Title: Fall- back

Chapter twenty- three: A Friend Like Me

Rating: T

Summary: After the war Harry moves to Lima, Ohio to try and live a normal life as just another invisible teenager. You know what they say about best laid plans, though. KH/HP

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise…. Isn't mine. Though I probably wish it is. Now I'm sad.

AN: Yeah…so… I'm still alive. And surprisingly, so is this story. Thank you guys so much for continuing to support this story as much as you do. I know I'm an absent little –beep- on my best days, but you guys continue to rock. I'm not going to bore you with reasons as to why I take forever to upload (even though I totally got to live and work in the UK for a few months and I'm still reeling from the incredible experience), and instead I'm going to just post the chapter.

After this: I got a few reviews, tumblr asks and PMs (and so sorry if I haven't replied to you, just know that I love each and every review) asking about a possible Harry/Kurt/Blaine triangle. No. Not going to happen, though I have read some amazing stories with that particular love pairing. Rest assured, Blaine won't end up alone. By the end of this story he'll have someone. Small contest (also a teenie tiny attempt at making up for being so lame and late) : The first person to guess correctly who Blaine will end up dating gets a oneshot about a topic of their choosing in this verse.

Enjoy the chapter! :)

Later that day, Harry walked into McKinley High School, deciding he really didn't like time zones all that much. It had been nearly two o'clock when he left the Ministry, having dealt with two Malfoy trials, a rabid pack of reporters and Mrs Weasley's (who had come in to bring Mr Weasley the lunch he had forgotten to bring with him to work) fussing. When he had stepped back through the Floo and into his living room, he'd had Remus' fussing to deal with as well. He had just wanted to grab Teddy and hide upstairs with him, playing peekaboo games till the time came to return to Britain for the Yule holidays. Unfortunately, it had only been a quarter to eight when he had gotten home and he had realised that he really needed to go to school and face the inevitable fall out of the trials.

He was pleasantly surprised to find Kurt waiting at his locker for him, especially since he hadn't told him he'd be coming to school today.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to show today," Kurt shrugged at Harry's amused smile.

Harry returned the shrug. "Neither was I."

"So how did it go?" the auburn haired boy asked when it seemed like his boyfriend was just going to ignore talking about what he had already done before coming to school that morning.

"It went alright," Harry answered, half-heartedly fishing though his locker for his books. "I got two convicted criminals out on probation, then blatantly refused to testify in the third and last case. That pretty much told them everything they needed to know about my views, I think."

"Probably," Kurt nodded. After a bit he added: "So, it's all dealt with then? You can leave it behind you?"

Harry winced, causing Kurt's eyebrow to rise. "Not exactly…"

After explaining to his boyfriend what exactly he had meant by his words, the intercom buzzed to life. The heavily accented voice of their principal was broadcast through it, instructing every student to go to their homeroom for a special radio news broadcasting. Harry sighed, feeling Kurt's eyes on him. Having been transferred to Mr Schuester's class upon joining Glee, he started the walk to the music room with his boyfriend by his side. Time to face the music.

Harry was sure that scouring Britain for Horcruxes had been easier than forcing himself not to wince as he listened to himself testify on behalf of two Malfoy's on an international radio broadcast. Before the broadcast had begun some famous American radio host he had never heard of had explained that the Muggle (A word he had difficulty saying, before going off on a speech about how that word could be described as racist. Harry was thankful his radio co-host had cut him off with a joke )world was allowed to listen to the last trials from the Second Great Wizarding War (as the wizarding papers were now calling it, conveniently leaving out every single goblin rebellion Binns had droned on about and the wars that happened before Grindelwald)to hopefully gain a better understanding of the workings of the world that had only been revealed to them a month before.

At the start of the trial the Glee club had been , for lack of a better word, utterly bored. This was understandable, seeing as the first twenty minutes of the broadcast involved Madame Bones reading out loud the names of everyone present (including all the reporters), explaining that the trial was being recorded and would be broadcast worldwide by Muggle means (her announcement that the man who was recording was in fact a muggle who had been working on the technology since he'd found out his granddaughter was a witch got a few titters from the press) and briefly going into the history of the Wizengamot for the sake of the Muggles. It wasn't until she started going into the list of offences Mrs Malfoy had been charged with that the Glee club seemed to come to live.

"That doesn't sound plausible," Rachel sniffed, her face scrunched up as Madame Bones accused Mrs Malfoy of at least five counts of the Imperius curse, followed by the crimes the victims of the curse had committed. Some of the club seemed to share her incredulity, while some looked fearful at the thought of such a spell existing. As the list of charges went on, the group's eyes slowly became wider. Harry noticed Kurt looking at him, the look in his eyes saying he thought his boyfriend might have made a mistake testifying in the case. Harry just sent him a reassuring smile back. Funnily enough, Kurt didn't seem all that reassured as he continued listening to the broadcast.

"Mrs Malfoy, do you understand these charges as they've been read to you?", Madame Bones' voice sounded through the room.

"I do, Madame," the posh, but slightly defeated sounding, voice of the accused answered after a few seconds.

The sound of shuffling papers could be heard through the radio and Harry imagined it to be Madame Bones putting the scroll of charges away so she could start the next part of the trial. "Very well," she said, her voice not betraying what she thought about the woman sitting in chains across from her. "And how do you plead?"

Harry saw several members of the glee club leaning forwards in their chairs, captivated by the proceedings they were hearing. He noticed that while Puck and Sam seemed to just be transfixed by hearing an actual trial, Quinn and Mercedes had a disapproving look in their eyes. Harry remembered that look from when the Wizarding World had come out of the cauldron (a joke that had unfortunately caught on in the papers, Harry loved how it made Remus cringe every time he read it). He feared that they might not be as okay with magic as they'd been pretending. He was so caught up in wondering about this that he almost missed Mrs Malfoy's voice answering "Guilty.".

The wizard's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, not having known about this. He had just assumed that she'd pled not guilty. From the corner of his eyes he saw Rachel rear back in her chair, not having expected it either, and Quinn and Mercedes raise a questioning eyebrow at each other. Finn let out a low "wow".

The Wizengamot, obviously not having expected the honest answer either, tried to silence the muttering of the press before going into hushed conversations themselves. Harry winced internally at how unprofessional this made them seem, before scolding himself for thinking too much like Hermione.

"The list of offenses listed against you is very long, indeed, Mrs Malfoy," Kinglsey's strong voice sounded after a while, the commenter telling the Muggles listening who exactly he was to the Wizarding world under his breath. With a start, Harry realised that he had heard these words before and that this meant that he had entered the courtroom already by that point. He braced himself for what was coming next, feeling inexplicably nervous all of a sudden.

"As you know, most of the offenses are unforgivable and should automatically land you back in your cell in Azkaban for the foreseeable future. None of the witnesses you had listed for yourself were deemed reliable enough, being either family members or Azkaban inmates themselves," Kingsley's voice carried on. The commentator explained to the audience that Azkaban was the Wizard prison, which seemed to help some of the glee club members, judging from the understanding looks on their faces. Kurt, seemingly guessing why Harry didn't look all that comfortable softly grasped his hand and sent him a reassuring smile, not very unlike the one Harry himself had sent him not that long ago. The wizard grinned back, pretending to be just fine. His boyfriend didn't seem to buy it.

"I'm aware of that, and I'm fully willing to accept-", Mrs Malfoy's voice reverberated through the room, before being cut off by Kingsley's authoritive voice: "Hang on, Mrs Malfoy, I wasn't done yet. As I said, none of your witnesses were deemed reliable enough. Someone else has stepped forward, though. He was deemed reliable and willing to testify on your behalf."

This last comment caused noises of outrage and contempt to spout out of the glee club members. Some seemed to think it unfair that a woman like Mrs Malfoy would get a chance to be defended, while others immediately made the new witness out to be a bad guy himself. There were only very few faces of doubt amongst the club. Harry subconsciously squeezed the hand that held his and felt inexplicable relief when Kurt immediately squeezed back.

"Well," Rachel started after the broadcast finished, always the first to break the silence: "That was… interesting."

"That's one word for it," Puck commented, his eyes fixed on Harry. To be fair, his were not the only ones. Most of the glee club had immediately recognised the wizard's voice when it came from the radio. Lauren's eyes had twinkled in a manner Harry never again wanted to see on her.

"'Unbelievable' is the word I'd use!", Tina exclaimed, causing Harry to look at her wide-eyed. He wasn't used to her being that vocal. "You got two criminals out of prison, Harry, how could you?"

Just as he was about to answer, Sam cut through him. "I think the more important question is how long Harry here has been riding broomsticks and brewing potions without us knowing."

His statement was met by a mumbled chorus of 'yeahs'. Harry shrugged, having decided during the broadcast that he'd try to answer any question he got as truthfully as possible.

"I've been flying since I was eleven. The same with brewing potions. To be fair though, I'm absolutely rubbish at brewing. Always kept wrecking the cauldrons."

Next to him, Kurt snorted, taking in the unbelieving stares aimed at his boyfriend. "I don't think he meant it that literally, Hare."

Harry just shrugged. "They asked," he muttered, failing to hide his grin when Kurt squeezed the hand he still held in a silent reprimand.

Quinn squinted at their joined hands for a second, and then burst out, seemingly unable to keep quiet for any longer: "And you're alright with this, Kurt?! Witchcraft, really?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" the auburn haired boy asked haughtily, an eyebrow raised for effect. Harry felt a role reversal between them as the boy next to him seemed to shrink a little and he squeezed his hand in a reassuring manner. Having had to listen to his aunt's mutterings during the summer months he had spent slaving away in the Dursleys' garden, he had a vague idea what the reportedly religious girl was on about.

"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," he said softly, before Quinn had a chance to reply to Kurt. Ignoring his boyfriend's sharp inhale of breath and the scattered exclamations of surprise around them, he continued: "Personally, I've never been much of a Bible- fan. I find most of it redundant and outdated, filled with fear of the unknown and a brilliant excuse for bigoted hatred."

Seeing Quinn's face (and Mercedes' too, but to a lesser extent) redden, he added: "Like I said, though: That's my opinion. You're completely entitled to yours. I just hope that you find it in you somewhere to learn to cope with a world of witchcraft in the same way you have learned to accept homosexuality."

"That's different," Mercedes sputtered, seemingly feeling the need to defend her religion. "We know you and Kurt can't help being gay. We get that it's something you were born with."

Next to him, Kurt stiffened a bit at having been brought in to this. Sensing his boyfriend's need to interfere on his behalf, Harry gave him a look that had him back off, feeling the need to defend himself even though he was secretly rather happy he had someone willing to do that for him.

"So is being magical," he said at last, silently thanking Hermione for the biology lessons she had forced on him. "I imagine there'll be a lot of information available about this in the future, but being able to do magic is something you're born with as well. A recessive gene in some families, and a dominant one in others, magic is something that's passed down through generations. I never chose to be a wizard."

"You could stop being one thought," Quinn insisted. "It's not like you have to continue to use magic."

Harry sighed. "Actually, I do. When magic is repressed, a wizard or witch becomes a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any given moment. It's absolutely vital for a magic user to be trained in using their magic properly, to prevent chaos and possible destruction."

Several emotions flickered across the pretty blonde's face as something in her seemed to snap before she grabbed her jacket and bag and practically ran from the room. All of a sudden, everyone's eyes (and Harry was silently grateful for the Glee club's uncharacteristic silence) were on Mercedes, who nodded slowly.

"She'll come around," she responded to the club's silent question. "She's had a few too many faith shaking shocks in the last few years, I think. Give her time."

"What about you?" Kurt asked after a beat or two, squeezing his boyfriend's hand for all it was worth. It was actually starting to stop the circulation in Harry's veins a bit, but he didn't mention it, knowing his boyfriend needed to be assured that his best friend wouldn't suddenly start to hate the guy he was going out with.

Mercedes let out a short laugh. "Not going to lie, boo. This was kind of a shock."

Around them, several of the other Glee kids let out agreeing snorts.

"But….?", Kurt persisted.

Mercedes shrugged. "But he's your man. I can dig that."

All of a sudden the blood flow in Harry's hand started up again as Kurt released him and flung himself at his best friend. The wizard rubbed his abused limb, his eyes on the rest of the Glee club, who were all starting to smile as well. They started to laugh and joke around a bit until finally Puck's voice cut through the fray:

"Okay, hold up! Wait a minute. I just thought of something."

Everyone did just that, waiting for whatever revelation had suddenly appeared in the jock's head. Mr Schuester, who had wisely (or cowardly, depending on how one views his teaching methods) chosen to stay out of the discussion, lifted his head from the pile of papers he had been nervously shuffling into order, knowing that no good could ever come from that tone of voice from his most troublesome student.

"Dude," Puck continued, glancing around the room with a smirk on his face, "do you guys know what this means?"

At the blank looks and more than one uninterested shrug his question garnered, he elaborated: "We can totally kick some ass now with magic behind us! Those slushy carrying dweebs won't know what hit them!"

An uncomfortable feeling came over Harry at those words and the speculative glint in some of the club members' eyes. The feeling got worse when Rachel continued this train of thought:

"Never mind the jocks," she enthused, " focus on Regionals! All of the amazing set ideas we can now actually use! This is great!"

Kurt must have seen the panic enter Harry's eyes, because the next moment he was right back where he started, holding his boyfriend's hand while said boyfriend was trying his best not to give his opinion on their thoughts in the most scathing manner he could think off. The wizard shot the boy a grateful look.

"Dancing in the air!" Mike suggested, grinning brilliantly.

"Outfits that change colours every few seconds!"

"Unicorns for back-up dancers!"

"Don't be silly, Britt, unicorns don't exist. I can get behind those outfits though…"

"Pranking the competition during their performance!"

"A never ending supply of chocolate in the dressing rooms…"

"Samba dancing pigs!"

"A twenty feet wide, self- playing piano!"

"Flying the school bus to the venue, imagine that for a second?"

"Oh my, do you think that's even possible? Harry? What do you think?"

All of a sudden, all eyes were on the wizard again. Mike and Tina shrank back at the blank look on his face, and the worried frown on Kurt's.

Harry took a deep breath, slowly untangling his fingers from Kurt's. "I think," he started softly, "that you need to have more faith in your own capabilities instead of searching for novelties. You don't need any of that. Nor can I give it to you."

"I thought you were a wizard, though?" Rachel replied immediately, completely oblivious to the tight set of the wizard's jaw. Some of the others seemed to realise that they had overstepped in some way, but she continues: "Surely you can pull that off."

Standing from his chair, the British boy made his way to the front of the room to stand next to their silent teacher .

"I'm not saying I'm not capable of what the lot of you just mentioned," he admitted, causing a smug grin to appear on the diva's face. "What I'm saying is, that I won't do them."

"Why not?" she sputtered, "surely you can see this will give us an edge, something to set us apart from the rest of the competitors!"

"I see that," he replied, noticing how the rest of the club seemed to be averting their eyes, suddenly not wanting to be associated with that train of thinking anymore, as if suddenly realising how wrong they were to suggest they do the things they mentioned.

"And that's exactly why I won't do any of that," he continued. "It would be unfair, not to mention illegal. There are laws in the wizarding world prohibiting exactly this sort of behaviour."

"Oh." She seemed to deflate.

"Not to mention how morally reprehensible it would be," Mr Schuester cut in. It was the first time he'd spoken since the broadcast had finished and everyone turned surprised eyes on him, as if having forgotten that he was still there. "We don't need an advantage like magic to win a competition. We're above sabotaging others to get to where we need to be. I can't believe this would even occur to you. I would be like cheating."

Guilty looks met his words, and to Harry's surprise most of them muttered an apology his way. He nodded at them, shooting a relieved look at Kurt, who winked at him.

"Can we at least see some magic?" Sam asked suddenly, his eyes big and pleading. "Cause that would be really cool."

"Ooh, do me again!" Finn eagerly near-shouted, waving his hand in the air. His proclamation caused several of them to snort, Santana to mutter a 'Wanky', and Kurt to smother a grin. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Finn grumbled. "Please?"

"Actually," Mr Schuester cut in before any of the other Glee club members could start asking for a magical version of show and tell, "I was kind of hoping Harry would finally give us his assignment for the week we did 'Magic' and he hoped we wouldn't notice he didn't sing anything."

"Which we totally noticed, by the way," Rachel said, already seeming to have forgotten her earlier words and feeling safe enough to urge the wizard to do some singing. "That doesn't mean we wouldn't like to see some magic after though."

Kurt threw a reassuring smile his boyfriend's way before suggesting softly: "Or maybe he could combine the two."

Harry grinned. "I like the way you think, love."

The countertenor pretended to blush while simultaneously giving himself an actual shoulder pat. Mercedes and Tina giggled.

"Get to it then, magic boy!" Lauren commented, still grinning the shit- eating grin she had had plastered on her face since the broadcast ended. "Show us what you've got."

Harry smirked, before flicking his wrist to let his wand slide down from its holster and into his hand. Brittany gasped. "As you wish, my lady."

With a muttered spell and a few flicks of the holly wand, the instruments the band members were sitting next to suddenly floated in the air, to great consternation of the musicians. They turned wide eyes on the wizard, only to find him suddenly wearing a ridiculous, purple parody of a butler's uniform. With another flick of the boys wrist, the instruments started playing themselves.

"Master!", Harry gasped in a completely over the top manner, causing Artie to nearly choke, "I don't think you quite realize what you've got here! So why don't you just ruminate, while I illuminate the possibilities!"

Kurt and Mercedes, both immediately realising what Harry was up to started giggling uncontrollably, while Brittany clapped her hands with an excited grin on her face. Meanwhile, Harry continued:

"Well, Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherazade had a thousand tales. But master you're in luck, 'cause up your sleeves you've got a brand of magic never fails." Grinning, the wizard took a seat on the piano stool, making it float as well. The next words he sung clearly mocked the earlier discussion:

"You've got some power in your corner now! Some heavy ammunition in your camp! You got some punch, pizzaz, yahoo and how. See, all you gotta do is rub that lamp, and I'll say…"

The British boy suddenly jumped off the stool and took a seat between Puck and Rachel, addressing them with his next words: "Mr. Aladdin, sir, what will your pleasure be? Let me take your order, jot it down? You ain't never had friend like me. Life is your restaurant and I'm your maitre'd. Come on whisper what it is you want; You ain't never had friend like me!"

Seeing the two of them look properly chastised, he transformed his butler outfit into a mechanics outfit, though still keeping the purple colour, and moved to sit next to Brittany and Santana. "Yes sir, we pride ourselves on service. You're the boss, the king, the shah (Santana preened a little as these words were directed at her). Say what you wish; it's yours, true dish. How 'bout a little more baklava?"

Flicking his wand to make a bowl of sweets appear on Brittany's lap in lieu of the baklava, Harry sauntered two rows over, to plunk down between Sam and Finn.

"Have some of column A, try All of column B, I'm in the mood to help you, dude. You ain't never had friend like me."

With a cheeky grin and a bit of concentration Harry channeled some of his eagerly twitching magic (and really, he should probably let off some magical steam more often with the way his magic seemed to jump at the chance to do what he wanted and do it better than he usually would) to temporarily clone himself four times, before joining the Harry doubles in what could only be described as a rather clumsy looking Can-Can.

"Oh my. No no. My my my." Starting to feel a bit of strain, he released the magic on the doubles and felt them collapse back into his magic.

"Can your friends do this?", he rhetorically sang as his outfit once more changed, this time into a dark purple tux, complete with top hat. He then cheekily transformed the chair Kurt was sitting on into a comfortable armchair. "Can your friends do that?"

He then took off the top hat, reached in and pulled out a very surprised looking bunny. "Can your friends pull this out their little hat?"

"Can your friends go poof?" At the 'poof', Harry disapparated on the spot, still holding the bunny and reappeared on a chair in the empty back row. "Well looky here."

"Can your friends go abracadabra, let her rip, and then make the sucker disappear?" With these words, Harry made the bunny disappear back to the hat he had pulled it from, its ears popping up over the brim. The wizard grinned, then started making his way back to the front as well. "So don't just sit there slack-jawed, buggy-eyed, I'm here to answer all your mid-day prayers. You've got me bona fide certified; You've got a genie for charge d'affaires."

Hopping over the first row of chairs, Harry flicked his wand again to make Finn's chair hover in the air. The boy let out a shout of joy. "I've got a powerful urge to help you out, so what you wish, I really wanna know? You've got a list that's three miles long, no doubt, well all you've gotta do is rub like so, and oh -"

A wicked grin stretched across the wizard's face as he flicked his wand in rapid succession, hitting each Glee club member aside from Finn with a spell. "Mr. Aladdin, sir, have a wish or two or three. I'm on the job you big nabob! You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend. You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend. You ain't never had a friend like me."

Softly putting the instruments back on the ground, he glanced around at the 'damage' he'd done. Mercedes' outfit had changed into a sequins laden dress. Lauren was following a pair of tango dancing guinea pig with her eyes while next to her Puck looked surprised at his deflated upper arms, poking his reduced muscles in despair. Brittany was happily chasing after some fake fairies while Santana looked on fondly whilst admiring the way her nails changed colour every few seconds. Rachel was sporting a rather brilliant afro while Tina was checking out the way Mike's spontaneously sprouted moustache was insulting the beard that had grown on her own face. Sam's chair had risen to join Finn's and they were racing each other around the room while Kurt's armchair was currently massaging his shoulders. With a grin, the wizard finished his song.

"You ain't never had a friend like me."

Clumsily opening his locker while juggling a pile of books at the end of the day, Harry was stopped from making a complete fool of himself by Kurt suddenly appearing next to him and taking the books from him.

"Huh, thanks, love," he grinned, before opening the locker quickly and taking the books back before unceremoniously dumping them all inside.

"No problem," Kurt shrugged, before casually looping his arms through the Brit's when said boy closed his locker again and they started moving towards the parking lot. "So, how has the rest of your day been?"

"Not too bad," Harry replied after thinking it over for a bit, " I mean, the classes that didn't have you in it to calm me down a bit were rather nerve wracking, but considering the fact that I kept a low profile since arriving here I wasn't disturbed by people much. I don't think anyone aside from the Glee club recognised my voice coming from the radio."

Kurt, having blushed a bit at the implication that he had the power to soothe his boyfriend's worries, squeezed his arm a little bit. "That's good news, right? You still get to have a bit of that quiet life you wanted."

"For now….", Harry replied pessimistically. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Just take what's given to you, Hare. We both know it won't last very long."

"I suppose you're right," Harry started his sentence, before turning them around at hearing his name called behind them. Spotting Sam running towards them with a mad grin on his face, the wizard raised an eyebrow. "What's going on, Sam?"

"Settle something for me and Artie, will you?" the blonde said when he caught up to them. Harry shrugged his assent. "Time travel; fact or fiction?"

Harry grinned. "Fact."

"Really?" Sam's eyes were big and he looked as if all his dreams had just come true. "Awesome! Thanks dude!"

Staring after Sam's quickly retreating form, Harry snorted. "Well, one thing's for sure. I don't think there'll be a dull moment left in my school career here."

Kurt let out a brief chuckle. "The fact that you considered McKinley boring before all this concerns me. Hare."

"Well, if I ever did, I sure won't after break," the wizard sighed, his thoughts on the hell he was going to face after coming back from Christmas holidays. A large part of him was thankful that the Glee kids had forgotten to ask about that part of the broadcast amidst all the excitement from his song.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there, shall we?" Kurt said, pulling Harry's arm a bit to bring him closer to him. "How about we get some coffee somewhere first, before we return home to pack for the holidays?"

"Will there be biscuits?" Harry asked, feeling the need for a sugary snack.

"If by biscuits you mean cookies, sure. We can get some cookies," the countertenor smiled.

"Lead the way, then."

So, this took forever-and-a-half to finish. And of course when I want to upload the site is down... But I say the wait was kind of worth it.

Please leave your thoughts, and I'll see you lot next time!

Till then!

-Robin.