CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Summary: Nine years after the war, Hermione's the Head of the Auror Department that specialises in dealing with Magical Creatures and fugitive Death Eaters that are loose in the Muggle World. With the fugitive Death Eaters no longer hiding in Britain, she's tracking rogue Death Eaters in the United States, which leads her to The Winchester brothers. The Witch and The Hunters are a dynamic trio that no creature, being or beast wishes to mess with, Magical or Supernatural. Hermione/Dean pairing. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I don't own original canon characters or events, just those that I create myself. Everything belongs to J.K Rowling and the creators of Supernatural. I am not making a profit posting this fanfic.
Page count: 8
They had been in the car and driving for the past six hours and like Sam had predicted they had stopped to refuel and Hermione came back from the station with her arms carrying a bag that was overflowing with beverages and junk food, keeping Dean quiet and happy.
Dean happily drove whilst nodding along to the music, every so often stuffing his face with a cupcake or chocolate bar. Sam was content in reading the same book Hermione had given him, his peace and quiet protected by the Silencio Hermione had applied after he had all but begged her with his damn puppy dog eyes, and Hermione sat in the back seat, oblivious to anything and everything as she focused on her report. Every so often, Dean and Sam would look back at her to see a focused frown on her face as the pen moved quickly across the papers she had resting in her lap; she hadn't looked up from her report in the last three hours.
She finally did look up when she heard the familiar hoot of her owl, though it was drowned out by Led Zeppelin, which Dean currently had blasting through the speakers.
"Dean!" she yelled, but he didn't hear. "Dean!" She repeated, again with the same results. She huffed and leaned forward, flicking him on the ear.
He jumped and turned to scowl at her, reaching over to turn down the music. "What the hell was that for?"
"I tried calling you but you didn't hear me, I love Led Zeppelin as much as the next sane girl, but is there any need for it to be that loud, are you trying to deafen me?" She asked him, he continued to scowl at her and she sighed. "I need you to pull over whenever you can."
"Why?"
"Just pull over," she rolled her eyes and leaned back, listening as she could now hear the hooting louder and she was sure it was Ricky.
After ten minutes, Dean pulled over onto a slip road.
"Thank you," she said, and she climbed out of the car when he stepped out to let her past.
"Why did I have to pull over?"
He got his answer when a louder hoot was heard and Ricky circled over their heads, swopping down and landing on Hermione's shoulder. He rubbed his head against her cheek and she laughed, reaching up to pet him.
"I know, I know, I missed you too," she cooed. "Now what do you have for me?" She spoke and Dean watched, leaning back slightly. Sam chuckled as he stepped out of the car, watching them both as Hermione reached up and removed the letter he had attached to his leg.
"Where's he been? I haven't seen him since the night before we left Bobby's." Sam said.
"I sent him to England with my report, along with a few presents for my nieces and nephews. He always gets sidetracked when he visits, I'm actually surprised he came back this early, he usually stays for close to two weeks as he loves the children, they spoil him rotten when he's there which is why he's getting fat." She jumped when he nipped her finger. "Don't be getting snippy with me," she warned the owl. "You are getting fat, you've put on at least two pounds since I last saw you, you need to lay off the bacon and pancakes," she told the owl, Sam snorted and Dean looked a mixture of amused and freaked out.
Hermione opened the letter and her eyes scanned the page.
"So, what does it say? Who sent it?" Sam asked, she looked away from the letter, her expression slightly dazed and her eyes glazed over as if she were remembering something.
"Hermione!" Dean clapped his hands in front of her face and she jumped and looked around, remembering where she was and she got her bearings back.
"Right, sorry, it's from Auror Kyle."
"The guy you had investigating Bowman?" Sam titled his head.
"Yes, he said he's gathered evidence and has handed it over to the muggle authorities."
"And?" Dean asked, noticing the way she shifted on her feet and she looked around, as if worried something would jump out at her.
"They got him; Kyle was able to get him to confess to the rape of thirteen other women. He tracked them down and they all said the same thing, he entered the room whilst they were sleeping and raped them, he kept talking about someone called Anna. They were all brunettes with brown eyes and similar height and build to me. Though they were all raped in different motels around the State, they never reported it as he threatened to kill them, but Kyle was able to find them. He's being charged with thirteen counts of sexual assault, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of attempted sexual assault. He'll be going away for a long time, especially since one of the women was a minor at the time. He's been doing this for four years." She said, looking down at the ground.
"Well, thanks to you and your instincts, this guy's going to jail and a lot of women are getting justice for what he's done to them." Sam said softly, she merely nodded.
She looked up when she heard another hoot and a brown barn owl swooped down and dropped a letter at her feet, flying away without looking back.
"What is it with all these owls?" Dean muttered and Hermione picked up the letter, noting The Ministry seal on the back of it.
She frowned and opened it, her eyes once again scanning the page. When she finished reading she stumbled back and hit against a tree, sliding down it until her arse hit the floor.
"What is it?" Sam asked worriedly, walking around the car to crouch down in front of her. Dean remained further back watching her anxiously. He could see the pain and guilt on her face, it was unmistakable to miss.
"It's the statistics from the battle," she whispered.
"And?" He coaxed gently.
"There were one-hundred and seventy three Death Eaters, more than we originally thought. Thirty of them are dead, fourteen remain in hospital due to significant injuries, three are comatosed and it is unknown when they will recover, if they do, and one hundred and twenty-six have been transported to The British Ministry pending trial for their crimes."
"That's good isn't it? You got them all," Sam spoke softly.
"I doubt we got them all, but yes, we did good. The rest will likely give up and return to their lives of secret blood supremacy, but they shouldn't cause anymore problems."
"So why are you upset?"
"We had eighty aurors, five curse breakers, plus three of us. Sixty of the aurors were American and the other twenty Harry brought with him. Aside from myself who ended up in a coma, nine aurors are also comatosed, seventeen remain in hospital due to severe injuries and twenty-three died. Two curse breakers were also caught in the crossfire, one of them died and the other barely survived." She fell quiet.
"It wasn't your fault," Dean spoke up, her eyes lifted from the ground to look up at him. "They would've been debriefed before they arrived and when they did you explained the situation and the odds and you gave them the choice to stay or leave. They chose to stay, they weren't forced. They knew what they were getting themselves into and your plans were meticulous. You're not to blame for those that died or those that were injured, so don't be feeling guilty." His stare held hers, daring her to argue with him. She slowly nodded and stood up, Ricky still happily perched on her shoulder.
"Let's get back on the road, we still have a long ass drive ahead of us," Dean spoke. "And that is not coming anyway near my car," he pointedly looked at Ricky and she rolled her eyes.
"Relax, Patrick, I wouldn't let Ricky inside your car anyway, the confined space would unsettle him." She lifted her hand and her owl jumped onto it. "Ricky, we're going to Bobby's, meet me there okay?" The owl hooted and she smiled when he rubbed his head against her cheek, before taking flight and disappearing in the clouds.
"Let's go then," she said and they all climbed back into the car. Hermione reapplied the Silencing Charm and Dean kept the music to an appropriate level at which her ears were safe.
Ten minutes later she spoke, catching Dean's eyes in the rear view mirror. "Do you mind if we make a pit stop on the way to Bobby's?" She asked.
He took one look at her and nodded, he already knew where she wanted to go.
"She'll be grateful that you kept your promise."
"I always keep my promises," she replied, tilting her back and looking up at the roof of the car.
~000~000~000~
Dean had no idea how long he'd been driving for, he and Sam kept swapping every few hours to give the other a break. They were barely half way into their journey to Bobby's and it was the early hours of the morning. Sam was asleep in the passenger's seat, his seat pushed as far back as possible to make it more comfortable for him. He used his jacket as a pillow and he had a blanket draped over him, courtesy of Hermione.
Hermione was asleep on the back seat, once again with a single duvet covering her and a pillow resting under her head. Dean was exhausted and his muscles were aching from being in the same position for so long. Seeing them both asleep only made his desire for sleep much stronger.
When he heard Hermione beginning to stir in her sleep he looked over his shoulder at her and he could see that her breathing had picked up and tears ran down her face. Without thought he pulled over and turned off the ignition, there was no way he was able to drive anymore without getting some sleep first.
Hermione bolted up right, looking around wildly until her eyes locked onto him and she took a deep breath in and out. She wiped away her tears and used the bobble on her wrist to tie her hair back away from her face.
"You okay?" He asked her quietly, not wanting to wake Sam.
She nodded but he knew she was lying and in an unspoken agreement, Dean got out of the car, kicked off his shoes and removed his leather jack and shirt, leaving him in his t-shirt and jeans. He climbed into the back seat and he was surprised to see that it was a lot bigger than he was expecting it to be, two people could easily sleep there comfortably. Hermione shifted to give him more room.
"Big spoon or little spoon?" She asked in an attempt to make a joke.
He snorted at her. "Like you could be the big spoon, you're tiny."
"Everyone's bigger than me, I've learned to live with it," she replied. He snorted once more before slipping behind her and laying down, she laid back down and they shared the single pillow and duvet between the two of them.
Hermione thought it odd that he was able to comfort her without even trying, one look from his penetrating green eyes could bring her back to reality, simply sitting beside her after a nightmare calmed her and for some reason, when he slept beside her, her nightmares weren't as vivid, she still had them, but she didn't wake from them as they were bearable.
"You want to talk about it?" He spoke quietly, his breath tickling her ear and disturbing a loose curl.
"Just the usual; torture, death, monsters, fighting for not only my life, but for the lives of those I care for." She replied and when his arm slipped around her waist and fiddled with the edge of her t-shirt, her breath hitched.
He decided to change the subject. "What are you going to do?"
"What do you mean?" She asked him, confused.
"After we get to Bobby's, what are you going to do?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure, like I said to Harry, I'm not ready to go back to England. There's too many memories there, and as much as I love Harry and I think of him as my brother, seeing him reminds me of everything we went through. In large doses it's hard for me to deal with. It's become a lot easier since I began taking cases here in the US, I only go to England every few weeks to visit or when I have to go to The Ministry for whatever reason. I could have a meeting, I may have to decide between new recruits, I may need to be present for training or it could be to make sure everything is running smoothly. I may be based here, but it's still my department and my job is important to me."
"Why is it difficult to go back?"
"Like I just said, it's hard seeing Harry and being reminded of my past, but I don't have any privacy in England. The minute I stepped out of my apartment I had camera flashes going off and reporters trying to get a piece of me. I had newspaper articles written about me weekly. About what I ate, who I dated, how I wore my hair, who I interacted with, what colour my bloody shoes were," she sighed and he snorted. "I'll admit that being famous in my world has its advantages, but it's also a pain in the arse. I have no privacy, I am easily recognised, people always want something from me. Harry's media attention has always been out of hand, since he's the 'Saviour of the Wizarding World' twice over. But since he's married, has three children and is the head of a respected department in The Ministry, they've somewhat calmed down around him. He still makes the papers, just not as much I do. I don't have children, nor do I have a boyfriend and I'm still Wizarding Europe's most eligible bachelorette, whether I like it or not, which I don't, which means I'm always going to be in the spotlight."
"So what are the perks?"
"That I'm recognised due to my power, my position in The Ministry, my achievements and my past. This means people are afraid of me because they've heard stories of me growing up. Most tend to do what I ask of them the first time. I can get whatever I want or need, simply by using my name and no one tends to interfere with my work as they're afraid to piss me off. The American Ministry of Magic allow me to do as I please as long as I keep to the laws and deal with things appropriately and professionally, and they leave me alone, and they're afraid of me, too. I have a vengeful streak that even scares me sometimes," she admitted. "I like it here in the US, although I am still recognised, it's not as extensive as it is in England. I can walk down a magical street without someone recognising me, but if you say my name, everyone will know who I am, and if one person recognises me and starts screaming their head off, a crowd will gather. It's nice to meet people that want to influence the world in the way that I do, that share the same beliefs, but it's infuriating when they won't leave me alone or they go all psychotic and try to kidnap me, yes, that's happened to me before." She said, before he could interrupt.
"So what are you going to do?" He asked her his original question once again.
"I don't know. I'll probably just do what I did before, only this time I'll be solely focused on Magical Creatures, unless I run into a Death Eater that is. I'll travel the US taking cases that are either given to me or that I discover myself."
"You're a Hunter," he muttered, finally understanding that she was more like him than he realised.
"Technically, only I don't kill unless it's the only option available, and I don't tend to deal with ghosts, ghouls and spirits the way you do, and I don't really deal with demons either. It's mainly vampires, werewolves, veelas, thestrals, unicorns, giants, trolls and the like."
"Fucking hell," he muttered. Giants and trolls?"
"Yes, smaller giants can be fifteen feet tall and the larger ones maybe twenty-five. Adult trolls are close to fourteen feet in height and carry a club that is almost bigger than me, and they love to destroy things. Those cases are the hardest and require several of us to either take them down or convince them to get back to their own territory in the Wizarding World."
"After everything I have seen, knowing that werewolves, vampires, spirits, gods, Angels and demons exist, I can't believe that unicorns and trolls do, too."
"There are many things out there that haven't been seen, mainly because they stick to the Wizarding World. Some wander off into the Muggle World by accident, some get lost and others come here of their own accord," she shrugged. "As I've said before, you and I, we're not that different."
They fell silent and Hermione's breath hitched once more when Dean's fingers slipped under her t-shirt to trail over the skin of her stomach, his touch explorative and gentle. She didn't know how long they were quiet for and honestly, she thought Dean had fallen asleep.
"Come with us," he muttered into her ear.
"I am," she said confused.
"Not just to Bobby's. Come with us on our cases; come hunting with us." She fell silent in shock. "Sammy likes you and you're good for him. You're able to engage him intellectually in ways that I can't and he has a friend that isn't me. Bobby has proven to be very protective of you. I know Cas cares for you and he would do anything for you. And I...Well I trust you," he admitted, once again shocking her. "You've proven to me that you're not a witch that I usually deal with. You're a good witch, and you've proven that you'd put an innocent life above yours. You've proven that you're dedicated to protecting the world just as I do. And I trust you with my life, but more importantly, I trust you with Sam's."
"What about my cases, what about yours?"
"Sammy and I will help you with your cases and you can help us with ours. We can learn more about your world and the creatures you deal with and you can learn more about demons, spirits and gods. You said there are two types of werewolves, we'll need you so we'll know which type we're dealing with, and we also need to know whether we're dealing with a witch like you, or a soul-selling, sacrificing witch; I don't fancy the idea of pissing off an entire other world."
"There are two types of werewolves and they're very similar actually, there are also two types of vampires," she informed him.
He chuckled. "See? We need you."
"Why do you want me to come with you so badly? I thought you hated me, hated my kind."
They fell silent, the only sound being the occasional snore from Sam.
"Are you aware of where your hand is currently?" She asked him, ending the silence.
"What?"
She could hear the confusion in his voice so she shifted and lifted the duvet and he bent his head to see that his hand was currently tracing circles just below her ribs and her t-shirt had rode up, so he got a flash of her taut stomach.
"Sorry," he muttered, removing his hand.
Hermione's hand shot to his to keep it in place. "I didn't say you had to stop, it feels nice, it's calming," she responded and she held in a sigh when he shrugged and continued with the motion of tracing circles on her stomach.
She turned around to face him, his hand slipped to the small of her back but he didn't stop his ministrations. Her eyes locked onto his.
"You didn't answer my question," she reminded him.
He looked down and a frown appeared on his face. "I'm not exactly sure why I want you to come with us, but I do. And it's true, that when we first met I did hate you, but that's because I didn't understand you, I didn't understand what you were or who you are. And to be honest, I still don't. But what I do know is that you're a good person, a good witch and I'm starting to learn and understand more about your world and your people. I trust you not to harm Sammy, but to keep him safe. And Bobby is a very good judge of character and he likes you. I have more reasons to trust you than I do to hate you. I know that my anger and hatred towards you was unjustified and I'm sorry for the way I acted and I'm sorry for shooting you. But I don't hate you." She stared at him in surprise as his frown deepened. "There's something about you, for some reason that I can't explain, I feel a presence around you; I feel drawn to you. At first I thought you'd cast a Love Spell or something, but I don't think you'd do that."
"I wouldn't," she confirmed, "And there's no such thing as a Love Spell. There are Love Potions but they don't create or mimic actual love, they mainly create infatuation and once they've worn off, you end up looking like an idiot for being a love sick puppy." He chuckled and she felt the rumble in his chest. "Love Potions are difficult to brew and there are several types, each stronger than the next. It takes a skilled witch or wizard to brew them and they're frowned upon in the Wizarding World, but since they can't create love, they're not illegal."
"There's something about you, Glinda."
"Oh come on, Glinda? Are you being serious? That's the best you can come up with?" She scoffed.
He merely shrugged in reply. "My point is, I want you to come with us because I'm drawn to you, Sammy said the same thing, he's drawn to you, too, but not in the way I am. It's more of a familial thing for him."
"That's interesting," she commented with a thoughtful look on her face. "Especially since I feel the same way."
"You do?" He asked, surprise evident in his tone.
"I do," she confessed. "There's been something niggling at me, something in the back of my mind for days and I feel drawn to you, too, and I feel the same for Sam, just as he does about me. You have an effect on me, and it's similar to Harry. Harry is the only person that is able to calm me down from a nightmare, no one else, and yet you did, you have, several times."
"So come with us."
"And what if whatever this is," she waved a hand between the both of them, "Ends badly, what do we do then?"
"If whatever this is," he made the same gesture she had and she rolled her eyes at him, "Ends badly, I'm sure we could handle it, we're both adults, and if we can't, we can go our separate ways, likely to never see each other again." She sighed. "Come with us," he moved his head closer to hers and his voice lowered to a whisper. "Aren't you the least bit curious to find out what might happen?"
Her breath hitched as his hand moved away from the small of her back and trailed her sides stopping short of the swell of her breast and moving back down, repeating the movement.
His eyes fell to her mouth and hers did the same and before she knew it, they had both closed the small gap between them and their lips pressed against each other.