Chapter 10 Settling In

The first week of School seemed to set the pace for Sam and Dean's life at Hogwarts. They would both get up early and have breakfast together at the Ravenclaw table, after which Dean would go and track down Harry and Ron for classes. At lunch Sam would join his cohorts at the Gryffindor table. Once lessons had finished for the day the four boys would spend the afternoon together, with Ron, Dean and Sam taking it upon themselves to teach Harry about the important things in life, like quidditch, gobstones and exploding snap.

Come dinner time the group would split up, with Sam joining his housemates for dinner and then returning to Ravenclaw Tower, while Dean, Harry and Ron would head back to the Gryffindor common room.

At first both Sam and Dean had been resistant to the change in their interaction that being in school had brought about, as they were both unused to spending so much time apart. Dean had felt as if his brother was abandoning him again, while Sam had thought that Dean had finally decided that he was a freak and wasn't worth the effort now that he had new friends.

However, having had the chance for a normal childhood in this realty, both brothers were a little more emotionally balanced, and it only took four them four days, one twenty minute argument and a few punches to work out their differences. Sam assured Dean, that no, this wasn't like Stanford, and that he had no intention of going anywhere without his brother. And Dean assured Sam that he wasn't a freak, and that he and he wasn't abandoning him for shiny new friends, just that the nerd was living on the other side of the freaking castle with all the other nerds.

After that Sam and Dean settled into the new routine with ease.


Dean was silently fuming by the time he got to lunch. It was Friday and the first year Gryffindors had just finished their first potion lesson. When Sam joined the three a few minutes later, it was to find Dean taking out his bad mood on an innocent piece of steak.

"So, how was your morning?" Sam asked as he warily watched Dean viciously stab at his meat.

"oh I don't know Sammy, what do you think Ron, how was our morning?" came Dean's reply, his voice thick with sarcasm.

"I think that Snape is a right foul git." Was Ron's snarky reply.

"It can't have been that bad, I mean yes he is pretty nasty, but he is fairly indiscriminate about it." Sam said, trying to make them feel better, the three Gryffindors just gave him the hairy eyeball

"We have potions with the Slytherin's, he actually seems to like them." Said Harry.

"That, and he seems to have made it his personal mission to make Harry's life hell." Dean seethed. And with that Sam let the subject drop.

"Hey Harry," Ron asked, "Do you mind if I come and meet Hagrid with you?"

"You're going to see Hagrid?" Sam asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, he sent me a note this morning, inviting me for afternoon tea. I don't think he would mind if I brought you three with me." Replied Harry.

So at five to three that afternoon, the group left the castle and made their way down to Hagrid's hut.


When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Dean momentarily froze. When Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang, back." Dean came back to himself. Ever since Lilith had sicked her hellhounds on him, Dean would have an initial moment of panic whenever he was faced with a big dog.

Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. "Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. There was only one room inside. "Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Sam laughed at the dogs antics, like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked. "This is Ron, Sam and Dean" Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate. "Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles.

The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them, while Sam and Dean left theirs on the plate as the four boys told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes. The boys were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git'' "An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it."

Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson.

"Don't you go worryin about that now Harry, Professor Snape don't really like any of the students, well 'cept his daughter o'course" Hagrid told Harry.

Dean rolled his eyes at this, he'd heard the rumours of course, but aside from Draco Malfoy's introduction of the girl, he didn't really know anything about Illyria besides the fact she was in Slytherin.

"But he seemed to really hate me." whined Harry

"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" Dean saw the Hagrid didn't quite meet Harry's eyes as he said this.

"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals." Dean could tell that Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. Dean took the time to look around the small hut while Ron with the help of Sam told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons and Harry was perused the Daily Prophet.

"Hagrid!" Harry said suddenly, "that Gringotts break, in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"

There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered the boys another rock cake while Harry went back to the news paper.

When the boys eventually walked back to the castle for dinner, Dean couldn't help but think to himself that Harry, like Sam, was a magnet for trouble, and that whatever was going on with the recent Gringotts break in, he was eventually going to stick his bespectacled nose into it. Dean just hoped he would be there when the kid would inevitably find himself in real trouble.


Authors Note: There is now artwork accompanying this story, check my profile for the web address