Hermione's Hounds:
1. Hermione's Hounds
2. Master of Death
3. Soul Marked
4. Abandon All Hope
5. The Devil You Know
6. My Heart Will Go On
7. Ursula
8. Drinking at Bobby's
9. Survival of the Fittest
10. Mistress of Death
11. Queen of Hell
12. Casifer
The sound of the Winchester brothers chewing fast food in Bobby's house was shattered by a female shriek. Both men jumped to their feet as Castiel poorly restrained a tiny brunette
"Fucking Death Eater!" the girl shrieked while thrashing in the angel's arms. "I'll kill you! Just like I murdered you're pathetic Lord." So shocked by her statement, the angel dropped her, allowing the girl to rapidly crawl backwards on her hands and feet.
"What did you say?" Castiel demanded as he followed her. "The Lord is more powerful than all of us, especially you."
"Yet he's dead," the girl snarled as her back hit Bobby's kitchen cabinets. Despite being trapped, her feral growl didn't dissipate, "Shredded to pieces in front of the rest of your pathetic brethren. Dead at the hands of a mudblood." The sneer on her face only served to cause more distress to appear on Castiel's, while he began to slump.
"That monster died screaming just as his inner circle did," the girl hissed as she pulled a long stick. A bright red light shot towards Castiel, catching him in the chest, and throwing him backwards. Sam and Dean were on their feet, firing their guns instantly.
"Who the fuck are you?" Dean demanded as she dodged behind the kitchen island in Bobby's house.
"Have you kidnapped so many women you can't remember all of them?" the brunette yelled back angrily. Rather than answer, Dean silently gestured towards the sides of the counter to Sam, and they began flanking her. A sharp crack sounded as they rounded the corner.
"Where did she go?" Dean asked looking up at Sam confused.
"Dean! Behind you!" Sam shouted just before Dean was clocked in the face. The younger Winchester watched horrified as his brother's gun vanished. He took a shot at her, only to hear the same loud crack as she disappeared into thin air.
"What the hell?" Sam yelled, swiveling around to check his six. Seeing nothing, Sam was about to do a full sweep when everything went black.
"Incarcerous," Hermione muttered, pointing her wand at each of the men in turn. Once she was satisfied with the bindings, she levitated them to the couch in the living room, and maneuvered them until they were sitting up. Her shoulder was throbbing with pain from where the bullet entered her body. Thankfully, it was a clean shot and had embedded itself in a wall. Hermione knew enough battlefield healing to prevent herself from bleeding out, but she'd still have to get to a hospital.
"Alright, Hermione...think," she said glancing at the three men. "Quickly figure out where you're at, and then get home. Do not let Harry find out you've been shot." Searching the house led her to a well kept library with a desk in the center. The ceiling and floor were both covered with ancient runes that she knew hadn't been used in centuries.
"Fuck," Hermione muttered after she'd confirmed from the literature lining the walls and the newspaper cuttings on the desk that she was indeed in a hunter's home. "Only you would manage to get kidnapped by hunters." She also derived from the cuttings that she was in America.
"Alright, let's find a book about me," Hermione muttered as she started with the nearest shelf. Despite finding several dozen tomes that had her near salivating, due to their rarity, she found absolutely nothing relating to the Wizarding Community. She spent over an hour searching, and yet found nothing.
"Clearly, we hid ourselves too well," she muttered before magically copying a few of the books she'd found. Wandering back into the living room where she'd left her captors tied up, Hermione tried to process her current circumstances. She'd already banished their firearms into her beaded bag, and they were restrained.
"Please don't make me regret this," she said raising her wand and casting three ennervate spells. Predictably the two plaid hunters erupted into angry yells.
"Quiet!" Hermione ordered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Now, let's start with where are we?"
"South Dakota," Sam answered, as Dean glared at him. "Have you not noticed the position we're in?"
"What is he?" Hermione asked pointing at Castiel. "No Death Eater could apparate across the Atlantic and half of the States without killing themselves, much less accomplish it with a passenger."
"What's a Death Eater?" Dean countered. "You don't get to just attack us and demand information." Hermione stared at him in disbelief.
"Your mate nabbed off with me, from the middle of London, and brought me here!" Hermione shouted losing her temper. "You want to whinge like a child, talk to him. Now answer the question."
"My name is Castiel. I am an Angel of the Lord," Castiel answered looking rather apologetic. "My grace, bestowed by my Father, enables me to appear at will anywhere in Creation." Hermione watched, searching for any sign of deceit, though finding none.
"London?" Sam hissed as Hermione stared at Castiel in shock. "You snatched her from another country?!"
"Why in Merlin's bloody name would you think I was Crowley?!" Hermione asked "Are you daft?" Dean looked at Sam as he mouthed,
Merlin, while Sam shrugged.
"My faculties are perfectly in order," Castiel answered. "The soul mark Crowley placed on you, however, obscured your humanity from my sight. I didn't recognize it immediately, due to its scarcity. Although I suppose congratulations are in order."
After a pause, he added, "Congratulations."
What the hell is a soul mark?" Dean asked before Hermione or Sam could voice the words.
"It's...rather complicated," Castiel answered. "Essentially it's a bond angels and demons can utilize to denote a person as precious. It's rarely used considering most angels view it as plebeian, and the fluidity of demonic hierarchy would endanger the individual possessing the sigil. Each bond is unique to the couple and the marker can inscribe the sigil with any phrase desired."
A nearby lamp erupted into shards after Castiel finished explaining, and both Winchester brothers jumped.
"What was that?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"Practice for when I see Crowley next," Hermione growled as she attempted to regain control of her anger. .
"You mean, he didn't ask before he lifted his leg and pissed on you?" Dean asked snidely from the couch.
"No," Hermione hissed.
"Why would Crowley want to mark a human if it put them in unnecessary danger?" Sam asked Castiel.
"He must value her above all else," Castiel answered. "She would have to be quite formidable as well." Sam and Dean exchanged glances before looking at their bound hands and glaring pointedly at Castiel. "Yes. Your point is well made. There are many side effects of a soul sigil, such as seeing an Angel's wings, locating the bearer at all times, and telepathic emotions."
"What about seeing Hell Hounds?" Hermione asked suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the implications.
"It's quite plausible," Castiel answered. "How long have you been able to see them?"
"It started three days after I met Crowley," she said quietly. "What does it say? The sigil I mean."
"Hands off my warlock," Crowley answered stepping into the room from the shadows. "Followed by promises of death and dismemberment. Boys, great to see you so tied up."
"What the bloody hell did you do?" Hermione demanded, as she swung at him. Crowley deftly caught her fist, and pulled her close. When she winced in pain, he looked at her shoulder and gently touched it. Pulling back his hand, Crowley grew irate.
"Which one of you bloody imbeciles shot her?" He demanded, whirling around to face the three on the couch. "Answer me!"
"Crowley," Hermione said, failing to gain his attention.
"Who shot my warlock?!" Crowley asked, earning an eye roll from Hermione. "Castiel, you have three seconds to answer before I tell Squirrel, here, exactly what his soul mark says."
"I believe it was Sam," Cas said, pointedly ignoring the stares the Winchesters were giving him. Crowley snapped his fingers, and Hermione felt the wound begin to knit itself back together, healing from within. Sam, however, suddenly cried out leaning forward.
"What did you do?!" she yelled, vanishing Sam's bindings and racing forwards, only to have Crowley catch her around the waist.
"Just a little retribution," Crowley answered with a shrug. "I said there were promises of retribution included on that sigil."
"Oh like he can actually see the blasted thing, let alone read Enochian. Fix him!" Hermione demanded as Crowley pouted. "Now please."
"Did you just say please?!" Dean scoffed. "He's a demon!"
"Yes, and has the ability to fix your brother," Hermione snarked. "So I'd stop pissing him off." Crowley rolled his eyes and with a snap of his fingers, Sam was back to normal. "Thank you."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Dean hissed at Crowley, still trying to make sure Sam was okay.
"Hello," Crowley answered as he pointed towards himself, " Demon, or have you already forgotten? Now why have you three chosen to kidnap Mimi?"
"We've been trying to find you, and Cas thought you were possessing her," Sam answered. "Obviously he made a mistake."
"A mistake, in which you terrified and shot Hermione," Crowley said rather calmly. "Forgive me if I'm not exactly reassured. What I cannot fathom is why none of you bothered to call me!"
"We're not going to slice some random person's neck just for a phone call," Dean spat. Crowley pinched the bridge of his nose and began muttering under his breath.
"I have a cellphone," he said after a moment. "A phone number, which I apparently must remind you, is programmed into all of your phones." Sam, Dean, and Cas all exchanged shocked expressions. "You are all idiots."
Hermione cleared her throat, causing Crowley to face her.
"What?" He asked.
"Had you not marked me, none of this would have happened," She answered. "A mark, you never bothered to ask about prior to creating it."
"Darling, it was necessary," Crowley answered. "Exactly how did you think I was going to grant your request for the ability of seeing hounds?"
"You'd never bind yourself to a human for a deal," she shot back. "You'd deny the request or find another solution." When Crowley sighed and muttered a phrase, sounding distinctively like, "know it all," Hermione shot a stinging hex at him.
"Fuck," He hissed shaking his hand where her spell had hit. Seeing her glare at him, he sighed. "Do you realize how bloody valuable you are? Most demons take centuries to achieve the same numbers you have, much less possess the skills and intelligence you have. I'd be asinine not to put a sigil on you."
"As much as I don't want to witness this chick flick moment," Dean interrupted, "We still have a pressing matter of the Apocalypse to deal with, which requires your help, unfortunately."
"Lucifer is out?" Hermione asked. "How?!"
"Sixty-six seals were broken," Castiel answered as Crowley also spoke.
"Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum over there."
"We'd like to put him back," Castiel continued speaking. "However, angels and demons want the apocalypse to occur. It's quite problematic."
"I'll speak to the ministry," Hermione said. "Hopefully they'll let us help you out since it's going to endanger the earth itself."
"What you think the British government isn't going to assume you're just nuts?" Dean asked.
"Of course they would," Hermione answered. "However, I'm going to talk to my government, the Ministry of Magic. I doubt they'll find it so far fetched."
"What exactly is a warlock?" Sam asked.
"It's his preferred vernacular," she said. "We don't use it. Apparently the term witch is a dirty word over here."
"Witches are humans who have traded their souls for demonic powers," Castiel said without hesitation. "Often they do this unknowingly, but proceed to use their powers for personal gain and harming others."
"It's different than a crossroads demon since there's no contract," Crowley answered her unasked question. "Often they lure their victims in by helping the human 'find' a lost text. The first spell is always an oath to give their soul to the demon, almost always written in Latin."
"Why wouldn't you translate it before reading it aloud?" Hermione asked.
"Exactly how many people do you know who are fluent in Latin?" Dean asked mockingly.
"Everyone," Hermione answered shrugging. "It was required for school. Most of our spells are Latin based. Regardless, we're born with our magic."
"She's one of Gaia's," Crowley told Castiel. "Unlike what we believed, they weren't wiped out. They went into hiding after the witch trials. Hid themselves spectacularly."
"Gaia?" Dean asked.
"The Earth personified," Castiel answered. "She was quite angry at the damage angels and demons were inflicting upon the earth after Lucifer's fall. So, to protect it, she stole several thousand humans and infected them with her magic as a sort of counter balance."
"It's not an infection," Hermione said. "It's a gift. Unlike demonic witches, our magic is weaved into our souls, which I'm guessing you'd be able to see if not for the sigil an idiot added without permission."
"Not apologizing," Crowley said. "Now, let's get to work on our little devil problem."