A/N: Hello! Thank you again for all of your wonderful feedback. Y'all are truly wonderful!
bookfreak25: Aww, yay, I'm glad! And thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy this story :)
Enjoy!
~Chapter 20~
Previously:"You look exhausted. Did your nightmares come back?" Santana whispered so no one else could hear her. The British girl nodded gloomily before burying her face in her hands. "Come to my place tonight. My parents are still gone and you know how much I hate sleeping alone."
"Yeah, you are kind of a chicken," Hermione chuckled before facing the dark-eyed girl next to her. "Thank you." The Latina shrugged and bumped her shoulder gently against the wavy-haired brunette's before moving back up to sit next to Brittany.
A few seconds later, Will entered the room dragging a beaming Miss Holliday behind him. "Alright, guys, we've decided to do a mash-up ofSingin' in the Rainand Rihanna'sUmbrellafor our group number this week!" The group cheered enthusiastically and immediately began working as the two teachers locked eyes and shared a smile.
Hermione was walking down the hall when she noticed Karofsky stalking up to Kurt. She saw the football player poke him in the chest and rip the wedding cake topper out of his hands before shoving past him. As the wavy-haired brunette hurried up to the trembling boy, so did her uncle.
"Are you ok, love?" Hermione asked him quickly. The blue-eyed boy shook his head, fear evident on his face.
"Alright, let's go to the principal," the glee teacher informed him calmly. "Mia, go to class," he ordered his niece as he ushered Kurt away. The British girl stared at them helplessly before solemnly retreating to class.
That afternoon during glee rehearsal, their teacher was running late as usual. As Hermione walked in, she noticed how distraught Kurt was looking, so she went over to kneel in front of him.
"Hon, please tell me what he said or did to you that has you this upset," the British girl questioned him softly. He eventually whispered into Hermione's ear what the jock had threatened and the brunette shot up. "His ass is mine," she growled before storming off to the boys' locker room as the group stared at her in shock.
"Guys, don't just stand there, go after her!" Rachel yelled to the other football players, who hastily got up and ran after the girl. The boys reached the locker room as Hermione slammed Karofsky's locker shut and opened her mouth to address him.
"Leave Kurt alone," she muttered darkly.
"Do you mind, homo, I'm changing."
"Like I'd be interested in what you've got," the shorter girl scoffed. He turned to walk away, but the brown-eyed girl grabbed his arm. "I'm serious, Karofsky!"
"Oh yeah?"
"From now on you're going to leave him alone," Artie called out, wheeling up behind Hermione.
"Look, if he wants to be a homo, that's up to him, but don't rub it in my face," he spat before shoving Artie into Mike causing both boys to fall to the ground.
"Karofsky, don't forget that I know your secret. Would you really want that to get out?" She asked him with a smirk before he stepped up to her and glared down at her.
"If you know what's good for you, you won't tell anyone or else I'll have to show you what it's like to be with a real man," he threatened quietly. Before anyone could react, Hermione lunged at the football player and tackled him to the ground. He shoved her off of him before they both stood up. "You're going to pay for that, bitch." He shoved her into the lockers and swung his fist around until it crashed into the girl's face. She glared at him before kneeing him in the groin causing him to collapse to the ground with a groan. Hermione got on top of him and started repeatedly hitting him in the face. He eventually gained the upper hand and flipped them over to pin her to the ground before he began throwing punches left and right. Suddenly, a door slammed open and Coach Bieste rushed in. She grabbed Karofsky off the girl and threw him into the lockers. Hermione sprang up, spat some blood on the floor, and tried lunging at him again.
"What the hell is going on here?" Bellowed the football coach as she held apart the two teens. No one said anything. "Fine. Karofsky go get cleaned up and start running laps until I tell you to stop. Hermione, you and the rest of the glee members better get back to the choir room." The male members of the New Directions led the fuming girl out of the locker room and back to glee rehearsal.
"Oh my god, what happened to you?" Rachel exclaimed as soon as they set foot into the choir room.
"Relax, I'm fine," she spoke tensely before sitting next to Santana, who pulled out a t-shirt and immediately began wiping the blood off the other girl's face.
"Brit, go get the ice pack out of the first aid kit," the dark-haired cheerleader ordered kindly. The blonde nodded and ran to retrieve the ice pack.
"You should've seen her!" Mike shouted as he put his arm around Tina. "Our girl was like a wild animal!"
"Yeah, and she totally kicked Karofsky's ass," Artie praised.
"You don't know how hard it was for me not to jump in there!" Puck shouted angrily.
"Where the hell were you, Finn?" The Latina inquired, not looking away from the British girl.
"I, uh, got held up by a teacher. I totally would've given him the beat down if I would've been there though," he spluttered, shifting uncomfortably.
"The fact is, it shouldn't have gone down without you, Finn. You should've been leading the charge."
"Lay off Finn, everyone," Kurt finally spoke up. "It isn't his problem. It's none of your problems actually. Thank you for what you did, especially Hermione."
"What's going on?" Mr. Schue inquired when he finally walked into the rom. "Mia, what happened to your face?" He cried out alarmingly.
"She stood up to Karofsky," Quinn muttered softly.
"And so did all of the other football players in glee. Well, not Finn," added Tina.
"Is everyone ok? Do we all need to go talk to Principal Sylvester?"
"Nah, I got in some pretty good shots too, so we can just call it even…for now," Hermione replied seriously. "And maybe this will send a warning to that meat-head to get him to back off Kurt." The glee director sighed and walked over to Kurt, who had opened up his wedding binder.
"Are you ok, Kurt?" The brown-haired boy nodded. "Alright, guys, let's take our places. We've got a wedding to prepare for." The group began rehearsing, but no one could focus on the choreography. "Ok, that's a wrap for today. But first thing tomorrow morning, we are going to be hard at work." As Will stood out in the hall, watching his niece walk away, Sue crept up behind him.
"She's tough, William, I like her."
"She shouldn't have done what she did though. Karofsky could have seriously hurt her."
"But he didn't. And that should tell you something." She paused. "I'm going to go now. Being this close to your hair cannot be good for my health."
Meanwhile, Hermione was walking down the hallway with Santana and Brittany.
"You are amazing, you know?" Santana finally murmured, grabbing the older girl's hand.
"No, I'm not. I lashed out irrationally. I was being stupid," the British girl replied uncomfortably. Brittany looked at her with confusion written all over her face. Santana noticed the wavy-haired brunette's discomfort and looked at her blonde friend.
"Hey, Brit, why don't you go head on out to the field. I'll be out there in a few."
"Ok, San. Bye, Hermy!" The dancer hugged each girl before bouncing off.
"I hate it when she calls me that," Hermione chuckled, watching the cheerleader walk away.
"What did Karofsky say that made you get that physical?" The Latina questioned softly.
"He, um, he said something about showing me what it was like to be with a real man and it just triggered some things from the past," the older girl answered, refusing to meet the raven-haired girl's eyes.
"Oh, princesa, come here," Santana murmured, pulling the slightly taller girl into her arms. Letting out a shaky breath, Hermione buried herself in the other girl's protective embrace.
A few days had passed and the New Directions were getting ready for Burt and Carole's wedding. Hermione slipped away from the rest of the glee club to make sure none of her scars were showing. When she reached an empty room, she sighed at her reflection in the mirror; so much had changed since she last wore this red dress. She shook her head, withdrew her wand from her purse, and reapplied the glamor charm on her left arm.
"Hermione?" A raspy voice called out from the hallway. The British girl froze before shoving her wand back into her bag.
"Hey, Santana, I didn't see you there," she spoke quickly.
"What're you doing?"
"…making sure my scars weren't showing." The Latina frowned.
"Hermione, you are gorgeous, even with your scars. Plus, you make an adorable panda," she informed her with a smirk pointing at her still prominent black eye. The wavy-haired brunette laughed and hugged the slightly shorter girl.
"You don't know how amazing you really are," Hermione murmured with a shy grin.
"Santana, Hermione, it's show time!" A voice sounded out from the doorway.
"Coming, Brit!" The British girl yelled back before releasing the other girl. "You look really beautiful today. Just thought you should know." As she walked out, the Latina couldn't help but let a genuine smile show.
After the wedding party's entrance to Marry You, Hermione took her place in between Brittany and Santana. As she listened to the vows, the brunette's eyes welled up with tears as Burt and Carole told each other just how much they loved each other, reminding her so much of her own parents. Several minutes later at the reception, Hermione glumly poked the food on her plate as she watched several couples dance.
"Hermione Granger…?"
"Hm? Oh, hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hummel. Congratulations. You two are a very beautiful couple," she informed them sincerely.
"You are too sweet," Carole said to her truthfully. "But, actually Burt and I just wanted to come over and thank you for standing up for Kurt the way you did. You don't know how much that means to us."
"Oh, it was nothing, Mrs. Hummel. I just did what I knew was right."
"Well, you are a very courageous young woman. I hope you don't mind, but Kurt told us about a lot of the things you've been through. We just wanted to tell you that you are more than welcome at our home if you ever need some guidance. Carole and I both know what it's like to lose someone you love, so feel free to come and talk to us whenever you want," Burt told her warmly.
"Thank you. I don't know what to say. I mean, I love Will more than anything, but he's naïve in a lot of ways and you both remind me so much of my parents." The three continued talking for a while until someone cleared his or her throat.