Owl Post

Chapter 1

Blaine circled the pitch, watching his teammates zip past far below. The only thing brighter than their canary yellow Quidditch robes was the edge of the rising sun just peaking up over the distant castle. As much as he loved Quidditch, Blaine despised being up this early on a Sunday. Unfortunately, the Slytherin and Gryffindor captains had carried over from last term, which meant their training schedules had been decided five months ago, whereas Hufflepuffs hadnt.

Mike Chang, their new Captain and one of Blaines best friends, had picked their new time slot, which meant five in the morning practices instead of evenings after dinner. For Mike, evenings were exclusively reserved by his girlfriend, Tina, and his tower of N.E.W.T. level homework. There was also the added benefit of a longer time slot, but Blaine liked to pretend that his early morning wakeup call was the fault of Mikes selfish need for romance.

"Oi, Anderson! Stop dawdling around up there!"Mike hollered up to him. He neatly pulled out of a dive and tossed the Quaffle off to Wes Montgomery, one of the teams Chasers.

"Ah, leave him be," Nick called across the pitch, twirling his Beaters bat. "We all know how much Blaine likes a good bit of wood between his legs in the morning."

As the rest of the team chortled, Blaine grimaced, then turned his broom around and shot straight at Nick, veering off at the last second to avoid a collision. It was, however, close enough to startle Nick, sending the brunette tumbling sideways off his broom and into the mud.

More laughter followed Blaines stunt as Nick spluttered through a mouthful of goop.

"I prefer two bits of wood, actually," Blaine corrected him. "One of my own, and a willing volunteers."

Mike swooped down to where Blaine was hovering over Nick. "All right, all right! Thats enough mucking around," Mike ordered. "The sooner you catch the Snitch, the sooner we all get to eat, yeah?"

There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the team. Blaine cast his eyes around the pitch as he flew back over their practice. Hed mostly been waiting for the sun to rise enough to help his vision. Now it was high enough that a few rays were filling the stadium with enough light that would hopefully reflect off the little golden ball so that he could spot it. Blaine spent the next five minutes swooping around and darting in and out of his teammates for a few plays. Several times he thought hed spotted the Snitch, but it was only Wess wristwatch.

Down below him, Jeff groaned and rubbed his stomach. "Hurry it up, Blaine, or Im going to eat my bat."

"Really? I didnt know you had a think for wo–"

A flash of gold zipped by Jeffs head as Blaine glanced over. Without a second thought, he tilted his broom and dived, streaking across the pitch after the glimmering speck as Jeff shrieked and tumbled out of the way.

"That doesnt mean Ill eat your wood!" Jeff bellowed, hanging upside down from his broomstick.

Blaine gave chase to the Snitch, following its winding path through the other players until he finally cut it off on a curve. The balls little wings struggled fiercely as Blaines fingertips closed around it, and a chorus of whoops started up below.

"Yes! Breakfast time!" Nick roared. He almost crashed as he slammed into the grass and raced off towards the distant castle, broom over his shoulder and Jeff a few steps behind him.

Laughing, Blaine flew over to Mikes side and followed him back to the ground. The rest of the team was already dashing off for the castle and their house table patiently waiting for them to relieve it of breakfast.

Mike sighed as they dismounted and collected the Quaffle where it had been dropped. "I dont know what Im going to do with those two," he commented, picking the Quaffle up and carrying it into the changing room where theyd left the ball trunk.

"Theyre the best Beaters in the school," Blaine reminded him. "Theyre no match for Sam, but until his grades pick up again... "

"Yeah, well, theyre a little too focused on their stomachs," Mike told him, grimacing at the reminder of Blaines year-mate and other best friend, Sam Evans. He hadnt done very well on his O.W.L.s the year before; well enough to pass, but not well enough to stay on the team for the first half of the year. Professor Beiste had said she would have his grades re-evaluated over Christmas break in the hopes that he could start in their match against Gryffindor in early March.

Blaine shrugged as they set their brooms against the changing lockers, and heaved the huge trunk onto a bench. They popped it open and put the Snitch and Quaffle back into their holders before moving off to their own lockers.

Mike tugged his robes over his head and shoved them into his locker, quickly pulling his school robes on and hoisting his broom over his shoulder. "Catch you later, yeah? Ive gotta go meet Tina to, uh–to study."

"Uh huh," Blaine laughed. He rolled his eyes at Mikes attempt to cover up a planned make out session. "Sure, go study her lips. I want an entire roll of parchment on it by Wednesday!" he hollered after Mikes retreating figure.

A little wave was offered in reply before Mike exited the changing room. With a heavy sigh, Blaine tugged his own canary yellow robes off and tossed them into his locker. Here he was alone, like always. While Blaine was certainly happy for Mike and Tina, he still wished he had someone to hold close. Even Sam had a girlfriend right now. There were plenty of other gay boys at Hogwarts, and hed almost had a boyfriend last year until Todd had graduated, but the others were already paired off or would never give him the time of day because of house rivalries. Particularly the one boy hed had his eyes on.

There was absolutely no way a Slytherin would spare him a second glance; especially not one hed never spoken to in six years of sharing classes. Kurt Hummel, for all his astounding beauty, exquisite tastes, and biting wit, was out of bounds and certainly not interested in him.

Kurt glanced up as the last member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team entered the Great Hall for breakfast. The others had arrived nearly twenty minutes ago, then their Captain had taken his spot at his girlfriends table, and finally their Seeker had arrived. Before Santana, Rachel, Sebastian, or any of his other housemates noticed the direction of his gaze, Kurt turned back to his porridge and tuned into the debate going on.

"Look, theres nothing I can do to change it. Hes still got that sprained wrist and they put the request in on time," Sebastian spat, slamming his fist down on the table top and upsetting a jug of juice.

Kurt waved his wand and cleaned it up quickly. Hed be better off staring at the handsome Hufflepuff whod caught his interest over the summer instead of listening to another asinine Quidditch discussion.

"But we always play Gryffindor for the first match," Rachel shrieked. "I spent all summer practicing to play them, and now were playing Ravenclaw!"

"Oh, shut up, Hobbit," Santana snapped, grabbing another croissant and tearing it open. "All you have to do is catch the Snitch." Santana tilted her nose up and shot Rachel a contemptuous look. "Not that you stand a chance against Britt, but your game play wont change."

"Of course it will," Rachel argued. "Her broom is a different model than Flanagans. Shes got a completely unpredictable style–"

"Thats my baby," Santana cut in with an approving nod.

Sebastian snorted and tipped the platter of bacon onto his plate. "Right, because it isnt just her randomly thinking shes spotted a golden butterfly and needs to catch it."

Santana swiped the knife shed been using to spread jam on her croissant through the air in front of Sebastians face. "Back off my girl, Twink. Shes a Ravenclaw, remember?"

"Hard to forget since were playing her next month," Rachel said hysterically.

"Piss off, Berry," Sebastian growled. "Well be fine. Its only Ravenclaw. Or are you not one of the best?"

"I am the best," Rachel corrected, sounding annoyed.

"At being a brat," Kurt said, letting his eyes have another fast look over to the Hufflepuff table.

"Oh, whatever. You dont know a damn thing about Quidditch," Rachel snapped. She huffed loudly and raised her nose towards the cloudy ceiling.

Kurt quirked an eyebrow at her. "Neither do you if your record last season is any indication. I believe Anderson and Brittany beat you by a dozen meters."

Rachels face turned bright red, her lower lip jutting out in fury. She hopped to her feet and glared at them. "Fine, just fine. Now I wont be prepared and everything is going to fall apart and were going to lose."

The three of them watched Rachel storm out of the hall. Sebastian rolled his eyes in annoyance and Santana grimaced.

"I dont know why you keep her on the team," Kurt commented, not for the first time. "Shes too high-maintenance, and thats coming from me."

"Id rather have you coming for me," Sebastian retorted slyly, smirking as Kurt made a retching noise.

Kurt scowled. "Not even in your wildest fantasies."

Sebastian chuckled softly. "Oh, youre there. So is every other sexy guy in this castle."

"Never going to happen," Kurt replied loftily. He drank the rest of his juice and stood up. "Ive got Potions homework to finish. You going to join me, Santana?"

"Nope," Santana answered, shaking her head and staring over at the Ravenclaw table. "Ive got a date with my lady."

"Is it the one due tomorrow morning?"Sebastian asked, looking interested. "Ive still got to finish that one. We could... study together," he added suggestively, winking.

"Oh, go stuff Karofskys ass," Kurt said before turning around and heading towards the entrance hall.

Kurt was barely paying attention as he stalked along the ends of the house tables. At the doorway, however, he shouldered straight into someone and nearly lost his balance.

"Oh, Merlin, Im s–"

Kurt regained his footing enough to glance up and snap at the idiot who had run into him, but when he saw who it was he nearly toppled over again. The Hufflepuff Seeker, Blaine Anderson, was staring at him in apparent terror, mouth still open from the words he hadnt finished.

They stared at each other for a moment. Kurts heart thumped like an avalanche in his chest. He couldnt think of anything to say. His mouth was dry and his tongue felt numb. Blaine was even more handsome up close. How had he missed that for five straight years? Why was it only this summer that hed seen this boy?

Blaines eyes, a bright hazel that made Kurts stomach knot up, were as big as Galleons as he took a tentative step backwards. "I-I –sorry. Bye."

Before Kurt could even attempt to force his tongue into action, Blaine darted out into the entrance hall and down a corridor next to the marble staircase that Kurt had never ventured along before. It wasnt the dungeons, his own common room was hidden down there. Perhaps it led to a secret staircase of some sort. Hogwarts was always full of surprises. It wasnt a spot hed ever paid particular attention to, but a group of Hufflepuffs hurried in the same direction. Their common room was probably tucked away down there.

Distracted, Kurt took his time heading down to the Slytherin common room to collect his bag and books. Blaine had been right in front of him. Theyd actually touched, even if it had only been by accident. Stomach flipping, Kurt mumbled the password at the bare stone wall, watched the panel slide aside, and hurried in.

After giving Rachel, who seemed to have been waiting for one of them, a very snarky answer to why none of them had followed her out, Kurt grabbed his bag from his dormitory and headed back out into the dungeon corridor. The library would be quieter and less bothersome than the common room. It wasnt unusual for him to spend his weekends alone outside of meals. He only had a small group he hung out with and considered friends. Nowadays, all of them were quite busy between Quidditch and their budding romantic lives.

Santana and Brittany had gotten together at the beginning of last year, and while Kurt typically enjoyed the Ravenclaws company he hated feeling like a third wheel.

Rachel and a seventh year Slytherin, Jesse St. James, had started dating not long after that, which had left Kurt with only Sebastian and a snotty boy that shared their dormitory. Sebastian had started flirting with one of Jesses year mates, David Karofsky, a few weeks later. The two werent an item as far as Kurt knew, but they spent quite a bit of time together, either arguing or roughly snogging each other.

Kurt had attempted to date a few boys to fill his friends new absence, but none of them had panned out. He didnt exactly have a lot of acceptable options if he wanted to stay on good terms with his house.

Gryffindors were automatically out since they were Slytherins biggest rival. None of the older Gryffindor boys were even gay as far as Kurt knew. There was a fourth year who Kurt suspected, but the kids voice was still squeaking and cracking. He wasnt going to rob the cradle just to have a boyfriend.

Ravenclaws were his only option outside of his own house. Most days he couldnt stand the lot of them. The one sixth year hed attempted to date had been a nightmare, constantly prattling on about whether or not hed forgotten this homework assignment or to study for that test. Brittany was a rare exception as far as Ravenclaws went. He wasnt even sure how shed ended up in the house known for wisdom and intelligence, but he supposed there had to be a part of her character that hed overlooked.

All of the queer boys in Slytherin–himself, Sebastian, and David Karofsky–were already accounted for. Even if the other two had been single, Kurt wouldnt have been interested. He knew both of them way too well, and had been on the receiving end of Karofskys closeted anger several years ago. Theyd both made amends over the drama of their third year, but Kurt couldnt ever imagine dating the boy.

The fourth house, Hufflepuff, was considered off limits just like Gryffindor, albeit for different reasons. The majority of Slytherin thought they were just a bunch of duffers and idiots–the scraps left over from the other three houses. Kurt didnt particularly agree with their mentality, but he hadnt ever had a reason to go against it. At least, not until hed caught sight of Blaine Anderson in Diagon Alley over the summer.

For the past five years, Kurt hadnt made a habit of knowing all of his classmates names. Outside of Slytherin, he only knew a handful of his step-brothers Gryffindor housemates, but hed known Blaines. The one Hufflepuff who volunteered information in class. The one that beat all of the Slytherins in his year, including Kurt, in exams and was the star Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and the bane of Rachel Berrys existence for that very reason.

Before this summer, Blaine had been a tiny, skinny boy with a floppy mop of dark curls on his head. When Kurt had seen him in Diagon Alley, however, Blaine had been... different. Gorgeous, really. So much so that Kurt had dribbled ice cream all over his favorite set of robes.

Blaine had suddenly grown up. His curls had been trimmed, no longer framing his face and getting stuck on his lips, but cut up above his ears and styled off his forehead. Hed grown a good six inches, his upper body had started to fill out, and his face was suddenly way too similar to the chiseled features of the models in Kurts favorite Wizard of the Robes magazines. Particularly one, Cooper Anderson, who Kurt had realized must be Blaines older, just as handsome, brother.

Finding the other boy browsing through the Arithmancy section at Flourish and Blotts had been quite unexpected, and even worse, hed made Kurts stomach swoop. With his dashing smile and his husky little laugh at whatever his accompanying friends had said, Blaine had, even from twenty feet away, made Kurts knee knock together and his lungs not want to function. He was the most breathtaking boy Kurt had ever seen. Unfortunately, if Kurt wanted to keep his friends, then Blaine was completely off limits.

With a miserable sigh, Kurt swept into the library, robes flapping around his ankles. He stalked through the towering rows of books to his favorite, secluded corner and dropped down at the little desk. Even if Blaine hadnt been off limits he wouldnt know what to say to the other boy. Hed never actually had the chance to speak with a crush before since the other three had been famous models from his magazines.

Kurt pulled out his Arithmancy books, a scroll of parchment, ink, and his quill. It was his first assignment for the class, and not due for another week, but when the term started on a Thursday, there wasnt much to do over the first weekend.

He was better off forgetting about Blaine and finding a cute straight boy to silently swoon over. At least then hed know there was no point in trying to get up the courage to talk to him. If his crush was straight, then there was nothing to worry about. Just an easy safety net to while away in until he graduated, went to the Healers Academy, and met the undisputed love of his life.

At least thats what he kept telling himself.

But Blaine wasnt straight, which only made everything worse. Blaine had dated one guy last year–a gangly seventh year Ravenclaw named Todd–but it had never amounted to anything. Theyd apparently called it off before graduation, because when Kurt had spotted (okay, maybe he had followed them) Blaine and his friends at another shop in Diagon Alley that same afternoon, Blaine had been arm in arm with a different boy. That boy, another Ravenclaw, hadnt so much as spoken to Blaine since the first day of school.

Blaine seemed to be doing something similar to what Kurt was. All of his friends had suddenly started dating, too, and Blaine was jumping from date to date, trying to find his own romance. Kurt wanted more than anything to let Blaine find that with him, but he didnt know how to go about that. Not with all of the other Slytherins watching.

Behind him something sharp tapped against the window. Kurt half-heartedly glanced behind him only to see his faithful owl, McQueen, perched on the window ledge. Surprised, but slightly happy to see a scroll tied to his leg, Kurt tugged the window open carefully, trying to be as quiet as possible in case Madame Pince was about.

McQueen hopped inside and settled on his shoulder, sticking his left leg out dutifully so that Kurt could take his letter. Receiving letters through owl post was one of Kurts favorite things about being away at school. His father and stepmother wrote him several times a week, whereas in the summer Kurt tended not to write letters at all. He and Santana only lived five miles away from each other, so they met up in person. He usually didnt have anything nice to say to Rachel, so he tended to forget her during the holidays. The same went for Sebastian. He had to share a dormitory with the prick nine months out of the year. He didnt want to deal with him during his breaks, too.

Kurt unrolled the scroll and read through his fathers short reply, telling him how his Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley was doing, and about Caroles new promotion at St. Mungos. She had been a huge inspiration for his own decided career path. Next to him, McQueen stretched his wings and hooted softly, nudging Kurts hand with his beak.

"Sorry, boy," Kurt murmured. "I dont have any food on me. Ill give you bacon at breakfast," he offered instead. "Ill have to write back sometime tonight, but Ill give you the night off. I know youre not used to making lots of journeys... "

Kurt trailed off, stunned as a sudden idea struck him. Letters. The perfect way to be anonymous, but still talk to Blaine. He only had to use a school owl, or figure out which one was Blaines, and have it deliver it to him. There would be no blushing or humiliating stutters, and the best part was that hed be incredibly difficult to track for the other Slytherins. It might even be weeks before they caught wind of a Hufflepuff having a secret admirer.

Not being able to tell Blaine who he was would be hard, not giving Blaine any idea of who he was would be close to impossible, but if he let anything that identified him slip and Blaine didnt think his letters were endearing...

Then the entire school would know. Hed be completely doomed to two years of torment before he graduated.

"Hey, McQueen, you wouldnt happen to know which owls belong to who, would you?" Kurt asked. He didntexpect an answer, but the barn owl jerked his head in what was an unmistakable nod. "Ill give you an entire platter of bacon in the morning if you can find Blaine Andersons owl."

McQueens eyes grew huge at the offer. He hooted , nudged Kurts hand again, and then swooped out of the open window.

Not entirely sure what McQueen was about to do, or if hed even understand, Kurt stuck his head out the window. "I didnt finish telling you what to do yet!" he hollered after the owl, watching him soar up past the North Tower and out of sight.

"Mr. Hummel, be silent! This is a library!" Madame Pince snapped from just out of sight.

A second later she was upon him, squawking and flapping her arms at him like they were propellers. "Out, out! Youre disrupting the other students!"

Kurt grabbed his bag and books as he stumbled back towards the entrance. But even her aggravation couldnt burst his fantastic mood. "I think youve disrupted them more in two minutes than I have in five years," he called over his shoulder, breaking into a sprint as he reached the corridor.

Even two corridors away he could still hear her angry snarling. Maybe he hadnt gotten much work done, and maybe he wouldnt be allowed back into the library until his grandchildren were roaming these halls, but he had a plan. A plan that would allow him to talk to Blaine Anderson without anybody knowing he was.