Alright, I want to get the authors note out of the way first and do it quick.

1. Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews. Some of you don't have accounts and that sucks since I can't reply and you have been so wonderful. I'd love if you visit my blog and dropped a question anonymously with the name you've been using in the reviews so I can reply to everything you have asked and said.

2. New chapter of The Big Purple Book was published, I love it and might even turn it into a two shots. Go read it!

3. Deal is over, updates once a week, but I haven't decided on the day.

4. I'm going back and trimming the author's note of things that are no longer necessary. I don't want people to start asking me questions about the deal because they read it on the first chapter and didn't read the rest of the authors notes.

5. It was hard to write a lot about this chapter. Because I don't have the technical knowledge Harry does on certain things (like football, who knew there wasn't a time out?) and there's nothing as horrible as a character that is meant to know everything about something you have no idea about. So if I got things wrong, sorry.

IIIII

Chapter 15

Honeydukes, Mockingbird and Hippogriffs

Blaine had his ear pressed against his bedroom door, his attention completely on the other side. He wanted to quickly drop off his books as an excuse to check on Harry. He knew the older boy had this period free and since he had left Geography early, he might as well make sure he was alright.

"What are you doing?" asked Kurt from behind him and Blaine jumped startled.

"Jesus Kurt, you scared me" he said with an awkward smile.

"What were you doing?" repeated Kurt walking closer. He could hear the faint sound of music coming out of the room.

"Eh…" said Blaine self-consciously.

"Were you doing what I think you were doing?" asked Kurt starting to grin in a mocking manner.

Blaine scoffed. "No"

"So you weren't listening in for Harry's playing?" asked Kurt with a smirk.

"No" said Blaine and lifted his chin defiantly. Kurt didn't waver and they stared at each other neither willing to back down.

Despite their stubbornness, both were kind of smiling. Now that Blaine was finally comfortable enough to be himself with Kurt and Harry, Kurt knew without a doubt that Blaine was his best friend. They just clicked. They had similar tastes in enough things to balance the things they didn't agree on. Despite how much he loved Mercedes, he could feel they were getting more and more distant, while he and Blaine got closer and closer. The two of them spent a great amount of time bickering about silly things, instead of Blaine politely agreeing with him to avoid confrontation.

Kurt thrived in confrontation and he liked it when people challenged him. One of the reasons Harry was so attractive to him was because while he let Kurt get away with almost anything, he was also very set on his ways. If he put his foot down, there was no amount of threatening or begging that would move him. He was immune to Kurt's bitch mode, unfazed by his diva storm offs and smiled through his long sarcastic rants in amusement, at the same time he was caring enough to act if he was truly upset and not just throwing a tantrum.

It was nice to know that he and Blaine were getting comfortable enough with each other to unnecessarily argue. Otherwise, Kurt felt he would have ended up trying to rein his attitude to avoid upsetting dapper Blaine. Instead he had found a way to redirected Blaine's energy towards verbal confrontation and Kurt suspected Blaine liked this new dynamic as much as he did.

"The tension outside is messing my creative mood!" yelled Harry from inside. "Also Blaine was obviously interested in listening in to me singing not playing! You're a horrible spy Blaine and you're a horrible detective Kurt. Shame on you both!"

"Smartass!" they replied at the same time.

Harry laughed. When they entered the room he was already hanging his guitar much to their disappointment, until they saw another one on the bed and a third one next to Layla.

"I've never seen those two" said Kurt curiously.

The hooks Harry installed in the walls had been put there for his guitar, guitars apparently. He had Layla proudly in the center which Kurt sometimes still stared at with a blush on his face. But there were two more additions, Blaine seemed thrilled by it.

"Awesome!" he said inspecting the other guitar on Layla's left. "The room looks so much cooler now!"

Harry scowled. "Instruments are to be played…"

"Not displayed" chorused Blaine and Kurt rolling their eyes.

"Yes, yes, but they can still look cool on the wall" Blaine said having heard the same snappy comment several of times by now.

He loved having Layla up on the wall because it made the room more intriguing, and it was also the only thing that showed that Harry lived in the room. He didn't have any pictures or decorations and he guessed it made sense, since he still spent most of his time in his old room. To be fair, Blaine knew it must be hard to 'live' with his boyfriend, go to school with him and hang with the same people. It was another thing that made Kurt and Harry work; they were both good at giving each other space when they needed it.

He spared a glance to Kurt, who had made himself comfortable in Harry's lap and was now giggling while he played with his guitar, arms coming around him to do so and his nose buried behind Kurt's ear with a grin on his face. With quick movements, he snatched his Polaroid camera from the table and took a picture.

"Bloody hell Blaine" said Harry rubbing his eyes. "Heads up wouldn't be uncalled for."

"I captured the moment" Blaine said taking the print out picture and fanning himself with it. He showed the final product to Kurt who grinned.

"I want a copy"

"Sure" he agreed easily, dropping the new picture on his desk and placing his camera lovingly next to it.

"So, what are their names?" asked Kurt poking Harry.

"That one is Sadie" said Harry pointing to the one on the wall. "It's a Farida FA17-FM, really good for country, jazz or blues, and more importantly, rockabilly and classic rock. The sound is full and rich, not harsh, crisp" Harry said making emphasis on the difference.

Kurt and Blaine studied the guitar, lost on the specifics. The guitar was black around the edges, turning a deep forest green in the middle, with dull silver for the shiny parts. It had a classic, vintage feeling and the guitar while very well looked after, didn't look new.

"What's rockabilly?" asked Kurt raising his head to try to catch Harry's eyes.

"Earliest styles of rock and roll, from around the 50s, the term comes from joining 'rock' and 'hillbilly'" explained Harry. "Very early Elvis Presley" he clarified, but they seemed to have already placed it already. "I named her Sadie, after the Little Sadie Bob Dylan's song, he was very influenced by him, hell the whole world of music was forever changed by that man. They might have turned the legend into a joke, but Elvis was a visionary and a ground breaker… you don't get named the King for nothing."

"Hey, we're not arguing here" said Blaine raising his hand in surrender. "I like the irony" said Blaine, Sadie was the biggest of the guitars and looked slightly rougher than the others, but the name worked.

Harry blinked a few times before shaking his head. "Sorry, you're not my crowd for these discussions..."

"And this one?" asked Kurt passing a hand over the smooth surface of the guitar in front of him. Like Sadie, the green guitar, this one started black around the edge but faded into a dark wood color and then a natural yellow. It had a few faint marks of use too.

"Kite, a Martin 000-28EC Eric Clapton, which in retrospective should have been the one named after one of his songs, but I couldn't find one that fitted him. One of the finest guitars you can own" Harry said and smirked, playing a few chords. "For the benefit of Mr. Kite, there will be a show tonight…"

"Out of all the Beatles songs, that's the one you chose to name your guitar after?" asked Kurt offended.

"I didn't want all my guitars to be girls" said Harry shrugging. "And those two are temperamental guitars, very moody and high maintenance, definitely girls" he said motioning with his head to the wall.

"Or Kurt" coughed Blaine, getting a pillow thrown his way immediately after. Kurt glared at him and he smiled innocently.

"Please, you're like the most needy, hyperactive person ever. If I am high maintenance, so are you" said Kurt to Blaine. "Just the amount of coffee needed to power you would bankrupt anybody."

"That might be true, but I am still super cute" Blaine said smirking and batting his eyelashes playfully. Kurt raised an eyebrow unimpressed.

"Unlike you two, Kite is a relaxed fellow…" said Harry deeming Kite properly tuned. "My bass is on the bunk bed, but I haven't tuned it yet."

"Can I see?" asked Blaine looking at the case on the bed and lightly bouncing on his feet.

"Sure" Harry said while taking Kite's strand off. Kurt stood up, grabbing the guitar and hanging it next to Layla, the colors contrasted nicely and he had to secretly agree with Blaine. The guitars made for nice decorations. Blaine carefully passed him his bass, which was a light blue and white, very sleek and elegant. Harry started to tune it automatically, concentrated and eyes never leaving the pedal tuner on the floor.

"Dare I ask the name?" asked Kurt with a casual air. He liked seeing this side of Harry.

"Jimmy" said Harry literally without missing a beat from his impromptu bass solo. "After the song Dr. Jimmy from The Who" he said while finishing satisfied. "This one's a classic Rickenbacker bass, a 4003 to be more precise, famous for its ringing sustain, treble punch and solid underlying bass."

"I'm a little afraid of knowing how much they are worth" Kurt said eyeing Layla.

"Layla is the most expensive one, I don't go around buying guitars that are worth $9,000 on a whim" said Harry dismissively. Blaine choked.

"What?" he asked outraged. "You keep something worth $9,000 in our room? Are you crazy?"

"$9,404" specified Kurt.

"It's insured" said Harry dismissively.

"How much are the others worth?" asked Blaine feeling decisively uncomfortable. What if he tripped and damaged one of the guitars by accident…

"Sadie is only worth about 800" Harry said, fingers still playing with his bass.

"Well, now I feel better, it's only 800 dollars!" said Blaine exaggeratedly.

"Kite is 2,250 and Jimmy is 1,500…" said Harry not even glancing at him. Kurt sighed, a little more used to Harry's view on money. "Pounds by the way, the only one I bought in America is Layla and that's why I know the exact price in dollars."

Blaine looked sick.

"How many guitars do you need?" asked Kurt skeptically looking at the instruments.

"How many scarfs, gloves, hats, accessories, jackets, pants, shoes, brooches, shirts, etc. do you really need?" asked Harry immediately and Kurt made an offended noise. "Besides, Jimmy is a bass, not a guitar, Layla is an electronic one, Kite's acoustic and Sadie an electro acoustic one, completely different things" he said in a haughty tone. "We can discuss this later" he said placing Jimmy on the wall. "Next class starts in 10 minutes."

IIIII

"I decided not to say anything else on the guitars, but let it be on record that I feel very uncomfortable with things that are so expensive laying around our room" Blaine said during lunch unwilling to pick a fight with Harry over this, unlike Kurt who had been trying for the past half an hour to make him reconsider. It was Harry's room too after all.

"They will be hanging on the wall, not laying around" said Harry pretentiously. "I would never put one of my babies on the floor."

Blaine and Kurt looked at each other immediately after that comment, neither capable of believing how… how utterly stuck up Harry sounded in that moment.

"Told you musicians could be really sensitive about weird stuff" said Fred dropping in the chair next to Kurt, George taking one in front of him and Ron smoothly grabbing the remaining seat next to Harry. It was done with practiced ease and comfort. Blaine was still surprised he had gotten used to their impromptu appearances and how they entered conversations without being invited.

"I still feel offended you wouldn't keep your guitars in our room" said Ron.

"You three are not to be trusted around any of my guitars" Harry said immediately. "You are far too destructive and chaotic, and yes, I realize I am a hypocrite by saying it, but I don't give a damn" the three grinned proudly.

"You need to go to Honeydukes, embrace your grumbly self and be a total snob with all those dicks" said Ron.

"Hear, hear" said Fred and George.

"I feel misunderstood" Harry said elbowing Ron.

"If you had announced it on Facebook, we would care" Fred said.

"Speaking of Facebook" said Kurt cutting in. "Why don't you have one? This relationship won't feel real unless I can make it Facebook official."

"Wait a second! I've been single all this time and nobody told me?" asked Harry faking surprise and placing a hand dramatically over his heart. "Kurt, how can you do those dirty, dirty things to me without offering some commitment? I'm not a harlot, I have feelings."

Blaine chuckled, as did everybody but Kurt who sighed deeply; staring at his boyfriend unimpressed.

"But to answer your question, it seems like an invasion to privacy and a way to ask people to stalk me" shrugged Harry. "Don't see the appeal."

"I swear somebody pulled you out of a medieval book sometimes" said Kurt rolling his eyes dramatically.

"So, I haven't heard you singing properly" Blaine said changing the subject. "I've seen you playing, but no singing, what's up with that?"

"Not really my thing" said Harry. "I like playing more than singing."

"Really? We hardly gathered from the ridiculously expensive instruments" said Blaine. "But, joking aside, why don't you like singing? Are you shy?"

Everybody at the table made a noise of amusement or skepticism. Harry snorted. "Not everybody likes singing Blaine."

"Stage fright?" Harry raised an eyebrow, his demeanor changing at the challenging tone.

Ron leaned forwards from across the table. "This would be a wise time to back the hell off" he whispered unnecessarily in a frantic manner. Harry hand snapped forwards and grabbed his blazer, pulling him back slowly.

"Is that a dare?" asked Harry with a neutral expression.

"Yes" decided Blaine and held his ground, despite the scary air Harry now had around him.

"I think Blaine just earned everybody here an all expenses trip to Honeydukes, mandatory of course" said Harry pleased and the twins groaned.

"Way to go Blaine, way to go" Ron said burying his face behind his hands.

"What's Honeydukes?" asked Kurt.

"It's a small café bar in Columbus" said Harry.

"Hell" whispered Fred in a doom like voice.

"No George. Its purgatory, where souls get to still wonder about their fate and are just at the edge of falling to hell" said George.

Blaine and Kurt looked at everybody apprehensively.

"So Blaine, since you dared me, I guess you won't mind to make a wager" Harry said silkily, a dark smirk spreading across his face.

Kurt shivered, enthralled by the sight. His pupils dilating and quite frankly getting a little turned on by the whole malevolent-wicked vibe Harry had going on.

This dark side of Harry was fucking hot.

IIIII

"Jeff?" asked Nick looking surprised when his friend rushed back into the room.

"I'm not going out there" he hissed from his place against the wall, the furthest away from the exit he could manage.

"Eh… why?" asked Nick confused.

"She is out there" he whispered with crazy eyes. "I am not going anywhere near her again, ever."

"Ok" Nick said confused. Kurt and Blaine ignored him; already more used to crazier things and carried on with their conversation, exiting the room and the confused Warblers.

"Hello Hummingbird, Mockingbird" said Luna elegantly perched on the staircase's handrails, one leg over the other and her hands above her knee; an array of suitcases and bags surrounding her.

"Hi Luna" said Kurt confused. Blaine warily stared at her precarious position, while simultaneously mouthing Mockingbird in a questioning manner to himself.

"Much to do… most certainly" she said and clapped her hands twice. Out of nowhere or at least that's the way it felt to Kurt, half a dozen people arrived and picked up the bags, going up the stairs with efficient coordination.

Luna smiled at them and clapped her hands once again.

"Mr. Hummel you're with me" said a girl appearing from behind him and making Kurt jump startled. She unceremoniously grabbed his arm and escorted him away.

Luna turned to Blaine, who wide eyed gave a step back, only to bump into somebody.

"Mr. Anderson" said a sweet voice and Blaine looked around for help, just as a perfectly manicured hand grabbed him firmly by the elbow and dragged him away.

"Luna" said Harry descending the stairs with a satisfied smile. "I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your efficiency" he said proudly.

She daintily inclined her head. "I live to serve my Lord… we wouldn't' want the Blibbering Humdinger to chase after them."

"That'd be tragic, now go get changed" Harry said and called over his shoulder. "Don't scare any more birds today."

Luna gracefully fell from her perch and skipped after him.

IIIII

Hermione angrily rounded up the three brothers, Angelina and Katie flanking her, the three of them had their arms crossed and they all flinched.

"I want to know who failed to brief Blaine" she asked in a very quiet voice.

"Brief me about what?" asked Blaine nervously watching the procedures.

"You don't dare Harry" said Hermione patiently, while Angelina and Katie took over the scolding. "Sorry, let me rephrase that, you don't let Harry manipulate you into daring him to do something… or accept a bet or a wager from him…"

Blaine blinked confused.

Hermione sighed. "We need to write you two a manual."

IIIII

Kurt self-consciously made his way to the entrance. He was more than slightly uncomfortable with his new clothes and radically different appearance. He walked down the corridor and stared at his boyfriend, who was leaning against the wall waiting for him.

He looked hot. Dark jeans with holes on his knees that were tucked into his biker boots, a band t-shirt that was wrinkled and faded, his leather jacket on and a guitar case hanging over one shoulder. His eyes carefully examined him as a smirk appeared on his face.

"Bloody hell, you look hot" Harry said with no amount of tact. Kurt blushed.

"Harry!" he protested embarrassedly.

"Ok, I'm sorry. You look fucking hot, I apologize for my Britishness" said Harry moving towards him.

"Ha, ha, you're a riot" Kurt said standing taller.

"With those clothes you might start one" said Harry grabbing him by the waist and pressing them together, while silencing any protest with a long kiss. "All joking aside, you really do look amazing" said Harry, his hands moving all over Kurt's back and consciously having to stop himself from letting them wonder lower.

"Not my usual look, but I rock everything" Kurt said gaining confidence from the way Harry had been affected. He could live with the tight leather pants, the loose t-shirt of a band he had never heard about and the lace boots, but the pink streaks in his hair were something he wasn't sure he liked. "Do you… do you really like it?" he said motioning to his head.

"It will wash off" said Harry. "I know this isn't the most outrageous thing you've put on and you really, really look awesome in this."

Kurt smiled. "Don't get used to it; the pink is leaving as soon as we come back."

"As long as you keep the pants, you can do whatever you want with the rest" Harry said against his lips.

"The pants can definitely stay" agreed Kurt, pressing their lips firmly and passing his arms around Harry's neck.

"Oi, lovebirds!" called Fred from the entrance. "Move your asses will ya?"

"After you" said Harry gallantly. Kurt giggled and started to lead the way before he stopped abruptly and turned around, sure enough Harry's eyes had been blatantly checking out his ass.

"Harry!" he hissed, blushing.

"What?" Harry asked innocently. "You can't blame me for admiring the view!"

"You're impossible" mumbled Kurt. "Go!" he ordered, with a mocking bow Harry walked first. Completely unintentionally Kurt's eyes drifted lower.

"Double standards!" accused Harry moving his guitar so it would hang across his back and giving Kurt an infuriating smirk over his shoulder. They walked hand in hand after that.

IIIII

"So, what do you think so far?" asked Harry having shaken off a few people to reach the table where Blaine and Kurt had retreated to.

"The place is full of horrible people" Kurt said immediately.

"Did either of you mention Katy Perry or Lady Gaga?" asked Harry in response. They both remained quiet. "Told you it would be a bad idea here."

"People are so… judgmental here" said Blaine in a quiet voice.

"Alright, take notes kiddos" Harry said turning a chair to sit on, arms coming to embrace the back. "This is how you deal with musicologists."

"Musical snobs is more like it" mumbled Kurt.

"If somebody says, 'you're telling me you've never heard of blank' then you enthusiastically reply. 'I know right!' and walk away" said Harry and Blaine blanched at the rudeness of the suggestion.

Kurt looked around, feeling decisively out of place. Honeydukes was a dark place, it had dark lighting and everybody was dressed in dark clothes. They served really good coffee, but the people left a lot to be desired. They spoke music in a way he wasn't familiar with. They took popular songs and artists and ripped them apart, while praising obscure bands he never heard of.

"Here's what you need to know" said Harry. "Musical snob is not the correct term, you will only offend, but it's perfectly descriptive of most of us in here; and we will always admit to being a musical snob, we like it."

"This is very disturbing" Blaine said to Kurt.

"Anyways, pay attention, when in doubt, hate. If somebody mentions somebody you don't know, call them sell outs, pretentious or a hack. Then just smirk and walk away. Now that takes us to the next rule, popular music is not acceptable, go by this saying if it sells it smells. Music everybody else hates, that's praised."

"This is a cult isn't it? Are we getting creepy tattoos?"

"Also, go for the underappreciated album and the underappreciated song… mention Pere Ubu, Crass and Tom Waits, post Swordfishthrombones. Also, name drop a classical composer, you get points if nobody has heard of him before and it has to be more obscure than Franz Joseph Haydn" Harry smiled at them excitedly, clearly very into his explanations.

"Who are…" started Blaine.

"They are too pretentious for my tastes" cut in Kurt.

Harry laughed and winked. "Worst case scenario; make up names and comparisons, as long as you sound sure of yourself they will go with it… look, just have fun, take it as an acting experience or a game, mess with people's heads."

It turned out to be much more fun after that. They caught glimpses of Hermione and the rest of the gang, all with snobby expressions of annoyance. Kurt and Blaine could relate. The only two that seemed to actually know what they were talking about and enjoy the atmosphere of the place, were Harry and Luna. Incidentally, they had a small group of people listening to them talking like they were going to bring them to the promised land.

"It's not what you put in that matters" said Harry his hands moving in front of him to make his point, everybody around him leaned forwards, like they knew he was about to say something great. Kurt and Blaine couldn't help but do the same.

"It's what is left behind, take 'What's Happening Brother' from Marvin Gaye, there is a single whooo at the end of the second verse, you know that whooo? That single whooo?" somebody nodded enthusiastically. "That's what you remember! The simple things, the mistakes, there's only one of them and it makes the song! It's what you leave out, that's music…"

"Oh my Gaga" said Kurt grabbing Blaine's arm unexpectedly.

"I know that was surprisingly deep" said Blaine.

"Not that" said Kurt and walked away from Blaine. "Brett?" he asked incredulous.

"Oh… hey, I know you" said Brett looking at Kurt in surprise. "Don't we like, sit in the same class or something?"

"That was last year" Kurt said unsurprised.

"Awesome" said Brett nodding and looking more than a little high. "I've seen you talking to Harry man, he's the best."

"He's my boyfriend" said Kurt unable to stop feeling damn smug about it.

"Bitching man" Brett said nodding approvingly. "Harry's cool, want some pot?" Kurt awkwardly retreated.

Blaine was bouncing on his feet, while nodding eagerly to what somebody was saying, completely into it. Kurt wasn't that surprised that once he learnt the rules and got comfortable, Blaine had found fascinating what everybody had to say. Eagerly trying to make new friends and taking a different approach than what Harry suggested. He simply agreed with everybody, promised to listen to the new music and looked like a puppy that needed to be picked up and loved. Kurt however had quite a lot of fun being a complete bitch to strangers that could bitch back at him.

"Hello everybody" said a girl that looked as excited as the now comfortable Blaine. "Oi, listen up you scum bags" that got her people's attention. "Better" she said nodding and gesturing to Harry, who had climbed the stage with Kite on his shoulder.

"Somebody complained they haven't heard me sing yet" Harry said taking a seat on a conveniently placed stool. Harry smirked at the audience with a confident manner. "I spent a lot of time trashing people's work around here, so I guess fair's fair and tonight is my turn in the spotlight."

Blaine and Kurt looked at each other worriedly. This wasn't the type of accepting, friendly, open minded environment a performer wanted to sing in front of. They all seemed ready to jump at the first sign of weakness. Everybody applauded politely, a few cat calls were called and people found a table to sit, nursing their drinks. Harry nodded to the band behind him, and Kurt was able to recognize Tyler and Seth.

"Don't I hold you like you want to be held" sang Harry softly into the microphone and Blaine was done for, he knew he lost the dare. The lyric was too painfully spot on, the voice was too perfect and the only thing he wanted was to go back to the dorm and be cuddled.

"Don't I treat you like you want, and don't I love you like you want to be loved" carried on Harry unfazed, his voice taking over the room. Kurt smiled proudly as his boyfriend sang and won a difficult audience over, it was a shame really that Harry didn't sing more often.

Even if talking was a great way of communicating, and yes, he knew he'd been putting off having a talk with Harry for a while; it was a shame Harry didn't serenate him directly.

IIIII

"I can't believe I lost" mumbled Blaine less upset than he thought he would be.

"There, there" said Ron patting his back.

"That is a terrible way to comfort people" Blaine said frowning at him.

"Signature move of Harry when we are being stupid" said Ron shrugging. "Very catchy..."

"Alright guys, I need to talk to some more people and then we can leave, but first" said Harry smirking darkly once more and pulling his iPod, as well as sound cancelling headphones. "Blaine lost the dare and we all know what that means."

Everybody but Kurt, Blaine and Luna winced.

"That's correct" Harry said clearly pleased. "You get 5 uninterrupted minutes of the Harry Is Always, Always Right Song. You take them off it becomes 10."

Blaine tilted his head. "That's all?"

Nobody but Harry met his eyes.

IIIII

"Oh my God, you jerk!" said Blaine sitting up suddenly and hitting Harry with his pillow. "It's stuck! The song just goes on and on and it doesn't fucking stop!"

Kurt stared, wide eyes as Blaine cursed and took his anger out by hitting a laughing Harry with a pillow. He blinked a few times before carrying on with his routine. Harry started to hum something and Blaine yelled at him to shut up, increasing the amount of pillow violence.

"I hate you" mumbled Blaine wide awake. Kurt had just gotten comfortable and laughed a little at Blaine's annoyance.

"Cuddle yourself then, I don't cuddle haters" Harry said letting go of him and turning around, gladly spooning Kurt and dropping a kiss on his shoulder.

"Nooo" said Blaine in a whiny voice, pulling at his shirt and changing his attitude immediately. "Come back here and cuddle me… Harry… Harry… Harry cuddle me dammit!" he remained unmoving. Blaine sighed. "Please?"

"Much better" said Harry returning to his back and letting Blaine rest against him, clingier than usual to prevent him from turning.

"Stop messing with Blaine" said Kurt with a yawn.

"Yeah Harry, stop messing with me" smirked Blaine.

"Always, always, always" sang Harry and Blaine groaned, the song starting again in his head.

IIIII

Kurt woke up alone on the bed. He knew Harry had early training and Blaine some meeting with the student council. He had felt too lazy to wake up when they did. He stretched comfortably. Cuddling was nice, but his back sometimes didn't agree with his curled up position.

He dressed on autopilot, singing under his breath the song Harry had sung the day before and whistling with Pavarotti. He liked rooming with his best friend and boyfriend, but it was very nice to have these moments of solitude for himself. Just as he did one final check on his hair, he heard a knock on the door.

"This is your room too you know?" he asked when he opened. Harry smiled, handing over his coffee.

"I like picking you up, I got us some scones" Harry said shrugging and his eyes drifted to Kurt's lapel. Kurt followed his eyes and then it clicked. He had grabbed one of the brooches Harry had given him for Christmas. "Can we eat here?" asked Harry with a deep breath.

"Sure, let me text Blaine" said Kurt entering and wondering how this would go. Harry picked at his scone, before deciding to just bite the bullet.

"In mythology a hippogriff is born from a griffin and a mare, which in medieval times was considered rare because griffins see horses as prey… in Hogwarts, we have this saying, 'to mate griffins with horses… which is like saying when pigs fly" he started, he looked at Kurt, eyes not wavering. "Hippogriffs symbolize impossibility and love."

Kurt didn't say anything, just looked at Harry taking in his words.

"Which can be applied to a lot of my life" shrugged Harry. "And one of those things was Cedric" Kurt remembered from his first date conversation, that this was Harry's first boyfriend.

- Flashback -

Harry muffled his, God forbid, giggles against Cedric's shoulder. Who was doing a poor attempt at keeping quiet himself.

"Shhh" Harry shushed him looking up at him. "What we least need is one of your friends or mine finding us fraternizing with the enemy."

"The enemy" said Cedric amused. "And how long have I been the enemy Mr. Potter?"

"Since the moment I got sorted into the cooler house" Harry said pulling him by the tie for a kiss. Cedric smiled against it.

"Keep dreaming kitty cat" said Cedric surrounding his waist and pressing him against the wall.

"I'm sorry, whose house has been kicking butt in the cup and all sports since awesome creature that I am made an appearance to boast morale and be a beacon of hope and goodness? While looking hot as hell may I add" said Harry looking at the ceiling. "Oh yeah, us, the cool house."

"This castle is not strong enough to hold you and your ego" laughed Cedric, nibbling his collar.

"Mmm" said Harry throwing his head back for a moment, before deciding this wasn't the time for teasing. With a strong push he had Cedric stumbling back, his hands quickly working the pants off his boyfriend. "Admit it" he whispered seductively against Cedric's ear, his hand moving up and down as slow as he could manage. "Admit Gryffindor is the cool house."

"Never" said Cedric with an aborted moan.

"House pride vs. blow job" Harry said chuckling, pressing his own erection against Cedric's thigh and letting his hot breath hit the Hufflepuff's neck. "Not any blow job, a blow job from me…"

"Fuck" yelped Cedric when his hand tightened.

"I guess I should leave now" said Harry kissing him once.

"Bloody hell, you can be such a… your house is cooler, red all the way, just blow me dammit" demanded Cedric.

"Good Hufflepuff" praised Harry sinking to his knees.

IIIII

"Cedric?" asked Harry while they fixed their clothes. "Do you ever think about being together outside closed doors?"

The older boy tensed immediately, staring at Harry startled.

"No, do you?" he said dreading the answer.

"Yes" said Harry shrugging. "I get this started as a let's fuck our brains out, sex only, kind of thing, but you put the boyfriend label on us, you call this a relationship and I need to know before I get in too deep if you mean those things or you are just saying it to feel less guilty for the sex… I know you Hufflepuffs are sentimental about these types of things" he added to lighten the mood.

"I'm not coming out Harry, I am not gay" said Cedric.

"Are you Bi then?" asked Harry curious. "I don't care if you are, I am."

"I am not" Cedric said annoyed.

"You do have an awful lot of gay sex for a straight bloke" said Harry sarcastically.

"Can we not discuss this? I have to go" Cedric said stiffly.

"Fine, you don't want to talk that's your call. You want to be in denial that's your call too, but if you ever want to stop lying and be truthful with at least one person, you know where to find me" said Harry exiting the room.

IIIII

"Somebody is in a good mood" said Harry as Cho skipped to sit next to him in the library.

"I can't tell you" she said with a pout.

"Ok" said Harry turning to his book.

"You got number 14 wrong" she said peeking over his shoulder.

"No I didn't" Harry said without breaking his concentration.

"Fine, I actually have no idea" she admitted crossing her arms. "Why are you even doing those? We haven't even begun to cover the basics needed in my year…"

"Snape has been tutoring me since I was a firstie, do you think he does it because I need the help? He's not the type of man that wastes his time" said Harry finally looking at her.

She sighed. "Stop bumping me out, I feel horrible knowing a Gryffindor is smarter than I am."

"To be fair, you're not the smartest Ravenclaw" said Harry smirking when she huffed.

"You're a horrible friend" she said shoving him.

"You're a horrible kisser" laughed Harry.

"I've improved" she said blushing. "I'm not 15 anymore."

"I was a better kisser and I was 14" said Harry in an annoying tone.

"Well, I've done stuff now" she said trying to portray an air of maturity.

"I stopped being a virgin a long time ago" said Harry flippantly. "My guess is that you are still one."

"You slut" she said surprised. "You're 15! When the hell this happened?"

"Week of my birthday, lovely girl she was… taught me loads of interesting tricks" Harry said smirking to his book. "Oh, and I lost the other one too."

"What other one?" she asked confused. Harry started at her, until it clicked.

"No" she said mouth hanging open. "You're gay?" she asked in a low whisper.

"Bi my dear" Harry said using a finger to close her jaw and not bothering to lower his voice or act even slightly ashamed.

Cho just sat there absorbing the new information. "You're the worst best friend ever; this is the kind of stuff you're supposed to share!"

"You never asked" shrugged Harry.

"I didn't think you would have a sex life!" she hissed flapping her arms wildly. "Does he know?" she asked suddenly with an icy voice.

Harry sighed. "Yes, Seamus knows I am not a virgin."

"Dammit Harry!" she said slamming the table. "He's going to think he's you are his best friend!"

"And surely we can't let that happen" said Harry sarcastically.

"Of course not! I am your best friend" she said firmly.

"Sure you are" said Harry in a complacent tone.

"Fine, I am your best female friend" she said. Harry chuckled.

"Sure Cho…"

"Good" she decided nodding. "And as my best friend, I've decided I can let you in on my secret."

"Yei" said Harry raising his hands and waving his palms in a less than excited manner.

Cho leaned closer, looking around and whispered. "I'm sort of seeing Cedric…"

Harry's amused smile froze and he stared at her. "Diggory?"

"I know right?" she said with a happy sigh. "Oh my God, now that I know you're bi, we can talk about how hot he is!"

"Yei" said Harry swallowing the sudden need to throw up.

"He does this thing with his tongue that is just…"

Now he was definitely going to throw up.

- End Flashback -

Kurt was staring at Harry and without thinking about it, he reached, embracing him.

"Oh Harry" he said sadly.

"It's alright, I got over that a while ago" said Harry, but accepted the embrace gladly. "I gave Cedric an ultimatum, told him that he couldn't play with Cho's feelings like that; that she was one of my best friends and I wasn't going to help him cheat… our arrangement had been strictly for sex, even if he occasionally called me his boyfriend. We had agreed to tell each other if we started seeing somebody else, but didn't exactly say we were going to be exclusive. After a while I realized I needed more than that from him. He broke up with me the next day."

"Did you tell your friend?" asked Kurt.

"I told Cho that I had seen Cedric with somebody else, she didn't believe me and we stopped talking after that" said Harry with a sad smile. "I regret two things about being with Cedric, pretending I was ok with being a secret and losing that friendship. The second one I regret more, because at least I learnt something from the first… but I was in a tricky position, because I couldn't tell her the truth without outing him and I didn't want to do that. Cho is a great girl, but when she's emotional her common sense goes down the toilet; also her best friend was a huge gossip. I knew that since she wouldn't want to talk to me, she would go to her and…" he trailed off.

"You did the right thing" Kurt said from his position sitting next to him on the bed. He rubbed Harry's hand between his.

"I know" Harry said smirking in a vacant way. "It sucked, but I did what I could."

"Harry?" asked Kurt and tried to figure out the best way to phrase the next part. "Why would you give me a brooch that reminds you of your cheating ex-boyfriend?"

Harry laughed, before grabbing Kurt's hand more firmly. "You don't get it. It's not about Cedric at all. It's what the Hippogriff represents."

"Impossible love" repeated Kurt confused. "Forgive me for not being thrilled by the connections I am making."

With another laugh Harry leaned forwards and kissed Kurt unexpectedly, his sad mood fully replaced by a restless energy, he separated a second later and touched the brooch reverently.

"Don't you get it?" asked Harry breathlessly, moving his hands to cup his face and caress his cheeks. "Just the impossibility of love as a concept; any love. The idea that we can feel so much for another human being, that we care for them so much that we commit to share our lives together. That we can feel something so powerful for somebody else Kurt, don't you get how magnificently impossible it is?"

Kurt stared at Harry, taken aback by the passion and security in which he spoke.

"Please tell me you can see it, that you can see how impossible it is" said Harry moving to kneel in front of him, holding his hands in a tight grip, almost like he needed to ground himself. "Self-preservation is wired in every creature… but then something like love is added into the mix and it overrules every biological coding we have. Can you grasp how utterly amazing that is? That millions of years of evolution are overcome so effortlessly? That our first instinct can be to protect somebody else, to jump in the middle of danger, to not even think about it but react with the need to protect others… that losing them is so unthinkable to our own bodies?"

"Harry…" Kurt tried to stop him with a choked voice.

"No Kurt, just, just listen" Harry said excitedly. His eyes shining and his face alight with childlike hope. "That's what the impossibility of love represents to me, that something so unquantifiable and amazing exists, that we can all reach out to somebody and love… I honestly believe there's somebody out there for everybody, that there's a moment where you meet a person and you just, you just have to… to reach and that stranger becomes that person. That the possibility of love is there, just… do you see? Do you see how impossible that sounds? That somebody who you've never talked to could be so much to you if you just reach?"

Kurt opened his mouth, but Harry was already rambling away.

"Just look at us Kurt, we spent years existing, not even knowing about each other, living different lives on different ends of the world and look where we are now, look how much we feel and care for each other in such a little amount of time, doesn't it feel wonderfully, beautifully, impossible to you too?" asked Harry and with another joyful laugh reached out to kiss Kurt's lips, his forehead and went back to his previous position, kissing Kurt's hands and looking him straight in the eyes as he did, before carrying on.

"I don't know much in American history, but in 1954 there were over a thousand gay men in prison for homosexuality and in 1957 homosexuality stopped being prosecuted as a crime in England… that's 53 years Kurt! 54 years ago this would have been illegal back home and I know, fuck do I know, that there's places where it still is and that there's a long way to go before we can call it fair" he traced Kurt's cheek with his thumb, the tenderness contrasting the forceful way his words escaped him.

"We aren't going to always be accepted, but 53 years ago a step was made and each day there's a struggle to give one more step, but fuck Kurt, do you see?" Harry said almost begging him. "Do you see how impossible it sounds that in 53 years things have changed so drastically? I wish I could take you to London right now. That I could show you how different it is there, how nobody would give us a second look if I kissed you in the street… well, except some creepy girls that sometimes stare and giggle strangely fascinated… but do you see Kurt? How impossible love as a concept is?"

He stood up gesturing to the whole room. "Forget the name; forget that it's called love and think what it is, what it can do… what it makes people do. Love for a country, for ideals, for family and friends, for somebody. Something born from between two people, a something that lives inside you, impossible to control but that can control you, that makes you feel everything else at once. It makes you act irrational and that's… that's beautiful Kurt, because the thing that differentiates us from animals is that we can think and rationalize…" Harry laughed passing a hand through his hair and messing it up. "And the thing that makes us human is what makes use lose our mind."

"Can you believe how impossible, irrational, ironic that is?" Harry asked with boundless joy as he dropped to his knees in front of Kurt again. "Love is everything Kurt, it fuels passion and it can be so scary Kurt, so delightfully scary! The love we are building, the capacity to love we have, it scares people so much Kurt that they choose to hate us instead and this is why I don't care, this is why I can look them in the eye and genuinely don't care, because I find this… this fear so very inspiring and I pity them for not being able to embrace it…"

He kissed Kurt again, tracing his face and smiling.

"You said I didn't fear anything, but I fear that" Harry said as sincerely as he could. "I fear being paralyzed by fear, I'm afraid of letting fear rule my life and corrupt everything good about me. If fear can turn love into hate, it stands to reason that it can destroy everything I love… so I embrace it; I embrace fear and try to make the most of it every day. I know you put a brave front, you're good at that and I admire and envy how you have dealt with everything thrown your way, because I haven't kept the integrity and morals that you have, and that makes you so rare Kurt, so unique…"

Kurt's eyes widened, his lungs burning for air, but he was unwilling to let air ruin the moment.

"You literally take the high road in life, while me? Somebody strikes me, I hit back and if somebody ever lays a hand on you again, I will strike five times as hard. Even if it makes you horribly mad at me I will do it every time" promised Harry and Kurt raised his hand, touching his boyfriend's cheek to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Harry smiled, looking up at him and leaning into the touch. "From now on Kurt, if you're ever scared, I am here for you. I'll be happy if I can spend the rest of my life being there for you… anytime except Black Fridays because even I am not that fearless."

Kurt choked out a laugh, coming back into his body suddenly and realizing he was crying, that there were tears dropping out of his eyes and that his boyfriend kept catching them with his fingertips. Harry's hypnotic words had lulled him into a state of wonder where the only thing he could do was absorb everything about the boy in front of him.

"Do you see?" asked Harry smiling, his own eyes fogged; a three word question that was filled with so many others.

Do you get it now?

Do you understand what the Hippogriff represents?

Can you grasp the concept?

Can you see?

Harry opened his mouth probably to shower him with even more wisdom and feelings and Kurt couldn't take it.

He had dreamed of something like this, of love and what it would mean. He had fantasized about fingertips touching and being enough. Holding Blaine's hand had been a huge highlight in his teenager life. He felt greedy because those things weren't enough anymore. Harry was holding his hands and it wasn't enough.

It was painfully not enough.

He wanted to be surrounded by his arms and be kissed and loved and worshiped and feel everything he had felt during that speech but without the words. Tears kept falling down and he just let them. For the first time, he allowed himself to feel everything at once, every single thing he had ever wanted, to be accepted and loved by somebody, the pain of being different, the emotional scars and the physical ones, the fear and the courage he had to experience, everything that had almost broken him and the broken hopes he had drowned in every night to put himself back together.

This? Right now, Harry on his knees in front of him after having poured an avalanche of emotions and ideas and things and promises that Kurt had only ever dared to dream about, had expressed them so eloquently and passionately and intensely, so foolishly sure that love existed and that it was so powerful, that was now waiting, just waiting for Kurt to see… this? This was… it was everything.

It was everything he wanted.

"I… I am so glad that my life hasn't been candy and sunshine and just happiness" he said wincing at his voice. "I am just so glad Harry that when I ask myself what I did to deserve you, I can honestly say that I've survived and persevered, did my share of suffering and being alone and afraid, and that life's a bitch and she owes me… I was blind for so long, but now I see… you make me see, you arrogant, foolish…"

"Gryffindor" said Harry laughing with a few tears. "Arrogant foolish Gryffindor is the correct terminology…"

Kurt couldn't be bothered to ask what he meant, because Harry smiled beautifully and honestly, so Kurt allowed himself to feel everything again and cry freely because he knew Harry would stop him from crashing, would protect him and he was safe.

This time Harry didn't give him the space he needed to stop being overwhelmed, this time he pulled Kurt into his lap, arms coming firmly around him, allowing Kurt to hide his face in the crook of his neck and rocked them and Kurt cried because he could. Because everything that had happened to him was so worth it. Worth this moment where he knew he was safe and loved, worth being able to feel this way.

But mostly he cried because he could have missed it. Harry had reached out to him and he had pushed him away. But he hadn't given up, instead Harry reached out again and this was the result, and Kurt was going to keep reaching out to him too from now on and wait patiently for him…

"You're my Hippogriff Kurt" whispered Harry and Kurt cried and laughed at the same time.

IIIII

Blaine quickly made his way through the corridors of Dalton and entered a deserted bathroom. He made it to the shower stalls at the end and firmly closed the door. He sank until he was sitting in the corner, curled up and brought his left arm to hold his right shoulder. He bit the crook of his elbow, grabbing as much of the blazer fabric as he could and finally allowed the gut-wrenching sob he had been suppressing to exit.

He closed his eyes tightly, holding the tears as much as he could.

He hadn't meant to listen in, but he hadn't been able to just walk away, not from a moment so honest like that… and it hurt so much that the only thing he wanted right now was to go back to that room and be held like he imagined Kurt was being held.

- End Chapter 15 -

You know, if my fic goes down the gutter after this, I will still look back on it and feel accomplish on that one scene with Harry and Kurt…

Most of the advice Harry gives was taken from:

rateyourmusic list/ Kevvy/ how_to_be_a_music_snob

I'm afraid I am not enough of a musical snob to do it without help. (Also, what Harry says about the whoop, that's a quote from a movie). Pictures of the 4 guitars at my blog.

All the best,

SweetCaroline91