A/N: Hello, my loves! I am soooooo sorry that I took this long to update. I wasn't really in the right mindset to write, but I'm hopefully back for now. I hope this fairly long chapter makes up for my absence!
Keira-House M.D: Thank you! I'm glad you like it thus far!
evfangirl98: Thanks! :)
Ky: I'm so glad! I hope you continue to enjoy it!
Autumn DeMayne: Sorry for taking so long! I hope you like this latest chapter!
DragonsWillFly: Quinn can try to steal Hermione away as much as she wants, but we all know that Santana would never allow that ;) Plus, Hermione is far too in love with Santana to notice anyone else. Thanks as always for the review! :)
unexpected sabotage: Thank you so much! And as of now, Sunshine will not be making an appearance, but who knows, I could always change my mind!
TobiasFangor92: Gotta love some drama! And that is a great idea! I think I finally figured out how I'm going to incorporate her as well as some other season 4 characters so be on the look out for that in the sequel! But thank you anyway for the idea :)
Enjoy!
~Chapter 40~
The day of the benefit concert, Hermione was nervously pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace waiting for her friends to arrive.
"Princesa, calm down, they'll be here soon," Santana called out with a laugh, grabbing her girlfriend's hand and pulling her over to the couch.
"Sorry, love, you know how I get," sighed the wavy-haired brunette as she sat down on the other girl's lap. The Latina smiled at her and kissed her cheek, wrapping her arms around her. The two sat in a comfortable silence until green flames appeared and Harry Potter himself climbed out of the fireplace.
"Harry!" The former prefect squealed, throwing herself at the boy. He grinned happily before embracing her and spinning her around.
"You best watch yourself, Potter," Santana growled playfully, standing up to greet the messy-haired boy.
"It's great to see you too, Santana," Harry chuckled, wrapping an arm around the younger girl. "Oh, Mione, everyone else should be here soon. I wanted a few moments with you before you got bombarded."
A few minutes had passed and the apartment was filled with a group of about fifty people. After many hugs and kind words had been passed around, Hermione stood in front of her friends. "Thank you guys so much for doing this. And thank you for remembering to dress like Muggles and bringing American Muggle money. I did charm San's car to make it larger on the inside and appear normal on the outside, but we'll still have to make two trips. When we get there, we'll just pull around back and we can all pile out of it without too much suspicion," Hermione chuckled as she started ushering half of the group of wizards and witches out the door.
"Santana, thanks for driving," Ginny told her with a grateful smile as she settled into the passenger seat.
"Oh, it's no problem. Mia still doesn't really like to drive since the accident," she replied with a slight frown.
"Has she been sleeping ok?" The red-haired girl questioned with a tilt of her head.
"She has good nights and bad nights. I just wish there was more I could do."
"You've done so much for her already. Everyone can see that." Santana tried to believe the words the other girl had spoken, but the feeling that she was going to somehow let Hermione down would not disappear.
Eventually the entire group had arrived at the school and the young Gryffindor led them to the auditorium to purchase their tickets. The wavy-haired brunette couldn't help but gaze at the group fondly. She was catching up with Minerva when her phone buzzed. She read the text, smiled, and excused herself before rushing down the hallway to find Kurt giving Blaine a tour of the school.
"And there's an eager British woman charging right at us!" Kurt yelped as Hermione threw her arms around him.
"I've missed you guys so much," the brown-eyed girl murmured as she hugged Blaine.
"We've missed you too. And from what I can tell, Kurt misses this place and the New Directions," Blaine spoke with a warm smile directed at his boyfriend. Before he could respond, however, a menacing voice rang out from behind them.
"What the hell are you two doing here?"
"They're here for the benefit concert. Got a problem with that?" Hermione challenged, stepping in front of the couple. "What are you even doing here?"
"I was pumping iron in the gym when one of the guys told me that these two were here spreading their fairy dust all over the place," Karofsky snarled, glaring at the two Warblers.
"Would you just give it up? You can live whatever lie you want but don't pretend the four of us don't know what's really going on here."
"Exactly. You've hurt so many people because you're just a scared little boy. Now if you'll excuse us, we're going to go spend some time with people who are actually brave enough to be themselves."
"You don't know squat about me, carpet-muncher." Karofsky spat seconds before Hermione shoved him backwards. As soon as the football player regained his footing, he grabbed the British girl by the front of her clothes and lifted her up before someone pried them apart.
"Whoa, guys, cut it out!" Santana screamed as she pulled Hermione safely away from the angry boy.
"You're real brave with your fists, but you're a coward when it comes to the truth!"
"Truth about what?"
"It's none of your business, J-Lo."
"First of all, anything you do became my business when you decided to toss that slushy up in my grill not too long ago."
"I think I can take a couple of queers and a girl," the football player growled, reaching for Hermione again.
"Huh. Ok, here's what's going to go down. Two choices: you stay here and I crack one of your nuts, right or left that's your choice, or you walk away and live to be a douchebag another day. And also, you lay your hands on Hermione again and I will cut you with the razorblades I have all up in my hair."
"Why do you care so much, Lopez? Are you a lesbo too? Oh, I know, you're dating that freaky dyke, aren't you?" Fear shined in Santana's eyes, before she took a few steps away from the girl in question.
"What? No, of course not. That's fucking ridiculous. You're just an asshole. Now walk away before I ends you." As the Neanderthal stalked away, Hermione glanced at the raven-haired girl, hurt evident on her face.
"Um, thanks, Santana. Well, we'll leave you two alone to talk," Blaine murmured, placing a comforting hand on the British girl's shoulder before walking away with Kurt.
"Princesa, I'm sor—"
"You're ashamed of me," Hermione stated flatly, trying to keep her emotions in check.
"No, I'm not. You know I really care about you."
"You care about me?" The wavy-haired brunette questioned disbelievingly, throwing her arms up in the air. "Are you really that afraid of people outside of glee club finding out about us?"
"Well, yes. But, Mia, I'm not like you. I'm terrified of the looks and people talking behind my back. What's wrong with keeping us a secret?" The Latina questioned with a sigh, running a hand through her hair.
"Because it's not fair to either of us. I've been there, Santana, and I was miserable. I do not want to go back in the closet. I refuse to go back there!" Hermione cried out angrily. "After everything I've been through, I've learned that life is far too short to deny what truly makes you happy! Don't you see how mental you're being about this whole thing?"
"Why are you being so goddamn stubborn? No wonder Quinn dumped your ass!" The brown-eyed witch looked like she had been slapped across the face. "I don't want to lose my family over something as stupid as my sexuality, but I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
"I cannot believe you just said that to me," Hermione spoke as tears filled her eyes.
"It was your own damn fault. You pushed my buttons," grumbled the raven-haired girl. "Look, let's just forget about this fucking fight and go back to what we were. There's no harm in—"
"San, I'm sorry, but I can't forget about this. Not when you've let your true feelings about our relationship show."
"You cannot seriously be breaking up with me? No one breaks up with Santana fucking Lopez."
"I'm not breaking up with you, but I think we should go on a break until you feel more confident about who you are."
"Mia, please don't…"
"I love you, Santana Lopez, and I want the world to know that. Let me know when you feel the same way," Hermione murmured dejectedly before kissing the younger girl's cheek.
"Hey, Hermione, it's almost your turn to go up," Sam called out hesitantly, noticing the British girl's tears. "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah, Sammy," the wavy-haired brunette replied while wiping her eyes. "Let's go. Bye, San." As soon as the two disappeared, Santana finally let her own tears fall.
"What was going on back there, Herms?" Sam asked, wrapping an arm around his distraught friend.
"I don't really want to talk about it right now. We both said things that were incredibly hurtful. How's the show going though?" Hermione inquired, trying to change the subject.
"Really well! We just have you and Mercedes left. I really can't wait to see Mercedes perform. She has such an amazing voice," the blonde boy sighed wistfully.
"You really like her, don't you?" She questioned with a grin as the football player nodded with a blush. "Guess it's my time to get on up there. I'll see you after the show, Sammy." The boy wished her luck as Hermione put on her headset underneath her hat and glanced at the packed auditorium before walking out onto the stage. She danced gracefully around the stage as the introductory notes played out. She froze, her back facing the audience, as she began to snap before opening her mouth to sing.
"Hey Sister, Go Sister, Soul Sister, Go Sister.
Hey Sister, Go Sister, Soul Sister, Go Sister."
Hermione spun around quickly before beginning to dance around the stage again.
"He met Marmalade down in Old New Orleans
Struttin' her stuff on the street.
She said 'Hello,
Hey Joe, you wanna give it a go?'
"Gitchi Gitchi Ya Ya Ta Ta,
Gitchi Gitchi Ya Ya Here.
Mocha choca lata Ya Ya,
Creole Lady Marmalade.
"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
"He sat in her boudoir while she freshened up.
The boy drank all that magnolia-wine
On the black satin sheets oh I swear he started to freak.
"Gitchi Gitchi Ya Ya Ta Ta,
Gitchi Gitchi Ya Ya Here.
Mocha Choco Lata Ya Ya,
Creole Lady Marmalade.
"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
"Touching her skin feelin' silky smooth,
The color of cafe au lait.
Made the savage beast inside
Roar until it cried, more, more, more.
"Now he's back home doing 9 to 5
Living his grey flannel life,
But when he turns off to sleep
Old memories meet, more, more, more.
"Gitchi Gitchi Ya Ya Ta Ta,
Gitchi Gitchi Ya Ya Here.
Mocha Choco Lata Ya Ya,
Creole Lady Marmalade.
"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?
Creole Lady Marmalade."
As she finished her performance, the auditorium erupted into ear-splitting applause.
"Thank you! And now, ladies and gentlemen, for our final performance of the evening, I give you Miss Mercedes Jones singing Aretha Franklin's Ain't No Way!"
After the show had finished and the auditorium had emptied, the witches and wizards bid the former Gryffindor prefect farewell before apparating home. As she watched her friends leave, Hermione couldn't help but frown. Harry pulled her into the seat next to him and wrapped an arm around her.
"We all really miss you, Mione," The Boy-Who-Lived spoke quietly.
"I miss all of you too, Harry," the brown-eyed girl responded genuinely, placing her head on his shoulder.
"Have you thought about coming back at all?"
"Yes, but I've created a life here and I've grown to really care about my fellow glee club members as well as several other people. Not to mention, I love spending time with Will. He's the only family I've got left, Harry."
"I know, love. You know, I don't have Auror training over the summer. Will you think about coming to spend it with me?"
"I'd love that," Hermione smiled, quickly kissing his cheek.
"What else has you so upset?"
"I've forgotten how well you can read me," she sighed playfully. "It's Santana though. She wants to keep us a secret and I hate it. I mean, I understand from where she's coming. I guess I'm just scared that she'll throw me away in order to protect her reputation. Was I wrong in telling her that we should take a break?"
"Give her time, Mione. She's crazy about you. I think a break will help her realize that."
"What would I do without you?" Hermione questioned with a laugh as she wiped away a few tears.
"Probably lose your mind completely," the bespectacled boy responded with a smirk, earning a slap to the back of his head. "Oi. When did you become Snape?"
"Oh bugger off. I should get to the choir room though and let everyone know that we raised enough money for Nationals and The Brainiacs."
"There you go saving the world again. And you say I have a hero complex," Harry teased, ruffling her hair.
"I love you, Harry James Potter. Keep in touch, will you?"
"Of course. I love you too, Hermione Jean Granger." He embraced her one last time before kissing her forehead and apparating away. The remaining witch shook her head, grabbed the box of money, and finally headed towards the choir room.
"Hey, guys, thanks for all your help with putting this together. It definitely paid off! With the money from the kissing booth and the benefit concert, we have more than enough money for Nationals and The Brainiacs' trip to Detroit!" Hermione told them with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Tina, Mike, Brittany, and Artie all hurried up to her and thanked her profusely before Brittany initiated a group hug. The British girl locked eyes with Santana, who gazed at her guiltily before silently creeping out of the room.
"Hey, Herms, want to go out and celebrate?" Puck questioned as he walked up to her, Sam following silently behind him.
"That'd be great, guys," she responded tiredly, linking arms with the two boys. The trio walked out of the school when they heard a loud crack.
"What the hell was that?" The blonde exclaimed, looking around the parking lot.
"Oh, bloody hell," Hermione muttered as a familiar head of light blonde hair came charging forward. Waving his wand, he sent both football players soaring backwards into the walls of the school.
"Well, well, well, this is a new low for you, Granger. Associating with those even more filthy than yourself," the man called out, pointing his wand at her.
"Lucius, how on earth did you even find me?" The wavy-haired brunette retorted, pulling out her own wand.
"After Bellatrix went missing, no one was too surprised to find out that she went searching for you. Once we discovered what had happened to her, we realized that this pathetic little town must be the place where you were hiding. A few people sent me to finally put an end to you. You know you have quite a few enemies all over the world, Granger? Now, enough small talk. Crucio!" Hermione spun to avoid the curse, before throwing a Stupefy back at the Death Eater. The man threw up a shield just in time before aiming a Sectumsempra at the young witch. The Gryffindor shifted again, her arm being the only thing to get sliced by the curse. Glaring angrily at the blonde man, she wordlessly levitated a nearby dumpster and sent it soaring towards the dark wizard across from her. He jumped aside with a yelp, but not before his leg was pinned to the ground by the heavy object.
"Had enough yet, Malfoy?" Hermione yelled through the pain she was feeling on her arm. Her opponent regained his footing before casting Mobilicorpus at Sam's unconscious form. "Release him!"
"Very well," Lucius sneered, releasing the spell once the boy was at least thirty feet in the air.
"Aresto Momentum!" The wavy-haired brunette called out, slowing down her friend's body before it smashed into the pavement. The Death Eater took advantage of the distraction and cast another Sectumsempra at the girl, hitting her squarely in the chest. Hermione hissed before falling to the ground as Lucius threw one last spell at her.
"Crucio!" After watching the brown-eyed girl writhe in pain for several minutes, the eldest Malfoy released the spell. "There's plenty more where that came from, Mudblood," the blonde-haired man hissed before apparating away.
"Puck? Sam? What the hell?" A voice called out from the doorway of the school.
"Quinn?" The boy with the mohawk groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Where's Sam?" The hazel-eyed girl pointed to the lump that was slowly moving not too far from the other boy. "Hey, man, you ok?" He asked as he helped pull the younger boy up.
"Uhh, I think so. Where did that guy with the stick go?"
"I have no idea… Shit, where's Hermione?" Puck called out worriedly, frantically searching for the girl.
"Wait, you mean she was out here with you?" Quinn questioned worriedly, joining in on the search.
"Yeah, I saw her waving around a stick too before I lost consciousness," Sam murmured, rubbing his wrist. "Shit, I think it's broken."
"Go wait in the car, dude. Quinn and I will find Hermione." The other boy nodded and made his way over to Puck's truck.
"Puck!" The former Cheerio screamed from the other side of a dumpster lying on its side.
"What is it? Oh my fucking god," the boy paled as soon as he saw Quinn pressing her hands over several deep gashes covering Hermione's torso, trying to stop the bleeding.
"We need to get her to the hospital," the blonde girl cried out.
"N-n-no," the British girl whimpered. "T-t-take me home. Explain later."
"Herms, you're bleeding pretty badly," Puck told her with a frown.
"Please."
"Alright, alright, but you better not let me regret this." The football player gently picked up the girl he loved like a sister.
"Puck, why don't you just put her in my car since you don't have a backseat?" Quinn spoke quietly, fear evident on her face. The tall boy nodded gruffly and placed Hermione in his ex-girlfriend's car.
"Sam and I will follow you over to Schue's place, alright?"
The two cars quickly, yet carefully, made their way back to their choir director's apartment. Once they arrived, Puck hurried over to help Quinn get the heavily wounded girl inside.
"Bag," Hermione managed to get out pointing to her bedroom. Sam hurriedly found the bag and brought it over to the girl. The brown-eyed girl searched in her bag for something before pulling out an empty vial. "Fuck. C-c-call San." Quinn whipped out her cell phone and dialed the familiar number.
"Santana? Yeah, I don't want to be talking to you either, but something happened to Hermione and she's bleeding pretty heavily. No, she said she needed to come home. She tried to find something in that beaded bag of hers and then told us to call you. I don't know, just please get here soon."
The three teens sat around the wavy-haired brunette, who was slowly loosing consciousness.
"Fuck, where's Santana!" Puck called out angrily.
"Calm your tits, Puckerman, I'm here," the Latina snapped, running through the door. "Hermione, baby, what do you need?" She asked gently, forcing the injured girl to look her in the eyes.
"Floo Harry," she answered with a wince.
"But what about them?"
"J-just do it, please."
"You three will never repeat anything you see in here, got it?" Santana snarled making her way over to the mantle. The three quickly nodded, wondering what the other girl was doing. "Grimmauld Place!" She shouted after throwing some powder into the fireplace. She stuck her head into the green flames and yelled out, "Harry!"
"Santana?" The other three heard through the flames.
"You need to get over here. Now." Santana ordered, pulling her head out of the fireplace.
"What just happened?" Sam inquired, rapidly blinking his eyes. The raven-haired girl ignored his question, shifting her gaze from the fireplace to a now shivering Hermione. Seconds later, a boy climbed out of the fireplace causing Quinn to shriek and jump back into Puck's arms.
"Santana? What's go— Oh, Mione," the green-eyed boy let out sadly, pulling out a stick. He pointed it at her and started murmuring, "Vulnera Sanentur. Vulnera Sanentur. Vulnera Sanentur." The four non-magical teens watched in amazement as the bleeding stopped and the wounds knitted themselves together. The bespectacled boy rummaged through Hermione's beaded bag and pulled out a vial of red-colored liquid before tipping it into the healing girl's mouth. After a few moments of utter silence, Hermione groaned and sat up wearily.
"Bloody Malfoy, if I ever get my hands on him, I'll rip his throat out," she grumbled angrily. "Thanks, for saving my neck there, Harry," she said with a pained smile, hugging the boy next to her.
"I swear, I'm starting to think you're more accident prone than I am," he laughed quietly, wiping away a few tears that had fallen. "Now I believe we have some explaining to do."
"Um, Sam, Quinn, Puck, I know you have a lot of questions about everything you saw tonight, but I'll try to make it simple. Erm, I'm a witch," Hermione spoke quietly, waiting for a reaction.
"Wh-wh-what?" Quinn finally sputtered. "That's impossible!"
"Oh quiet down, Tubbers. How else would you explain everything you saw here tonight?" Santana said with a roll of her eyes, finally moving away from Hermione. "I did my part, I gots to go now," she huffed, hurrying out of the apartment.
"You're really a witch?" Sam questioned, his eyes wide. "That's so cool!"
"I'm glad you think so," the British girl chuckled, rubbing her arm where the gash used to be.
"So if you're a witch, does that mean that the dude who attacked us was a wizard?" Puck asked, nervously pacing around the apartment.
"Yes. He's a dark wizard by the name of Lucius Malfoy," Hermione grumbled. "That bloody little bastard."
"Mione, calm down," Harry urged. "You're still very weak."
"Sorry, Harry. Oh, are you two alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bump on the head," Puck informed her, finally sitting down.
"Um, I think my wrist is fractured or broken, but other than that, I'm alright," Sam told her with a shrug. Harry motioned him forward and grasped the swollen wrist.
"Ferula," he spoke, gently tapping the boy's arm. Soon bandages and a splint appeared and secured themselves around the blonde boy's injury.
"That was way too awesome!" Sam called out happily, waving his now bandaged arm around.
"Quinn? Aren't you going to say anything?" Hermione inquired with a frown.
"I'm not gonna lie... It's a lot to take in, but I'm just so glad you're alright," the other girl said softly, grasping the young witch's hand.
"Thank, Merlin," the brown-eyed girl sighed. "You three have to promise not to say anything to anyone though, alright?" They nodded seriously before taking turns asking about magic and the wizarding world.
"Hey, Hermione, why didn't Satan stay longer?" Quinn finally asked with her infamous eyebrow raise.
"That's a long story…" she answered sadly, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.
A/N, part II: Song was "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle. I hope y'all liked this chapter. Hopefully, I'll be able to get another chapter up in a couple of days. Please feel free to offer any feedback, I always love hearing your opinions! :)