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Dean sighed and set aside yet another book. Going through Hermione's library was becoming just as tedious as going through the bunker's. He was learning a lot of neat things about magic and what this hidden community could do. And it was at the same time really cool, and really scary. He thought the "hidden" world of the monsters they dealt with was crazy. These people seemed to have their own government system and hidden cities. It was bonkers.

He had been at Hermione's for almost a week, and they were no closer to finding a solution to permanently remove Michael from his brain. However, whatever it was that Hermione had done to strengthen his prison had helped a lot. No more pounding in his head.

However, in the last day their manpower had dwindled to just him and Hermione. Sam got a call from their mom saying the hunters needed help on a job, and they insisted Sam was the only person who could help, and Cas decided he needed to check up on how Jack was doing, so the two of them loaded up and headed back toward the bunker, leaving Dean behind to continue his work with Hermione.

After Sam and Cas left, Hermione insisted that Dean check out of the cheap motel and move into her guest room. So he had done that the night before. It was strange being alone in Hermione's house, she was at work and she had taken the kids to daycare, but it was nice to not be stuck inside that grungy motel room anymore.

He stood from the couch carrying the useless book with him back to the shelves Hermione had set up in the guest room/library. He replaced it and started browsing the titles, seeing if anything jumped out at him. He found himself eying a book titled, "The Voldemort Wars: The Complete History." Dean frowned. He knew he wasn't the best at history, but he was sure he would have remembered a war with this name. It must be some war in the magical world. He shrugged and pulled it off the shelf. He had spent a lot of time reading about mind magic and other things that directly related to his problem, maybe taking a little bit of a break and reading about a different topic would help him think more clearly.

He took the book and went back to the couch. He was really starting to love this couch. He opened the cover and saw that the first section was just a list of the main players in the war, with little biographies. He decided to skim through the names, even though being as it was a history book of a culture that wasn't his, the names wouldn't mean anything to him. At least that's what he thought until he hit the second name on the list under the bold headline, "The Golden Trio." There she was. "Hermione Granger. War Heroine. Helped The Chosen One, Harry Potter, vanquish the evil wizard Voldemort despite her blood status. Dubbed the brightest witch of her age, she demonstrated exceptional bravery during the war. From Voldemort's return at the end of her 4th year in 1996 to the final battle at Hogwarts in May 1998, Miss Granger stood beside her best friend (sometimes lover?) Potter, and along with her now fiance, Ron Weasley, they were able to save the Wizarding World from the evil of Voldemort."

Dean frowned. He looked at the dates next to her name. Yeah, that's what he thought. Hermione was the same age as him. She fought in a war and saved the Wizarding World before she even turned 18? Suddenly he was very interested in reading this book. He felt a little bad, like he was invading her privacy, since the book would probably give him answers to his questions, like the father of her children. But it wasn't really his fault. This was a history book, and it was on her shelves. And she had told him to help himself to whatever books were on the shelf, and this book was on the shelf.

He settled in and started reading, and quickly he was dragged into the gripping story of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.

SPNHP

Hermione opened the door to her house and ushered the kids in. It had been a long day at work, her caseload getting a little heavier with new mental health regulations for the aurors going into effect. Now she had to screen all the aurors to make sure they were mentally sound to be out in the field. And of course they were approaching the deadline, so everyone who procrastinated to the last minute were flooding her office with evaluation requests. She was exhausted, she had a headache, and she had grand plans of seeing if Dean wanted to bugger off research tonight and after a dinner of takeaway and getting the kids to bed, sitting in front of the telly for some mindless entertainment.

She shut the door behind her and moved into the house as the kids went running to their rooms to play. She set her bag down and moved further in the living room to find Dean completely engrossed in a book.

"Hey," she said, "we're home."

Dean looked up and smiled. "Hey, Glinda, how was work?"

"Exhausting. I hope you aren't opposed to takeaway, because I'm too tired to think about cooking. Plus, I already promised the kids."

Dean laughed. "I'm one hundred percent okay with take away. But you should have called. I could have gotten something for you, or even cooked. Tomorrow, give me a shout. Let me pull my weight around here. I can cook, I can start dinner."

Hermione looked at him in awe, "You're a guest, I can't—"

"I'm an indefinite house guest, and it's only fair that I help out around the house. So, let me handle dinner. Tell me what the kids like to eat, I'm sure I can make something work. That way when you come home after a long day, you have one less thing to worry about, at least while I'm here."

Hermione felt tears spring to her eyes and had to look away. Over the last week she had gotten to know the Winchesters better, and they were amazingly kind and generous men who were always looking out for others. She was infinitely surprised about how well they were at following her wishes to not be around her kids. They very dutifully showed up at her door after bedtime every night, and then leaving at a decent time, to make sure she got plenty of rest for work. She worried when she agreed to let Dean stay with her that things would be more difficult, but here she was surprised, yet again. Looking at the Winchester men, it would be easy to place them in several different stereotypical boxes, however, getting to know them, that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked, leaning forward in concern.

Hermione shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine, just, I'm not used to having someone else around to help out. It's just been me and the kids for a long time."

Dean gave her a sad smile. "Your ex?"

"My ex had outdated ideas on gender roles, and never lifted a finger to help me with anything," she replied.

"Well, he was an ass. Let me help you, and hopefully I won't spoil you and your kids too much before it's time for me to leave."

Hermione laughed, "Well, having dinner ready for when two ravenous children come home every day is definitely going to spoil them, no question about that."

Dean joined her laughter. "Well, I'm sorry then."

"No need to apologize. What were you reading when I walked in?"

Dean held up a book, "The Complete History of the Voldemort Wars, Miss War Heroine."

Hermione shook her head. "That has nothing to do with mind healing or magic, you know."

"Yeah, but I thought a war story would be a nice change of pace. Who knew it featured my favorite witch in a starring role, saving the wizarding world?" Dean teased, with a huge grin on his face.

Hermione blushed. "It was a long time ago, and that author really overplayed my role in it. Made it sound more glamorous than it really was."

"So you weren't one of the Golden Trio who brought down the most evil wizard in history, saving the lives of countless witches and wizards?"

"I was," Hermione said. "But what they left out was the nearly year of sharing a tent with two teenage boys, nearly starving to death because we didn't have enough food for while we were on the run, and the torture, and the watching your friends die in front of you—" she trailed off, shaking her head. "The author romanticized the whole thing and it just upsets me. I don't even know why I still have that rubbish on my shelf."

"I'm sorry," Dean said, quietly. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. I didn't know you were tortured. And if you need to talk to someone, someone who can relate, I'm here."

"You've been tortured?" Hermione asked. "By a monster?"

"The worst kind. I, um, sacrificed myself for my brother several years ago, and my soul was sent to Hell. It, was, um, kinda terrible. So, I know that even though the trauma happened a long time ago, it lingers, and just know that I am here for you."

She opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the pitter patter of running little feet.

"Mummy, we're hungry!" Rose said as she came into the room.

"Yes, let me get on the phone and order some food. Pizza?"

"Pizza!" the kids cheered.

"Excellent, let me go place and order and then maybe we can play a little bit while we wait for it to be delivered."

"Yay!" the kids cheered, again.

Hermione smiled, and looked over at Dean who was looking over at her kids with a small smile on his face. Hermione's smile slipped a little bit. She worried about her kids getting attached to Dean and having to explain his absence when he eventually left, but she never thought about Dean getting attached to her kids.

SPNHP

"You read me?" Hugo asked, running up to Dean carrying a pile of books in his hands.

Dean chuckled and looked over to see Hermione had left the room to order their pizza before looking back at Hugo. "Sure, buddy, what do you have for me today?"

Hugo set the pile of books next to Dean before climbing up into his lap, handing Dean the first book in the pile. As he opened the book he looked over at Rose who was still standing in the entrance to the hall.

"Do you want to come and listen, too?" Dean asked her.

She shook her head, not moving from her spot.

Dean nodded. "That's okay. I'm sure you can hear just fine over there, anyway. Want me to turn the book so you can see the pictures, too?"

Rose looked at him, her gaze scrutinizing him, and he could see so much of Hermione in her. Finally she nodded her head, before sitting on the floor in the doorway to the hall and waited expectantly.

Dean smiled at her and shifted so that he could read and both kids could see the pictures. About three books in, he noticed that Rose was moving closer and closer to him, inch by inch until she was sitting right in front of him on the floor. Hugo was nestled into his chest, listening intently to the story. When the book was over, Dean set it aside and went to pick up another one.

"Daddy never read us stories," Rose spoke up from the floor, very quietly.

"What?" Dean asked, not quite sure he had heard her correctly.

"Daddy never read us stories, only Mummy," Rose said again, a little louder.

"I'm sorry," Dean said, not quite sure how to respond to that.

"Daddy was really mean," Rose continued. "He would get mad at me if I was too loud, or if I asked him to play with me."

Now, that caught Dean's attention. He closed the new book, and set it on his lap. "Rose, did your dad hurt you?"

She shook her head. "Mummy wouldn't let him. He would only hurt Mummy."

Dean clenched his jaw, his nostrils flared with anger. "Is that why you moved? To get away from your dad?"

Rose nodded. "Uncle Harry saved us."

"Is that why you're scared of me? Because you're worried I'll be like your dad?"

Rose nodded. "You're big and strong like him."

Shifting his grip on Hugo so the boy turned and faced him, Dean slipped to the floor, kneeling next to the young girl.

"Rose, I promise you, I will not hurt you, your brother, or your mom, okay? I don't hurt people, I protect them. And as long as I'm under your roof, I will protect you and your family, okay?"

Rose looked up at him, her eyes searching his face, as if she was looking for whether or not Dean was telling the truth. Finally after a minute, Rose stood from the ground and wrapped her arms around Dean's neck, and Dean didn't hesitate to wrap his free arm around her, pulling her tightly against him.

As he knelt there on the floor, arms full of children, he wondered how he would ever be able to leave these kids when it was time for him to go.

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