Patience was never a strong suit when it came to Dean Winchester and the housing ceremony was one of those times where the little patience he did contain was put to the test. Especially this year when his younger brother was to be placed.
Silence filled the Great Hall, only interrupted by the calling of names by Professor McGonagall, the name of the house proclaimed by the Sorting Hat, and the cheers from the respective houses. So really, it wasn't that silent in the Hall and those moments where the din calmed were filled with anxious anticipation. It was a joyous occasion, definitely one of the highlights of every year because everyone was filled with happiness at seeing their friends again and an overwhelming sense of coming home.
Yet this part always seemed to drag on for the eldest Winchester, because not only did he really not care who got put where, but they were seated in front of empty plates and forced to wait for the feast. His green eyes roamed around to the other tables, finally settling on his best friend's face who was turned towards the new group of first years, watching the ceremony with a certain level of interest. He turned to meet Dean's gaze almost instinctively and Dean was caught again in the trap of Castiel's blue eyes.
"Pay attention," Cas mouthed at Dean, a smile splitting across his face and touching his eyes.
"No," Dean mouthed back, smirking.
Cas just rolled his eyes and laughed to himself, shaking his head and focusing back on the ceremony. Dean sighed and figured he should pay attention as well, even though he really only cared about one name and "W" was practically at the end of the alphabet. Still, he half-heartedly clapped his hands when names like "Hermione Granger" and "Neville Longbottom" (which he also snickered at) were called and placed into his house, Gryffindor.
Finally a name was called that made everyone stop. There was no chattering or clapping or even breathing to be heard. It was so quiet in the Great Hall, Dean was sure if he were to drop a feather everyone would have heard it.
"Harry Potter."
Everyone knew who the boy was, even Dean. Sure he was a half blood, but he was a fifth year there; every child talked about the famous Harry Potter, 'the Boy Who Lived'. There had been rumors that he would be attending Hogwarts this year but no one had really known for sure. The rumors were of course true now as a skinny boy with unruly black hair and dorky glasses stepped forward and had the hat placed on his head.
He and the hat seemed to be having a discussion, the hat sometimes talked to people in their heads, but Dean wasn't really paying attention. His eyes had found his younger brother, Sammy, and he was trying to catch his eye.
Sam finally looked over at him, smiled and waved nervously. Some ginger-haired kid in front of Sam looked over at Dean and then whispered something to his brother to which Sam nodded. Probably asked Sam if Dean was his brother.
"Seems our siblings are getting along," someone whispered in Dean's left ear.
Turning, Dean saw Percy Weasley sitting next to him. He'd never really been fond of Percy, in all honesty the boy annoyed the hell out of Dean and the fact that he'd been made Prefect that year seemed to really boost his already huge ego, but Dean just nodded and mumbled a "yeah" and turned back in time to hear the Hat shout "Gryffindor!" marking Harry Potter as one of their own. He joined in on the clapping and even whooped as the young boy made his way to the table, smiling and sitting with a few of the other first years.
There weren't many other names after that, and the Weasley boys cheered pretty loud when their youngest brother Ron, who'd been the one talking to Sam, was placed into Gryffindor.
"Samuel Winchester."
Dean crossed his fingers as his younger brother walked up and sat on the stool. He felt a hand on his shoulder and smiled at his friend Jo, who was sitting to his right and smiling encouragingly at him.
This time Dean actually paid attention to what was going on and at first he was confused because the Hat was taking a few moments to place Sam. And the look on Sam's face worried Dean because his brother was not happy, he actually looked like he was about to start crying. Dean fidgeted in his seat, squirming under Jo's grip which she tightened. He didn't understand what was taking so long, the hat should just place Sam in Gryffindor with him like all other siblings. Brothers and sisters were usually placed in the same house, that's how things worked. So why didn't the hat just say-
"Hufflepuff!"
The clapping from the Hufflepuff table was a bit subdued due to the fact that everyone was stunned. Dean didn't know what to think or say. He looked over to the Hufflepuff table and saw Cas staring at him with worry on his face but also a plea, practically begging Dean not to freak out with his eyes.
Dean held it together, took a few breaths, and clapped for his brother who actually seemed fine and was currently making his way to his new table and sitting with a few of the first years.
"It has to be a mistake," Jo whispered, shaking her head and patting Dean's shoulder.
He shrugged her hand away and sighed. "The Sorting Hat doesn't make mistakes, you know that."
"Well, Hufflepuff isn't a bad lot. Plus Cas and Charlie are in there so they'll watch Sam," John Watson, a friend of Dean's and a fellow Quidditch teammate, whispered from across the table.
Dumbledore stood at his podium and began to make his usual announcements. The same thing every year, "stay out of the Forbidden Forest", "Mr. Filch is the caretaker, blah blah blah", "here's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher", and so on. Five years of attending the school and Dean was pretty much sick of listening to the same old speech over and over again. It's not that he didn't like Dumbledore, he was an alright guy who may have had a few screws loose in his head, but he talked so much and Dean really just wanted to eat and try to take his mind off the fact that his brother wasn't in the same house as him.
"And now, let the feast begin."
And with a flourish of his hands, the food magically appeared and Dean loaded his plate.
"Dean, slow down, it's not all going to magically disappear."
He looked up to see Rose Tyler laughing at him. She, John, and Jo were really the only close friends Dean had in Gryffindor house. Rose was beautiful with shoulder-length blond hair and big hazel eyes that were sheltered under long eyelashes. She shared the typical Gryffindor trait of bravery and aptitude for adventure, but she was also amazingly kind and empathetic.
John had short blond hair and dark blue eyes and was one of the bravest people Dean had ever met. He was always willing to lay his life down to protect others, even expressing the will to join the muggle army once graduating from Hogwarts. He didn't talk about that much though because of his boyfriend, Sherlock of Slytherin House. Sherlock had it in his head that he and John were going to become detectives of some sort once they left the school; it was an argument that they often had behind closed doors but John disclosed everything with Dean.
And then there was Jo. She was a year younger than Dean but saw herself as his equal in almost every way. She was pretty with long blond hair and chocolate brown eyes, and she was almost exactly like Dean. Sometimes that caused them to bump heads a little, but more often than not it helped them see things the same way. Except when he thought she was getting ahead of herself, then he would act like some sort of overprotective father and at those times she swore she almost hated him. But they were still good friends.
Jo laughed at what Rose said and Dean smiled sarcastically before taking a huge bite of a chicken leg. This caused everybody at the table to laugh and the good-natured feeling all around was enough to ease Dean's worry over his brother for a while.
"So where do you think they dragged that guy from?"
Dean looked up from his pudding to see Jo nodding her head towards the new DADA teacher. Dean hadn't caught the man's name, but he was sure he wouldn't have cared either way. The man looked squirrely, fidgeting in his seat while his eyes darted around the room nervously. And on top of that he was wearing a turban.
What the hell?
"I've got no idea, but someone needs to give him some Xanax or something."
Some of the kids looked at him with a weird expression and not wanting to give them an overview of "muggle medicines" he simply rolled his eyes and continued eating.
Pretty soon the food was cleared away and everyone was sent to their respective houses. Dean tried to catch up with Sammy but he had walked ahead with some other Hufflepuffs.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine."
Dean turned towards the low voice and was met with a pair of unbelievably blue eyes and a kind smile. An urge to hug his best friend gripped him tight, but not wanting to make a scene, the eldest Winchester flashed Castiel a grin and breathed out a little sigh.
"Yeah, I know, I know, it just doesn't make sense. Siblings almost always go into the same house and for Sam to go somewhere else it just doesn't make any sense and I-"
Cas put a calming hand on Dean's shoulder. "Dean, everything's fine. You know nothing bad is going to happen to him, he's completely safe here. I promise Charlie and I will look after him and you can see him almost any time. Now go to your rooms, Snape's coming this way."
With one last smile, Castiel turned his back and walked away from Dean who was about to walk in the direction of his own house when a tall figure in black blocked his way.
"Mr. Winchester, how nice to see you again," came the condescending voice belonging to none other than Professor Severus Snape.
"Likewise, Professor. Tell me, did you do something with your hair," Dean asked, forever unable to keep his snarky comments to himself.
Snape made a clicking noise with his tongue and crossed his arms, regarding Dean with absolute lack of care. "Is this really how we are going to start our year, Winchester? I thought as you aged you would grow some sort of intelligence."
"Well the day you actually teach me something worthwhile is the day I will grow some intelligence, sir. Now, I apologize Professor, but I must retire to my room. Have a pleasant evening." He formally bowed and then spun around on his heels and started walking away.
"I will see you bright and early in the morning, Mr. Winchester."
"Sir, yes sir," Dean called over his shoulder.
"Looks like I got here just in time," he whispered into Rose's ear as he climbed through the hole into their common room. He'd gotten there just as Percy started his whole spiel about whose rooms were where and etcetera.
"Where did you go?"
"I got a little sidetracked by our favorite teacher," he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the back wall.
She rolled her eyes. "You didn't make us lose any points already did you?"
He gasped in mock offense. "Rose Tyler, I can't believe you would assume that I would do such a thing. Have you no faith in me?"
"Excuse me, but I would appreciate it if everyone would remain quiet while I'm explaining this highly important information."
Both of them looked up to see Percy glaring at them.
"Yes, of course, please continue, Mr. Weasley, you have our undivided attention."
Percy shook his head in annoyance but did continue with his speech, which he had obviously prepared and memorized. Rose playfully punched Dean's shoulder.
"You need to stop that, you're going to get yourself into real trouble one day."
"Hey, come one, I'm an angel."
"Oh, please."
They both laughed to themselves, despite the occasional glare from Percy, and said goodnight as they were all dismissed to their rooms. Dean climbed the stairs until he reached the room for the fifth year boys and walked in. It was basically the same as every other room he'd had over the past few years and so he chose the bed he always chose: the furthest one from the door, next to the window.
John came in and dropped down onto the bed next to Dean, smiling like an idiot.
"Alright, what's got you so happy? It couldn't be the color of these lovely drapes, now could it?" Dean asked in a mocking tone.
"Oh, piss off, Dean," John laughed. "I'm just happy to be back and away from home."
Aren't we all, Dean thought to himself.
He didn't like to think of home. The only good thing there for him was Sammy, and now that Sam was at Hogwarts with him there was literally nothing redeemable about the Winchester home. It was a two-bedroom flat, and the small amount of space ensured the fact that the boys were never far from their neglectful, alcoholic father. He never hit the boys, but he did have a bit of an anger-control problem and he yelled. A lot. Their mother died when Dean was only four and apparently she'd been a witch but hadn't told John.
He found out the day Dean got his letter on his eleventh birthday. John Winchester was definitely shocked.
Dean really hadn't wanted to go because he didn't want to leave his brother behind for a whole school year with his dad, but luckily the landlady, a kind older woman, promised to take good care of Sam. She was a squib, a person from a magical family who didn't possess any magical talents whatsoever, but she was kind and good friends to the people of the magical community. In fact, most of her tenants were witches and wizards. The Holmes family were actually neighbors of the Winchesters, all under the care and watchful eye of Mrs. Hudson.
"Alright boys, now as I am the Prefect this year, I understand that you may feel slightly intimidated at being my friends considering I have such an important title, but I want you to be rest assured I am still just Percy Weasley and I am glad to be in your company."
John and Dean turned their heads to the curly haired ginger who had just strut into the room like an awkward peacock, almost tripping over his own robes. He was followed by two other boys, Greg Lestrade and Mickey Smith, and they both shared the same expression of utter disinterest as John and Dean.
Dean rolled his eyes and walked over to greet Greg and Mickey. He wasn't really close with them, Greg's best friend was Sherlock and Mickey used to date Rose before she broke up with him to date someone else, but because they were friends of his friends he considered them at least good acquaintances. Plus they'd shared rooms together ever since they got to Hogwarts.
"Hey guys, how was your summer?"
Greg reached over and shook Dean's outstretched hand. "Not bad, not bad. Really didn't do much though. How about yourself?"
Dean smiled as he shook Mickey's hand. "About the same. Hey Mickey, how's it goin'?"
"Just fine. Sorry about your brother."
The room went silent. Even Percy looked slightly uncomfortable, adjusting his pillow and sheets on the bed furthest from Dean's.
The Winchester just shrugged his shoulders though, not wanting everyone to see how upset he really was. "Eh, it's alright. It's not like anything's going to happen to him; Hogwarts is the safest place on the planet. Plus Cas told me he and Charlie would keep an eye on Sam and I trust them."
"That's true, so-"
"Excuse me gentlemen. Now, I'm sure I needn't remind you that as fifth years we are required to take the O.W.L.s this year and being as such I would suggest we all go to sleep at an earlier time so that we will get a good night's rest before classes each day."
"Perce, come on, can't we just-"
"Goodnight, Gregory. And to you all."
And with that, Percy climbed into bed, blew out the candle on his nightstand, and shut the drapes.
"Well, while princess gets her beauty sleep, I got some Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans, you guys wanna have some fun?"
Everyone grinned and laughed at the evil smile on Dean's face and then they ran over to his and John's beds and made themselves comfortable as they ate the candy and laughed at each other. Of course, much to the annoyance of the Prefect.
And that was how they spent their first night back, laughing and joking around and generally just enjoying each other's company.
Such a shame how good things never last.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Feel free to leave kudos and maybe even a comment as to what you did and didn't like.
I've been working on this story for a while now and this is about all I have for it at the moment. And considering I have a few other stories I'm working on all at once (I can't stay focused on the same one for too long) I won't be updating too often. So, I apologize in advance, but I still hope you liked it. And of course, favoriting and leaving positive comments (even critiques) make me more willing to write for a certain story.