Chapter Two: Outta My Element, Like I'm Walking on Broken Glass
A/N: I still don't own anything. This chapter along with the next two was written with Reg. Without her, Sam and Hermione wouldn't have made it very far. Thank you to all of you who checked out the first chapter, put it on your story alert, put me on your author alert, and my reviewer! I'd love to hear what the rest of you think if you'd care to drop a comment. Title from Aly& AJ's "Chemicals React" Enjoy!
Hermione stared at the red door for about ten minutes before even thinking about knocking. Was this really a good idea? She had no idea who these guys were. She knew what they did but did she want to go back to fighting evil? An image of her working at the Ministry of Magic as an old maid shot into her head and she nodded. Yeah, she wanted to do this. She took a deep breath and knocked.
"Here goes nothing." Hermione muttered.
Sam Winchester stood up at the knock. He looked at his brother Dean. It was a little late for visitors. Dean nodded and Sam opened the door to see a girl, not too much younger than him, standing there. He stared at her, confused. Hermione was more nervous than she had been in a long time and really wished she had had Bobby call first.
"Hi?" He raised his eyebrows.
"H-Hi. Er...Bobby Singer sent me?" She said the first thing that came into her head.
"Bobby sent you?" Sam rubbed his neck and looked back into the room. She could see a gun on the bed and tried not to stare at it. This was not going the way that Hermione had wanted. She took a deep breath.
"Let's start again shall we? I'm Hermione Granger. Your friend Bobby Singer sent me. He said you can call him. I know I don't look like much but," She took her wand out of her pocket," this may be why he sent me. Accio shotgun!" The shotgun flew over to her and she caught it. She quickly handed it back to the nameless young man. Sam stared at her, a little stunned and took the shotgun back.
"I'm Sam Winchester. That's my brother Dean." His head jerked back in the direction of the room. He studied her, before stepping aside quickly, so she had room to come in. The motel had an...interesting décor. Some would call it ugly and cramped, but she could tell neither of them minded.
"That was quite... impressive what you just did." He wasn't too sure what to say after that.
"Hi," Hermione said, now that they had been properly introduced and made her way into the room," thanks...it comes with the whole witch thing." She stopped immediately and put her hands up, remembering what Bobby and Hagrid had said about witches here.
"Not a demonic-satanic-kills-rabbits-curses-people witch. I was born this way." She said quickly. That was when Dean Winchester decided to make himself known. Her magic crap had, admittedly, surprised him, but he wasn't too happy that Sammy had let a witch into their room. Even if it was a hot witch, still a witch. He walked up to the both of them.
"Sure you were, sweetheart." And without saying anything else to her, he pulled out a small bottle of holy water and threw some on her face. Hermione blinked as the water hit her skin. Bobby had told her about that, but at least he made her drink it. Obviously, nothing happened. She took out her wand and cast a Hot-Air charm to dry herself off. She put the wand back in her pocket and folded her arms across her chest, not pleased.
"Is silver next?" She asked, eyebrow arched almost like a challenge.
Dean immediately aimed the gun he had been holding to the witch's head.
"Aren't you a smart one."
"Dean..." Sam felt a little uneasy when his brother put a gun to her head. He didn't know why, but he really wanted to believe what she was saying. She seemed to handle it better than he thought. Hermione knew that she could get out of this with her magic, but that wouldn't make them trust her.
"Before you shoot, I'd like to remind you that Bobby said you could call him. Just a suggestion." She spoke rather quickly, trying to hide her nerves.
"Call him." Dean ordered, not taking his eyes or his gun off of Hermione.
Sam pulled out his phone and tried to give her a reassuring smile.
"Hey. Yeah...she's here...yeah...he is. Okay, thanks, Bobby. I will." Sam hung up his phone and looked at the two of them. Dean waited, finger on the trigger.
"She's telling the truth. Oh and Bobby wanted me to tell you, you're a dumbass."
Dean cleared his throat, feeling a little embarrassed. Whatever, she was still a witch. He backed off her and sat down, keeping his knife in his hand. Hermione was relieved that she was no longer at gun point, but the knife annoyed her to no end. She sighed heavily and walked over to him. She took the knife out of his hands and dragged it across her hand, flinching slightly. Dean arched an eyebrow, watching the wound. The blood dripped out of her palm like it would any other normal person.
"See? It's not burning and I'm not screaming. So I'm not a wraith, werewolf, shapeshifter or anything else vulnerable to silver." She cleaned the knife off on her jeans and slammed it back down on the table. Sam couldn't help but smile, no one really showed up Dean like that. Dean snarled at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Even though he would never admit it, he was impressed too. Hermione took out her wand and pointed it to the wound, it healed instantly. It made Dean a little uneasy, magic just seemed wrong to him. Sam found it interesting seeing as no babies were slaughtered in the process.
"So now that we're sort of...settled on the whole witch thing, I'm told you have an issue with a ghost?" She folded her arms across her chest again, waiting. She may have been twenty years old, but she was still that bossy little girl on the Hogwarts train.
"Yeah. We have a problem with a ghost. Not you." Dean huffed like a little boy.
"Funny, I don't remember using that subjective pronoun." Hermione snapped back.
"You're actually talking grammar to me? What are you—a school teacher?" Dean glared at her.
"School teacher? That's all you've got?" She rolled her eyes.
"Dean, Bobby wouldn't have sent her if she couldn't help." Sam sighed, watching the two of them bicker like kids. He was waiting for Dean to pull on her pigtails and make her eat dirt. Dean let out a laugh, he couldn't believe Sammy was actually thinking about letting a witch work with them.
"What is she gonna do poof it away with her stick?"
"Hey," Hermione raised her voice slightly, she didn't appreciate being talked about like she wasn't in the room," I don't expect you to trust me—don't start, lemme finish—but there's more to me than just a witch, okay? I fought in a war when I was seventeen and we won. I've seen my friends killed in front of my own eyes and I've kicked evil's arse. But, by all means, if you don't need me-I'll go back to England."
"Sorry to break it to you, but we don't. Buh-bye." Dean turned his head away. He would be lying to himself if he didn't find what she was saying interesting, but that didn't matter, she was a witch. Hermione huffed and got to her feet. She had never met anyone so ridiculous and racist. Well, except for Draco Malfoy, but even now he wasn't this bad.
"Oh yeah, I'm bloody sure you are." She made for the door. This was all such a huge mistake.
Sam saw the pain in her eyes when she spoke about friends dying in front of her and couldn't help but feel empathy. She seemed so strong. In a few quick strides, he blocked her from walking out the door.
"Ignore him. I'm sorry about my brother...but I want you to stay. We really could use your help." Sam sighed, looking into her eyes, pleading with her. She was a little taken aback. They were completely different. She really didn't like being harassed for being what she was, but there was something in his eyes that told her to stay.
"All right," Her eyes wandered back over to Dean," I think it's best we don't interact much, yeah?"
Dean snorted. She was so annoying with her prissy little British accent.
"No problem."
Hermione looked back at Sam, the nicer brother. He motioned for her sit next to him at the desk. He pulled out his laptop. She laughed a little at the sight of it.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Oh, nothing. It's just been a while since I've seen one of those." Hermione explained. She remembered showing Ron how to use it. He had been blow away. She pushed the thoughts of the red haired bastard out of her mind.
"So Rawsonville, Michigan has been known as one of this states famous Ghost Towns for many years. They really play it up for tourists the best they can. Staging fake hauntings and killings. Well that was all fine 'til people actually started dying. The first kill was three weeks ago. A guy by the name of Marshal Lenord was going on a a night tour at the local cemetery when all of the sudden he just drops dead. Everyone there had no idea what happened. A couple days later the report showed that his heart had been crushed, almost as if someone squeezed it 'til it burst. Since then there have been four more deaths. They've taken place at all different locations throughout the town, but their reports have all come out the same." Sam told her, hoping it wasn't too much information all at once. Hermione nodded for him to continue. An image of a bursting heart flashed in her mind, making her a little queasy, but she ignored it.
"The only thing we can find that links all the victims together were that they were all tourists, but that's it." Sam explained, shrugging his shoulders. Her eyes narrowed as she thought back to the three books she had read on her flight. Violent spirits were usually created from violent deaths...
"The local cemetery, does it house anyone who died...unnaturally?" She didn't know quite how to word it. Sam smiled at Hermione, when she wasn't looking. She didn't freak out or anything about what he just told her. She seemed to take this as seriously as Dean and him. Well, Dean did most of the time.
"I did some research. The cemetery is almost as old as the town itself, so I did the best I could. I looked over the records and did some questioning around the town and there was really nothing out of the ordinary. Natural causes, crashes, and a few murders, but nothing that involved a heart crushed." Sam wanted to see where she was going with this. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she listened. Her mind was working at its usual rapid pace and she tried not to blurt it all out at once,
"What if...what if the heart being crushed wasn't the cause of the death? Those murders, did you find out if there were there any women and were any of them married?"
"What do you mean? Yeah, two out of the five victims were women. Both unmarried, but here with their boyfriends. Nothing really adds up." Sam said slowly.
Hermione smiled, biting down on her lip.
"That's not what I meant, sorry," She offered him a weak, apologetic smile, she was so used to working with Harry who practically read her mind," I don't mean people murdered by the ghost. I mean in the cemetery, you said there was a few murders? Say there's a married woman-her husband is unfaithful and has her..."taken care of" so he can be with his mistress. It may not have been her cause of death but that kind of betrayal-it's sort of like having your heart crushed, isn't it?" There was a painful twinge in her heart as she spoke, but she pushed it down. Thankfully, Sam didn't seem to notice any change in her demeanor, he was too blow away by her intelligence.
"No, I'm sorry, I'm not used to working with someone so... smart." He looked back at Dean and smiled, then turned his attention back to Hermione. Dean saw the look and flipped him off, making Hermione laugh quietly.
"So what do you think she is doing it for? Saving them the trouble of going through what she did or some kind of twisted revenge?" He got up from his chair and retrieved a folder that was on the nightstand beside the bed. He looked through some of the papers as he walked back to Hermione.
"In the past a hundred years or so I could only find reports of six murders. Four of them women, but only two of them show their killer and it wasn't the husband." He handed her the file. She took it with a smile. She too, wasn't used to working with someone who did their own research, she was used to providing it all. It was refreshing.
"Well, judging on how gruesome she's made the deaths, I don't think she's sparing anyone anything. But she's not killing couples. The first victim was..." She ran her hand through her hair again. Her teeth grazed her bottom lip, before muttering to herself. Her eyes widened. Sam leaned in closer, watching her work. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dean do the same.
"The first victim was a man. Then three others. She really hates men. As for the two dead women," She flipped through the file Sam handed her," No, the husband wouldn't be in the file as the murderer, he'd have to cover his tracks. If he's caught he can't be with his mistress. Found it. Cheryl Fowler. Wife of Dr. Robert Fowler. Murdered on the eve of her twenty first wedding anniversary. Killer never found. Her body was discovered by her best friend, Jennifer Sheldon."
Sam watched in awe as this girl figured out in less than an hour what it took him and Dean three days to gather. He could see why Bobby sent her.
"I wonder..." Hermione spotted another file on the desk, right next to Sam. She reached for it slowly, showing him she just wanted to look at it. She didn't want to make any sudden movements around two trigger happy hunters. She found the pictures of both female victims and laid it next to the photo of Jennifer Sheldon.
"All tall, blue eyed blondes. Mrs. Fowler has a type, " She looked back up at Sam," You might want to see if Jennifer Sheldon is the new Mrs. Fowler before we jump to any more conclusions."
Sam gave a look to Dean, who wouldn't meet his eyes. Yeah, he was impressed. He forced himself to pay attention to the case and looked up what she told him. He could tell she was used to being right and not questioned.
"1986 Dr. Robert Fowler and Jennifer Sheldon unite in holy matrimony. Only a year after his wife was murdered, he got over that quickly." He pushed the laptop over so Hermione could take a look. She smiled triumphantly as her theory was confirmed. Sam noticed how pleased she was with herself, it was amusing. As he looked at the photo of the doctor something clicked in his head. He pulled out the male victims files.
"It looks like this ghost isn't just picking at random males either. All the males have brown hair and over six feet." He studied the doctor, then glanced back at Hermione. There was something that didn't quite fit.
"But why start killing now? I mean this ghost has just been sitting around for the past two decades and now all of the sudden starts killing?"
Hermione nodded, that was strange. She bit down on her lip again, mulling over all the information she had just been given. Sam picked up on some of her habits, like when she was thinking real hard, she would bite down on her lip. She certainly was intriguing.
"You said earlier...that this was a famous ghost town and they play it up for tourists. Is there any reason why it might be more than usual?"
"Uhh yeah...it's the town's one hundred and fiftieth anniversary." Sam found the file to confirm it, but she didn't look at it. There was no need, she trusted him.
"So big anniversary means more tourists than usual. If I was a disgruntled ghost, I wouldn't like people running around my grave for fun." She offered with a shrug.
"Makes sense." Sam nodded.
Dean got up after the two nerds figured it all out. He was ready to salt this bitch.
"Good job Nancy Drew. Just tell me where she is buried, so I can burn her bones and get this over with." He said gruffly, rolling his shoulders back.
"Does that make you Bess?" Hermione smirked at Sam. She had read all the Nancy Drew books as a child. Sam laughed loudly, clapping his hands together. She was funny. Dean didn't seem to think so and stayed quiet, waiting for the answer to his question. She wouldn't be so bad for a total nerd, if she wasn't a witch.
"I think we like to see ourselves as the Hardy Boys, just a little more badass." Sam smiled at her.
"Oh, I see." Hermione looked over at Dean, she didn't want to point out the obvious and embarrass him, so she tried to put this the best she could.
"She's buried in the cemetery...where the murderers have occurred?"
Dean cleared his throat and didn't say anymore on the subject.
"C'mon, Sammy. Let's go." He threw on his coat and went to the door.
Hermione got the feeling that Dean was going to leave without her. She stood up immediately, folding her arms across her chest again.
"You might have a problem," She pointed to Sam," she hates men that are over six feet with brown hair. So I'm coming with." It wasn't a suggestion.
"Well, he can distract her while I can salt and burn her bones. She won't just let us waltz up to her, now will she? Can you handle playing bait, Sammy?" Dean replied, showing her that there was no role for her to play in this.
"I think I can." Sam said with a sarcastic tone. By the way Hermione's eyes narrowed, he could tell she picked up on Dean's inference. But he had a feeling she wasn't taking no for an answer. After all, they'd still be at square one if it wasn't for her.
"Is the 1967 Impala yours? I'm sure you don't want a witch in your car so I can meet you there." Hermione continued like they hadn't been talking. She had noticed the car when she got here and after meeting Dean, she knew no one else could be her owner. Sam didn't give Dean a chance to answer.
"No, you can come with us."
Dean's lips straightened into a thin line and shot a look to Sam.
"Just don't touch the radio and we won't have a problem."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
-0-
It had rained recently as the blacktop glistened in the moonlight. The rumble of the black muscle car was silenced as Dean opened the door and went for the trunk. Hermione had stayed silent for the ride. He had purposely played "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zeppelin loud enough so that if she had tried to talk, he wouldn't hear her. Little did he know, it was Hermione's favorite Led Zeppelin song.
"Let's get this done with." Dean muttered as he pulled out his shotgun and loaded the rock salt bullets.
Sam stepped out of the car and opened the backseat, offering Hermione his hand. She took it, a little surprised. She wasn't used to being treated like a girl. She followed him over to the back of the car. He grabbed his gun as well and handed her a spare flashlight. She took it, placing it in the back pocket of her jeans, in case she needed it.
"You ready?" Sam asked her, not knowing all of her past, he didn't know what she was expecting.
"For fighting evil? Sure, why not." She shrugged her shoulders and pulled out her wand. Dean tensed a bit at the sight of it, remembering how she had stolen the shotgun from Sam before.
"Lumos." She whispered as the light emitted from the tip of her wand.
"That works," Sam looked down at her wand again, before looking at his brother," how do you wanna do this, Dean?"
After she used her wand as flashlight and didn't point it on either of them, Dean had to admit it was kinda cool.
"We'll split up, look for her grave. You and Granger can take one side I'll take the other." Dean started walking away. Hermione rolled her eyes, she hadn't been called Granger since Hogwarts. She marched down in the opposite direction, not really waiting for Sam. She wasn't the most patient of people and this needed to get done. Sam was putting the shovel over his shoulder, while he held the shotgun in his other hand when he turned back to see Hermione already walking quickly away from him. He jogged up next to her.
"Leaving your partner already? Not a good sign."
"Sorry, I'm a go getter, I suppose," She turned her head so he couldn't see her blush as she added," besides, you have to put those long legs to use somehow."
Sam grinned at her. It was innocent.
"Checking me out, huh?"
"No," Her tone was short," don't flatter yourself. I'm simply stating that you're a giant and practically tower over everything."
"Oh, I won't make that mistake in front of you again." He laughed.
They were checking the different graves, when Sam decided to make more conversation. She was interesting.
"So can I ask you a question?" He kept his eyes on the headstones.
"It's a supposedly free country." She did the same.
"Why'd you come to America?"
"I needed a change." Her tone was short, he could tell that wasn't the real answer but he wasn't going to say that.
"And hunting a killer ghost with a giant was your idea of a needed change?"
"Well, after being on the run with your best friend for a year-a life behind a desk isn't something you get used to. Not even after three years. I guess I just miss helping people. Making a difference. It just took a certain chain of events for me to realize that." Thinking of Ron made her eyes burn with tears, but she blinked them back. It was the last thing she wanted him to see. But she meant what she said. Even though she wasn't used to hunting ghosts, the researching, searching, and idea of danger was a surge of adrenaline she missed pumping through her veins.
To Sam, she was getting more and more interesting by the second. He was sure she had many stories to tell and he wouldn't mind hearing them. He could relate, Stanford had been his dream but now he realized it wasn't what he was meant to do.
"Well, I'm glad you decided to try it. It's sort of...refreshing with you."
She shot him a wide smile.
"Despite the holy water and the gun point it hasn't been horrible."
"Not the welcome you hoped for?"
"Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. Our worlds are so different. At my school, ghosts were used as mascots. Ours was very nice actually. Despite being nearly headless. And one of our professors and a dear friend of mine was a werewolf." She sighed heavily, missing Lupin.
"Yeah I wouldn't say Dean and I have ran into many Casper the friendly ghosts." Sam listened, unable to imagine the world she described. He knew Dean wouldn't. He readjusted the shovel on his shoulder as he added," But then again I never thought I find myself working with a witch."
"I can tell. Bobby wasn't as...forceful with his tests. I can't believe I'm back in the Muggle world." Hermione laughed a little, shaking her head.
"Muggle?" Sam repeated.
"Sorry, non-magical. Now, where is this bloody grave?" Hermione growled.
"I don't know," Sam hadn't really been looking that hard, he was too busy listening to her," but Dean, obviously hasn't found anything."
Hermione bit down on her lip again and ran a hand through her thick, curly hair.
"Well, I wonder...Keep your flash light on." She would need the light. Sam did as he was told, amused by how bossy she was.
"Nox." The light in her wand went out. She placed the wand in her hand.
"This usually only works for mazes but maybe since I created it..." She closed her eyes.
"Point me." The wand spun around in circles and then stopped, pointing East.
"Lumos." The light returned to her wand.
"Well, it's worth giving a shot." She started walking in the direction her wand told her. Sam shook his head, amazed at what just happened. He jogged up to her again, she was quick.
"So you can create your own spells?"
"Not exactly."
"Then how-"
"What I mean is, it's rather advanced...and difficult..." She blushed a little and Sam could tell she was trying to be modest. It made him smile.
"So what you mean is—you're not only a genius with research, but as a witch too."
"I didn't say that."
"No, but you didn't have to."
Hermione shook her head, turning away from him. Something caught her eye and she motioned for him to come closer.
"Sam, could you take a look at this?" She was sure she found the grave, but a second opinion wouldn't hurt. He came up behind her and squinted at the grave. He knew she didn't need his help, but he thought she was nice for including him.
"Looks like we have a winner." Sam said, taking out his phone. He called Dean and signaled with his flashlight. The older brother seemed much more relaxed now that he had a body to burn. Hermione didn't know how to take that.
"Ready to get a little dirty?" He asked her. The librarian looked a little like a princess. She gave him a look, trying to tell him otherwise.
"Actually, I have an idea, but since you're not fond of magic—shovel away." She waved her hand impatiently.
"Thank you." Dean's voice was very condescending. Sam, who wanted to see her magic, mouthed a sorry to her before helping his brother dig the grave. It wasn't long after they started that a strange wind started blowing.
"Boys...I think we have a visitor." Hermione's eyes looked around for the former Mrs. Fowler.
Dean dropped his shovel, immediately grabbing his shotgun.
"Keep digging, Sammy."
Sam dug faster when all of the sudden, he was flung out of the grave. His back slammed on the ground, barely missing the gravestones. Hermione's eyes grew wide as the ghost advanced on Sam.
"HEY!" The ghost turned and moved towards her.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" The spirit was knocked backwards. She disappeared. Hermione took that as her cue and ran over to Sam.
"Dean! You're the one with the bloody shotgun!" She snapped. Her spells would only do so much.
"Thanks for reminding me, sweetheart. You all right, Sammy?" Dean yelled out.
Sam tried to stand, body aching. Hermione winced, it looked painful.
"I'm okay." He said, a little short of breath. Hermione brought her attention back to Dean.
"Well, I don't see you using it! She's right there!" She pointed behind him. Dean whipped around and shot at her, she disappeared.
"Do what you need to do to get the grave dug up. We'll keep her preoccupied." Sam told her.
She nodded and ran over to the grave. The ghost appeared and she blasted it away with the same spell.
"Defodio." The grave was dug up within seconds.
"Cistem Aperio." The coffin swung open and Hermione was greeted by a lovely decaying corpse. Just one more spell and she was done. The ghost appeared. She swung her hand back and knocked Hermione off her feet. Her back slammed into the cold hard ground. Sam ran to her side. Dean moved quickly and began to salt the bones, getting his lighter ready. However, he wasn't quick enough. Soon after he started to light his lighter the ghost turned to him throwing him farther then she had the other two. Sam turned quickly to see Dean being thrown around. He collided into a grave stone. His shoulder hit it square on. He was about to go to Dean when he felt as though he couldn't breathe, as if a weight was on his chest. He brought his hand to chest as a massive pain came from his heart. He fell to his knees, as he began to break into a sweat. The pain was unbearable, as if someone had set his insides on fire. He looked up to see the ghost approaching him. Hermione scrambled to her feet, not wasting any time.
"Confringo!" The corpse was aflame. She panted heavily watching as the ghost disintegrated with a scream. Sam was on his hands, gasping from the release of pressure as the spirit was put to rest. Dean held his dislocated shoulder and trudged over to Sam. He looked up at Hermione.
"Nice going, Nancy Drew," He put his attention back on his brother," you okay, Sammy?"
"I'm great." Sam gave him a thumbs up. His voice was a little short of breath.
"Well I had to save Bess," Hermione put her hand to her forehead and made her way over to them," speaking of—you all right?"
Sam laughed at Hermione's comment. He got up slowly, his arm was tingling.
"Alive, thanks to you." He smiled. He studied her forehead, the gash was deep.
"Looks like she tossed you pretty good there."
"I'm fine, by the way." Dean interrupted.
"Trust me, I've had worse. Your shoulder looks revolting." Hermione answered, looking over at him.
"Well you don't look to great yourself, Miss Priss. Let's just get the hell out of here and back to the motel." Dean grumbled, trudging over to the parking lot.