Disclaimer: Dean, Sam, Mr Weasley and any characters from the TV show Supernatural and movie and books Harry Potter do not belong to me in any way (sadly). I am just playing with the characters. This story is written purely for enjoyment, with no profit of any kind expected, intended or desired.
Co-written by Hare in the Moonlight and Mariamo
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The Winchester Portkey
Chapter One
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"Yeah… it's somewhere close. Okay…" Sam tapped his cell phone against the palm of his hand, checking the signal strength with a frown.
"The signal is breaking up... Okay Bobby, we'll give you a call soon as we get back into range."
Dean raised an eyebrow at him. "Nothin' new then?"
"No."
The Impala rolled on through the dry, brown grasses of the Colorado prairie. Sam took another look at the newspaper clipping.
"It should be somewhere around here, Dean. Newspaper says the girl went missing about 5 miles past the old church."
"All looks the same to me, Sammy. Hold on..." Dean squinted, braking the Impala gradually to a halt.
A figure stood in the vast emptiness of the prairie, a couple of hundred yards out into the grassland.
"Funny place to take a walk." Sam unfolded himself into the dry road.
Dean emerged slowly, tucking his custom-made Colt into the waistband of his jeans.
"Weird looking fella," Dean muttered, as the man strode towards them, a friendly smile on his face.
He was strangely attired for the middle of the prairie. A smart, tweed three-piece suit and shiny brown brogues, topped off with a brown felt Fedora. He touched the brim of the Fedora and dipped his chin in a pleasant nod. "It's all ready for you boys!"
Sam was opening his mouth to reply when the man, still smiling, seemed to be sucked into a hole in mid-air and disappeared with a loud crack.
Dean grabbed for his gun as Sam stumbled backwards in shock.
"Dude!" Dean fumbled for words. "He just…!"
"I know!"
"He got zapped! It's like somethin' out of freakin' Star Trek!"
"What?" Sam looked bewildered. "You think he got beamed up?"
Both heads looked up simultaneously, searching the sky. Sam looked a little hopeful, almost as though he was hoping to see the Starship Enterprise peeking from behind a cloud.
There were no interstellar spaceships in sight… obviously.
They spent the next twenty minutes or so poking around in the grassland. The only visible evidence that the man had ever existed were the bent grasses left by the passage of his feet. The tracks led them to a dry log.
"How in hell did that get here?" Sam scanned the horizon. "There's not a tree for miles!"
"He walked out here for some reason, Sammy." Dean skirted around the log cautiously. Even if there were no aliens around there might still be some rattlesnakes soaking up the early autumn sunlight.
"Doesn't look like it's been here long… is there anything underneath it?"
Dean sighed. "Trust you to think of a reason why we've gotta move it! Here, give me a hand."
They took a firm hold of opposing ends of the log, preparing to roll it sideways. Suddenly it shot into the air, spinning wildly. Acting on instinct, both hunters gripped tightly.
"SAAMMM!" Dean yelled, panicking at the sudden flight; the word was whipped away by the sheer velocity of the spin.
Before they had time to take a breath, their vision went blurry and they both felt as though a giant hook had grabbed them behind their navels, yanking them backwards at an incredible rate of knots.
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The log stopped abruptly. They lost their grip, crashing down onto wet, green grass. The log slammed into the ground between them.
Sam moved first, rolling up onto his elbow; he was gasping for breath. "Dean?"
"Here," his brother groaned. "I'm gonna hurl."
"Hello there! Awful landing lads! Suppose you don't use portkeys often in America?" A breathy, enthusiastic and very English voice was above them. "Glad I got here early, otherwise I would have missed you!"
The Winchesters sat up slowly, heads spinning, to see a slightly grubby face beaming at them, good nature in every plump wrinkle under a head of messy, bright ginger hair.
He held out a hand to Sam. "I'm Arthur. Arthur Weasley. And you are?"
Sam took his hand hesitantly, receiving a firm shake. "Errr, Sam?"
"Sam. Good name, good name." Nodding eagerly, he turned to beam at Dean.
Dean, looking slightly green, glowered back at him.
Sam jumped in, finding it hard not to be polite when faced with such joviality. "Dean," he supplied, trying to gloss over the awkwardness. "My brother, Dean."
"Well now! The Ministry didn't tell me they were sending over brothers!" The man looked even more pleased, if that was humanly possible. "Brothers, well, well, that's excellent. I hope my sons follow me into the business."
He gestured eagerly down the hillside. "Shall we get going then?"
Sam made as if to follow.
"Sam! Wait. This guy is crazy on toast." Dean grabbed at his brother's arm. "Where are you goin'?"
"Dean, we need to find out where we are. This isn't Colorado. And I think we can take him, don't you."
It was clearly not Colorado. The damp mist of a drizzly evening surrounded the wet hillside. There were no buildings in sight, only the white blobs of a few sheep standing out in the dusk.
Mr Weasley was striding away down the hillside. Sam and Dean followed reluctantly.
"Come on boys. Not far now. So… tell me, have either of you been to England before?"
"England?" Sam stuttered.
"No? Well it's a little bit damper than where you're from I suppose. "
"England!" Dean sounded incredulous. "I told ya, Sammy. Scotty did beam us up!" He tripped, grabbing onto Sam's jacket for balance, as he searched the sky again. There was still no sign of the Enterprise.
Mr Weasley was holding open a rusty, metal gate. He waved them through, patting Dean genially on the shoulder as he passed.
"Now this…" He gestured towards a light blue Ford Anglia with a triumphant expression. "This is the car I was telling you about. Isn't she a beauty!"
Dean regarded the Ford Anglia with an expression of horror.
Mr Weasley turned to him. "The Ministry told me you'd done the same thing with your car. What model was it, they didn't tell me?"
"'67 Chevy Impala, Oh sonofabitch! Where's my car? Sam! Where's Baby! She's all by herself; someone is gonna steal her!"
Mr Weasley brushed off his guest's comments. "Well now," he said. "I'm sure it will be alright. You remembered to attach an invisibility button didn't you? Besides… no muggle would ever be able to work it, right?"
"Wha… " Dean opened his mouth and shut it again, confused.
"Muggle?" Sam queried.
"Yes, yes. Non-magical folk. Or do you have a different name for them over there?" He clapped Sam on the arm. "I can't tell you how excited I am about this international exchange. I was thrilled when the Ministry told me I'd be looking after you."
He swung open the door of the little Ford Anglia and moved the front seat forwards.
"Who's getting in the back then?"
Dean pushed Sam aside. "More leg room in the front, Sammy."
He winked at his brother as he climbed in. Sam noticed that Dean had his Colt held tight against the side of his leg.
Mr Weasley chuckled. "Good to see you've got a sense of humour!"
Dean settled carefully into the back seat, looking puzzled. It was surprisingly spacious. In fact there seemed to be more room than inside the Impala, and that was clearly impossible.
Sam climbed carefully into the front passenger seat, scrunching himself into a tight ball and then gradually relaxing as he realised there was ample room to stretch his legs out and sit up straight.
The door slammed with a metallic clang as Mr Weasley got into the driver's side. He turned the key, gave them a brilliant smile and zoomed forwards, heading directly at a large oak tree.
Sam grasped the dashboard and shut his eyes. He was going to die, a whole ocean away from home. His stomach swooped; he braced for impact. It didn't come. Noises of distress came from the back seat.
"Sam…" It was a broken moan. "We're flyin' Sam… I'm gonna die… or hurl… or both."
Dean had his eyes screwed shut, his fingers digging into the edge of the seat. "This is a freakin' nightmare. I wanna wake up."
Sam peered cautiously out of the window. They were indeed flying. "Amazing…" he murmured, not sure he was even awake.
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They flew for about 30 minutes. The dim evening light turned slowly to dusk. After the initial shock wore off, Sam found he could detach his mind from reality enough to almost enjoy the experience. If he stopped thinking about the craft as a car, it was easy enough to pretend it was simply a light aircraft, a Cessna or such like. He sat back and looked at the purple streaks of the setting sun, letting Mr Weasley's bright chatter wash over him.
Dean was not enjoying the experience. He sat with a rigid posture, occasional muffled curses drifting from the back seat, interspersed with a breathless little humming noise.
Mr Weasley looked questioningly at Sam.
"Metallica," he explained. "Calms him down. He's kinda scared of flying."
Mr Weasley glanced back, sympathy in his gaze. "Unfortunate," he murmured. "In our line of work."
In the distance they saw an impossibly balanced wooden structure. A house, on top of a house, on top of a house, with another small house sticking out of one side, about half way up.
"Home, sweet home!" Mr Weasley beamed as the Anglia swooped down to a bumpy landing.
"Oh thank God!" Dean said fervently, staggering out as Sam moved the seat forwards. Sam took hold of his upper arm to steady him.
"I hope you boys are hungry? Molly has got supper on. Meat pie I believe. And if we're lucky there'll be a nice apple pie for afters."
Dean lifted his head, hope filtering across his features.
"Pie?" He asked warily, peering around Sam's bulk.
His brother stood with his head thrown backwards, looking in amazement at the haphazard and unstable structure before him.
"Pie." Mr Weasley confirmed happily. "Come along and meet Molly and Ginny."
Hope you're enjoying it so far… love to know what you think. :)