Title: Blood Doesn't Make Family
Rating: T
Spoilers: End of season 5, stuff from season 6
Warnings: Just refer back to previous warnings.
AN: I can assure that the long break between updates has been because of how busy I've been with life at the moment. I've hardly had any time to actually write, otherwise this chapter would have been posted a lot sooner. I've had IB stuff, end of high school stuff, college stuff, and FIRST Robotics build season and competitions stuff. I am so, so sorry for the wait. Plus, I also had to spend a bit of time reevaluating some of the plot lines, how it all will fit together, and all that technical stuff. On another note, I created an Ao3 account with the same penname (musicdefinesusall), and I'm posting this story there along with another oneshot that I had written that is too M rated for this site/don't want to take the chance of it being taken down from here (which I'm still hiding in the corner because of it with my face in my hands). And thank you to my best friend pumpkinless who deals with my constant questioning of "have you edited it yet?" on a daily basis once I send the chapter to her.
(A few months after Harry thanks Bobby and Castiel)
Dean looked over from where he was seated in the Impala to his brother to see Sam deep in thought. Though it was not rare to see the younger of the two engrossed in contemplation, he seemed especially pensive at this point in time.
"What's on your mind?" Sam looked towards his brother, then back out the window to see the landscape passing by. They were currently on their way back towards Bobby's place after their quick hunt for a few vampires that were terrorizing a nearby city. And by nearby, it was several hours away. Sam sighed before uncrossing his lengthy legs to reposition himself in the seat.
"I've just been thinking a bit more about Harry and all that he is."
"What do you mean by that?" Dean questioned as he swerved slightly to avoid a pothole in the deserted road. They were currently the only ones on the road for as far as they could see – though they did occasionally pass another car going the opposite direction. Dean loved the times like these, just his baby, his brother, his hand resting outside the opened window, and no cops around to pull him over for speeding.
"Well, I've just been thinking more about who he was before Crowley adopted him. We honestly don't know anything else about him, and Cas isn't giving up any information either. I guess that the lack of not knowing is what is driving me mad right now. The more I think about it, the more I grow curious about what his life was like before. I dunno, I mean I know that it's his personal business, but I just want to know more." Sam used his hands to emphasize what he was saying, and Dean quirked an eyebrow.
"It would be weird if you didn't want to know more about him, I mean, I'm curious too, but not as much as you are, college boy." He smiled at his brother who only gave an irritated look in return.
"Oh just shut up, I know that you're as curious as I am. The only time we've actually been able to talk to him has been the day he came to thank Cas and Bobby, and we've never actually seen him since, so we haven't been able to actually ask him more about it."
"Yeah, I do know what you mean, and I wish that I knew. What could make Cas take the spawn's side and not tell us anything? And who would willingly become part demon? That's just unnatural. You think summoning him would be a good idea?"
"I wouldn't, not only would Crowley kill us, but I'm sure that Gabriel and Cas would have something to say about that too. They seem rather fond of the guy." Sam said as he picked at a rip forming on the knee of his jeans.
Dean shrugged and offered a different idea, "What if we sent him a letter? I'm sure that with Cas and Gabriel are keeping in contact with each other, so I'm sure that it wouldn't be a problem getting it to him." Sam tilted his head to the side and nodded a bit.
"Yeah, that sounds like a decent idea. I mean, the worst that could happen is that he doesn't respond, right?"
"Right. So you can write it, since I kinda doubt that he likes me at all."
"Well, you do call him Spawn, even though he clearly doesn't like it," Sam pointed out to his brother who only shrugged in a way to show that he didn't really care one way or the other.
"Hey, I wonder if Bobby's found out anything more about him and what he is," Dean asked, changing the subject just a bit. After all, they hadn't seen Bobby in several weeks, and the last time the boys saw him, he was knee deep in books he pulled from his personal library – probably in search of any mention of natural magic, wizards, or witches that don't get their magic from deals with demons.
"Maybe, I know that after being introduced to a new type of supernatural magic, he's bound to be curious. I just hope that he's been able to find at least some info since I know that I'm interested to find out more,"
"Here we go with the information." Dean jokingly interrupted his brother; Sam retaliated by smacking the back of his head. "Hey! I'm driving here…"
"Oh it's all flatland here, and you've been driving long enough not to get into an accident."
"Well, you never know. A rabbit could have run across the road and caused us to crash!" Dean exclaimed.
"A rabbit? Seriously?"
"You never know!" He repeated. Sam only laughed, and their conversation died out for the time being as Dean concentrated on his driving and Sam delved back into his thoughts.
Bobby set the leather bound book he was holding down on the table beside him and picked up his glass of scotch. He took a small sip and set it back down with a frustrated sigh. He wiped a hand over his tired face and looked out the window to see the moon high above in the sky.
So far he had been very unsuccessful in procuring information on natural magic users. He already had gone through his whole library of books and soon needed to go call in some favors to get some books that may prove to be helpful. Hell, he was desperate at this point to find out even just a smallest morsel of information on what Harry claimed to be, or at least claimed to partially be. Fully be? The whole mix of things that he was made Bobby's head hurt when he tried to figure out how the boy could be a full natural magic user, but be part demon. So did that also make him only part human? Or did the natural magic and demon magic cancel out the human part of him, but he still thought and acted like a human…? Bobby learned very quickly that it probably was best not to ponder that line of thought as he figured that maybe one day he'd know the truth. But today was not that day.
He had gotten a call earlier from Sam to let him know that he and Dean would be at the house in a few hours, so the man decided that it was time to get up and actually scavenge for some form of substance that would be safe to eat. He got up and made his way to the kitchen, making sure not to bump or knock over any of the piles of books and journals that littered the ground in piles.
Just as Bobby found some ingredients that would be suitable for a sandwich, a knock came at the front door just seconds before he heard it opening. He peaked around the corner to look to see who was there, and sure enough, it was the Winchester brothers.
(Back at the start of the school year)
Gabriel peered out from between the trees he was hidden behind to take in the sights of the grand castle that lay before him. He and Crowley had taken the time to have a lengthy discussion after Harry had left for Hogwarts, and this was the result of their decision.
(Flashback)
Crowley and Gabriel had just gotten back to the house when the archangel turned towards his friend with the same thoughts on his mind.
"I'm worried about him, and not in the usual sort of way that parents feel when their children go away for the first time." Crowley nodded his agreement, and walked towards the couch in the living room area. Gabriel followed, but chose to remain standing and favored pacing back and forth before continuing at voicing his thoughts.
"I mean, not only is he now on his own, but he's on his own in a school full of witches and wizards. How long do you think it will be until someone finds out about him, or worse?" Gabriel continued his frantic pacing. The demon rubbed a hand across his face and sighed.
"I know exactly what you mean; I'm already worried sick about the kid. But there's nothing I can do since I'm needed here, lots of stuff happening now that Sam is out of the hole without a soul and whatnot."
"I already told you before that I want nothing to do with whatever shenanigans you have planned," Gabriel raised his arms and placed his hands over his ears. "But that does not mean that I agree with what you're planning."
"But you don't disagree either."
"Yeah, cause you're doing a better job at organizing Hell than anyone else. I just don't fully approve of what you're doing with Castiel, but I refuse to choose sides between you two. I'm staying out of it." The new King of Hell nodded, as they had already discussed before what Crowley was planning, and Gabriel already made his decision to not be a part of it in any way.
"Then I have an idea. Since we both are worried about Harry and you would rather be elsewhere than with me right now, how about you go watch over him at Hogwarts and make sure that he stays safe? You can easily pop back here every once in a while so we can talk, and this way everyone is happy." Gabriel seemed to be weighing the options, and liked what the options were.
"Should I let him know that I am there or not?"
"Not at first, let him enjoy the idea of being off on his own without us there over his shoulder. But he'll find out eventually I'm sure, and make sure that you don't cause too much mischief." The look that covered the angel's face next was akin to that of shock.
"Who, me? Get into trouble? That is very not like me at all!" Gabriel grinned, waved his hand, and disappeared from sight much to Crowley's amusement.
"Yeah, go be the fluffy guardian angel."
(End Flashback)
Gabriel stayed that way, pondering what he could do, for several minutes before he made the decision to remain invisible and undetectable to anyone around him while he popped into the castle. He landed in what appeared to be the Great Hall, and noticed that it was slowly being emptied out by students who were eager to see where they would sleep for the first time. The archangel looked around a few moments before he spotted who he was looking for. He saw Harry among the other students slowly headed for the doors, and he trailed behind at a distance. Not wanting to seem like such a helicopter parent, he hung back when the children took the direction of what appeared would lead to the dungeons, and opted instead to go explore while everyone was busy getting the first year students settled in their dorms and accustomed to the rules of their respective houses.
The archangel noted where the dungeons were, and began walking through the darkened halls. He spent time looking at some of the different paintings and art pieces that adorned the castle, and he could have sworn that the cat he passed in his travels actually noticed him. Gabriel took the time to peek in several of the rooms, and he most definitely did not place pieces of chewed gum on a few of chairs or glue some of the desk drawers shut.
He took the time to briefly make note of several of the towers before seeing how far into the ground the old castle goes. There were the dungeons and lower classrooms that looked like they haven't been used in years if the dust layer was anything to go by, and then there were the rooms below the school that were still attached, but obviously have not seen any sort of light for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
Gabriel slowly walked around the large, open room before coming to a halt when he could have sworn that he heard a noise. He turned around and the faint sound instantly stopped. The archangel narrowed his eyes in confusion and let his angel blade fall into his hand – just in case. He slowly turned, and the dim sound began again in short bursts with minutes between the barely there, audible noise. Gabriel backed up a bit before deciding to leave for the moment – he would be back later to investigate the sounds further after consulting with Crowley.
The first day of classes went by smoothly for Harry and his newfound friends – Hermione and Draco. Even though he and Draco were in separate Houses than Hermione, he was able to get them to look past their differences to a point where they would actually talk to each other. Soon they found that they greatly enjoyed each other's company. Even though they didn't have every single class together, the ones that they did have together were good enough when added to any sort of free time they had between and after classes.
The following weeks went by just as well, and everything was off to an amazing start. No problems came to light, or at least no major issues, arose (except for some of the students complaining about their desk drawers not opening, or gum on their chairs). Harry kept in contact with Crowley and Gabriel by sending letters and received small gifts of treats or small knickknacks every once in a while. The sugary treats he would share with Draco, Hermione, and any of the people sitting around him when he got them. And of course not all of the other gifts were fit to be seen by those around him – since it would definitely cause a scene if one of the other students noticed a new knife with special engravings came in the owl post. He of course hid those sorts of gifts away in his trunk, but kept the knife hidden under the pillow of his bed.
The half-demon then took to exploring the castle during the night or studying since he only had to sleep for a few hours. A drastically less amount than his dorm mates needed. Harry would creep through the staircases and hallways leading around the ancient castle, and he loved the vibes he was getting from focusing on just feeling the magic swirling beneath his fingertips. It has been something that he was able to block out beforehand because of how abundant it is in the castle, a constant variable that soothed his spirit when he was alone and has the chance to focus in on it.
It was when he was walking by the library with his magic freely feeling out when he noticed the strength of it growing. He was able to feel a sort of unseen force urging him to enter, to come see what lay inside. He stopped outside the doorway leading into the library, and was about to enter when he heard a noise. Harry immediately threw himself against the wall, wrapping a few of the shadows around him as well as he could to remain hidden.
It was a new skill that he discovered one day while playing secretly with the same sort of magic he used to create Lasair. Harry was able to maintain a minimal sort of cover with the shadows as long as he didn't move, and put his all into it. He found that he could comfortably do it once, maybe twice a week if he had to, but it still took a lot out of him. But it was something that he hoped would develop over time since he couldn't really maintain any sort of invisibility that his father or Gabriel even was able to do.
Harry moved his eyes to look down the hallway both ways, and didn't see anyone at first. It was with his second look to his left when he saw two glinting eyes low to the ground. Forgetting about not moving, he cocked his head to the side, which let the creature know that he was there. As soon as he moved, he noticed his mistake and silently swore. He looked to see what was there, and let out a sigh. It was only Ms. Norris, the cat that he had successfully avoided – until now. Now that his cover was void, he slowly started to back away, but the cat still followed him.
After a moment, she started to obnoxiously meow and it was only a matter of time before Filch came to his beloved pet to see what naughty student was out after hours. With his luck, Filch was just around the corner, and he thought he was out of ideas of how to safely not get caught when a way suddenly came to him.
He had yet to call for Cara, his faithful Hellhound and friend, to join him at Hogwarts, and what time could be better than now? Harry whistled for his Hellhound, and moments later he saw his friend bounding towards him, tongue rolling from the side of her mouth. Ms. Norris instantly stopped her intimidating meowing, and puffed out when she smelled something similar to a dog.
Cara began to growl a bit when she noticed the cat there, and took a few steps closer to the puffed out cat. The two stayed in that position for several moments before Ms. Norris turned tail and ran as fast as she could away from the unfamiliar hound. Cara chased after with Harry telling her to not kill the cat or injure her in any sort of way, or at least tried to convey that message the best he could while doubled over with laughter.
Regaining his composure, he called for Cara to come back, and decided that he had enough adventure for the night, and that he'll further explore later. Maybe even venture into the library to explore where the mysterious force was coming from at a different time. It was getting closer to the morning at this time, and he hoped that he would never have to deal with a dorm mate asking where he was when they woke up to find Harry's bed empty.
"Severus, I'm glad you were able to make it so quickly!" Dumbledore exclaimed as soon as the potions master entered the Headmaster's office.
"Of course, what is it that you wish to discuss with me?"
"At first I thought it was just a fluke, now I have reason to believe that it's true. The dark creature detectors that I have here have been lightly going off since the year started, and I have no idea who is causing them to react this way. I know that it's not a werewolf, veela, or vampire of any sort since I would recognize the creature signatures that the detectors give off. I'm afraid that it is something that we have not encountered here at Hogwarts, and the children may be in grave danger. The mind races to think that it has a similar connection to what we found at the Dursley's home – this is why I want you to be extra vigilant in your classes and let me know if you notice anything or anyone out of the norm. I think that it would be safe to say that your focus should be with the first years, but don't exclude the other years just because we haven't had these sort of readings before."
"What do you mean, Albus?"
"I can decipher two different creature signatures from these readings, one of which has been fading in and out over time. Do your best, my boy, and keep me informed." Severus nodded in answer, and took his leave from the room.
After the potions professor left, Dumbledore took another look at the detectors resting on his desk. He saw the two that were there before – the constant one and the one that wasn't always there – and then noticed something strange. There was the faintest trace of a third mysterious creature unlike the other two. That did nothing to ease any sort of worry the headmaster had for his students.
(Time Leap)
Harry and Draco walked side by side down to the dungeons after they finished eating their breakfast, and like always, Draco was doing most of the talking.
"So what do you think that we'll be doing today in class, Harry?" Draco asked after he finished his description of what his father had sent him in the mail earlier that week. Harry shrugged his shoulders and gave his honest reply.
"I really don't know, it could be anything. But I do have one good guess at what we'll be doing," he said with a sly grin to his friend. Draco's eyes widened just a little bit as he begged Harry to tell him. Internally Harry was laughing, but he only let a small smirk appear on his face. His blonde friend did not seem to pick up on it.
"Oh, come on, Harry! Please tell me!"
"You really want to know?"
"Of course."
"I bet that we will be making a potion of some sort." Draco's only response to that was to hit his fist against Harry's shoulder as the dark haired one laughed at his friend's misery.
"Why do you want to know what we're doing in class anyways? You've never been this curious before about it." Harry looked over at his friend as they turned to go down the stairs to the dungeon area.
"Apparently Professor Snape was talking with my father recently, about what I have no idea, but I did catch a bit of their conversation – enough to believe that we will be doing something new in class!"
"Don't we always do something new in class?"
"Oh, you know what I mean." By this time they reached the doors to the potions classroom and made their way to sit down in their seats - Hermione already sat in her spot beside them.
Draco was correct in thinking that they were to be doing something new in class not usually in the curriculum, but it was not that day. It was a few days later when they walked side by side into the classroom and were told by Professor Snape what they would be doing.
"Today we will be working on a new potion that I believe should become a part of the curriculum. And if everything goes well, I believe that the headmaster will agree with me." He paused for a moment as he surveyed the group of first years all looking at him with their small, innocent eyes.
"The potion that you all will be working on today requires a tool that you all do not have, but I have my own supply that you will be using." Professor Snape continued to explain what the potion was, and what it would do. Harry did not fully pay attention to what was being said to them because his eyes were focused on the objects that were sprawled about on Professor Snape's desk.
Iron.
Iron stirring rods.
Iron stirring rods that would no doubt burn his hands if he picked them up.
Harry tried not to let his discomfort show to Draco or Hermione who were sitting beside him, but he did not have to worry. The other first years seemed too enthralled on what Professor Snape was saying and talking about that he took no notice at all of the uneasiness and shifting in his seat that Harry was doing.
Do I have any gloves in my bag? Harry thought about his belongings that he had with him currently. For a moment he thought he did, but there would be no reason for him to have his leather gloves. Though it was around fall time, it was still warm enough to not be needing gloves outside. So the struggle continued on inside himself to figure out what he could do.
He obviously could not ask to leave by claiming that he was sick, that would bring way too much attention to himself since they were all just at breakfast and clearly saw that he was perfectly healthy. He also could not ask to go use the loo since it was just after breakfast, and Professor Snape would not allow it. As far as Harry was concerned, he was stuck. Before he knew it, the students around him began to stand up and make a line in the front of Professor Snape's desk to fetch one of the iron stirring rods that they all needed for the potion they were all about to make.
Harry gulped and stood up – still trying not to let any distress show on the outside. He followed behind Draco and Hermione to the back of the line. With his luck, the iron rod would burn his hands and Professor Snape would immediately take him to the headmaster for questioning.
The line slowly dwindled down as the students grabbed one of the iron rods one by one and went back to stand by their cauldrons. No one was standing behind him in line, and it looked like Professor Snape was busy on the other side of the room. The line was shortened down and Draco was now grabbing one of the rods for his own use before walking back to the desk that he, Hermione, and Harry shared. Hermione grabbed one of her own, and gave a smile to Harry as she passed by to go back to the desk.
Harry stepped forward to the desk and looked down at the iron rods innocently laid out there. He took a breath and wrapped his hand around one of them and instantly bit his lip to keep from yelling out at the pain he was now feeling. The low sizzle of his flesh burning was drowned out by the chatter and clatter of the first years talking and gathering supplies.
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could have sworn that he saw Professor Snape looking on in interest at the reaction he was having to the iron. But when he turned his head to look for sure, the potions master had his head turned away with his eyes looking down at the students he was watching over. With a sort of relieved sigh, Harry quickly made his way back to the desk beside Draco and almost threw down the iron rod.
He looked down at his hand and saw that it was all red and had a few blisters beginning to form. Harry flexed his hand to see how much it hurt to move it, and was relieved to find that it was not as bad as he thought it may have been. It was only by chance that he saw that he had a cloth stuffed in the side of his bag that he had used a few days ago for some reason or another. Harry nearly gave a shout of joy when he saw it, but managed to stifle it to remain quiet. He leaned over the desk and swiped the cloth from his bag. He came back up and quickly folded it to form a strip that he could wrap around the end of the iron stirring rod.
The dark cloth was carefully tied around the end with minimal discomfort from accidently brushing his hand against the iron, but he ignored the pain and discomfort to relish in the satisfaction that his hand would be saved from the vicious metal. Draco noticed the new attachment that was added as did Professor Snape when he walked around the room to the side where their cauldrons were stationed.
"Mr. McLeod, can you please tell me why you wrapped your stirring rod with the cloth?" came Professor Snape's cold voice as he came up behind Harry. The first year in mention was able to quickly hide his burnt had under the table as he turned to look at his head of house.
"Well, you see, sir, my hands were starting to get a little sweaty, and I did not want to risk letting it slip from my hand because of it." Harry was able to effortlessly think on his feet to come up with the lie – he only hoped that Professor Snape would buy it and not figure out that he lied. Professor Snape gave the young boy a look before giving him a reply.
"Very well, McLeod, I suppose that it is good thinking on your part. We would not want for anything to go wrong because of a simple little mishap such as that. But please inform me of your problem in the future before you carry out an action such as this. You may carry on." Harry breathed a sigh of relief as Professor Snape began to walk away, leaving Harry to his devices of working on his potion. The rest of the potions class then went on smoothly except for a problem that arose on the Gryffindor side of the room, but something like that was bound to happen in this class much to Professor Snape's displeasure.
The class neared the end, and the students began bottling up their potion samples. Professor Snape also informed everyone that they were all needing to bring their iron stirring rods back up to his desk. So they all once again formed a line and began to carefully set the rods back where they took them from. When Harry reached Professor Snape's desk, he had the unfortunate luck of the professor standing behind his own desk.
Taking a deep breath, Harry gripped the rod with as little hand as he could as he ripped the cloth off. He let it drop to the desk, and of course was yelled at by Professor Snape.
"McLeod, I would expect better from a Slytherin. You need to be careful with these tools."
"Yes, sir. I'll remember that for next time." Harry walked back to his belongings set by his desk while rubbing his injured hand.
I'll have to send a letter to Dad or Gabriel in hopes that one of them can help me. Maybe Dad has some burn salve or Gabe can stop by secretly and heal it for me. He thought that he could possibly go see Madame Pomfrey, but that would bring about questions that he didn't want to answer. He figured that he could say that he burned his hand on a cauldron or something, but that would cause the medi witch to probably have a talk with the potions master, and he would prove him otherwise. And that would most likely bring up the points of how he could possibly have the severe burns on his right hand.
It was the second time when Harry had to grip the iron stirring rod to put it back on Professor Snape's desk that caused the already injured hand to become much worse. The blisters grew to be larger and the redness of the skin was a nasty shade of red. The skin began to peel back away, and he actually noticed a bit of puss oozing out of several places.
That can't be good. Harry thought to himself when he was back at the desk. He decided to take the same dark cloth that he had previously wrapped around the iron, and wrap it around his hand. He could only hope that no one would notice it before he had the chance to get it healed. Luckily he didn't have a class until later, so he would be able to do his best to take care of his hand and pack his gloves into his bag for later if need be.
So the class finished with very little problem, and as soon as Harry exited the room, he took off for his room in the dormitories leaving Draco standing in the hallway wondering what the hell was going on with him.
As soon as his potions class emptied out of the classroom, Professor Snape quickly made his way up to the headmaster's office. He had important news to share with the older man that could not wait until later. Once he was out of view of anyone in the hallways, Severus broke out into a run to get to the stairs as fast as he could.
After a few minutes, he stood in front of the statue guarding the headmaster's office entrance. Severus spent a good few minutes guessing the names of different candies until he actually guessed the correct one. In his mind Severus thought that Dumbledore didn't just have the statues move away when a staff member arrived because he was way too amused at having them say different candy names. Or it could just be him. He never really knew.
Severus walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. Professor Dumbledore's voice came through the door telling him that he could come in. He pushed the door open and walked in. As usual, the headmaster of Hogwarts was sitting behind his desk working on various paperwork that needed to get done. He looked up when Severus swiftly walked over to his desk with an intense look on his face.
"Headmaster, I have important news to tell you after what happened in my first year potions class today. You know how I brought forth the iron stirring rods for the class?" At the headmaster's nod, Severus continued. "Well, McLeod seemed to react negatively towards the iron. I watched him when he picked up the material, and he looked like he was in pain. I know of several creatures who are adverse to iron, so I feel that more research is needing to be done, but I feel that this narrows it down significantly from where we were at the start."
"Do you believe that he may be dangerous to the other students?"
"I do not know what to believe. He seems to not be a danger at this point, but whatever he is, he may just be lying in wait for orders or something else. Like I said, I would prefer to do more research before taking any serious action at the moment."
"If you had to narrow down your choice, what would you say he is?" Severus took a moment of pause before answering.
"Honestly, headmaster, I think that he may possibly be a demon. When I head over to America for more research during Christmas break, I'll find out more to help us verify what he is, though I fear that we may be correct in saying that Harry McLeod is being possessed by a demon." Dumbledore gave a solemn nod with sadness filling his eyes. He could not imagine the pain the child must be in while being possessed.
"Though we may be wrong in assuming so, I agree that we need a lot more information before taking any action against him. But we can't just let a dark creature run amok with all the children here." Dumbledore made the decision and agreed with his potions master.