A/N: Well, after tonight's disaster of an episode, I worked incredibly hard on this chapter, so I hope y'all like it!
Mummification: Thank you again! I agree that Finn/Rachel are annoying, so they aren't really ever going to be a focal point (from what I can remember about the future chapters). I hope you enjoy the Santana/Hermione scenes in this chapter!
Enjoy! :)
~Chapter 23~
Previously: The next afternoon, she was eagerly waiting to hear from Kurt. All of a sudden, she felt her phone buzz and couldn't help but laugh quietly when she read Blaine's text.
"You told him about our weakness, didn't you? ;)"
"Maybe… Does that mean he got it?"
"Well…yes! He did a great job. We were all very impressed!"
"Yes!" Hermione squealed aloud causing the rest of her Spanish class to look at her inquisitively. "Sorry, Will, won't happen again," she said to him, turning a light shade of pink.
"Be sure that it doesn't, Mia," the curly-haired man chuckled before going back to his lesson wondering why on earth his niece was doing a happy-dance in the middle of his class.
Will entered his niece's room the morning of their competition to find the girl staring at a picture of her parents with a forlorn expression on her face.
"They would be so proud of you, you know," the curly-haired man murmured as he sat down next to the brown-eyed girl.
"I miss them so much, Will," Hermione cried out softly as her uncle wrapped his arms around her.
"I know you do, sweetheart. I miss them too. You do not know how much I wish I could do something to lift some of that burden off of your shoulders. You have been through far too much at such a young age," he responded with a sigh as tears filled his own eyes.
"They should've been here today," the young witch whispered brokenly, burying her face into her uncle's chest.
"You know they're watching you from wherever they are, honey. The song you picked is so beautiful and you perform it so very well."
"You think so?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Would I lie to you?"
"Yes. But that's beside the point. You need to get out, so I can get ready for this silly little competition," the wavy-haired brunette called out melodramatically as she pulled her uncle up and playfully shoved him out of the room and closed the door.
Several minutes later, Hermione exited her room wearing the silver and white dress the group had picked out for Sectionals.
"Wow, you look beautiful, Mia," Will told her genuinely as he straightened his tie. "Are you ready to go?" The girl nodded with a smile and they made their way to the car to meet up with the rest of the New Directions at the school.
"And now for our second performance of the program, from Dalton Academy in Westerville, the Warblers!" Hermione beamed as the young men began singing Hey, Soul Sister. After they finished their first number, Hermione was the first person to jump up from her seat and cheer before everyone else joined in. Blaine winked at her and got into place for their next song. Kurt took a deep breath and stepped in front of his fellow Warblers and opened his mouth to sing Lady Gaga's Brown Eyes. Once he hit the last note, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause.
"We love you Kurt!" Hermione yelled with a huge smile directed at the blushing boy.
Several minutes later, the New Directions were sitting in the green room preparing for their performance. Sam was trying to comfort a panic-stricken Quinn, Artie cornered Brittany demanding to know why she cheated on him, and Hermione was pacing back and forth frantically.
"Whoa, Hermione, calm down," chuckled Puck as he put his arms on the shorter girl's shoulders. "You're going to walk a hole in the carpet. What's wrong?"
"I'm going mad. I can't do this. Rachel should be singing this solo, not me!" The British girl replied while throwing her arms up in the air.
"Rachel's had plenty of solos. Don't tell her I said this, but I think we lost Regionals last year because the judges were sick of hearing her voice. And Finn's too," he informed her with a wink while wrapping his arm around her. The two continued chatting quietly until their choir director walked in with a large smile.
"Guys, I am so proud of you. I know the past week has had a lot of ups and downs, but I want you all to think back to where you were this time last year. In this green room, no set list, no choreography, no chance in hell of winning. But you did win. Because you did it together." After the glee director finished his pep talk, the lights flickered, informing the group that they needed to get up on stage. As they all filed out of the room, Hermione became filled with terror once again. When Puck and Santana were walking out of the door, they both noticed that the wavy-haired brunette was frozen in place. The boy with the mohawk moved to approach his friend, but was stopped by the Latina murmuring that she'd go talk to her. The football player nodded knowingly before hurrying to catch up with Mike and Tina.
"Hey, you ready?" The raven-haired cheerleader asked the older girl as she walked over to her. The British girl nodded stiffly. "Are you sure…?"
"Well, this time last year, I was on the run from a terrorist organization, so this should be a piece of cake, right?" Hermione inquired nervously.
"You'll be amazing. I'm sure of it. Even though none of us know what song you're performing," Santana teased as she linked her arms with the taller girl's and led her onto the stage.
"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. I'm sure none of you are even going to know what I'm singing," smirked the British teen.
"Ouch. Give us a little more credit than that," the Cheerio responded playfully as they finally reached their destination where the stage manager was motioning for them to hurry up.
"Bloody hell, I guess I have to get up there," whimpered Hermione.
"Good luck," the Latina murmured before embracing the trembling girl. "I know you'll make us all so proud, princesa, especially me." Hermione nodded again as Santana pulled back and took her place behind the second curtain. The wavy-haired brunette glanced at her fellow teammates, took a deep breath, and headed towards her seat at the piano. She closed her eyes and began playing as the outer curtain rose.
"Walking up the hill tonight,
When you have closed your eyes.
I wish I didn't have to make
All those mistakes and be wise.
Please try to be patient
And know that I'm still learning.
I'm sorry that you have to see
The strength inside me burning.
"But where are you my angel now?
Don't you see me crying?
And I know that you can't do it all,
But you can't say I'm not trying.
I'm on my knees in front of him,
But he doesn't seem to see me.
With all his troubles on his mind,
He's lookingright through me.
And I'm letting myself down satisfying you.
And I wish that you could see
That I have my troubles too.
"Looking at you sleeping,
I'm with the man I know.
I'm sitting here weeping
while the hours pass so slow.
And I know that in the morning,
I'll have tolet you go.
And you'll be just a man,
Once I used to know.
But for these past few days,
Someone I don't recognize.
This isn't all my fault.
When will you realize?
"Looking at you leaving,
I'm looking for a sign."
After she sang out the last note, the audience burst into deafening applause causing Hermione to smile and stand up.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are the New Directions!" The brown-eyed girl informed the crowd. As they cheering slowed down, she moved into place seconds before Sam and Quinn moved up front to sing I've Had the Time of My Life.
During the performance, as the remaining members danced and sang in the background, Hermione couldn't help but notice their incredible chemistry. Once the song was finished, the crowd once again began to cheer loudly for the teens and eagerly quieted down in anticipation for the group's final number. Hermione locked eyes with Santana and gave her a reassuring smile as the music started for Valerie. The crowd showed their appreciation for the Latina as well as the two dancers leading the group with a standing ovation and booming applause. After Santana belted out the last note, the curtain lowered and she was immediately hit by the force of Hermione throwing her arms around her.
"San, you were absolutely brilliant!" The British girl gushed as she lifted her up and spun her around in a circle.
"Me? Did you not hear yourself?" She made sure no one was listening before she continued. "You made me feel something I've never felt before," the Latina replied honestly causing the wavy-haired brunette to turn a light hue of pink .
"I wasn't that great," Hermione mumbled. "You, however, are simply stunning to watch. You become a completely different person when you perform and I love every second of it," the older girl told her sincerely while meeting her gaze. Santana gave her a rare, genuine smile and raised her hand to gently caress the other girl's cheek. They leaned in closer to each other, their lips centimeters apart, when someone coughed lightly behind them.
"What do you want, Fabray?" The dark-haired cheerleader snarled as the wavy-haired brunette pulled back slightly to turn and look at the blonde-haired girl.
"Hermione, you did a really great job. And I, um, just wanted to apologize for everything I said to you," the head cheerleader muttered shyly.
"It's ok, Quinn. You and Sam sounded great together, too. You should really try to get to know him. He may be a complete dork, but he's one of the sweetest guys you'll ever meet," Hermione told her with small smile.
"Yeah, I just might have to," the hazel-eyed girl replied, looking fondly at the blonde boy before walking back over to him. Before the British girl could say anything, the Latina spun her around quickly so they were facing each other again.
"Now where were we?" Santana questioned huskily, leaning in towards Hermione for the second time.
"Ok, guys, they're about to announce the winners!" Will shouted out to his kids as he ushered the group back onto the stage. Santana growled and began to pout, earning a chuckle from the taller girl. The New Directions gathered around each other, with Will in front, between the Warblers and the Hipsters.
"And now this year's head judge, Associate Director of the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles, Mr. Pete Sosnowski!" The announcer called out as a balding man fumbled onto the stage.
"Thank you. And thank you all the groups who performed here today. We all had a serious good time. You know what else is a serious good time? Taking two minutes to save a life by filling out an organ donor card because it's never too late to donate," the awkward man stated with a chuckle.
"Oh, dear god," grumbled Hermione softly, making Santana snicker and squeeze her hand.
"Drumroll please. In third place, the Hipsters! And now, the winner of this year's West-Central Sectionals is…it's a tie! Congratulations, you are all going to the Regionals!" The two show choirs began jumping up and down and screaming as they hugged each other. As the New Directions were celebrating, Hermione ran over to the Warblers and gave them all a hug.
"You were wonderful, Hermione!" Blaine told her enthusiastically.
"Oh, I wasn't nearly as good as you guys," she responded sheepishly.
"Hermione! You've got to have more confidence in yourself, honey! Your performance almost brought me to tears," Kurt informed her honestly.
"Blimey, guys. I think you are both being blind to how amazing each of your performances were!" She beamed as she hugged the two yet again.
"Ahem. I believe I never got my congratulatory hug," a raspy voice murmured from behind the British girl.
"Sorry, Lopez," she replied with a roll of her eyes before pulling the Latina into her arms. "Here you go. Happy now?"
"Mmhmm," the younger girl purred, relaxing into the other girl's embrace. After a few moments, she pulled away with a satisfied smirk and walked over to Brittany who was wheeling Artie around in a celebratory circle.
"Well, well, well, this is an interesting development," Kurt mused out loud with a wicked grin.
"What the bloody hell are you going on about?" Hermione inquired while running a hand through her hair.
"You and Satan of course!" The blue-eyed boy stated with wide eyes.
"What? We're just...friends?" She answered, trying to convince herself of the validity of that statement as well as the others. "And don't call her that!"
"Just friends, eh?"
"Kurt, leave her alone," Blaine chuckled, taking in the flustered appearance of his female companion.
"I just call 'em like I see 'em," the tall boy responded with a shrug of his shoulders, before looking fondly at the shorter Warbler.
"I could do the same thing, love," Hermione teased, looking between the pair knowingly before rejoining her teammates.
A/N, part II: Song is "The Hill" by Marketa Irglova and it is an absolutely beautiful song that I highly recommend.
Next chapter is the first part of "A Very Glee Christmas" and you know what that means, right? Someone from Hermione's past is going to be making an appearance soon! Once again, thank you to everyone who has given this story a chance. You all truly make my day with your reviews/favorites/alerts.