extremely clumsy exit when the floo system rejected me. I walked out.

I felt dizzy for several moments, but not enough to prevent me from comprehending my papá, mamá and abuela all sitting opposite the fire, waiting for me. I froze, unsure what to do until mamá approached to hug me, whispering in my ear.

"Happy birthday, mija."

She hugged me tighter than usual and I reciprocated as best I could while trying to watch papá and abuela at the same time. It didn't take long for one of them to say something, and mamá to pull back.

"We're disappointed in you, Santana," my father said. His arms were crossed, and he looked even more serious than he normally did.

My eyes flicked between him and abuela, who looked as though she was about to explode. I stopped looking at her very quickly, searching for mamá instead, but she was examining the table with great detail. I looked there, and quickly found an open, slightly crumpled letter. I picked it up slowly, unsure if I was about to get told to drop it, but no one said anything. They all just watched me as I began to read. The moment I recognised Karofsky's writing my stomach tied itself into a knot, but that was nothing compared to the fear that began to race through me as I took in his words. My hands were shaking again and the I dropped the letter by accident, skimming to the floor. I searched for mamá again but she was staring at the fireplace. I didn't want to look around at abuela and papá. I wanted to run. I wanted to run to Brittany and hide in her arms.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything? Explain yourself, Santana!" abuela screeched finally in Spanish, leaping up from her seat to march in front of me so I couldn't avoid looking at her any longer. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out, and she seemed to take it as an admission of guilt. "What were you thinking? You have disgraced our family! The Lopez name! After we've worked so hard to preserve its honour, and now - it is at an end! You have ruined it all! People will talk, they always talk-"

"Mother, mother, calm down," my father said as he stood, walking over. For a moment I thought he was going to back me up, but he simply reached for abuela by the shoulders and guided her back to her chair. "You are going to over-exert yourself. Santana," he said, turning to survey me once more with cold eyes. "You are not to see Brittany again."

"What?" I gasped, the shock momentarily overcoming my fear. "No, no. I can't do that. I won't!"

"You will do as I say."

"No!"

"Hernando, be reasonable," mamá murmured from behind me, coming forward to press a gentle hand to his arm. "Santana cannot simply stop seeing Brittany, not at Hogwarts. It would be impossible."

"Well she can certainly call this nonsense to an end!" my father blustered immediately, scowling at mamá.

I knew I was crying. I could feel the tears on my face, but I did nothing to get rid of them. I reached for my necklace again, holding onto it tight as if it might send me straight back to Brittany as my parents argued.

"You have to think of her exams, Hernando. You do not want to cause extra stress for her when she has to focus on that."

That at least made him pause. He frowned at me over mamá's shoulder, and I could hear abuela muttering to herself as well. He took a breath, then stepped past her to survey me seriously.

"You must understand, Santana. We are not trying to make you unhappy. Brittany is… she is a nice girl," he settled on, prompting a derisive snort from abuela. "But you cannot continue the Lopez family line with her. You need a husband to give you children."

I sniffed, lifting my spare hand to try and wipe away some of the tears while the other still held onto my necklace.

"I could do that with her," I mumbled, struggling to find a stronger voice. My moment of defiance was gone. "Muggles, they… they can do stuff with science to make it happen." I had no idea how it worked, but I was sure Brittany had noticed my interest when she mentioned it one time.

"Science?" abuela cried out, jumping up from her chair again. "My great-grandchild will not be cooked up with muggle science! Merlin, the disgrace! A squib in the family!"

"Abuela, that's not how it works-" I tried to argue, but she interrupted me before I got any further.

"I am the head of this family, Santana, and you are bringing shame to it! I will never hear the end of it at the Ministry. No one will ever associate themselves with the Lopezes again once this gets out! After everything I've done for you, helping with your tests-"

"I didn't want that!" I shouted back, switching to Spanish as well. "I don't want your help! I want to do it on my own, not have you wave your wand and make everything easy! I'm only at the Ministry because you want me to be there! Isn't that enough for you? You're controlling what job I'll have, can't I choose who I'll spend my life with?"

She started up again, shouting in Spanish about the same old thing she'd always said - the necessity of a job at the Ministry for the best money and influence, the need for children, the disgrace… I turned away from her, trying to block it all out, and found mamá watching me. I wanted to demand to know why she wasn't standing up for me and saying it was okay. I wanted papá and abuela to know that she didn't care. But I choked on the words in my throat even as she spoke up again.

"Your mother is going to get overtired if she keeps on like that, you should take her to calm down," she said quietly to my father.

"I am not an invalid, Carlotta! I still work just as many hours as you do-"

Papá was already ushering her out of the room and her voice faded as the door shut after them, leaving just me and mamá in the room. I turned away from her, finally releasing the necklace to wipe at my face quickly, attempting to get rid of all the tears even though I knew she'd seen them already. I tried to slow my breathing as well, but then I caught sight of the letter on the table and it became even harder. I'd never expected him to do anything like this.

"Santana…"

I stepped quickly away from her light touch to my shoulder, aware that I was sniffling and hating it. I took a quick breath then turned to face her.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I demanded, my voice breaking halfway through.

"I cannot speak reason to your father until your abuela is gone. He will come around, Santana."

"B-but what if he doesn't? And what about abuela? She was furious!"

Mamá sighed, sitting down on the sofa and gesturing at me to do the same. I hesitated, then sat stiffly on the other end.

"You know how she is. She sees everything from the point of view of maintaining our family name. She grew up hearing all about the dangers of muggle science to the wizarding world. She does not understand it, she just sees it as something bad. She thinks this is just… just a rebellious stage on your part, and she wants it to end as soon as possible."

"But I don't want it to end. I don't want it to ever end," I said quietly, staring at the rug beneath my feet. I still wasn't exactly comfortable discussing this with her, and it was easier to not look at her. "I love her. She makes me happy."

"I know, Santana. And I will make your father see that, but… I do not know how to bring your abuela around. You have to realise that it will take her a long time. Once your father understands it will be better, but… I am sorry, Santana. It will not be easy with her."

I nodded, sniffing again then daring to look up at mamá. She looked sad, but she was watching me intently.

"I'm sorry this had to happen on your birthday. I… are you doing anything?" she asked, slipping back into the slightly awkward questioning that she often used now when she was trying to be interested in my life but didn't quite know how.

I shrugged. "Not really. We're… uh…" I didn't really want to tell her about the Room of Requirement. No one knew about that but us. "We're just going to relax. Get some food from the elves. Me and Britt, I mean," I added, glancing at the door. I half-expected papá to come bursting back in and say that wasn't going to happen.

"I see. Well, that should be nice."

I nodded again, forcing a smile and relieved to feel no more tears threatening.

"I… I should probably get back to school," I suggested into the silence. I wanted to get away before papá or abuela came back. I still felt kind of sick, but not enough to prevent me flooing away from this place.

Mamá nodded, suddenly all business as she stood up and bustled over to the fireplace, preparing it for flooing like she used to when Tony and I were just kids and getting ready for a trip to the Ministry. When she turned around the flames were already high and green, and she looked less flustered. I walked over slowly, surprised when she stepped forward to hug me. I hugged back tighter than I normally did, clinging onto the one member of my family that wasn't rejecting me for being with Brittany.

"I'll talk to your father, and get him to owl you," she murmured, pulling back to look me over, fussing a little with my hair. "Happy birthday, Santana. Have a good day with Brittany, and… and, I'm sorry," she added in a quieter tone. "Owl me if you need anything, okay?"

"I will, mamá."

I tensed suddenly upon hearing loud voices again outside the door, and stepped away to stand in front of the fireplace again. I glanced back at her and she gestured at me to go. I faced it, and called out loudly.

"Slytherin office, Hogwarts!"

My eye hurt so much, but I was trying not to think about that. I was more concerned about what to do when Santana got back, and how to stop her from going after Karofsky. She was going to be so mad. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, trying to make the pain in my back go away, but it didn't work very well. Madam Pillsbury said I had to go back to the Hospital Wing later, but she was busy with Kurt at the moment, so I had to just pretend my bruises weren't there. It was harder than I thought it would be. At least Santana wouldn't be able to see my back until it was hopefully all healed, but the black eye was a bit harder to hide. I wondered whether Karofsky had known that she wouldn't be about. Maybe he was just watching and waiting for a good moment to attack. Whatever it was, he'd jumped out at the wrong time with only me and Kurt in the corridor.

Hearing the sudden roar of flames I hurried over to Professor Sylvester's closed door, pressing my ear to it. She was quicker than I'd thought she would be when I heard she was with her family. I hadn't had enough time to work out what to tell her. The door swung open after only a few seconds and I came face to face with Santana - and she'd been crying. I could see it in her face straight away that she was still upset, but before I could summon any words she was bearing down on me, her eyes fixated on the side of my face.

"Brittany, what happened? Are you okay? Who did this?"

"It's not as bad as it looks-" I started to tell her, but she was shaking her head and scowling.

"Who did it?"

I hesitated. I wanted to explain first before she went all crazy. I didn't want her getting hurt as well.

"We should go to the Hospital Wing. Kurt's in there, he'll want to see you," I suggested quietly. She froze, and I winced. I could see her mind working. It wouldn't take her long to figure it out.

"Karofsky," she growled. She was angry - way angrier than I'd seen her in years.

"Kurt," I reminded her, reaching out to grab her arm so she couldn't march off without me. "We should check on him, make sure he's okay."

I didn't know who was angrier - her, or Karofsky. But I didn't want to test that by letting them near each other. I didn't know how far Santana might take it - especially now he'd hurt me.

"He didn't mean to hurt me, I think," I said quietly as she slowly began to walk in the direction of the Hospital Wing. Maybe it would help. "I just got in the way, trying to help Kurt."

"That doesn't make it any better, Brittany. He shouldn't be hurting Kurt in the first place!" she snapped, her pace quickening. I kept up with her easily, ignoring all the looks from people as we crossed the Entrance Hall. I knew I didn't look very nice with a black eye.

"Are… are you okay?" I asked quietly when we were a little further away from the crowds of students. I hadn't forgotten her expression when she'd left Professor Sylvester's office, before she'd seen my eye.

"Oh yeah I'm just great, this is a fantastic birthday," she sneered. I paused, then a moment later so did she to look over at me with regret. "Sorry," she muttered. Her fingers trailed down my arm to link with mine, and she gave me a tense smile before continuing down the corridor.

I didn't try and ask her again. Not while she was feeling like this - angry and defensive. I'd have to find out later. The Hospital Wing door was slightly ajar and Santana didn't hesitate to push it wide open, pulling me inside. At the end there were a couple of Ravenclaw girls who'd caught Vanishing Sickness - both of their arms were missing - but Santana didn't even look their way, instead walking us straight to the bed on the right about halfway down. She pulled aside the curtain and Kurt squinted up at us. The side of his face was a horrible mixture of purple and yellow, with several cuts, and his arm was in a sling.

"S'ntana?" he mumbled. "Bri-uhh…"

He blinked several times, struggling to focus.

"What did he do to him?" Santana hissed, turning to me.

I shook my head quickly. "This wasn't him. It's the potion Madam Pillsbury gave him for the pain, she said it'd make it hard for him to concentrate."

Santana sighed, kneeling down so she was closer to Kurt, and finally he managed to keep his eyes on her.

"You need to tell someone, Kurt. This is crazy. You can't let him keep doing this."

"B-but… he…" Kurt took several quick breaths. I could see he was frustrated as he tried to speak. "H-he'll know. It was me."

"He'll hurt you again! He's not going to stop!" Santana objected loudly, but Kurt was shaking his head. He didn't shake it for long though - it must hurt him. I stepped back as he tried to speak again, and Santana argued again. They were just saying the same things. Kurt was scared. Santana was angry. And that was Karofsky, too - scared and angry. Except we were all acting like he was just angry, not scared. It took Santana years to stop being scared, and that was with me looking after her. How was Karofsky meant to do it with no one looking out for him?

"I need to go do something," I murmured, hoping neither of them would really hear and I could just sneak out. But of course Santana jumped up from Kurt's bedside to face me immediately.

"What? Where? Brittany, what if he finds you and hurts you this time?"

"I'll be okay, and it won't take long. You should stay with Kurt, in case Karofsky comes back here. But don't do anything stupid if he does," I added quickly.

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, we're in the Hospital Wing. Madam Pillsbury will fix anything I do in a few seconds. I frowned at her, and she relented a little. "Fine. I won't do anything with permanent damage. But you can't take long, okay? Or I'm coming looking for you," she warned.

"I'll be fine," I told her, leaning down to kiss her lightly on the cheek. I smiled encouragingly at Kurt, then turned and exited the Hospital Wing. I walked quickly so Santana couldn't change her mind. I couldn't let her come with me. It would ruin what little of a plan I had.

I walked fast through the castle, down several flights of stairs and through the Entrance Hall until I was in the dungeons. I entered the Slytherin common room easily, and soon found Puck lazing by the fire with Azimio. I checked around for Karofsky, but I couldn't see him anywhere, so I just approached them instead.

"Um, hi Puck. Azimio," I added quickly when he raised an eyebrow at me challengingly.

Puck was frowning up at me. "What happened to your eye?"

I shrugged, hoping Madam Pillsbury would get rid of it later. I didn't like how people kept looking.

"Do you know where Karofsky is?" I asked, avoiding his question.

"He's in the dorm," Azimio said. Puck was still staring at my face.

"Thanks," I muttered, turning away from them before Puck could ask again and walking across the common room. I tried to form the words I'd need in my head, but it was hard. Would he still be so angry? I found the end of my wand and held it lightly so I could pull it out quickly if needed. I found the seventh year dorm easily enough and paused outside, trying to get what I wanted to say straight. I was suddenly nervous, but I had to do this. I had to be brave. Santana had been so brave for me, now I had to do the same. I pushed the door open.

I heard the crying straight away, from the one bed in the room with its curtains drawn. It was weird, hearing him cry. I'd been right, he was definitely scared. I stepped forward as quietly as possible, but then I wondered if maybe I should have made more noise. I didn't want him trying to hex me out of shock.

"Ka-" I heard a gasp, and I quickly changed what I was going to say. "David?"

I stayed where I was in the middle of the room, waiting as I listened to rustling. Finally he emerged. His wand was out and his eyes were red.

"Fuck off, Pierce!" he snarled, taking several long strides towards me. It was quite scary, really, and I ended up stepping back fast so I wasn't quite so close to him, my hand still on my wand.

"I just want to talk!" I said quickly.

"What's there to talk about?"

"You need to stop." I didn't know how else to phrase it, so I just said it straight out.

"…What?" He looked confused, like he couldn't believe I'd just said that.

"You need to stop hurting Kurt. It's not fair. And Santana."

"And why would I do that, huh?" he asked, stepping forward again. I held my ground this time, and tried to look at his face rather than his wand.

"Because you're making yourself miserable as well as everyone else." It came out in a rush, but the surprise on his face told me that he'd heard properly. I took a quick breath and continued before he could interrupt again. "It's not just them you're hurting, it's you too. 'Cause you're scared." He scowled, and I hurried on. "And it's okay, it makes sense. Santana was scared. But you're hurting people and it doesn't help anyone."

"Well that's just wonderful, Brittany," he sneered. At least he wasn't waving his wand around anymore - not that it would do much damage if he did try to curse me. There was a reason Karofsky worked with his fists. "Let's have an overnight personality change and hope no one notices."

"You should leave." I might have been as surprised by my words as he was.

"…Leave?" he repeated, too surprised to sound angry or upset.

I bit my lip and nodded. "Yeah. I think. I think leaving would be best. Away from Kurt and Santana. Santana's really mad, and one of you is going to get hurt. Probably both. And it'll be easier to be brave away from Azimio, and Puck," I reasoned. "Mostly Azimio."

"You're crazy," he said, turning away. I moved quickly so I was in front of him again.

"No, I'm not. You should leave. It would be best for everyone, and you."

"And what about NEWTs, huh?"

"You wand doesn't work." He looked shocked again - was he really surprised that I knew? Everyone had noticed it get worse and worse over the past couple of years. "You won't pass."

"Says you," he replied with a scowl. It hurt a bit, but I tried not to let that show.

"But your wand doesn't work with anything. I'm bad at some things, but… not everything."

"What are you trying to say, huh? That I'm thick, that I'm a squib?"

"No, no!" I replied quickly. I'd never say something like that about anyone. "But you can't take your NEWTs with your wand acting like that. You need to find out what's wrong with it."

"So everyone will think I'm a failure when I need to retake next year. I might as well just drop out now and never come back."

"No, it could be better. If you leave now, you'll have more time to fix it. You can practice over the summer - practice all the spells from last year, too. So when you come back you'll be top of the year. And we'll be gone - me and Santana and Kurt, and Puck and Azimio - and it'll be a new start. You can be whoever you want to be."

He hesitated, staring at me for several seconds before frowning and shaking his head again.

"No, no. That's crazy. My dad would never agree to it."

"But doesn't he know about your wand?" He shrugged uncomfortably. "You have to tell him! It's a good reason! And you don't have to tell him about the other stuff, just… you can't live like this. You can't keep hitting people. If Kurt tells, you'll get expelled. Santana's trying to persuade him to, she might tell anyway," I argued, trying a different route. "But if you leave on your own, she'll have no reason to. She just doesn't want you hurting Kurt."

He was frowning - but this time at the floor, like he was thinking, rather than at me.

"Please, K- David. It'll be best. Leave, and come back next year," I repeated, taking a step back. I couldn't think of anything else that might convince him. I just had to hope he'd do it - or at least leave Kurt and Santana alone for the rest of the year. He was still standing in the middle of the room when I walked out.

"Are you sure-"

"Yes, Santana, I'm fine. I promise," I said over my shoulder as I pulled her through the dungeons. My eye and back felt just fine now that Madam Pillsbury had fixed them. Santana had seen the healing happen, so she should really stop worrying. "But we need to hurry, or the elves are all going to be busy with lunch and we'll have to wait till after."

We arrived in front of the fruit portrait as I said that, and when it swung open I was relieved to see that the house elves were jogging about rather than full-out sprinting like they normally did at mealtimes. We still had some time. Rosey popped up from the side almost straight away and came running over.

"Miss Pierce is ready for the c- uh, the surprise?" she asked with a big smile.

I nodded, trying not to smile too wide as I squeezed Santana's hand and led her over to one side, Rosey leading. Before we could get too close I spun around so I was behind her, covering her eyes up.

"Britt, I thought we were just getting food," Santana said, but I could feel her eyes crinkling under my hand as she smiled.

"We are. But this is special food," I told her, slowing down as we approached the table and Rosey hovered the cover off the top. I waited until we were right in front of it before dropping my hands to rest on her shoulders instead, allowing her to see the large cake with its bright green icing. She gasped, and before I knew what was happening she had spun around to kiss me hard. I grinned against her lips, sliding my hands around her waist instead, and pulling back after a few seconds to see Rosey staring up at us with her mouth wide open. Santana smiled, pecking me one last time before turning around to examine the cake once more. I kept my arms wrapped around her so we stayed close.

"Did you make it?" she asked quietly.

"Um… sort of. The elves helped me. They let me mix sometimes. They did most of it though. But, they let me ice it! I did all the icing!"

I was proud of my icing. I'd made it bright green and got some silver as well - although it really looked more like grey - and wrote on 'Happy Birthday Santana!' with a snake winding around the outside. The snake was a bit wobbly and had a very thick tail compared to its head, but it was still a snake.

"That's… that's amazing, Brittany," she whispered, suddenly sounding like she was about to cry. I moved quickly around to look her in the eye and found that she looked like it too.

"What is it? Don't you like it?" I asked, my excitement turning into dismay at the expression on her face.

She shook her head, but I could still see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Th-that's not it. It's lovely, Britt, it… I love it," she mumbled, trying to smile.

"But what's the matter then? Tell me, Santana."

I could see Rosey slowly backing away looking panicked out of the corner of my eye. Santana suddenly jerked forward, burying her head against me as she started to cry properly. I hugged her as tight as I could, one hand buried in her hair. I didn't understand what was wrong - but then I remembered earlier, when she'd come out of Professor Sylvester's office.

"What happened with your parents, Santana?" I whispered, so the house elves wouldn't hear. She started crying more and I pulled her to the side, out of the way of the elves and between two sets of cupboards so we weren't quite so out in the open.

"Th-they know," she sobbed, getting my top rapidly damper. I didn't mind, though. That was what I was there for, to hold her when she cried. "K-Karofsky, he sent them a letter. He… he told them, and my abuela went crazy. Papá, too. Papá tried to say I c-couldn't be with you, he said I had to stop seeing you, a-and mamá says she'll speak to him but…" She trailed off into more tears, and for a moment I regretted not hexing Karofsky earlier when I had the chance. How could he have done that to her? How could he do that when he should understand? And on her birthday?

"I'm sorry, Santana," I murmured, slipping a hand down to try and wipe away some of her tears, but it was useless when she couldn't stop crying. I didn't know what else to say. Normally I could help her feel better, but I couldn't with this. I couldn't make her family like us. I could do my best to be a good girlfriend to Santana, and prove to them I made her happy, but I didn't know if that would be enough. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I repeated, not knowing what else to do. What could I say that would reassure her? It hurt me hearing her cry like this, but it was worse knowing that the only thing I could do was hug her. She wouldn't like crying in here, though, with all the elves around - even if they were pretending we didn't exist. "Do you want to go to our room?" I asked quietly.

She nodded, stopping her crying just enough to whisper a 'yes' in response. I turned a little, still cradling her with one arm but moving to the side enough that I could walk.

"W-wait, the cake," she muttered, turning towards it. "We should take it."

"Really?"

She nodded quickly, and I moved to find Rosey already cutting up slices and putting them in a box. She hurried over, holding it up tentatively until I reached out to put it under my spare arm.

"Happy birthday, Miss Lopez," she whispered, before scurrying away to tend to a pot of soup.

Santana was wiping at her face, trying to make it look like she hadn't been crying, but she was just making her face redder.

"Here, let me," I murmured, pulling away from her for a few moments to grab my wand and whisper a quiet charm. The tear tracks faded and her face became less blotchy. I tucked my wand back away and returned my arm to around her shoulders, the box of cake safely under my other arm. "I'm sorry you've had a sad birthday, Santana."

She sighed, shaking her head. I noticed her touch the necklace I'd given her earlier, and I had to smile.

"It started with you, and it's going to end with you. That's all I really wanted anyway," she whispered, kissing me softly at the corner of my lips. I smiled at her as the portrait door swung open, and we started the familiar route to our room together.