A/N: Here's the latest chapter! Oh, shit, I just remembered that I forgot to put the name of the song from the last chapter in the author's note. My bad. It was "Calling All Angels" by Train. Um, I'll try to get another chapter up in a few days, but I'm going to Chicago for the first time this weekend!

Thank you once again for all of your lovely feedback. It brings a smile to my face.

Ok, enough of my rambling. Enjoy! :)

~Chapter 12~

Previously: "What are your nightmares about?"

"The night my parents were killed, the final battle, my time with the enemy. All of them have that deranged woman in them though," the brunette muttered gloomily.

"She doesn't sound like a very pleasant person…"

"Yeah, she's so bloody insane," Hermione chuckled humorlessly. "Can we stop talking about this for now?"

"Sure, honey. By the way, your performance today was incredibly moving. You definitely got the lesson this week."

"Thanks, Will," she responded with a genuine smile before wrapping her arms around her uncle.

A few more weeks had passed and Hermione was sitting in glee waiting for Puck and her uncle to arrive. She turned around, trying to meet the gaze of the Latina and was shocked to find a glare directed at her from the girl in question. Before she could ask Brittany what got Santana's knickers in a twist, she was interrupted by the frantic flailing of Will.

"Alright, let's gather 'round. Sorry, I'm late guys. I was with Principal Figgins," he paused before letting out a sigh. "Bad news, guys. Puckerman's in juvie."

"What!" Shrieked Hermione, momentarily forgetting about the moody raven-haired girl behind her.

"It really was just a matter of time," laughed Tina as several more of their peers joined in.

"What did he do?" Quinn asked, disbelief shining in her voice.

"He drove his mom's Volvo through the front of a convenience store and drove off with the ATM," the choir director responded slowly.

"And when is he getting out?" Rachel asked frantically.

"Unknown," the curly-haired man stated with a frown.

"He really might be the dumbest person on this planet and that's coming from me," snickered the blonde dancer.

"C'mon, guys. Puck's not that bad of a guy. He saved me from Karofsky my first week here and he barely even knew me. Let's cut him some slack."

"A guy who put his needs before the team's? We need his voice and his bad boy stage presence," Finn retorted angrily.

"We can't look at this as a crisis. It's an opportunity," Mr. Schue smiled encouragingly.

"For what? Further embarrassment and humiliation?"

"For looking for new members!" The students groaned and began murmuring to themselves.

"Quick, you're losing them, Will. Give us our assignment already," Hermione called out from behind Quinn.

"Alright, alright. Question for the group. What's a duet?" He questioned enthusiastically.

"A blanket," Brittany answered seriously, earning a smile from the British girl.

"Nice try, love," she whispered to the ditzy Cheerio before facing her uncle yet again.

"A duet is when two voices join to become one. Great duets are like a great marriage. The singers compliment each other, push each other to be better. So, this week, I want you to pair up and sing a duet. And since you all seemed to love our Defying Gravity diva-off, I'm making this a competition," the teacher informed them with mirth filled eyes.

"What's the winner get?"

"Dinner for two on me at…BreadstiX!" At this, everyone started talking excitedly about how they needed to win.

"Uh, what the bloody hell is BreadstiX?" Inquired the wavy-haired brunette, confusion lacing her beautiful features.

"Only like the best restaurant ever! They are legally forbidden to stop bringing you breadsticks!" Santana snapped matter-of-factly.

"Ok, ok, I get it. BreadstiX is a big deal around here. Don't bite my sodding head off."

"I totally love the way you talk," Brittany informed the older girl with a wink as Santana rolled her eyes.

"Uh, thanks, Brit," chuckled the brown-eyed girl.

"Alright, guys, back on track. Since we have an odd number of people, someone is either going to have to sing with me or figure something else out." The group began eagerly planning in hushed tones and Hermione tried yet again to meet Santana's gaze, but the Latina continued to ignore her. As the group headed out the door after the bell rang, Hermione ran after the feisty Cheerio.

"Santana! Wait up!"

"What?" Spat the dark-haired girl venomously.

"Whoa, what the hell did I do to you?" The older girl asked raising her hands in the air to calm the Cheerio down. The other girl just glared at her in response, startling the British teen. "Ok…well, I was wondering if you'd like to be my duet partner," she asked with a shy smile.

"The answer's no, Granger. I actually want to win this thing," Santana snarled before storming off. Hermione stood there speechless, watching her walk away until she disappeared from her sight. The Gryffindor frowned and began to walk off dejectedly. Had she been paying attention, she would have been aware of the blonde-haired girl following behind her.

"Hermione," the girl called out.

"Yeah? Oh, hey, Quinn."

"Be my duet partner?" The head cheerleader inquired shyly.

"I'd love to," the brown-eyed girl replied with a genuine smile. The hazel-eyed girl beamed and grabbed the British girl's hand to pull her to the auditorium.

Once there, the blonde sat down at the piano, forcing Hermione to sit down beside her. The British girl began playing the intro of an unknown song while Quinn just watched her in silence. After a few moments, the younger girl opened her mouth to speak.

"Did you compose that?"

"Uh, yeah, I did. It helps keep my mind off of the past, you know?"

"Yeah, I completely understand that. I threw myself into photography after I gave up Beth," she replied, choking on the last syllable. Hermione stopped playing and wrapped an arm around the upset girl, pulling her further into her side.

"You know you did the right thing," the wavy-haired brunette murmured soothingly. "Who knows maybe when you're older, the woman who adopted her will let you be a part of Beth's life? I mean, anyone would be lucky to have you in his or her life."

"Do you always know the right thing to say?" Quinn spoke with a watery smile.

"It's a gift," Hermione responded with a wink. "I think I know a great song for us to do," she mused aloud.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"Have you ever seen the movie Once?" When the blonde shook her head no, the British girl jumped up and grabbed the other girl's hand. "C'mon then. We're going back to my place and watching this film. It's a beautiful story. You'll love it," she informed her with a grin. In their rush to get out of the auditorium, they failed to notice the envious stare from the back row.

After Santana marched away from the British girl, she poked her head out from around the corner to see Quinn grab Hermione's hand and drag her to the auditorium. She glanced around to make sure she was alone before following the two girls. As she sat down in the row farthest away from the stage, the raven-haired girl couldn't help but shoot daggers at the blonde who now had the gorgeous brunette's arm around her. When she saw the way Hermione's face lit up as she mentioned something, she began muttering angrily to herself in Spanish and almost lost it completely when the British girl grasped the head cheerleader's hand to pull her to god knows where. Once they were gone, a now fuming Santana remained in the darkened theater for a few moments. She whipped out her phone and sent a text before standing up and storming off to her car.

Several minutes later, Santana found herself outside of the Pierce household. As soon as the blue-eyed dancer opened the door, the Latina dragged her up to her bedroom before shoving her down onto the bed. She began heatedly making out with a more than willing Brittany, desperately trying to push the thoughts of a certain wavy-haired brunette out of her mind.

A/N, part II: Ok, please don't hate me! I don't know if you guys are Hermione/Santana fans or Hermione/Quinn fans, but I promise you it's not going to be this back-and-forth thing for the entire story, she will end up with one of them eventually and it will be for the long-run (unless I decide to be mean, but that's not really in my nature.)

The next chapter is the second part of "Duets"!