I wanted to comment on Blaine. I know you don't see it happening and this is one of the biggest reasons I didn't want to say the fic was going to be a threesome, because now people focus on that instead of just reading and letting things happen. However as I know not everybody likes triads, I couldn't in good conscious not be straight forwards about it.

But either way, this is happening. It won't be soon and you might get frustrated in the way, but this fic has always been aiming at that. If I had decided to make this a KurtxHarry they wouldn't be together right now, because there would be no plot to the story. I would have literally already finished the fic in the first 5 chapters and move to other projects.

I know it would throw the whole dynamic of Kurt and Harry out of the window.

I know it might ruin the fic for some of you.

I know some don't like Blaine (cannon or my own).

I know it will be difficult to make it believable.

I know it will take time.

I don't just like the pairing, I have wrote the pairing. At the end of the day, the fact remains this is already a done deal. I shamelessly ship the pairing. I know what happens on this fic already, so I am not waiting/planning for them to get together, because they are together for me already (and my beta since she read the whole thing.)

So, yeah, it will be difficult and it might not be everybody's cup of tea, but dammit this is happening!

Sorry for the rant, this is the last time I talk about how this will be a HarryxBlainexKurt. If you hadn't realized by now, then you have nobody to blame but yourself because I have been more than clear about it.

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Thanks for reading and as you might have seen the 60 review deal

won by a wide margin, so until chapter 15 it shall remain that way.

See you at 590 or 12/06

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Chapter 9

Arrant Fools, Memories and Whistles

Harry returned to the dorm and his mood must have been more than evident because the Weasleys tensed. He could tell they were all dying to ask, but knew better than to do so. Their scholarships restricted their actions a lot and Harry couldn't always share everything, knowing that one mistake might cost his friends their place.

"They just dropped Kurt" said Ron after checking his phone. Harry kicked his shoes and entered the bed, closing the curtain in the process.

"I assume in grumpy language that means…"

"Tell him I went to bed early if he comes…"

Harry put his headphones on and drowned himself in music. He didn't slept well that night. His anger keeping him unable to settle down for too long, annoyed he turned once again. He finally gave up and stared at darkness above him. Before he knew it he fell into an uneasy rest, dreaming about his first week at Hogwarts, about one of the most defining moments of his life.

- Flash Back -

Snape was practically dragging him, until they arrived to his private office. With no care whatsoever, he shoved the first year into a chair.

"Would you care to explain Potter, what was that display about?" he hissed. Harry looked up at him defiantly, his eyes alight with the anger that was consuming him and his bloody lip twisted into a snarl. The worst cut however was on his eyebrow.

"They were pushing the younger kids around" Harry said crossing his arms. "I have nothing to apologize for."

"You insolent childe!" said Snape pacing. "Did you expect to win a fight against three 14 year olds?"

Harry stared at him coldly. "I might be 11, but I was winning. If I remember correctly you had to pry me away just as I was about to smash somebody's nose against the floor."

"Foolish Gryffindor" said Snape. "Use your brain not your fists!"

"Sometimes your fists need to jolt your opponents' brains first" Harry said.

"Do you want to get expelled you fool?" asked Snape and for the first time Harry hesitated.

"I was not in the wrong" Harry said looking at his shoes.

"You are not an idiot" Snape said with a sigh. "And I understand life has been unfair to you, but you are now part of the most prestigious institution in the world. You found out about your fortune, your titles and despite having your future now secured, there is much yet for you to do. You must learn that there are lines not to be crossed. You must rein in your anger before it takes a hold of you and you must learn Harry. You must learn everything Hogwarts has to offer or you would have wasted your chance at life and that would mean you have wasted my time as well."

"I am not a Slytherin" said Harry with a flash of hurt in his eyes. "As you have been kind enough to remind me every day… Sir"

"You are not a Slytherin by choice" said the man. "And I shall remind you every day for the rest of your time at Hogwarts. You demanded to be placed in Gryffindor, you raged and you didn't back down. You stood your ground like a stubborn mule and you were indulged, for you showed the worst traits of that house" said Snape walking to his desk and opening drawers. "But before that spectacular display of foolhardiness, you showed the best traits of my house… and unlike the rest of the sorting committee; you weren't able to erase that memory with your display."

"Careful Professor, you almost sound fond of me. If you don't watch it, one could almost argue that you care" Harry said looking away.

"Harry Potter, regardless of if I care or not, I can tell you where not born for mediocrity and from this moment on I shall not tolerate it from you" said the man while placing a first aid kit on his table and opening it. With no measure of gentleness he grabbed Harry's chin and forced it up, so he could disinfect the wound. "You impressed Professor Grindelwald on the first year's tea party… and we know how much Professor Dumbledore adores you already."

Harry snorted and Snape pressed the disinfectant harder against the wound, making Harry hiss. "This is child abuse" he complained only for his hair to be pulled.

"Do not snort, it is unbecoming" ordered Snape.

"I fail to see why Professor Grindelwald was impressed" Harry said.

"You told him his latest paper was disappointing and walked away" said Snape, closing the kit.

Harry flushed. "He kept talking and everybody was nodding along and looked silly… I hadn't really read his paper and didn't want to seem like an idiot too, so I figured it would be best if I removed myself from the conversation."

Snape did something completely unexpected then. He chuckled. "Better to keep your mouth shut and look like a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Harry smirked at him for a second, before sighing. "He will crush me next time he sees me."

"Then you better start there. Read his latest paper and find flaws in it, you are likely to need a dictionary, but this way next time he approaches you will be prepared" he said, pulling out his own copy of the document and ignoring how he had already done some notes on the margins. "We will meet every Tuesday and Thursday for tutoring. You need to learn etiquette among other things; God knows you know nothing about your role and duties as a future Lord as of now. Most of your classmates come from private schools so you will have to catch up promptly or you will be left behind."

"I'm not going to catch up" said Harry, but the anger that had been clouding his eyes since he had seen the boy for the first time less than two months ago, had changed into something else for the first time. "I'm going to surpass them."

"I will hold you to that" said Snape. "Before our first meeting, I want you to pull books on poetry and memorize at least a dozen. The next time you feel your anger getting out of control, walk away and recite them in your head."

"Really professor? Poetry?" asked Harry with a snort. "How disappointing coming from you…"

"Before I can teach you anything of value, you must clear your mind, learn to control yourself" lectured Snape. "There is great potential in you, potential that has been wasted thus far. Once the rest of the teachers see it, they will want to do the same… this is just the first step Potter and you will rue the day that I decided to believe you were worth my time and effort, for I will push you to your breaking point and further over and over again, so I can rebuild you better after each time. But you will be great Potter, of that I have no doubt."

The boy met his eyes and nodded. His back straightening and Snape was pleased to see that the anger and hatred were already turning into resolve and determination. If you took a lion from the jungle and placed it inside a zoo, he would either turn complacent to the easy life or go mad with grief and die. Potter was not the complacent type. He had an unlimited will to survive and above all the boy in front of him was a fighter. However the foes he was used to did not exist in Hogwarts. He was safe here and that safety was slowly suffocating him.

When he arrived to their first meeting a few days later, with a smirk on his face and full of what could only be described as childlike energy, Snape narrowed his eyes in suspicion. When Potter started to recite Dr. Seuss without any prompting from his part, Snape knew even if Potter drove him crazy in the process, now that Snape had set a direction for him, had given him a challenge, the boy would go far. Strangely, having placed a weight over his shoulder had liberated him and he almost regretted the decision, however as the green eyes sparkled with happiness, he couldn't bring it in himself to be angry.

So long as he didn't murder him first, they could expect great things from Harry Potter.

- End Flash Back -

The moment 6:00 am rolled around, when Dalton opened his doors and students were allowed to go out, Harry was already running out of the gates of the school. He had run a couple of laps around the campus to warm up, so he kicked it into high gear and ran as fast as he could. Poetry was great and all, but Harry had found that tiring his body out tended to reduce his explosive anger. Remembering all the faces of the people in the fight club made him angrier. Remembering it could have been Kurt in that situation made him positively seething in fury.

He made it back just in time to shower and change. He decided to have breakfast in the room, not trusting himself to be able to sit in the cafeteria. He did text Kurt to let him know, but he suspected Ron and the twins had already done something to warn him about his mood.

He chewed his cereal with unnecessary force.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"Good morning!" called Kurt happily when he opened the door. His face fell when he noticed it wasn't who he wanted to see.

"You know, that stung a little" said Fred.

"Where's Harry?" asked Kurt impatiently. Yesterday he hadn't had the time to drop by the dorm and as ridiculous as it might sound, he was missing him already.

"Our guess, destroying another pair of running shoes" George said. Ron elbowed him.

"He is in a bad mood today, just to give you heads up" said Ron with a grin.

Kurt sighed. "Why do you look so happy then?"

Ron grinned widely and impulsively hugged Kurt tightly. Kurt tensed and looked at the twins, who didn't seem fazed by the display.

"I am happy because he's your problem now" said Ron pulling away, but keeping him at arm length by holding Kurt by his shoulders, his grin unshakable. "It used to be me or Hermione who would bite the bullet and stop him before he went into a murderous rampage, but not anymore!" he pulled Kurt against his chest again, holding him tight for a few seconds, before he kissed him soundly on the cheek. "You are the third best thing that ever happened to me Kurt Hummel!"

One more squeeze and he let a completely baffled Kurt go. Ron walked away, hands in his blazer pockets and whistling a happy tune.

"Did he just…" asked Kurt and turned to the twins. "He hugged me… and kissed my cheek."

The twins shrugged and both sandwiched Kurt.

"You brave, brave soul" said the one in front.

"We shall write songs in your name" added the other.

"Ok, that's enough!" Kurt said weaseling his way out. "You are either the most acceptable bunch of straight guys or…"

"We have a gay brother and a bisexual best friend" said George with a shrug. "It's not that big of a deal."

"You do?" asked Kurt surprised. How has this not come up until now?

"Yeah, Charlie, he's in College" carried on Fred.

"Believe me, after you accidentally walk in on your brother doing that to another guy, hugging a gay guy is nothing" agreed George.

"If there had been a homophobic bone in our body, it was scared away after the incident" said Fred.

They both shuddered. "We bought him a lock afterwards."

"A very sturdy one…"

"He's going to turn 24 in a few weeks"

"Bill will turn 26 in three days for that matter"

"What are we going to send him?"

"We can plan that today while we hide from Harry…"

"Ok, look, it's too early in the morning to deal with you" said Kurt rubbing his temples; he had just checked his phone and Harry had let him know he should go to breakfast without him. "So, let's try again, what is bothering Harry?"

They exchanged a look and shrugged.

"Didn't say, but…"

"Here's your list…"

"And your whistle…"

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

From the moment he had woken up Kurt knew today would be a strange day. Blaine had been acting even more weird than usual and made sure he left a lot earlier than usual. Kurt really missed his friend, but he wouldn't budge on this issue.

He had been strangely moved by Ron's behavior that morning. No straight guy had showed to be so comfortable around him before. The twins too for that matter, but their gestures seemed always joking and made to push his patience. Ron however wasn't that affectionate to people, only to Hermione and occasionally Harry. But he had genuinely hugged Kurt, even if his reasons were a bit unusual. Knowing that the three brothers had a gay brother made him understand a lot more about their attitudes.

While walking towards breakfast, the twins had told him how Charlie had come out when he was 14 and had put on a brave face, despite being clearly scared by his family's reactions.

"We were 8, so we weren't that sure what was going on" carried on Fred to a mesmerized Kurt.

"But by the countless recounts, we know mom hugged the living shit out of Charlie and wouldn't let go" Ron said laughing. "Apparently crying about how she still expected him to give her loads of grandkids, even if he had to go to another country to adopt them."

"Then dad just patted his shoulder and said whatever made him happy, before reading the paper" said George laughing. "Bill we know went into overprotective, big-bro mode and followed Charlie around to make sure he wouldn't be alone with any boy, ever."

"Which in retrospective probably lead us to the incident" said Fred pulling a face. The other two brothers twitched.

"That explains why you are all so… accepting I guess" said Kurt wistfully.

"As we said, we were 8 when he came out, Ron was 6 and Ginny 5, so we grew up with him talking about his boyfriends and dates; it has always seemed normal to us" added Fred with a pensive face.

"Don't you have another brother?" asked Kurt vaguely remembering his name started with P. The three brothers nodded, with small smiles.

"Percy was quiet for a while after and Charlie was worried, because if somebody was going to give him grief about that stuff in the house, it would be Percy" said Fred.

"He has screwed up priorities sometimes" nodded George. "He's a ponce really, but he's our brother you know? Either way, I think he surprised everybody when he finally reacted. He just dumped this massive folder, full of copies and notes on Charlie's lap and said he might find useful to know his rights, so nobody could ever try to discriminate him and stuff."

"According to dad, he spent days putting it together, putting aside all his extra assignments and studies" said Ron laughing. "In Percy's language that's the biggest form of saying 'I love you'"

"Charlie was very touched" said George smiling. "I remember he hugged Percy real tight."

Kurt stared at their smiling and peaceful faces and grinned, feeling warm inside. The feeling quickly seemed to disappear when he caught a glance of Harry walking past the cafeteria. He was frowning and it was safe to say everybody could feel the anger rolling out of him in waves.

"Remember the whistle" Ron said patting his shoulder comfortingly, before happily continuing to eat his breakfast.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Kurt was hyperaware Harry was avoiding him. According to Ron, Harry didn't want to unleash his famous temper around him. He was also aware that the student population of Dalton seemed to be holding their breath. From afar he had seen people jumping out of their way to avoid being in close range with Harry. The fencing team seemed particularly gloomy when they marched to the gym, sticking together and Kurt was sure had they had any less pride, they would have held hands.

It would have been fairly amusing to see, had Kurt not started to get annoyed at his boyfriend by midday. He didn't take well to being ignored, he never had. Before he knew it his own mood had turned less than pleasant and people were now avoiding him too.

"This is not going to end well" said Fred wincing when Kurt caught a glimpse of Harry making his way towards outside. Without a word he marched after him.

"Not my problem" said Ron, stuffing his face with pudding.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"Harry James!" Kurt said after he found him pacing in front of their favorite bench. It had snowed the night before, but ignoring the cold he carried on. "Would you care to explain yourself?"

"No" said Harry rudely.

Kurt sat on the bench elegantly and raised an eyebrow. "Let's try again, care to explain yourself?"

"I really don't want to snap at you Kurt" Harry said.

"Harry" said Kurt in a pleading tone.

"I can't say what I am upset about" said Harry after hesitating for a second. "Ask Blaine."

"Did Blaine say something to you?" asked Kurt gritting his teeth. "I swear I am sick and tired of his attitude! Tell me."

"Kurt, look, while he's being a total jackass at the moment, in some level he's still your friend. If I tell you what happened, then I will inevitably make him look like the bad guy and I don't want to go bad mouthing people behind their back" Harry said with a sigh. "If you wanna know, ask him."

"This mature approach is already starting to get to me" Kurt decided annoyed. Despite wanting to protest, he could understand Harry's reasoning.

"Mmmm" said Harry noncommittally and resumed his pacing.

"What are you mumbling?" asked Kurt after a few seconds of just watching him. Instead of stopping to explain, Harry simply started to speak at a normal level. Kurt's eyes widened the longer he spoke and he gasped softly; Harry's deep voice, enriched by his accent caused him to shiver and in turn Harry's anger seemed to fade the longer he gazed at Kurt's enthralled face.

"Half a league, half a league, / Half a league onward, / All in the valley of Death / Rode the six hundred. / "Forward, the Light Brigade! / Charge for the guns!" he said "/ Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred..."

Ignoring the rest of that poem he had just started and with a dramatic gesture he kneeled in front of his boyfriend, with a playful air he spoke.

"My lover asks me: / 'What is the difference between me and the sky?' / The difference, my love, / Is that when you laugh, / I forget about the sky…"

Kurt lost it, because hearing Harry recite poetry had snapped something in him and before he knew it he was throwing himself at him and kissing him hard.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Kurt walked into the choir room as unobtrusively as possible, making it just in time. He sat next to Jeff who looked at him cautiously, having been a victim of his bad mood earlier. Carefully, he reached behind Kurt and brushed his blazer.

"Your hair is full of snow" he whispered passing him one.

"Right" Kurt said and blushed brightly; starting to comb his fingers through his hair and trying to put it back into order.

"Seriously, what were you doing? Rolling around on the snow?" asked Jeff with a chuckle.

"No" said Kurt in an offended tone, but to his mortification he blushed harder. Jeff stared for a few seconds before a few dark marks on Kurt's neck caught his attention.

"Oh!" Jeff said and blushed. "Right… you might wanna…" he gestured towards Kurt's neck helplessly. "Here" he said grabbing his discarded scarf and offered it.

Silently Kurt wrapped it around his neck and sank in his seat with a small smile. Maybe he had just discovered the right method to deal with an angry Harry… he would be lying if he didn't admit he was looking forwards to test the theory sometime soon.

After rehearsal Blaine approached him, biting his lip and his body full of tension.

"Kurt I…"

"Harry didn't say anything" said Kurt, picking up his stuff and ignoring the members around them. "But I give up on you, until you can honestly come to me to apologize and are ready to accept my boyfriend as part of my life, then I honestly can't care about anything you have to say."

"He really didn't say anything?" asked Blaine with a careful neutral mask.

"He did mention that you are the reason behind his bad mood, and you know what Blaine?" Kurt said passing the scarf to Jeff. "Instead of being angry, I'm just going to say thank you" he smirked while putting the bag over one of his shoulders, which pulled the blazer and shirt away from his neck. "The make out session I got out of it washot as hell" Blaine and everybody stared at Kurt's neck with wide eyes. "So, feel free to get into as many arguments with him as you want… so long as you send him to me afterwards."

Kurt exited the room with a smile on his face and his head held high.

He would need to do an emergency trip to the store at some point during the week for concealer, because as fun as messing with the Warblers had been, going back home with his neck like this wasn't a good idea at any level.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"One must know Riddle, when one is crossing a line" Harry said perfectly composed and calm, despite the anger raging inside of him. His intense make out session with Kurt had served to clear his mind better than running or trying to distract his mind had ever done.

"What would you know about limits?" asked Tom with a sarcastic edge. "You are not a whimsical person Potter, so I fail to understand this sudden change or heart."

"You arrant fool" said Harry with a sneer. "Did you think I would let you get Kurt involved in your scheming?" Tom didn't react. "Goodness gracious, you actually did!" Harry started to pace, keeping Tom in his sight at all times and forcing himself not to react. "Why?" he asked finally.

"Do calm down Potter, it was never my intention to put him in a position where he could be harmed" said Tom crossing his arms in a casual gesture while leaning against the wall. "I wanted him to alert the faculty."

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Harry asked annoyed. "Why get him involved at all? Look Tom, I don't have the patience right now to pull every answer out of you, so before you make me angry enough to retaliate, just explain."

Tom sneered, but knew better than to ignore the threat. "There are 4 Warblers in that fight club, including their lead" started Tom. "I gathered Anderson is fond of Hummel. He would have protected him, seeing how he is the founder and ring leader of the operation, he would have succeeded. Hummel would have been safe down there."

"Anderson started this?" asked Harry in shock.

"Yes, keep up will you?" asked Tom annoyed at the interruption. "Hummel would have been horrified at what they were doing. I have evidence, but I need somebody else to approach faculty. Hummel would have come to me to ask me what I knew. I had this whole act planned on how they suspected I knew so I wouldn't have been able to confirm things. Then Hummel would have gone to faculty and that stupid choir would stop getting preferential treatment."

Harry covered his mouth with his hand.

"Are you laughing at me?"

Harry shook his head, but finally gave up.

"I'm sorry Tom, but seriously? That's your big plan? Disband the Glee club?" asked Harry with a laugh. "To be honest I expected you to be more the world domination type of guy, or at least the school" Tom muttered angrily under his breath. Harry laughed some more. "But seriously, what do you have against the Warblers?"

"Do you know how hard I have worked?" asked Tom angrily and looking like a normal teenager for once. "I have spent every second in this school making sure my curriculum is perfect, from grades to extracurricular activities, however when I asked Headmaster Talley and the rest of the faculty to put in a good word for me with the necessary people, he said he couldn't. He said I would have to wait until other students were sorted out first, that they had priority. I did some digging and all the students they are recommending first are Warblers, like singing and dancing is of any value!"

"Oh Tom" said Harry shaking his head. "That's it?"

"That's it! IT!" asked Tom snarling. "It's my whole future! I have to get a scholarship or I won't…"

Tom trailed off and Harry said nothing. Their start might have been rocky, but he and Tom had bonded over a lot of things. They weren't particularly close; however there was a lot of respect between them. They understood each other a lot, since they were so similar. Harry was pretty sure he was the closest thing to a friend Tom had and that was a depressing thought.

"Ask me" said Harry. Tom looked at him confused, but warded. "I am pretty close to the Dean of Hogwarts… and I could get him to pull strings for you."

"Hogwarts? That's my first choice" Tom said with a surprised face. "Wait, you know Dr. Grindelwald?"

"And Dumbledore" said Harry shrugging. "But I have this odd feeling you wouldn't like him."

"Would you pull strings for me?" asked Tom after a few moments of silence.

"Yes Tom, I will" said Harry, but leveled him up with a cold stare, all traces of light-heartedness gone. "This time I shall ignore what you did, but if you are ever foolish enough to get my loved ones involved with your plans in any way again, I will destroy you Tom Riddle. Every bit of influence, money and power I have will be invested solely on destroying you until you can consider yourself lucky if you get a job in a coffee shop."

Tom nodded once, his face cold, but understanding.

"Very well" Harry said. "I'll call Dumbles after Gellert, just to ask him to nag him until he complies."

"Dumbles?" parroted Tom with abhorrence. "You refer to Dr. Albus Dumbledore as Dumbles?"

"Or Big Al when I want to annoy him and when I want to annoy Geller I call him gramps" said Harry almost flippantly. "Dumbledore said I could call him whatever I wanted, sometimes I call him pops and I think he likes that. Geller said he would murder me if I tried to refer to him in any disrespectfully term whatsoever, so obviously he was feeling jealous and asking me to give him a hug and an endearing nickname. I went for gramps… his reaction was epic, G-man also riles him up for some reason…"

As Tom's face slowly transformed into outrage. Harry was already hitting the speed dial on his phone.

"Sup gramps!" he said cheerfully. "Listen, since I already decided not to attend to Hogwarts for University, I figured I should give you some type of human sacrifice in return. So, double check Tom Riddles application. He's smart and we use the same shampoo, it's like having a doppelganger!"

"Potter!" hissed Tom with wide eyes. "What do you think you are doing you imbecile?"

"Here, talk to him, he just called me something along those lines, bond over that" said Harry tossing him his phone. Tom scrambled to grab it and glared at him, while answering it.

In retrospective, Harry could have been less antagonistic about the whole thing.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"Oh you got to be kidding me!" moaned Harry in despair, letting his head hit the table. "Seriously gramps, get better arguments. You started to sound repetitive two hours ago!"

Tom smirked, his hold on the phone unwavering.

"Young man, you listen to me and stop whining, it is unbecoming and a most unattractive quality" said the voice coming from the device. "And sit straight while you are at it. Show some decorum for George's Sake!"

"What about me?" asked one of the twins staring at the phone in fear, after having Gellert give them a lecture of ten minutes about the English language, when they committed the mistake of using improper grammar, they were now slightly vigilant about the whole thing. Tom had been following Harry around with his own mobile on speaker mode, which meant Gellert's critical remarks had been following him as well.

"George, as in Saint George, not you insolent creature" snapped the man from the other side of the phone. "As I was saying Harry, you cannot expect to succeed in life if you do not…"

"Oh for fuck's sake" snapped Harry. "Look gramps, I get what you want me to do, but you know what, keep pushing me and I swear I will go to St. Andrews! No, better yet, I'll study art."

Gellert laughed. "Really? You will waste three years of your life just to go against me?"

"Yes, it's called commitment" Harry said annoyed. "And you know if I do, I will have Albus and Minerva force you and Snape to go to my graduation! You know me since I was 11; you don't think I would do it just to see your faces? And you know I would write you every week about every detail of my classes, and make you go to crappy expositions about my work, because we both know I am shit at creating stuff."

There was silence on the other line.

"I thought so" said Harry satisfied. "Now, my boyfriend is walking this way and that means I am suddenly unavailable to talk to you. Say hi to Dumbles for me and don't bother me until next month."

"Boyfriend?" asked Gellert. "What boyfriend!"

"Ready to go?" asked Harry to a smiling Kurt.

"Yes!" he said enthusiastically. "I'm so excited about the first official Christmas trip of the season! And of course, being able to spend the rest of the day with Mercedes will be amazing…"

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"We're here!" said Kurt excitedly from the copilot seat.

"Yes luv, we indeed arrived" Harry said with amusement.

"You gave me enough attitude today, so you better behave now" Kurt said narrowing his eyes.

"Aye, aye captain" said Harry giving him a military salute with one hand.

"Honestly" Kurt said rolling his eyes and checking his appearance on the rearview mirror. "You are so lucky I had a turtle neck with me at Dalton!"

"No, I'd be luckier if you didn't have it" said Harry pouting.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "My skin bruises really easily, so let's try to keep those teeth away from my neck next time."

"You jumped me" Harry said cockily. "I was seduced, ensnared even! I was completely innocent."

"You were the one pressing me against a tree if I remember correctly, not the other way around" said Kurt refusing to blush at the memory of how desperate the two of them had acted today.

His confident demeanor around the Warblers had been fuelled by annoyance at Blaine and fake bravado. He had taken great pleasure in implying to the lead soloist how his fight with Harry had translated into a heavy petting session for him. It would probably be a better determent than threats and yelling would have been, but only time would tell and if it wasn't… well Kurt would be happy to have a repeat performance of today.

Harry was quick to balance himself and Kurt while responding to the spontaneous kiss eagerly. He held Kurt tightly, letting their tongues move fluently against each other and stood up abruptly, the Warbler safely in his arms and mouths still connected.

"People pass around here too often" said Harry in a strangled manner when Kurt made a noise of impatience. He started to slowly push them away from the path, an effort made considerably more difficult by Kurt's sudden fascination with his jaw.

He found them a nice spot, surrounded by trees from almost all sides and pressed Kurt against the sturdiest one. Kurt moaned in appreciation, because now he could stop worrying about his shaky legs and focus on more important things. His hands had come to surround his boyfriend's neck at some point and were now insistently trying to pull them closer. Harry complied happily and for a few minutes the only thing they did was explore each other's mouths.

That is until Harry separated and kissed his way down towards his neck. Kurt tried to be quiet, but the little noises that escaped him seemed to be more than enough to encourage Harry. The Briton had both hands on his hips, while Kurt shifted his slightly to grab Harry's hair as a way to direct him to the spots he preferred. However he seemed to be doing a fine job in figuring them out without help by following the noises he made.

Kurt was in heaven. The body in front of him kept him warm against the weather. The lips were alternating between kissing him and biting him, both options equally acceptable at the moment. He was however missing something vital…

"Harry?" whispered Kurt quietly and his mind still a little too fogged to understand what was happening, only that it was stopping and that was bad. The two hands on his hips had grabbed them even more firmly and Harry was resting his forehead over his shoulder.

"You can't…" Harry swallowed, slowly counting to 5 in his mind. "You can't move your hips like that without destroying my self-control, and this is hardly the place where I can allow myself to lose it."

Kurt imitated him by swallowing, his throat feeling suddenly dry. He hadn't been consciously moving his hips, but he knew he had started doing it because friction was somewhat of a missing element in this equation.

"Sorry" he mumbled, his heart beat slowing down.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Harry kissing his cheek and nuzzling his neck. "That was hot and I love how you moved the hips, more movement I say. I just think you should save it for when we are indoors."

"We'll see" Kurt said amused and neither moved for a while until they felt more composed enough to go back inside.

"You're blushing" noted Harry. Kurt stared at his lap, pulling at his sleeves self-consciously.

"You don't really mind that… that I am not ready do you?" he asked.

"Oh Kurt, of course not!" said Harry taking one of his hands and bringing it to his lips. "Was what we did today too much? I apologize for letting myself get carried away."

"No" protested Kurt quickly. "What we did today was… it was good, very good" he reaffirmed. "We can do more of that… but you know, just that… preferably not outside."

"I can do that" said Harry smiling at him genuinely. "Just as I said, we go at your pace Kurt and I won't make you feel pressured at any point. Right now we haven't even been dating for that long, we have plenty of time. You will be ready when you feel ready and not a moment sooner, and as long as you feel comfortable with what we do, I'm ok with everything… and let it go on record, that is not to say I have an easy time being a gentleman about it, because I will likely be driven mad by your sexiness, but I shall endure."

"Thank you" Kurt said smiling appreciatively and feeling his confidence grow by the last comment. It was lovely to have somebody that found him so appealing. Deciding to change the subject he spoke. "I can't believe we are hanging out with Mercedes today!" Kurt said resisting the urge to squeal.

"Rachel is coming too, isn't she?" Harry asked while they walked out of the car and towards the inside of the mall, hands held together.

"This will sound awful, but we invited her because Mercedes needed a ride."

Harry laughed and Kurt was relieved he didn't judge him. He liked that about his boyfriend. Kurt didn't need to pretend to be a nice person incapable of doing any wrongs, he could be as bitchy and manipulative as he wanted and Harry didn't bat an eye. It made Kurt felt extremely safe in his relationship. He knew how Rachel had more often than not needed to reel in some of her personality traits to make things work with Finn. So far, he hadn't needed to do anything remotely similar with Harry.

"You two have a funny relationship" pointed out Harry.

"Yeah… I mean, Mercedes is my best friend and she's fabulous, but Rachel and I are more like frenemies… have I told you about how Rachel sent a new recruit to a crack house?" he asked. "It was brilliant…" by the end of the story Harry had laughed good naturedly, not seeming bothered by the moral side of things at all. "I wish I had thought of that" lamented Kurt at the end.

"I'm sure you have done your share of moves" said Harry, expectantly.

Kurt smirked. "Well… I once gave her the worst make over in the history of make overs" he said and launched onto a play by play recount of how he had convinced her to dress and act.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"Ladies" said Harry with a polite grin. "Looking lovely, as I suspect you always do…" they both giggled at him as Kurt rolled his eyes affectionately.

"Don't even" he said giving him a warning glare.

Harry shrugged and smiled at him, leaning down to kiss his cheek. "Whatever you say dear…"

Mercedes and Rachel cooed. "You are so cute together" said Rachel.

"Cute?" asked Mercedes raising an eyebrow. "They are smoking!"

Kurt blushed pleased, while Harry preened. "Why thank you Mercedes, that seems like a spot on assessment."

"Shall we?" asked Kurt. Mercedes jumped at the invitation, linking arms with him and dragging him away to a store.

"So, what type of music do you like?" asked Harry while he and Rachel followed after them in a less hurried manner. She didn't seem as keen as the other two in buying clothes, but he guessed she was just happy to be included.

Her eyes sparkled immediately and uttered the first word of a very long rant. "Broadway" she said.

- End Chapter 9 -

Ok, I know some of you were confused by last chapter but let's hope this one makes things clearer. If you are an anonymous review with a question, I don't have a way to answer you! So sorry for that.

But to clarify:

The fight club was something the Glee writers threw in there as an off hand comment (check my author note last chapter to see how they did it). I don't think they take it seriously and while I agree that everybody can do whatever they want with their lives and bodies, even if it is beat the shit out of each other, there are better ways to do it.

(Boxing is a sport after all and it has rules, regulations and while I don't enjoy it personally, seems like the legit way to beat somebody/get beaten.)

My point against Blaine's fight club is the one Harry explained. The people in this club are not adults, they are teenagers and some of them could get into a lot more trouble for being 18 than the ones that are 17-16.

Finally, about Tom.

He is not evil here. His only ambition is to go to a good university with a scholarship so he can later be a politician or something. He is frustrated that Dalton clearly favors the Warbles and I found a bit of humor in having his master plan be disbanding the glee club. Seriously, think about it, Voldemort is trying to destroy a glee club. Just lol.

As this fic has no magic, there is no believable way I could make him into a power hungry tyrant. As to why is he the same age as Harry instead of older... well, to be honest it didn't even occur to me to make him older. He and Harry are sort of friends, they stay out of each other's way and occasionally help each other out.

Sorry for the long author notes today, been a bit riled up lately...

All the best,

SweetCaroline91

PS: NEITHER SNAPE OR DUMBLEDORE OR GELLERT RAISED HARRY!