Sam
Sam Winchester sat at a table in the Hufflepuff common room doing his homework with Becky, who had just returned from Hogsmead. He finished quickly and began helping her with her history essay.
"Sometimes I wonder why they don't just let you skip a year," she said after he had finished explaining the Goblin Rebellions to her.
"I'm not that smart," he replied humbly.
"But you are! I bet that you'll get all O's on your O.W.L.S. this year," she insisted.
He smiled. Truthfully he had no doubt that he was capable of receiving all O's, but he felt that expecting them too much would jinx it.
"Right, well, back to the goblins."
"Right," she started writing down what he had explained to her.
As she wrote Sam glanced around the room. At another table Owen and Anderson were playing wizard chess. By the smug look on Owen's face he appeared to be winning, and Anderson was far from happy about it. On the couch Lestrade sat talking to Molly. He asked her about the book she was reading. She said it was splendid and was suggested to her by a boy named Sherlock, and by suggested she meant he had mentioned that he had read it and she had taken it upon herself to read it too.
Suddenly two more Hufflepuffs entered the room from the portrait, one yelling at the other.
"She was just trying to help, Doctor," Amy followed behind the odd boy who wore a bow tie instead of the uniform's traditional tie.
"Help? Help by getting us all expelled? No, you are not to go near this book."
"But why?" Amy demanded.
"Because it's dangerous!" he said finally before tossing it into the fire. He continued in a low, dark voice, "Never take a book which is handed to you by River Song."
Amy stormed to her dormitory and The Doctor slowly made his way to his.
Looking around Sam found that no one else had noticed the quarrel that had just occurred. He then turned his attention to the book in the fire. To his astonishment the flames did not touch the pages. It laid there on the burning wood untouched. With his wand under the table he whispered, "Accio," and the book rose a couple inches before gliding into his hands.
Sam looked down and read the title: "Advanced Potion Making". This was the book he would need for his potions class the following year. He took a closer look at it. The cover and pages didn't have so much as a scorch on them.
"Protection charm?" he muttered to himself.
"What was that?" Becky asked, picking her head up for the first time.
"Uh, I forgot something in the Library," he lied while standing up to leave.
"I'll come with you," Becky's wide eyes and broad smile abandoned the essay and were solely fixed on Sam.
"No," he tried to think of a reason for her not to come but couldn't think of one so he ran out before she could ask why not.
It was getting late and the sun was moving further west. He knew he wouldn't have much time before dinner. Sam could tell that most of the students were still at Hogsmead since the only students in the Library were first and second years. Still the Library was very large so he had no problem finding a table out of sight from most suspicious eyes.
Nearby a seventh year Slytherin, whom Sam believed to be called Azazel, lurked around, giving Sam sideways glances before diving back between the rows of books. Sam tried as much as he could to block the book with his body in case the wanderer would catch a glimpse.
He could tell the book was a couple decades old by the condition of the pages. He opened it up to the first page. It appeared to be normal except for the signature at the bottom: "Property of the Half-Blood Prince." The name did not ring a bell. Quickly he flipped through the pages. Almost all of them were covered in scribbles in the same handwriting as "The Prince's" signature.
"Hey, Sammy," he jumped in his seat.
His brother Dean, a Gryffindor, approached him.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Studying," Sam quickly lied, hoping Dean wouldn't pick up on his tense tone.
"Of course, my brother the genius," he mocked.
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to do well in school," Sam retorted.
"No, not at all," Dean joked, "If you want a pansy job at the Ministry that is."
"Don't forget that you wanted to be an Auror."
"Well I just don't have the brains for that, unlike you."
"Come on, Dean! You scored O's in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The only think you slacked in was Charms."
"Which was total bullshit by the way. I mean, come on, who can say that I'm not charming?"
Annoyed, Sam turned back to his book, "Yeah, whatever."
"Uh-huh," Dean's voice sounded distant. Sam looked up to see him starring off at the bookshelves somewhere. When he tried to follow his gaze his brother was already walking away.
Relieved that Dean did not notice the book, Sam went back to flipping through the pages. Most of what was written was notes improving the instructions in the text but he could tell that some of what was written was dark magic. Very dark. Suddenly he looked up and was startled to see Azazel sitting directly across from him.
"Sam," he said as if greeting an old friend. "What you got there?"
"Homework," he tried to cover the book and pull it closer to himself. "You're that guy who hangs around Lucifer, right?"
"Yeah, I guess you could call me his-"
"Bitch."
The older boy's face tensed and his strange yellow eyes flashed dangerously.
"I was going to say friend."
"Azazel!" a stone cold voice called out. The two boys stared at each other before turning to see the body which it belonged to. A girl, who stood tall and slim, with blonde hair and pale, almost white eyes, was impatiently waiting for a response. Azazel got up and hurried over to her, turning her away to add a little privacy to his hushed whisper.
"He has it."
"I know he has it but there is no use in scaring him away by demanding it from him."
"Then what do you suggest?" he snapped back.
"All you need," Lilith's voice turned from commanding to seductive, "is a woman's touch."
The two of them turned back to the table to find that the young Hufflepuff was gone.
Sam looked everywhere for Dean. He had left the Library at some point and was not in his usual hang out spots. He was not at dinner and after checking the Great Hall three times he finally gave up. He would just have to wait until the next day to tell Dean. In the meantime he returned to the common room. When he arrived he noticed that a couple of the faces had changed since he had left. Becky appeared as if she hadn't moved from the chair the entire time he was gone. Molly was now sitting with her. Garth was reading a letter in front of the fire and Chuck was nervously sitting at another table, clearly waiting for someone. When their eyes met Chuck half smiled and beckoned Sam over.
"I was waiting for you," he said, "We need to talk about the book."
"But how did you-"
"The cards," he answered impatiently. "Do you even know how much power that book holds?"
"I do, I was looking through it, though it seems pretty dark," Sam explained.
"That's because it is. Even if it's not written there, there are names of books and page numbers for lengthy passages about more complex spells. This book, it could be the first step of becoming one of the darkest wizards of our time." He did not sugar coat it or hesitate to ensure that Sam knew just how dangerous this book was.
"How do you know all this?" Sam knew tarot cards couldn't tell someone all of that.
"Professor Alastair mentioned it a couple times and I have Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins so he was more likely than not advertizing it. All the seventh year snakes want it, especially Lucifer."
"Then I just have to keep it away from them."
"Sam, I think you under estimate their capabilities. You have to find the safest spot for that book, burry it there and never reveal it to anyone. No one can know that you have it."
"Right, just you me and Dean," Sam confirmed.
"You told Dean?" Chuck cried.
"Well, not yet but I was going to."
"The more people who know the more dangerous it becomes for both us and them!"
"But he's my brother!"
"I don't care if he is Merlin! You can't tell him. And besides, this is Dean we are talking about. Are you sure you want him to know?"
Sam was confused. Of course he wanted Dean to know, right?
Chuck let out a sigh before continuing, "Look, I've known you guys for years. If you tell Dean who is he going to immediately tell?"
He didn't need to say it. Anyone who's ever spent five minutes with Dean knows how obedient he was to his father. Sam, on the other hand, never saw eye to eye with their dad. If his father were to find out about the book he would treat them like children and demand that it be sent to him immediately.
"You're right."
"Dean!"
Sam called out to his brother over the din of the hungry students in the Great Hall.
"Hey, look," Dean started when he reached the Hufflepuffs eating breakfast. "I've got something to tell you."
"I have to tell you something too," Sam returned.
Dean paused for a moment, glancing at Garth and Becky who were both innocently listening. "Dad went on a business trip and hasn't responded to any of my letters."
He didn't need to hear more. The two brothers left and found an empty hallway to continue their conversation.
"Come on, Dean, so he didn't answer your letters, that doesn't mean he is in trouble."
"No, it doesn't," the Gryffindor agreed, "but it does when the owls come back to me after weeks with my own letter."
"Well, have you written to Bobby?"
"Of course I have! He's the one who told me that he was on a hunting trip down in Wales."
"You know," the younger Winchester started to get annoyed, "if he worked for the Ministry, not only would he get back up, but they would actually know if he were missing."
"Don't start this. You know that the Ministry over looks tons of magic sightings because muggles try to cover it up best they can. There are only a few of us out there who know when they see legit magical creatures."
One of his classic bitch faces started glaring at Dean.
"We have to do something."
"No, we don't, Dean. Bobby can handle it," he paused, making sure no one was around. "Besides, we have problems of our own."
"What?" with a laugh he sounded unconcerned.
His face fell when he watched his little brother pull an old, worn book from his bag.
"Do you know what this is?" Sam asked.
Quickly Dean grabbed the book and shoved it back into Sam's bag.
"Damn it, Sammy!"
"Relax, I just found it. I didn't steal it or anything."
"Just found it? What, was it just laying around waiting for some, some giraffe to lumber on by and pick it up?"
"No, well, kinda, a little bit-"
"Who else knows you have it?" Dean demanded.
"Just you, me and Chuck," he thought for a moment, "and maybe Azazel and Lilith."
His words seemed to bounce off the dumbfounded look on Dean's face.
"Azazel and…Lilith?" he repeated slowly.
Bong.
The bell chimed.
Bong.
It was time to go to class.
Bong.
In the Great Hall hundreds of students stood up from their breakfasts.
Bong.
Some of them went down to the dungeons.
Bong.
Others climbed the moving staircases.
Bong.
A flow of uniformed, chattering youths made their way to the corridor where Dean still stood staring at his brother.
Bong.
"Get rid of it."
Bong.
He walked away, into the thickening crowd, but not before Sam could hear him exclaim under his breath, "Son of a bitch!"
Bong.